Hi recently diagnosed with type 2 still in shock.I don't know where to start. I have cut out sweet food such as biscuits and cakes etc but struggling with carbs.I haven't a clue what to eat or not to eat.I have been referred to a dietician but appt not until February. Commenced on metformin 500mg twice daily yesterday.. Any advice appreciated. Wendy.
Just diagnosed with type 2
- Thread starter Fragilewend
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Totto
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Hi @Fragilewend What you can eat is fat. Mayonnaise, olive oil, lard, coconut oil, butter, duck and goose fat for example. These will not raise your blood glucose. Above ground vegetables like lettuce, spinach anything cabbagy like kale, sprouts or broccoli are fine as are cucumber, courgettes, aubergine and some roots as well like celeriac and turnips. I find tomatoes, peppers and carrots are fine in limited amounts.
Meat, fish and eggs are fine too in normal amounts. Some of us find legumes tricky. I like butter beans, chick peas and broad beans so have them in limited quantities and carefully prepared, that is, I soak, boil and let cool before use.
The easiest thing is to get a BG meter and test. We are all a bit different and some tolerate what others don't. And a BG meter will give you the best advice on how to treat your diabetes.
My favourite site for keeping my BG normal is the diet doctor.
Meat, fish and eggs are fine too in normal amounts. Some of us find legumes tricky. I like butter beans, chick peas and broad beans so have them in limited quantities and carefully prepared, that is, I soak, boil and let cool before use.
The easiest thing is to get a BG meter and test. We are all a bit different and some tolerate what others don't. And a BG meter will give you the best advice on how to treat your diabetes.
My favourite site for keeping my BG normal is the diet doctor.
Safi
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Welcome to the forums - plenty of friendly & experienced people here to answer any questions you may have.
I'd second (or third?) the suggestion for a meter. If you're wondering where to start you could have a look at the 'what have you eaten today' & the 'recipes' threads in the low carb forum. It seems a bit much at first but it really will become easier
I'd second (or third?) the suggestion for a meter. If you're wondering where to start you could have a look at the 'what have you eaten today' & the 'recipes' threads in the low carb forum. It seems a bit much at first but it really will become easier
daisy1
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@Fragilewend
Hello and welcome to the forum Here is the information we give to new members and I hope you will find it useful especially on diet. Ask as many questions as you want and someone will be able to 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 150,000 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 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
LOW CARB PROGRAM:
http://www.diabetes.co.uk/low carb program
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
Access to blood glucose test strips
The NICE guidelines suggest that people newly diagnosed with type 2 diabetes should be offered:
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.
Hello and welcome to the forum
Here is the information we give to new members and I hope you will find it useful especially on diet. Ask as many questions as you want and someone will be able to 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 150,000 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
LOW CARB PROGRAM:
http://www.diabetes.co.uk/low carb program
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
- Before meals: 4 to 7 mmol/l
- 2 hours after meals: under 9 mmol/l
- Before meals: 4 to 8 mmol/l
- 2 hours after meals: under 10 mmol/l
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.
R2T2
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Hi, welcome to the forum.
You can't go far wrong with the advice given in this forum.
I am also type 2 and my diagnosis came as a big shock. The advice from my doctor (to eat plenty of carbs...) was, to put it politely, wrong. By following the advice given in this forum I have managed to drop my blood glucose level from 21 down to an average of around 5.
My doctor was very impressed with that recently and said "I don't know what you're doing, but keep on doing it!", which was nice!
I now eat low carb and add fat to meals in the form of oily fish, nuts, and cream in my coffee.
I still eat sweets occasionally which seem to be ok in moderation
A blood glucose meter is a good investment if the doctors won't give you one.
You can't go far wrong with the advice given in this forum.
I am also type 2 and my diagnosis came as a big shock. The advice from my doctor (to eat plenty of carbs...) was, to put it politely, wrong. By following the advice given in this forum I have managed to drop my blood glucose level from 21 down to an average of around 5.
My doctor was very impressed with that recently and said "I don't know what you're doing, but keep on doing it!", which was nice!
I now eat low carb and add fat to meals in the form of oily fish, nuts, and cream in my coffee.
I still eat sweets occasionally which seem to be ok in moderation
A blood glucose meter is a good investment if the doctors won't give you one.
Clivethedrive
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SnapHi, welcome to the forum.
You can't go far wrong with the advice given in this forum.
I am also type 2 and my diagnosis came as a big shock. The advice from my doctor (to eat plenty of carbs...) was, to put it politely, wrong. By following the advice given in this forum I have managed to drop my blood glucose level from 21 down to an average of around 5.
My doctor was very impressed with that recently and said "I don't know what you're doing, but keep on doing it!", which was nice!
I now eat low carb and add fat to meals in the form of oily fish, nuts, and cream in my coffee.
I still eat sweets occasionally which seem to be ok in moderation
A blood glucose meter is a good investment if the doctors won't give you one.
thats exactly what my doc said
Prem51
Expert
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Hi @Fragilewend and welcome to the forum! Getting that diagnosis is a shock, and it takes a bit if time to get your head round it.
Also working out what you can eat is daunting at first. I was living on wholemeal bread tinned salmon sandwiches for the first couple of weeks.
But finding this forum has helped in finding support and advice, and I am on quite a good LCHF diet now and my HbAic dropped from 49 to 44 in three months. You can manage this condition.
Also working out what you can eat is daunting at first. I was living on wholemeal bread tinned salmon sandwiches for the first couple of weeks.
But finding this forum has helped in finding support and advice, and I am on quite a good LCHF diet now and my HbAic dropped from 49 to 44 in three months. You can manage this condition.
seadragon
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Welcome to forum. Plenty of good advice above. It is tough on first getting a diagnosis. I suffered 'food confusion' for about 3 weeks where you are suddenly scared to eat anything at all. Don't worry about it though - a few weeks is not going to make a huge difference in the grand scheme of things and once you've had time to read around the forum and digest Daisy's excellent advice it will all become easier and clearer.
If you can make the lifestyle change to a Low carb /high fat diet as many of us have on the forum you should find your diabetes much easier to control. A blood glucose meter is your best friend when working out what you can eat and well worth the money even if you have to fund it yourself. Someone will have the link to the SD codefree which has the cheapest test strips if you have to fund it yourself.
Walking is another great weapon in your armoury against raised blood sugars. If I've eaten something that raises it (as tested for by meter) then a brisk walk of 15 to 20 minutes invariably brings levels down. So even before getting a meter you can try taking a 15 - 20 minute walk after lunch and tea/dinner and know that it will be doing you good.
If you can make the lifestyle change to a Low carb /high fat diet as many of us have on the forum you should find your diabetes much easier to control. A blood glucose meter is your best friend when working out what you can eat and well worth the money even if you have to fund it yourself. Someone will have the link to the SD codefree which has the cheapest test strips if you have to fund it yourself.
Walking is another great weapon in your armoury against raised blood sugars. If I've eaten something that raises it (as tested for by meter) then a brisk walk of 15 to 20 minutes invariably brings levels down. So even before getting a meter you can try taking a 15 - 20 minute walk after lunch and tea/dinner and know that it will be doing you good.
