Type 2

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Jarralad said:
Good afternoon
Mostly I have oats frozen berries and Greek yogurt for breakfast just about every day through the day I have 2 apples and soup or lentil pasta sometimes a sandwich evening meal it varies so much but I do eat chips not every night I do eat pizza again not every night but I’m doing something wrong. I do have the occasional packet of crisps. I used to eat loads and I do have the occasional chocolate or jelly sweeties I could cut down on these items and I must be doing something wrong. I work a physically demanding job and work spare hours renovating my daughters new home so I think I’m getting enough exercise. Having thought about it now I suppose all of these things married together don’t make the best choice. Never thought of it that way because it’s all occasional but together mounts up
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To control my type 2 I would not eat apples, soup is very carefully constructed from low carb ingredients, no lentils, no bread, no chips pizza or crisps, chocolate is the lowest carb I can find, and usually high cocoa. Jelly sweeties are home made and low carb.
I was eating a 'healthy; diet for some time before diagnosis and felt unwell, and I put on so much weight - but that was my fault for not doing it right. When the nurse at the surgery commented on how effective the diet was I laughed and told her what my typical day's eating was - she went pale. I was down 70lb from my heaviest recorded weight.
 
Drummer said:
To control my type 2 I would not eat apples, soup is very carefully constructed from low carb ingredients, no lentils, no bread, no chips pizza or crisps, chocolate is the lowest carb I can find, and usually high cocoa. Jelly sweeties are home made and low carb.
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But @Jarralad may not be as sensitive to carbs as you are @Drummer ?

Perhaps a few modest tweaks to his existing menu would be worth trying first. Many members here do well on 130g of total carbs a day, but I know that you aim for lower than that.
 
everydayupsanddowns said:
Many members here do well on 130g of total carbs a day,.
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Me, for example. I try to keep consistently at that level so that it I find myself needing to reduce my carbs further at some point in the future I have scope to do it.
 
Drummer said:
To control my type 2 I would not eat apples, soup is very carefully constructed from low carb ingredients, no lentils, no bread, no chips pizza or crisps, chocolate is the lowest carb I can find, and usually high cocoa. Jelly sweeties are home made and low carb.
I was eating a 'healthy; diet for some time before diagnosis and felt unwell, and I put on so much weight - but that was my fault for not doing it right. When the nurse at the surgery commented on how effective the diet was I laughed and told her what my typical day's eating was - she went pale. I was down 70lb from my heaviest recorded weight.
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I’ve got a lot to learn I realise that now. I’m glad I joined this forum there’s a lot of help. I do need to change my habits and check everything I eat. I definitely need to cut out the rubbish I eat
Martin.A said:
Me, for example. I try to keep consistently at that level so that it I find myself needing to reduce my carbs further at some point in the future I have scope to do it.
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seems low but I suppose with the right choices it’s doable
 
Jarralad said:
I’ve got a lot to learn I realise that now. I’m glad I joined this forum there’s a lot of help. I do need to change my habits and check everything I eat. I definitely need to cut out the rubbish I eat

seems low but I suppose with the right choices it’s doable
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If you keep a food diary with everything you eat and drink and estimate the amount of carbs it will help you see where some saving can be made by either reducing your portion, cutting out or making substitutions for the high carb foods. Getting away from the idea that you have to have potatoes, rice, pasta, bread with everything and having more veg and salads.
I have about 70g carbs per day and find it very doable.
 
Leadinglights said:
If you keep a food diary with everything you eat and drink and estimate the amount of carbs it will help you see where some saving can be made by either reducing your portion, cutting out or making substitutions for the high carb foods. Getting away from the idea that you have to have potatoes, rice, pasta, bread with everything and having more veg and salads.
I have about 70g carbs per day and find it very doable.
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That’s amazing. I will be looking into changing. I do eat bread but it says low GI I thought that was ok but needs more looking into. I do eat the lentil pasta and sweet potato chips. I’ve been so complacent and confident without really understanding it.
 
Jarralad said:
That’s amazing. I will be looking into changing. I do eat bread but it says low GI I thought that was ok but needs more looking into. I do eat the lentil pasta and sweet potato chips. I’ve been so complacent and confident without really understanding it.
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Some brands of lentil pasta can still be high carb but check out edamame bean or black bean pasta. Also sweet potatoes are also high carb, there are other things that you can try with are lower carb and make good 'chips' or wedges like celeriac or butternut squash.
For comparison, 55g baked sweet potatoes are 15g carbs, 55g potato wedges 14g carbs, 130g baked butternut squash 10g carbs.
 
