Another Newbie

[Christina0308]

Hi all, I've done a post on the intro forum with some info but would like to add to this one. I'm Christina, diagnosed last Thursday, not much info from doctors, diet and exercise for three month and then bloods again. Received letters for eyes and telephone appointment referral. Had feet done today ok. Referral is for a 2 day course . Blood numbers I know are glucose 50, after fasting 48, liver, kidney ok. I am over weight too much tummy fat. After reading on here a low carb option seems to be working well, so cut down from last week on extra mindless carb and sugar eating and hope to follow advice given. Sorry for ranting trying to re educate myself on food, carbs especially.

 

[Rachox]

Welcome Christina. I'm a relative Newbie too, only diagnosed about 4 weeks ago. Good you have had your feet checked already and your education and eye checks are in the pipeline. More experienced members will be along soon with loads of useful information. However in the meantime I'll tell you my way of dealing with this. I've been eating no more than 100g of carbohydrates a day and I have been monitoring my blood sugar levels. This helps me see how different foods affect me and also cheers me up as I've seen my numbers dropping. As for weight, I have plenty to loose and have already lost a stone and a half, just by counting carbs not calories.
You've come to the right place, the info and support you'll get are second to none.

 

[Christina0308]

Thank you Rachox,
I also have considered 100g at most daily carbs and hope to lose some belly fat.....just learning carbs numbers on packaging going shopping soon so may be longer than usual, been looking at sugars and fats not the full carb number. Already cut out my mindless carb eating and boiled sweets. So hopefully a good start.....onwards and upwards.

 

[AM1874]

Hi @Christina0308 .. and welcome
You have made a good move coming here. Since joining this forum the folks here have given me so much info, advice and support that I am now much more confident about the journey ahead. So ask your questions and be assured that you will receive the answers that you need .. in my experience, it gets easier .. very quickly.

Managing and controlling your diabetes through exercise, diet and testing your Blood Glucose seems to be the best way forward for many people. For me, committing to an LCHF (Low Carb High Fat) lifestyle and testing 3-5 times a day seems to be working and you'll find that there is a wealth of info, relevant advice and positive support about LCHF on the forum ..

I have tagged @daisy1 for you and I would suggest that you read up on the Low Carb Program in the information that she will soon be sending you. You might also find the discussion on the Low Carb Diet forum helpful .. and the following Diet Doctor websites ...
Low Carb Intro and Information
Low Carbs in 60 Seconds

I strongly recommend that you get yourself a meter for testing .. I suggest that you try the website at:
https://homehealth-uk.com/product-category/blood-glucose/
for the SD Codefree meter, which costs £12.98 (you don't pay VAT) or:
http://spirit-healthcare.co.uk/product/tee2-blood-glucose-meter/
who distribute the TEE 2 meter, which is free.
I have both for comparative purposes and I have never found any significant difference between them. Unless you are prescribed test strips by your doctor (unlikely), the costs of testing comes down to the ongoing charges for test strips and lancets. I'm testing 3-4 times a day which works out at around £10 to £12 per month for either of the two packages above but, more importantly, I now know what my BG levels are .. and I can now manage them
Hope this helps

 

[Bluetit1802]

Hi and welcome aboard.

You will receive all the advice you need by following this forum and asking questions.

One piece of advice is to ask for a print out of your test results. The 50 and 48 will be HbA1c tests. This is a sort of average of the previous 3 months blood glucose levels, nothing to do with fasting. If you were told to fast it would have been for either cholesterol or/and a fasting blood glucose test (which would not have been 50 or 48, or you would be dead!) Knowing the exact tests and figures in important as you will be having many more tests for the rest of your life and you need something to compare. You also need to know if the doctor's "fine" or "OK" is correct. It is always possible we have results that are within the standard range and therefore "OK" but are teetering on the edge of not being OK. If you are in England you could also ask if your surgery puts test results on-line and how to register for this.

Good luck on your journey.

