Newbie

[KIZZY]

Hi @KIZZY
Yes there’s lots of great advice here ,but if you have any questions, just ask here, you will get great advice, this forum helped me so much around 2.5 yrs ago when I was diagnosed T2
Regards
M.

Thankyou , help and advise here is better than any book

 

[KIZZY]

Hi @KIZZY I understand that you need to lose some weight, but that you have health problems that make it har to get exercise. Don't worry, it is possible to lose weight just by doing the same normal amount of activities that you already are doing. It works for over 50% of people, just by cutting down hard on the amount of sugary and starchy food eaten. Even without consciously cutting Calories.
Just cut the carbohydrates and replace them with more Protein and more traditional fats (not Vegetable Oil) by traditional I mean fatty fish, fatty cuts of meat, butter, double cream rather than milk, eggs, cheese. Cook with butter/ghee, or lard or coconut oil. Use Olive Oil on salads rather than rapeseed or sunflower or corn oils.
It is carbohydrates that make most people fat, especially if those carbs are mixed with seed oil fats in processed food. But natural fats mixed with protein don't have that effect - instead we lose weight, lower blood glucose, have more energy, feel less hungry plus lots of other benefits!

Wow , sounds complicated as always being told to watch fat intake and have skimmed this etc , might take me a while to get to grips with , really appreciate your help , Thankyou

 

[KIZZY]

Hear hear to taking your time - masterpieces are never created in a day!

Thankyou

 

[KIZZY]

Hello Kizzy, so good that you have joined the forum, and I hope we can help.

You certainly have a lot to deal with at the moment, so it is good that you are taking some steps to address the pre-diabetes.
If you can loose some weight, I'm sure that it will help with both the diabetes and the arthritis - but as many of us on the forum that is not always easy to do.

Some things you could try are cutting back on sweet things, reduce your starchy carb intake (e.g rice, pasta ,potatoes, bread and eat more leafy and veggies, opt for berries rather than high carb fruits.
If you have a look at some of the other postings by Newbies you will pick up many other hints and tips.

There is a lot to take in though, so take your time and maybe just change one or two things at a time.

Thankyou very much , my head is spinning a little but I’m so pleased to have joined the forum, you are such lovely people full of advise I so desperately need

 

[KIZZY]

Hello Kizzy, so good that you have joined the forum, and I hope we can help.

You certainly have a lot to deal with at the moment, so it is good that you are taking some steps to address the pre-diabetes.
If you can loose some weight, I'm sure that it will help with both the diabetes and the arthritis - but as many of us on the forum that is not always easy to do.

Some things you could try are cutting back on sweet things, reduce your starchy carb intake (e.g rice, pasta ,potatoes, bread and eat more leafy and veggies, opt for berries rather than high carb fruits.
If you have a look at some of the other postings by Newbies you will pick up many other hints and tips.

There is a lot to take in though, so take your time and maybe just change one or two things at a time.

Thankyou very much, yes a lot to take in but wow how lovely of you all to offer help, I’m taking it on board

 

[SB2015]

Welcome to the forum @KIZZY. Very pleased that you have found us.
You have had loads of advice already so I will just encourage you to fire away with any questions that you have.

 

[KIZZY]

Welcome to the forum @KIZZY. Very pleased that you have found us.
You have had loads of advice already so I will just encourage you to fire away with any questions that you have.

Thankyou, yes lots of good advise. I’m wondering when I’m looking at food how do I know how many carbs , sugar etc I can have in a portion, and somebody suggested whole milk , cream , I’ve been using skimmed milk for years thinking that was better, so at the mo I’m very confused, is there a list of cereals I can and can’t have , questions questions sorry

 

[everydayupsanddowns]

Welcome to the forum @KIZZY

It isn’t at all unusual to feel anxious and a little overwhelmed by a diagnosis of diabetes - but take heart ‘prediabetes’ isn’t so much a formal diagnosis as a warning sign that your metabolism is beginning to struggle a little with the modern western diet.

With a few small manageable changes there is every possibility that you can reduce your blood glucose levels and avoid a formal diagnosis of diabetes altogether.

As others have suggested this will most likely involve slightly reducing the amount of carbohydrate in your meals (how much will depend on your individual body, as well as how much carbohydrate you are generally eating at the moment). Many people find a very useful first step is to keep a ruthlessly honest food diary for a week - noting all meals and snacks, along with an estimate of how much total carbohydrate (not just sugars) are in each. This can really help you see which meals are most likely to be raising your BG levels the most.

