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lsc-type2

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Type 2
Hi all

I was diagnosed with Diabetes, probably type 2, 5 weeks ago. It was picked up in the routine blood test when I when to check my uric acid levels for gout. I have spoken to a nurse and will return to get put on Metformin.

The first few days after being told, I felt pretty low and scared about food. I have always had a sweet tooth, so cakes and gummy sweets have been my downfall. I would happily eat a whole packet by myself whenever I could. I also love carbs!

My Mum had been pre-diabetic and through diet and exercise, she has dropped her BS levels out of the pre-diabetic range. I have followed the same principle. I have cut out all free sugar. I have the odd sweet thing in moderation and in small quantities. I am trying to exercise as much as I can when possible. I have also lost a total of 12 kgs. I am counting calories to reduce my food intake to continue to lose weight and it seems to be working.

The biggest question I have at the moment is Carbs. I am not sure what I should be and should not be eating. We are shifting from white rice to brown rice. the same for pasta. Is brown bread ok, or should it be a wholewheat seedy bread? I am now having Oats for breakfast, but I have seen that oats can spike blood sugars, so I am not sure anymore. Are Oats safe?
 
lsc-type2 said:
Hi all

I was diagnosed with Diabetes, probably type 2, 5 weeks ago. It was picked up in the routine blood test when I when to check my uric acid levels for gout. I have spoken to a nurse and will return to get put on Metformin.

The first few days after being told, I felt pretty low and scared about food. I have always had a sweet tooth, so cakes and gummy sweets have been my downfall. I would happily eat a whole packet by myself whenever I could. I also love carbs!

My Mum had been pre-diabetic and through diet and exercise, she has dropped her BS levels out of the pre-diabetic range. I have followed the same principle. I have cut out all free sugar. I have the odd sweet thing in moderation and in small quantities. I am trying to exercise as much as I can when possible. I have also lost a total of 12 kgs. I am counting calories to reduce my food intake to continue to lose weight and it seems to be working.

The biggest question I have at the moment is Carbs. I am not sure what I should be and should not be eating. We are shifting from white rice to brown rice. the same for pasta. Is brown bread ok, or should it be a wholewheat seedy bread? I am now having Oats for breakfast, but I have seen that oats can spike blood sugars, so I am not sure anymore. Are Oats safe?
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Welcome to the forum, you have done well to lose some weight and are on the right track.
Some people will choose a low carbohydrate approach and that is generally suggested as being no more than 130g total carbs per day not just sugar. That will mean reducing your intake of high carb foods, like bread, rice, pasta regardless of colour, potatoes, breakfast cereals, tropical fruits and the obvious cakes, biscuits, sweets, sugary drinks including fruit juice. You mention oats, some can tolerate then some can't.
Have a look at this link for some ideas for modifying your diet.
lowcarbfreshwell.co.uk

Freshwell Low Carb Project - Home

lowcarbfreshwell.co.uk lowcarbfreshwell.co.uk
How much work you need to do will depend on how high your HbA1C is and if it is very high then you may have been prescribed medication and that may make a difference also.
Many find having a home blood glucose monitor which can be bought on line (choose one with the cheapest test strips GlucoNavii or Spirit TEE2 are OK) can be very helpful in determining if you can for example, tolerate a portion of Oats.
 
lsc-type2 said:
The biggest question I have at the moment is Carbs. I am not sure what I should be and should not be eating. We are shifting from white rice to brown rice. the same for pasta. Is brown bread ok, or should it be a wholewheat seedy bread? I am now having Oats for breakfast, but I have seen that oats can spike blood sugars, so I am not sure anymore. Are Oats safe?
Click to expand...

Welcome to the forum @isc-type2

Sorry to hear about your diagnosis :(

Feeling overwhelmed and scared is perfectly normal in the beginning - but things do get easier!

It sounds like a simple question about carbs, but diabetes can be frustratingly fickle and individual, and what works (or doesn’t work!) for one person can’t be relied upon to behave the same for someone else. o_O

This downloadable booklet has some helpful general pointers
but members here find that not every suggestion or recipe works equally well for everyone. In a sense you have to find your own individual tolerance to different sources of carbs

There are the obvious things like cakes, biscuits, sweets and sugary drinks that you will want to cut out straight away, but you might be surprised how much *all* carbohydrate affects your BG levels, including rice, pasta, potatoes, bread, pastry, grains, cereals and many fruits. That doesn‘t mean you have to avoid all those things entirely - but reducing portion size, trying to find the sources of carbs that suit your body best (a BG meter can be very helpful for this) and looking for swaps and lower-carb alternatives to some staples can all really help.
 
Just wanted to say Hi- I'm recently diagnosed too so understand how over-whelming it can be.

I've got a food app on my phone (nutra check) and use that to carb count. I've found that really useful. I've also done the nhs on-line training- it was a bit dull but there were useful bits in there eg. white and brown bread have the same carbs.

I went the testing route - bought a finger prick monitor and a ton of test strips to work out how my body reacts to different foods as we are not all the same.

I've made some simple changes based on the test readings eg. my breakfast now is Ready Brek- my body just doesn't react and go high on it... but one piece of toast will make me high for 5 hours. Other people have a similar reaction to oats/porridge.

I have very limited time on a morning before work and just can't face the ultra low carb eggs and bacon that a lot of people suggest.

Finger prick testing is only a snapshot of where your sugar is now but I'll be having another HbA1c in 2 months and I'd expect it to be lower than my last as my finger pricks are down from 8.something three months ago to 5 or 6.something now.

You will find what works for you- it might just take you a while. Good luck.
 
Hello and welcome. Also congratulations to your mother for reducing her blood glucose, and the excellent start you have made. The posts above have suggested reducing total carbs, and given you a good idea what they should be. I too use NurtaCheck to daily monitor my carbs. I believe in moderation, not abstinence, so I will have one medium slice from a 400gm wholemeal loaf, with my boiled egg, or 2 small new potatoes with my meal. I get a sweet hit from frozen fruit - 80 gm is a portion and stick to one or two a day. You didn't say what your HbA1c was on diagnosis - that would be helpful. You need to know where you are starting from to monitor your progress. Best wishes.
 
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