What can l eat ?

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gizzy

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Relationship to Diabetes
Type 2
Hi there l have recently been diagnosed with type 2 diabetes, and was perscibed meds! Last night l tested my self and the meater registered at 10.1 , l was a bit concerned ! Food and drinks , l am reading all sorts of conflicting information about what I can and cannot eat and drink! ie, can l drink milk , is canderel sugar substitute OK to put on my breakfast serial, can l eat bread, is there any type of chocolate l can eat, ! So many questions, and so much information!
I met with the diabetes nurse , but she was strapped for time ,with Christmas coming on, and she just told me of a few foods I can't eat , told me to exercise ect and made me another appointment in February!
Question, are there any straight forward, easy to understand lists of food and drinks l can , and can not eat
 
it depends, everyone is individual in what they can tolerate

It's total carbohydrate you need to look at and watch for as its carbs that turn to glucose quick in the body so look for lower carb foods, cereal might not be the best idea as you may spike rapidly after that, so things to watch portion sizes of are things like cereal, oats, bread, rice/pasta, potatoes etc, all the starchy carbs

The key to knowing what you can tolerate is testing before eating and then again 2 hours later, ideally you would be looking for no more than a 2-3mmol rise

Oh and welcome to the forum 🙂
xx
 
What to eat - meat and sea food, yoghurt, cheese, eggs salad stuff, low carb veges, small servings of frozen veges with cream.
Avoid grains, starchy veges, sugary fruits, juices and smoothies, drink coffee with cream rather than milk.
 
Hello Gizzy. So good that you have joined the forum, there is plenty of help and support here.

I can still remember that big shock of first diagnosis although it was over 8 years ago, it really knocked me off my feet, and there is a lot of confusing information about what to do. As Kaylz says, we are all different and there is no ‘one size fits all’ and you need to find what right for you.
There are 3 main things to consider:
Firstly, healthy eating, and the right solution for you to lower your blood sugars, and if you are overweight, loosing weight will help a lot. Secondly increasing exercise, and thirdly medication which may be necessary depending on what your HB1ac readings are.

For me, a new way of eating, and increased exercise, plus some metformin has worked. As well as cutting out all the sugary things, I cut down on the carbs particularly the ‘white’ ones (white bread and flour,rice,pasta,etc ) and mainly eat fresh fish and poultry and have learned to love vegetables (although that took a while!). I also try to avoid to much processed food, and to include plenty of fibre some from the veg, plus seeds and pulses. There are many good recipes to make these things really tasty.

I would suggest starting by reading Maggie Davey's letter, which gives a lot of information on how this lady approached the problem.
It does all take time to find what’s right for you and adjust your lifestyle, but please be patient, it will be very worthwhile.
(Oh - an occasional piece of chocolate as a treat is fine.)

Hope you will let us know how it goes for you and please ask about anything you are concerned about.
 
Hi Gizzy, as the others said its total carbs that we need to be aware about but we are all different so testing is key, tracking your bg readings in a food diary can help you see what works best for you, test before you eat and again 2 hours after and aim for a rise of no more than 2 if you can, if its more then review, adapt and try again. Things that help me get through are LivLife bread, a very low carb option you can get from Waitrose, great for toast or a quick sandwich if I’m in a rush or need to take something with me. I always carry a small pot of mixed nuts in my handbag, good as a snack or if i cant find lunch on the go, keeps the hunger away. Sugar free jelly is my sweet treat with a dollop of full fat Greek yoghurt....yummy. I occasionally have a bit of good quality dark chocolate if i really need a treat. Lastly, cauliflower is amazing, an alternative to mashed potatoes, add a bit of whole grain mustard/butter, top a cottage pie then add grated cheese, cauliflower rice works well with chilli or curry or add it to stir fry veg with whatever spices you like. It takes time to build your food list and it is trial and error so be patient, experiment and be prepared to play around until you get it working for you :D
 
Hi Gizzy, agree with the others.

There is no magic list of foods that will put everything right and be very wary of anybody who tells you there is. The general principle is that carbohydrates turn into blood glucose and the way of getting your blood glucose down is to eat less carbohydrate. How you go about that depends on your system, how you react to particular carbohydrates, what you like to eat, whether you like to cook and other stuff in your particular lifestyle.

There are some general principles. Wheat, potatoes, rice, oats are largely carbohydrate so staples made from those products like bread and cereals have a lot of carbohydrate. A lot of packet foods have sugar added to make them palatable and sugar is a quick acting carbohydrate. Fruit can be a problem but only for some. Cakes can be a big problem, they have sugar and flour in them and sometimes dried fruit. So, start reading labels and ignore all the big writing on the front of packets declaring the product to be healthy, or organic, or low fat, and read the panel on the back looking for TOTAL carbohydrate. Pick the things with lower carbohydrate per 100g. When you start looking you will be amazed at the variation in carbohydrate content between what seem to be identical products.

Another general principle is that you do not have to cut things out. What you have to do is to get your carbohydrate consumption down which does not mean getting it to zero. You have to get it to a level which your body can cope with. You have a meter so start keeping a food diary and check on blood glucose an hour or so after eating. You will soon start to see things which give a big rise in blood glucose - anything which puts you into double figures has got to be suspect. When you find something that you normally rely on is affecting you, then try eating less of it. If that does not work then look for a substitute. That way you will work out a regime that works for you.

