Newbie confused

[Guinealady]

Hi, I was diagnosed a few years ago and to be honest, have played about quite a bit with diets. Now, I need to get serious. Am T2D and never know what to eat for the best.

 

[Emmylou234]

Hi....I am newly diagnosed too and I am in the same situation as you and just as confused.... is keto the right way to go? I have no idea!

 

[Guinealady]

I found keto hard to maintain. Also have high cholesterol too

 

[Emmylou234]

I found keto hard to maintain. Also have high cholesterol too

I have high cholesterol too....I haven't tried keto though ....I am working in doing loads if research at the moment as to where to start and thinking even a cut down on cards would be a good start! I really miss chocolate though!

 

[ianf0ster]

Hi, the majority of T2 Diabetics don't need to go as far as Keto in order to put their diabetes into remission, lose weight, reduce Blood Pressure etc. Low carb (eating to your meter) will do it very nicely and for many even without 'dieting' or doing more than the NHS advised 30 min brisk walk 5 days per week.
Remember that starch veg like potato. parsnip, carrot and grains (even whole grains) and tropical fruit are packed with carbs - it's not just the sugary sweet stuff.

 

[Emmylou234]

Hi, the majority of T2 Diabetics don't need to go as far as Keto in order to put their diabetes into remission, lose weight, reduce Blood Pressure etc. Low carb (eating to your meter) will do it very nicely and for many even without 'dieting' or doing more than the NHS advised 30 min brisk walk 5 days per week.
Remember that starch veg like potato. parsnip, carrot and grains (even whole grains) and tropical fruit are packed with carbs - it's not just the sugary sweet stuff.

That makes sense..thankyou...I do want to ask though where you said low carbon and eating to your meter....what does that mean and how do I find out how many cards I should be eating to lose weight??

 

[Leadinglights]

You may both find this link useful for some ideas of implementing a low carbohydrate dietary regime. https://lowcarbfreshwell.co.uk/
It is unwise to cut carbs too quickly as it can cause eye and nerve issues from a sudden drop in blood glucose levels.

 

[Leadinglights]

That makes sense..thankyou...I do want to ask though where you said low carbon and eating to your meter....what does that mean and how do I find out how many cards I should be eating to lose weight??

Many people buy a home blood glucose monitor so they can test the effect their meals have on their blood glucose level. The test before they eat and after 2 hours and if the increase is more than 2-3mmol/l then the meal is too carb heavy, as levels come down then the post meal to aim at is no more than 8.5mmol/l
Before meals or fasting (morning ) levels ideally should be between 4 and 7mmol/l.
If people are doing a low carb approach then the maximum carbs per day would be 130g but many people do have less settling on somewhere between 50 and 100g Total carbs per day to enable them to maintain the blood glucose levels they want. The would usually determine what suits them by testing and eating to their monitor.
Most people who are TYpe 2 will not get a monitor prescribed and may even be discouraged from testing, so will self fund.
The monitor many use is the GlucoNavil as it has the cheapest test strips, available on line. Amazon or similar. You do not need to pay VAT.

 

[ianf0ster]

@Emmylou234 Just to add to what @Leadinglights just said, if you succeed in eating to your BG meter, then you will almost certainly put your T2 Diabetes into remission i.e. get normal BG levels again so long as you keep the carbohydrates down. They are the only food type which is not essential (protein s and Fats are essential meaning that our body can't make them from something else we eat).
Your weight, Blood Pressure, and any water retention problems are also likely to go back to normal - so any medication for those may need to be reduced. But weight loss on Low Carb isn't guaranteed since Low carb has no restriction on overall calories and it's possible to binge eat on fatty foods like cheese and nuts (both fine in moderation) and thus limit your weight loss.

 

[trophywench]

It's lowering your carbohydrate intake you need to do - hence the abbreviation we use for carbohydrate is carbs.

 

[Ditto]

Hello and welcome. 🙂

 

[Guinealady]

I bought some rye bread, is that better than normal bread?

 

[Leadinglights]

I bought some rye bread, is that better than normal bread?

I think it all depends on the bread as some rye bread can be quite heavy so a slice would weigh a lot more than a slice of normal bread so have more carbs. If it is pre-packaged check the Total carbs on the label if not then it would be a guess at how many carbs there would be.
Some people find it affects their blood glucose less than normal bread but you wouldn't know unless you are testing with a blood glucose monitor.

 

[everydayupsanddowns]

I bought some rye bread, is that better than normal bread?

That’s where having a BG meter is so handy @Guinealady

Taking a reading immediately before and again 2hrs after the first bite, and see what the BG rise is. If your BG goes up more than 2-3mmol/L from the first reading by the 2hr mark you can try a smaller portion, or you may find that you get a smaller BG rise at a different time of day (breakfast time is often trickiest).

Even if a food has a reputation for being good, bad or indifferent BG-wise on average, what really matters is how it responds for you as an individual 🙂

Welcome to the forum 🙂

 

[ZiggyMoon]

Hi, the majority of T2 Diabetics don't need to go as far as Keto in order to put their diabetes into remission, lose weight, reduce Blood Pressure etc. Low carb (eating to your meter) will do it very nicely and for many even without 'dieting' or doing more than the NHS advised 30 min brisk walk 5 days per week.
Remember that starch veg like potato. parsnip, carrot and grains (even whole grains) and tropical fruit are packed with carbs - it's not just the sugary sweet stuff.

Hello, can I ask what "eating to your meter" means please?
Thanks

 

[Leadinglights]

Hello, can I ask what "eating to your meter" means please?
Thanks

My interpretation is that if you test before you eat and after 2 hours and the increase is more than 2-3mmol/l that your meal was too carb heavy for your body to tolerate then you can modify your meal by either cutting out or reducing the portion size of the higher carb component, eventually you would want to see no more than 8.5mmol/l 2 hours post meal.
You are aiming at 4-7mmol/l pre meal or fasting (morning) as those ranges would be most likely to put your HbA1C in the normal zone.