Recently diagnosed type 2

[Vivster]

Hi everyone, I was diagnosed with diabetes in July/August 2021, bit of a blur really. I went to the doctors to get my ears checked as I have Menieres. He suggested bloods be done as I hadn't had bloods done since 2017. And low and behold, I had diabetes. I had no suspicions of being diabetic, being a life long vegetarian thought I had a fairly healthy diet, it was a massive shock. Granted i realised I'd put some weight on over lockdown and was permanently exhausted ,but was never overly weighty. My birthday presents from mother nature this year were, hearing aids due to the Menieres taking its toll over the years and type 2 diabetes. So I've had a lot to adjust to, like many others have too. I also have anxiety which on its own is damned hard work. I stopped eating because i thought food would harm me, not realising in fact not eating was more harmful. I take 500mg metformin and a statin once a day and am pleased to say I'm slowly getting my head around it, thank the lord. My biggest issue, as is for most, what to eat! The only way I've been able to figure out what to eat is cook all my food from scratch so I know what's in it (I'm quite fussy there's a lot I don't like). I have come up with 5 meals I know I like which I batch cook and freeze. Saves a lot of frustration at mealtimes. I did a 6 week zoom diabetes course via NHS and it was a revelation, recommend doing it as it's really good imo. I also got a blood monitor as I really had no way to guess if I was eating right and now monitor just twice a day. The diabetic nurse said I didn't need one, my anxiety disagreed! My last bloods had improved dramatically and I have lost nearly 2 stone. Im happy with my progress so far, but always on the look out for any helpful tips. Thanks for reading

 

[Leadinglights]

Hi Vivster
You sound to be doing really well and having a monitor is a good step. Many people on here are vegetarian and manage to find a dietary regime which suits them. It is unfortunate that many of the zero carb foods you would not have being meat and fish so getting variety is that bit harder and many veggie meals are pasta or rice based which are not too good if Type 2 diabetic. But there is lots you can do with cheese, eggs and veg . There are quite a few ideas in the food and recipes forum which you might find useful.
If you like spicy foods then dry rubs are better than prepared sauces as are fresh herbs and spices.
If you want to check your meals are OK then use your monitor to check before you eat and after 2 hours. An increase of no more than 2-3mmol/l or not above 8.5mmol/l would be good to aim at, over that and your meal was too carb heavy.
If you have just 5 meals then it would not be too onerous to check them out.

 

[Vivster]

Thank you leading lights I've got a lot to learn still, it's early days. But I guess I consider myself lucky in many regards as I haven't had to give up or reduce as many things as some do. I dont drink alcohol or fizzy drinks or juices so drinks were easy. But I absolutely love potatoes and miss them so much. I've tried them in the smallest quantities since being diagnosed as well as sweet potatoes and they send my numbers soaring. So a small sacrifice for good health I suppose, even though it's hard. I'll check out some of your suggestions. Thanks again.

Hi Vivster
You sound to be doing really well and having a monitor is a good step. Many people on here are vegetarian and manage to find a dietary regime which suits them. It is unfortunate that many of the zero carb foods you would not have being meat and fish so getting variety is that bit harder and many veggie meals are pasta or rice based which are not too good if Type 2 diabetic. But there is lots you can do with cheese, eggs and veg . There are quite a few ideas in the food and recipes forum which you might find useful.
If you like spicy foods then dry rubs are better than prepared sauces as are fresh herbs and spices.
If you want to check your meals are OK then use your monitor to check before you eat and after 2 hours. An increase of no more than 2-3mmol/l or not above 8.5mmol/l would be good to aim at, over that and your meal was too carb heavy.
If you have just 5 meals then it would not be too onerous to check them out.

 

[Leadinglights]

Thank you leading lights I've got a lot to learn still, it's early days. But I guess I consider myself lucky in many regards as I haven't had to give up or reduce as many things as some do. I dont drink alcohol or fizzy drinks or juices so drinks were easy. But I absolutely love potatoes and miss them so much. I've tried them in the smallest quantities since being diagnosed as well as sweet potatoes and they send my numbers soaring. So a small sacrifice for good health I suppose, even though it's hard. I'll check out some of your suggestions. Thanks again.