Jarralad said:
That’s amazing. I will be looking into changing. I do eat bread but it says low GI I thought that was ok but needs more looking into. I do eat the lentil pasta and sweet potato chips. I’ve been so complacent and confident without really understanding it.
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I found that low GI gave very little advantage when I tested my reaction to it.
The Lidl low carb rolls were discontinued some time ago but I try to make my own version from time to time, as well as loaves, but the method is the key. I got a bread maker and it just smashed all the rise out of the dough.
Some people seem able to extract more carbs from the pease and beans than are listed - usually 180% of the listed value - it must be something genetic.
 
Drummer said:
I found that low GI gave very little advantage when I tested my reaction to it.
The Lidl low carb rolls were discontinued some time ago but I try to make my own version from time to time, as well as loaves, but the method is the key. I got a bread maker and it just smashed all the rise out of the dough.
Some people seem able to extract more carbs from the pease and beans than are listed - usually 180% of the listed value - it must be something genetic.
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I got the low GI bread from Lidl. I’m on a steep learning curve. I’ll be looking into different packed lunches for work and portion controlled meals in the evening. Healthier snacks as well
 
Low GI and low carb are very different. GI Glycaemic Index is the rate at which the glucose from different foods is released BUT this is individual depending upon your gut biome and metabolism, so some low GI foods may release slowly for you and some may release just as quickly as their higher GI equivalent. Basically it doesn't apply to everyone and the only way to know is to finger prick and test your own personal response to such foods. My body has a party when I eat porridge and gets high on glucose pretty fast but some people find porridge lives up to it's slow release reputation. Basically, you can't rely on low GI because it is an average response of the people who were tested and you may not be one of the average ones. A BG Meter will enable you to see how your body responds. Managing diabetes without a BG meter is like driving without a speedometer. It isn't very nice when a speeding fine or high HbA1c lands on the doorstep every now and then. Daoily testing will enable you to know you are driving your diabetes within the limits or take action to reduce it if you notice that your levels are creeping up.

You would also probably qualify for a free 14 day trial of the Freestyle Libre sensor system, which is a disc which you apply to your arm which samples your levels every few minutes and you can use an app on your phone to scan it and get your readings. It isn't as reliable as finger pricking but it gives you an amazing amount of data which should really help you see which foods are causing your body problems and which ones you can get away with. If you want more info about Freestyle Libre and their free trial, go check out Abbott Laboratories Freestyle Libre website. To qualify you just need to be diabetic and have a suitable phone to scan the sensor. It has limitations which you need to understand but it is a game changer for diabetes management. I love it and it has changed my mentality from managing a long standing and potentially quite serious health condition into more of a computer game where I try to achieve a personal best. I am not really into gaming but this has taken a lot of the strain out of my diabetes management. Beware it is somewhat addictive though! 🙄
 
I will finger prick with the oats and everything else actually see how different things affect me. I suppose this is the start again. Learning with help from the forum I’m sure things will get better and easier to understand. Thanks
 
Jarralad said:
I actually went to the Drs for my gout. I came back with high cholesterol and diabetes. I didn’t really get any information at all from the Dr just statins and metformin I was completely in the dark. Coronavirus came I wasn’t monitored I only had my eye examination which is fine. I was only told I should be under 10 if I measure myself then told I don’t need to measure as it’s not important on type 2. I was also told they’d rather I ate a whole bowl of fruit rather than 2 packets of crisps. Now I realise there’s a heck of a lot more to learn. Very daunting how much goes into it.
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I was told my Hb1aC was 81 in March 2023 after a routine blood test. My weight was in the normal bmi range, but I was eating a lot of carbs (toast for breakfast, a lot of bread, crisps, biscuits etc as well as spuds, rice & pasta). I thought my diet was ok as I wasn’t particularly overweight and ate a variety of fruit & veg.
I am learning a lot from this site and although I haven’t cut anything out completely, I am testing before eating and 2 hours after to see which meals are raising BG level. My highest reading was a salami sandwich made from Lidl low G.I bread, whereas I can have 2 slices of cheese on toast with normal wholemeal sliced loaf and the readings are acceptable. I had my 3 monthly blood test this week and was told that my Hb1aC is in the normal range, so although I haven’t been actively counting carbs, I have managed to bring BG down despite having the odd bowl of porridge for breakfast.
I have substituted the crisps for nuts and am eating a fair few strawberries at the moment. As others have mentioned, test which foods agree with you and you should be able to get that level down without too much upheaval to your diet. I am on metformin 500mg, 3x a day as well as statins. Just had an omelette for breakfast, so don’t need to test that.
 
