Newbie

[ANNIE1625506014]

Hi all,
I am type 2 and struggling with the whole thing, especially food. Any help and advice will be greatly appreciated.
Thankyou
Annie
Northern Ireland

 

[Leadinglights]

Welcome to the forum.
What you need to be doing depends on where you are on the diabetes scale and what medications you may be taking.
Your HbA1C result will tell you where you are and therefore how much work you need to do.
The threshold is 48mmol/mol so if only just over that then some modest changes may be all that is needed.
Reducing carbohydrates in your diet as it is all carbs that convert to glucose but the big hitters are not just the obvious cakes, biscuits and sugary drinks including fruit juice but potatoes, bread, rice, pasta, pastry, tropical fruits and breakfast cereals. It may sound as if there is nothing you can eat but basing meals on meat, fish, eggs, cheese, dairy, vegetables, salads and fruit like berries with only small portions of the high carb foods.
It does not mean you can have NO carbs but modifying your intake.
This link may help you with some ideas. https://lowcarbfreshwell.co.uk/
Many people do find low carb successful but others choose low calorie, or shakes based regime to give them a kick start if quite a long way in the diabetic zone and they need to lose weight.
The important thing is to find a approach which suits you, which you enjoy and is sustainable long term.
Do come back with any questions you have but a bit more about your diagnosis will help people make suggestions.
You could also look at the Learning Zone (orange tab at the top) as there is lots of info there.

 

[Inka]

Welcome @ANNIE1625506014 🙂 Are you on any meds for the diabetes? How can we help best with food advice? What’s your current diet like?

 

[everydayupsanddowns]

Welcome to the forum @ANNIE1625506014

Sorry to hear you have been struggling

How long have you been living with diabetes? It’s perfectly natural to be knocked a bit sideways by a diagnosis of diabetes, and fir some people that sense of being in a whirlwind can continue for years.

Diabetes is serious, but it’s also a condition that can generally be managed very effectively with a few changes and adaptations to your menu, and perhaps the support of some meds if you need them. It’s something that you can learn to live well with, and it shouldn’t stop you doing things you enjoy. In fact, many members here have later reflected that their diagnosis became a sort of catalyst which prompted them to make positive changes towards a healthier and more active life. Perhaps changes that they had been intending to make for years.

Often you don’t realise how weary, worn down and lethargic you have been feeling. Erratic and elevated blood glucose levels can be exhausting and are linked with low mood, but this may have come on quite gradually. Making a few positive changes can give you more energy, a clearer mind, and a brighter outlook. Plus the regular checks you get after a diagnosis with diabetes mean that any potential problems may be spotted earlier, and can be sorted out sooner.

Tell us a bit more about yourself, and any things that you are finding particularly tough at the moment, and folks will be able to share their own experiences. Feel free to be as open and honest as you like. You are among friends here, and people here instinctively ‘get’ how tough diabetes can be. No one here has it all sorted - we are just all muddling through as best we can.

 

[ANNIE1625506014]

Welcome to the forum.
What you need to be doing depends on where you are on the diabetes scale and what medications you may be taking.
Your HbA1C result will tell you where you are and therefore how much work you need to do.
The threshold is 48mmol/mol so if only just over that then some modest changes may be all that is needed.
Reducing carbohydrates in your diet as it is all carbs that convert to glucose but the big hitters are not just the obvious cakes, biscuits and sugary drinks including fruit juice but potatoes, bread, rice, pasta, pastry, tropical fruits and breakfast cereals. It may sound as if there is nothing you can eat but basing meals on meat, fish, eggs, cheese, dairy, vegetables, salads and fruit like berries with only small portions of the high carb foods.
It does not mean you can have NO carbs but modifying your intake.
This link may help you with some ideas. https://lowcarbfreshwell.co.uk/
Many people do find low carb successful but others choose low calorie, or shakes based regime to give them a kick start if quite a long way in the diabetic zone and they need to lose weight.
The important thing is to find a approach which suits you, which you enjoy and is sustainable long term.
Do come back with any questions you have but a bit more about your diagnosis will help people make suggestions.
You could also look at the Learning Zone (orange tab at the top) as there is lots of info there.

Hi and thankyou for your response. My HbA1Cresult was down a little but I put that purely down to the medication, I was on Metformin since being diagnosed but was recently changed to Rybelsus (Semaglutide) because of side effects. Carbs are definately my downfall, it's "comfort food", it's a "go-to", it's a "staple" food group (to me)
I didn't know that I could do the shakes as a "kick-start", and I think that I would find these very helpful asonce I would see a difference on the scales it would be a huge motivation.
I will also check out the website, thankyou x

 

[ANNIE1625506014]

Welcome @ANNIE1625506014 🙂 Are you on any meds for the diabetes? How can we help best with food advice? What’s your current diet like?

