Hello and new diagnosis

Sarah*86

Member
Messages
5
Hi Everyone,

I hope you’re all having a good weekend. I have recently been diagnosed as borderline diabetic. I am right on the border and extremely overweight so I am looking for some help in things to eat/ things to avoid and a way to lose weight.

Thanks in advance

Sarah x
 

Prem51

Expert
Messages
7,393
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Tablets (oral)
Dislikes
*
Welcome to the forum @Sarah*86. It's good that you are taking action now to avoid becoming fully diabetic.
A lot of the Type 2 diabetics on here have found that adopting a Low Carbohydrate High Fat (lchf) approach to eating has reduced our blood glucose levels, and usually weight too.

Have a read round the threads to see how this works and ask any questions you want. The people on here are friendly and you will get a lot of good advice.
 

Guzzler

Master
Messages
10,577
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Diet only
Dislikes
Poor grammar, bullying and drunks.
Hi and welcome. Have a wander around the forum and ask as many questions as you like, members here have a wealth of experience and knowledge about everything and anything Diabetes related.
 

daisy1

Legend
Messages
26,457
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Tablets (oral)
Dislikes
Cruelty towards animals.
@Sarah*86
Hello Sarah and welcome to the Forum :) Here is the Basic Information we give to new members and I hope you will find it interesting and helpful.

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.
 

Debandez

Well-Known Member
Messages
4,019
Type of diabetes
Type 2 (in remission!)
Treatment type
Diet only
Thank you for your words of support. I’ll definitely have a read of the threads for help and thank you for the tag.
Let is know how you are getting on and if you have any questions fire away. Everyone is more than happy to help.
 

Fo

Well-Known Member
Messages
49
Type of diabetes
Prediabetes
Treatment type
Diet only
Hi Everyone,

I hope you’re all having a good weekend. I have recently been diagnosed as borderline diabetic. I am right on the border and extremely overweight so I am looking for some help in things to eat/ things to avoid and a way to lose weight.

Thanks in advance

Sarah x
Hello
I joined the forum 2 weeks ago and it has helped me so much. I am pre Diabetic. As suggested here I bought a monitor. This has helped me identify what foods I can eat to maintain good levels. As a result my bloods are steady.
I now go shopping for completely different foods and I am enjoying it. I usually look at the price first, but for this “project” I am not doing that because we need to eat nice good things to keep us on track. When I want a biscuit I have a talk to myself and suggest something else which is going to be better for my health. 9 times out of 10 it works.
This site and the lovely people have been such a help to me I couldn’t have done it without. There are topics headed what have you eaten today, you may be able to get some idea of what can help good luck x
 
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Tigernash

Member
Messages
10
Type of diabetes
Don't have diabetes
Treatment type
I do not have diabetes
Hi Everyone,

I hope you’re all having a good weekend. I have recently been diagnosed as borderline diabetic. I am right on the border and extremely overweight so I am looking for some help in things to eat/ things to avoid and a way to lose weight.

Thanks in advance

Sarah x


Hi Sarah

Keeping things simple is a great start. Go through any added sugars in your diet and start to eliminate them. Make one small change every 3 weeks, don't try and do it all in one go.
When you feel up to it, incorporate some exercise/movement in your daily routine too.

It's simple but still very challenging.
Also don't forget, any medications you could be taking might also contribute to you HbA1c reading.

all the best.