type 2 newbie

[collectors]

Hi, i am like many members that are type 2 diabetic, but have fallen off the rails somewhat.
When i was told "10 year ago" about the diabetes there were changes happening, in that i retired gave up a pack a day smoking & moved to the country. But i also put on a lot of weight "from 15 to 20 stone" with not being so active & bad eating. My blood readings are now around 14-18 & must get this sorted. So i am looking for some help on the forum with diets & alike.

One thing i am not sure about is why do diabetic nurses give you your blood details in one type of reading from the blood they took a week before, yet my Nexus machine gives it to me in different reading.???
Are we talking about the same thing ?. Thanks.

 

[Ralph-YK]

Welcome to the forum Collectors from a fellow T2.
HbAc1 is measuring something different to a finger prick test. To help confuse matter, there's 2 scales in use for the HbA1c (bigger numbers, where you hit diabetes at 48; and smaller ones where 48 = 6.5).
HbA1c is an average over 8 to 12 weeks, and is measuring sugar stuck to your red blood cells (I believe).

 

[collectors]

Hi, and Welcome to the forum.

The Hba1c check they perform uses one measure, the meters used for finger prick test uses a different one. If you Google 'Hba1c conversion chart' and click on Images you'll find several.

Beware charts that use the old percentage measure, which is a third way of showing your BG levels.

For T2 a finger prick test first thing in the morning, before you eat or drink anything, should be between 4 and 7 and two hours after eating should be under 8.5 as advised by this site. So, at 14-18 you have a way to go but just to show it can be done I was at 20.5 in March but currently averaging 5.7 in the morning and 5.9 two hours after eating.

Martin

Hi Martin,
any secrets that helped you to get back to normal, or any tips?

 

[Jodee]

Hi Welcome

The main dietary adjustment to lose the weight and bring down blood glucose is low carbs. That is no potato, white rice, pasta, cakes etc. The main thing for anything purchased is look at the carb content on the back of the packed, the bread if desired should be low carb, the Burgen Bread can be purchased in Sainsbury's but there are other alternatives. If you want rice or pasta have brown and small portions.

the HbA1c blood test results gives an average over 2-3 months. the mmol is usual in UK for BG monitor finger prick etc, the mg/dl is usually the US measurement.

when you set up your Nexus you need to select mmol if you are in UK or mg/dl if US Check with your nurse the next time you see her if you have set up your BG monitor correctly for mmol or mg/dl.

https://www.diabetes.co.uk/blood-sugar-converter.html

http://www.ngsp.org/convert1.asp

https://www.diabetes.co.uk/forum/threads/hba1c-conversion-table.51014/

 

[collectors]

Laugh! i just got 4 Sainsburys brown multi seed the other day to bulk out the freezer as its great bread for freezing. But the carbs are 37.4 compared to Burgen Bread at 26.9. Will pick some up next time to try. Plus, its on offer at the moment.
Thanks

 

[Jodee]

Laugh! i just got 4 Sainsburys brown multi seed the other day to bulk out the freezer as its great bread for freezing. But the carbs are 37.4 compared to Burgen Bread at 26.9. Will pick some up next time to try. Plus, its on offer at the moment.
Thanks

Burgen bread the 26.9 is for 100g Chris, the idea is to only have one slice at a time, its 11.8g per slice - other bread, could be 26g per slice so you can see it makes a big difference.

Whatever quantity of carbs you have been having, just try and reduce it by half if you are looking for the weight loss and lower BG.

Check this post out Chris https://forum.diabetes.org.uk/boards/threads/bread-cracker-options-low-carb.80994/

 

[Drummer]

With high blood glucose, avoiding any high carb foods for a while is probably a good idea.
Ten years of not bothered is rather a long time - and eating low carb is usually associated with weightloss as an added bonus.

 

[collectors]

With high blood glucose, avoiding any high carb foods for a while is probably a good idea.
Ten years of not bothered is rather a long time - and eating low carb is usually associated with weightloss as an added bonus.

Ah! i have not been at the blood levels this high before, but have-not been checking so regularly. I was always around the 8.0 give or take 2 points, which my nurse was always ok with considering my size & a standing heart rate of 70 + BP at 120/76. But sorting out a low carb intake seems to be the key to helping this along.
PS: Cant do the Morris dancing as i would get a real ribbing from friends as it is my surname name. lol.

 

[belugalad]

Ah! i have not been at the blood levels this high before, but have-not been checking so regularly. I was always around the 8.0 give or take 2 points, which my nurse was always ok with considering my size & a standing heart rate of 70 + BP at 120/76. But sorting out a low carb intake seems to be the key to helping this along.
PS: Cant do the Morris dancing as i would get a real ribbing from friends as it is my surname name. lol.

