what can i actually eat??

[amy.weaver]

hi, first time posting in here so i'm hoping this is the right place to post

i'm 31 y/o, last month i was told i have prediabetes (44.0)
this was found after a blood test for hypothyroidism (i have subclinical hypothyroidism) - the nurse ran all sorts of tests as i hardly ever go to the doctors.

ive been dieting (calorie counting) for the past year but most of my foods were based around carbs & sugar which i've know learnt isnt great.
i do need to loose a fair bit of weight which hasn't been going great and now with this i feel like the wind has been knocked out of me

i've gone gone the wormhole the past 3 days and have gotten myself really confused!

i've logged what a typical day on the low carbs may look like (i'm yet to see if sweet potato will be an issue, i'm going to be getting a glucose monitor soon).

some my issues are:

my carbs and sugar are down but my fats have then gone up, they're pretty much from healthy fats but im concerned if this is a daily 'what i eat' that the fats are going to lead to other health issues.

my second issue i cant get my calories up!
i walk pretty much everyday (my weekly intensity minutes are usually 450-500 minutes so massively over the recommended 150) and i do a spin class once a week so obviously need more calories!

another issue is how much carbs and sugar can i actually eat?
some things are saying no carbs but others are saying 1/4th of the plate being healthy carbs is okay.
what carbs are okay? what carbs should be avoided?

what can i actually eat as theres too much conflicting information - im trying to find out how to refer myself to a diabetic programme but the wait time is a while so i don't want to wait ages to find out what i can & can not eat as it's stressing me out

any help is most greatful

 

[Inka]

Welcome @amy.weaver 🙂 Anything up to 130g carbs a day counts as low carb. The amount you should eat varies from person to person. If you’re trying to lose weight then you don’t need to eat loads of calories for exercise. The idea is to be in a calorie deficit. Losing weight should improve your insulin sensitivity.

Getting a blood glucose meter is a great idea as then you’ll be able to see what works for you. There are also Meal Plans and Recipes here:

Meal plans and diabetes

Eating nutritious, healthy and downright delicious food is that bit easier with our meal planners. We've created multiple different weekly meal plans to suit all types and tastes. They're nutritionally balanced, are calorie and carb counted, and can help if you want to lose weight. They also...

www.diabetes.org.uk

And

Recipe finder - Enjoy Food | Diabetes UK

www.diabetes.org.uk

.

 

[amy.weaver]

Welcome @amy.weaver 🙂 Anything up to 130g carbs a day counts as low carb. The amount you should eat varies from person to person. If you’re trying to lose weight then you don’t need to eat loads of calories for exercise. The idea is to be in a calorie deficit. Losing weight should improve your insulin sensitivity.

Getting a blood glucose meter is a great idea as then you’ll be able to see what works for you. There are also Meal Plans and Recipes here:

Meal plans and diabetes

Eating nutritious, healthy and downright delicious food is that bit easier with our meal planners. We've created multiple different weekly meal plans to suit all types and tastes. They're nutritionally balanced, are calorie and carb counted, and can help if you want to lose weight. They also...

www.diabetes.org.uk

And

Recipe finder - Enjoy Food | Diabetes UK

www.diabetes.org.uk

.

this is really helpful thankyou!
what sort of carbs are okay? i think this is the part i'm getting myself the most confused on

 

[Inka]

this is really helpful thankyou!
what sort of carbs are okay? i think this is the part i'm getting myself the most confused on

Well, not junk ones! So obviously things like cake, biscuits, etc are out. Carbs with a lower GI can be good, eg pulses and lentils, and pulses and lentils also have alleged additional health benefits. Wholemeal is better than white, but you’d still need to watch your portions. Fruit is ok, but stick with lower carb ones like berries and avoid bananas, tropical fruit and dried fruit. Sweet potatoes are usually kinder to blood sugar than white; you can get pasta made from pulses and lentils rather than wheat.

