Confused

[Venta]

Hi all. I'm VERY new to all this, in that I had a blood test last week for a general health check and got a call from the nurse today telling me I have pre-diabetes. I have to see her in two weeks but in the meantime I have to 'check food labels for sugar'. That was it, all the advice I got at this point.
I have no idea how much is too much, and have of course run into the the hugely confusing issue of carbs!
I am overweight, and so in late January I started a (what I thought was) healthy diet and exercise regime. As my blood test was taken 4 weeks into this 'new me', I'm clearly not getting it right.
I have used skimmed milk in tea/coffee for years, and in fact would rather go without a drink than have full fat or even semi-skimmed milk, and I love unsweetened almond milk on my 'Oatso Simple' porridge. I checked the labels and there is sugar in both of them (and the porridge). I find the whole issue of counting sugar/carbs utterly confusing, and have come to the conclusion that I'm better off sticking to brown rice and vegetables - and I'm not even sure about them!
I'm feeling confused, upset and a bit hopeless right now.

 

[daisy1]

@Venta

Hello and welcome to the forum

Some members will be along soon to give you some advice. Basically it's carbs that you need to reduce, not fats. Here is the basic information we give to new members and I hope you will find this useful. Ask all the questions you want and someone will come along and help.



BASIC INFORMATION FOR NEWLY DIAGNOSED DIABETICS

Diabetes is the general term to describe people who have blood that is sweeter than normal. A number of different types of diabetes exist.

A diagnosis of diabetes tends to be a big shock for most of us. It’s far from the end of the world though and on this forum you’ll find over 130,000 people who are demonstrating this.

On the forum we have found that with the number of new people being diagnosed with diabetes each day, sometimes the NHS is not being able to give all the advice it would perhaps like to deliver - particularly with regards to people with type 2 diabetes.

The role of carbohydrate

Carbohydrates are a factor in diabetes because they ultimately break down into sugar (glucose) within our blood. We then need enough insulin to either convert the blood sugar into energy for our body, or to store the blood sugar as body fat.

If the amount of carbohydrate we take in is more than our body’s own (or injected) insulin can cope with, then our blood sugar will rise.

The bad news

Research indicates that raised blood sugar levels over a period of years can lead to organ damage, commonly referred to as diabetic complications.

The good news

People on the forum here have shown that there is plenty of opportunity to keep blood sugar levels from going too high. It’s a daily task but it’s within our reach and it’s well worth the effort.

Controlling your carbs

The info below is primarily aimed at people with type 2 diabetes, however, it may also be of benefit for other types of diabetes as well.
There are two approaches to controlling your carbs:

• Reduce your carbohydrate intake
• Choose ‘better’ carbohydrates

Reduce your carbohydrates

A large number of people on this forum have chosen to reduce the amount of carbohydrates they eat as they have found this to be an effective way of improving (lowering) their blood sugar levels.

The carbohydrates which tend to have the most pronounced effect on blood sugar levels tend to be starchy carbohydrates such as rice, pasta, bread, potatoes and similar root vegetables, flour based products (pastry, cakes, biscuits, battered food etc) and certain fruits.

Choosing better carbohydrates

Another option is to replace ‘white carbohydrates’ (such as white bread, white rice, white flour etc) with whole grain varieties. The idea behind having whole grain varieties is that the carbohydrates get broken down slower than the white varieties –and these are said to have a lower glycaemic index.
http://www.diabetes.co.uk/food/diabetes-and-whole-grains.html

The low glycaemic index diet is often favoured by healthcare professionals but some people with diabetes find that low GI does not help their blood sugar enough and may wish to cut out these foods altogether.

Read more on carbohydrates and diabetes

Eating what works for you

Different people respond differently to different types of food. What works for one person may not work so well for another. The best way to see which foods are working for you is to test your blood sugar with a glucose meter.

To be able to see what effect a particular type of food or meal has on your blood sugar is to do a test before the meal and then test after the meal. A test 2 hours after the meal gives a good idea of how your body has reacted to the meal.

The blood sugar ranges recommended by NICE are as follows:

Blood glucose ranges for type 2 diabetes

• Before meals: 4 to 7 mmol/l
• 2 hours after meals: under 8.5 mmol/l

Blood glucose ranges for type 1 diabetes (adults)

• Before meals: 4 to 7 mmol/l
• 2 hours after meals: under 9 mmol/l

Blood glucose ranges for type 1 diabetes (children)

• Before meals: 4 to 8 mmol/l
• 2 hours after meals: under 10 mmol/l

However, those that are able to, may wish to keep blood sugar levels below the NICE after meal targets.

