Type 2, looking at advice

[ryouga]

Ok, i'm 39 been obese for years varying between 20-22 stone (mostly depression related) during lockdown due to not going out of house, being single, and so eating more junk food I balloned to almost 26 stone at one point (and haven't weighed myself in 6 months but I have lost some as jeans that didn't fit before now fit)

For past 12 months or so I have been rough, normally in winter I get iron deficiency but seem to have it all the time now, last year I was eating a lot of chocolate and sweets so cut down to none/little for a few months then up a little but the same if not less than before lockdown, which is why I guess my weight has gone down a little.

My blood sugar however has gone high, this time last year in space of a month it went from 6.4 - 6.9 and I felt exhausted and dizzy a lot.

Had blood tests 3 weeks ago and doctor said im now 7.9 and some marker which when 45 or above means diabetic was 49 and to cut out all carbs etc.

Now Im worried more because my diet is complicated rather than packed with bad things necessarily, up till last week my main diet was a chicken salad sub (with cheese and sauce) from subway once a day (maybe twice just once a week off bonus points) I ate a bag of sweets which was 100-200g of sweets and "snacking" wasn't much, though it was random so I could go weeks without snacking then eat say 1-2 packs of biscuits in one go, also I mostly starved to late at night then ate my dinner (so like 2-3 times normal portion size) after say midnight at night.

The main one that sticks in mind though is almost exactly at same time my spike occured was I began drinking milk and orange juice, I get 2 bottles of whole, 2 of semi skimmed and 2 orange juice pints a week.

I don't know but could lactose be playing a part?

Anyway the main confusion is its more I eat processed food than pure carbs, since I was young if I ate potatoes, rice, or pasta I actually felt less tired, and LOST weight I only gained weight with processed food and meat.

 

[Member496333]

Orange juice won’t do you any favours. Massive hit of both glucose and fructose.

 

[ryouga]

I thought so, I was just thinking twice a week would be ok but I was also thinking its good quality stuff and was trying to go for more natural food than processed supermarket stuff.

One change I have made already is I was eating too much processed food so been experimenting with my pressure cooker the past few weeks and now using it almost daily, just putting in things like meat or veg rather than have my chicken salad sub daily, within a week I feel much better than I was and eating more veg (Salad ironically is my favourite dish I just never eat it on its own much due to the effort and mess it makes)

 

[Trevor vP]

You are going in the right direction by starting to cook for yourself. Process meat or food generally not great for your health.

1./Any fruit juice will not be great it is fast and high carbs as the body has no work to do.

2./ Biscuit and Sweets at that level not doing yourself any favours on the weight or the Blood sugar levels. Try think of them as treats and something special like one sweet one biscuit a day at a special time, then go from there.
If you do not have nut allergies try something like fresh Walnuts rather as a snack. Diabetics we go for dark chocolate as a treat +85% - try start at 70% and move up, Just one or two squares

As for milk 4 pints of milk a week is only 107 Grams Carb for the week I doubt that is making that big a difference, but add that on top of biscuits /sweets and fruit juice that has just tipped the scale.

All the best and good luck

 

[Daibell]

Hi. It's not so much 'processed food' that's the problem but any carbs. I agree with Trevor vP that you should avoid any fruit juice, sweets and biscuits. I have 85% Dark Chocolate. Your BS figures aren't that bad so don't panic but just get those carbs down and you should be fine.

 

[ryouga]

I have a feeling it was the Subway bread that was doing the damage and their sauces both well known for high sugar content.

I actually don't like chocolate much, I also don't drink any alcohol, even coffee let alone energy drinks just to add.

My "sweet tooth" came about because about 6 years ago I changed from drinking a 2 litre soft drink a day to 1/2 litre sugar free, I remember coming off it having a few crashes when I had to rush to kitchen in middle of night and drink a litre or more of drink in 2 or 3 minutes, actually before that my blood sugar was about 4.5, it was around 4.4 after I changed to diet drinks. I was also eating far more carbs then and eating take aways 3-5 times a week! Anyway before that I NEVER craved sweets/cakes etc I really mean never Im guessing my body just was getting its sugars from elsewhere, that was also around same time I regularly went to Subway (as I changed getting take aways almost all the time to getting Subway to get out of the house even for 30 minutes and walk)

As I say the snacking is so random, so much so I could list say one week where I may be snacking a lot, and another with zero snacking so no real average.

I'm guessing age, and the weight gain plays a huge part too in a vicious cycle.

Carbs must be playing their part, im just trying to get my head around balance, I ideally don't want to cut everything out but more for example say make mince and tatties, or spag bol (I am aware the sauce would have sugar in it) rather than just grabbing a ready meal or frozen pizza.