this forum has already give me some excellent tips. I should’ve been more careful over the past few years but I did think I had quite a healthy diet. Everyone is different and even though I was told because I’m type 2 testing isn’t required I will be testing very regularly just to find out which foods suit me. I felt canny down after the review but I now know that with more knowledge and a lot more understanding of diabetes I’ll definitely be moving in the right direction. I’ve got the apps suggested and started looking into it more. Thought I was pretty up to the task but I’m miles off.
 
Jarralad said:
I got the low GI bread from Lidl. I’m on a steep learning curve. I’ll be looking into different packed lunches for work and portion controlled meals in the evening. Healthier snacks as well
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It is not the same, I'm sorry to say - low GI foods are not low in carbs.
My gut just sees it as a challenge I suspect and manages to rip out the carbs almost as quickly as the 'normal' version would give them up.
One good thing about eating low carb is that snacks are often not needed - missing a meal is unimportant too. I had settled on two meals a day, morning and evening, but these day I am down to one significant meal a day, with either a cup of coffee, some eggs or a bit of cheese, or nothing at all in the mornings.
 
Jarralad said:
this forum has already give me some excellent tips. I should’ve been more careful over the past few years but I did think I had quite a healthy diet. Everyone is different and even though I was told because I’m type 2 testing isn’t required I will be testing very regularly just to find out which foods suit me. I felt canny down after the review but I now know that with more knowledge and a lot more understanding of diabetes I’ll definitely be moving in the right direction. I’ve got the apps suggested and started looking into it more. Thought I was pretty up to the task but I’m miles off.
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Glad to hear some of the tips and suggestions have been helpful @Jarralad

Sounds like you are well on your way to making some positive tweaks and changes to your diabetes management, to find a menu and set of strategies that work for you as an individual.

Don’t give yourself a hard time for acting on the information you had at the time - one of the great things about the lived experience of the forum is that it demonstrates how different we all are, and how standard advice, while helpful in its way is really only a starting point.

What matters more is experimenting for yourself, and finding a set of strategies and approaches that works for you as an individual - and ‘eating to your meter’ can be a really powerful part of that.
 
everydayupsanddowns said:
Glad to hear some of the tips and suggestions have been helpful @Jarralad

Sounds like you are well on your way to making some positive tweaks and changes to your diabetes management, to find a menu and set of strategies that work for you as an individual.

Don’t give yourself a hard time for acting on the information you had at the time - one of the great things about the lived experience of the forum is that it demonstrates how different we all are, and how standard advice, while helpful in its way is really only a starting point.

What matters more is experimenting for yourself, and finding a set of strategies and approaches that works for you as an individual - and ‘eating to your meter’ can be a really powerful part of that.
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I’m really grateful for all the tips and also for not being told how stupid I’ve been since I was diagnosed. Honestly it means so much. I’m changing my eating habits. Already changed quite a bit but it’s a long haul. Im looking at different things for my work dinner and evening meal. Being here has helped so much. Thanks everyone for the hints I’m so appreciative more than you can imagine
 
Jarralad said:
I’m really grateful for all the tips and also for not being told how stupid I’ve been since I was diagnosed. Honestly it means so much. I’m changing my eating habits. Already changed quite a bit but it’s a long haul. Im looking at different things for my work dinner and evening meal. Being here has helped so much. Thanks everyone for the hints I’m so appreciative more than you can imagine
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As you change things you will find some things work some don't and that is because you are an individual with your own metabolism. Don't hesitate to come back with any questions, and tell us about your successes and failures as it all helps other people. It is often very much trial and hopefully no too much error.
Have a good day.
 
Apples and oats a disaster for me, what helps with a portion of apple is cheese, if you have it with cheese, i.e. fat, the effect could well be reduced. If you like avocado pairs do give them a try for breakfast, they are amazing for keeping hunger at bay, I can have a pear for breakfast with mao and two slices low carb toast, few strawberries or raspberries with half a vanilla kavarg and don’t need any lunch.
 
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