Access to blood glucose test strips

The NICE guidelines suggest that people newly diagnosed with type 2 diabetes should be offered:

• structured education to every person and/or their carer at and around the time of diagnosis, with annual reinforcement and review
• self-monitoring of plasma glucose to a person newly diagnosed with type 2 diabetes only as an integral part of his or her self-management education

Therefore both structured education and self-monitoring of blood glucose should be offered to people with type 2 diabetes. Read more on getting access to bloodglucose testing supplies.

You may also be interested to read questions to ask at a diabetic clinic

Note: This post has been edited from Sue/Ken's post to include up to date information.

 

[Bluetit1802]

Hi Venta and welcome,

Don't worry. We were all confused at first, and many of us still get confused when we read conflicting dietary advice. It will get clearer, and you should look on this pre-diabetes as a good thing. Good because you are not yet diabetic so have chance to put matters right, and good because it can be the kick up the bum we need to lose some weight.

The first lesson to learn is that you can ignore the "of which sugars" on food labels. It is the total carbohydrate amount you need to look at. Sugar is included in this amount. The rule of thumb is the fewer carbs the better. If it is a tin/packet you are going to consume in one meal, such as soup, a max of 10g carbs is desirable. If you are going to have other carbs with this, then a lot less that 10g is desirable. If it is something you only have a spoonful of, then judge for yourself how many carbs. The amount you consume will probably be insignificant. Obviously anything sweet like cakes are to be avoided if possible, but the other culprits are potatoes, rice, pasta, bread and cereals. These need reducing in quantity and portion size, and we also need to be careful with fruit and milk. Whole milk is better than low fat. Having said that, I always use skimmed milk in my tea because I hate it creamy, but as I only put a dash in, it is insignificant in the grand scheme of things.

The best thing you can do is buy a glucose meter and test strips. This way you can learn which meals/foods your body can cope with. We all have different tolerance levels to different carbs. You can test before a meal then 2 hours later and see what sort of blood sugar rise you have, then learn from that what size portions of carbs you personally can tolerate.

Have a good read round, read Daisy's post above, and come back with any questions.

 

[Venta]

Hi Venta and welcome,

Don't worry. We were all confused at first, and many of us still get confused when we read conflicting dietary advice. It will get clearer, and you should look on this pre-diabetes as a good thing. Good because you are not yet diabetic so have chance to put matters right, and good because it can be the kick up the bum we need to lose some weight.

The first lesson to learn is that you can ignore the "of which sugars" on food labels. It is the total carbohydrate amount you need to look at. Sugar is included in this amount. The rule of thumb is the fewer carbs the better. If it is a tin/packet you are going to consume in one meal, such as soup, a max of 10g carbs is desirable. If you are going to have other carbs with this, then a lot less that 10g is desirable. If it is something you only have a spoonful of, then judge for yourself how many carbs. The amount you consume will probably be insignificant. Obviously anything sweet like cakes are to be avoided if possible, but the other culprits are potatoes, rice, pasta, bread and cereals. These need reducing in quantity and portion size, and we also need to be careful with fruit and milk. Whole milk is better than low fat. Having said that, I always use skimmed milk in my tea because I hate it creamy, but as I only put a dash in, it is insignificant in the grand scheme of things.

The best thing you can do is buy a glucose meter and test strips. This way you can learn which meals/foods your body can cope with. We all have different tolerance levels to different carbs. You can test before a meal then 2 hours later and see what sort of blood sugar rise you have, then learn from that what size portions of carbs you personally can tolerate.

Have a good read round, read Daisy's post above, and come back with any questions.

Thanks very much for the reply.
When you say 10g or less, is that for that item? How much would a daily recommended amount be - or is that a stupid question? Also, if I can't have potatoes, rice, pasta or cereal - what's left? And if whole milk is better than skimmed - how do I lose weight as well?
I'm beginning to think water and black tea are what I'm going to have to live on. Ive downloaded the 30 Day Diet Plan, and haven't yet seen one meal I could have if I want to lose weight.
I'll continue to read round as you suggest, and thanks again for replying.

