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Newbie...

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Sherrystellatia01

New Member
Relationship to Diabetes
At risk of diabetes
Hi. I'm carolynn. I've recently been told I'm borderline type 2 diabetic...I would like to ask for any pointers in what food to eat/avoid...I've read bits but I just cant seem to get my head around it all...thankyou
 
Hi and welcome. I guess the place to start is... what do you eat now, and what kind of things do you enjoy? I think a simple place to start is adding more of the nutritious stuff to your plate like veg, meat, fish etc, and less of the emptier calories like pasta, bread, rice, especially the white varieties. It doesn’t mean cut them out entirely, more make gradual changes that you’ll be able to keep up.
 
Welcome to the forum @Sherrystellatia01

As @Lucyr suggests, a very helpful first step can be just to keep a food diary for a few weeks.

Be ruthlessly honest, and note down everything you eat, drink and nibble on.

It can be even more helpful to add in the total carbohydrate content alongside (not just ‘of which sugars’ because the body breaks down both complex carbs and simple sugars into glucose in the bloodstream).

This can feel like a bit of a faff, and will involve squinting at the back of packets, but it will really help you understand where the majority of carbs are located in your daily go-to meals and snacks. The highest carb loads can be a good starting point to look for swaps and changes, because it is those which will be raising your BG the most.

Good luck and let us know how you get on 🙂
 
Hello Carolynn and welcome to the Forum
Yes, a diagnosis is a bit of a shock, and can be confusing. Perhaps a simple biology lesson would help........

The simplest sugar you can get is glucose. If you join them up together you get larger, more complicated sugars, and if you join up enough of them, eventually they form larger molecules of carbohydrate and starch
When we eat carbohydrates they are broken down in the gut back into glucose, which then passes through the gut wall and is carried around the body by the bloodstream, and into our cells for further use
The transfer of glucose from the blood into the cells is carried out by the hormone insulin, which is made in the pancreas.
If we do not make enough insulin the glucose accumulates in the blood, and it is this accumulation that causes the problems we call diabetes
These problems include tiredness, thirst, and damage to the eyes, kidneys, and nerves
That's the reason we test our blood regularly for the glucose content

You can take medication to treat diabetes, but the best way to reduce the level of glucose in the blood is not to eat it in the first place
It is important to realise that all carbohydrates will cause higher levels of blood glucose, and not just the obviously sweet things
So that means we must reduce our consumption of bread, pies, pasta, rice, potatoes, as well as sweets, cakes & biscuits
Once you understand that, the changes & restrictions in the diet fall into place
It is confusing at first, but if you follow the meal plans & recipes on this forum/website and elsewhere, you'll get the hang of it, and it gets easier
Although there will be some advice from doctors, nurses and so on, you really need to do most of the control and management yourself

Nothing in the body happens in isolation, and various things are all connected - diabetes, weight, blood pressure, cholesterol levels, cardiovascular problems etc
Many people take a diagnosis as the motivation to change a few things - cutting out carbs obviously, but also a lot of fat, junk food, processed foods & meat, get more exercise, and so on; and increase the consumption of veg, oily fish, olive oil - all the healthy stuff we hear about!
In fact some people say they feel better with diabetes than before
A lot of this will work together; not eating a pizza, a pie, or a convenience meal will reduce the carb/pastry consumption, and also salt, sugar, and fat
 
Hi, I was told the same in August, I have now started eating a lower carb diet - no potatoes, rice, pasta and low carb bread. I did reduce levels a bit but no further blood test until March.
Some days I feel I am in control of things, other days I feel angry that I have caused this by eating the wrong things, and I think of all the things I used to eat that now will have to cut completely or very small amounts. I am still very much adjusting what I eat.
This forum has helped me come to terms with it all and find an alternative way of eating that I am actually finding ok at the moment but think Christmas will be hard with all the chocolates and cake that will be staring me in the face!
 
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