no medication

[Willpower]

New to T2 , been pre for over 10years.
Lapsed diet .probably too many choc biscuits, chocolate,and fruit juice.

Had too much over Christmas but generally, I am careful and do not eat big meals of any sort.

I could probably lose 5kg, but only weigh 56.4kg.

I am struggling to know what to eat, keep getting conflicting reports....I tackled pre-diabetes by just cutting down on sugar and had small portions of potatoes., ate all fresh fruit. I have had no personal diet suggested just told fresh fruit etc, which I know...but some people say you can have too much of that? I walk for as many times a week as poss, for at least 3/4 to 1 hour.I have no symptoms so it is hard to know what I should do.I am going for the same as before ie. no biscuits, chocolate, cake etc but I have no idea if that will sort it.We are all different so I am aware there is no "One suits all" .At the moment I am afraid of eating anything.For others like me who are not overweight what is the best food to avoid?

 

[ianf0ster]

Hi Willpower, Those of us who have got our T2 reversed into remission (on no medication) can tell you that the Government/NHS/GPs/DNs advice about what to eat when you have Type 2 Diabetes is just plain wrong and is likely to make a patient's T2 get worse rather than better.

We all have different metabolisms , gut biomes , tastes, other conditions, etc. but all Carbohydrates are suspect for us until shown otherwise.
This means that if you can afford to, it is strongly advised that you buy a cheap Blood Glucose Meter which uses cheap testing strips (the strips are the main cost since you need a lot of them - particularly at first). You then test just before a meal and then 1hr or 2hrs after 'first bite' to gauge how big an effect it's had on your Blood Glucose.

You want to aim for a 2 mmol rise (or less). If you get more than that either reduce the sugary or starchy food next time you eat that, or at the least reduce the portion size.

Two popular and cheap meters are the SD CodeFree and the Spirit TEE2. You should be able to get both the BG meter and an additional 50 test strips for around £20. I have no connection with either company other than as a customer.

 

[Toucan]

Hello and welcome to the forum,
It is certainly hard when you are first diagnosed, to know what to do for the best, and as you say there is no 'one size fits all'.
The 'what to eat' question has different answers for all of us.
Although you are not over-weight, it may be that you need to reduce your carb intake to bring your blood sugar levels down.

For me, as well as cutting out all the sugary things, I cut down on the carbs particularly the ‘white’ ones (white bread and flour,rice,pasta,etc ) and mainly eat fresh fish and poultry and have learned to love vegetables (although that took a while!). I also try to avoid to much processed food, and to include plenty of fibre some from the veg, plus seeds, nuts and pulses. There are many good recipes to make these things really tasty.
I only eat one portion of fresh fruit each day, and that is usually some blueberries, as although nutritious fruit is quite high in carbs, and I also avoid fruit juice as this is particularly high.

I would suggest reading Maggie Davey's letter, which gives a lot of information on how this lady approached the problem.
It is also helpful to self-test your blood sugar levels so that you can see how different foods affect you. There is information on this in the 'information for Newbies section', scroll down to the Type 2 area.
Also if you have a general browse around the forum you will find a lot of other thing that may help.
Please let us know how it goes, and come back and ask about anything you need help with.

 

[Willpower]

Hi Willpower, Those of us who have got our T2 reversed into remission (on no medication) can tell you that the Government/NHS/GPs/DNs advice about what to eat when you have Type 2 Diabetes is just plain wrong and is likely to make a patient's T2 get worse rather than better.

We all have different metabolisms , gut biomes , tastes, other conditions, etc. but all Carbohydrates are suspect for us until shown otherwise.
This means that if you can afford to, it is strongly advised that you buy a cheap Blood Glucose Meter which uses cheap testing strips (the strips are the main cost since you need a lot of them - particularly at first). You then test just before a meal and then 1hr or 2hrs after 'first bite' to gauge how big an effect it's had on your Blood Glucose.