If you like sweet potatoes then you might like butternut squash, much lower in carbs. Some people use celeriac mash or swede mash instead of potatoes.
Have you tried edamame bean or black bean pasta as that is pretty low carb and works just as well as normal pasta.

 

[rebrascora]

Hi and welcome.

Sounds like you are doing really well in the short time you have been diagnosed.
I have a great recipe for halloumi and cauliflower curry if you like that sort of thing and ratatouille topped with halloumi or mozzarella features regularly on my menu. Celeriac chips work quite well and I love mashed cauliflower with a good dollop of cream cheese and a spoon of wholegrain mustard and usually topped with plenty of grated cheese just because almost every food can be improved with the addition of cheese, even Christmas cake although of course that is off the menu these days.

 

[andyp64]

definitely worth it to have a blood monitor. Will give you feedback on meals. keeping a food diary and experimenting will narrow down the goods and not-so-goods.

 

[ianf0ster]

Thank you leading lights I've got a lot to learn still, it's early days. But I guess I consider myself lucky in many regards as I haven't had to give up or reduce as many things as some do. I dont drink alcohol or fizzy drinks or juices so drinks were easy. But I absolutely love potatoes and miss them so much. I've tried them in the smallest quantities since being diagnosed as well as sweet potatoes and they send my numbers soaring. So a small sacrifice for good health I suppose, even though it's hard. I'll check out some of your suggestions. Thanks again.

Hi @Vivster I have a couple of things to say:
1. Cauliflower or Broccoli can make good substitutes for rice (in curries) or for mashed potato. Celeriac is also a very useful potato substitute - it can be boiled, roasted or fried. we never ate celeriac before by diagnosis, but now eat it a few times per month.
2. Probably the same proportion of Type 2 Diabetics drink alcohol as in the general population and are none the worse for it! It isn't the alcohol that is the problem, it's the carbohydrates in either the drink or in mixers added to it. Thus a few beers are low in carbs and so are OK, spirits with low calorie mixers are OK as are dry white wine and (non-sweet) red wine (my tipple). The same applies to fizzy drinks, it's not the carbon dioxide in the fizz that makes them bad for diabetics, so fizzy water is fine! But fruit juices contain lots of (natural sugars) and so we need to be wary of them together with tropical fruit.

 

[Vivster]

If you like sweet potatoes then you might like butternut squash, much lower in carbs. Some people use celeriac mash or swede mash instead of potatoes.
Have you tried edamame bean or black bean pasta as that is pretty low carb and works just as well as normal pasta.

Thanks, I do a cottage pie topped with mashed carrot and Swede so yes thats a discovery, more Swede than carrot though. I'll check out the pasta as I do like edamame beans, never tried black beans so I'll give that a go. Much appreciated

 

[Vivster]

Hi and welcome.

Sounds like you are doing really well in the short time you have been diagnosed.
I have a great recipe for halloumi and cauliflower curry if you like that sort of thing and ratatouille topped with halloumi or mozzarella features regularly on my menu. Celeriac chips work quite well and I love mashed cauliflower with a good dollop of cream cheese and a spoon of wholegrain mustard and usually topped with plenty of grated cheese just because almost every food can be improved with the addition of cheese, even Christmas cake although of course that is off the menu these days.

Thank you so much. Loving the cauliflower ideas. I'm a pain ,but not a fan of ratatouille or celeriac unfortunately. Much appreciated

 

[Vivster]

definitely worth it to have a blood monitor. Will give you feedback on meals. keeping a food diary and experimenting will narrow down the goods and not-so-goods.

I couldn't believe when the nurse said I didn't need one, but was in such a state of shock with the news i was diabetic i was almost speechless. How was i supposed to guess what was good or bad for me. So I just took it upon myself to take responsibility and get my own, otherwise I don't think I'd be in the improved position I am now.

