Overweight

[Mary1957]

Hi since they told me I was type 2 diabetic I.ve put on a load of weight and it’s making me really depressed cause I don’t know what low carbs are help please

 

[Goonergal]

Hi @Mary1957 and welcome

Sorry to hear you’re struggling. Are you taking any medication for your diabetes? That will affect the advice you get.

Low carbs means cutting out starchy and sugary foods from your diet - all carbohydrates turn to sugar in the blood and can lead to high blood sugars. That means not just the obvious things like sugar, cakes and sweets, but also things like bread, rice, pasta and potatoes. The amount of these foods that type 2s can eat does vary, but in general they’re not helpful to us.

Below is a link to some useful information for newbies. Have a good read and ask as many questions as you like.

http://www.diabetes.co.uk/forum/threads/basic-information-for-newly-diagnosed-diabetics.26870/

 

[Goonergal]

Hi again @Mary1957

You might want to look at the dietdoctor.com website for some ideas about what to eat.

 

[JoKalsbeek]

Hi since they told me I was type 2 diabetic I.ve put on a load of weight and it’s making me really depressed cause I don’t know what low carbs are help please

Take a breath, you're going to be alright. It's a steep learning curve, but we all started out exactly at the same point you're at: scared and confused. https://www.diabetes.co.uk/forum/blog-entry/the-nutritional-thingy.2330/ is my own quick start guide, though @Goonergal is steering you right with her info and the dietdoctor.com link... Excellent stuff. If you lower your carb intake, you lower your bloodsugars, and your weight will go down too. But as we don't know what medication you're on, you do have to be careful before jumping in with both feet. If you're on gliclazide or the like, and/or insulin, you would hypo. (Not much risk of that with metformin though).

You'll be okay, honest. Read the links, maybe get Dr. Jason Fung's the Diabetes Code if you feel up to it, and plow through that. But you'll be fine on the other end of this.
Hugs,
Jo

 

[Mary1957]

Hi jo I can’t seem to get on that forum there saying there a problem and thanks

 

[Energize]

Hi @Mary1957

Great that you've found this forum

As @Goonergal and @JoKalsbeek have already mentioned, it's very confusing to begin with but you'll pick it up, espeically on this forum.

I, too, would strongly recommend Jason Fung's The Diabetes Code (book) but, if you prefer, the 'audio book' is on YouTube, here -

The book is very 'readable', and just makes so much sense (often contrary to, but more sensible than, the advise we get from HCP, unless they are well-up to date. Also, this book will help explain a bit about Diabetes and weight gain/loss, which should help you loads.

Also, getting yourself a glucometer is a very good first step. This will help you find which foods are OK to eat and which to avoid etc. There are loads of them on the market but check out the cost of the test strips before buying as the ongoing costs may be a bit too prohibitive. Check out the Tee2+ and the Codefree as they have the cheaper test strips and are reliable devices.

There's s lot to learn so just take it a step at a time and try not to get overwhelmed with it all. You'll get there and you'll be great. You will likely feel much better in yourself once you've got your glucose levels under control if they are a bit raised.

Check out other posts, lots of reading and you'll see you're not alone etc...
Good luck

 

[JoKalsbeek]

Hi jo I can’t seem to get on that forum there saying there a problem and thanks

You mean for the Nutritional Thingy link? I don't know why that link sometimes works, and sometimes doesn't... Weird, but you're not the first to mention it.

Anyway, the text in full:

There’s a few things you should know.

1. Practically all carbs turn to glucose once ingested, so not just straight sugars, but starches too. Food doesn’t have to taste sweet to make your blood sugars skyrocket.

2. A meter helps you know what foods agree with you, and which don’t. Test before and 2 hours after the first bite. If you go up more than 2.0 mmol/l, the meal was carbier than you could handle. (It’s easy to remember, as you’re a T2: all 2’s, all over the place!)

3. In case you didn’t know already, this isn’t your fault. It’s genetics, medication, decades of bad dietary advice, and basically all manner of things, but nothing you can actually blame yourself for.

4. Diabetes T2 is a progressive condition, unless you (also) change your diet. So you have options. Diet-only, diet with medication, or medication only. But that last option will most likely mean more medication over the years. (And there is more than just metformin, so if it doesn’t agree with you, there’s lots of others to try). So even if going really low carb isn’t for you, you might consider moderately low carb an option, with meds to assist.

