What should I eat?

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TBB60

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Type 2
totally confused about what to eat, as many books contradict themselves, have type 2 & been on fish/chicken meals for 2 months, occasional curry & veg pizza takeaway, completely cut out beef, lamb & pork is that correct?

eat grapes, apple & orange everyday alongside cashew, brazil & almonds.

no desserts either.

grateful for any advise on what I can eat
 
TBB60 said:
totally confused about what to eat, as many books contradict themselves, have type 2 & been on fish/chicken meals for 2 months, occasional curry & veg pizza takeaway, completely cut out beef, lamb & pork is that correct?

eat grapes, apple & orange everyday alongside cashew, brazil & almonds.

no desserts either.

grateful for any advise on what I can eat
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Ouch .. my view is that once diagnosed T2 we are effectively allergic to carbohydrates.

I eat mainly meat of all kinds cut out stodgy carbs like bread, pasta, rice, potatoes.

Fruit mainly berries with double cream .

Grapes, apples are something I would only eat rarely.

What was your HbA1c on diagnosis and how long ago was it?
 
TBB60 said:
totally confused about what to eat, as many books contradict themselves, have type 2 & been on fish/chicken meals for 2 months, occasional curry & veg pizza takeaway, completely cut out beef, lamb & pork is that correct?

eat grapes, apple & orange everyday alongside cashew, brazil & almonds.

no desserts either.

grateful for any advise on what I can eat
Click to expand...
There is absolutely no need to cut out those meats you mention, indeed all meat is zero or very low carb even high meat content sausages are only 1-2g carbs per sausage.
However grapes are very high carb, apples and oranges and blueberries medium carb but other berries pretty low carb.
Deserts like sugar free jelly with cream, Kvarg deserts or full fat Greek yoghurt with berries are good for desert or breakfast.
Meals based on meat, fish, eggs, cheese, dairy with plenty of vegetables and salads but with small portions of any high carb foods like potatoes, rice, pasta and bread.
Pizza is high carb because of the base which is essentially bread so thin crust is better but watch the portion size even so.
You may find this link useful for menu ideas which may be suitable but that may depend on what your HbA1C and what medication you are on. It is a low carb approach which many have found successful in managing their blood glucose. Low carb is suggested as being no more than 130g total carbs per day, it is definitely not NO carbs (which is what a few advocate) as that for many would be unsustainable.
https://lowcarbfreshwell.co.uk/
You may also find the book or app Carbs and Cals useful for giving you the carb values of a whole range of foods and portion sizes. I found it was and is still my bible for making food choices.
 
Hi @TBB60, sad to say that grapes are also known as "sugar bombs" which has meant I've had to cut them out of my diet. As has been said, berries are the best. For a sumptuous desert I will have berries, chopped hazelnuts and double cream which is very filling due to the high fat content, but low on carbs.
I just eat the same as the rest of the family but instead of rice or potatoes I have extra green leafy veg. It's amazing how you can get used to chilli and curry served over broccoli and green beans! Now I really prefer that to the carbs.
 
Hi @TBB60
Since nobody has mention the nuts, I feel you may want to know a little about those.
Generally nuts are OK, but Cashews aren't a true nut (more like a weird fruit). They are extremely high in carbs compared with true nuts.
Excluding fibre they have around 22gms per 100gms versus 7gms for walnuts, 9gms for almonds, 4gms for Brazils, but 15gms for pistachios. So it's best not to eat Cashews and to minimise eating Pistachios.
www.dietdoctor is a good website for comparing the carb content of nuts, fruit and veg.
For example https://www.dietdoctor.com/low-carb/nuts
 
TBB60 said:
grateful for any advise on what I can eat
Click to expand...

Sorry to hear you’ve been a bit bamboozled by differing suggestions about food choices @TBB60

We have thousands of members on the forum and I doubt any two have quite the same approach to eating and what they do and don’t choose - so it’s hardly surprising that it can seem a bit contradictory and confusing to begin with.

Part of the additional complication is because a diagnosis with diabetes carries with it additional risk of heart problems - and some foods which are fairly trouble-free in terms of their blood glucose outcomes (eg red meat, cheese, and fats) need to be treated with a bit more caution from a heart-health perspective.

This guide tries to give a balanced view of how to develop a diabetes-friendly menu that you can still enjoy

The food group that most directly impacts blood glucose levels are the carbohydrates and sugars - and while there are obvious things like cakes, biscuits, sweets and sugary drinks that you will want to cut out straight away, you might be surprised how much *all* carbohydrate affects your BG levels, including rice, pasta, potatoes, bread, pastry, grains, cereals and many fruits.

But that doesn‘t mean you have to avoid those things entrirely. It‘s more about controlling portion-sizes, and choosing the options (or alternatives) that are gentle on your BGs and allow your body to metabolise your meals effectively.

One option is to start where you are, and use a BG meter checking immediately before and again 2hrs after the first bite of a meal, and tweaking meal choices and portion sizes to keep the ‘meal rise’ to only 2-3mmol/L above where you were pre-meal at the post-meal check

Good luck! And let us know how things go 🙂
 
Interesting about the nuts - how are macademia nuts? They are 'verboten' for calorie counters, but if 'fats are free' for diabetes, maybe they are allowable again?? (she hopes!!!!)
 
Well, healthy fats eg avocados are good. Fatty red meat, not so. For fruit stick with berrys, rhubarb is low carb, substitute grated cauli for rice and courgettes, grated, can substitute for pasta. Bread is going to be tricky....
 
TBB60 said:
totally confused about what to eat, as many books contradict themselves, have type 2 & been on fish/chicken meals for 2 months, occasional curry & veg pizza takeaway, completely cut out beef, lamb & pork is that correct?

eat grapes, apple & orange everyday alongside cashew, brazil & almonds.

no desserts either.

grateful for any advise on what I can eat
Click to expand...
Ah - I live on beef lamb pork as well as chicken and fish.
I don't eat any of the fruits you list, and none of the nuts.
I make desserts once in a while, sugar free jelly, gelatine, full fat yoghurt, cream.
I add stirfry, salad, or low carb veges to my meals.
It seems to work for me.
I have two meals a day - or sometimes one as I forget to eat some mornings.
 
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