Hello I am a recently diagnosed type 2 male aged 52.I am not over weight at 11 stone 3 lbs and 6 foot tall and am finding so much contradictory information about what to eat and what not to eat especially carbohydrates.Any one similar to me have any suggestions?
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- Thread starter Weasel
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Felinia
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- Type 2
Hello and welcome
No doubt you are wondering "why me - I'm not overweight?" Would you be happy to give us some further information, so we can best make suggestions? What was your HbA1c (the blood test result)? How did you come to be diagnosed - through symptoms, or during checks for something else? Have you been prescribed any medication for diabetes? Do you have any other medicated conditions?
As a rule of thumb, many Type 2 diabetics do respond well to a reduction in carbs, which includes bread, rice, potatoes, pasta, processed foods, bakery goods (biscuits, cakes, pies), sweets (sadly most chocolate), some fruits (berries are best, but tropical fruits are not good). I was told a portion size of fruit is 80gm. Your BMI is 21.3 which is at the lower end of the healthy range, so you don't need to lose any weight and you would need to eat more protein to balance the reduction in carbs. There is a section on the Forum for food and recipes, to give you ideas.
For example: my menu today was a grilled breakfast of bacon, mushrooms and a poached egg on a small slice of wholegrain toast; lunch was mackerel salad; dinner will be grilled pork chop with roasted Mediterranean vegetables, followed by 80gm stewed plums and a spoonful of Greek yogurt. It comes to 90gm carbs with my daily milk. Tomorrow I will probably have a similar breakfast, home made vegetable soup for lunch, and dinner will be some protein (chicken or fish) with cauliflower (my potato substitute) and mixed green vegetables. I aim to drink at least 4-5 pints of fluid a day, at least half of which is plain water, and the rest decaf tea or coffee.
Please feel free to ask as many questions as you have. I'm sure others will join in with further suggestions.
No doubt you are wondering "why me - I'm not overweight?" Would you be happy to give us some further information, so we can best make suggestions? What was your HbA1c (the blood test result)? How did you come to be diagnosed - through symptoms, or during checks for something else? Have you been prescribed any medication for diabetes? Do you have any other medicated conditions?
As a rule of thumb, many Type 2 diabetics do respond well to a reduction in carbs, which includes bread, rice, potatoes, pasta, processed foods, bakery goods (biscuits, cakes, pies), sweets (sadly most chocolate), some fruits (berries are best, but tropical fruits are not good). I was told a portion size of fruit is 80gm. Your BMI is 21.3 which is at the lower end of the healthy range, so you don't need to lose any weight and you would need to eat more protein to balance the reduction in carbs. There is a section on the Forum for food and recipes, to give you ideas.
For example: my menu today was a grilled breakfast of bacon, mushrooms and a poached egg on a small slice of wholegrain toast; lunch was mackerel salad; dinner will be grilled pork chop with roasted Mediterranean vegetables, followed by 80gm stewed plums and a spoonful of Greek yogurt. It comes to 90gm carbs with my daily milk. Tomorrow I will probably have a similar breakfast, home made vegetable soup for lunch, and dinner will be some protein (chicken or fish) with cauliflower (my potato substitute) and mixed green vegetables. I aim to drink at least 4-5 pints of fluid a day, at least half of which is plain water, and the rest decaf tea or coffee.
Please feel free to ask as many questions as you have. I'm sure others will join in with further suggestions.
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Welcome to the forum @Weasel
Sorry you’ve been caught in the contradictory flurry of opinions and suggestions. Not helpful for you!
Unfortunately I think it’s almost inevitable though, because different people respond differently to the same foods, and there is no ‘one size fits all’ approach that will work for everyone. You will have you own unique reaction and tolerance to different forms and sources of carbohydrate, and it’s no good making ‘healthy choices’ based on foods that your metabolism struggles with.
One of the biggest questions when trying to get to grips with your diabetes is often ‘what can I eat’ and while there are obvious things like cakes, biscuits, sweets and sugary drinks that you will want to cut out straight away, you might be surprised how much *all* carbohydrate affects your BG levels, including rice, pasta, potatoes, bread, pastry, grains, cereals and many fruits.
Many new members find it can be really helpful to keep a food diary for a week or two. Be brutally honest! Note down everything you eat and drink. And make a reasonable estimate the amount of total carbohydrate (not just ‘of which sugars’) in your meals and snacks. It might seem a bit of a faff, but beginning to get an idea of which foods are the main sources of carbs in your menu, and where else they are lurking in the corners really helps.
Once you’ve got some diary to look at, you’ll probably notice some ‘big hitters’ carb-wise. These are the meals which will most likely be raising your BG the most. And you may also spot some little nibbles and inconsequential extras here and there which really add up over the course of a day.
It’s not about avoiding all carbohydrate entirely (this isn’t really possible), but it’s about making some steady tweaks and changes to try to get your carbohydrate intake to balance with your body’s ability to cope, and your level of exercise/activity.
Good luck and keep asking questions 🙂
Sorry you’ve been caught in the contradictory flurry of opinions and suggestions. Not helpful for you!
Unfortunately I think it’s almost inevitable though, because different people respond differently to the same foods, and there is no ‘one size fits all’ approach that will work for everyone. You will have you own unique reaction and tolerance to different forms and sources of carbohydrate, and it’s no good making ‘healthy choices’ based on foods that your metabolism struggles with.
One of the biggest questions when trying to get to grips with your diabetes is often ‘what can I eat’ and while there are obvious things like cakes, biscuits, sweets and sugary drinks that you will want to cut out straight away, you might be surprised how much *all* carbohydrate affects your BG levels, including rice, pasta, potatoes, bread, pastry, grains, cereals and many fruits.
Many new members find it can be really helpful to keep a food diary for a week or two. Be brutally honest! Note down everything you eat and drink. And make a reasonable estimate the amount of total carbohydrate (not just ‘of which sugars’) in your meals and snacks. It might seem a bit of a faff, but beginning to get an idea of which foods are the main sources of carbs in your menu, and where else they are lurking in the corners really helps.
Once you’ve got some diary to look at, you’ll probably notice some ‘big hitters’ carb-wise. These are the meals which will most likely be raising your BG the most. And you may also spot some little nibbles and inconsequential extras here and there which really add up over the course of a day.
It’s not about avoiding all carbohydrate entirely (this isn’t really possible), but it’s about making some steady tweaks and changes to try to get your carbohydrate intake to balance with your body’s ability to cope, and your level of exercise/activity.
Good luck and keep asking questions 🙂
Thank you both for your responses.I have just had another blood test today.I cannot remember by original result but it was over 100.I am currently taking 4 metformin tablets 500my a day plus 1jardiance tablet 25 my a day.I am due to see the nurse when I get the results so I will let you know how I get on
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