Recently Diagnosed and Confused

[everydayupsanddowns]

I wouldn’t worry about carrots at all personally.

I think it’s much more helpful to take things gradually in stages, just as you have been doing. Start with the easy losses - the sweet and sugary things.

Then look at the ‘big hitters’ - the carby staples, and just try to have a smaller portion size. When you have your meter you can fine tune things based on how your body responds.

Buy to start with, I don’t think a big long list of ‘can’t haves’ feels like it is helping you?

 

[Jackster70]

I didn’t say carrots (or anything else for that matter) wasn’t ok. I said they were on the list of suspects and those things were the most likely to cause issues and the most important to test. And even then it will be a scale. Some things will be ok in smaller portions, some will need virtually avoiding. And it won’t always make perfect sense looking at the carb numbers but they are a good first guide.

Yes look at the carbs on labels or nutrition guides. In the uk that’s all you need to do. Ignore the of which sugars bit and the fibre in the uk is already measured separately. (The USA do it differently so beware if looking at USA based information. They have total carbs including fibre or net carbs without it. Fibre won’t raise your levels and might smooth any curves out a little and slow things down a touch)

I apologise, I didn't mean to offend. I didn't mean you said no to carrots, that was just an example. I will start to look at the total carbs. Thank you.

 

[Jackster70]

If you use the phrase “total” carbs about uk carb figures it invites confusion with USA total carbs (that include fibre which ours don’t). Our labels don’t use the word total anyway. Perhaps clearer to identify to count carbs not just sugar.

Oh dear, I really am getting it wrong aren't I. I didn't mean it literally. What I meant was I'd just look at Carbs not carbs that sugars. Sorry.

 

[Leadinglights]

If you use the phrase “total” carbs about uk carb figures it invites confusion with USA total carbs (that include fibre which ours don’t). Our labels don’t use the word total anyway. Perhaps clearer to identify to count carbs not just sugar.

edited.

 

[Jackster70]

You want to check the carbs on the packets or internet not the sugar.
The book or app Carbs and Cals is good as it gives carbs for various portions of foods and meals.
With all foods it is portion size which matters as well as your personal taste. So a portion of carrots and some broccoli would be better than just carrots or carrots and peas for example.

Thank you. This is nice and clear for me. I will definitely look at the book/app.

 

[Jackster70]

You are really only just into the diabetic zone and as such need to be taken seriously but please calm down and even if you do nothing for a few days whilst you think about a plan which will suit you nothing bad is going to happen.
Everybody is different in how they cope with carbohydrates but you may only need some modest changes.
For example if you previously had a big bowl of cereal for breakfast you can swap that for a bowl of Greek yoghurt with some blueberries or strawberries and just have a spoonful of a low sugar granola for the crunch or have some scrambled egg on 1 slice of toast.
For lunch you could have a big salad with cooked meat or tuna, some cheese or boiled egg, crackers like ryvita or oat cakes. For dinner you could have any meat, fish, with veg or salad or stirfry or a small portion of pasta with lots of the sauce.
You could have sugarfree jelly with berries and cream for desert or Kvarg deserts.
If you want to buy a monitor then a couple of good ones can be bought on line, the GlucoNavii or Spirit TEE2 are ones with the cheaper test strips.

Thank you. I think this is what I needed to see. Choices of what I can have, rather than what I can't. Everytime I think I have a handle on it, something crops up and makes me think I can't do it. I am so determined that I'm overthinking it all. This though is so helpful.

 

[Dragonheart]

I apologise, I didn't mean to offend. I didn't mean you said no to carrots, that was just an example. I will start to look at the total carbs. Thank you.

Not offended So no harm done.

Oh dear, I really am getting it wrong aren't I. I didn't mean it literally. What I meant was I'd just look at Carbs not carbs that sugars. Sorry.

That post about total carbs was aimed at another poster not you so you have nothing to worry about there either. But you illustrate exactly why it’s better not to use the word total with regards to carbs unless you’re American and using it their way otherwise confusion ensues Lol

one step at a time. I’m sorry if I overloaded you.

 

[Drummer]

Hi everyone. I was diagnosed with Type 2 a week ago and am so confused. I am reading what is best not to have but most of the recipes include those items. What's a girl to do?

