Prediabetic seeking support

[Shirls13]

Hi , was diagnosed pre diabetic approx 6 months ago, HbA1C 44 finding it hard to change eating and drinking habits of a lifetime, plus have just had my sons wedding at the weekend and feeling as though I ve undone any good I d managed up to now. How do others cope with social situations such as eating out and peer pressure to drink more alcohol (yes we're all in our 60's but some things never change lol)

 

[everydayupsanddowns]

Welcome to the forum @Shirls13

Sorry to hear you are struggling to make the changes you feel yiu need to. It can be so hard to change ingrained habits - especially if they are things you really enjoy!

Don’t beat yourself up about one enjoyable party - as a one off it won’t have had much effect. It‘s the little positive changes you make over time that are more important.

In terms of alcohol, you do have to watch the calories if you are trying to lose weight, but in blood glucose terms dry wines and spirits with diet mixers are generally fairly BG-friendly. Probably wise to steer clear of beer/cider, cocktails, and sweet wines as they are quite carby.

At 44mmol/mol you are pretty much in the middle of the ‘at risk of diabetes’ range (42-47) so it is likely that a few fairly modest tweaks and changes will have a big effect on your glucose levels. The trick is to find swaps and changes that keep things flexible and enjoyable. While there are obvious things like cakes, biscuits, sweets and sugary drinks that you will want to cut out straight away (the secret is not to have them in the house!), you might be surprised how much *all* carbohydrate affects your BG levels, including rice, pasta, potatoes, bread, pastry, grains, cereals and many fruits. That doesn’t mean you have to avoid those things entirely, but cutting back on portion sizes and looking for lower carb swaps and changes can be a huge help.

So rather than a sandwich and banana (tropical fruits are often the carbiest) you might go for an open sandwich (half the bread) or wrap and greek yoghurt and berries. Cauliflower grated up and just barely cooked makes a pretty good substitute for rice, and swede or celeriac can do most things a potato would be used for - either swapping entirely, or going half and half.

You might like to take a look at the Food with photos thread where members share their food ideas and meals. Might give you some inspiration?

 

[ianf0ster]

Hi @Shirls13 and welcome to the forum.
You are only just in the pre-diabetic range which in the UK is 42 to 47.So you shouldn't need to make major changes. It is all carbohydrates that cause the problem - that is both starches and sugars, because when digested they turn into glucose which raises our blood glucose.
For example the odd social occasion, if not too frequent, should be OK unless they are frequent, or you gorge yourself on cake or mashed potato. Many starches like potato or flour can have a GI higher than that of table sugar!

Even most alcohol isn't too bad, the best ones are Dry white wine, most red wines and spirits with low calorie mixers. Beers tend to be high in carbs, but there are some which are OK.

One of the simplest things is just to change breakfast. Have eggs (no bread) instead of breakfast cereal or porridge. There's only a trace amount of carbohydrates in an egg versus probably 30gms in the typical so-called healthy breakfast, because things like fruit juice are extremely high in sugars (natural ones), but all ready to spike our blood glucose just like a sugary soft drink.

 

[Leadinglights]

I have been away this week and realise how many meals come with the inevitable CHIPS, despite saying NO CHIPS the plate is served with chips. Tonight I just asked for another plates and pushed them onto that. So steak and salad.
I weakened the other night and had a steak pie (not had a pie for 2 years) and peas and suffered with a upset stomach so punished, of course it could have been the 2 glasses of red wine.
Today I had a lovely apple, walnut and stilton salad for lunch.
There are some good choices you can make, it may take a bit more effort.

 

[ianf0ster]

Rather than just ask for no chips, I always ask for something else instead of chips. This can be green salad, coleslaw or an (extra) egg. Depending upon what they have on their menu.

 

[Shirls13]

Hi @Shirls13 and welcome to the forum.
You are only just in the pre-diabetic range which in the UK is 42 to 47.So you shouldn't need to make major changes. It is all carbohydrates that cause the problem - that is both starches and sugars, because when digested they turn into glucose which raises our blood glucose.
For example the odd social occasion, if not too frequent, should be OK unless they are frequent, or you gorge yourself on cake or mashed potato. Many starches like potato or flour can have a GI higher than that of table sugar!

Even most alcohol isn't too bad, the best ones are Dry white wine, most red wines and spirits with low calorie mixers. Beers tend to be high in carbs, but there are some which are OK.

One of the simplest things is just to change breakfast. Have eggs (no bread) instead of breakfast cereal or porridge. There's only a trace amount of carbohydrates in an egg versus probably 30gms in the typical so-called healthy breakfast, because things like fruit juice are extremely high in sugars (natural ones), but all ready to spike our blood glucose just like a sugary soft drink.

Thanks Ian, yes I have been trying to have savoury breakfasts, omelette being one of the popular ones after reading about glucose spikes. I find it difficult to adapt on social occasions tho and there have been a lot of those over the last few weeks. Interesting about the wine as I tend to drink mostly white wine or gin and tonic but I do love a cocktail and they are sadly going to have to be avoided in future

 

[Shirls13]

Welcome to the forum @Shirls13

Sorry to hear you are struggling to make the changes you feel yiu need to. It can be so hard to change ingrained habits - especially if they are things you really enjoy!

Don’t beat yourself up about one enjoyable party - as a one off it won’t have had much effect. It‘s the little positive changes you make over time that are more important.

In terms of alcohol, you do have to watch the calories if you are trying to lose weight, but in blood glucose terms dry wines and spirits with diet mixers are generally fairly BG-friendly. Probably wise to steer clear of beer/cider, cocktails, and sweet wines as they are quite carby.

At 44mmol/mol you are pretty much in the middle of the ‘at risk of diabetes’ range (42-47) so it is likely that a few fairly modest tweaks and changes will have a big effect on your glucose levels. The trick is to find swaps and changes that keep things flexible and enjoyable. While there are obvious things like cakes, biscuits, sweets and sugary drinks that you will want to cut out straight away (the secret is not to have them in the house!), you might be surprised how much *all* carbohydrate affects your BG levels, including rice, pasta, potatoes, bread, pastry, grains, cereals and many fruits. That doesn’t mean you have to avoid those things entirely, but cutting back on portion sizes and looking for lower carb swaps and changes can be a huge help.

So rather than a sandwich and banana (tropical fruits are often the carbiest) you might go for an open sandwich (half the bread) or wrap and greek yoghurt and berries. Cauliflower grated up and just barely cooked makes a pretty good substitute for rice, and swede or celeriac can do most things a potato would be used for - either swapping entirely, or going half and half.

You might like to take a look at the Food with photos thread where members share their food ideas and meals. Might give you some inspiration?

Thanks for this , I ll have a look at the food with photos thread 🙂