A bit delicate I know, but could you do with loosing a pound or two to get your BMI into a "normal" range? If so, then there is good evidence to suggest that getting weight down is an effective way of getting blood glucose down. Some say that it does not matter how you do it but carbohydrates generally contain lots of calories so by controlling carbs as part of a weight loss regime, you can get a double whammie, getting to grips with your blood glucose from two directions.

You may be a bit confused now but there is no reason why you cannot work out what is best for you and in three months time, the chances are you will be on here telling others that getting blood glucose under control can be done by watching your diet. Good luck!
 
Welcome to the forum @gizzy

you’ve had some great pointers so far, so I’ll just stick to a ‘hello, welcome and good luck!’

make small adjustments to reduce your carbohydrate intake and let your BG meter be your guide 🙂
 
Hello and welcome. I am much the same age as you and was diagnosed last August. I followed all the great advice I have seen other people have given you, and 3 months down the line I have made a substantial reduction in my blood glucose, so for me it has worked.
I keep a food diary, so I measure and record everything I put in my mouth, both food and drink. I have joined NutraCheck, a website which has literally thousands of foods, showing all the cals, carbs, fats, proteins, sugars etc, and which keeps a running total per meal, per day and per week (saves doing all manually!). The first week is a free trial and if you join, there is a downloadable app to your Smartphone, ideal for shopping for you and/or your partner. In conjunction with your monitoring before and 2 hours after eating, you will soon see which foods affect your blood glucose. Now I have worked out what I can and should not eat, I don't measure so much - only for new foods, or if I'm not feeling so good.
I experimented with cutting down carbs. Diabetes UK recommends less than 130gm per day, and I settled on 75gm +- 15gm. That suits me but others have less, or more. A typical menu is
B: Poached egg, 1 grilled rasher, 2 grilled tomatoes, grilled mushrooms
L: Protein (from chicken, egg, cottage cheese, tuna, prawns) and plain salad, or home made veggie soup with 1 slice Hovis Lower carb bread
D: Poached salmon or grilled chicken, cauliflower rice or Bare Naked almost carb free noodles, green beans, carrots, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, broccoli, low salt veggie gravy
Other: 170ml milk, Benecol (for my cholesterol), snack of some sort, like a small piece fresh fruit, or 80gm berries with a dollop of Greek yogurt, or 2 squares 80% dark chocolate
This comes out at around 1200-1400 cals and 75gm carbs, depending on portion size - I fill up with non-starchy veggies and salad. I make my own veggie soups so I know what goes in them, and I certainly don't go hungry. This suits me and I hope gives you some ideas.
As for exercise, I joined Aquafit and go 4 mornings a week. But ordinary swimming and walking is also good. Best wishes and here's to a lower HbA1c in 3 months time.
 
Hi gizzy and a warm welcome to our community forum. Sorry that you've been dx (Diagnosed) with T2. It comes as a shock doesn't it but dont despair as you will find helpful advice & guidance right here from experienced & knowledgeable folk who live with Diabetes.

To help you manage your diabetes I can highly recommend a book entitled the CARB & CALORIE COUNTER which you will find enormously helpful. It has over 1700 coloured photographs of a wide range of popular food & drink items. The carborhydrate ~ calorie ~ protein ~ saturated fat ~ and fibre values are clearly displayed in coloured-coded circles below each photo. This highly visual approach makes it incredibly quick & easy to see the nutrient content of the food and drink you consume. The book is also the perfect support tool for weight management ~ portion control ~ and general healthy eating and can be purchased from DUK. It contains all the answers to your questions regarding what best to eat and what not to eat.
20170808_191413.jpg
Take a look at the following link too as there's plenty of info within it which will be helpful to you:~

https://forum.diabetes.org.uk/boards/threads/useful-links-for-people-new-to-diabetes. 10406/

Also, the book Type2 Diabetes: The First Year by Gretchen Becker is a book worth reading. Following her diagnosis in 1996 she self educated herself re: Type2 Diabetes. It is a brilliant book as Gretchen writes in an easy to understand format on how she managed her Type2 Diabetes since her dx (diagnosis)

There is a lot more information that we can advise you on like threads about meal plans / recipes ~ and weight loss challenges but I don't want to overwhelm you more than you are already at the moment. Good luck and do plz update us ~ or if you have anymore questions then just ask.
Take care
WL

Edited gizzys name.
 
Kaylz said:
it depends, everyone is individual in what they can tolerate

It's total carbohydrate you need to look at and watch for as its carbs that turn to glucose quick in the body so look for lower carb foods, cereal might not be the best idea as you may spike rapidly after that, so things to watch portion sizes of are things like cereal, oats, bread, rice/pasta, potatoes etc, all the starchy carbs

The key to knowing what you can tolerate is testing before eating and then again 2 hours later, ideally you would be looking for no more than a 2-3mmol rise

Oh and welcome to the forum 🙂
xx
Click to expand...
Let the meater guide me, yes , exerlant !!!! Thanks for that Martin
 
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