DIET?

markpaine1969

Member
Messages
6
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Tablets (oral)
Dislikes
People who think they are better than everyone else ✋
i jst dont kno what i can eat or to avoid.... its all to confusing... future looks bleak
 

ElkBond

Well-Known Member
Messages
358
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Treatment type
Insulin
Take it in bitesize chunks, you have to start somewhere. You are at the starting post lets get a few steps on the road.

Are you a t1 or t2, what sort of daily readings have you got at the moment?
 

Mark_1

Well-Known Member
Messages
270
One meal at a time and eat what suits you. Start with breakfast. Do you want one? You can skip it or not, do you like eggs, bacon mushrooms just want a coffee with cream. Can't give up bread try livlife or Lidl rolls. Ask questions for ideas based on what you would like to have. Do you test with a meter?
 

AlaskaRon

Well-Known Member
Messages
72
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Tablets (oral)
Dislikes
Not Having Pizza!
You can still eat anything you want, just watch your portions. Keep your carbs at 35 to 45 carbs a meal and you will do fine. It's the carbs you are limiting not food. It's not food that is the problem it's carbs and the portions.

I know if I tell myself I can't have something I want it more :). I will still have ice cream, pizza, bread all the bad things but I limit how much, it's all ok in small portions. My doctor told me when I was first diagnosed that I could still eat everything I like just not as much.

I did this when I was dieting and lost 100lbs. Telling yourself you cannot have foods you like is setting yourself up for failure.
 

AM1874

Well-Known Member
Messages
1,383
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Diet only
Dislikes
Not much
Hi @markpaine1969 .. and welcome
You have certainly made a good move coming here .. I was diagnosed T2 in early Feb and, like yourself and many others, I was shell-shocked with no information and no real idea of what was happening to me. Since joining this forum, though, 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. It's still early for me but, 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 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

It is a top priority that you get yourself a test meter and, for this, the following websites might help:
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 3-5 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

Legend
Messages
25,216
Type of diabetes
Type 2 (in remission!)
Treatment type
Diet only
i jst dont kno what i can eat or to avoid.... its all to confusing... future looks bleak

You can eat
meat, fish, oily fish, bacon, 97% meat sausages, eggs, cheese, butter, plain full fat yogurts, berries, salads, most vegetables, olive oils, avocados, mushrooms, tomatoes in moderation. Good vegetables are cauliflower, broccoli, kale.
As much of these as you like.

You need to reduce drastically (or avoid)
potatoes, rice, pasta, bread, breakfast cereals, things made with flour such as tinned soups and sauces, most fruits especially fruit juices, beer, most (but not all) vegetables that grow beneath the ground (root veg) and of course sugar.

You need to check the nutrition labels on all packaged foods and look for the "total carbohydrate" amount. If it is more than 10g per 100g put it back on the shelf. Best to keep it even less than that. This does not apply to foods you only have a teaspoonful of.

As you are Gliclazide you should have been prescribed a meter. If not, ask for one or buy your own. A meter will be your guide to which foods YOU can eat. (we are all different) Test before you eat and again 2 hours after your first bite, then look at any rise from before to after. If it is more than 2mmol/l there are too many carbs in that meal and it needs changing. It is best to keep the rise under 1.5mmol/l. Keep a food diary including portion sizes and record your levels alongside. Patterns will emerge which will show you which foods YOU react to. (we are all different)

Look here
https://www.dietdoctor.com/low-carb/60-seconds

There is a list of good foods and a list of not so good foods.
 

daisy1

Legend
Messages
26,457
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Tablets (oral)
Dislikes
Cruelty towards animals.
@markpaine1969

Hello Mark and welcome to the Forum :) To add to the useful information members have already given, here is the Basic Information we give to new members. Ask as many questions as you want 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 245,000 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

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 free 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
Blood glucose ranges for type 1 diabetes (adults)
  • Before meals: 4 to 7 mmol/l
  • 2 hours after meals: under 9 mmol/l
Blood glucose ranges for type 1 diabetes (children)
  • Before meals: 4 to 8 mmol/l
  • 2 hours after meals: under 10 mmol/l
However, those that are able to, may wish to keep blood sugar levels below the NICE after meal targets.

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. They're all free.
  • 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
 

Kristin251

Expert
Messages
5,334
Type of diabetes
LADA
Treatment type
Insulin
As someone on this forum so elequently said ( wish I could remember who) is to have a normal meal and push the carbs off ( or don't make them in the first place)

@Bluetit1802 summed it up nicely. When people ask I prefer to say what I can eat rather than can't as the list of what I can eat is much shorter. So I reply all kinds of animal/fish proteins in moderation ( the less processed the better) above ground veggies and enough fat to satisfy such as avocado, olive oil, some nuts or seeds, butter here and there, mayo or olives.

I tend to stick with the same things everyday. Bf is always avocado. Lunch is avocado and some protein and dinner avocado protein salad and veggies. I snack on nuts and cold veggies for the most part
 

britishpub

Well-Known Member
Messages
2,722
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Diet only
It's very simple

You can eat everything other than Bread, Potatoes, Rice, Pasta and Cakes.

A huge amount left to choose from.
 
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Resurgam

Expert
Messages
9,850
Type of diabetes
Type 2 (in remission!)
Treatment type
Diet only
Don't go by what other people can or can't eat to set your guidelines for the number of carbs to eat per day. You might need to have fewer carbs early in the day if your insulin resistance is higher then, but not a carb free meal so as to prevent your levels plummeting - you need to check your blood glucose levels regularly at first until you begin to see a pattern.