 

[Bluetit1802]

Thanks very much for the reply.
When you say 10g or less, is that for that item? How much would a daily recommended amount be - or is that a stupid question? Also, if I can't have potatoes, rice, pasta or cereal - what's left? And if whole milk is better than skimmed - how do I lose weight as well?
I'm beginning to think water and black tea are what I'm going to have to live on. Ive downloaded the 30 Day Diet Plan, and haven't yet seen one meal I could have if I want to lose weight.
I'll continue to read round as you suggest, and thanks again for replying.

There is no daily recommended amount. This is up to each of us as individuals. Personally I have up to 50g carbs a day, many have less, many have more. No-one said you can't have bread, potatoes, rice, pasta or cereal. You just have to cut down on the amounts and portion sizes. You can only judge by how much if you buy a meter. That will tell you what YOUR body can cope with. My meter tells me I can manage 1 slice of heavily seeded bread with a meal that has few other carbs in it, or a couple of new potatoes, or roasted ones, even 6 or 7 chips, but not with any other carbs. Some people can't manage any bread or spuds at all, but can manage a small amount of rice.

You will lose more weight drinking whole milk than skimmed - it is carbs and sugar that make you fat, not dietary fat. I know this is hard to imagine after we have had 30 years of brainwashing that fat is bad for us, but the tide is turning at long last as scientists are now showing how wrong the low fat culture was. I have followed a low carb-high fat diet for 12 months and have lost over 31% of my body weight and have well controlled blood sugars. Also I have never felt fitter or more energetic. But please don't take my word for it - read round this forum and make your own mind up.

Have a look at this thread for new low carb beginners http://www.diabetes.co.uk/forum/threads/a-new-low-carb-guide-for-beginners.68695/ You will find it very helpful.

 

[catinahat]

Hello venta welcome.
I wish I had found this forum when my gp informed me that I was pre diabetic, maybe I could have avoided going on to develop t2 . I took the Dr's advice and tried to eat a healthy balanced diet. I changed to wholemeal bread, had brown rice, plenty of fruit & veg and low fat everything. I found that unless I starved myself I couldn't lose any weight. After I was diagnosed with t2 I found this forum, quite a few people here recommend the low carb high fat diet. Although it seemed to be the opposite of all the advice I had been given, I decided to give it a go. I try to keep to about 50 carbs a day and now have full fat everything. So far this year I have lost 2st and my blood sugar levels are coming down nicely. I hope that with the information and support you can get from this forum, you will be able to avoid going on to develop diabetes
Clive.

 

[Patricia21]

Hi Venta and welcome.
Like catinahat I wish I had found the forum before I developed T2.

 

[Venta]

Thanks for all the replies, and welcomes.
Still confused, and trying to grasp the idea of weight loss on a full-fat diet!
I hate full-fat milk and cream, but I love cheese, eggs and fish - so I'll stick to them with some green veg and hope for the best.

 

[Bluetit1802]

Thanks for all the replies.
Still confused, and trying to grasp the idea of weight loss on a full-fat diet!
I hate full-fat milk and cream, but I love cheese, eggs and fish - so I'll stick to them with some green veg and hope for the best.

Do you eat meat? A nice fry up is good for breakfast or lunch. Eggs, bacon, 97% meat sausage, tomato and mushrooms. Or eggs cooked any which way. I have a full fat Greek yogurt and add my own berries - just a few. That lasts me till lunch time.

 

[Venta]

Do you eat meat? A nice fry up is good for breakfast or lunch. Eggs, bacon, 97% meat sausage, tomato and mushrooms. Or eggs cooked any which way. I have a full fat Greek yogurt and add my own berries - just a few. That lasts me till lunch time.

I do eat meat, but not sausages (or burgers). That sounds lovely, but scary as I know absolutely, that I would not lose weight eating them.
I don't usually have breakfast. In the past couple of days I've had something light for lunch, e.g. a little cheese and fruit (clementine, melon), then for dinner a salmon salad one night and beef & vegetables last night - I put ON 4lbs! I also walked 3.5 miles Monday and 4 miles yesterday. I'm not hiding anything, or forgetting something I ate - that's it, that's all I had. Today I've had nothing (didn't feel like anything after the call from the nurse) and planning cauliflower, broccoli and salmon for dinner, so let's see what happens. I enter everything on My Fitness App, and Walkmeter, so I can keep tabs. (Every day MFP tells me I'm under my calories, but if I eat the amount they recommend I either stay the same, or put weight on).

