Time for some honesty (on my part)

[TattooedLou]

Hey there, I'm 51, Christian, married mum of 2 grown daughters, been a type 2 diabetic for almost 25 years, have NEVER taken care of myself or my diet.
Now I have at least 5 stones to lose. I'm doing the 16-8 fasting thing and so far have lost 7lbs.
I have given up alcohol and my beloved bread and although I feel much better, I know there is so much more I can do. Anyway, I'm now worrying about counting carbs.
Where do I start?
If someone could point me in the right direction of easy to understand, friendly forums
I would really appreciate it. Thanks in advance.

 

[Inka]

Welcome @TattooedLou 🙂 Well done on your weight loss and your honesty. Are you on any medication for the diabetes? That’s important to know before advising about diet.

If you’re not on any diabetes meds and just want to keep an eye on the amount of carbs you’re eating, you don’t have to be super-accurate. Most packaged good have the carb info on them. It’s Total Carbs you’re looking for.

If you’re on insulin and talking about proper carb counting rather than just getting an idea of how many you’re eating per day, then do say what insulin(s) you’re taking and when.

 

[Ciara DUK]

Hi there @TattooedLou , and welcome to the forum 🙂

Congratulations on your recent weight loss, and thank you for sharing some details about your diabetes journey.

We have some information on carb counting on our main website, and there is a specific section on 'Type 2 and carb counting', the page is linked here - https://www.diabetes.org.uk/guide-t...carbohydrates-and-diabetes/carb-counting-tips

We also have a food labels guide available for free from our online shop, which may be helpful for you - https://shop.diabetes.org.uk/products/food-labels-made-easy?_pos=1&_sid=40c32fcac&_ss=r

Have you discussed with your healthcare team the possibility of going on a carb-counting course?

I hope this helps, as well as Inka's advice too! I'm sure others will chime in soon to give their thoughts too.

Please do continue to ask any further questions you may have - we're all here to help 🙂

 

[TattooedLou]

Hi there @TattooedLou , and welcome to the forum 🙂

Congratulations on your recent weight loss, and thank you for sharing some details about your diabetes journey.

We have some information on carb counting on our main website, and there is a specific section on 'Type 2 and carb counting', the page is linked here - https://www.diabetes.org.uk/guide-t...carbohydrates-and-diabetes/carb-counting-tips

We also have a food labels guide available for free from our online shop, which may be helpful for you - https://shop.diabetes.org.uk/products/food-labels-made-easy?_pos=1&_sid=40c32fcac&_ss=r

Have you discussed with your healthcare team the possibility of going on a carb-counting course?

I hope this helps, as well as Inka's advice too! I'm sure others will chime in soon to give their thoughts too.

Please do continue to ask any further questions you may have - we're all here to help 🙂

Thank you so much!

 

[TattooedLou]

Welcome @TattooedLou 🙂 Well done on your weight loss and your honesty. Are you on any medication for the diabetes? That’s important to know before advising about diet.

If you’re not on any diabetes meds and just want to keep an eye on the amount of carbs you’re eating, you don’t have to be super-accurate. Most packaged good have the carb info on them. It’s Total Carbs you’re looking for.

If you’re on insulin and talking about proper carb counting rather than just getting an idea of how many you’re eating per day, then do say what insulin(s) you’re taking and when.

Hey Inka, thank you so much for your reply. I take1000mg of slow release metformin twice daily and I have 3mg Dulaglutide jab once a week.

 

[Inka]

Hey Inka, thank you so much for your reply. I take1000mg of slow release metformin twice daily and I have 3mg Dulaglutide jab once a week.

@TattooedLou I think Dulaglutide is Trulicity, isn’t it? I’m not sure if that can cause hypos, so I’d just check the patient leaflet in case that might be an issue, or ask your nurse. If it does, then that might impact your diet choices as you might prefer not to go below a certain level of carbs.

I’m glad you’re feeling much better. Every little step you take is a step closer to your goal 🙂

 

[TattooedLou]

@TattooedLou I think Dulaglutide is Trulicity, isn’t it? I’m not sure if that can cause hypos, so I’d just check the patient leaflet in case that might be an issue, or ask your nurse. If it does, then that might impact your diet choices as you might prefer not to go below a certain level of carbs.

I’m glad you’re feeling much better. Every little step you take is a step closer to your goal 🙂

Yes it is Trulicity. Thanks again Inka

 

[everydayupsanddowns]

Welcome to the forum @TattooedLou

Well done on your weight loss so far, and especially on your determination!

One of the good things about diabetes (?!) is that it responds quite dramatically to even quite small improvements - so be encouraged, small changes really can make a big difference!

What is is about carb counting that worries you?

Some on the forum who are looking to have a bit of a ‘diabetes reset’ find it can be really helpful to keep a brutally honest food diary for a week or two. Note down everything you eat and drink, along with a reasonable estimate of the total carbohydrate content in your meals and snacks - it doesn’t have to be gram-perfect, the nearest 5-10g is fine. And it’s total csrbohydrate rather than ‘of which sugars’ which is most helpful.

It might sound like a bit of a faff, and will involve weighing portions, squinting at the fine print on packaging, and possibly looking up things on the internet, but it will give you a really good idea of which foods are the main sources of carbs in your menu. Once you can see which meals or snacks are your ‘big hitters’, and where carbs might be unexpectedly lurking, the diary might also suggest some likely candidates for swaps, portion reductions, or using lower carb alternatives (eg celeriac or swede mash, or cauli ‘rice’).

Take things gradually a step at a time - and keep is posted with how you are getting on.