I have a large freezer with a lot of frozen meats (mostly butcher stuff so not the cheap stuff full of fat, salt etc) so was wondering about the balance i.e a sausage casserole.

And to be clear I am listening, I have a habit of being detailed and getting my feelings oout as part of a discussion/feedback.

 

[Resurgam]

When it comes to carbs there really is no balance - if you are diabetic then that means an inability to deal with carbs.
There is no problem with natural fats which would come with meat or fish, eggs or cheese, and we do need salt as well.
I eat when I get up. Fasting all day was not a good idea as my blood glucose levels went up until I did eat.
I have two meals a day about 12 hours apart, and that supplies all the nutrition I need.
My weight fell rapidly at first, but now just drifts down a bit.
Potatoes, bread, or any grain would be an easy target to reduce your carb intake, and not using ready made sauces would make a big difference.
The iron deficiency could be lack of Vitamin D as that is needed to absorb iron - hence it happening in Winter and lockdown.

 

[Sax]

As I say the snacking is so random, so much so I could list say one week where I may be snacking a lot, and another with zero snacking so no real average.

I'm guessing age, and the weight gain plays a huge part too in a vicious cycle.

You may have been insulin resistant and growing high insulin content for a while, but your body was coping still to keep blood sugars OK until recently then pushed over the edge with lockdown. And intermittent but high spikes don't average out in terms of damage to the body. You want to protect your pancreas from getting damaged while you work to remission.

If you want pasta dishes, there are quite a few zero carb pasta alternatives to try. The sauce probably won't matter with enough cheese and meat to slow your digestion down. For mince and tatties, perhaps try mince and celeriac. If you do, let me know if it works, as I haven't tried it yet.

 

[Trevor vP]

I have a feeling it was the Subway bread that was doing the damage and their sauces both well known for high sugar content.

I actually don't like chocolate much, I also don't drink any alcohol, even coffee let alone energy drinks just to add.

My "sweet tooth" came about because about 6 years ago I changed from drinking a 2 litre soft drink a day to 1/2 litre sugar free, I remember coming off it having a few crashes when I had to rush to kitchen in middle of night and drink a litre or more of drink in 2 or 3 minutes, actually before that my blood sugar was about 4.5, it was around 4.4 after I changed to diet drinks. I was also eating far more carbs then and eating take aways 3-5 times a week! Anyway before that I NEVER craved sweets/cakes etc I really mean never Im guessing my body just was getting its sugars from elsewhere, that was also around same time I regularly went to Subway (as I changed getting take aways almost all the time to getting Subway to get out of the house even for 30 minutes and walk)

As I say the snacking is so random, so much so I could list say one week where I may be snacking a lot, and another with zero snacking so no real average.

I'm guessing age, and the weight gain plays a huge part too in a vicious cycle.

Carbs must be playing their part, im just trying to get my head around balance, I ideally don't want to cut everything out but more for example say make mince and tatties, or spag bol (I am aware the sauce would have sugar in it) rather than just grabbing a ready meal or frozen pizza.

I have a large freezer with a lot of frozen meats (mostly butcher stuff so not the cheap stuff full of fat, salt etc) so was wondering about the balance i.e a sausage casserole.

And to be clear I am listening, I have a habit of being detailed and getting my feelings oout as part of a discussion/feedback.

If the subway Salad you talking about is the bread with salad in that will do your weight and your blood glucose no good.

Try start off simple
A. extra weight not great for Diabetics - Weight comes from Calories we eat vs the amount of energy we use, almost impossible to reduce weight with exercise alone unless you doing a lot without taking a calories reduction

B. Blood Glucose - Carbohydrates in your food - Bread/Rice/Potatoes/Pasta/Sweets/Cake/ Enough Fruit


Try download Carbs & Calc app it is your friend for portion size and how many calories and how many Carbs it is not a diet it is a way to understand the impacts for you to own.

You sound like you have access to good quality food try enjoy making some of your own until you have a good understanding of The Carbs and the Calories .

A lot of people see weight benefits from managing Carbs why, it's harder to eat lots of Calories on low Carbs as not a easy quick slice of bread or a litre of orange juice, the lower carbs helps the body cope with Insulin resistance so you actually do not feel as hungry as the energy actually getting into the body.

The lows you talk about might be because you putting yourself through such big swings in ,
For example a T1 on insulin having a hypo we start with 4 x Jelly Baby's (20grams carb) and wait for 10-15mins then if level settle we will having something slow acting like one oat biscuit. What you doing drinking a litre of juice you swinging the body all over the place and your pancreas is trying to drop insulin to fix the massive glucose you put in as you say you a T2 so you pancreas working but your body is resisting the insulin.


