New - Please give me some hope

[trophywench]

Hmm - I hate coriander! Love the cabbage etc but .... we're all different. Can't stand things like chervil that are aniseed-y either whereas a touch of tarragon in sauce tartare doesn't bother me cos the other ingredients are enough to mask it - but my eldest stepdaughter (the chef!) can't even stand that much.

 

[NotWorriedAtAll]

Morning

Just joined today and looking for some hope!

Although not officially diagnosed yet I went to have a blood test last week for something unrelated to diabetes. The results came back and the HbA1c came back as 56..I saw this result before the surgery rang me so had time to have a Google...when the nurse rang I was fully prepared for what she was going to say.

I was gutted. I was told 4 years ago I was at risk of pre diabetes but as if often the case I guess I pushed it to the back of my mind and carried on as usual. Between then and now I have had both knees replaced due to osteoarthritis and I also have this in both my hips and my back. I’m in my mid 50’s. I take medication for high blood pressure but my cholesterol is within normal range. I have been blighted by polycystic ovary syndrome my whole adult life (leads to weight gain which is often hard to lose and also has a high risk of T2).

After having my second knee replacement in 2018, in early 2019 I signed up to NutraCheck and between February and November lost 5 stone...then came the dreaded coronavirus and lockdown and in came home baking...my husband and I had both decided that come the new year we would be back with NutraCheck and we restarted our calorie counting on 2nd January. The scales showed i had gained 3 1/2 stone...the positive being I’d still managed to keep 1 1/2 stone off.By the time the nurse rang with those dreaded results I’d already shifted 6.5lbs and had changed my NutraCheck to follow a low carb eating plan. This is very difficult for me as I don’t like much fruit and hardly any vegetables or salad.

I know 56 is in T2 range and know I have to lose a lot more weight and that that number down to at least 48 or under in the first instance and I will go all out to do this. I’m having a repeat test on 1st Feb and appreciate there won’t be enough time to get my HbA1c down much (if at all) however I am have enough confidence in my ability to get there as quickly as I can.

After all that rambling I will get to my question..if, say, I am eventually successful in reducing my HbA1c to within the green (normal person) range will I ever be able to eat anything nice again (in moderation obviously)? I’m thinking if we go away will I be able to have a slice of pizza, or some cheesecake etc.

I am feeling extremely down and miserable at the moment so need a glimmer of hope to help push me forward.

Thanks

​

You sound so much like me it is uncanny.
I LOVE cooking and eating and baking.
The great news is you can have wonderful baking and culinary/foodie adventures with amazing results that taste even nicer than the old carb recipes you've been using.
You can eat all the lovely food you've learned to love but made with different ingredients you haven't met yet.
This is not the end of your food likes it is the beginning of your food loves.

Pop along to my Facebook page. You are in for some eye opening and you don't have hope you have something better the solid definite positive reality of a future where you eat/cook whatever you like and no more weight/diabetes/PCOS problems. I know it sounds like some sort of clickbait too good to be true thing - but it is so simple it makes me cry that so many people end up where you and I did and it was all completely avoidable. But on the plus side - it is also all completely fixable and it doesn't take buying into any expensive diet plans or subscribing to anybody - just some informed changes and a relearning of how to cook/create food with keto-friendly ingredients.

Here's my Facebook page.

You can find various posts of mine here and some recipes etc but there is more on Facebook.

The Naughty Diabetic's Dream Come True

The Naughty Diabetic's Dream Come True. 130 likes · 5 talking about this. Jan 2019 diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes July 2019 - successfully reversed it by diet changes. This page shares how I did...

www.facebook.com

 

[grovesy]

Can I ask something else...I see everybody saying they might have a high reading on their monitors...I don’t have one yet..however everything I read says you will know when your levels are too high or too low...I feel the same throughout the day regardless of what I have eaten, this has always been the same, I feel no different throughout the day now than I did, say 2 years ago, or even longer...im so confused by it all

It is not always the case, with everyone.

 

[Drummer]

Cutting back on fat - which you can digest and deal with just fine, but continuing to eat carbs, which you digest and then have high levels of blood glucose doesn't seen a logical way to deal with the problem.
If you want to have pizza or cheesecake there are low carb options - look for fat head pizza dough, which is also good for sausage rolls - and you need to find the low carb cheesecake because after a while not eating sugar, things which are 'normally' sweetened seen sickeningly sweet.

