New , can I snack healthily?

Stannewtype1

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I am a 20 year old male diagnosed yesterday with type 1 diabetes, I am now at home and wondering if they're is anything somebody like me could snack on. I am usually a huge snacker and eater in general and now I am lost for what to do. Please help I am losing my mind lol. Appreciated, thanks.
 

AM1874

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Hi @Stannewtype1 .. and welcome
I'm Type 2 on LCHF but my range of snacks should be fairly generic ...
For me: boiled egg mashed up in mayo, cold cuts of meat, pork scratchings, Babybel, cheese chunks (1 cu cm approx), olives or celery sticks with full fat cream cheese. I don't eat nuts because I don't like them but many people swear by them ..
Hope this helps
 

CherryAA

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good choices would be
nuts - macadamia, almonds, walnuts, pecans,
dark chocolate 70% +
things like parma ham ad other dried european meats , tinnd tuna, salmon with mayonaise
avocados
blackberries, strawberries, raspeberrie with cream and nuts
egs done any way you like - fried,boiled, poahced srambled - with bacon sausages tomatoes mushrooms

butter, cream, any sort of fresh vegetables- celery sticks with cheese - make it fullf at tasty versions

you should be able to eat macdonlds beefburgers just skip the burger and fries

basically eat the good stuff and chuck out the cheap fillers.
avoid anything with flour in it

if you eat lower carbs its my understanding it will be easier to control what you need to do as a type 1. Someone who has T1 will be along to advise you properly before long
! good luck!
 

col101

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Almonds are great, very low in carbs. Dark chocolate is a bit of an acquired taste n but 85% cocoa or above is satisfying in small quantities and low carb. Other things if you like them are pork scratchings and crispy bacon pieces.

Sent from my LG-H815 using Diabetes.co.uk Forum mobile app
 
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i notice you are type 1, not type 2.
Some type 1 eat low carb as the replies above suggest. However, not all.
When I was first diagnosed with type 1, I was advised I could snack on up to 10g carbs. This is, for example, one stick of twix.
You could snack on more but remember you will need to take some insulin for the carbs.

Healthy-wise, having type 1 diabetes does not redefine what is healthy.
 

azure

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I am a 20 year old male diagnosed yesterday with type 1 diabetes, I am now at home and wondering if they're is anything somebody like me could snack on. I am usually a huge snacker and eater in general and now I am lost for what to do. Please help I am losing my mind lol. Appreciated, thanks.

I have fruit, digestives, oatcakes, flapjacks plus cheese, peanut butter,,etc

Snacks aren't forbidden and they don't have to necessarily be carb-free. Nor do they have to be high fat.

What insulins are you taking and when? Have you had carb counting explained to you?
 

himtoo

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why can't everyone get on........
hi @Stannewtype1
welcome to the forum :)
right now you have loads to take in and for the next couple of weeks I wouldn't worry too much about exactly what snack that you eat( you will still be getting your head round the whole diagnosis )

I would recommend the book -- Think Like A Pancreas

I would recommend being kind to yourself ( as much as you can )

for me snacks are -- olives , cheese , raw veg ( peppers , courgette , celery etc )

or for a carby snack -- Jacobs cream crackers ( 5.5 carb each ) a couple of digestive biscuits ( 20 carb )

do give yourself some time to get used to things and talk to your new DSN ( diabetic nurse ) -- that is what she gets paid to do -- to help you !!
 

mg994

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Hi, first post so be gentle.

I was diagnosed with type 1 when I was 16 ( 7 years ago) and remember going through the same thing, panicking if I could eat pizza since it was a lot of bread. As a big snacker I thought my eating would do a complete 360, in reality it was tweaks.

My main snacking comes from yoghurt covered rice cakes, nuts, certain fruits ( stay away from naturally high sugared fruit such as grapes etc). I've baked sugar free, low carb cakes with splenda. every once in a while you could opt for diabetic chocolate or sweets but be careful with the amount as it could affect the "movements" of some bodily functions.

Really it's just picking the most diabetic friendly option and decide whether or not it's worth a needle in the arm.
 

noblehead

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I am a 20 year old male diagnosed yesterday with type 1 diabetes, I am now at home and wondering if they're is anything somebody like me could snack on. I am usually a huge snacker and eater in general and now I am lost for what to do. Please help I am losing my mind lol. Appreciated, thanks.

Welcome to the forum @Stannewtype1


It can feel like your losing your mind in the beginning as there's so much information to take in, but over the coming weeks & months things will get easier and life will return to normal.

