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Pre Diabetic Newby

Martine1966

Martine1966

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Hi everyone, I've been seeing my GP recently because I've been feeling generally rubbish. I've hit the menopause, gained 1.5 stone in a fairly short space of time and pain due to a couple of long term health problems has increased recently. This morning I was told that the bloods has revealed I am now also pre diabetic. Ironically, I also received a letter this lunch time about some groups the surgery provide, thankfully, as I'm completely lost and have been googling stuff all morning to try and find a way forward. I don't have much of an appetite, despite being over 16 stone, and rarely eat before my evening meal. Struggle to drink water, preferring to drink milky (skimmed) coffee to get me through the day - I talk for a living and have zero saliva so I have a coffee or milky drink on the go constantly. I try to drink squash or water but really struggle with it. The health conditions I have are severe and exercise is too challenging, as is going for walks - I need a knee replacement and have arthritis in my hip. Suffice to say, today's news feels like I have just signed up to climb mount everest with no legs! Please try not to be too judgy.
 
Hi and welcome, no-ones going to judge you here. Please feel free to ask away with any questions.
Its a lot to take in initially, and probably only harder if you are already dealing with other health issues.
If you can share you most recent HbA1c blood test result that could be helpful.
Did they (Dr) mention type1 or type2 at all?
You say you are pre diabetic, so it may only need a slight tweak to get you back in the normal range.
Lots of good advice on here, check out the learning zone.
Keep us updated with progress, cheers
 
Sorry to read that you have so much to cope with, and now this. Despite its name, prediabetes doesn't mean that progression to a diabetes diagnosis is inevitable. That's why the terms 'At Risk of Diabetes' and 'Non-diabetic Hyperglycemia' are sometimes preferred. Were you told what your blood test result was? For 'at risk' it will be a number in the range 42 to 47.

The usual levers for bringing blood glucose levels down without medication are diet, exercise and losing weight. I take your point about exercise but how's your diet?
 
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Welcome to the forum. I put weight on after an early menopause at 41 and did little about it. I was diagnosed with high blood pressure a decade later and sadly wasn't encouraged to and didn't, lose weight or exercise more. If you were in the diabetic range 48 and more, you would be told to look at diet, movement and try and drink more water. It seems to me even if you hadn't been told you were at risk of diabetes you know you need to lose weight.
I'm no dietician but I'm sure it would be better to try and have a smaller meal in the evening and have breakfast or lunch.
I enjoy full fat Greek yoghurt. I buy from M and S but haven't also bought Greek or Greek style from other outlets. I add berries raspberry strawberry or blueberry and some nuts. Sometimes I add seeds too. Or I have a mushroom omlette. I suggest you Google what to eat and what to avoid for arthritis or if you know already that's fine and don't eat anything bad for you.
I go to an aqua fit class. Is it something you could try. You need to be comfortable in the water but some of my classmates wear their glasses. You do not go under water. I was told my cholestral had crept up so i limit processed meat but a cooked breakfast of egg bacon possible sausage plus tomato and mushroom is low carb. A piece of toast too if you like.
Could you drink green tea or water with lemon juice some of the time? Perhaps in the evening have decaff drinks. Generally fruit juices are very sweet

Write down over the next week what you are eating. Work out carbs [ and calories] Carbs turn to sugar. You want to reduce portions of carbs like bread and potato or stop eating items, I've stopped eating rice and pasta or eat substitutes like cauliflower rice or edamame pasta. I have a slice of cake or an éclair or pastel de nata very sparingly. I started losing weight as I reduced carbs. I didn't count calories but you could look at calories.

Some veg like carrots are starchy generally veg below ground. Eat more veg. Perhaps 2 x above ground veg plus one below. I eat quite a lot of fish.

