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Recently diagnosed Type 2

S

SadieBaby

New Member
Relationship to Diabetes
Type 2
Pronouns
She/Her
Hi everyone. Delighted to have found this forum although, of course, not so delighted by my diagnosis.

After decades of being overweight and food having been my comfort in times of stress & sadness, I’m not surprised but it’s still a shock.

Basic diet has always included many of the things I’m still safe to eat - added to by large quantities of bread and butter and cheese and cakes & biscuits when I’ve been angry or sad!! I’m not in denial about how my weight got to where it was!. I stopped swimming (which I used to love) at the start of the pandemic and haven’t restarted.

I’ve had a tough few years with illness and deaths of close family members, so I’ve taken my eyes off my own health while focusing on others.

Time for a change - a massive change - and I’m so glad to have you all to help me in this.

Sending best wishes to everyone on this forum ❤️
 
Welcome to the forum @SadieBaby and it's good to see you have come with such a strong positive attitude

Ask as many questions as you wish and we will be pleased to give some help and advice from personal experiences.

A good starting point is to know your hba1c score ? and what if any medication you are on, if any

Alan 😉
 
Hi @SadieBaby welcome to the forum I’m thinking from what you posted just now, your only recently diagnosed possibly? If so that’s great you will find help and support and great advice from our shared experiences

did they tell you/ can you recall what your Hba1c score was on diagnosis?
Personally I used to live of the foods you list in your introductory post, but not after I found this place

remember the golden rule on this forum there’s no such thing as a silly question

a good place to look for healthy eating & food advice (or so I’m told) is in the learning zone
 
SadieBaby said:
Hi everyone. Delighted to have found this forum although, of course, not so delighted by my diagnosis.

After decades of being overweight and food having been my comfort in times of stress & sadness, I’m not surprised but it’s still a shock.

Basic diet has always included many of the things I’m still safe to eat - added to by large quantities of bread and butter and cheese and cakes & biscuits when I’ve been angry or sad!! I’m not in denial about how my weight got to where it was!. I stopped swimming (which I used to love) at the start of the pandemic and haven’t restarted.

I’ve had a tough few years with illness and deaths of close family members, so I’ve taken my eyes off my own health while focusing on others.

Time for a change - a massive change - and I’m so glad to have you all to help me in this.

Sending best wishes to everyone on this forum ❤️
Click to expand...
Welcome but sorry to see that you need to b0e here, you will find it very supportive. What you need to do will depend on how high your HbA1C is, modest changes may be all that is needed and depending if you have been prescribed any medication then a low carb approach is both suitable and many have found successful in reducing blood glucose and losing weight. The approach in this link is based on the suggested no more than 130g carb not just sugar per day, it is better to have that spread between meals, drinks and snacks. https://lowcarbfreshwell.com
Take time to read through and make a plan to start to reduce carbs gradually over a period of a few weeks as that is kinder on your eyes and nerves. Making a food diary of everything you eat and drink with an estimate of the carbs you will see where the big hitters are and those would be the first things to cut out or down on. Making the carbs you have worth it for flavour and enjoyment will make it seem easier.
 
Hi and welcome, keep us updated with progress, cheers
 
Welcome to the forum @SadieBaby

Glad you have found us 🙂

Diabetes can come as a shock, and it can feel overwhelming in the beginning, so be kind to yourself, and allow yourself time to adjust. Diabetes is potentially a very serious condition, but it’s also one that can usually be managed well with a few changes and adaptations - it’s something that you can learn to live well with, and it shouldn’t stop you doing things you enjoy.

Try not to be disheartened about your diagnosis, hopefully you’ll join the many people on the forum who later reflect that their diagnosis became a sort of catalyst which prompted them to make positive changes towards a healthier and more active life. Perhaps changes that they had been intending to make for years. Some find that changes they make to help with their glucose levels also have a positive effect on various other gripes and niggles that they’ve been living with for ages.

The two main strategies to help with diabetes management which people find helpful on the forum are weight loss, and reducing the proportion of total carbohydrate (not just ‘sugars’) in their diet.

You might like to sign up to the Learning Zone (the orange tab in the main menu) which is packed with information to help you understand and manage your diabetes 🙂
 
SadieBaby said:
I’ve had a tough few years with illness and deaths of close family members, so I’ve taken my eyes off my own health while focusing on others.
Click to expand...
This is so easy to do. I've been there also - 2010-2018 was a hideous time for my wife and I and similarly I turned to food oftentimes as the comfort.

My weight blossomed to 115kg (BMI 33) in 2020 and now down to 90kg so you can turn it round. Do try to get back into swimming. It's an awesome sport to get fit with.

Getting back into running has helped me massively (my favourite sport) so give swimming a go and together with a change in diet you'll crack it.

I was diagnosed 6 December 2024 so can understand the shock too. Have you been offered any medication yet or are you giving diet and exercise a go first?
 
@SadieBaby following on from what @everydayupsanddowns and @dannybgoode have said, being diagnosed diabetic (hba1c 51) was in some ways the best thing that could have happened to me, I say that because a score of 51 isn't that bad and can be improved upon, but it did give me a good kick up the arse to adopt a healthier life style before it was too late.
My doctor gave me 3 months before my next blood test and basically told me to go "cure yourself".

I joined this site, read a lot (learning zone) and listened to others on here who have lived with diabetes and were managing very well.

I only had a short period of time (3 months) to turn things around, so I just concentrated on the 3 things I could control and they were
1) Weight
2) Diet
3) Exercise

In those 3 months I managed to lose 2st (BMI of 25+ to 23)
Followed a low carb diet iro 130 carbs a day
Reduced calorie intake to iro 1200 per day
Increased exercise within my limits

Results were
hba1c from 51 to 46
BP down from an average of 130/65 to 111/60
Looking better (according to my wife)
Feel fitter

Of course, it has to be maintained and sustainable

What I will say is, I couldn't have done any of the above without the help from this site.
 
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