Diet Sheet at first appointment.

TardisDee

Member
Messages
17
I was diagnosed 4 weeks ago and saw diabetic nurse for first time today. After reading a lot on the forum I pretty much expected very little. Glucose testing not required. Lose weight (have lost 4kg). No real advice given. Asked for a diet sheet. It was published in 2003!

Going to largely ignore the advice to reduce fats and eat healthy cereals such as weetabix, or have 3 pieces of fruit a day. Probably won’t swap choc digestives for hobnobs either. I was also interested to see that if you are not an overweight diabetic, you should increase starchy foods at a meal. Oh and white pasta and rice are fine.
Going to stick to my lowish carb (about 100g a day ) highish fat diet as it certainly seems to be working. Weight coming off and bloods spiking less.

What are other counties giving as dietary advice I wonder?
 

Rose22

Well-Known Member
Messages
282
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Treatment type
Insulin
I was diagnosed 4 weeks ago and saw diabetic nurse for first time today. After reading a lot on the forum I pretty much expected very little. Glucose testing not required. Lose weight (have lost 4kg). No real advice given. Asked for a diet sheet. It was published in 2003!

Going to largely ignore the advice to reduce fats and eat healthy cereals such as weetabix, or have 3 pieces of fruit a day. Probably won’t swap choc digestives for hobnobs either. I was also interested to see that if you are not an overweight diabetic, you should increase starchy foods at a meal. Oh and white pasta and rice are fine.
Going to stick to my lowish carb (about 100g a day ) highish fat diet as it certainly seems to be working. Weight coming off and bloods spiking less.

What are other counties giving as dietary advice I wonder?
Gosh it’s shocking it was last updated 2003! So much has changed/advanced since then.
I was shown a portion size example book when I had my first diabetes nurse appointment. Found the whole thing rather perplexing. I wasn’t over eating, or obese. It seems they only have one type of advice they give and that’s it, regardless of whether the person sat in front of them fits that criteria. I was firmly told not to try going low carb as cutting carbs would make me very ill and I’d end up feeling unwell. Mind you as also told not to test blood sugar readings as it would only make me feel low. Imagine how differently people would feel if they left an appointment having been given different advice and information!
Well done for sticking to your way of doing it, especially if it’s working and you are seeing and feeling the results. I too try and eat low carb highish fat, Mediterranean diet. I just don’t bother telling any of the nurses or gps really now, not that they ask.
It was hilarious I was sent on a type 2 healthy eating 1 day course,after the nurse had explained diabetes a nhs dietician took his turn..he arrived and promptly ate a packetof crisps and a sandwich in front of us for his lunch! He then said that there wasn’t any food as diabetics we needed to cut out or avoid! I said I’m confused, surely startchy carbs, nope not really was the response...said switch to Diet Coke etc. I said surely avoid altogether? Nope not really was the response... and so on. Consultant asked me when I saw him months later did I find it useful, nope I said not really!
 

xfieldok

Well-Known Member
Messages
4,182
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Tablets (oral)
We should be able to do more than one rating. I would have sent you a hug as well as winner.
 

miahara

Well-Known Member
Messages
1,019
Type of diabetes
Type 3c
Treatment type
Insulin
When I was diagnosed I was invited to a half day seminar about diet. About 20 folk attended and I was the only underweight person. And of course the whole seminar was based on the eat badly plate with no mention about the relative carb content of various cereals and there was nothing about gaining weight. Fortunately the doctor who had diagnosed me had already suggested that I should look to DCUK for guidance and I did just that, and over the next several months developed a pretty good understanding of diabetes and of nutrition. I’ve now had meetings with 4 or 5 diabetes dieticians and only one has been brave enough or well informed enough to stray from the standard NICE/NHS eat badly advice.
Currently my target is 200g of carbs per day (based on my height and age) and I try to keep fat intake up as fat has twice the calories of carbs.
I ought to add that adopting a low carb diet did significantly improve my blood glucose levels and I did hit remission levels, but eventually my pancreas decided to embark on a strategy of passive resistance and I'm now insulin dependent.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Rose22

Resurgam

Expert
Messages
9,867
Type of diabetes
Treatment type
Diet only
I had collected a lot of similar advice as printouts.
I was almost spherical, vastly overweight, tired and feeling old.
On the way back from the surgery after being given the diagnosis I called in at the butcher's shop.
I used the diet sheets to light the barbecue.
 

JoKalsbeek

Expert
Messages
5,960
Type of diabetes
I reversed my Type 2
Treatment type
Diet only
I was diagnosed 4 weeks ago and saw diabetic nurse for first time today. After reading a lot on the forum I pretty much expected very little. Glucose testing not required. Lose weight (have lost 4kg). No real advice given. Asked for a diet sheet. It was published in 2003!

Going to largely ignore the advice to reduce fats and eat healthy cereals such as weetabix, or have 3 pieces of fruit a day. Probably won’t swap choc digestives for hobnobs either. I was also interested to see that if you are not an overweight diabetic, you should increase starchy foods at a meal. Oh and white pasta and rice are fine.
Going to stick to my lowish carb (about 100g a day ) highish fat diet as it certainly seems to be working. Weight coming off and bloods spiking less.

What are other counties giving as dietary advice I wonder?
The Netherlands here: I got the same advice as you, from different people/specialists. At the time I was also on statins, 102+ kilo's, and told to eat grapefruits. (This by someone who was supposed to make me a tailor-made diet sheet. Statins and grapefruits don't mix. Nor diabetes and grapefruits, really). So yeah... It's a western-world thing to keep shoving the EatWell Plate, or as it is called here, The Disk of Five, down people's throat.
 

Rose22

Well-Known Member
Messages
282
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Treatment type
Insulin
When I was diagnosed I was invited to a half day seminar about diet. About 20 folk attended and I was the only underweight person. And of course the whole seminar was based on the eat badly plate with no mention about the relative carb content of various cereals and there was nothing about gaining weight. Fortunately the doctor who had diagnosed me had already suggested that I should look to DCUK for guidance and I did just that, and over the next several months developed a pretty good understanding of diabetes and of nutrition. I’ve now had meetings with 4 or 5 diabetes dieticians and only one has been brave enough or well informed enough to stray from the standard NICE/NHS eat badly advice.
Currently my target is 200g of carbs per day (based on my height and age) and I try to keep fat intake up as fat has twice the calories of carbs.
I ought to add that adopting a low carb diet did significantly improve my blood glucose levels and I did hit remission levels, but eventually my pancreas decided to embark on a strategy of passive resistance and I'm now insulin dependent.
That’s really interesting!