You want to aim for a 2 mmol rise (or less). If you get more than that either reduce the sugary or starchy food next time you eat that, or at the least reduce the portion size.

Two popular and cheap meters are the SD CodeFree and the Spirit TEE2. You should be able to get both the BG meter and an additional 50 test strips for around £20. I have no connection with either company other than as a customer.

 

[Willpower]

 

[Willpower]

Many thanks for all the good advice....I have actually purchased a test pack ,blood sugar monitor but I have not yet set aside time to understand the results or what to do!! I hadn't given too much thought to rice and potatoes but on reflection, I have starting get a Chinese take away at least once a week, something I cut out for many years and I do like my chips !! So maybe I need to cut down on that sort of thing and try to get to grips with the blood monitor.Thank you .

 

[Willpower]

Many thanks, yes, I think I need to cut down on the Chinese and fish and chips!! Will try to get to "grips" with the blood tester kit.I also need to apologise if my replies pot wrongly, first time I've used messaging here.

 

[Toucan]

No problem, your message came through fine.
Yes, Chinese take-away can be full of sugary carbs, so best avoided, even although it is Chinese New Year.
Not sure if you like cooking, but if you do there are some simple look-alike recipes to cook yourself. I sometimes do a basic prawn stir fry which is quite tasty. I pack it with water-chestnuts which sort-of replaces rice or noodles.

Hope it goes Ok with setting up the blood monitor, let us know if you need any help.

 

[Willpower]

No problem, your message came through fine.
Yes, Chinese take-away can be full of sugary carbs, so best avoided, even although it is Chinese New Year.
Not sure if you like cooking, but if you do there are some simple look-alike recipes to cook yourself. I sometimes do a basic prawn stir fry which is quite tasty. I pack it with water-chestnuts which sort-of replaces rice or noodles.

Hope it goes Ok with setting up the blood monitor, let us know if you need any help.

Many thanks, I am very happy on prawn stir fry etc , I have just become vegetarian but that is why I am struggling to reduce Rice and potatoes I have bought cauliflower rice and naked noodles but they don't fill me up for long .I eat a wholemeal roll and some cheese when I get too hungry. I really don't yearn for any food but I need to sustain my energy and I am a very anxious person and it seems to sap all my energy very quickly.I just wish I could get this sorted because it is starting to take up far to much time!!

 

[Drummer]

Ah - vegetarian and vegan eaters are at a real disadvantage reducing their blood glucose levels, as they have few appetite suppressants in their menus.
There are low carb crackers you could try - they are something you need to make for yourself though.
I adapted to burning fat by reducing my carb intake and eating the fats which come with the meat and fish - I avoid bread and other grains, as they are just so high in carbohydrate.

 

[Willpower]

Yes, I have only been veggy for about 6months and have filled up with puddings and potatoes and oats but I am feeling hungry all the time with no meat and no potatoes and no bread!!!!and no wheat and no oats.....frankly I feel life is not going to be worth living anyway if i have to live hungry all the time.....maybe I will have to consider going back to some meat, although in principle I don't want to....?

 

[Drummer]

Its the carbs which cause the release of insulin, which stashes away the glucose as fat, and the drop in blood glucose levels makes you feel hungry.

 

[Willpower]

Its the carbs which cause the release of insulin, which stashes away the glucose as fat, and the drop in blood glucose levels make you feel hungry.

Yes, I am beginning to understand but if I did not eat any I would get stomach pain as I have had tablets which were wrongly prescribed 10 years ago, left me having to eat that sort of food to stop pain.so I am finding replacements hard.Sorry if my replies are all over the place, this is another thing I am not finding very easy!!

 

[everydayupsanddowns]

Yes, I have only been veggy for about 6months and have filled up with puddings and potatoes and oats but I am feeling hungry all the time with no meat and no potatoes and no bread!!!!and no wheat and no oats.....frankly I feel life is not going to be worth living anyway if i have to live hungry all the time.....maybe I will have to consider going back to some meat, although in principle I don't want to....?