I found when I was awaiting my test results I cut cakes pastry processed meat and reduced bread and potatoes and was delighted I lost weight and wasn't hungry.
You do not need to be strict. With a few changes and choosing things with fewer carbs your blood glucose will lower

You could choose a tighter rein and reduce your weight and lower your BG.
Don't add sugar to drinks. Do without ( gradually) or use sweetner.
Movement could be generally stretching
Here is a good nhs website with links to lower carb eating. Some go below 50. Given your weight I'd try 100 to 130. Good fat and protein keeps you full. One of the websites they link to is Freshwell which has meal plans and a good graphic

newforestpcn.co.uk

Diabetes & Metabolic Health | New Forest PCN

newforestpcn.co.uk newforestpcn.co.uk
Good luck
 
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Thank you so much, all of you. I don't actually know my blood result but will find out as to join this group with the surgery I need to email them back and include that in the email. This is all very new to me. I THINK it's type 2 as no medication was mentioned, only diet. I have very little appetite, I started having a slim fast shake in the morning so I could class it as having had breakfast but I'm assuming that will now be a no no. If I eat lunch I can't manage an evening meal - I work long hours and my husband works shifts so I have to admit that when he's not there I often can't be bothered and just snack on a few nuts in the evening. Dreadful, but I'm just do tired when I finish.
 
You can do ready meals check under nutrition for carbs. I like M and S lemon and pepper smoked salmon because it's not too smoky and the slices are slim. 4 per packet. Have with salad or veg or on a slice of bread ( I add cream cheese) have some hard boiled eggs in the fridge for a snack. Nuts are a good snack. I like hazelnuts.
 
Oh, sorry, I don't add any sugar, have decaf after 9pm, I've tried taking water with lemons or oranges in. I managed to drink a little and that was before this diagnosis so this will hopefully kick me into touch. Full disclosure, I had a sleeve gastrectomy about 12 years ago which is why I have such a small appetite. My stomach is tiny and I don't have to eat much before I'm full. I have had arthritis and fibromyalgia for 26 years and always worked. About 6 to 7 months ago my weight shot up, my feet and legs started swelling and my pain increased. All of this has very conveniently happened at the same time as the menopause came knocking. It has been such a struggle to lug all my stuff into work, with the increase in the pain, that I've gone from being a hybrid worker to working from home almost exclusively which is probably increasing the weight by an even more sedentary life. On my days off I'm out and about but it's not easy. I work 4 days a week, full time hours so the days I work, I'm working 9.5 hours, more if I get caught on the phone. Eg, on Wednesday I worked a 10.25 hours as a customer called 5 mins before I was about to finish and the call took 45 minutes to resolve. Even if I felt like eating, my husband is on lates this week and the last thing I felt like doing was preparing a healthy meal. I know I have to turn this round, I just don't know how to when I really don't want to eat. I have a referral to the hydrotherapy pool, I need to check their opening times to see if that's doable. I'm aware I sound very negative, I'm really not but I can't make myself eat food I can't manage so whatever I eat will need to be small meals. Little and often won't work. A small meal maybe twice a day might work. I'm so so sorry
 
saffron15 said:
You can do ready meals check under nutrition for carbs. I like M and S lemon and pepper smoked salmon because it's not too smoky and the slices are slim. 4 per packet. Have with salad or veg or on a slice of bread ( I add cream cheese) have some hard boiled eggs in the fridge for a snack. Nuts are a good snack. I like hazelnuts.
Click to expand...
I thought bread was a no no. I had a letter today telling me to cut right back on potatoes, pasta, rice and bread. My husband and I do have a Costa once a fortnight when he's on lates so I'll stop the bit of cake and just have a drink.
 
It's funny - years and years ago I remember going to this diet group and the lady telling us that a portion of chips was 8 chips. That was before I had the sleeve gastrectomy and I was horrified! nowadays, 6 chips would be my limit, half a jacket, maybe 3 baby new? I'm feeling a little bit scared because I hardly eat bread, very very rare, I'm not sure what to cut back on. There are some sweet things in my diet I can get rid of but actual food? I'm really quite dismayed.
 
In this warm weather I have salad quite often - it is all ready and waiting in the fridge so there is very little preparation time - anything that needs washing is washed before it goes in there, meat is cooked and sliced - I have a miniature version of the bacon slicer type of machine so I can produce any number of slices at whatever thickness required very easily. I have a grill with temperature control and a times, halogen oven with times, air fryer, likewise with timer - so when I need to cook I can just set it and don't need to be standing around.
There are also things like slow cookers which can be left for long periods at a simmer, or pressure cookers which shorten cooking time.
Pre planning really makes a difference - taking things out of the freezer the day before or in the morning really helps to ensure proper nutrition. I realised I had lost a lot of weight - particularly around my waist, just from having good 'old fashioned' meat and vege meals and I was so much stronger too. I went back to work servicing knitting machines a couple of years after diagnosis.
I also have a small appetite and only eat twice a day. This morning I had cucumber and mozzarella cheese with coffee. I put cream in the coffee so as to make it almost zero carb. tonight should have been steak and mushrooms but they are mouldy so it will be frozen stirfry from Lidl.
 