5. Are you overweight? 90% of T2’s are. Yeah, that means 10% are slim and always were. If you did gain weight, it was the precursor of this metabolic condition. We make loads of insulin, but become insensitive to it. So carbs we eat turn to glucose, and normally, insulin helps us burn that glucose for fuel. When it doesn’t, that glucose is stored in fat cells instead. When those fat stores are full, the glucose remains in our bloodstream, overflowing, into our eyes, tears, urine, saliva… And then we’re T2’s. So weight gain is a symptom, not a cause. This also means that “regular” dietary advice doesn’t work for us. The problem lies in our inability to process carbs. And most diets focus on lowering fats and upping carb intake. Which is the direct opposite of what a T2, or prediabetic, for that matter, needs.

6. There are 3 macro-nutrients. Fats, protein and carbohydrates. Those macro’s mean we get the micro-nutrients we need: that would be vitamins and minerals. So… If you ditch the carbs, you should up another macro-nutrient to compensate, to make sure you don’t get malnourished or vitamin deficient. Carbs make our blood sugars rise. Protein too, but nowhere near as bad as carbs do, so they’re alright in moderation. Fats however… Fats are as good as a glucose-flatline. Better yet, they’ll mitigate the effects of any carbs we do ingest, slowing down their uptake and thus the sugar-spike. Contrary to what we’ve been told for decades; fats are our friends.

7. Worried about cholesterol? On a low carb diet, your cholesterol may rise a little as you start to lose weight. That’s a good thing though. (Believe it or not). What was already there, stored in your body, is starting to head for the exit, and for that it’ll go into your bloodstream first. So when you have lost weight and it stabilises, so will your cholesterol. And it’ll probably be lower than what it was before you started out.

8. You’ll lose weight on a low carb diet. Weight loss will help with your insulin-resistance, and not only that… Going low carb might help with other issues as well, like non-alcoholic fatty liver disease and depression.

9. Always ask for your test results. You don’t know where you’re going, if you don’t know where you’ve been.

10. Last, but certainly not least: If you are on medication that has hypoglycemia listed as a side-effect, like Gliclazide for instance, do NOT attempt a LCHF diet without a meter nor your doctors’ knowledge/assistance. You can drop blood glucose levels too far, too fast, if your dosage isn’t adjusted accordingly. This could mean a lower dose in stages or even stopping medication completely. Never do this without discussing it with your doctor first!


So what raises blood sugars? Aside from the obvious (sugar), starches raise blood glucose too. So bread, and anything made with grain/oats flour, rice, potatoes, pasta, corn, cereals (including all the “healthy choices”, like Weetabix and muesli), most beans and most fruits. So you’ll want to limit your intake, or scratch them altogether.

Which food items remain on the shopping list? Well, meat, fish, poultry, above ground veggies/leafy greens, eggs, cheese, heavy cream, full fat Greek yoghurt, full fat milk, extra dark chocolate (85% Lindt’s is great!), avocado, (whole) tomatoes, berries, olives, nuts, that sort of thing… Meal ideas? Have a couple:

Scrambled eggs with bacon, cheese, mushrooms, tomato, maybe some high meat content sausages?
Eggs with ham, bacon and cheese
Omelet with spinach and/or smoked salmon
Omelet with cream, cinnamon, with some berries and coconut shavings
Full fat Greek yoghurt with nuts and berries
Leafy green salad with a can of tuna (oil, not brine!), mayonnaise, capers, olives and avocado
Leafy green salad with (warmed goat's) cheese and bacon, maybe a nice vinaigrette?
Meat, fish or poultry with veggies. I usually go for cauliflower rice or broccoli rice, with cheese and bacon to bulk it up. Never the same meal twice in a row because of various herbs/spices.

Snacks? Pork scratchings, cheese, olives, extra dark chocolate, nuts.

Of course, there’s loads more on the web, for people more adventurous than I. (Which is pretty much everyone). Just google whatever you want to make and add “keto” to it, and you’ll get a low carb version. There’s a lot of recipes on the diabetes.co.uk website, as well as on www.dietdoctor.com where you’ll also find visual (carb content) guides and videos. And I can wholeheartedly endorse Dr. Jason Fung’s book The Diabetes Code. It’ll help you understand what’s going on in your body and how to tackle it, whilst not being a dry read. Not only that, but you’ll know what to ask your doctor, and you’ll understand the answers, which is, I believe, quite convenient.

 

[There is no Spoon]

I don’t know what low carbs are help please

Hi Mary don't thnink you are alone in this I didn't have a clue when I first started.

