- Messages
- 26
- Type of diabetes
- Type 2
- Treatment type
- Tablets (oral)
I was diagnosed this week after having two blood tests last week - first came back at 73, the next was 76. I'm 47, male, 15 stone (210 lbs/95kg), BMI about 29.4. No history of diabetes in the family. I only went for tests because my wife thought I should get a general checkup, although I was prediabetic a couple of years ago. I have a pretty sedentary job and commute by car. I've been put on Metformin, which I've started today. I was very reluctant at first because I didn't want to be on long-term meds but after researching it a bit I was reassured that it's a helper, not a permanent treatment and has a range of benefits.
I'm vegetarian, sliding into vegan recently - eggs are my last thing. My wife's diet is wholefood plant-based so no oils, refined or processed foods etc and wholegrain pasta, rice, bread. I mostly eat what she eats because I cook most of the time, so lots of veggies and legumes (beans, lentils etc). Problem is that (until last week) I also ate a fair amount of rubbish like sweets, chocolate, crisps and a few meals at the work restaurant. I grazed a lot. I also drank, having a couple of glasses of wine + spirits nearly every night and more at weekends.
As of the first test result last week I've started intermittent fasting (16:8), no snacking, no booze, no refined sugar, no crisps. I've also started making sure I get at least 10,000 steps in per day and I've stopped using the lift at work, taking the stairs and making small changes like using the toilets a couple of floors up from me. I've gone with intermittent fasting because I love a lot of the other benefits it brings, and it's easy to manage. I'm not counting calories at the moment but I have in the past and I'm pretty sure I'm under 1500 per day. I've been reading the Evidence-based nutrition guidelines for the prevention and management of diabetes from Diabetes UK (I can't post a link) which seems to say that losing weight through reducing energy in and increasing energy out is the best way to reverse T2 according to current data.
I'm really annoyed that this is happening to me, although I know I've made a lot of bad food choice over the years. I want to get it into remission. I hate medical stuff. I need to lose about 28 lbs/11kg and want to do it in the next 3 months, then keep it off.
So I've got a few questions really:
I'm vegetarian, sliding into vegan recently - eggs are my last thing. My wife's diet is wholefood plant-based so no oils, refined or processed foods etc and wholegrain pasta, rice, bread. I mostly eat what she eats because I cook most of the time, so lots of veggies and legumes (beans, lentils etc). Problem is that (until last week) I also ate a fair amount of rubbish like sweets, chocolate, crisps and a few meals at the work restaurant. I grazed a lot. I also drank, having a couple of glasses of wine + spirits nearly every night and more at weekends.
As of the first test result last week I've started intermittent fasting (16:8), no snacking, no booze, no refined sugar, no crisps. I've also started making sure I get at least 10,000 steps in per day and I've stopped using the lift at work, taking the stairs and making small changes like using the toilets a couple of floors up from me. I've gone with intermittent fasting because I love a lot of the other benefits it brings, and it's easy to manage. I'm not counting calories at the moment but I have in the past and I'm pretty sure I'm under 1500 per day. I've been reading the Evidence-based nutrition guidelines for the prevention and management of diabetes from Diabetes UK (I can't post a link) which seems to say that losing weight through reducing energy in and increasing energy out is the best way to reverse T2 according to current data.
I'm really annoyed that this is happening to me, although I know I've made a lot of bad food choice over the years. I want to get it into remission. I hate medical stuff. I need to lose about 28 lbs/11kg and want to do it in the next 3 months, then keep it off.
So I've got a few questions really:
- I know how to eat 'clean' in a vegan/veggie stylee, but how does this translate into diabetes-land? Should I be reducing my legumes and adding more soya?
- Do people find it useful to monitor their glucose, and if so what's a good device in the UK? My GP said not to bother when I asked but I'd like to know I'm on the right track.
- How are people finding Metformin?
- Anything else I should know?