Recently diagnosed Type 2

[Paradoxical]

Recently diagnosed Type 2, really struggling to get to grips with all the changes I need to make to my diet. I’m ok with bran flakes for breakfast (but will need some variety in the future) but I’m not sure what I could or should take to work for lunch (not getting as much support as I'd like, yet). I usually grab a supermarket sandwich, crisps, and a can of cola, with a piece of fruit whilst working at my desk – no cafeteria or nearby alternatives. Do I need to change this? If so, what would anyone suggest please?

 

[Ljc]

He’ll @Paradoxical , welcome to the forum. Am sorry to hear that you you are not getting much support .
,sadly this is often the case, however this is a great place for info and cyber support.

Here goes, Diabetes is very individual in its likes and dislikes ok, so bran flake may be alright for you but their again they may not be ( more about how to find out wil” follow later)

It is carbohydrates esp the starchy carbohydrates our bodies can no longer cope well with, so we all became avid labelled readers, but not the traffic light system in the front of the packs etc, we turn to the nutritional label on the back and check on the total carbohydrates on the back, you can ignore th of which are sugars as they are already included in the carbohydrates content

We are fine with protein in all it’s forms, if you eat sausages and burgers go for the high meat content ones as they are much lower carbs, and unless you have a medical condition that precludes it we are ok with good fats ( bet this surprises you) so things like dairy or eggs need not be excluded, Their is growing evidence that the low fat dietary advice we’ve been given over the years may not have been the best.

Though considered healthy fruit juice and grapes are choc full of fruit sugars (carbs) most breakfast cereals are too, wefind out how the various carbohydrates affect us by self testing our BG (blood glucose levels directly before eating then two hours after the first night.
Sadly most folks with T2 are not provided with a glucose meter, we believe it’s down to cost cutting

If after reading the links I and others will provide , you decide you want to test to find out which carbohydrates your body can and can’t cope with so you can make informed choices , it the ongoing cost of the testing strips you have to watch, many meters bought in chemists use strips that cost £15 or more for 50 .
This one

GlucoNavii Blood Sugar Meter Glucose Monitor Starter Kit | Choose mmol/L or mg/dL

The GlucoNavii Blood Sugar Meter comes with everything you need for a quick and accurate blood glucose level reading. Shop now for free UK delivery.

homehealth-uk.com

Uses strips that cost £8.
You are entitled to claim VAT exemption and we use the mmol/l measurement in the U.K. m

Back in a mo

 

[Ljc]

Here are some helpful links
http://loraldiabetes.blogspot.com/2006/10/test-review-adjust.html by Alan S .

The following link was written when it was believed fat was our enemy. I eat normal fats as do many here.
The rest of the advise in this very long letter is brilliant .

Maggie Davey's letter to newly-diagnosed Type 2s

This disappeared from the original site, but @Alan S has managed to track it down. Rather than risk losing that link I'm posting the text here. I've had to split it over a few posts, as there is a size limit for each post and it wouldn't all fit in one! :) An open letter to the newly-diagnosed...

forum.diabetes.org.uk

We have some great innovative cooks on here , so have a look through Their

Recipes

Post links to your favourite recipes here! If it's not your own recipe, please share where the recipe came from

forum.diabetes.org.uk

This thread is bound to give you some ideas

What did you eat yesterday?

It can be helpful sometimes to know what sort of things people are eating, as it might give some ideas for a more varied diet. So, I'll start off with what I ate yesterday: Breakfast - 1 slice buttered Burgen toast (my breakfast every day, I don't like to run with too much in my stomach)...

forum.diabetes.org.uk

Diabetes is a marathon ok, so please don’t set yourself up to fail by being extremely strict or forcing yourself to do or eat thing that you really don’t like.
Another piece of advise is
Ask all the questions you you need to about diabetes, we’ll gladly do our best to help.

 

[SueEK]

Hi and welcome @Paradoxical . Sad to say your daily food intake sounds pretty much like mine was and to be honest really not what you should now be eating, far too many carbs. I’m a very picky eater so struggle more than most with what I can eat, therefore I lost quite a lot of weight quite quickly when I was first diagnosed. I tested quite frequently and found that I was okay with potatoes, though obviously not large amounts which has broadened my menu a bit. I would strongly recommend that you get one so that you can work out what foods you can and cannot tolerate.
We can have meats, fish, dairy and all green veg. We careful with the fruit as high in natural sugars but most berries are fine, I do have a couple of bananas a week but small ones.
Have a good look round the site and let us know any questions you have as we are all happy to help you as we are all on the same road. Sue

 

[Martin9]

He’ll @Paradoxical , welcome to the forum. Am sorry to hear that you you are not getting much support .
,sadly this is often the case, however this is a great place for info and cyber support.

Here goes, Diabetes is very individual in its likes and dislikes ok, so bran flake may be alright for you but their again they may not be ( more about how to find out wil” follow later)

It is carbohydrates esp the starchy carbohydrates our bodies can no longer cope well with, so we all became avid labelled readers, but not the traffic light system in the front of the packs etc, we turn to the nutritional label on the back and check on the total carbohydrates on the back, you can ignore th of which are sugars as they are already included in the carbohydrates content

We are fine with protein in all it’s forms, if you eat sausages and burgers go for the high meat content ones as they are much lower carbs, and unless you have a medical condition that precludes it we are ok with good fats ( bet this surprises you) so things like dairy or eggs need not be excluded, Their is growing evidence that the low fat dietary advice we’ve been given over the years may not have been the best.

