Help With Diet

mo53

Expert
Messages
7,869
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Tablets (oral)
Hello @Pittston are you going to ask a question? Welcome to the forum. I will tag @daisy1 who will post access to some excellent information.
 

Guzzler

Master
Messages
10,577
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Diet only
Dislikes
Poor grammar, bullying and drunks.
Good afternoon and welcome.
 

Pittston

Active Member
Messages
29
A week ago I was diagnosed as being pre diabetic. Nurse cannot see me until the end of August just three days before I go to the USA for three weeks holiday. My late father was a type 2diabetic but in his day it was just a coping mechanism with medication. I want to reverse it with diet if I can. My A1c was 44. I have bought a meter and started to test myself. Generally my fasting reading has been around 6.8, but after porridge it went up to 10.4 and I felt sleepy even after 2 hours. I am convinced that carbs are not for me but I need to lose at least 28lbs so for years have been living on what diet experts consider to be healthy carbs. I am convinced that the carb diet that my Doctor has always told me to follow has in fact brought on the situation I now find myself in.
I don’t want to jump the gun but before I see the nurse can anyone out there give me a few tips to be starting with.
I am a 74 female, normally a cheerful active soul who has been knocked for six by this.
Please help!
 

sally and james

Well-Known Member
Messages
1,093
Type of diabetes
Family member
Treatment type
Diet only
I am convinced that the carb diet that my Doctor has always told me to follow has in fact brought on the situation I now find myself in.
I couldn't agree more, neither could tens of thousands of other people (including the better informed scientists and medics) who blame the diabesity epidemic on the high carb, low fat diet we have all been told to follow.
May I suggest you have a good long read around the Diet Doctor site, https://www.dietdoctor.com/, where you will find advice, recipes, lists of good and bad foods and much more. There is also a wealth of information in the low carb section of this forum and a section of success stories.
Have a bit of a read around and then ask as many questions as you like. Perhaps begin by cutting out all the very obvious sugar in your diet, then move on to reducing the, so called healthy carbs eg porridge and muesli.
Welcome to the forum, by the way.
Sally
 

Pittston

Active Member
Messages
29
Hello @Pittston are you going to ask a question? Welcome to the forum. I will tag @daisy1 who will post access to some excellent information.
I have now posted a question but to be honest I don’t know if I have done it correctly as it appears I have started a thread! Sorry

Mod note: threads merged
 
Last edited by a moderator:

mo53

Expert
Messages
7,869
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Tablets (oral)
@Pittston I saw your other thread which only said hi and replied and I tagged daisy for the newcomers information for you. I understand what you mean by the doctors recommended high carb diet causing the problems as a similar thing happened to me after I was prescribed Xenical which reacts with fat. I think maybe the oats are the cause of the rise of your blood sugar post-breakfast.
 

mo53

Expert
Messages
7,869
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Tablets (oral)
@Pittston don’t worry I found your other thread and wrote a message for you there. Look out for daisy’s Post which will probably come on here. :)

Mod note: threads merged
 
Last edited by a moderator:

Birdwoman

Well-Known Member
Messages
158
Type of diabetes
Prediabetes
Treatment type
Diet only
A week ago I was diagnosed as being pre diabetic. Nurse cannot see me until the end of August just three days before I go to the USA for three weeks holiday. My late father was a type 2diabetic but in his day it was just a coping mechanism with medication. I want to reverse it with diet if I can. My A1c was 44. I have bought a meter and started to test myself. Generally my fasting reading has been around 6.8, but after porridge it went up to 10.4 and I felt sleepy even after 2 hours. I am convinced that carbs are not for me but I need to lose at least 28lbs so for years have been living on what diet experts consider to be healthy carbs. I am convinced that the carb diet that my Doctor has always told me to follow has in fact brought on the situation I now find myself in.
I don’t want to jump the gun but before I see the nurse can anyone out there give me a few tips to be starting with.
I am a 74 female, normally a cheerful active soul who has been knocked for six by this.
Please help!

Hi Pittston and welcome to the forum, you have come to right place. Lots of experts on here that will help you.

I think you have hit the nail on the head with the healthy carb, low fat diet!! Your A1c at 44 is not too high and should be easy to reverse, although you will always have to watch what you eat and not fall back into the high cabs again but that is easy once you get going.