Welcome to the forum @Willpower

We have a few veggie and vegan members, and it certainly can be done, though it might take some lateral thinking, depending on how your individual body reacts to different types and amounts of carb.

Everyone is individual and there’s no ‘one size fits all’ diets that works for everyone - So it’s a matter of looking at your current choices, making the obvious swaps (avoiding sweet and sugary stuff) and then examining different meals to see how your body responds by checking before and after the meal.

There’s a helpful framework for that described here: https://loraldiabetes.blogspot.com/2006/10/test-review-adjust.html

Many members find that they do well by reducing the amount of carbs they eat, and by swapping and changing types, but everyone is different, so you need to find your own tolerances for things like oats, pulses, fruits etc. People can also find that their tolerance to a particular food can be different at different times of day (breakfast time is usually trickiest). You might find that bread, for example, is OK as long as it’s wholemeal or seeded, or you might find it never seems to suit you.

As for Chinese... if you are making your own meals they will be fresher and you can just not put the amount of sugar in that is often found in commercial sauces or takeaways. You may also discover the delights of ‘cauli rice’ which is grated cauliflower, just steamed. It’s a pretty convincing substitute - and rice in cuisines like Chinese, Asian and Indian foods is only ever a bland filler to carry the sauce/dish. Cauli rice does the same job, but without the carb load. Alternatively some members find Basmati rice easier and just have a smaller portion

Good luck and let us know how you get on 🙂

 

[Brando77]

Hi Willpower, Those of us who have got our T2 reversed into remission (on no medication) can tell you that the Government/NHS/GPs/DNs advice about what to eat when you have Type 2 Diabetes is just plain wrong and is likely to make a patient's T2 get worse rather than better.

We all have different metabolisms , gut biomes , tastes, other conditions, etc. but all Carbohydrates are suspect for us until shown otherwise.
This means that if you can afford to, it is strongly advised that you buy a cheap Blood Glucose Meter which uses cheap testing strips (the strips are the main cost since you need a lot of them - particularly at first). You then test just before a meal and then 1hr or 2hrs after 'first bite' to gauge how big an effect it's had on your Blood Glucose.

You want to aim for a 2 mmol rise (or less). If you get more than that either reduce the sugary or starchy food next time you eat that, or at the least reduce the portion size.

Two popular and cheap meters are the SD CodeFree and the Spirit TEE2. You should be able to get both the BG meter and an additional 50 test strips for around £20. I have no connection with either company other than as a customer.

Exactamundo. Codefree was purchased straight after my Gliclazide was taken away (thank gawd) and test strips were taken off my prescription. It's the only tool in ya box to check how you're doing before your HbA1c.
Doctors tell you that you don't need one....I told my Diabetic nurse I still use one and she said "I would too" love her 🙂

 

[Willpower]

Welcome to the forum @Willpower

We have a few veggie and vegan members, and it certainly can be done, though it might take some lateral thinking, depending on how your individual body reacts to different types and amounts of carb.

Everyone is individual and there’s no ‘one size fits all’ diets that works for everyone - So it’s a matter of looking at your current choices, making the obvious swaps (avoiding sweet and sugary stuff) and then examining different meals to see how your body responds by checking before and after the meal.

There’s a helpful framework for that described here: https://loraldiabetes.blogspot.com/2006/10/test-review-adjust.html

That's more encouraging, thanks, I think I am perhaps panicking too much and reducing levels of a certain food may be better than cutting them out. My trouble definitely seemed to be after eating more cake, biscuits and chocolate as well as the Chinese! My blood sugar 2 years back was ok and it was the missed test that I did not realise had happened as blood was tested for other things as well....it was thinking all was ok that made me eat things I would not normally do.So maybe as you say I should reduce food I had no trouble with for years instead of cutting and leave out the unnatural sugar but include some fresh fruits I was ok on some fresh fruit before. I never eat huge amounts and do not crave sweet food so I hope this will do it. I have to reduce my A1c from around 7.5 down to an acceptable level in three months so I hope that will be achievable without pills so if that goes ok. I don't want to take pills if my body can do this naturally .Thanks for your help.