I don't eat cakes and biscuits. I'm hooked on Raspberry ripple hot chocolate, I'll have to stop that, and almond magnum alternatives from Aldi that I have in the evening. So when I sit and really think about where this has come from it's got to be those. But they're not new additions to my diet. As I told the GP, my diet is awful because I can only really eat 1 proper meal a day but the only thing in my life that's really changed this year is the menopause, which I'd put the shift in weight down to and now that's triggered this pain. The more I try to decipher it all the more helpless I'm beginning to feel
 
I'll have a look and see what sorts of things I can prepare and have ready. I do have a slow cooker but rarely use just for myself.
 
The only way you can really tell what is bad for you personally is to get a blood glucose testing machine and each new food test before you start eating and 2 hours after starting. I decided to still eat bread because im retired and a lot of cafes have very little choice if you cut out pastry cakes and bread and potato. I've reduced potato right down. At this time of year I have a few new potatoes. I don't have jacket potato nor mash. I've occasionally had a few chips. I see you've referred to a sleeve gastrometry which appears to physically limit the amount you can eat.The smoked salmon could be on a ryvita or similar. It may be any bread is a bad option for you as it could fill your stomach without sufficient nutrition. I occasionally buy rye bread from a local bakery that they cut thinly for me. Perhaps your GP would let you see a dietician. You need to make sure you get sufficient nutrients. I had an aunt with fibromyalgea.
I assume fish is a good choice as it is protein rich and not bulky.
I love food! However i am not a nutritionist and don't know what food is good, bad or essential in your situation. There are advisors on the Diabetes UK site they may find someone who can help, probably better to contact Monday. I've eaten the occasional mini almond magnum but you have a lot of things to balance. I don't know if your surgery has a physiotherapist who can help you with movement. I do heel lifts when waiting for the kettle to boil. Perhaps if you have a garden you could stretch a little and have some deep breaths every 45 minutes.
You will sort things
 
Welcome to the forum @Martine1966

Glad you have found us! Goodness it sounds like you’ve got a lot on your plate health-wise.

Hopefully a few small tweaks and changes to your menu will help to steer you away from the diabetes zone.

It’s pretty common to feel quite overwhelmed when you are told you are at risk of diabetes, so be kind to yourself.
 
Martine1966 said:
This is all very new to me. I THINK it's type 2 as no medication was mentioned, only diet.
Click to expand...
You said in your opening post that it is prediabetes not type 2. Has this changed since? Pre diabetes means you don’t yet have diabetes.
 
Pre diabetes is just a bit of a warning that you could develop diabetes and to make a few changes which may help. One of which is to reduce carbs in your diet and replace with protein and healthy fats and try to become more active something which you have explained may be difficult but there are Some seated exercises which you could perhaps do.
Obviously the way you need to eat will be different for your but keeping a food diary and estimating how many carbs you are actually having may help you see where a few savings can be made if what you are having seems excessive, i.e more that around 130g per day as carbs are carbs no matter what they are however some will be more nutritionally beneficial than others.
 
Leadinglights, THANK YOU, sooo much!! I'm grateful to everyone who has replied (Mike, you were very kind, thank you). Your reply, which said keep carbs to less than 130g per day has been like a lead weight lifting. I've been blindly looking at labels - I was only told yesterday, don't forget, so not many labels, of course, but as I wandered round Tesco yesterday, I picked up a couple of things, looked at the carbs and hadn't a clue! And when I looked at the sugars it was very daunting. I've counted calories many many times in my lifetime but never carbs and I really didn't know what I was counting. The GP had said to cut down on cakes and biscuits (don't really eat those) and I only really associated carbs with root veg and pasta which has been free food on Slimming World for years so I felt very lost yesterday. This morning I looked at a 99cal bar and saw 12 g carbs and before seeing your reply, I didn't think I could have one, so I am very grateful to you for sharing that. I know for some of you, Pre diabetes is nothing to get worked up about but with my rubbish health record, this is something I might be able to take control of for myself for a change and that's quite huge for me.
 
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