Hi, thankyou for your response.
I am currently on Rebelsus (Semaglutide) 3mg and my diet is attrocious, I know I should be changing it but the more I think about it the worse it gets. A vicious circle that I will have to change. Carbs are my downfall, you wouldn't think that one wee word could cause a person so much trouble but in my case it's comfort food.

 

[Leadinglights]

Hi and thankyou for your response. My HbA1Cresult was down a little but I put that purely down to the medication, I was on Metformin since being diagnosed but was recently changed to Rybelsus (Semaglutide) because of side effects. Carbs are definately my downfall, it's "comfort food", it's a "go-to", it's a "staple" food group (to me)
I didn't know that I could do the shakes as a "kick-start", and I think that I would find these very helpful asonce I would see a difference on the scales it would be a huge motivation.
I will also check out the website, thankyou x

I suppose everybody's 'comfort' food is something different. Mine is nuts and cheese, so perfectly fine on a low carb regime.
Some surgeries support a shakes based program and there are a few people here who have found them very successful but depending on the medication you may need to be careful but you could ask your diabetic nurse for advice about whether they would be suitable.

 

[ANNIE1625506014]

Welcome to the forum @ANNIE1625506014

Sorry to hear you have been struggling

How long have you been living with diabetes? It’s perfectly natural to be knocked a bit sideways by a diagnosis of diabetes, and fir some people that sense of being in a whirlwind can continue for years.

Diabetes is serious, but it’s also a condition that can generally be managed very effectively with a few changes and adaptations to your menu, and perhaps the support of some meds if you need them. It’s something that you can learn to live well with, and it shouldn’t stop you doing things you enjoy. In fact, many members here have later reflected that their diagnosis became a sort of catalyst which prompted them to make positive changes towards a healthier and more active life. Perhaps changes that they had been intending to make for years.

Often you don’t realise how weary, worn down and lethargic you have been feeling. Erratic and elevated blood glucose levels can be exhausting and are linked with low mood, but this may have come on quite gradually. Making a few positive changes can give you more energy, a clearer mind, and a brighter outlook. Plus the regular checks you get after a diagnosis with diabetes mean that any potential problems may be spotted earlier, and can be sorted out sooner.

Tell us a bit more about yourself, and any things that you are finding particularly tough at the moment, and folks will be able to share their own experiences. Feel free to be as open and honest as you like. You are among friends here, and people here instinctively ‘get’ how tough diabetes can be. No one here has it all sorted - we are just all muddling through as best we can.

Hi and thankyou for your response.
I was diagnosed last year and am still fighting against it all the way, I did do the Keto thing for a while although not really strict and lost some weight but couldn't stick at it and regained the weight. This in turn made me feel totally useless which sent me right back to comfort eating and carbs. I am deternined to get a grip on it all though especially as my dentist informed me today that a side effect to my diabetes was problems with teeth and gums, and I have some gum dicease which has caused bone loss and will lead to me losing the tooth and probably more of them as time goes by.
That really shocked my and hit hard as even though I have read about side effects, this is the first one I have been touched my personally and it home just how serious this thing can be -- a good kick up the backside was needed and the dentist gave me mine.

 

[ANNIE1625506014]

I suppose everybody's 'comfort' food is something different. Mine is nuts and cheese, so perfectly fine on a low carb regime.
Some surgeries support a shakes based program and there are a few people here who have found them very successful but depending on the medication you may need to be careful but you could ask your diabetic nurse for advice about whether they would be suitable.

Thankyou for that, I will ask about them when I next speak to her.
I'm not a cheese person and the only nuts I have are salted peanuts which I don't think they reccomend

 

[Leadinglights]

Hi and thankyou for your response.
I was diagnosed last year and am still fighting against it all the way, I did do the Keto thing for a while although not really strict and lost some weight but couldn't stick at it and regained the weight. This in turn made me feel totally useless which sent me right back to comfort eating and carbs. I am deternined to get a grip on it all though especially as my dentist informed me today that a side effect to my diabetes was problems with teeth and gums, and I have some gum dicease which has caused bone loss and will lead to me losing the tooth and probably more of them as time goes by.
That really shocked my and hit hard as even though I have read about side effects, this is the first one I have been touched my personally and it home just how serious this thing can be -- a good kick up the backside was needed and the dentist gave me mine.

Keto suits some people but it is quite a hard regime to sustain long term but low carb is a lot more manageable, the suggested amount of carbs per day is no more than 130g. Many people find it helpful to keep an honest food diary of everything they eat and drink and estimate the amount of carbs so you can see where your starting point is in reducing them.
It is also better to reduce carbs gradually as otherwise some people can get issues with their eyes and nerves. So reducing by one third for a couple of weeks then another third for a couple of weeks and so on until you get to where you need to be.
Some people find having a home testing glucose monitor helps them make better food choices as they can identify which foods are a problem because they are high carb.