Recently diagnosed T2, bit confused.

[BW365]

I have recently been diagnosed with T2 diabetes, after years of eating and drinking what I wanted with not enough exercise, this came as less of a shock than you would imagine. (Saw a doc about a knee injury and he took my BP and sent me for blood and urine tests, I thought it would be cholesterol which whilst a bit high was nothing compared to my 100 Hba1c) So I'm taking Metformin and changing my diet. I've gone with the nurse suggestions, lean meat, get some fish in, plenty of veg, certain fruits, bit of dairy, wholemeal pasta. bread, rice in moderation, nuts and beans. Cut sugar etc. Also reducing alcohol to 1 bottle of wine a week (I'm not a monk) So far I feel so much better and I feel I'm losing (I haven't weighed myself, I find I become obsessed, weighing myself each day.) Not exercising enough yet but that changes next week.
I keep reading about some quite extreme low carb diets on here, with seemingly quite high fat content. This seems contrary to what I felt I should be eating along NHS guidelines especially as my BP is high and my cholesterol raised. Is it merely horses for courses and whatever works for you plus what you need to be doing? I think I'm answering my own question but it is all a bit new.

 

[bulkbiker]

I've gone with the nurse suggestions, lean meat, get some fish in, plenty of veg, certain fruits, bit of dairy, wholemeal pasta. bread, rice in moderation, nuts and beans.

Sounds like the typical "Eatwell Guide" advice which most of us have found over time is a complete and dismal failure.
You'll lose a bit if you were eating badly beforehand but maintaining the loss and controlling your blood sugar that way is difficult.

Simply put you have developed a carbohydrate "allergy" over time and the best way to firstly control it and maybe even reverse it is to stop punishing your body with carbs.
If you cut back on carbs then you have to replace with something hence fat and protein.

The old "eating fat will make you fat" fallacy is unfortunately taking a while to depart this mortal coil but hopefully one day will be derided as ridiculous.

Have a read of the intro piece to the forum and maybe read some of the "success stories" posts where a low carb high fat diet has helped many not only control their T2 but also thrive!

https://www.diabetes.co.uk/forum/threads/basic-information-for-newly-diagnosed-diabetics.17088/

 

[JoKalsbeek]

I have recently been diagnosed with T2 diabetes, after years of eating and drinking what I wanted with not enough exercise, this came as less of a shock than you would imagine. (Saw a doc about a knee injury and he took my BP and sent me for blood and urine tests, I thought it would be cholesterol which whilst a bit high was nothing compared to my 100 Hba1c) So I'm taking Metformin and changing my diet. I've gone with the nurse suggestions, lean meat, get some fish in, plenty of veg, certain fruits, bit of dairy, wholemeal pasta. bread, rice in moderation, nuts and beans. Cut sugar etc. Also reducing alcohol to 1 bottle of wine a week (I'm not a monk) So far I feel so much better and I feel I'm losing (I haven't weighed myself, I find I become obsessed, weighing myself each day.) Not exercising enough yet but that changes next week.
I keep reading about some quite extreme low carb diets on here, with seemingly quite high fat content. This seems contrary to what I felt I should be eating along NHS guidelines especially as my BP is high and my cholesterol raised. Is it merely horses for courses and whatever works for you plus what you need to be doing? I think I'm answering my own question but it is all a bit new.

Extreme low carb diets with high fats... I wish I'd been put on one when I first went to see a dietician. She put me on the same diet you've been told to follow. I went from obese to morbidly obese and diabetic. (With a liver so fatty the specialist thought it was one big tumerous mass). Would've saved me a lot of health problems which it took a while to come back from. Now I'm just slightly overweight rather than as wide as I was tall, fatty liver gone, diabetes in the normal range, cholesterol fine... The NHS actually does endorse the low carb way of eating now, but it's a very recent change and a lot of nurses, dieticians and GP's haven't caught up yet.

I would advise you to get a meter (@Rachox has some excellent info on those), and see for yourself what works for you. "Extreme" diet or moderate or EatWell or... You know. It's called Eat To Your Meter. Check your blood glucose before a meal and 2 hours after the first bite. You'll see for yourself what you can handle and what you can't. The ideal'd be a rise of no more than 2.0 mmol/l between the two, meaning your body's coping with what you've put in it. If it's higher, there were more carbs in the meal than you could process properly. Right now you're inundated with conflicting advice, so.... A meter won't try to sell you on one diet, dogma or whatever, it is an impartial tool that'll just tell you how it is. Then you decide what route you want to take. I'm quite happy with a very low carb diet myself, called keto/ketogenic diet, but who knows, maybe you have a higher carb tolerance or insulin sensitivity than I do. Find what works for you, and you'll be on top of this in no time. And who knows, rid of any meds as well. https://josekalsbeek.blogspot.com/2019/11/the-nutritional-thingy.html is a quick-start-guide if you're interested, but all in all... Everyone's different. Check what you need.
Good luck!
Jo

 

[Runica]

Hello BW365!

I think it's all very overwhelming at times, with lots of different information coming from different quarters.

