What does an average day of food look like to you?

[Bonnie23]

Hi

I've been diagnosed for just over a week and I'm wondering what an average day might look like for someone with T2 in terms of food?

I realise everyone will be different but I've had comments from some people about what I'm eating saying it's not right and its upsetting because I'm trying really hard but it feels like it's for nothing, they arent diabetic and it's confusing me. The comments are mainly concerning the amount of fruit I'm eating saying it's really bad for people with T2.

At the moment I'm having:
Two weetabix with semi skimmed milk

A piece of fruit as a snack, normally a pear, peach or apple

Some kind of meat salad with a pot of mixed fruit

On a night time I have loads of veg with lean meats such as chicken breast or lean pork etc and some fruit and low fat sugar free yogurt.

If I want anymore snacks it tends to be fish sticks or a handful of unsalted nuts.

Thank you
B x

 

[Pine Marten]

Hi @Bonnie23, it's true that some fruits can spike your blood glucose - eg bananas, apples, and especially grapes. If you're having several pieces of fruit a day it could be too much for your system. Many of us here eat berries instead, strawberries, blackberries, blueberries, as they are tolerated better. Also, full fat or Greek style yogurt is better than low fat varieties, and cream is also better as it can slow down the glucose rise.

The meat, salads, lots of veg, sound great and are good for type 2s, but I would beware of the weetabix as cereals are notorious for sending your numbers up! Do you have a meter with which to test your numbers, testing before each meal and then 2 hours afterwards?

 

[Bonnie23]

I

Hi @Bonnie23, it's true that some fruits can spike your blood glucose - eg bananas, apples, and especially grapes. If you're having several pieces of fruit a day it could be too much for your system. Many of us here eat berries instead, strawberries, blackberries, blueberries, as they are tolerated better. Also, full fat or Greek style yogurt is better than low fat varieties, and cream is also better as it can slow down the glucose rise.

The meat, salads, lots of veg, sound great and are good for type 2s, but I would beware of the weetabix as cereals are notorious for sending your numbers up! Do you have a meter with which to test your numbers, testing before each meal and then 2 hours afterwards?

I just got my testing meter. I did a test and it came out as 10. I'm not sure if this is good or bad. At the doctors last monday it was 17. Im not sure how fast my blood sugars should be coming down.

Thank you for the advice on the fruit and yogurt. I love strawberries so they will be high on the shopping list!

I am looking for an alternative to cereal that I can have at work

 

[Ljc]

I mostly buy frozen strawberries ,that way I don’t waste any , they do tend to be a bit tart though so I lightly sprinkle them with sweetener, personally I don’t like cream on them.

We are very individual in what fruit and how much fruit we can tolerate. I am very lucky being on insulin, if I really fancy something and if I feel its worth the extra insulin (often not) then I will have some extra insulin and enjoy the extra treat.

I don’t know if you have read this blog by Alan S apologies if you have . It explains how to use your glucose meter to find out how the various foods affect you so that you can make informed food choices, this way you won’t cut out anything your body tolerates well.
http://loraldiabetes.blogspot.com/2006/10/test-review-adjust.html
The only thing I will add to the blog is to do a test directly before eating to so you see where you started from .

Eventually you can cut down on testing and just do spot checks to keep an eye on things or when you try different foods

 

[Docb]

Hi Bonnie23. Not too dissimilar to you but for me the fruit and weetabix would be off the menu. I have not experimented much with types of fruit but I know that apples and blueberries give me a big spike. Also once made the mistake of eating some museli with dried fruit in it and that gave me a big double figures spike. Cutting out wheat in all its guises has, I think, been instrumental in getting my blood glucose down to sensible levels.

You are looking for alternatives for cereals. The problem is that what works for one might not work another, you just got to try it and see. My breakfast cereal I make myself by toasting oats and nuts and then adding mixed seeds. I eat about 25g with yoghourt for my breakfast which, with a slice of bergen toast, gives me around 25g carbohydrate and a +3 rise in bg after about one and a half hours.

Now you have a meter you can see what works for you. My thought is not to get to obsessive about it. Blood glucose levels go up and down for everybody and what you should be trying to do is to get yours back down to "normal" ranges. Its the big spikes into double figures that take time to come down that you need to avoid to do this. Remember that what you are trying to do is to get your average bg down to 7 or so and it is better to focus on the average rather than fretting about the odd spike.

