Well that shouldn't have been a surprise...

[Invinciblewasmymiddlename]

Hi,

Just found out that have Type 2 with a blood glucose of 99 (don't really want my 100th cap!). I guess being a slightly inactive middle aged fatty with a propensity for Greggs, biscuits and my mums Welsh cakes I shouldn't have been surprised. Found myself having to pop behind the odd hedge to regularly for a wee along with losing weight. My query are;

1. eyesight related - is close up reading fuzziness a symptom of Type 2 or just middle age?

2. Is this a realistic diet (very tasty and enjoyable) to help reduce blood sugar. Been a week of this and similar;

Breakfast
Leek mushroom celery garlic 3 egg omelette butter nuts

Lunch
Broccoli olives courgettes 1 boiled egg sun dried tomato 1/2 chicken breast salad cheese

Snacks
2 x Ryvita Butter spread
Orange, pear

Dinner
Lettuce chicken breast stilton cucumber dijon nuts

 

[trophywench]

Some right mixtures there - plus very nearly carb free rather than just cutting down and seeing what difference it made before cutting down further. Did you know you can actually cause damage to eg your eyes, by reducing your blood glucose too much too quickly? Sounds like nobody mentioned that to you, to me.

Tell us though - seriously! - have you started to feel any better and stopped gasping of thirst constantly - or not, actually?

 

[Invinciblewasmymiddlename]

No, no one mentioned that! Better crack open the hob nobs!... well 1 anyway.

Not thirsty now, chew 1 piece of gum on and off during the day (as I work aline mostly its not to impolite..). Already reduced the hedge stops by 50%.

It hasn't been to difficult swapping over so far. Didn't realise how tasty sardines, cucumber and tomato in a lettuce wrap was - 2 weeks ago I would have just laughed at that idea but now actually finding it quite therapeutic.

Any suggestions on mamaging carb levels more sensibly? Oranges, apples, perhaps a banana?

 

[Gwynn]

Best way of managing carb levels is to go online and look up the nutrition stuff of what you are eating. Its a bit of a slog but well worth it. Carbs seem to be in the most surprising of places. I bet there are Apps out there with all that stuff already entered and you just put in what you intend to eat and it will tell you all sorts of stuff, including carb data.

Basically it can,t really be done blind, so to speak, and because everyone is different, it becomes a journey of discovery finding out what your body does with different foods (that is why many on here recommend regular testing). The starting point is finding out what foods have what carb content...

Keeping a food/meal diary is helpful as older, good meals can be reused saving lots of extra work.

I started with the little Colins nutrition book and wrote everything down, but progressed to online (Fatsecret I think it was called) and a comprehensive App.

Alternatively, to cut out the hassle, simply cutting portion sizes might help, but to me, that is still flying blind but a lot easier to do.

Incidentally, a decent sized orange could have over 30g of carbs on its own. Who would have thought it (unless what I just looked up is wrong)

 

[trophywench]

Nah - oranges are packed with carbs (in the form of fructose), so are bananas and any other tropical fruit and grapes, then pears followed by apples and so on.

 

[everydayupsanddowns]

Sounds like you’ve made some big changes already @Invinciblewasmymiddlename

But yes, when it comes to managing your diabetes, it can be best to make changes to your menu and activity levels gradually - partly because they need to be sustainable long term, but also because very rapid and sudden changes to blood glucose levels are harder on the fine blood vessels, and changing things more gently will give your body time to adapt.

So I wonder if there is more of a middle ground between the all or nothing edges that might suit you better and reduce your BGs mire gradually. Cut out the sweet stuff, biscuits etc, but then reduce portion size of starchy carbs and boost / make up the difference with lower carb options?

Often you don’t realise how weary, worn down and lethargic you have been feeling. Erratic and elevated blood glucose levels can be exhausting and are linked with low mood, but this may have come on quite gradually. Making a few positive changes can give you more energy, a clearer mind, and a brighter outlook. Plus the regular checks you get after a diagnosis with diabetes mean that any potential problems may be spotted earlier, and can be sorted out sooner.