 

[MrsAA]

Iv

Cutting back on fat - which you can digest and deal with just fine, but continuing to eat carbs, which you digest and then have high levels of blood glucose doesn't seen a logical way to deal with the problem.
If you want to have pizza or cheesecake there are low carb options - look for fat head pizza dough, which is also good for sausage rolls - and you need to find the low carb cheesecake because after a while not eating sugar, things which are 'normally' sweetened seen sickeningly swe

I have looked up the fat head pizza dough recipe and the ingredients are in my shopping basket for delivery tomorrow...I am a little worried about the fat content though as I still need to lose a lot of weight but I’m sure for a treat occasionally it will be fine...

 

[NotWorriedAtAll]

Iv

I have looked up the fat head pizza dough recipe and the ingredients are in my shopping basket for delivery tomorrow...I am a little worried about the fat content though as I still need to lose a lot of weight but I’m sure for a treat occasionally it will be fine...

You should be eating high fat every day.
You will lose weight faster and easier by eating high fat - as long as you are also eating very low carb.
This means losing weight by eating keto recipe pizzas, cheese, double cream, keto recipe cheesecake, keto recipe cream cakes, fatty steaks, etc etc

Changing your eating habits to be healthier means eating more fat. If your body is using only fat as fuel the fat will be used up and will not cause you any health problems and it certainly will not make you gain weight.

I have been eating this way for two years now without cutting any calories - in fact I have eaten more calories than usual and I have lost weight. Not a lot because I haven't until now started exercising. Now I am exercising I am getting thinner noticeably quickly. I am eating a keto recipe cake with extra thick double cream at the moment. It has no effect on my blood sugars and I will not be gaining weight at all. My cholesterol levels are also absolutely fine and better than they were when I ate so-called 'healthy' low fat foods.

I too had PCOS - hormonal imbalances are often caused by a combination of factors one of which is not having enough 'good' fat in your diet to help your hormone system regulate itself.

Bad fats are fats that are created from processing food - so vegetable fats and polyunsaturated fats and rapeseed oil have been shown incontrovertibly to cause hormonal problems and weight gain as are processed grains.

Getting rid of carbs (except for naturally included ones in the veg and berries and few fruits we can cope well with) and swapping in fibre and getting rid of bad processed fats and swapping in unprocessed ones - coconut oil, extra virgin olive oil, butter, lard, ghee and animal fats makes a massive difference and allows the body to do its work without being overloaded with stuff it can't handle.

 

[MrsAA]

You should be eating high fat every day.
You will lose weight faster and easier by eating high fat - as long as you are also eating very low carb.
This means losing weight by eating keto recipe pizzas, cheese, double cream, keto recipe cheesecake, keto recipe cream cakes, fatty steaks, etc etc

Changing your eating habits to be healthier means eating more fat. If your body is using only fat as fuel the fat will be used up and will not cause you any health problems and it certainly will not make you gain weight.

I have been eating this way for two years now without cutting any calories - in fact I have eaten more calories than usual and I have lost weight. Not a lot because I haven't until now started exercising. Now I am exercising I am getting thinner noticeably quickly. I am eating a keto recipe cake with extra thick double cream at the moment. It has no effect on my blood sugars and I will not be gaining weight at all. My cholesterol levels are also absolutely fine and better than they were when I ate so-called 'healthy' low fat foods.

I too had PCOS - hormonal imbalances are often caused by a combination of factors one of which is not having enough 'good' fat in your diet to help your hormone system regulate itself.

Bad fats are fats that are created from processing food - so vegetable fats and polyunsaturated fats and rapeseed oil have been shown incontrovertibly to cause hormonal problems and weight gain as are processed grains.

Getting rid of carbs (except for naturally included ones in the veg and berries and few fruits we can cope well with) and swapping in fibre and getting rid of bad processed fats and swapping in unprocessed ones - coconut oil, extra virgin olive oil, butter, lard, ghee and animal fats makes a massive difference and allows the body to do its work without being overloaded with stuff it can't handle.