 

[SB2015]

One approach some people use @Bonnie23 is to find out how many carbs they can manage at a meal, through testing and monitoring energy levels. I have a set figure for each meal and make sure that my meals hit a figure around that throughout the day. It is all the carbs that will become glucose once inside. Our bodies are not fussy where they get the glucose from.

There are certain foods that I know (through testing) make me spike and like others I limit my consumption of fruit, and have an apple at breakfast before an exercise class, but other wise a handful of berries in a bowl of my own homemade cereal (purchased ones are so high in carbs and have been described as a bowl of sugar in disguise). Mine is based on quinoa flakes with nuts, coconut, and seeds added to it. Eaten with full fat yogurt and it keeps me below 30 g of carbs in the morning.

For the rest of the day I limit myself to 30 g of carbs and we achieved this by switching to smaller plates, and loading up with very tasty veg. A good rule of thumb is that veg grown below the ground will be high in carbs, those grown above the ground (green beans, peas) will be medium carbs and those grown on the ground (celery) will be low carb. It is a rough guide but one I find useful.

As others have said it is the testing before and after meals that arms you with the information which you can then make informed decision about how to change your diet.

 

[Eddy Edson]

Hi

I've been diagnosed for just over a week and I'm wondering what an average day might look like for someone with T2 in terms of food?

I realise everyone will be different but I've had comments from some people about what I'm eating saying it's not right and its upsetting because I'm trying really hard but it feels like it's for nothing, they arent diabetic and it's confusing me. The comments are mainly concerning the amount of fruit I'm eating saying it's really bad for people with T2.

At the moment I'm having:
Two weetabix with semi skimmed milk

A piece of fruit as a snack, normally a pear, peach or apple

Some kind of meat salad with a pot of mixed fruit

On a night time I have loads of veg with lean meats such as chicken breast or lean pork etc and some fruit and low fat sugar free yogurt.

If I want anymore snacks it tends to be fish sticks or a handful of unsalted nuts.

Thank you
B x

For BG, it's whatever works for you. Test before and after eating to find out. Ignore the little rules which people come up with about what you should or shouldn't eat. Everybody really is different.

For CV health, which is just as important if not more so, it's possible to state more general rules which do make sense: limit saturated fat including dairy to not-very-much; try to cut refined carbs to zero; eat lots of fibre.

The trick with T2D is threading a path between BG and CV optimisation. Eg: Whole grains and fruit = excellent for CV but may or may not be good for yr BG, depending on who you are, when you eat them, what you eat them with and portion size. Also you can expect your tolerances for things to improve as you get yr BG better controlled.

My solutions when I was getting BG under control:

- Replace grains with seeds and nuts. My BG is sensitive to grains, not to seeds (eg chia) or nuts. You get a lot more fibre from seeds and almonds than you do from grains and generally a lot more high-quality protein and unsaturated fats. (But recently I've added back some grains, for convenience and fibre diversity, and because I can.)
- Limit portion sizes of fruit while bringing BG down without cutting altogether. Eradicating fruit altogether struck me as loopy and thankfully now I can eat loads of it.
- Just ditch refined carbs completely. CV-wise, they're even worse than saturated fat and nutritionally they're just "empty calories".

This may or may not be right for you! But in general a huge weight of evidence supports moving more towards minimally processed, mainly plant-based, for health in general.

Typical daily menu for me these days:

Breakfast: Big bowl of melon and fruit; big soy flat white with a bunch of chia seeds.
Lunch: Slice of pumpernickel with avocado and lime juice; soy flat white + chia.
Mid afternoon: Bowl of raspberries and blueberries with lemon juice.
Dinner: Stir fried chicken + ginger&shallots with avocado added.
Snacks: Grazing on almonds/walnuts/snow peas.

 

[Rose73]

I am prediabetic and would like to manage my BG without medication
But really find hard testing always

My meal
Morning green tea with one slice of Burgen and five small piece of home made veg kebab

Launch one slice of Burgen and zero fat Greek yogart with hummus and home made soap , no meat


Dinner one boiled egg with one slice of Burgen

Snack almond/peanut/walnut
Two type of fruit during the day such as peach ,apple , or berries

But I still feel Hungary and losing more and more weight and I am scared of losing more weight now as I lost more than 20 kg so far and I am scared if I continue if I continue starving

Every meal have lots of salad with it

Soap that I made can have beans ,Beas , pulses , or aubergine with other veg


Also cooked with Rapeseed oil or avocado oil .

My question is
How much nuts can we eat daily ? As I find it so useful ?