 

[Bluetit1802]

I know it may sound difficult, but for someone trying to get their levels down to normal, missing any meals is not a good idea. Our bodies have a mechanism that springs into action if we fast, such as over night, or leaving too long between meals. Our livers produce glucose, which is deposited in the blood stream, because it believes we are going into starvation mode. It is a natural occurrence, can happen to anyone, but if we have any insulin resistance (which most of us T2's have, and most likely you too) this means much of the glucose stays in the bloodstream and doesn't get used up as energy. This is not good for blood glucose levels! After a period of fasting, we need something to keep our livers busy and reduce this production of glucose, so breakfast is very important.

It doesn't have to be much, but it needs to be something with as few carbs as possible. This is why eggs are so useful - boiled, scrambled, fried, poached, omelettes, whatever. Bacon and eggs won't make you fat IF you cut your carbs. Yes, scary, and we have all been there with your sentiments. but providing you cut your carbs, extra fats will not hinder any weight loss.

Also, missing meals and not eating enough can hinder weight loss or make us gain because the glucose produced by our livers tells the pancreas to produce insulin. This insulin is supposed to carry the glucose to all our cells to give us energy, but when we have insulin resistance, not all the insulin gets used and it floats round in the bloodstream with nowhere to go and nothing to do - it then gets stored within the body as fat, and consequently weight gain.

 

[DeejayR]

Hi Venta. Please be kind to yourself! It's not your fault you're pre-diabetic and you're not on a punishment treadmill. Obviously the idea of eating fat to lose weight sounds barmy but I can assure you lots of people on here have found it to be true. Cut the carbs and eat more fat to provide an energy substitute.
Just keep reading and think about it. No hurry as long as you stay with us and keep an open mind.

 

[Hedonista]

I was diagnosed pre-diabetic at the beginning of the year and for a while I felt afraid of all food, like anything I ate might murder me!

I like to keep things simple, so have decided that for the three months before my next blood test I'll avoid all the carb heavy food (bread rice pasta potatoes, pulses, grains and beans) and am eating lots of above ground veg, whole fat dairy products, eggs, meat, fish, tofu, nuts and a few berries. I've also disciplined myself to eat three meals a day. Once I got the hang of it, I've found it easy to adjust.

I've also lost weight, gained energy and finally sorted out a stubborn skin problem I've been living with for years! I feel ten years younger.

I also got a meter and tested every day for a week to get the hang of things. Now, I don't test every day, but do test a few days a week and also if I eat something unusual.

My plan is to keep this going for as long as I can and if my blood sugar stays low, to experiment with adding SOME carbs back in - I'd like to be able to eat some brown rice and lentils, which I miss, but I'm hoping to stay off the bread for life!

At the moment I'm past the initial fear and confusion and not yet at the point where I feel weary and resentful, which I'm sure I"ll come to. This forum has been a godsend. I hope you find it as helpful as I have xx

 

[Venta]

Thankyou all for your support. I'm clearly having adjustment issues, and it is helping to hear how you've all been there and dealt with it.
Maybe I could try having an egg or something for breakfast - my not having breakfast is not a diet thing, I just have an aversion to getting out of bed and eating! It seems a weird practice to me, but I'll try. I will weigh myself tomorrow am, follow your advice as much as possible, continue my walks and see where I am weight-wise one week today.
I am going to have a LOT of food to give away - all my lovely porridge, fruits, beans, brown rice, pasta, rice cakes, soups etc etc

 

[DeejayR]

Yes, sorry about the fave food clearout but it's a New You. Do get rid of snacky things you might be tempted to eat in an unguarded moment, like biscuits (whatever they are, I believe they're a sweet crunchy thing)

 

[Hedonista]

Yes, sorry about the fave food clearout but it's a New You. Do get rid of snacky things you might be tempted to eat in an unguarded moment, like biscuits (whatever they are, I believe they're a sweet crunchy thing)

Horrible, gacky, sweetie things, not made out of cauliflower. Or so I hear...