A lot of us on here do the low carb hight fat diet (LCHF), with that the foods to avoid are potatoes, rice, wheat products (like bread and cake), pasta and breakfast cereals. Other foods you can check with your meter and that will tell you what your body can take. Fruit except for berries are not good because of all the sugar in them and above ground veggies are also better than bellow ground.

Good luck and i'm sure you will be turning it around very soon.
 
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daisy1

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

Hello Pittston 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 need to and someone will 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 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.
 

Jaylee

Oracle
Retired Moderator
Messages
18,213
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Treatment type
Insulin
Hi there @Pittston ,

Welcome to the forum. Looks like you started two identical threads?
Would you like me or another member of the forum moderator team to merge these for you? It will save member confusion regarding replies... :)

[Self Mod edit; dual thread merged.]
 
Last edited:
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Resurgam

Expert
Messages
9,849
Type of diabetes
Type 2 (in remission!)
Treatment type
Diet only
I reached 264lb on the cholesterol lowering diet I was prescribed. The diet was full of carbohydrate heavy foods, and I was seen regularly and exhorted to stick to the diet if I valued my health.
Once diagnosed with diabetes I was ignored - except for the encouragement to take statins I have not seen a doctor since November 2016.
The fact that type two can be effectively managed with a low carb diet has been known about for a very long time, just ignored by HCPs and others who could have saved countless numbers from misery and even premature death
 

margarett89

Member
Messages
20
Type of diabetes
Family member
Treatment type
Diet only
hello, did you consider ketogenic diet or paleo? Do you have any specific products after which you noticed drowsiness and sugar growth?
 

Pittston

Active Member
Messages
29
Hi,
I only started on cutting back the carbs five days ago. The largest spike has been after eating porridge. I have not tried anything other than cutting back on the carbs at this stage. All ideas are so much appreciated.
 

JoKalsbeek

Expert
Messages
5,937
Type of diabetes
I reversed my Type 2
Treatment type
Diet only
Hi,
I only started on cutting back the carbs five days ago. The largest spike has been after eating porridge. I have not tried anything other than cutting back on the carbs at this stage. All ideas are so much appreciated.
Cutting carbs is step one. For quite a few of us, it's the only step. ;) With a HbA1c like that, you should see a change back to the non-diabetic range pretty soon. It doesn't mean that you can then start up ingesting loads of carbs, because then it'll just rise all over again. But take it easy with those and who knows, you might doge the T2 bullet entirely. Most likely even.
 

Pittston

Active Member
Messages
29
Hi All,
Just an update. Still unable to see Nurse but today I discovered that a year ago my HbA1c was 42 but no one told me. I am furious as it is now 44 and I have wasted a year “bunging”more and more carbs into my body in an effort to lose weight.
What has happened to the “care” aspect at our Surgeries.
 

DJC3

Master
Messages
10,347
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Diet only
Hi All,
Just an update. Still unable to see Nurse but today I discovered that a year ago my HbA1c was 42 but no one told me. I am furious as it is now 44 and I have wasted a year “bunging”more and more carbs into my body in an effort to lose weight.
What has happened to the “care” aspect at our Surgeries.

Hi. The same thing happened to me - I was pre diabetic for years but told not to worry, just eat a ‘healthy’ diet. So I did and now I have diabetes!

Like you I always had porridge for breakfast and I missed it a lot when I started lchf. I now usually have scrambled eggs, often with smoked salmon and avocado - it seems a very decadent start to the day but it’s wonderful and I wouldn’t go back to boring old porridge again evennif I could.

Your HbA1c isn’t very high so it could be that just a simple exchange of eggs for porridge in the morning will help.
 

Birch59

Member
Messages
14
Hi All,
Just an update. Still unable to see Nurse but today I discovered that a year ago my HbA1c was 42 but no one told me. I am furious as it is now 44 and I have wasted a year “bunging”more and more carbs into my body in an effort to lose weight.
What has happened to the “care” aspect at our Surgeries.
Hi,
With an HBA1C of 44 you are still in the Pre Diabetic range, so it could be worse. My wife and I were diagnosed T2 3 months ago (HBA1c 50 & 52) and have reversed that down to 35 & 33 in 3 months following a lifestyle change. Have a look at my post in this thread

https://www.diabetes.co.uk/forum/threads/t2-reversal-in-3-months-there-is-hope.155367/