Newbie

[Rich33]

Hello, I have recently been diagnosed as prediabetic, which I think stems from me not eating correctly for over a decade & less physically active.
Upon recieving this news I have begun to eat breakfast again, have lunch & more veg with my tea as well as drinking a minimum of 1.5 litres of water daily.
However I usually find myself overeating & rarely feeling full despite the changes.
I would appreciate any advice or ideas on how reduce this

 

[KennyA]

Hello, I have recently been diagnosed as prediabetic, which I think stems from me not eating correctly for over a decade & less physically active.
Upon recieving this news I have begun to eat breakfast again, have lunch & more veg with my tea as well as drinking a minimum of 1.5 litres of water daily.
However I usually find myself overeating & rarely feeling full despite the changes.
I would appreciate any advice or ideas on how reduce this

Hi Rich, and welcome to the forums. It would help folks to reply to you if you'd give a little bit more detail. For example - what was the HbA1c reading they gave you? Also - what exactly are you eating? You may find that you need to revisit what you understand to be "healthy" eating.

Both carbohydrate and sugar in your diet are digested to glucose, and if your system does not deal with that it both hangs around in your bloodstream (leading to increased blood glucose levels) and is converted to bodyfat.

Elevated blood glucose is a symptom; however high blood glucose over time will do physical damage to nerves and capillaries, and that needs to be avoided. Many of us on this forum have had success lowering blood glucose through a low-carb diet, instead earting mainly proteins and fats which do not affect blood glucose.

Read around a bit on the forums (the Success Stories is a good place to start) and don't be afraid to ask questions. I'd strongly advise getting hold of a blood glucose monitor and testing before, and two hours after, eating.

 

[jojoba]

Hi, newbie here also, KennyA what blood glucose monitor would you recommend.

 

[lovinglife]

Hi, newbie here also, KennyA what blood glucose monitor would you recommend.

Hi @jojoba - welcome to the forum, I’ll tag one of our members for you @Rachox who has some good information on meters and where to get them

 

[Rachox]

For those that require it here’s some info on UK meters, and to be clear I have no commercial connections with any of the companies mentioned.



HOME HEALTH have the Gluco Navii, which is a fairly new model and seems to be getting good reviews.

https://homehealth-uk.com/all-produ...ose-meter-test-strips-choose-mmol-l-or-mg-dl/



Links to the strips for future orders:

https://homehealth-uk.com/all-products/glucose-navii-blood-glucose-test-strips-50-strip-pack/



Then they sell the older SD Code Free, details to be found here!

https://homehealth-uk.com/all-products/codefree-blood-glucose-monitoring-system-mmoll-or-mgdl/





SPIRIT HEALTHCARE have a meter called the Tee2 + which is quite popular:

https://shop.spirit-health.co.uk/co...e2-blood-glucose-meter?variant=19264017268793



The strips are to be found here:

https://shop.spirit-health.co.uk/co...py-of-tee2-test-strips?variant=19264017367097



If there is a choice of units of measurement then ‘mmol/L’ are the standard units in the UK, ‘mg/dl’ in the US, other countries may vary.



Don’t forget to check the box if you have pre diabetes or diabetes so you can buy VAT free. (for all meters and strips)

 

[JoKalsbeek]

Hello, I have recently been diagnosed as prediabetic, which I think stems from me not eating correctly for over a decade & less physically active.
Upon recieving this news I have begun to eat breakfast again, have lunch & more veg with my tea as well as drinking a minimum of 1.5 litres of water daily.
However I usually find myself overeating & rarely feeling full despite the changes.
I would appreciate any advice or ideas on how reduce this

Hello, and welcome!

Sounds to me like you were accidentally doing something right before, actually... Skipping meals. Quite a few people here practice Intermittent Fasting, which gives our pancreases a break from continued insulin demands. If you don't want to eat three meals a day, but stick with one or two, that's perfectly fine, and even wise. Just make sure that the meals you do have, are low in carbs, if you want to go the dietary route. https://josekalsbeek.blogspot.com/2019/11/the-nutritional-thingy.html should help.