 

[Venta]

Me again! I don't want to be a pain, but this is all so new to me, and I haven't had a medical consultation since being told I'm pre-diabetic. I've been reading lots of threads on here, and for the most part I have no idea what's being said cos of all the numbers/letters and acronyms used re readings/spiking etc.
Anyway, this is my Fitness Pal totals readout for yesterday - aiming for low carb/high fat as advised. However, I spent all night panicking because seeing the fat total made me realise I probably can't actually stick to this plan cos I'm on statins (Simvastatin 40mg). I also take blood pressure tablets - Lercanidipine (dose got halved when I lost some weight) Candesartan, and I was on Indapamide, but that was stopped altogether a couple of weeks ago cos of weight loss, which I was over the moon about til the **** nurse crushed my euphoria with one phone call.
I really want/need to lose weight (about 4 stone!) and am working on it, having lost 1.5 stone since Jan 20th by calorie counting, and walking between 3-5 miles every day. (Which made the phone call from the nurse so much more devastating to me).
So - now what do I do? Low carb & low fat doesn't seem to give me many options in the food department - I go into the larder and just stare at stuff, thinking "can't have that, can't have this". I'm not much into cooking or baking either, but I guess if I have to . . .
Cauliflower - thank god I love it cos it may be all I can eat!

 

[AndBreathe]

Venta - right now, I think your most important step is to think about this and decide upon a structured plan of action.

You are currently pre-diabetic, but you haven't mentioned what your actual bllod score was. You could only just be prediabetic or very almost diabetic, and it would be good to know where you are on that scale, before getting too wound up about matters. For all you know, you could have been in this state for some time, so although you certainly want to take note, and some action, there's no need for an immediate, nuclear action plan.

Most of us found out pretty quickly the most important influencer to your condition is diet, followed by exercise. Some are generally healthier than others when diagnosed, but I'm assuming you are otherwise healthy?

Whilst on the subject of diet, carbohydrates (including basic sugars) are the key to all of this, and it looks like you've begun your steep learning curve there. Have you acquired, or considered a blood monitor so that you can test at home?

Some prediabetics find their bloods generally run at the higher end of normal for anything containing carbs they eat or drink, and others find they are particularly sensitive to a handful of foods -often bread or cereals, but certainly not exclusively. Only by testing, as you eat, will you find these things out. I would hate to think of you giving up foods you may enjoy without any real need, as far as your prediabetes is concerned. Of course, cutting more carbs may aid greater weight loss, but that's an alied issue.

 

[Daphne917]

Hi Venta like you I couldn't get my head around the idea that eating full fat was better for me than low or half fat. I was also on statins (Pravostatin) and it pushed my BS up to the diabetic range. I came off them due to other side effects and decided I would give LCHF a go. I cut down on or eliminated the so called 'healthy' foods such as w/meal bread, rice, pasta, jacket potatoes, fruit etc which are full of carbs and swapped low fat for full fat such as whole milk, butter and cheese. I also got myself a BS meter which means that I can test what different foods do to my BS and whether or not I can eat or need to avoid it. I usually test the same meal 3-4 times before deciding whether to 'keep or ditch'! I had my last check up last December and my hba1c was 42, my cholesterol was 4.2 and I'd lost about KGS since August. I'm still losing weight and my BS readings (taken from my meter) are usually in the 5s. I have the occasional glitch or 'naughty moment' food wise but I haven't regretted it. All I can say is read the forum and decide what you feel is best for you!

 

[Venta]

Hi Daphne, AndBreathe. I have thought about a meter, as I've read threads/posts by people who obviously swear by them, but as yet I don't actually know what the readings were that prompted the call from the nurse - and they wouldn't have meant anything to me had I thought to ask! As it was, I was so devastated when she told me, then she faffed about trying to find her next appointment (19th) that I just wanted to get rid of her so I could bawl my eyes out!
Anyway, I'm an action kinda person, hence getting straight onto the Internet, which of course led me here. All the nurse said was that up to my appointment, I should look at food labels for the sugar. What she didn't say was what I should do with the information having looked at it! She didn't give me any guidelines as to limits etc, so I got advice from here - initially I was looking to see how much sugar was too much. My intention is to turn up for the appointment on the 19th with more weight lost and normal readings (I assume blood sugars?). And you're quite right AndBreathe - I have no idea how bad it is, and where I feature on the pre-diabetes scale, but obviously I want to do something now to halt any possible progress towards full blown diabetes.
I'm still struggling with the full fat issue, not sure I'll ever get my head round it after years of indoctrination to the contrary.