 

[Christina0308]

Gosh a lot to learn, my cholesterol 4.2 but not given other reading will ask next visit then I can compare results to see if I'm on the right track. Had no advice on meters yet , only what info I have picked up on here. Thanks for the warm welcome...

 

[Bluetit1802]

Gosh a lot to learn, my cholesterol 4.2 but not given other reading will ask next visit then I can compare results to see if I'm on the right track. Had no advice on meters yet , only what info I have picked up on here. Thanks for the warm welcome...

Yes, your cholesterol of 4.2 will be the total cholesterol, which is fairly meaningless on its own. You need the full lipid breakdown (HDL/LDL/Triglycerides/ratios. They will be on the print out. (or on-line)

With an HbA1c as reasonable as yours you won't be given a meter, unless you are ultra lucky. You will have to buy your own, like most of us here do (Those not on insulin that is) @AM1874 has given you some choices. They are the best tools we have to monitor how we are doing, and helping us sort out suitable diets.

 

[Brunneria]

Hi and welcome!

I will tag in @daisy1 who has some great information for new posters

 

[Rachox]

Thank you Rachox,
I also have considered 100g at most daily carbs and hope to lose some belly fat.....just learning carbs numbers on packaging going shopping soon so may be longer than usual, been looking at sugars and fats not the full carb number. Already cut out my mindless carb eating and boiled sweets. So hopefully a good start.....onwards and upwards.

I shop on line at Tesco, the nutritional info for each product, including the all important carbohydrate count, is listed very clearly. I expect all the major supermarkets do it. Might be worth a look before you go shopping so you know what you can and can't have. I have a delivery on Monday having planned all my meals for the week. I then record my meals and blood sugars on a spreadsheet so I can see what meals spike my sugars too high.

 

[Christina0308]

Morning all, did me first shopping yesterday...long shop reading package labels came home with half a normal shop, all those hidden carbs/sugar. Sent for a monitor should arrive couple of days, bit nervous about using it. Still getting my head round diet change as I use to have cereal with fruit for breakfast, so this morning I had a 2 egg omelette with 2 small sliced tomatoes and two small chorizo slices for flavour, is that alright.

 

[Rosiegough_]

Hi xx

 

[Resurgam]

Your breakfast seems fine. I often have omelette for my first meal - mushrooms feature in mine, or a tomato and grated cheese, or a sweet pepper,
I do Atkins as when I read New Diet Revolution it described my problems exactly - I probably had hypoglycaemia in my 20s and eating low carb foods got me to 65 before diagnosis with diabetes, though doctor dictated 'healthy' diets were most disastrous in the years between.

 

[Nixon786_]

How do you count the 100g carb. I eat a lot off rice so how do I measure it.

 

[Christina0308]

Reading and learning on packets of food, then divide it by portions in packet, I divide it between my meals, three a day, not sure if its the right way, just learning but I have cut out all my nasty mindless eating. Trying to get as much info as I can from these guys, who are great with info just a lot to take in all at once.

 

[Mark_1]

How do you count the 100g carb. I eat a lot off rice so how do I measure it.

Rice is about 90% carbs, one of the first things to cut out, I'd say. So 100g uncooked is about 90g carbs. You can get this info online, on the package or try an ap like myfitnesspal. You could try cauliflower rice as an alternative, Google recipes for cauliflower rice.

 

[Nixon786_]

Thanks

 

[Rachox]

I use cauliflower rice (cauliflower cous cous as Tesco call it) with curries, it makes a very good alternative to rice.

 

[Christina0308]

That's good to know, I am partial to a curry, so that will keep the carbs down.

 

[Rachox]

That's good to know, I am partial to a curry, so that will keep the carbs down.

Some people suggest microwaving it, but I prefer to spread it in a thin layer on a baking tray, drizzle with a tiny amount of olive oil and bake it in the oven (12 mins gas mark 6 or 200c), it gives it a bit of bite and an almost nutty flavour.

 

[Liam1955]

Hello @y90nne and Welcome to the Forum .
@daisy1 will post on this Thread some basic information for New Members who join the Forum, have a good read and ask questions.