I am a Type 2 diabetic who is desperately trying to lose weight. Are there any health retreats for diabetics that have been found to work?
Retreats for type 2 diabetics
- Thread starter Doli
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Hi there and welcome to the forum. I have not heard this question asked before and can only answer that I have not heard of a retreat specifically aimed at those people who have T2 Diabetes and who may need to lose weight. Perhaps other members have and can guide you.
I will say, though, that weight gain is a symptom of T2 Diabetes and is not the cause. Addressing your diet will aid your diabetes management and will most likely cause weight loss.
There are a few approaches to diet to choose from, LCHF (Low Carb High Fat), The Newcastle Diet or the Blood Sugar/MediterraneanDiet and the traditional approaches. Some members stick exclusively to one diet and others find a mixture of ways to tackle their own Diabetes problems. I would advise you to read around the forum before you decide on an approach to try.
May I ask if you use a blood glucose monitor and whether you take any Diabetes related medicines? These questions will enable members to give you tailored advice. I strongly advise you to get a meter and start testing as this will help you to learn which foods raise your blood glucose levels and which foods are acceptable to you.
Ask as many questions as you like and I shall tag @daisy1who will swing by and give you some really good advice on managing your condition.
I will say, though, that weight gain is a symptom of T2 Diabetes and is not the cause. Addressing your diet will aid your diabetes management and will most likely cause weight loss.
There are a few approaches to diet to choose from, LCHF (Low Carb High Fat), The Newcastle Diet or the Blood Sugar/MediterraneanDiet and the traditional approaches. Some members stick exclusively to one diet and others find a mixture of ways to tackle their own Diabetes problems. I would advise you to read around the forum before you decide on an approach to try.
May I ask if you use a blood glucose monitor and whether you take any Diabetes related medicines? These questions will enable members to give you tailored advice. I strongly advise you to get a meter and start testing as this will help you to learn which foods raise your blood glucose levels and which foods are acceptable to you.
Ask as many questions as you like and I shall tag @daisy1who will swing by and give you some really good advice on managing your condition.
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- Type of diabetes
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Guzzler
Master
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- Type of diabetes
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- Treatment type
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- Poor grammar, bullying and drunks.
ickihun
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( if you edit your post and insert a space after the 1, it will release your tag and will then work. For the future, a space has to be after any tag, for it to work.)
Ignore if fully aware already. Hope a help thou.
daisy1
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@Doli
Hello Doli and welcome to the Forum
Here is the Basic Information we give to new members and I hope you will find it useful. Ask more questions when you need to and someone will be able to help.
BASIC INFORMATION FOR NEW MEMBERS
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 well over 276,000 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:
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
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.
Over 145,000 people have taken part in the Low Carb Program - a 10 week structured education course that is helping people lose weight and reduce medication dependency by explaining the science behind carbs, insulin and GI.
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 blood glucose 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.
Take part in Diabetes.co.uk digital education programs and improve your understanding.
Hello Doli and welcome to the Forum
Here is the Basic Information we give to new members and I hope you will find it useful. Ask more questions when you need to and someone will be able to help.BASIC INFORMATION FOR NEW MEMBERS
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 well over 276,000 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
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
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.
Over 145,000 people have taken part in the Low Carb Program - a 10 week structured education course that is helping people lose weight and reduce medication dependency by explaining the science behind carbs, insulin and GI.
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 blood glucose 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.
Take part in Diabetes.co.uk digital education programs and improve your understanding.
- Low Carb Program - it's made front-page news of the New Scientist and The Times. Developed with 20,000 people with type 2 diabetes; 96% of people who take part recommend it... find out why
- Hypo Program - improve your understanding of hypos. There's a version for people with diabetes, parents/guardians of children with type 1, children with type 1 diabetes, teachers and HCPs.
The problem will be funding and getting people to go on a retreat, as the people who need it the most are the least likely to find out about it or to be willing/able to pay. If I was running such a retreat I would want a chef that could cook great low carb food and would base the education on the low carb version of XperThealth's diabetes course, along with lots of time for people to discuss what they think. Funding would be needed so as to enable enough people who have "defeated" their Type2 to be table costs etc for the discussions.
I expect the cooking demonstrations and hands-on sections would also be of benefit.
I expect the cooking demonstrations and hands-on sections would also be of benefit.
Resurgam
Expert
- Messages
- 9,868
- Type of diabetes
- Treatment type
- Diet only
Although most doctors and nurses involved in diabetes care will be categorical in their belief that being overweight causes diabetes, I found the exact opposite. I was rather surprised to find that after getting below diabetic levels of blood glucose I lost over 3 stone without trying, or even noticing all that much - until my clothes started falling off I did not even think about checking.
I always found that the only way to lose or even maintain my weight was to eat as low carb as I could get away with, and the foods which stopped me losing weight are the same ones which my meter shows spike my blood glucose.
For me, eating low carb is a way of life. I do it every day and keep my glucose levels normal. I think it is a better way to take control than going off on a retreat where you are not the one making the decisions about what foods to buy or how to cook them.
I always found that the only way to lose or even maintain my weight was to eat as low carb as I could get away with, and the foods which stopped me losing weight are the same ones which my meter shows spike my blood glucose.
For me, eating low carb is a way of life. I do it every day and keep my glucose levels normal. I think it is a better way to take control than going off on a retreat where you are not the one making the decisions about what foods to buy or how to cook them.
