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Please Remember: Members are only permitted to share their own experiences. Members are not qualified to give medical advice. Additionally, everyone manages their health differently. Please be respectful of other people's opinions about their own diabetes management.
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- Thread starter Huskydog
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rebrascora
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Hi and welcome from me too.
Do you know what your HbA1c reading is and if so, would you like to share it with us? It gives us an idea of where you are on the diabetic scale and how radical you need to be with your dietary changes in order to bring it down. For instance someone who has an HbA1c reading of 53 is much less at risk than someone with a reading of 100+ and small changes may see them easily drop back into the normal range whereas higher readings are likely to need more drastic changes to carbohydrate intake.
Be aware that carbohydrates are not just sweet sugary things but also bread, potatoes, rice, pasta and breakfast cereals including porridge and fruit so reducing those foods will all help to bring your blood glucose levels down. It takes a bit of getting your head around when you have been used to filling up your plate with carbs at every meal, but eating low carb can be quite enjoyable once you get your head around it.
Do you know what your HbA1c reading is and if so, would you like to share it with us? It gives us an idea of where you are on the diabetic scale and how radical you need to be with your dietary changes in order to bring it down. For instance someone who has an HbA1c reading of 53 is much less at risk than someone with a reading of 100+ and small changes may see them easily drop back into the normal range whereas higher readings are likely to need more drastic changes to carbohydrate intake.
Be aware that carbohydrates are not just sweet sugary things but also bread, potatoes, rice, pasta and breakfast cereals including porridge and fruit so reducing those foods will all help to bring your blood glucose levels down. It takes a bit of getting your head around when you have been used to filling up your plate with carbs at every meal, but eating low carb can be quite enjoyable once you get your head around it.
rebrascora
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With a reading of 86 you are well into the diabetic scale but many people have come down from higher into normal levels. I would guess that they have probably started you on Metformin tablets with that level of reading. If so, how are you managing with them? Many people suffer gastric upsets with them but it can settle down after a few weeks. Do you have a blood glucose meter to test before and then 2hrs after food to see which foods spike you the most. Diabetes can be surprisingly individual in how it responds to foods and some people can get away with porridge whilst others find it sends their BG soaring. Many of us can manage a few berries (especially with creamy yoghurt or cream.... fat slows down the digestion of the sugars in the fruit) but apples or exotic fruit like pineapple, mango etc spike us badly. Other people find apples are ok. If I am going to have an apple I tend to have half in the morning and half in the afternoon or the next day.... same with a small banana... best under ripe and half at a time with cream over 2 days. Grapes and dried fruit are like sugar bombs and best avoided.
Breakfast was the most difficult meal to get my head around but a mushroom omelette works well if you like eggs and mushrooms or you can add ham, cheese, onions, courgettes, peppers, aubergines, tomato etc I have mine with a salad and avocado or cheese coleslaw. It sets me up for the day and I can get by with just a snack of nuts or cheese or veggie sticks and dips at lunchtime and then meat/fish and veg with a very small portion of potatoes in the evening and some creamy natural Greek yoghurt and berries for afters.
If you don't need to lose weight then incorporating fat into your diet is important to provide calories that you are no longer getting from carbs and it also helps to fill you up and makes eating enjoyable. If weight loss is important then keeping the fats reasonably low as well as the carbs will force your body to use up it's fat stores and help you to lose that all important midriff fat. Once you get down to a normal BMI, then increase fat intake to stabilize weight.
"Two steps forward and one back" or feeling like you are on a roller coaster is very common with Diabetes particularly in the first few months as it takes time to figure out your own way forward and what works for you. Good luck!
Breakfast was the most difficult meal to get my head around but a mushroom omelette works well if you like eggs and mushrooms or you can add ham, cheese, onions, courgettes, peppers, aubergines, tomato etc I have mine with a salad and avocado or cheese coleslaw. It sets me up for the day and I can get by with just a snack of nuts or cheese or veggie sticks and dips at lunchtime and then meat/fish and veg with a very small portion of potatoes in the evening and some creamy natural Greek yoghurt and berries for afters.
If you don't need to lose weight then incorporating fat into your diet is important to provide calories that you are no longer getting from carbs and it also helps to fill you up and makes eating enjoyable. If weight loss is important then keeping the fats reasonably low as well as the carbs will force your body to use up it's fat stores and help you to lose that all important midriff fat. Once you get down to a normal BMI, then increase fat intake to stabilize weight.
"Two steps forward and one back" or feeling like you are on a roller coaster is very common with Diabetes particularly in the first few months as it takes time to figure out your own way forward and what works for you. Good luck!
MrDaibetes
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Welcome to the forum. If you have any questions then always ask, don't worry if they sound stupid because others may be thinking the same. Brilliant advice from many of us here. I hope you enjoy the forum ^^.
Hey Huskydog, no great surprise that you haven’t been given helpful advice, if I’d have followed what I was told I have no doubt I’d be on insulin now 😡 As @rebrascora has said, carbs are what we need to limit, our body reacts the same way as it does the sweets sugary foods. Testing is key to working out what foods work for you but you are unlikely to get a meter from the doc so may need to buy your own. Try keeping a food diary to track your readings alongside your meals, makes it easier to tweak and adapt until you get it right. We are all different, I can’t eat any berries but others are fine with a few, I can tolerate a couple of small apples though where others can’t. If you really can’t give up bread (I couldn’t) then Livlife is a very low carb option you could try.
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