I Am Not Sure Whether I Am Understanding Low Carb Diet

[nomorechoccy]

Hi Guys

I was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes just under a fortnight ago. I am very antii tablets and want to try to reduce sugar levels by diet changes.

I have stopped eating bread and chocolate. My doctor has suggested drinking more red wine and less lager. I have been using diastix to check sugar level but still seems higher. Does it take a while for diet to start working or do I need to become more drastic. I have quite a physical job so need to eat quite a bit, and using oat biscuits as they are slow release and small amounts of pasta and potatoes. Weight seems stable on new diet.

ANY ADVICE WELCOME ( apart from cut out alcohol LOL )

cheers Chris

 

[Rachox]

Hi nomorechoccy (unless it’s 85% or more!). I see you are relatively new to the forum so let me tag in @daisy1 for her info post which includes stuff about carbs.
Can you give us a run down of a typical days food? We may be able to help you tweak it.
What’s a Diastix? Is that a urine test? Blood sugar meters are more accurate, you may find you’d like to get one. We can help you choose.

 

[bulkbiker]

For me pasta and potatoes would be out especially for the first few months and oat biscuits taste like cardboard anyway so they would be in the bin!
Do you have your "numbers" i.e. your HbA1c level that led to your diagnosis.. that would give an indication of "how bad" your blood sugar levels were/had been.

 

[DCUKMod]

Hi Guys

I was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes just under a fortnight ago. I am very antii tablets and want to try to reduce sugar levels by diet changes.

I have stopped eating bread and chocolate. My doctor has suggested drinking more red wine and less lager. I have been using diastix to check sugar level but still seems higher. Does it take a while for diet to start working or do I need to become more drastic. I have quite a physical job so need to eat quite a bit, and using oat biscuits as they are slow release and small amounts of pasta and potatoes. Weight seems stable on new diet.

ANY ADVICE WELCOME ( apart from cut out alcohol LOL )

cheers Chris

Hi there nomorchoccy - It seems like you've made a decent start to things, but probably, like most of us, you may need to do a bit more to really start to see some real evidence things are shifting.

It's good that you are looking to measure your glucose levels, but I have to say the Diastix are a bit too inaccurate to give you a clear indicator of where you are. Without going itno too much detail, if you are seeing glucose in your urine, your blood sugar level is likely to be around 10, or more. (They only show up sugar at this level or greater.) The thing is, for T2, we really are trying to be under 7.8 a couple of hours after eating, and lower before we eat, so you can see how the Diastix will likely have a short lifespan for you. Most of us use finger prick testing.

Many, many people on here have made significant changes to their diabetes status, just using diet, and a fair few are also in very active, physical jobs. One member who springs to mind is @Peadair O Brionn .

Have a good read around the forum, and you'll start to get a flavour fopr what people have done, and keep asking questions.

Good luck with it all.

 

[JoKalsbeek]

Hi Guys

I was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes just under a fortnight ago. I am very antii tablets and want to try to reduce sugar levels by diet changes.

I have stopped eating bread and chocolate. My doctor has suggested drinking more red wine and less lager. I have been using diastix to check sugar level but still seems higher. Does it take a while for diet to start working or do I need to become more drastic. I have quite a physical job so need to eat quite a bit, and using oat biscuits as they are slow release and small amounts of pasta and potatoes. Weight seems stable on new diet.

ANY ADVICE WELCOME ( apart from cut out alcohol LOL )

cheers Chris

Cut the alcohol! Nah, kidding. But you are eating a very carb-heavy diet... If you want to stay off meds, those'll have to go for the most part, as as a T2, you can't process those anymore. A body doesn't have to run on carbs, you know. Honest.
Check dietdoctor.com for meal ideas. Ditch the cookies, potatoes, bread, cereal, fruit, rice and pasta. Stick with bacon and eggs, mushrooms and cheese, above-ground veggies, fish, meat, nuts, olives, avocado, extra dark chocolate... Double cream, butter and greek yoghurt. You don't have to go hungry!

