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Please Remember: Members are only permitted to share their own experiences. Members are not qualified to give medical advice. Additionally, everyone manages their health differently. Please be respectful of other people's opinions about their own diabetes management.
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- Thread starter Rosie81
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rebrascora
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- Type 1
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Hi Rosie and welcome.
Since your partner is prediabetic, some simple dietary and lifestyle changes now will hopefully head off a future full blown diagnosis.
If you are not aware, carbohydrates are the problem, so starchy foods and well as sugary ones need to be reduced. That means smaller portions of bread, rice, pasta, noodles, couscous, potatoes, breakfast cereals as well as the obvious cakes, biscuits and sweets. Wine or spirits is a better option than beer or cider if he/she likes a drink.
Surprisingly, eating more fat will help to keep them from feeling hungry as a result of the reduced portion size. There is a growing wave of scientific opinion that the low fat advice we have been given all out lives was based on flawed data and that eating a low fat diet may well have been at least partially responsible for the diabetes epidemic we are now experiencing, so many of us happily follow a low carb higher fat way of eating which is sustainable because the fat makes it enjoyable and since any changes need to be for life, enjoying our food and not feeling deprived is important in maintaining those changes.
Eating lots of leafy veg is a good choice but feel free to sweat your cabbage in a little butter or bacon fat and indulge in cauliflower cheese as often as you like and spinach with a good dollop of cream cheese is lovely. Meat and fish and seafood and eggs are also good if you are not vegetarians. Just go steady on the starchy and sweet stuff (including fruit, fruit juice and smoothies) and hopefully levels will soon be back into the normal range.
If you want ideas for specific meals shout up or visit our "What did you eat yesterday?" thread.
Increasing physical activity levels is another important aspect of Blood Glucose management and incorporating something like a brisk walk or a spot of gardening into your daily routine will help too.
Many people on this forum self fund a BG meter as this enables them to see how each meal affects their Blood Glucose levels and tailor their diet to their own body's tolerance of carbs, as it can be quite an individual response, due to variations in metabolism and gut biome etc. They are relatively inexpensive to buy @ approx. £15 for the meter but the on going cost of test strips can tot the costs up and for that reason we recommend getting one with the cheapest test strips. For that reason the SD Gluco Navii or the Spirit Health TEE2 are promoted by members here as the test strips are £8 for a pot of 50 as oppose to £15-£25 for some other meters.
Being prediabetic, they might feel it is overkill to get a meter, but it can be quite motivating when you can actually see daily results rather than waiting for a blood test at the docs in 3/6/12 months time to maybe find that you haven't cut back enough and the result is disappointing.
Hope I haven't overloaded you with too much info in an opening post.... but probably have!!! Sorry!
Since your partner is prediabetic, some simple dietary and lifestyle changes now will hopefully head off a future full blown diagnosis.
If you are not aware, carbohydrates are the problem, so starchy foods and well as sugary ones need to be reduced. That means smaller portions of bread, rice, pasta, noodles, couscous, potatoes, breakfast cereals as well as the obvious cakes, biscuits and sweets. Wine or spirits is a better option than beer or cider if he/she likes a drink.
Surprisingly, eating more fat will help to keep them from feeling hungry as a result of the reduced portion size. There is a growing wave of scientific opinion that the low fat advice we have been given all out lives was based on flawed data and that eating a low fat diet may well have been at least partially responsible for the diabetes epidemic we are now experiencing, so many of us happily follow a low carb higher fat way of eating which is sustainable because the fat makes it enjoyable and since any changes need to be for life, enjoying our food and not feeling deprived is important in maintaining those changes.
Eating lots of leafy veg is a good choice but feel free to sweat your cabbage in a little butter or bacon fat and indulge in cauliflower cheese as often as you like and spinach with a good dollop of cream cheese is lovely. Meat and fish and seafood and eggs are also good if you are not vegetarians. Just go steady on the starchy and sweet stuff (including fruit, fruit juice and smoothies) and hopefully levels will soon be back into the normal range.
If you want ideas for specific meals shout up or visit our "What did you eat yesterday?" thread.
Increasing physical activity levels is another important aspect of Blood Glucose management and incorporating something like a brisk walk or a spot of gardening into your daily routine will help too.
Many people on this forum self fund a BG meter as this enables them to see how each meal affects their Blood Glucose levels and tailor their diet to their own body's tolerance of carbs, as it can be quite an individual response, due to variations in metabolism and gut biome etc. They are relatively inexpensive to buy @ approx. £15 for the meter but the on going cost of test strips can tot the costs up and for that reason we recommend getting one with the cheapest test strips. For that reason the SD Gluco Navii or the Spirit Health TEE2 are promoted by members here as the test strips are £8 for a pot of 50 as oppose to £15-£25 for some other meters.
Being prediabetic, they might feel it is overkill to get a meter, but it can be quite motivating when you can actually see daily results rather than waiting for a blood test at the docs in 3/6/12 months time to maybe find that you haven't cut back enough and the result is disappointing.
Hope I haven't overloaded you with too much info in an opening post.... but probably have!!! Sorry!
- Relationship to Diabetes
- Type 1
- Pronouns
- He/Him
Welcome to the forum @Rosie81
We have lots of experienced, friendly folks here who can offer their experiences and support.
We have lots of success stories of people with a new diagnosis of diabetes, or who like your husband, have been told that they are at increased risk of diabetes, and have been able to manage their condition, or turn things around.
Reducing the amount of carbs in the diet (not just sugary things, but all carbs) seems to be the most reliable strategy employed by forum members in your husband’s postion. But the precise amount of reduction varies considerably from person to person. from quite modest adjustments... to more significant changes.
This is why a BG meter is often suggested by forum members - because it allows you to start where you are, understand what effect your current meals have on his BG and then make changes towards more even and less ‘spiky’ BGs.
Good luck, and let us know how you are getting on.
We have lots of experienced, friendly folks here who can offer their experiences and support.
We have lots of success stories of people with a new diagnosis of diabetes, or who like your husband, have been told that they are at increased risk of diabetes, and have been able to manage their condition, or turn things around.
Reducing the amount of carbs in the diet (not just sugary things, but all carbs) seems to be the most reliable strategy employed by forum members in your husband’s postion. But the precise amount of reduction varies considerably from person to person. from quite modest adjustments... to more significant changes.
This is why a BG meter is often suggested by forum members - because it allows you to start where you are, understand what effect your current meals have on his BG and then make changes towards more even and less ‘spiky’ BGs.
Good luck, and let us know how you are getting on.
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