As for snacks, you can snack between meals should you choose, depending on what insulin regime you are on you can accommodate most snacks within reason, if your unsure about taking insulin for the snacks then just have a chat with your DSN who will advise further. Best wishes.
 

Jaylee

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Welcome to the forum to you both @Stannewtype1 & @mg994 !

Snacks? If I happen feel that way & still have insulin on board from a meal bolus? Yep, cheese or pork scratchings.. Maybe spare olives kicking about... (I don't do or feel the need for a desert straight after a meal.)
 
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Daibell

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Hi. It's best if you can to train yourself off excessive snacking as it's a bad habit. If you keep the carbs down and have enough proteins and fats you will feel full for longer. If you do have snacks, go for something like 85% dark chocolate, nuts, berries, cheese etc
 
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Stannewtype1

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Thankyou for all replies I'm still trying to get my head around the whole thing, eating healthier already though which can't be a bad thing , all comments taken on board and appreciated, I'm on fruit and low fat yoghurt at the moment if I need to snack which has seemed ok so far just wor king out which fruits are safe and best.
 

dhogue

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I'm 22 and a new onset type 1. I've found that tuna and mixed nuts is a great snack. Salmon is my favorite. Mixed veggies with avocado is good. Chicken turkey any fish, a little cheese. Almond butter on carrots and celery is good. Rice cake with peanut butter is good. Just some good healthy yummy options
 

GrantGam

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You don't need to omit carbs from your snacks, as some of the thoughtful - but misunderstood members have suggested. I also wouldn't rate butter or cream as a snack either... But that's just me:)

You can snack on whatever you like, providing you're prepared to bolus for it. Some foods will typically be alright without insulin, others not so much. I will eat absolutely anything as a snack, although if I don't want to inject - then I'll eat things like the following, in small amounts:

-nuts
-cheese
-ham
-olives
-feta stuffed chilis
-blueberries
-celery

Remember that most forum members have your best interests at heart, although some of the advice given is not really applicable for you being T1.
 

CherryAA

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You don't need to omit carbs from your snacks, as some of the thoughtful - but misunderstood members have suggested. I also wouldn't rate butter or cream as a snack either... But that's just me:)

You can snack on whatever you like, providing you're prepared to bolus for it. Some foods will typically be alright without insulin, others not so much. I will eat absolutely anything as a snack, although if I don't want to inject - then I'll eat things like the following, in small amounts:

-nuts
-cheese
-ham
-olives
-feta stuffed chilis
-blueberries
-celery

Remember that most forum members have your best interests at heart, although some of the advice given is not really applicable for you being T1.

Sorry if you think the advice given was not applicable, though I am not too sure why you would think so. The new member requested advice as to " healthy" snacks , which seems to be pretty much what he got in general .

Is the advice from Daisy that recommends low carbs only sent to those with T2? If so then is there a similar one that gets sent to those newly diagnosed with T1? I don't recall seeing one so I had assumed that the basic advice - " watch out for carbs" was the same. If there should be a different one then perhaps the website could set one up that we T2's can refer to as necessary.

My own take on "healthy" snacking advice regarding people with T1 diabetics was taken from this guy - who produces a very interesting blog ( and now book) about his experiences and experiments with LCHF and higher carb eating which someone new to T1 might find interesting.

https://diatribe.org/best-and-worst-diabetes-food-advice

Whilst obviously its best if responses come from people with the same type of diabetics, it can be hard to ignore a plea for help especially late at night when you don't know how many other people are around on the grounds I don't have the exact same problem, when my readings on the subject seem to indicate that the same basic food advice is helpful to most of us just with different other complications.
 

GrantGam

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Sorry if you think the advice given was not applicable, though I am not too sure why you would think so. The new member requested advice as to " healthy" snacks , which seems to be pretty much what he got in general .

Is the advice from Daisy that recommends low carbs only sent to those with T2? If so then is there a similar one that gets sent to those newly diagnosed with T1? I don't recall seeing one so I had assumed that the basic advice - " watch out for carbs" was the same. If there should be a different one then perhaps the website could set one up that we T2's can refer to as necessary.