 

[Resurgam]

I suppose that I am doing a fairly heavy duty job - now that I have gone back to work. I service knitting machines, which for a 5 ft 5 inch 67 year old are quite heavy to move around - particularly when doing 5 a day - or more on a good day.
I don't eat high carb foods at all, sticking to under 11 percent carbs, but do not feel at all feeble.
I go out after work and at weekends playing music for dancing as part of a band.

 

[daisy1]

@nomorechoccy

Hello and welcome to the Forum Here is the Basic Information we give to new members and I hope you will find it useful. Ask as many questions as you want and someone will be able to help.

BASIC INFORMATION FOR NEWLY DIAGNOSED DIABETICS

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 235,000 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 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. Most of these are 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 with type 1 diabetes, teachers and HCPs.
  

 

[nomorechoccy]

Thanks for all the advice.

A typical days food intake
breakfast a bowl of fruit and nut muesli semi skimmed milk glass orange juice and water

lunch meat or fish salad a small portion of pasta or potatoes coleslaw olives radishes strawberries and cream

snacking at work oranges and oat biscuits

evening cheese nuts was bad felt tired so tin of ravioli 2 beers few glasses of red wine

my doctor told me about glycaemic index so do try to follow it but still learning

I am 97 kilos but 6'5 (1.96) which is lightest I have been for 20 years when I was running 30 to 40 miles a week.

 

[Alexandra100]

my doctor told me about glycaemic index so do try to follow it but still learning

IMO you would get better return for your efforts by learning about (and following) a low carb diet. That is already plenty to get your head round. Eating carbs that are lower on the glycaemic index may postpone bg highs til later on, but your body still has to deal with them sometime, and as @JoKalsbeek rightly says, your body is no longer capable of that.

 

[Brunneria]

Thanks for all the advice.

A typical days food intake
breakfast a bowl of fruit and nut muesli semi skimmed milk glass orange juice and water

lunch meat or fish salad a small portion of pasta or potatoes coleslaw olives radishes strawberries and cream

snacking at work oranges and oat biscuits

evening cheese nuts was bad felt tired so tin of ravioli 2 beers few glasses of red wine

my doctor told me about glycaemic index so do try to follow it but still learning

I am 97 kilos but 6'5 (1.96) which is lightest I have been for 20 years when I was running 30 to 40 miles a week.

Hi and welcome @nomorechoccy

Sorry to say that that amount of cereal, pasta, potatoes, fruit and oat biscuits would be making me pee out excess sugar to register on the urine sticks too.

Well done for making the changes you already have, but if you really want to avoid tablets, then you may have to make a few more changes.

But don't worry, low carbing isn't a dire road to suffering and denial. I'm glad you have already found the strawberries and cream - they are a good indication of the delights to come. There are a heck of a lot of really delicious foods and it can be a satisfying and sustaining way of eating. The trick will be to make the switch from high carb to low carb while still giving you enough energy to last through your day. But with a bit of planning and effort it won't be a problem.

Have a look at the following link, which explains low carbing in 60 seconds, and have a browse around the site. Lots of fantastic menu ideas and explanations.
https://www.dietdoctor.com/low-carb/60-seconds

 

[Krystyna23040]

Thanks for all the advice.

A typical days food intake
breakfast a bowl of fruit and nut muesli semi skimmed milk glass orange juice and water

lunch meat or fish salad a small portion of pasta or potatoes coleslaw olives radishes strawberries and cream

snacking at work oranges and oat biscuits

evening cheese nuts was bad felt tired so tin of ravioli 2 beers few glasses of red wine

my doctor told me about glycaemic index so do try to follow it but still learning

I am 97 kilos but 6'5 (1.96) which is lightest I have been for 20 years when I was running 30 to 40 miles a week.

You might find it really helpful to work out just how many carbs you have in a day because it looks to me as though it isn't low carb at all and is actually quite high carb.