Though considered healthy fruit juice and grapes are choc full of fruit sugars (carbs) most breakfast cereals are too, wefind out how the various carbohydrates affect us by self testing our BG (blood glucose levels directly before eating then two hours after the first night.
Sadly most folks with T2 are not provided with a glucose meter, we believe it’s down to cost cutting

If after reading the links I and others will provide , you decide you want to test to find out which carbohydrates your body can and can’t cope with so you can make informed choices , it the ongoing cost of the testing strips you have to watch, many meters bought in chemists use strips that cost £15 or more for 50 .
This one

GlucoNavii Blood Sugar Meter Glucose Monitor Starter Kit | Choose mmol/L or mg/dL

The GlucoNavii Blood Sugar Meter comes with everything you need for a quick and accurate blood glucose level reading. Shop now for free UK delivery.

homehealth-uk.com

Uses strips that cost £8.
You are entitled to claim VAT exemption and we use the mmol/l measurement in the U.K. m

Back in a mo

Hi @Ljc this new meter from Codefree, do you know if it uses the old Codefree strips or does it need new ones ?

 

[grovesy]

I don't but was going g to suggest you ring HomeHealth and check. I find meter companies are usally pretty good with queries.

 

[everydayupsanddowns]

Recently diagnosed Type 2, really struggling to get to grips with all the changes I need to make to my diet. I’m ok with bran flakes for breakfast (but will need some variety in the future) but I’m not sure what I could or should take to work for lunch (not getting as much support as I'd like, yet). I usually grab a supermarket sandwich, crisps, and a can of cola, with a piece of fruit whilst working at my desk – no cafeteria or nearby alternatives. Do I need to change this? If so, what would anyone suggest please?

Hello Paradoxical

Welcome to the forum!

The honest answer to your ‘am I OK eating this‘ questions is that no one can actually tell you - not HCPs, nurses, dieticians or members here - but you can work it out for yourself. All the advice you can be given is what happens to other people, or on average to lots of people... but diabetes, metabolism and food absorption are very variable (some might say fickle!) and individual reactions to foods can vary far more than you might imagine.

So I can say that in my experience not many T2 members here would find breakfast cereal a good choice (but some might, and you could be one of them!). That includes high fibre / low sugar versions. Some get good results from porridge... others may as well be eating a bowl of jam.

You might find that you are more insulin resistant in the mornings, so you may have to be even more cautious with your food choices... but again, this varies person-to-person, so you’d be better checking your own response with a BG meter than just opting for something (or denying yourself something) because it doesn’t suit someone else.

Lots of T2 folks here find eggs a good breakfast choice. Some eat with a low carb / seeded bread.

Others find full fat yoghurt with berries (either fresh or frozen) is filling and satisfying.

Your lunch choice sounds pretty standard lunchtime fair, but you’d be surprised how much those carbs mount up, even if you choose a diet drink. At a guess...

supermarket sandwich (40-50g), crisps (15-20g), and a can of cola, with a piece of fruit (20g)​

​

So somewhere in the region of 75-90g of carbs, as long as the drink doesn’t add any.

if you opted for a single tortilla wrap (20g) or a home made burgen sandwich (24g for 2 slices) and ditched the crisps, you could pretty much halve that.

or you could take in a box with salad and cold meats with a dressing and drop it to nearer zero

You might be able to handle your current lunch fine, but without checking for yourself you won’t know... and if your ‘long term’ results from the Dr aren’t want you’d like, you won’t know which meals to tweak, or where to start.

Good luck with it all... and let us know how you get on 🙂

 

[Ljc]

Hi @Ljc this new meter from Codefree, do you know if it uses the old Codefree strips or does it need new ones ?

Sorry I don’t know . @grovesy, suggestion of phoning Homehealth is best
I found this link for their customer services

Customer Services

Find comprehensive customer service information at HomeHealth-UK. Your questions answered and support provided for a seamless experience.

homehealth-uk.com

 

[Toucan]

Hello @Paradoxical and welcome to the forum.
As you can see form the messages you have, there is a great deal of help an support here.

Diabetes is a serious disease, but there are many good solutions to controlling it, as many people here on the forum have found out.
It is worth taking the time to find out what works for you. Try to ensure that is sustainable as it will need to become your continuing lifestyle.

Please keep posting. ask any questions and let us know how it is going. It is also worth a good browse around the website, as there are many useful topics and discussions etc to read about.

 

[Tee G]

Hi @Paradoxical - Welcome, much to read above! Take your time, absorb it all. Educate yourself as to what you can and cant eat. With knowledge, comes power. Good threads on here relating to menu, what to eat, different idea etc etc poke around, its very interesting. Good luck.

 

[Martin9]

Sorry I don’t know . @grovesy, suggestion of phoning Homehealth is best
I found this link for their customer services

Customer Services

Find comprehensive customer service information at HomeHealth-UK. Your questions answered and support provided for a seamless experience.

homehealth-uk.com

It was me who asked @Ljc , and there are different strips for the new model. Thanks for answer x