I got very caught up with A1c, blood glucose measurements, fasting, low carb, weight loss, etc. I burned out because, at that time, I was stressing so much about everything and anything … and I was deeply resentful that this had happened to me. Moreover, I could not understand why my body was not responding to all the intervention, and totally contrary to all I had been led to expect on a keto diet with three days of fasting a week.

One of the best educators out there, in my opinion, is Dr Sten Ekberg. He does simple presentations in front of a white board and has more videos on you tube than you can poke a stick at. He is calm and thorough, and well worth a punt if you have the odd half hour to spare. His presentations on the dawn phenomenon and the role of cortisol were a game changer for me. He put me back on the waggon.

It took your body a long time to get to this place. It may take a long time to get to a place where you are happy with your health. It's a long haul, and a lifestyle change.

You WILL get there, however it is that you choose to get there (diet, drugs, exercise, whatever) because you're already inspired to do it. Bon voyage!

 

[BW365]

Thanks all. Some things to think about and areas to explore. I'm ready for steady change rather than a quick fix and fortunately I'm in a good place currently which helps. I also know how to cook so can adapt. I think a monitor as well just to see what does or doesn't work for me will help.

 

[mouseee]

Definitely get a meter. It's the only way you know which of the things you eat effect you. 10 chips for example spiked my bs into the 20s. No more chips for me. Same result for rice and I haven't even risked trying pasta!

Once you start testing you can eliminate what you can't eat and build a good varied diet with what you can. Test at first mouthful and 2 hours afterwards. You ideally want an increase of no more than 2.0


Good luck!

 

[Rachox]

Hi BW365 and welcome to the forum.

Here’s some info on UK meters, and to be clear I have no commercial connections with any of the companies mentioned. For a meter with cheap strips go for the Tee2 + found here:

http://spirit-healthcare.co.uk/product/tee2-plus-blood-glucose-meter/ with the strips found here:

http://spirit-healthcare.co.uk/product/tee2-testing-strips/


With more expensive strips is the Caresens Dual which I currently use, this one has the advantage of glucose and ketone testing in one machine, it’s to be found here:

https://shop.spirit-health.co.uk/collections/caresens-dual


And to be totally transparent I used to use the SD Code Free which has the cheapest strips available. However I found it to be becoming less and less reliable, although I hear reliability may have improved now. Here it is for anyone wanting to give it a go:

http://homehealth-uk.com/product-category/blood-glucose/blood-glucose-monitor/

and here for the extra strips

http://homehealth-uk.com/all-products/sd-codefree-test-strips-to-be-used-only-with-the-sd-monitor/

There are discount codes if you buy in bulk.

5 packs 264086

10 packs 975833


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


Home Health have recently bought out this one too, but I haven’t heard any reviews yet:


https://homehealth-uk.com/all-products/gluconavii-blood-sugar-meter-glucose-monitor-starter-kit/

 

[Indy51]

One of the best educators out there, in my opinion, is Dr Sten Ekberg. He does simple presentations in front of a white board and has more videos on you tube than you can poke a stick at. He is calm and thorough, and well worth a punt if you have the odd half hour to spare. His presentations on the dawn phenomenon and the role of cortisol were a game changer for me. He put me back on the waggon.

ITA. I've only recently subscribed to his channel.

His latest is great:

Top 10 Foods You Should NEVER Eat Again!

 

[Dexterdobe]

I have recently been diagnosed with T2 diabetes, after years of eating and drinking what I wanted with not enough exercise, this came as less of a shock than you would imagine. (Saw a doc about a knee injury and he took my BP and sent me for blood and urine tests, I thought it would be cholesterol which whilst a bit high was nothing compared to my 100 Hba1c) So I'm taking Metformin and changing my diet. I've gone with the nurse suggestions, lean meat, get some fish in, plenty of veg, certain fruits, bit of dairy, wholemeal pasta. bread, rice in moderation, nuts and beans. Cut sugar etc. Also reducing alcohol to 1 bottle of wine a week (I'm not a monk) So far I feel so much better and I feel I'm losing (I haven't weighed myself, I find I become obsessed, weighing myself each day.) Not exercising enough yet but that changes next week.
I keep reading about some quite extreme low carb diets on here, with seemingly quite high fat content. This seems contrary to what I felt I should be eating along NHS guidelines especially as my BP is high and my cholesterol raised. Is it merely horses for courses and whatever works for you plus what you need to be doing? I think I'm answering my own question but it is all a bit new.

It's a big step to replace carbs with fat, but it really does work. A total cholesterol reading is useless. You need a full lipid range test so that you know how much good and bad cholesterol you have. Cut the carbs and you will stop feeling hungry, the weight will fall off and you will have more energy. At least that is what happened with me. My HBA1c has fallen from 53 to 39 in two years.

 

[BW365]

Thanks all, for the advice. I'm finding my body is actually reacting negatively to those foods I shouldn't have (birthday recently left me feeling really nauseous) which is kinda handy, I've cut down on loads of these so when I do have them I feel really peculiar. The metformin is probably also starting to have and effect. Nearly 3 weeks and recently upped my dose. My appetite has certainly reduced too, something that has never happened since I was a teenager! back to docs/nurse in 5 weeks and if there isn't a change I will be both surprised and disappointed. I also got back into circuit training and now can't walk down stairs but that will pass