Can I eat home made biscuit which use almond flour with coconut flower and little of brown sugar ? Or that’s too much

I just don’t know what can I eat if I still feel Hungary ?
Please advise

HBA1C was 43 last year
This year 45

 

[Drummer]

Hi

I've been diagnosed for just over a week and I'm wondering what an average day might look like for someone with T2 in terms of food?

I realise everyone will be different but I've had comments from some people about what I'm eating saying it's not right and its upsetting because I'm trying really hard but it feels like it's for nothing, they arent diabetic and it's confusing me. The comments are mainly concerning the amount of fruit I'm eating saying it's really bad for people with T2.

At the moment I'm having:
Two weetabix with semi skimmed milk

A piece of fruit as a snack, normally a pear, peach or apple

Some kind of meat salad with a pot of mixed fruit

On a night time I have loads of veg with lean meats such as chicken breast or lean pork etc and some fruit and low fat sugar free yogurt.

If I want anymore snacks it tends to be fish sticks or a handful of unsalted nuts.

Thank you
B x

Well - the breakfast with weetabix and skimmed milk is high carb and low fat - the reverse is usually better. I was always more sensitive to carbs in the mornings so I have a big salad with meat or fish or seafood or eggs and cheese. Along with a mug of coffee with cream I am set for the day.
In the evening I have another mug of coffee whilst I make a stir fry along with meat or fish.
I usually make a dessert with sugar free jelly, yoghurt (full fat) and frozen berries, with some chia seeds to soak up the juice. The yoghurt has a time in which to eat it, so I eat it and then make another the next week.

 

[Drummer]

But I still feel Hungary and losing more and more weight and I am scared of losing more weight now as I lost more than 20 kg so far and I am scared if I continue if I continue starving
Every meal have lots of salad with it
Soap that I made can have beans ,Beas , pulses , or aubergine with other veg

Also cooked with Rapeseed oil or avocado oil .
My question is
How much nuts can we eat daily ? As I find it so useful ?

Can I eat home made biscuit which use almond flour with coconut flower and little of brown sugar ? Or that’s too much

I just don’t know what can I eat if I still feel Hungary ?
Please advise

HBA1C was 43 last year
This year 45

You seem to be eating a lot of fruit and bread - swapping to stir fries of low carb veges would probably be a good idea. Adding sugar to the biscuits is going to increase their carb count a lot - try making crackers (there are quite a few recipes around) to eat with boiled eggs or cheese. Nuts are a good idea - I like to add walnuts to salads and have a few almonds with a yoghurt or some coffee.

 

[Bronco Billy]

I am prediabetic and would like to manage my BG without medication
But really find hard testing always

My meal
Morning green tea with one slice of Burgen and five small piece of home made veg kebab

Launch one slice of Burgen and zero fat Greek yogart with hummus and home made soap , no meat


Dinner one boiled egg with one slice of Burgen

Snack almond/peanut/walnut
Two type of fruit during the day such as peach ,apple , or berries

But I still feel Hungary and losing more and more weight and I am scared of losing more weight now as I lost more than 20 kg so far and I am scared if I continue if I continue starving

Every meal have lots of salad with it

Soap that I made can have beans ,Beas , pulses , or aubergine with other veg


Also cooked with Rapeseed oil or avocado oil .

My question is
How much nuts can we eat daily ? As I find it so useful ?

Can I eat home made biscuit which use almond flour with coconut flower and little of brown sugar ? Or that’s too much

I just don’t know what can I eat if I still feel Hungary ?
Please advise

HBA1C was 43 last year
This year 45

Do you know why you are losing weight? People usually cut down on carbs if they want to lose weight, so my personal opinion is to do so wouldn’t be a good idea for you. I think you need to establish why you are losing weight before changing your diet. Any changes could exacerbate the problem.

 

[Browser]

Hi, Bonnie

I also have Weetabix for breakfast as it's a wholegrain cereal and wholegrain is supposed to be better. I only have one, sprinkle it with 50g of chopped strawberries and then pour 100ml of single cream over it.

Lunch is generally a sandwich made with low carb bread, with either a ham and cucumber filling or salad leaves and pickled cucumber.

Dinner varies a lot but generally involves salad or lots of veg, usually with chicken or fish, but today we are having slow-cooked lamb with roasted veg (carrot, courgette, red pepper, sweet potato and red onion).

Dinner is sometimes pasta but I eat wholegrain spelt pasta, half portions. My wife has some chicken & pasta recipes and we have Bolognese sometimes.