 

[Vivster]

Hi @Vivster I have a couple of things to say:
1. Cauliflower or Broccoli can make good substitutes for rice (in curries) or for mashed potato. Celeriac is also a very useful potato substitute - it can be boiled, roasted or fried. we never ate celeriac before by diagnosis, but now eat it a few times per month.
2. Probably the same proportion of Type 2 Diabetics drink alcohol as in the general population and are none the worse for it! It isn't the alcohol that is the problem, it's the carbohydrates in either the drink or in mixers added to it. Thus a few beers are low in carbs and so are OK, spirits with low calorie mixers are OK as are dry white wine and (non-sweet) red wine (my tipple). The same applies to fizzy drinks, it's not the carbon dioxide in the fizz that makes them bad for diabetics, so fizzy water is fine! But fruit juices contain lots of (natural sugars) and so we need to be wary of them together with tropical fruit.

I haven't been a drinker of anything other than water and black tea for about 10 years now so I consider myself fortunate I don't need to moderate these. Believe me the way I used to drink alcohol wasn't healthy regardless so knocked it on the head along with smoking.

 

[Vivster]

I haven't been a drinker of anything other than water and black tea for about 10 years now so I consider myself fortunate I don't need to moderate these. Believe me the way I used to drink alcohol wasn't healthy regardless so knocked it on the head along with smoking.

Thanks for the cauliflower tips, it's one of my favourites. I think I'm going to have to give the celeriac another try, it would be another option if I now like it. Thank you so much

 

[Leadinglights]

Thanks, I do a cottage pie topped with mashed carrot and Swede so yes thats a discovery, more Swede than carrot though. I'll check out the pasta as I do like edamame beans, never tried black beans so I'll give that a go. Much appreciated

The make of pasta I have is EXPLORE, but some are lower carb than others so you need to look at the nutritional information to see which is the lowest. They are not cheap but I have sometimes found in ALDI.

 

[Vivster]

The make of pasta I have is EXPLORE, but some are lower carb than others so you need to look at the nutritional information to see which is the lowest. They are not cheap but I have sometimes found in ALDI.

Thanks, I shall have look around for it.

 

[Drummer]

I always cook the whole swede and make bubble and squeak with leftovers - if there are no veges in the fridge then after mixing in an egg I put grated cheese on top and once heated up on top of the cooker I put it under the grill.

 

[Vivster]

I always cook the whole swede and make bubble and squeak with leftovers - if there are no veges in the fridge then after mixing in an egg I put grated cheese on top and once heated up on top of the cooker I put it under the grill.

Thanks, that sounds right up my street. Next on my to do list. You're all so very helpful with marvelous ideas. Sometimes you can't see the wood for the trees amongst all the other overwhelming info you need to process. And I've never been a cook, but I'm learning now so I can control what I eat so I keep as healthy as possible.

 

[Deleted member 21371]

Hi @Vivster I have a couple of things to say:
1. Cauliflower or Broccoli can make good substitutes for rice (in curries) or for mashed potato. Celeriac is also a very useful potato substitute - it can be boiled, roasted or fried. we never ate celeriac before by diagnosis, but now eat it a few times per month.
2. Probably the same proportion of Type 2 Diabetics drink alcohol as in the general population and are none the worse for it! It isn't the alcohol that is the problem, it's the carbohydrates in either the drink or in mixers added to it. Thus a few beers are low in carbs and so are OK, spirits with low calorie mixers are OK as are dry white wine and (non-sweet) red wine (my tipple). The same applies to fizzy drinks, it's not the carbon dioxide in the fizz that makes them bad for diabetics, so fizzy water is fine! But fruit juices contain lots of (natural sugars) and so we need to be wary of them together with tropical fruit.

I thought you were a low carber?
We all know beer is never low in carbs, unless the @lowcarbGP Dr David Unwin is completely wrong?

"It may be the beer more than the crisps that put up your blood glucose -so not a great choice if #T2D My son calls beer ‘liquid toast ‘ look this is what it does to my blood sugar" "8.6"

Liquid toast as he calls it!

My favourite is Leffe Bruin, it certainly isn't low carb, purely from the taste!