I couldn’t cope with doing keto..I need to have just a little bread (1 slice of Nimble) and 1 small potato to keep me sane..I have so much weight to lose I find it hard to believe I’ll be able to lose anything if I have too much fat in diet..I hate vegetables...I’m finding things very hard to think I’m going to have to spend the rest of my life eating like this

 

[Drummer]

I couldn’t cope with doing keto..I need to have just a little bread (1 slice of Nimble) and 1 small potato to keep me sane..I have so much weight to lose I find it hard to believe I’ll be able to lose anything if I have too much fat in diet..I hate vegetables...I’m finding things very hard to think I’m going to have to spend the rest of my life eating like this

If you eat low carb bread and swap the potato for a lower carb alternative - I put sliced swede under the meat when I roast it for instance, then you should be able to lose weight easily - we don't get fat from eating fat, it is carbohydrates which make for a build up of bodyfat.
I find that the small amount of carbs I can cope with can be got from some tasty foods but I do Atkins, not KETO, which seems far more boring. I started eating low carb back in the 1970s when I realised that what we ate at home was fairly lacking in carbohydrate and since getting my own place and a husband, and a diet sheet from the doctor, my weight was no longer stable.
My younger metabolism could get rid of half a stone in three days if I cut out the carbs.

 

[Anitram]

.I’m finding things very hard to think I’m going to have to spend the rest of my life eating like this

It’s tough to begin with but it does get easier and if you stick with it then it eventually becomes the new normal. It took me almost 6 months to reach a point where I felt I had a sustainable low carb diet. I'm also aware that I need to do everything I can to reduce my risk of diabetes complications and to safeguard my long term health.

It’s early days so chin up, be strong and please stay focused on what you need to do.

Martin

 

[MrsAA]

If you eat low carb bread and swap the potato for a lower carb alternative - I put sliced swede under the meat when I roast it for instance, then you should be able to lose weight easily - we don't get fat from eating fat, it is carbohydrates which make for a build up of bodyfat.
I find that the small amount of carbs I can cope with can be got from some tasty foods but I do Atkins, not KETO, which seems far more boring. I started eating low carb back in the 1970s when I realised that what we ate at home was fairly lacking in carbohydrate and since getting my own place and a husband, and a diet sheet from the doctor, my weight was no longer stable.
My younger metabolism could get rid of half a stone in three days if I cut out the carbs.

I try not have both on the same day...I had no bread yesterday or today but I had one small potato (170g) which I cut into chips and had with some chilli chicken....no bread tomorrow either but, again, a small potato for dinner

 

[Drummer]

If the potato is boiled then it represents about 27gm of carb - that is equal to all of my second (evening) meal, including the dessert, so it is quite a significant amount for me - and far less tasty than the various vegetables I eat regularly and the desserts I make with jelly, custard or cream or yoghurt with berries.

 

[Anitram]

I try not have both on the same day...I had no bread yesterday or today but I had one small potato (170g) which I cut into chips and had with some chilli chicken....no bread tomorrow either but, again, a small potato for dinner

There's a lot of carbs in a single 170g potato, more than I allow myself for a whole meal. I replaced boiled, roast and mashed potatoes with cauliflower mash, which has a fraction of the carbs, and I make chips out of celeriac for the same reason.

 

[NotWorriedAtAll]

I couldn’t cope with doing keto..I need to have just a little bread (1 slice of Nimble) and 1 small potato to keep me sane..I have so much weight to lose I find it hard to believe I’ll be able to lose anything if I have too much fat in diet..I hate vegetables...I’m finding things very hard to think I’m going to have to spend the rest of my life eating like this

I just made bread today. You don't have to restrict yourself to a slice now and then - and in any case one slice of 'real' bread will do more harm to your weight loss than an entire loaf of the keto version.
My husband who is not diabetic cannot tell the difference between the keto bread I make and the good quality wholemeal bread we used to buy. Keto does not mean doing without bread, chips, pork pies, christmas pudding, stuffing and gravy with your roast dinners and what is more you can have versions that cannot be distinguished as 'keto' - I am not talking about cauliflower crust and fathead dough - I am talking about proper pastry and pizza dough made with yeast.
Here are just a few of my recipes.
Keto chocolate eclairs, keto stuffed crust pizza, keto coconut ganache chocolates, keto flaxseed bread shown with a butter and chia seed strawberry jam, keto corned beef and 'potato' pie (I used celeriac and cauliflower instead of potato and nobody could tell)

 

[NotWorriedAtAll]

The secret to these recipes is that I swap fibre instead of carb flours and sugars. Which means they are not anywhere near as calorific as the usual versions and are more filling and still have the flavour and texture of the original versions.

