Sometimes, you just got the genes!

[HayWayne]

Good afternoon folks.

Just thought I'd introduce myself and tell my story. Are you sitting comfortably...?

I was diagnosed with Type2 just a month or so ago, and have since been absorbing all the info I can, meeting fellow diabetics wherever I turn (plenty at work it seems) and generally in a good place with it all.

Earlier this year I was in for my routine blood tests (I've been on high blood pressure meds for about 17 years or so - same medication, same dose) when the Dr told me that I have raised cholesterol - so gave me statins to take (and have been ever since). Then shortly afterwards I seemed to have an inordinate amount of blood tests for some reason, and one of which indicated raised blood sugars. I was tested again, and then given the HBAc1 tests, which confirmed the diagnosis, so here I am some 5 weeks later and on the full dose of Metformin, and doing ok.

I'm 48, 6ft7 and 106kg, with a BMI of 25/25 and a waist measurement of below half my height. I hardly eat any processed foods, cook virtually everything from scratch, walk daily (either taking our dog, or a walk round campus where I work), I go to the gym three times a week and lift heavily things, I don't smoke, don't drink excessively and live a pretty healthy lifestyle.

It's quite amusing as everyone I've told who knows me has pretty much reacted the same way "Really!? You?!" Even a colleague at work who I only found out last week is Type 1, looked me up and down and said "You?!".

My parents have diabetes - but I would suggest that there lifestyle and diet doesn't help, but my younger brother was also diagnosed last year, so you could say it was just a matter of time before I joined the club.

My wife is a big fan of the keto diet - which is often cited as pretty good for those with diabetes, but a) I don't enjoy cutting any foods out, and b) keto tends to be higher in fat, so I have to be a bit careful with cholesterol (oh, and did I say my dad has a history of heart problems?). That said, having spoken to my diabetic nurse, and read plenty on the Diabetes UK website, I'm ticking all the boxes and with the Metformin, it seems to be all under control (I tried out a Libre2 sensor to get a feel for what spiked and dropped my levels).

All in all life remains good and I'm looking forward to completing my 1,000,000 steps by the end of September!

Look forward to chatting with you all.

 

[Inka]

Welcome @HayWayne 🙂 What a positive attitude! That will stand you in good stead🙂

 

[JITR]

Hi @HayWayne, all sounds good. What changes/plans/targets do you have in mind to sort things out? No doubt you can do it.

 

[Felinia]

Hi and welcome. Are you willing to share your HbA1c with us? That might enable us to make suitable suggestions. Is your brother able to offer advice? Glad to hear you can manage Metformin and statins, some of us can't.

 

[HayWayne]

Hi @HayWayne, all sounds good. What changes/plans/targets do you have in mind to sort things out? No doubt you can do it.

Hi JITR

To be honest - not a great deal. I eat pretty healthily anyway - I've swapped out normal pasta for whole wheat, white rice for brown and that's about it. I don't tend to eat a lot of starchy veg as my wife is on/off Keto.

Probably the biggest change is Sunday breakfast - we always take my father-in-law for breakfast at our local 'spoons, and I used to have a large breakfast with a couple of extras. I now have their 'Fiesta Brunch' and a bowl of fruit, and I'm loving it - even my 15yr old son has joined me in swapping it. Same price for two items and literally half the calories - plus way fewer saturated fats and carbs.

In terms of targets - I'm 50 next year and aim to be fitter than I am now.

Will be doing the London to Brighton bike ride with my son that year. It'll be the 5th time I've done it (L2B twice, L2B off-road once and London to Milton Keynes once).

 

[HayWayne]

Hi and welcome. Are you willing to share your HbA1c with us? That might enable us to make suitable suggestions. Is your brother able to offer advice? Glad to hear you can manage Metformin and statins, some of us can't.

I think (if I'm reading the info on my NHS app correctly) the first test was 7.7% and 61mmol/mol, the second was 7.8% and 62mmol/mol.

I wouldn't ask my brother for advice - I'm not sure his lifestyle is particularly healthy either.

 

[Felinia]

I think (if I'm reading the info on my NHS app correctly) the first test was 7.7% and 61mmol/mol, the second was 7.8% and 62mmol/mol.

I wouldn't ask my brother for advice - I'm not sure his lifestyle is particularly healthy either.

Yes, I can see why you were prescribed Metformin. My GP practise offers a 3 month window to reduce by diet and exercise if your HbA1c is less than 60mmol/mol, but your lifestyle seems to be sufficiently healthy. If you don't want to cut out any food groups, may I suggest you reduce the portion sizes of your carbs, and increase your portions of protein and vegetables. I manage on 75-90gm carbs a day, but less than 130gm is what is suggested. I still manage a slice of bread, or a couple of small potatoes (tested first and OK). I'm not a rice, cereal or pasta fan, so that was not a problem. Best wishes

 

[Leadinglights]

I think (if I'm reading the info on my NHS app correctly) the first test was 7.7% and 61mmol/mol, the second was 7.8% and 62mmol/mol.

I wouldn't ask my brother for advice - I'm not sure his lifestyle is particularly healthy either.

Yes early 60 mmol/mol for your HbA1C is well into the diabetes zone, the theshhold is anything over 47mmol/mol but still not desperately high so the medication and some dietary changes should sort it out. Sadly your swap to the brown versions of rice and pasta will not help as they are just as high in carbs as the white.
There is quite a bit of misunderstanding about what foods are healthy choices if Type 2 diabetic. It is all carbohydrates which convert to glucose not protein and healthy fats so including them in your diet is a good basis for meals. Some people find full on keto hard but find that a low carb approach as in this link very successful in reducing blood glucose. https://lowcarbfreshwell.com/

 

[Ieva DUK]

Hi @HayWayne and welcome to the forum! You hold a refreshingly positive attitude and it's infectious in all the right ways!