There are books/apps like ‘carbs and cals’ which can help in the estimation of carbs. Plus the nutritional info panels on packets etc. A set of scales is very handy - including weighing portions as you cook or serve them (depending on whether the info you have on packets measures carbs in cooked or raw foods. Carbs and cals also has photos of plates of various portion sizes, which can be accurate enough for an estimate. It may feel like a bit of a faff to start with, but in the long term the information will be a crucial BG management tool.

Do ask away with any questions you have as you go along, and keep us posted with how things are going 🙂

 

[KIZZY]

Welcome to the forum @KIZZY

It isn’t at all unusual to feel anxious and a little overwhelmed by a diagnosis of diabetes - but take heart ‘prediabetes’ isn’t so much a formal diagnosis as a warning sign that your metabolism is beginning to struggle a little with the modern western diet.

With a few small manageable changes there is every possibility that you can reduce your blood glucose levels and avoid a formal diagnosis of diabetes altogether.

As others have suggested this will most likely involve slightly reducing the amount of carbohydrate in your meals (how much will depend on your individual body, as well as how much carbohydrate you are generally eating at the moment). Many people find a very useful first step is to keep a ruthlessly honest food diary for a week - noting all meals and snacks, along with an estimate of how much total carbohydrate (not just sugars) are in each. This can really help you see which meals are most likely to be raising your BG levels the most.

There are books/apps like ‘carbs and cals’ which can help in the estimation of carbs. Plus the nutritional info panels on packets etc. A set of scales is very handy - including weighing portions as you cook or serve them (depending on whether the info you have on packets measures carbs in cooked or raw foods. Carbs and cals also has photos of plates of various portion sizes, which can be accurate enough for an estimate. It may feel like a bit of a faff to start with, but in the long term the information will be a crucial BG management tool.

Do ask away with any questions you have as you go along, and keep us posted with how things are going 🙂

Hi, and Thankyou for your help and advise,I don’t know anything atall as I didn’t even manage to speak to a doctor , I was told I’m prediabetic and they would keep an eye on me , by way of a blood test in 6 months , I actually thought I was about to be told I WAS diabetic as they said my results were high the week before before my fasting blood test.so I didn’t write Down what my levels were so I’m going to have to phone again and ask. But other than that get on with it so apart from cutting down carbs and sugar I’ve no idea how many carbs a day I’m allowed , I’m looking on food labels but they don’t mean anything st the mo, I’ll look for the app you’ve suggested and would it be a good idea to get a BG testing monitor and are they easy, Thankyou again

 

[Ditto]

Hello @KIZZY 🙂

 

[everydayupsanddowns]

I’ve no idea how many carbs a day I’m allowed

Unfortunately there is no one magic number that works for everyone, because everyone has different tolerances. Many people find that 100-130g of carbs spread throughout the day is about right, but some need to cut back much further, while others can eat more!

To begin with I suggest you start looking for the biggest carb loads in your day - maybe swap breakfast cereal for full fat greek yoghurt and some berries, or something based around eggs with perhaps one slice of seedy toast (lower carb breads like Burgen are 12g a slice rather than 20g of carbs a slice).

For main meals have a smaller portion of whatever the carbs are (1-2 fewer spoonfuls of rice or pasta, a couple fewer spuds etc), and more sauce / leafy veg / meat etc?

 

[KIZZY]

Unfortunately there is no one magic number that works for everyone, because everyone has different tolerances. Many people find that 100-130g of carbs spread throughout the day is about right, bit some need to cut back much further, while others can eat more!

To begin with I suggest you start looking for the biggest carb loads in your day - maybe swap breakfast cereal for full fat greek yoghurt and some berries, or something based around eggs with perhaps one slice of seedy toast (lower carb breads like Burgen are 12g a slice rather than 20g of carbs a slice).

For main meals have a smaller portion of whatever the carbs are (1-2 fewer spoonfuls of rice or pasta, a couple fewer spuds etc), and more sauce / leafy veg / meat etc?

Thankyou , that’s great advise , I’ve reduced my carbs and sugar foods and will continue to look at what I can have as will be almost a complete change of diet

 

[KIZZY]

Rather than think of exercise as such , think of activity. Can you walk around the house, do bit of housework? There are also exercise you can do sitting.

sorry I didn’t reply, I tried to find your post and couldn’t. I can walk a small amount so will be trying as hard as I can, I really want this to work, Thankyou for advise and tips

 

[grovesy]

sorry I didn’t reply, I tried to find your post and couldn’t. I can walk a small amount so will be trying as hard as I can, I really want this to work, Thankyou for advise and tips

No problem.