My carb intake is around 20g a day and my diabetes is in remission. I was.on Novarapid and Lantus insulin (HB1aC on diagnosis - now is around 40 without insulin or meds. If I ate what you are eating I would be injecting industrial amounts of insulin as I would very rapidly come out of remission.

I am very active -bteach pilates 6 days a week plus walk miles with my dogs. On this low carb regime I have twice the energy I had before but what now even better is that my foot is no longer at medium risk and my diabetic eyennproblems have reversed.

 

[nomorechoccy]

before I was diagnosed I had the symptoms of a raging thirst and smelly urine these symptoms have greatly improved only feel thirsty occasionally ( and not as bad as previously )

 

[Daphne917]

Thanks for all the advice.

A typical days food intake
breakfast a bowl of fruit and nut muesli semi skimmed milk glass orange juice and water

lunch meat or fish salad a small portion of pasta or potatoes coleslaw olives radishes strawberries and cream

snacking at work oranges and oat biscuits

evening cheese nuts was bad felt tired so tin of ravioli 2 beers few glasses of red wine

my doctor told me about glycaemic index so do try to follow it but still learning

I am 97 kilos but 6'5 (1.96) which is lightest I have been for 20 years when I was running 30 to 40 miles a week.

Hi @nomorechoccy welcome to the forum. Your healthy diet is not, unfortunately, healthy for diet controlled T2 diabetics. As others have said it’s the amount of carbs in food that increases the BG levels and, for example, whilst fruit juice and muesli may seem the healthy option they contain a lot of carbs - try full fat Greek yoghurt and berries instead - I mixed flax seed with min3 as well. Full fat is also lower in carbs than low fat. The only way that you can tell how each food affects you is by getting a monitor and initially testing just before you eat and 2 hours afterwards and, after awhile, you will know what will be ok. My BS has been in the non-diabetic range for at least 4 years and I tend to eat moderate carbs and full fat and, through testing, have found that I can still eat bread albeit low carb or high protein, potatoes and chocolate over 70%. However some forum members eat fewer carbs as every one of us is different and what one can tolerate others cannot. There are also a number of low carb recipes on the forum if you are feeling creative! Hope this helps and keep asking questions as there is a wealth of experience here.

 

[JoKalsbeek]

Thanks for all the advice.

A typical days food intake
breakfast a bowl of fruit and nut muesli semi skimmed milk glass orange juice and water

lunch meat or fish salad a small portion of pasta or potatoes coleslaw olives radishes strawberries and cream

snacking at work oranges and oat biscuits

evening cheese nuts was bad felt tired so tin of ravioli 2 beers few glasses of red wine

my doctor told me about glycaemic index so do try to follow it but still learning

I am 97 kilos but 6'5 (1.96) which is lightest I have been for 20 years when I was running 30 to 40 miles a week.

You eat more carbs in a day than I do in two weeks... And orange juice is, if you're trying to follow a glycemic index thing, a nightmare. (Excellent if you have a hypo and need to get your sugar back up in a few minutes though. Should you ever need it, that's good to know.). Fruit, muesli, pasta, biscuits, potatoes, oranges, skimmed milk instead of full fat... I wouldn't touch a single one of those, personally. Strawberries with cream however, very good! Give yourself some time to read up on what low carb actually entails. It took me months to figure out what was what, so you don't have to know everything overnight, but it really does pay off to make a study of it. Some have to go farther than others; I started at around 75 to 85 grams of carbs a day. I just found eventually that I felt better (and had even better numbers) at 20 grams a day or less. Depends on what your pancreas is up to and how bad the insulin-resistance is. So it's a very personal journey with a lot of trial and error. But basically, there's a whole lot of vitamin, fibre-rich stuff out there that's considered healthy... But is everything but healthy for people with Type 2. You'll be okay, give yourself some time to wrap your head around it. I am horrible at maths and I made so many mistakes trying to sort out my diabetes, high cholesterol and fatty liver. But with time... I'm healthier now than I've ever been. So can you be.