Hope the hedge breaks continue to subside, and you begin to feel much more yourself soon. 🙂

 

[Ditto]

Hello and welcome to the forum @Invinciblewasmymiddlename 🙂

Eat berries with cream on mmm... I'm gonna try that sardine wrap, sounds proper tasty.

 

[Invinciblewasmymiddlename]

Lost about 20kilos. Sardines are now officially boring so have moved to anchovies. Living the joyless, soulless empty existence that is a keto diet. Might get round to checking blood sugar at some point. Eyesight has recovered and is better than ever. 12kg to go...

 

[EllsBells]

Lost about 20kilos. Sardines are now officially boring so have moved to anchovies. Living the joyless, soulless empty existence that is a keto diet. Might get round to checking blood sugar at some point. Eyesight has recovered and is better than ever. 12kg to go...

That's an astonishing amount to lose in that time! I'm struggling to hit the 3 stone in 3 months mark! However, I've not gone close to keto carb levels.

 

[trophywench]

There's a reason it has become so awful to contemplate for you - some of us did think you had adopted a very extreme diet in February and said so.

You can't knock diabetes on the head for ever simply by adopting a very abrupt approach.

 

[Christy]

Hello @Invinciblewasmymiddlename maybe you should increase your carbs so that you're not on a keto diet? Great weight loss but you won't be able to sustain a joyless diet. I bought the Carbs & Calories book (available on an app too). This might help you. I love my food. Dark chocolate every day plus decent, tasty food. Yeah, I can't shovel in the chips, sweets & pasta like I did before and it can be hard. Let us know if we can help.

 

[Invinciblewasmymiddlename]

When I say joyless I was jesting a little. Its been quite interesting cutting carbs and the challenge of reducing them to a low level. Family birthdays and saturday family takeaways have been a frustration but pate wrapped in lettuce makes up for the chocolate cake or fish n chips. Dark chocolate is a treat as is the occasional apple. I like nuts, cheese and vegetables anyway so thats no hardship. Surprised at the carb loading of a splash of milk in a coffee. Refuse to buy Almond milk as its the biggest bee killer and environmentally damaging of all the substitutes - might make some oat milk.

Fasting is proving quite easy. Managed a couple of 16hr sessions - quite enjoyable challenge

 

[Ditto]

I need to fast. How come it's so easy for you, any pointers?

 

[trophywench]

@Ditto - keep thinking of his (her) mother's Welsh cakes and tell yourself he'll be at your door with a plate of them (still warm) at X o'clock when you finish this fast.

(of course you'll be kidding yourself but as long as you're only doing for self-help health reasons, that's not a crime!)

 

[Invinciblewasmymiddlename]

Chew gum, drink a cup of tea when you get home, treat it as a competition with yourself, think about the next 1/2kg. I find the challenge quite rewarding, hungry but rewarding....

I also fill my mind with stuff to avoid think about being hungry - I work alone a lot generally in fields or a driving a truck so can wear headphones some of the time. Listening to 1990/2000s trance music keeps the hunger pangs down.

Whatever works for the individual is probably good. I don't intend doing this long, need to lose 12kg more then I will ease off the carb stick and try something more calm but long term manageable.

I could send you some welsh cakes - probably virtual ones currently

 

[trophywench]

🙂 Thanks for the thought - but !

 

[Invinciblewasmymiddlename]

Just in case anyone has any interest in a middle aged, not quite as fat he was, thin haired mans excitement with Type2 well here you are.... H-BAC1 99 has dropped to a H-BAC1 35, 25kg lighter and quite chuffed with himself. Now just need to figure out a way to keep it under 35 and not get to be such a Greggs loving chubster again...

 

[Christy]

That's fantastic!! You must be so pleased! You don't need to keep it under 35 but like me it does need to be a new way of eating not a diet. You can have treats, just not so many and not so often. I'm delighted for you!!

 

[mage 1]

Just in case anyone has any interest in a middle aged, not quite as fat he was, thin haired mans excitement with Type2 well here you are.... H-BAC1 99 has dropped to a H-BAC1 35, 25kg lighter and quite chuffed with himself. Now just need to figure out a way to keep it under 35 and not get to be such a Greggs loving chubster again...

Well done

 

[Ditto]

Excellent. 🙂