Making changes, such as swapping your choice for that Sunday breakfast as you did, is precisely what will bring your levels down, seeing as you have the exercise bit down as well. I agree however with @Leadinglights , that simply going for what's marked as 'healthier' doesn't always cut it with T2. Rice is still rice, while brown has a bit less carbs - it still holds quite a lot. Good news is that you cook everything yourself, so if I may suggest - have a look at the food section of the forum as well - people have found amazing substitutes for their go-to foods, without sacrificing the flavour, texture or the amount you can eat. Our website holds a collection of recipes as well, that could maybe get you started and bring some inspiration.

Keep us posted on how you get on!

 

[HayWayne]

Thanks for the replies folks - I take on board the rice/pasta comments and I have made a conscious decision to reduce portions as has been suggested (plus my wife is an anti-carb warrior due to her keto diet ). The waters are muddied even further if you start to consider net carbs, which things like brown rice and whole wheat pasta do better at due to the higher fibre content, but again they have been reduced in my intake. Things get even trickier when you consider weight training where some carbs are required to help fuel muscle building (too few stored carbs and protein is used for energy rather than muscle production). It's certainly something you have to be more conscious of weight training with T2, that's for sure!

Another thing that I have learned in recent months is that quite often 'low fat' means higher sugar - particularly in things like yoghurts.

@Ieva DUK I have already tried a couple of the recipes - and love the page. I'm going to make the chocolate and banana mousse at the weekend. Will definitely check out the food section, thanks for the suggestion.

 

[Ieva DUK]

Yoghurts are the bane of my existence! I want to include them in my breakfast so much, but the low fat, no sugar etc options just make my tongue curl back into my mouth . Tried adding berries, different seeds and such, but at this point I'd rather just have a bowl of those berries and seeds without anything, so if you find a good one - please share!

I do get what you mean in regards to muscle building, there's definitely a balance that needs to be found there. I know everyone's bodies work differently, but to me personally, increasing my protein intake (eating more meat, beans etc) has helped. I haven't gone full Keto as your Mrs, but I definitely felt the change in my body for a while - the low energy, cravings etc, until it suddenly re-programmed itself and everything came back to normal. Mind you, had the very same reaction when I tried to cut on my coffee intake

Do let us know how the mousse making went!

 

[helli]

Yoghurts are the bane of my existence! I want to include them in my breakfast so much, but the low fat, no sugar etc options just make my tongue curl back into my mouth .

Do you need the low fat, no sugar, etc versions of yoghurt?
Many people with type 2 recommend the full fat plain Greek yoghurts to which they add their own berries. This is usually lower carb and does not include fake sugars which certainly makes my tongue curl.

 

[HayWayne]

Do you need the low fat, no sugar, etc versions of yoghurt?
Many people with type 2 recommend the full fat plain Greek yoghurts to which they add their own berries. This is usually lower carb and does not include fake sugars which certainly makes my tongue curl.

I had done prior to my diagnosis, as I was also prescribed statins to combat high cholesterol at the beginning of the year. Now though, I do opt for the plain Greek yoghurt (not to be confused with 'Greek style'). I don't have it every day anyway, so it's all good.

 

[HayWayne]

Yoghurts are the bane of my existence! I want to include them in my breakfast so much, but the low fat, no sugar etc options just make my tongue curl back into my mouth . Tried adding berries, different seeds and such, but at this point I'd rather just have a bowl of those berries and seeds without anything, so if you find a good one - please share!

I do get what you mean in regards to muscle building, there's definitely a balance that needs to be found there. I know everyone's bodies work differently, but to me personally, increasing my protein intake (eating more meat, beans etc) has helped. I haven't gone full Keto as your Mrs, but I definitely felt the change in my body for a while - the low energy, cravings etc, until it suddenly re-programmed itself and everything came back to normal. Mind you, had the very same reaction when I tried to cut on my coffee intake

Do let us know how the mousse making went!

On my office days (which tend to also be gym days) I have overnight oats for breakfast made with a 50/50 mix of semi-skimmed milk and Greek yoghurt, with a handful of mixed seeds and a few mixed nuts/fruit (pre-mixed bags have some raisins, but I've recently opted for chopped dried prunes). It's delicious!

 

[Leadinglights]

If you are looking at UK packaging then the Carbs value already had had the fibre deducted whereas in America the fiber is included in the carb value so would need to be deducted.
As you say the low fat plain yoghurts are acidic but full fat is a different ball game.

 

[JITR]

Do you need the low fat, no sugar, etc versions of yoghurt?
Many people with type 2 recommend the full fat plain Greek yoghurts to which they add their own berries. This is usually lower carb and does not include fake sugars which certainly makes my tongue curl.

Full fat yogurt tastes much better.
Do natural fats still have a bad name in some quarters?

 

[HayWayne]

On my office days (which tend to also be gym days) I have overnight oats for breakfast made with a 50/50 mix of semi-skimmed milk and Greek yoghurt, with a handful of mixed seeds and a few mixed nuts/fruit (pre-mixed bags have some raisins, but I've recently opted for chopped dried prunes). It's delicious!

Finally made the mousse at the weekend. Easy to make and tastes lush. Tastes better than my picture looks at least!

 

[everydayupsanddowns]

Finally made the mousse at the weekend. Easy to make and tastes lush. Tastes better than my picture looks at least!

Ah! The @Docb school of cookery and fine dining 😉

(it can look like anything as long as it tastes good)