Dessert is always blackberries, strawberries or raspberries with a little double cream. I snack on nuts, usually walnuts but sometimes cashews.

If I make toast I use wholegrain granary bread but limit myself to 3 slices per day.

Apart from the berries I generally avoid fruit as I'd get double of more the carbs I get from berries. I can make an apple or a banana last all day.

Martin

A typical day’s menu for me is:

Breakfast. - 35gms. Lidl’s Really Nutty muesli with a small banana or a few berries. A slice of Burgen toast with tomato, basil and a sprinkle of olive oil. Cup of coffee.

Lunch. - A Burgen sandwich with meat and sliced tomato. Piece of fruit. Cup of coffee or a glass of water.

Dinner. - Red or white meat, lots of roasted veg., a few small boiled potatoes. Occasionally a heated slice of homemade banana bread ( almond flour / sugar substitute ) a few berries and double cream or a very small portion of Oppo low carb ice cream. A large glass of red wine.

Evening treat - One or two pieces of fruit. A portion of Aldi’s Moser Roth 85% chocolate and a strong coffee with cream.

This seems to have a satisfactory effect on BG and my weight rarely rises or drops from day to day.

 

[Rose73]

You seem to be eating a lot of fruit and bread - swapping to stir fries of low carb veges would probably be a good idea. Adding sugar to the biscuits is going to increase their carb count a lot - try making crackers (there are quite a few recipes around) to eat with boiled eggs or cheese. Nuts are a good idea - I like to add walnuts to salads and have a few almonds with a yoghurt or some coffee.

Hi
I just eat three slice of toast , low carb
I presumed that three slice not a lot with total around 33 g of carbs only for the full day


Also I am eating only two types of fruit to keep 5 a day which the main idea that I don’t want to miss the minerals and vitamin on them

I started to make biscuit with almond and coconut flour without sugar which probably could help

But my question was
If I still feel Hungary what can I eat ??? I don’t want to be starving always ?

 

[Rose73]

I

Do you know why you are losing weight? People usually cut down on carbs if they want to lose weight, so my personal opinion is to do so wouldn’t be a good idea for you. I think you need to establish why you are losing weight before changing your diet. Any changes could exacerbate the problem.

i am not worry about losing weight but there is a level where we don’t want to lose more but in same time we need to follow good diet for DB


SO I know that lam losing because of keto diet

But my question was
What can I eat if I feel Hungary without affecting my BG ?

I know almond flour is good , how much daily I am allowed to eat ?

 

[Browser]

Hi
I just eat three slice of toast , low carb
I presumed that three slice not a lot with total around 33 g of carbs only for the full day


Also I am eating only two types of fruit to keep 5 a day which the main idea that I don’t want to miss the minerals and vitamin on them

I started to make biscuit with almond and coconut flour without sugar which probably could help

But my question was
If I still feel Hungary what can I eat ??? I don’t want to be starving always ?

This recipe is good. I replace the flour with almond flour and coconut flour. I substitute the brown and caster sugar with Erythritol and add some chopped nuts. As well as the orange zest I include a good squeeze of juice from half the orange. As a special treat, I melt a bar of Aldi’s Moser Roth 85% dark chocolate and, when completely cooled, I dip the top of the cookies in it.

https://goodfood.uktv.co.uk/recipe/peanut-butter-cookies/

 

[Drummer]

first meal, tomato, mozzarella cheese, boiled eggs. Coffee with cream.

Second meal - bag of green salad, oil and vinegar dressing, celery, beetroot, radishes, coleslaw, sweet pepper, walnuts, two beefburgers without additives. Coffee with cream.

 

[rebrascora]

Breakfast.... 2 egg omelette with mushrooms onion, courgette and cheese filling with a side salad of mixed leaves, a small tomato, cucumber and avocado. No bread
Lunch..... A chunk of cheese and some olives and a small portion of fruit... blackcurrants or raspberries from the garden or today I had a quarter of a large apricot off my tree . Maybe a tiny piece of 70% chocolate or a few brazil nuts
Dinner..... meat or fish and lots of low carb veg like cabbage/cauliflower cheese/broccoli/sautéed courgette/aubergine/peppers/onion and a small portion of potatoes or small portion of wholemeal pasta depending on the meat. Creamy Greek yoghurt with summer berries or double cream with a half a small banana and pumpkin seeds
Total carbs usually come in at under 50g for the day.