Newbie at risk of Diabetes

[MamaBear4]

Hello! I have recently had a health check including bloods, and I am at risk of developing Diabetes, My HbA1c result was 42 (just tipped into the at risk bracket). I have signed up for the 9 month health programme that was suggested in the text, but it's been a week and I have had no contact from anyone to get this started - so I am being proactive and looking to change my lifestyle and eating habits.

Any suggestions are warmly welcome. I have never dieted before. I was one of those lucky people who didn't really need to watch their weight, up until around 2 years ago and perimenopause crept in. With it my weight went up and my body changed shape to one I do not recognise. I am currently 80.4kg (12st 8lb) which is classed as obese 😳. I am looking to lose at least 2st by December, and hopefully move out of the at risk bracket.

I am trying to figure out how to calorie count and carb watch. This is all very new to me and very confusing. I am hoping to make a few friends on this journey for support and maybe mutual guidance. If anyone wants to buddy up, let me know 🙂

 

[saffron15]

@MamaBear4 welcome to the forum. I wish I'd had been tested years ago and offered help. I'm retired now and requested a test last year when I discovered my annual blood test for hypertension was not being tested. I have always been plump. I was 8st 10 when I was doing my degree which seems OK now. I gradually crept up until I hit 11 stone with an early menopause at 42. I had enough willpower not to hit 14 stone/90 kg but didn't lose much. However when hit. With my diagnosis i cut carbs and effectively went low carb between 80 and 120. Initially I didn't know what it was I just cut out sweets pastry rice and pasta and severely restricted bread and potatoes. One day my jeans fell down and I lost 2lbs a week. Eventually I was put on a medication which needed carbs to work and I lost focus but I have lost 2 stone.
I have previously linked to a GP site which links to all the good websites. Freshwell is very informative. Go through what you eat now decide what you can drop where you can reduce portion or where you can replace. Then work on moving more. A ten minute walk after eating will help. You will go back below 42 effortlessly so make liveable choices as to food. Try to stop or keep as a treat tropical fruit a d don't add sugar to drinks and cereal. You need to start eating mindfully. Meat and fish are ge really low or no carb. Sausages if high meat content are OK. Veg below ground is more carby than others. Take it steadily. Start with checking out breakfast it may be the on ly thing you need to change.
If you need to check carbs in a shop it's usually on the bottom labelled nutrition. Carbs become sugar.

Enjoy the new you!

 

[MamaBear4]

@saffron15 thank you for your response. I am planning on making small changes gradually as I know I will give up or get too confused if I make too many changes at once. I was 42 too when perimenopause began. I put a later in life pregnancy down to the body changes, but at 42, she was 3 years old and I couldn't keep blaming the pregnancy for the way my body had changed.
I've spent this morning reading through a carb and calorie counting book. Although nowhere did it say what I should be aiming for with regards to daily carbs. I had a google search and figured it must be somewhere between 100-150 per day. Which is what I am aiming for at the moment. I've had 120 already today, so I need to really think about dinner tonight!

Breakfast has always been my worst meal of the day, because I just don't fancy anything in the mornings. So I usually end up having marmite on toast. Not ideal, but gives me something to fill my stomach as I start my day.

I had gestational diabetes with my youngest, which came late into my pregnancy, so had to have a strict diet for the last 5 weeks of the pregnancy. I love potatoes, and was miserable the entire 5 weeks where I had to restrict them. But I am not pregnant this time, so can survive on smaller portions at meal times.

I have been so worried about what I can and can't eat since getting the text, so have just tried not to snack, and eat more veg at meal times. I am also walking more than I used to. Rather than jumping in the car to run to the corner shop, I walk it. Weather has been bitter and miserable, but come spring time, these walks should get more enjoyable! Like I say, little changes at the moment. Once I get my head around the whole calorie and carb counting, I am hoping this will start giving me some favourable results.

 

[Vonny]

Hi @MamaBear4 and welcome from me too 🙂
I can't fault the advice @saffron15 states above. I lost over 5 stones on low carb and dropped my hbac1 to 39, although I did, and still do, take metformin as well as doing low carb.
I've posted elsewhere that since before Christmas I've been giving the carbs some welly, with the result that my hba1c has gone up to 41 so I'm almost back into pre-diabetic range. So it's back to ditching the carbs and increasing the leafy greens which worked well for me before.
Remember you don't have to cut out carbs completely, just reduce them. Sadly I'm an all or nothing person so I have to cut them out completely but you may have more self control than me!
Good luck x

 

[Leadinglights]

Taking some action now should mean that some adjustment to portion sizes and cutting out some of the snacks should get you on the right track.
People imagine that they need to cut everything they like out but a program like the Freshwell low carb approach means you can still have filling tasty meals. It is based on real food and the suggested no more than 130g carbs not just sugar per day. https://lowcarbfreshwell.com/
I can be too mind bending to try to keep track of both calories and carbs though some people do but others will choose either to keep track of carb intake or go for a low calorie approach. But whatever you choose it has to be enjoyable otherwise it will not be sustainable which it needs to be, becoming a new way of eating.
Breakfast can be tricky to know what to have but a favourite of quite a few of us is full fat Greek yoghurt with berries and seeds or nuts or eggs in any form. That can be a better option than having nothing and then snacking on high carb foods later in the morning.

 

[saffron15]

@mamabear there is no wrong food just make sensible choices. I now have full fat Greek style yoghurt with berries and sometimes nuts or seeds. Sometimes a mushroom omlette. I was told my cholestral was slightly high so cut red and processed meat although I now have some. A cooked breakfast of bacon egg mushroom sausage is filling and low carb. Good for late morning. Better to leave out hash brown, beans and toast or have a half a slice under the egg.

If you don't like breakfast that is OK but avoid hunting a carby snack before lunch. Try to have a small salad a hard boiled egg or some nuts as a snack if needed.

I like smoked salmon and cream cheese on a slice of bread. I buy from M and S as its convenient and I buy the thinly sliced for preference. I still like potatoes! I went to a new restaurant this week that only sells steak plus sides of brown butter mash or chips greens or spinach. I checked before I went and found less carbs in chips than the mash. I only ate a third of the chips but I enjoyed them! In the summer I had a few new potatoes in their skins with a piece of salmon. Some items are much higher carb than you would imagine.

I'm sure running after your daughter in a playground or pushing her on a swing will make you both feel good and it is exercise.

If you choose to eat something a bit high carb make the next meal smaller or low carb eg fish or meat and veg.

Eggs are always a good fall back. As we get to spring you will be spoilt for choice.

Don't rush.

 

[Alan44]

Hi @MamaBear4 and welcome to the forum.

You have had some good advice already, so all I will add is, with an hba1c of 42 there is absolutely no need to panic, just a few small lifestyle changes with diet, weight and exercise may be enough to get you on the right track.

Alan 😉