Let us know how it is going and good luck

 

[JoKalsbeek]

I have a feeling it was the Subway bread that was doing the damage and their sauces both well known for high sugar content.

I actually don't like chocolate much, I also don't drink any alcohol, even coffee let alone energy drinks just to add.

My "sweet tooth" came about because about 6 years ago I changed from drinking a 2 litre soft drink a day to 1/2 litre sugar free, I remember coming off it having a few crashes when I had to rush to kitchen in middle of night and drink a litre or more of drink in 2 or 3 minutes, actually before that my blood sugar was about 4.5, it was around 4.4 after I changed to diet drinks. I was also eating far more carbs then and eating take aways 3-5 times a week! Anyway before that I NEVER craved sweets/cakes etc I really mean never Im guessing my body just was getting its sugars from elsewhere, that was also around same time I regularly went to Subway (as I changed getting take aways almost all the time to getting Subway to get out of the house even for 30 minutes and walk)

As I say the snacking is so random, so much so I could list say one week where I may be snacking a lot, and another with zero snacking so no real average.

I'm guessing age, and the weight gain plays a huge part too in a vicious cycle.

Carbs must be playing their part, im just trying to get my head around balance, I ideally don't want to cut everything out but more for example say make mince and tatties, or spag bol (I am aware the sauce would have sugar in it) rather than just grabbing a ready meal or frozen pizza.

I have a large freezer with a lot of frozen meats (mostly butcher stuff so not the cheap stuff full of fat, salt etc) so was wondering about the balance i.e a sausage casserole.

And to be clear I am listening, I have a habit of being detailed and getting my feelings oout as part of a discussion/feedback.

Carbs are addictive, so it's no surprise you crave them. Good thing being that you can kick a habit and eventually, lose the cravings! And @Resurgam is right... There is no such thing as balancing carbs for a T2. You mention sugars in a spag bol sauce, but the pasta itself is carb-laden as well. Start looking at just how many carbs are in everything you'd normally eat (I mean, in Ireland the subway bread was deemed too sugary to be called bread!), add those up, and be amazed. I have gone a bit extreme with my diet due to other conditions improving with as little carbs ingested as possible, and I think I'm at about 5 grams a day, at maximum... Usually lower. Don't worry about fats, you need those if you cut out carbs so you have something to run on. And salt, well... If you stop eating bread and such, your diet'll contain less salts as it is, so your blood pressure may drop. (I know I have to add salt into my meals not to get low blood pressure now). As for a casserole, if you mean one containing spuds, that's no good either... Starches are carbs, so same problem there as with the pasta and bread. https://www.diabetes.co.uk/forum/blog-entry/the-nutritional-thingy.2330/ may help some with getting things straight.

Good luck eh. I know it's a big change, but it can be done!
Jo

 

[ryouga]

I'm a bit of a weird one myself.

I haven't mentioned yet I am mildly autistic and with mental health issues, I was anxious until a traumatic event in my early 20's I have never recovered from (which weight in part was the vicious cycle) Before that and mostly until things snowballed I pretty much starved myself each day and ate something in evening like 1 or 2 ready meals and twice a week a medium kebab or chicken curry, then went to uni and started eating actual meat (though also ate more take aways too) and weight went up a little.

The general point of me saying that was when I was younger I was relaxed and only ate when my body told me to hence the evening when I was starving, whilst that in theory hasn't changed I also eat when im exhausted or stressed not in the sense of comfort eating but as a way to occupy mind, I was never hungry when younger as my brain was always focused on reading, gaming, watching a movie or even walking around shops, when I try now I am so stressed I can't enjoy things so eating occupies my mind for a few minutes.

 

[Resurgam]

I suspect it might do you a lot of good to start to eat in the mornings, and have a proper meal - just a small one, if you can't manage what is normal for you - these days I often have just a tomato and mozzarella cheese, but I started off eating to stop my blood glucose rising. I found out it was doing that once I got a meter to test with.

 

[ryouga]

Good point, I forgot to say I almost never eat breakfast, I work 2-3 days a week and just wake up shower and go to work and those are the days I eat around 12.30 (the Subway when I used to eat it) then less in evening rest of the week I just ate post 6pm each day.

On a random note is haggis bad for you? I have started buying them from local butchers and would be a shame to stop getting them.

 

[ianf0ster]

I think there is a fair portion of oats in most haggis, if I'm not mistaken.