In any case, again, welcome and good luck!
Jo

 

[Rich33]

Hello, I have recently been diagnosed as prediabetic, which I think stems from me not eating correctly for over a decade & less physically active.
Upon recieving this news I have begun to eat breakfast again, have lunch & more veg with my tea as well as drinking a minimum of 1.5 litres of water daily.
However I usually find myself overeating & rarely feeling full despite the changes.
I would appreciate any advice or ideas on how

Hi Rich, and welcome to the forums. It would help folks to reply to you if you'd give a little bit more detail. For example - what was the HbA1c reading they gave you? Also - what exactly are you eating? You may find that you need to revisit what you understand to be "healthy" eating.

Both carbohydrate and sugar in your diet are digested to glucose, and if your system does not deal with that it both hangs around in your bloodstream (leading to increased blood glucose levels) and is converted to bodyfat.

Elevated blood glucose is a symptom; however high blood glucose over time will do physical damage to nerves and capillaries, and that needs to be avoided. Many of us on this forum have had success lowering blood glucose through a low-carb diet, instead earting mainly proteins and fats which do not affect blood glucose.

Read around a bit on the forums (the Success Stories is a good place to start) and don't be afraid to ask questions. I'd strongly advise getting hold of a blood glucose monitor and testing before, and two hours after, eating.

Thanks,

Unfortunately I was never given an exact HbA1c figure, only that I fell into the range for prediabetes.

As for what I'm eating/drinking: before I'd be eating & drinking all-sorts, I've knocked all fizzy drinks on the head, stopped adding sugar to tea/coffee & dilute fruit juices.
I'm eating more greens, lean meats, generally things with no added sugar or light versions.

My 2nd checkup is in a few weeks so should know after then if any progress has been made.

 

[JoKalsbeek]

Thanks,

Unfortunately I was never given an exact HbA1c figure, only that I fell into the range for prediabetes.

As for what I'm eating/drinking: before I'd be eating & drinking all-sorts, I've knocked all fizzy drinks on the head, stopped adding sugar to tea/coffee & dilute fruit juices.
I'm eating more greens, lean meats, generally things with no added sugar or light versions.

My 2nd checkup is in a few weeks so should know after then if any progress has been made.

You can ditch the expensive lean/light stuff. Fats don't ruin blood sugars, but they do give us something to run on. (Besides, if they take the fats out, they often put carbs in to bulk it up and for flavour.)

 

[KennyA]

Thanks,

Unfortunately I was never given an exact HbA1c figure, only that I fell into the range for prediabetes.

As for what I'm eating/drinking: before I'd be eating & drinking all-sorts, I've knocked all fizzy drinks on the head, stopped adding sugar to tea/coffee & dilute fruit juices.
I'm eating more greens, lean meats, generally things with no added sugar or light versions.

My 2nd checkup is in a few weeks so should know after then if any progress has been made.

It's worth finding out. You could be just above normal, or just below the auto-diagnose diabetes level. That might affect your strategy.

Fats are our friend: if you reduce carb (which should have an impact on your blood glucose) you'll still need energy - which can come from both dietary fat and bodyfat. Reducing carb/glucose should also mean that you won't be storing the excess glucose as new bodyfat. If by "light" versions you mean low-fat, these often have extra carbs added.

Be careful about the "no added sugar" claim: it might even be true, but the item can still be full of sugars and carbs. They just haven't been "added".

Best of luck!

 

[CatsFive]

Thanks,

Unfortunately I was never given an exact HbA1c figure, only that I fell into the range for prediabetes.

As for what I'm eating/drinking: before I'd be eating & drinking all-sorts, I've knocked all fizzy drinks on the head, stopped adding sugar to tea/coffee & dilute fruit juices.
I'm eating more greens, lean meats, generally things with no added sugar or light versions.

My 2nd checkup is in a few weeks so should know after then if any progress has been made.