Hi I walk briskly twice a day for half an hour a time,each walk being 2 miles on a circular walk around the town centre,it takes in 2 good hills,this sucks glucose out of the bloodstream to provide fuel for the leg muscles,this has helped burn calories too and makes me feel good so if you can make the time it's a good exercise, it's a brisk walk and gets easier week by week,I led a very sedentary life and after losing weight the exercise has become easier,be it brisk walks or cycling

 

[collectors]

Hi I walk briskly twice a day for half an hour a time,each walk being 2 miles on a circular walk around the town centre,it takes in 2 good hills,this sucks glucose out of the bloodstream to provide fuel for the leg muscles,this has helped burn calories too and makes me feel good so if you can make the time it's a good exercise, it's a brisk walk and gets easier week by week,I led a very sedentary life and after losing weight the exercise has become easier,be it brisk walks or cycling

Its funny, that i even did a website on walks Where I used to live in Barnet London that had lots of large parks & open spaces for walking. Yet i now live in the country & it is actually harder to walk with having very little in the way of footpaths, parks & alike locally. Also where I live, there is a lot of lorries because of the sand quarys. But this is not an excuse, just a shame that i have to drive to an area to walk. I also get a problem now where my leg muscles go like iron after about 500 yards. This is not painful, but needs rest for a few minutes & i am good to go again. It's like my muscles are using up whatever feeds them. IE: vitamins or oxygen. But i think getting a lot stricter on my diet is a good start. One good tip that i used before when loosing weight was when out walking i would take a small ruck sack or weight belt & fill it pound for pound on what i had lost in weight. Surprising how much more exercises it give you, & its only what you were carrying before.

Thanks for the tips.

 

[belugalad]

Its funny, that i even did a website on walks Where I used to live in Barnet London that had lots of large parks & open spaces for walking. Yet i now live in the country & it is actually harder to walk with having very little in the way of footpaths, parks & alike locally. Also where I live, there is a lot of lorries because of the sand quarys. But this is not an excuse, just a shame that i have to drive to an area to walk. I also get a problem now where my leg muscles go like iron after about 500 yards. This is not painful, but needs rest for a few minutes & i am good to go again. It's like my muscles are using up whatever feeds them. IE: vitamins or oxygen. But i think getting a lot stricter on my diet is a good start. One good tip that i used before when loosing weight was when out walking i would take a small ruck sack or weight belt & fill it pound for pound on what i had lost in weight. Surprising how much more exercises it give you, & its only what you were carrying before.

Thanks for the tips.

That's a great idea with the weights,you can get those ankle weight too,I can see what you mean about the lack of walking space and yes there is a huge safety aspect,keep on trying you will get fitter and it will get easier my shins are getting used to it now,although most days I fly along and other days when I feel flatter,I make sure I drink plenty of water an hour before I start,I don't know if I need them,but I now take Complete B complex vits from H&B and high strength Omega 3 capsules,just in case that the new diet misses out any nutrients

 

[collectors]

Burgen Bread? What a pain this company is. They are stopping production of this bread after loving it for the last few years. It taste good & stays fresh for at least 5+ days & freezes really well. So i sent an email & they said we have replaced it with somthing called a sprouting seed bread & now comes in a paper bag. WOW!
It is almost half the weight & the same price. I am now looking for a good alternative.

 

[Docb]

Don't forget that Burgen is a brand name belonging to ABF Grain Products, which is part of Associated British Foods so its all about BIG food production. Decisions they make on production will have everything to do with how much profit is made from its manufacture and little to do with its usefulness as a low carb bread. That will depend on the buying policies of the major supermarkets, again having everything to do with profitability and little to do with nutrition.

My solution was to go to a low GI bread made specifically for Booths supermarkets but that's only an option for those fortunate people who inhabit that glorious part of the world populated with Booths supermarkets!

 

[grovesy]

Burgen Bread? What a pain this company is. They are stopping production of this bread after loving it for the last few years. It taste good & stays fresh for at least 5+ days & freezes really well. So i sent an email & they said we have replaced it with somthing called a sprouting seed bread & now comes in a paper bag. WOW!
It is almost half the weight & the same price. I am now looking for a good alternative.

My other half has brought me a loaf of the new one today. The last few weeks Sainsbury did not have and he got the original in Asda.

 

[collectors]

My other half has brought me a loaf of the new one today. The last few weeks Sainsbury did not have and he got the original in Asda.

I noticed that Sainsburys were doing the new one with about 1/3rd off the weight of other one & 1/3rd more expensive. Why do companies do this. "Shame"

 

[everydayupsanddowns]

Nice to see you posting again @collectors

How have things been going?

 

[collectors]

Nice to see you posting again @collectors

How have things been going?

I am one of those that find the dieting part very easy & can also loose a couple of stone. My problem is sticking to a life style to help stay that way & keep it off. Hence i am back to square one.
I was offered a diet program via the NHS with slim world for 12 week & when i started this they want £400 pa membership after the 12 week introduction. I don't like these sort of priceable.
Now i am not sure of the full details until next Tuesday, but my DB nurse wants to put me on a self administered injection "Ozempic .25mg" once a week & take me off two of the pills. We will give it a try.