 

[danziger]

You might want to check out Diet Doctor as well as the nutrition forums on this site, both have great ideas for adapting favourite meals to reduce carbs (spag bol sauce definitely doesn’t need sugar!)

Also I love diet drinks myself but they’re not great; at least one study suggests they can increase cravings because they taste like sugar but don’t contain carbs, so your body still expects/wants the commensurate amount of carbs.

 

[SuNuman]

I have a feeling it was the Subway bread that was doing the damage and their sauces both well known for high sugar content.

I actually don't like chocolate much, I also don't drink any alcohol, even coffee let alone energy drinks just to add.

My "sweet tooth" came about because about 6 years ago I changed from drinking a 2 litre soft drink a day to 1/2 litre sugar free, I remember coming off it having a few crashes when I had to rush to kitchen in middle of night and drink a litre or more of drink in 2 or 3 minutes, actually before that my blood sugar was about 4.5, it was around 4.4 after I changed to diet drinks. I was also eating far more carbs then and eating take aways 3-5 times a week! Anyway before that I NEVER craved sweets/cakes etc I really mean never Im guessing my body just was getting its sugars from elsewhere, that was also around same time I regularly went to Subway (as I changed getting take aways almost all the time to getting Subway to get out of the house even for 30 minutes and walk)

As I say the snacking is so random, so much so I could list say one week where I may be snacking a lot, and another with zero snacking so no real average.

I'm guessing age, and the weight gain plays a huge part too in a vicious cycle.

Carbs must be playing their part, im just trying to get my head around balance, I ideally don't want to cut everything out but more for example say make mince and tatties, or spag bol (I am aware the sauce would have sugar in it) rather than just grabbing a ready meal or frozen pizza.

I have a large freezer with a lot of frozen meats (mostly butcher stuff so not the cheap stuff full of fat, salt etc) so was wondering about the balance i.e a sausage casserole.

And to be clear I am listening, I have a habit of being detailed and getting my feelings oout as part of a discussion/feedback.

I used to live on subway. Grain bread with ham and Mayo and salad. 6 inch. I thought it was v healthy. Every lunch time I would walk/run (30 mins lunch) from my shop to the food court. It’s the bread. You are better off to choose a Chicken (I would have it toasted) salad with Mayo. I don’t think that will affect your bloods. Good luck. X. I ate so many subs I was always getting a free one lol. X.

 

[SuNuman]

You might want to check out Diet Doctor as well as the nutrition forums on this site, both have great ideas for adapting favourite meals to reduce carbs (spag bol sauce definitely doesn’t need sugar!)

Also I love diet drinks myself but they’re not great; at least one study suggests they can increase cravings because they taste like sugar but don’t contain carbs, so your body still expects/wants the commensurate amount of carbs.

I love and drink Pepsi Max. It does not affect my blood sugar at all. X

 

[danziger]

I love and drink Pepsi Max. It does not affect my blood sugar at all. X

To be clear, I’m not saying it does — but it can increase carb/sugar cravings (on phone or would dig out the research on this). I mentioned this because the OP talked about cravings going up after switching to diet drinks.

 

[HurricaneHippo]

I’m sorry to hear you’re struggling, please take time and browse through the forum and you’ll find the same information repeated elsewhere (constantly). It’s an absolutely fantastic forum with a lot of people ready to help and advise.

I think what most people have highlighted is you just need to cut out carbs, no carbs are good. If you’re in doubt, Google becomes your best friend to find out the content of carb in a specific food.

Its a bit rubbish at first, considering how we consume carbs with everything and sugar is so addictive. It might even make you feel very low for a while, but you do get used to it. It does get easier …promise

 

[coby]

I’m sorry to hear you’re struggling, please take time and browse through the forum and you’ll find the same information repeated elsewhere (constantly). It’s an absolutely fantastic forum with a lot of people ready to help and advise.

I think what most people have highlighted is you just need to cut out carbs, no carbs are good. If you’re in doubt, Google becomes your best friend to find out the content of carb in a specific food.

Its a bit rubbish at first, considering how we consume carbs with everything and sugar is so addictive. It might even make you feel very low for a while, but you do get used to it. It does get easier …promise

HurricaneHippo is SO right! I am the very last person who thought would adapt to a very low carbs diet as my life was stuffed with sweet things, chocolate bars, ice-cream, cakes every day almost too! Believe me I truly don't miss any of it. I changed my diet all at one go ... no mucking around ... and within this last eight weeks have just TODAY been declared diabetes free. Yes of course it's still there, lurking, but cannot get to me if I remain far away from the old-style diet and to be honest that doesn't even tempt me any longer. Just dive in!