If you are in Scotland you can sign up to My Diabetes My Way which will give you access to all relevant medical records - I got access back to more or less 2008! I believe there are similar schemes in England & Wales.

Also have you tried ringing your GP and asking the receptionists to give you the number.

 

[Rich33]

Apart from prediabetes I was also advised that my cholesterol was ok but a bit high so I started on the lean & light stuff as well as benecol.

 

[Rich33]

It's worth finding out. You could be just above normal, or just below the auto-diagnose diabetes level. That might affect your strategy.

Fats are our friend: if you reduce carb (which should have an impact on your blood glucose) you'll still need energy - which can come from both dietary fat and bodyfat. Reducing carb/glucose should also mean that you won't be storing the excess glucose as new bodyfat. If by "light" versions you mean low-fat, these often have extra carbs added.

Be careful about the "no added sugar" claim: it might even be true, but the item can still be full of sugars and carbs. They just haven't been "added".

Best of luck!

Hello Kenny, when I had my checkup this week I asked what my HbA1c was, it's currently 44 mmol/mol. So just over the prediabetes mark for now, I've got a follow-up in 3 weeks, hopefully know more afterwards.
Also, and I understand if you can't help with this next one which is either non related or in my head, but over the weekend (when doctors are closed) I have noticed a discomfort in my lower left leg like a numb-squeezing sensation. Then today pain at the sides of my left foot and a bruise without bruise marks on top near my toes.
Aby ideas?
Regards, Rich

 

[Rich33]

Hello, and welcome!

Sounds to me like you were accidentally doing something right before, actually... Skipping meals. Quite a few people here practice Intermittent Fasting, which gives our pancreases a break from continued insulin demands. If you don't want to eat three meals a day, but stick with one or two, that's perfectly fine, and even wise. Just make sure that the meals you do have, are low in carbs, if you want to go the dietary route. https://josekalsbeek.blogspot.com/2019/11/the-nutritional-thingy.html should help.

In any case, again, welcome and good luck!
Jo

Hi Jo, I was wondering, if I were to return to say 3 meals a day, from well over a decade with just one (stupidly large just thrown together meal), would this immediate change potentially confuse my body or am I just being daft, lol?
Regards, Rich

 

[KennyA]

Hi Rich

First thing is - we don't diagnose, or try to. But here's my experience. I developed neuropathy long before formal diagnosis. My a1c was probably around mid-forties. It was an aggravating extreme pins and needles pain plus a very painful burning. It has almost entirely gone away with lowered BGs but I seem to have some permanent (mild) tingle. Other people report slightly different sensations, including numbness. More here:

Diabetic Nerve Pain

Diabetic nerve pain is a syndrome that affects people with diabetes. This type of nerve pain can affect both type 1 and type 2 diabetes sufferers. Nerve pain, also known as neuropathic pain, is a result of one of the complications of diabetes, called peripheral neuropathy, or diabetic...

www.diabetes.co.uk

Another issue is that other things (eg B12 deficiency) can cause very similar effects - it's not always the diabetes. If you are at all concerned I would advise asking your doctor for an opinion.

On the lean and light stuff - I personally (in 2019, with a total cholesterol of around 7.6) refused statins and upped my saturated fats as part of low carb/keto. Last August my total cholesterol had fallen to 6.4, the lowest it's ever been. I found books by Dr Malcolm Kendrick ("The Clot Thickens" ) and Dr Verner Wheelock (Healthy Eating - the Big Mistake) to be very useful critiques of the cholesterol issue.

 

[JoKalsbeek]

Hi Jo, I was wondering, if I were to return to say 3 meals a day, from well over a decade with just one (stupidly large just thrown together meal), would this immediate change potentially confuse my body or am I just being daft, lol?
Regards, Rich

I doubt it. Bodies do get confused rather easily, but they tend to (try to) adapt, which usually doesn't take more than a few weeks. After that, they're used to the new normal. Which is probably why, if you were to switch back to one meal a day, you'd be hungry in the morning and afternoon: your body'd be used to eating then as well, so not eating would likely mean another slight period of adjustment.