I think we have become so used to concoctions that simple straightforward meals seem strange.
I have meals which consist of some fish and salad stuff, or steak and stirfry, a pork chop with mushrooms.
The most complicated thing is probably leftover mashed swede with a couple of eggs beaten into it, baked to warm it through, perhaps with some leftover veges mixed in, then served with bacon - known as bubble and squeal. Mixing in some cream cheese and then heating it up with grated Red Leicester on top is another option.
I cook the swede in a pressure cooker in around twice the amount of water required, as that reduces the flavour quite a bit, and the time taken to make it mashable too.
Using a blood test meter and seeing how you cope with various meals is usually a great help in the early weeks, but once I was seeing under 8mmol/l at the 2 hour mark I stuck to eating those meals and the numbers continued to reduce as, presumably my metabolism sorted itself out.
Recipes on the Diabetes UK site are for all types of diabetic, not just type 2 using diet to control, so you need to either adapt or discard as appropriate.
There are websites such as sugarfreelondoner which have lots of useful low carb baking recipies.
Low carb as advised by Dr Atkinson back in the last century was very effective for weightloss and reversing diabetes, but no one really wanted to pay attention back then.

 

[Gwynn]

@Jackster70 Your phrase 'I can do this' is spot on. You CAN do this.

Just remember that you are (or will become) your own expert on you and how your body reacts to different foods. And becoming an expert starts at ground zero...knowing nothing.

Getting a test meter (and using it) is the best thing you could do. Do a test before a meal/food and again 2hrs after. What you are looking for is a rise of no more than 2 (if I remember correctly). Everyone gets a rise after food so don't be alarmed.

Your 'enemy' is carbohydrates so trying to reduce those will help. Having said that some tolerate some foods with carbohydrates better than others. How do you know which ard good for you and which to avoid? Test test test.

And it does help to use an app and keep a food diary.

The doctors and nurses are not always the experts and certainly are not experts on 'you'. Knowlege is power so go to it and learn about food and about you. Take control.

One thing I will say is that after changing their lifestyle many people here became fitter, healthier, happier. I certainly have

Good luck

 

[Leadinglights]

Have a look at the thread Food ideas with Photos which some people pop the meals they have as that might give you some indication that meals don't have to be complicated.

 

[Catbanj]

@Jackster70

I just wanted to say Hi. Like you I am recently diagnosed.... the start was awful. I got no info from my GP as to what to do so I felt like I'd got a life sentence with no idea what to do. So many tears and upsets.

I got a blood glucose meter- https://www.glucorx.co.uk/shop/glucorx-q-meter/ I picked that one becuase it was mentioned somewhere on the NHS diabetes pages as one that got presecribed, I had no idea what I was buying. The sticks are £9.13 for a pot of 50 - I buy 2 pots a month. It's basic but does exactly what I need- measures my blood sugar and is easy to use.

Then I looked at one meal at a time. I left the rest of my eating as usual and just did one thing at a time.

I started with breakfast, as I always ate 2 pieces of wholemeal toast. I found that caused my levels to still be higher than I wanted 2 hours later. So then I tried porridge. My blood level goes up as expected but always drops back down when I test 2 hours later. I tried other things but decided to stick with porridge as it keeps me full all morning and gets me my daily dairy fix as well.

Then I did the same with my packed lunch. Tried different things and now I know what my body will tolerate. Yours will react differently, that's the problem. There is no definite answer with type 2- it depends on a person's build, tolerances, lots of things.... the list goes on.

Alongside that, I record things on my phone.
I have Nutricheck app - I use it to track carbs- I have set a target of 130g a day which is doable for me. Other people set themselves a much lower limit .... I tried that but it made me so miserable and caused a lot of stress with my OH who does all the cooking here so I've settled on 130g for now. It costs about £24 a year for the app- you can scan barcodes, lookup any foods and store your own meals.

I also bought Diabetes Connect. That's just a few pounds a year for the full version. It was created by a doctor to store all your data in one place. When I test I put the reading in my phone, it takes seconds. It colour codes it for me- green if it's in range etc.

I've settled on testing 5 times a day ish
- before breakfast - that gives me a baseline of how I am from yesterday
- 2 hrs after breakfast
- before lunch (work means I can't test 2 hours after lunch). If I am running high I will take something out of my lunch.
- before tea
- 2 hours after tea.