Carbs are basically: bread, cereal, rice, pasta and vegetables.
Your body digest carbs realy quickly and turns them in to sugar which is not good for us Type 2 diabetics.

White bread is a carb, brown bread is a complex carb. It means takes your body a little longer to break it down and turn into sugar. Carbs is short for Carbohydrates which means something that is made up of "carbon and hydrogen"

This leads to the 3 food groups

• Fats don't tend to raise blood sugar levels. You don't put on weight.
• Proteins raise blood sugar levels a bit. You don't put on weight.
• Carbohydrates raise blood sugar levels a lot. You put on weight.

When we say fats we talk about healthy fats like cream cheese butter etc... just google it you will find lots.
Protiens are basicly fish meat chicken eggs again google will help.

AND everything else is a carb hope that helps.

 

[Mary1957]

Thank you very much

 

[Millie74]

Take a breath, you're going to be alright. It's a steep learning curve, but we all started out exactly at the same point you're at: scared and confused. https://www.diabetes.co.uk/forum/blog-entry/the-nutritional-thingy.2330/ is my own quick start guide, though @Goonergal is steering you right with her info and the dietdoctor.com link... Excellent stuff. If you lower your carb intake, you lower your bloodsugars, and your weight will go down too. But as we don't know what medication you're on, you do have to be careful before jumping in with both feet. If you're on gliclazide or the like, and/or insulin, you would hypo. (Not much risk of that with metformin though).

You'll be okay, honest. Read the links, maybe get Dr. Jason Fung's the Diabetes Code if you feel up to it, and plow through that. But you'll be fine on the other end of this.
Hugs,
Jo

Would you recommend this book. I am lowering carbs further to try and decrease hba1c without more drugs and lose more weight. I am on 2000mg metformin. My hba1c was 56mmol August. Was 96mmol in Jan at diagnosis. What do you think about fasting he suggests. Not sure if you would end up constipated. Trying today. Brunch omelette and salad dinner only.

 

[Millie74]

Hi since they told me I was type 2 diabetic I.ve put on a load of weight and it’s making me really depressed cause I don’t know what low carbs are help please

I would recommend Diet Doctor and ask to go on Expert Diabetes course for basic understanding. Good luck.

 

[Goonergal]

Would you recommend this book

Definitely. I haven’t read that one but have read The Obesity Code by the same author, as well as his book on fasting. Both excellent. Clear simple language but with enough detail to give you a good understanding of the science. The diabetes code is newer.

 

[JoKalsbeek]

Would you recommend this book. I am lowering carbs further to try and decrease hba1c without more drugs and lose more weight. I am on 2000mg metformin. My hba1c was 56mmol August. Was 96mmol in Jan at diagnosis. What do you think about fasting he suggests. Not sure if you would end up constipated. Trying today. Brunch omelette and salad dinner only.

I fast every day, skipping breakfast and not eating until I'm hungry in the afternoon... Which could sometimes be until dinner. (So one or two meals a day). On lower carb you often do experience a bit of constipation, though it's mostly a matter of finding some balance. Some do better on more fiber, some do better without. (I'm one of those flukes who gets constipated on fiber). Mind you, with less carbs and more fats and protein, most of what you eat gets "used" by your body... There's less waste product. (Read: less poo). So if it's a once every two or three days thing, but the consistency is good, there's no problem at all. I just had my brunch, a little earlier than usual due to an appointment, but it was eggs with bacon. Tonight it's chicken with cauliflower rice, bacon and cheese. So do make sure you get enough fats. (Put cheese, olives, avocado, salmon, tuna or something else fatty in your salad), that should tide you over until breakfast the next day. But yeah... Dr. Jason Fung rocks.

 

[There is no Spoon]

AND everything else is a carb hope that helps.

Hi @Millie74 So sorry I forgot to say fruit is a carb.

One of the first things we do when trying to get healthy is eat lots of fruit, because we all know its healthy, not so much for a diabetic.

 

[VashtiB]

Hi and welcome.

You may be feeling emotional and overwhelmed- don't worry you will gradually be able to get your head around all the information.

Have you got a meter? if not I recommend that you get one. Only by doing regular testing can you work out what effect different foods have on you.

I'm following a LCHF diet. I'm losing weight (not fast enough for me but actually losing) I find that in one way it is easier than a low calorie diet as a lot of food have negible carbs (eg meat, eggs some cheese) so you don't have to worry so much about weighing them just eating until you have had enough.

Good luck and welcome- you will find a lot of help, advice and support here.