My own take on "healthy" snacking advice regarding people with T1 diabetics was taken from this guy - who produces a very interesting blog ( and now book) about his experiences and experiments with LCHF and higher carb eating which someone new to T1 might find interesting.

https://diatribe.org/best-and-worst-diabetes-food-advice

Whilst obviously its best if responses come from people with the same type of diabetics, it can be hard to ignore a plea for help especially late at night when you don't know how many other people are around on the grounds I don't have the exact same problem, when my readings on the subject seem to indicate that the same basic food advice is helpful to most of us just with different other complications.
Mainly the "avoid anything with flour statement" @CherryAA. As I said, you have the OP's best interests at heart which is most important, but it's also very important to remember that our dietary limitations are entirely different.

I simply dislike how everything will inevitably boil down to LCHF at some point. There has been absolutely no mention of low carbing by the OP but this thread will likely end up in a debate as to why low carb is better...

Certainly, there have been many great suggestions of low carb snacks - which are great, if the OP is looking for snacks that require little to no insulin. However, there is nothing wrong with bolusing for snacks, so it's important that we're not getting ahead of ourselves and instantly dismissing very healthy snack options that contain carbs.

You were right to answer the thread and you were right to offer help - there is absolutely no need to apologise:) But it's very important that LC isn't pushed by default. This is a diabetes forum, not a LCHF forum. Just saying, not having a go or that:)
 
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CherryAA

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Mainly the "avoid anything with flour statement" @CherryAA. As I said, you have the OP's best interests at heart which is most important, but it's also very important to remember that our dietary limitations are entirely different.

I simply dislike how everything will inevitably boil down to LCHF at some point. There has been absolutely no mention of low carbing by the OP but this thread will likely end up in a debate as to why low carb is better...

Certainly, there have been many great suggestions of low carb snacks - which are great, if the OP is looking for snacks that require little to no insulin. However, there is nothing wrong with bolusing for snacks, so it's important that we're not getting ahead of ourselves and instantly dismissing very healthy snack options that contain carbs.

You were right to answer the thread and you were right to offer help - there is absolutely no need to apologise:) But it's very important that LC isn't pushed by default. This is a diabetes forum, not a LCHF forum. Just saying, not having a go or that:)

Given I know little about T1 other than its necessary to bolus for carbs. , Given that the chap in question had just arrived home and was hungry and probably didn't have a clue what he could or couldn't eat whilst feeling hungry and probably panicked about his brand new diagnosis, the advice he asked for was a snack he could eat which would be healthy . Surely the answer to that is that a healthy snack in those circumstances is one that requires little or no insulin?

Obviously once someone understands how to medicate himself and the relative doses require to compensate for different carb intakes, then a world of additional foods will open out for that person as he becomes more comfortable with injecting himself to compensate for those carbs.

I don't think in the circumstances that is pushing LCHF at all simply reassuring someone who does not yet understand all these dynamics, that yes there is stuff he can eat , right at this very minute which won't be a problem for him? he can then make his own choices about what foods are worth injecting for and what isn't based on his personal tastes and readings on the subject as he becomes more comfortable with the diagnosis.
 

azure

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If anyone's uncertain what advice to offer to someone of a different diabetes type, tagging a few members of that type is a good option :)

Type 1s don't have to avoid carbs - neither in meals nor in snacks. Obviously we have to eat sensibly like any other person without diabetes, but the idea that foods like bread, pasta, rice, potatoes, cereals, etc are "forbidden" or evil in some way is wrong.

Moreover, carb snacks without a bolus are often needed by Type 1s when they're low or about to take exercise, and often during the honeymoon period shortly after diagnosis.

Can this thread please get back on topic now.
 
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Jaylee

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Hi,
I feel it's worth bearing in mind that with regards to bolusing for a snack containing higher carbs ( on top of & outside of the 3 square a day.) in a newly diagnosed could actually cause issue with lows, due to the possible "honeymoon period."
Who knows what that pancreas still has up its sleeve this early in the game.. ;)
 
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Daibell

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You don't need to omit carbs from your snacks, as some of the thoughtful - but misunderstood members have suggested. I also wouldn't rate butter or cream as a snack either... But that's just me:)

You can snack on whatever you like, providing you're prepared to bolus for it. Some foods will typically be alright without insulin, others not so much. I will eat absolutely anything as a snack, although if I don't want to inject - then I'll eat things like the following, in small amounts:

-nuts
-cheese
-ham
-olives
-feta stuffed chilis
-blueberries
-celery

Remember that most forum members have your best interests at heart, although some of the advice given is not really applicable for you being T1.
Hi. It's also worth bearing in mind though that some on insulin gain weight and blame the insulin when in fact it's the excess carbs taken with it. I agree it's fine to Bolus for the carbs you eat but just be aware of weight management otherwise insulin resistance will appear.
 
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