Many members find that they do well by reducing the amount of carbs they eat, and by swapping and changing types, but everyone is different, so you need to find your own tolerances for things like oats, pulses, fruits etc. People can also find that their tolerance to a particular food can be different at different times of day (breakfast time is usually trickiest). You might find that bread, for example, is OK as long as it’s wholemeal or seeded, or you might find it never seems to suit you.

As for Chinese... if you are making your own meals they will be fresher and you can just not put the amount of sugar in that is often found in commercial sauces or takeaways. You may also discover the delights of ‘cauli rice’ which is grated cauliflower, just steamed. It’s a pretty convincing substitute - and rice in cuisines like Chinese, Asian and Indian foods is only ever a bland filler to carry the sauce/dish. Cauli rice does the same job, but without the carb load. Alternatively some members find Basmati rice easier and just have a smaller portion

Good luck and let us know how you get on 🙂

 

[Toucan]

Hello Willpower
It sounds as if your getting things together, and it is good if you can take it gently and stop the panicky feelings.
It will help a lot if you can use your meter, and measure the effects of different foods. This way you can start to understand what does and doesn't cause spike in your blood glucose, and find out what is right for you. We all re-act differently to various foods, and the re-action can even vary with the time of day we eat things.
Be patient and take it steadily and your readings should gradually get better and you will have a 'what is right for you' eating plan.

 

[Willpower]

Hello Willpower
It sounds as if your getting things together, and it is good if you can take it gently and stop the panicky feelings.
It will help a lot if you can use your meter and measure the effects of different foods. This way you can start to understand what does and doesn't cause a spike in your blood glucose, and find out what is right for you. We all re-act differently to various foods, and the re-action can even vary with the time of day we eat things.
Be patient and take it steadily and your readings should gradually get better and you will have a 'what is right for you' eating plan.

Many thanks, I haven't used the home blood test yet .I party want to do what my body is telling me and the obvious things,no unnatural sugar, low carb and a bit if the right fat.If this doesn't check out I will have to test myself. I have
lost 1kg by adjusting diet (56.4kg now) and noticed things with my health that seem "different" already.I am not like most seem to be, I find morning and most of the day no problem, especially if
I am busy and on the move...love a walk if possible. Did nearly 2 miles yesterday, beautiful day. My difference is I can't go to bed hungry, and just a 1/2 glass of semi-skimmed milk...some cheese on 1/2 buttered wholemeal roll and 6 grapes would do it but I am not sure if that is bad ,for me it settles my hunger pangs and I sleep well .I used to have a bowl of rolled oats (uncooked) and milk but oats seem to be listed bad. When we use these advised foods, I like to think of cholesterol as well and oats and fresh fruit can be very good ...I understand the test kit might decide ! Thank you for your assistance.I had stomach problems in the past and was told by the doctor to do the exact opposite of what it turned out was right for me and I was very ill for a year.Don't want to go down that road again.All the best...

 

[ianf0ster]

No real food is completely bad, or even completely good for that matter. It depends upon your personal genetics, metabolism and gut biome and also how you eat it.
Many foods which are 'healthy' in small or moderate portions can be damaging if you over indulge in them.

Rather than only using a BG meter 'if this doesn't check out' I suggest that instead you use the meter in order to find which foods suit you. Otherwise you are going by 'feel' rather than actual measurement. You wouldn't drive a car without a speedometer would you?

 

[Neens]

You want to aim for a 2 mmol rise (or less). If you get more than that either reduce the sugary or starchy food next time you eat that, or at the least reduce the portion size.

Thanks @ianf0ster for additional/useful advice.