 

[amy.weaver]

Well, not junk ones! So obviously things like cake, biscuits, etc are out. Carbs with a lower GI can be good, eg pulses and lentils, and pulses and lentils also have alleged additional health benefits. Wholemeal is better than white, but you’d still need to watch your portions. Fruit is ok, but stick with lower carb ones like berries and avoid bananas, tropical fruit and dried fruit. Sweet potatoes are usually kinder to blood sugar than white; you can get pasta made from pulses and lentils rather than wheat.

thankyou for your help, i'm feeling a little bit more hopeful now

 

[CoolShot44]

Welcome to the forum @amy.weaver ,2 useful resources are carbs n Cals book you can pick up a used one for a couple of quid or purchase a new copy also check out the low carb freshwell app for some ideas . Everyone's different when it comes to eating with diabetes but for me some staples are scrambled egg on 1 slice of wholemeal bread or overnight oats or greek yogurt and berrys , mixed bean chilli with a measured amount of multigrain rice for me my limit is around 30grams of rice you might be better only testing before and after meals can you find what works best for you and your sugar levels . Home made carrot and potato soup or pea and mint soup eating things like salmon , hot lemon and water try to keep a diary of what you eat during the day and find ways to make them more healthy anyway good luck on your journey hope you find some good info

 

[CoolShot44]

theres a few ideas in another post started a while back that might also give an idea what things to try :https://forum.diabetes.org.uk/boards/threads/food-ideas-with-photos.101929/page-55#post-1381498

 

[pjgtech]

+1 for the carbs and cals book, its great and very helpful as it shows actual portion sizes in photos so you can compare whats on your plate. As above check out the Learning zone on here, and the Freshwell website, plus have a look at the "Sugar free Londoner" website, she also has some great recipes on there too.
Its all a bit overwhelming at first, but we've all been there, this site is great for support and getting questions answered.
Cheers

 

[amy.weaver]

Welcome to the forum @amy.weaver ,2 useful resources are carbs n Cals book you can pick up a used one for a couple of quid or purchase a new copy also check out the low carb freshwell app for some ideas . Everyone's different when it comes to eating with diabetes but for me some staples are scrambled egg on 1 slice of wholemeal bread or overnight oats or greek yogurt and berrys , mixed bean chilli with a measured amount of multigrain rice for me my limit is around 30grams of rice you might be better only testing before and after meals can you find what works best for you and your sugar levels . Home made carrot and potato soup or pea and mint soup eating things like salmon , hot lemon and water try to keep a diary of what you eat during the day and find ways to make them more healthy anyway good luck on your journey hope you find some good info

thankyou so much for the help, i'll check out the links!
it's all very new and scary but finding this site has already been so helpful and i'm a bit more hopeful now

 

[CoolShot44]

i totally understand and we have all been there , sometimes just making a few changes to what you eat and keeping a diary or journal, food is to be enjoyed my advice cook from scratch as much as possible , i'm into herbs n spices you can make anything taste nice with spices its helped me to make some tasty dishes , when i first got diagnosed i was scared to eat anything and my head was scrambled so find foods that you enjoy and try to make them as healthy as you can or find new recipes that work .

 

[CoolShot44]

looking at your attachment's, they look really good and you already make good choices when it comes to eating id be looking for the hidden sugars etc. like breadcrumbs on the salmon or chicken coatings as sometimes it can surprise you for example the other day i had chicken schnitzel with salad and some mayo i thought it was ok i checked my glucose before the meal and 3 hours after it and i was up into the tens that's high even for me as I'm usually around the 6s 3 hours after , when i checked the ingredients again i was surprised just how many carbs it contained though the chicken schnitzel coatings it took hours to come back to normal so i wont be having that again in a hurry .You need to find what amounts too much for your own body and try to work your meals from there , my limits around 40grams anything more and i struggle so for me i tailer my meals for that amount and no more , touch wood it seems to be working for me and ive been off metformin a few weeks now .

 

[Martin.A]

thankyou for your help, i'm feeling a little bit more hopeful now

@Inka has pretty well summed it up but can I just add I also found that I could reduce my carbs by quite a lot by making some simple swaps:-

Rice cauliflower instead of rice
Celeriac instead of potatoes - mashed, as oven chips, or cut into chunks and roasted
A non-grain pasta - my choice is red lentil
Mashed cauliflower instead of mashed potato
GF bread instead of regular bread

What that means is that I can eat the same meals as the rest of the family, eg a roast dinner, any rice dish, any pasta dish.

 

[Leadinglights]

I found following the principals in the Freshwell program successful it is based on the suggested no more than 130g carbs not just sugar per day. https://lowcarbfreshwell.com/
It is better to choose carbs carefully so ditch the empty carbs which are just fillers and have plenty of veg and salads together with meat, fish, eggs, nuts, dairy. There is no need to have low fat unless you need to for other conditions just have healthy fats as they fill you up and less likely to snack.