Newly diagnosed type 2

[Janetk]

Hello everyone, I’ve just been diagnosed this week and started on metformin, I’m 63 years of age I’m feeling very confused at the moment trying to navigate my way round food etc! Have quite a bit of weight to lose ‍♀️ so working on that as well! All a bit overwhelming

 

[Inka]

Welcome @Janetk 🙂 It’s very normal to feel overwhelmed. You’ll get lots of support here from people who understand. Don’t be afraid to ask anything you want. You might also want to look at the Learning Zone (orange tab at the top of this page).

 

[Janetk]

Hi Thankyou I will take a look at the learning zone tab it’s nice to have somewhere to ask questions

 

[Leadinglights]

Hi Thankyou I will take a look at the learning zone tab it’s nice to have somewhere to ask questions

Have a look at some of the posts from newly diagnosed as there are suggestions there for what foods to avoid or go easy on.
There are a number of different approaches people choose to take, low carbohydrate being no more than 130g per day total carbs, low calorie, or shakes-based regimes but people need to choose a way which is enjoyable otherwise it will not be sustainable. What way is suitable may also depend on how high your HbA1C is so where you are in the diabetes zone and if you have been prescribed any medication.
If you would like to post that information that would help people make appropriate suggestions.
Remember it is all carbohydrates which convert to glucose so reducing those in your diet is important. Potatoes, rice, pasta, bread, breakfast cereals, pasty, tropical fruits as well as cakes, biscuits, sugary drinks including fruit juice are all big hitters.
Basing meals on meat, fish, eggs, cheese, dairy, nuts, veg, salads and fruit like berries will still give options for tasty filling meals.

 

[Janetk]

Have a look at some of the posts from newly diagnosed as there are suggestions there for what foods to avoid or go easy on.
There are a number of different approaches people choose to take, low carbohydrate being no more than 130g per day total carbs, low calorie, or shakes-based regimes but people need to choose a way which is enjoyable otherwise it will not be sustainable. What way is suitable may also depend on how high your HbA1C is so where you are in the diabetes zone and if you have been prescribed any medication.
If you would like to post that information that would help people make appropriate suggestions.
Remember it is all carbohydrates which convert to glucose so reducing those in your diet is important. Potatoes, rice, pasta, bread, breakfast cereals, pasty, tropical fruits as well as cakes, biscuits, sugary drinks including fruit juice are all big hitters.
Basing meals on meat, fish, eggs, cheese, dairy, nuts, veg, salads and fruit like berries will still give options for tasty filling meals.

Hi Thankyou, yes I’m trying to cut carbs down, I have changed. Bread to wholemeal sourdough with rye? I’ve been started on metformin 500mg a day, which seem to have taken my appetite away! My hba1 was 54

 

[Docb]

Hi @Janetk. A couple of things you might bear in mind....

You are not a long way over the diagnosis limit so, loosing the weight and making a few changes in your diet without doing any thing drastic could well get things back under control.

The thing to work on in your diet is reducing carbohydrate intake. I'm not one for the extreme stuff, keto and all that, but you can get your carb intake down simply by being a bit more aware and taking with a pinch of salt (not literally) a lot of the "healthy eating" food advice out there.

I will set you a little test. Find out how much carbohydrate is in the "wholemeal sourdough with rye" bread and compare it with the bread you used to eat. I would suspect that they will not be very different.

 

[Janetk]

Hi @Janetk. A couple of things you might bear in mind....

You are not a long way over the diagnosis limit so, loosing the weight and making a few changes in your diet without doing any thing drastic could well get things back under control.

The thing to work on in your diet is reducing carbohydrate intake. I'm not one for the extreme stuff, keto and all that, but you can get your carb intake down simply by being a bit more aware and taking with a pinch of salt (not literally) a lot of the "healthy eating" food advice out there.

I will set you a little test. Find out how much carbohydrate is in the "wholemeal sourdough with rye" bread and compare it with the bread you used to eat. I would suspect that they will not be very different.

Hi Thankyou very good advice, you were right there’s not much difference in the carbs in sour dough to my usual wholemeal but I do find it more filling. The other thing is I do like yoghurts but now get told they not suitable

 

[Drummer]

Hi Thankyou very good advice, you were right there’s not much difference in the carbs in sour dough to my usual wholemeal but I do find it more filling. The other thing is I do like yoghurts but now get told they not suitable

Yoghurt is just fine - plain, full fat - usually Greek style is the one to look for, then you can add in flavours if that is what you prefer - make a frothy dessert with gelatine or sugar free jelly, even do a trifle with almond sponge, low carb fruit, real custard, cream - I make cheese waffles, aka 'chaffles' rather than try to make a low carb bread for everyday use. I do have recipes for bread which I can eat from time to time, but I can resist anything but temptation, it really does have to be limited in order to prevent the old pathways being restored and my blood glucose and weight going up.

 

[Leadinglights]

Hi Thankyou very good advice, you were right there’s not much difference in the carbs in sour dough to my usual wholemeal but I do find it more filling. The other thing is I do like yoghurts but now get told they not suitable

Yoghurt is very suitable and many find that full fat Greek yoghurt with some berries is a breakfast staple.
The high protein yoghurts are low carb as is the Kvarg deserts which is a quark based product.
The ones to avoid are ones with added fruit or ones like fruit corners which are pretty high carb by comparison.

 

[Janetk]

Yoghurt is very suitable and many find that full fat Greek yoghurt with some berries is a breakfast staple.
The high protein yoghurts are low carb as is the Kvarg deserts which is a quark based product.
The ones to avoid are ones with added fruit or ones like fruit corners which are pretty high carb by comparison.

Thankyou, I do normally go for Greek yoghurt with some fruit in but fat free normally as I’m on low fat diet as well, I will have to check carb content on the others I buy like corners as they my favourite

 

[Janetk]

Yoghurt is just fine - plain, full fat - usually Greek style is the one to look for, then you can add in flavours if that is what you prefer - make a frothy dessert with gelatine or sugar free jelly, even do a trifle with almond sponge, low carb fruit, real custard, cream - I make cheese waffles, aka 'chaffles' rather than try to make a low carb bread for everyday use. I do have recipes for bread which I can eat from time to time, but I can resist anything but temptation, it really does have to be limited in order to prevent the old pathways being restored and my blood glucose and weight going up.

Thankyou sone good ideas for desserts! Yes it’s very easy to slip back into old ways!

 

[Leadinglights]

Thankyou, I do normally go for Greek yoghurt with some fruit in but fat free normally as I’m on low fat diet as well, I will have to check carb content on the others I buy like corners as they my favourite

I just think the full fat tastes better but if you have to be considering needed low fat for other reasons other than your diabetes but do check the carb content as some are as much at 16-20g per pot as opposed to half than for the protein ones which are also low fat.

 

[everydayupsanddowns]

Hi Thankyou very good advice, you were right there’s not much difference in the carbs in sour dough to my usual wholemeal but I do find it more filling. The other thing is I do like yoghurts but now get told they not suitable

Switching to a variety of bread that you find more filling can really help as It allows you to halve the number of slices you may have had. The rye and majorly seeded versions do that for me.

I find a single slice of toast, and a one slice sandwich lunch work well for me these days, and that’s half the bread carbs I would have had with a less sustaining variety 🙂