As I pay for test strips, I want them to be useful. My next step will be to stop testing after breakfast as I can almost predict what my result will be.

I'm not saying that things are easy. I am always aware of this thing that can make me ill if I don't deal with it, but it is manageable. I've lost weight, with little effort, because I am consious of the impact eating things has on my body.

I'm still not happy with eating out - I like to go and have treaty food, that I wouldn't have at home. If I'm just going to have salad... seems little point. So that is something I need to relax about, as having some treats once in a while won't hurt long-term.

I guess what I'm trying to say is it will get easier for you. When it feels to much, make one little change and see the difference it makes. This is a marathon and not a spint .... worse than that, its a marathon without end but there are people here who will support you. You just need to ask.

 

[Jackster70]

@Jackster70

I just wanted to say Hi. Like you I am recently diagnosed.... the start was awful. I got no info from my GP as to what to do so I felt like I'd got a life sentence with no idea what to do. So many tears and upsets.

I got a blood glucose meter- https://www.glucorx.co.uk/shop/glucorx-q-meter/ I picked that one becuase it was mentioned somewhere on the NHS diabetes pages as one that got presecribed, I had no idea what I was buying. The sticks are £9.13 for a pot of 50 - I buy 2 pots a month. It's basic but does exactly what I need- measures my blook sugar and is easy to use.

Then I looked at one meal at a time. I left the rest of my eating as usual and just did one thing at a time.

I started with breakfast, as I always ate 2 pieces of wholemeal toast. I found that caused my levels to still be higher than I wanted 2 hours later. So then I tried porridge. By blood level goes up as expected but always drops back down when I test 2 hours later. I tried other things but decided to stick with porridge as it keeps me full all morning and gets me my daily dairy fix as well.

Then I did the same with my packed lunch. Tried different things and now I know what my body will tolerate. Yours will react differently, that's the problem. There is no definite answer with type 2- it depends on a person's build, tolerances, lots of things.... the list goes on.

Alongside that, I record things on my phone.
I have Nutricheck app - I use it to track carbs- I have set a target of 130g a day which is doable for me. Other people set themselves a much lower limit .... I tried that but it made me so miserable and caused a lot of stress with my OH who does all the cooking here so I've settled on 130g for now. It costs about £24 a year for the app- you can scan barcodes, lookup any foods and store your own meals.

I also bought Diabetes Connect. That's just a few pounds a year for the full version. It was created by a doctor to store all your data in one place. When I test I put the reading in my phone, it takes seconds. It colour codes it for me- green if it's in range etc.

I've settled on testing 5 times a day ish
- before breakfast - that gives me a baseline of how I am from yesterday
- 2 hrs after breakfast
- before lunch (work means I can't test 2 hours after lunch). If I am running high I will take something out of my lunch.
- before tea
- 2 hours after tea.

As I pay for test strips, I want them to be useful. My next step will be to stop testing after breakfast as I can almost predict what my result will be.

I'm not saying that things are easy. I am always aware of this thing that can make me ill if I don't deal with it, but it is manageable. I've lost weight, with little effort, because I am consious of the impact eating things has on my body.

I'm still not happy with eating out - I like to go and have treaty food, that I wouldn't have at home. If I'm just going to have salad... seems little point. So that is something I need to relax about, as having some treats once in a while won't hurt long-term.

I guess what I'm trying to say is it will get easier for you. When it feels to much, make one little change and see the difference it makes. This is a marathon and not a spint .... worse than that, its a marathon without end but there are people here who will support you. You just need to ask.

Hello, thank you so much for contacting me. Your advice is really useful and makes a lot of sense. Reading this also makes me realise I am being way too hard on myself and trying to do everything all at once, which I now know isn't the way to go about it.

This forum is fantastic and so many people are giving me valuable information. Some confusing and some straightforward but all very appreciated.

I like the idea of doing things in stages.

 

[Catbanj]

@Jackster70
No problem.
One thing I found with the forum is that everyone is so keen to help .... they can become quite forceful in their opinions.

The problem is that we are all completely different... our bodies, lifestyles, what we like to eat and the amount of change we can or want to make to our lives. That means, what works for one may not for another. It would be far easier if we'd got a broken leg!

Have a good day