Type 2 Mediterranean Diet

[stephbospoon]

Hi everyone, I am a new person - was diagnosed Type 2 last year and am in the middle of some diabetes 'empowerment training' by Xpert Health - am waiting on a blood glucose monitor to arrive in the post.
As part of the training we're encouraged to pick a dietary approach. LCHF is encouraged, but I can't eat fat or nuts without experiencing pain and digestion problems so I know it's not for me. Does anybody here follow the Mediterranean diet and have they got results?
Thanks in advance!

 

[Kristin251]

Mine is somewhat Mediterranean but low carb high fat.
I can't eat a lot of nuts either, nor dairy or saturated fats.
My fats are mainly avocado, olive oil, olives and mayo.
You don't need to eat loads of fat. Mono fats are much better for me. I eat an avocado a day divided into 3 meals. Sometimes a scoop for snack. I drizzle ( not gob) olive oil on salads. 2 or 3 nuts or a pinch of pumpkin seeds or 2-3 olives as snacks. I eat lean poultry and red meat and fish most often. Butter is very limited and dairy rarely. Fruit usually none other than the celebratory choco covered strawberry at holidays.
The idea of lc bf is just to replace the calories from carbs with fat. Very easy to do as far has more than twice the calories as carbs.
So a salad drizzled with oil, a little chopped avocado and some protein bits is lchf.
Some chicken with chopped celery and onion bits with either mayo or avocado or both on. Alettuce wrap is lchf.
An egg is low carb high fat.
Chicken thigh with mayo or oil and a side of broccoli is lchf.
Salmon drizzled with olive oil and a side of asparagus is lchf.
Just ditch the carbs and eat a little fat. Doesn't matter what kind as long as the percentage is higher than carbs.
Get your carbs from above ground veggies and eat a normal amount of fat

By nature if you remove the carbs you've already raised your percentage of fat.

 

[Mbaker]

Hi @stephbospoon, although I come under the LCHF banner, my food lifestyle is a mix of LCHF, Mediterranean and failed Vegan. So for example I eat a lot of roasted vegetables (around 50 - 60%), avocados, fish (oily and sea bream / bass, sword), Greek yoghurt, berries, nuts, small amounts of red and white meat. I guess what I am saying is that you don't have to stick to a particular approach, why not cherry pick.

 

[Deleted member 371625]

Hi, and welcome to the forum. I was diagnosed T2 just before xmas and it took me about 2 months to get things under control. I found that low (but not very low) carb works for me with normal levels of fat and protein. This regimen is designed for gradual weight loss (2 lb / week or so) if that is relevant for you. I keep a food and blood glucose diary in a different thread (see link) which may give you some ideas about what meals are possible.

http://www.diabetes.co.uk/forum/thr...-and-what-did-you-eat-yesterday.117017/page-5

There is quite a lot of med diet about what I eat, but portions of spud, pasta, rice, bread etc. are kept small in general. I also cut out cake, biscuits, sweets etc. though I do have a few low (ish) carb desserts each week.

 

[azure]

Welcome @stephbospoon

A number of members here eat a Med type diet so do keep checking back to see if they respond. Getting a meter is a great idea as then you can see how your body reacts to certain foods

Every person is an individual so the advice to Eat To Your Meter should help you as you eat Mediterranean. You can then choose the best foods and the portion sizes that work for you

 

[stephbospoon]

Thanks guys - I've bought a blood glucose monitor so I'm not going to make any major changes until I see what is really happening with my current diet. Past hba1c's came back as good control, so I must be doing something right!

 

[douglas99]

I eat a mediterranean diet, but only after I reversed my diabetes.
I was overweight at diagnosis, so I did a low fat, low calorie diet, followed by the Newcastle Diet, and had good results.
I now tend to eat un saturted fats, in moderation, manly fish, (no other fat added to anything), and healthy fresh foods.
I avoid processed foods, but will happily each anything if I out, and seem to get away with it.

 

[Mbaker]

Hi, and welcome to the forum. I was diagnosed T2 just before xmas and it took me about 2 months to get things under control. I found that low (but not very low) carb works for me with normal levels of fat and protein. This regimen is designed for gradual weight loss (2 lb / week or so) if that is relevant for you. I keep a food and blood glucose diary in a different thread (see link) which may give you some ideas about what meals are possible.

http://www.diabetes.co.uk/forum/thr...-and-what-did-you-eat-yesterday.117017/page-5

There is quite a lot of med diet about what I eat, but portions of spud, pasta, rice, bread etc. are kept small in general. I also cut out cake, biscuits, sweets etc. though I do have a few low (ish) carb desserts each week.

Hi @midnightrider certainly not bland.

 

[Sid Bonkers]

I eat a low carb diet but Ive never found a reason t eat more fat, all I did was cut back on carbs.

Well if Im honest I cut back on everything but carbs most of all.

LCHF doesnt have to mean eating shed loads of fat, if you eat less fat your percentage of fat is automatically increased, its just basic maths.

I 8 years in and Ive just had my lowest ever HbA1c at 5% or 31 in the new numbers, and Ive never eaten extra fat

 

[Deleted member 371625]

Hi @midnightrider certainly not bland.

Thanks, cooking is my passion and hobby and I love trying new things. I just have to be careful with the carbs (not quite sure how careful yet) so am probably sampling more cheese than pre diagnosis!