Don't worry you will work it out eventually. In the meantime don't get too despondent - I know I spent most of my first few months pinching myself because I couldn't believe I wasn't dreaming this stuff.

 

[MrsAA]

the problem I have is I don’t like vegetables, so I am finding it very difficult to get enough to eat if I remove that one small potato...honestly I can’t live my life depriving myself of absolutely everything I enjoy eating, I might just as well not be here if that is the case..I know people who eat lots of veg find this difficult to understand but there you go, that’s me

 

[Docb]

Don't lose heart @MrsAA, there will be a way that suits you somewhere.

How are things going generally? In your first post, you said that you needed and wanted to lose some weight. Any progress on that front with the changes you have made so far?

 

[MrsAA]

Don't lose heart @MrsAA, there will be a way that suits you somewhere.

How are things going generally? In your first post, you said that you needed and wanted to lose some weight. Any progress on that front with the changes you have made so far?

Yes I’ve lost almost a stone in 2 weeks (stared back calorie counting on 2nd January), hope to get another half a stone off before my second blood test on 1st February...)won’t even bother celebrating my birthday the day before as there’s nothing worth celebrating at the moment) had fish and chips and a slice of cake planned as a treat to keep me on track with the calorie counting but obviously that can’t happen now, so I can be miserable about being a year older and not having anything nice to eat..

Would be good if there was a reduction showing in my HbA1c but suspect it will be too early for that as only 4 weeks since the first one..

 

[Docb]

That's good and don't be too pessimistic about your next HbA1c.... there's a chance that you could be in for a pleasant surprise. As I say, you have got find the way that suits you and if swapping pots for veg is not going to work then focus on your weight target because it seems that you can do something about that.

PS for the fish and chips.... go to the best chippie in your area, get a lightly battered fish and a very small portion of chips. Have them wrapped separately and don't put them in a plastic bag. That way (good chippie, light batter, separate wrapping, allowed to breathe) there is a good chance you will get home with something other than a soggy pile of gunge. Have waiting, a warmed plate, a pepper mill, decent tartare sauce or some coleslaw, and enjoy. And it won't push your BG into unwanted territory.

 

[MrsAA]

That's good and don't be too pessimistic about your next HbA1c.... there's a chance that you could be in for a pleasant surprise. As I say, you have got find the way that suits you and if swapping pots for veg is not going to work then focus on your weight target because it seems that you can do something about that.

PS for the fish and chips.... go to the best chippie in your area, get a lightly battered fish and a very small portion of chips. Have them wrapped separately and don't put them in a plastic bag. That way (good chippie, light batter, separate wrapping, allowed to breathe) there is a good chance you will get home with something other than a soggy pile of gunge. Have waiting, a warmed plate, a pepper mill, decent tartare sauce or some coleslaw, and enjoy. And it won't push your BG into unwanted territory.

We live by the coast so tend to drive the short distance to the prom and eat them in the car, we take a knife and fork, and eat them so they are piping hot and not soggy...thank you for the last bit..makes me feel a bit better

 

[grovesy]

Yes I’ve lost almost a stone in 2 weeks (stared back calorie counting on 2nd January), hope to get another half a stone off before my second blood test on 1st February...)won’t even bother celebrating my birthday the day before as there’s nothing worth celebrating at the moment) had fish and chips and a slice of cake planned as a treat to keep me on track with the calorie counting but obviously that can’t happen now, so I can be miserable about being a year older and not having anything nice to eat..

Would be good if there was a reduction showing in my HbA1c but suspect it will be too early for that as only 4 weeks since the first one..

If it is stressing you out trying to do reduce carbs or low carb, why not continue with what is working for your weight loss. Then review after your blood test.
I know from personal experience that trying to be too restrictive, I could not maintain long term.