NEWLY DIAGNOSED

[chunkyboy78]

Hi All,

I have recently been diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes my HBA1C was 108, the doctor put me on metformin 2 twice a day, i am also going to a slimming club every week to help with my weight loss, the doctor told me to keep going with what i am doing.
To be honest i am struggling with what to eat, as i loss weight one week and gain the next (sometimes i feel like giving up).
Any advice would be greatly received.

thanks i advance

 

[Resurgam]

Back in my 30s I found all advice from slimming clubs to include too many carbohydrates. Atkins worked for me.
These days I eat very little carbohydrate and get my calories from protein and fat for the most part. Some people seem to think it rather drastic, but it doesn't feel that way.
Anything which keeps my BG in the normal range and tastes so good as my normal menu is fine by me.
Your Hba1c is quite high, but mine was 91 at diagnosis, and it should be possible to bring it down - assuming you are an ordinary type 2 with nothing more interesting going on.

 

[ianpspurs]

Hi @chunkyboy78 I gave you a like because you're new and need all the encouragement you can get. To be honest, managing T2 can often be like herding cats/knitting porridge for so many of us so don't feel like giving up that is normal. I assume the Dr saying carry on doing what you are doing means going to slimming club, otherwise that is bat poo crazy. The prevalent means of control of T2 on here is cutting carbohydrates, using a meter to check blood glucose before eating and 2 hrs after. Look to reject anything giving a rise of 2 or more (hard but that's how it is) - <1 would be better. Celebrate (without carbs) all successes be they rises of <2, any and all weight loss or exercise which is further, faster, heavier or harder than the previous PB. Just my ideas from 6 years. Best wishes.

 

[ianf0ster]

Hi All,

I have recently been diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes my HBA1C was 108, the doctor put me on metformin 2 twice a day, i am also going to a slimming club every week to help with my weight loss, the doctor told me to keep going with what i am doing.
To be honest i am struggling with what to eat, as i loss weight one week and gain the next (sometimes i feel like giving up).
Any advice would be greatly received.

thanks i advance

There's a famous saying in a Clint Eastwood movie 'Dirty Harry' it is 'Do you feel lucky?' Well, if you do then look no further than the slimming club - knowing that Diabetes is for the long term and counting calories to lose weight has a consistent long term failure rate.

To tackle diabetes you need to think long term. Judging by your login name, you got into this situation by lifestyle. Since the 1980's we have been given advice that is terrible for diabetics because all carbohydrates (sugars and starches) turn into glucose almost as soon as we eat them )whole grains may take a tiny bit longer).
This means that we Type 2's need to cut down of the amount of carbohydrates we eat. If we do that, the Blood Glucose is lower, which means the Insulin response is lower which means we get hungry less which means we tend to lose weight. - No slimming club required!

Here is advice about food: The Nutritional Thingy. | Diabetes Forum • The Global Diabetes Community

To make best use of that advice you will need a Blood Glucose Meter. The 2 most commonly used by members in the UK are: SD Gluco Navii or the Spirit Healthcare TEE2+
Both of these are (reasonably) accurate , inexpensive and have relatively cheap test strips at around £8 per pot of 50 versus up to £20 for some other brands. Test strips are the main expense since initially you will want to test every meal until you understand what your own body likes and what to avoid.

 

[xfieldok]

I agree with the others. Diet clubs are in no way qualified to advise T2 diabetics on diet. You will get the best advice from your meter which will tell you whether what you ate was suitable for you. We are all different.

The NHS dietary advice for T2 is pants.

 

[Ian-J]

Mine was 100 when I was diagnosed in 2016. It was a shock.....and like you I hadn't a clue about what I could eat.

If you are like me then you'll realise you don't need to be an expert right from the start, you can start off by learning some very basics and what food types you need to drop/reduce and what to look for on food labels. You don't need to do or learn everything in the first week.

I am 5 years in and still learning, partly because I didn't want it to take over my life as such, but I've learned enough to get my HbA1C down to its current 44.

The folks on this forum are FANTASTIC, a great resource for whenever you have any questions or issues and whether you are 1-week, 1-year or 10 years in.

Ian.

 

[coby]

There's a famous saying in a Clint Eastwood movie 'Dirty Harry' it is 'Do you feel lucky?' Well, if you do then look no further than the slimming club - knowing that Diabetes is for the long term and counting calories to lose weight has a consistent long term failure rate.

To tackle diabetes you need to think long term. Judging by your login name, you got into this situation by lifestyle. Since the 1980's we have been given advice that is terrible for diabetics because all carbohydrates (sugars and starches) turn into glucose almost as soon as we eat them )whole grains may take a tiny bit longer).
This means that we Type 2's need to cut down of the amount of carbohydrates we eat. If we do that, the Blood Glucose is lower, which means the Insulin response is lower which means we get hungry less which means we tend to lose weight. - No slimming club required!

Here is advice about food: The Nutritional Thingy. | Diabetes Forum • The Global Diabetes Community

To make best use of that advice you will need a Blood Glucose Meter. The 2 most commonly used by members in the UK are: SD Gluco Navii or the Spirit Healthcare TEE2+
Both of these are (reasonably) accurate , inexpensive and have relatively cheap test strips at around £8 per pot of 50 versus up to £20 for some other brands. Test strips are the main expense since initially you will want to test every meal until you understand what your own body likes and what to avoid.

"This means that we Type 2's need to cut down of the amount of carbohydrates we eat. If we do that, the Blood Glucose is lower, which means the Insulin response is lower which means we get hungry less which means we tend to lose weight. - No slimming club required!" THAT'S THE BEST THING I HAVE READ ALL DAY!!!

 

[Daibell]

My advice would be to avoid slimming clubs as they don't understand the problem with carbs in the diet. Just set yourself a daily carb limit of perhaps 150gm/day and see how you go. Don't worry about fats or proteins.

 

[JoKalsbeek]

Hi All,

I have recently been diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes my HBA1C was 108, the doctor put me on metformin 2 twice a day, i am also going to a slimming club every week to help with my weight loss, the doctor told me to keep going with what i am doing.
To be honest i am struggling with what to eat, as i loss weight one week and gain the next (sometimes i feel like giving up).
Any advice would be greatly received.

thanks i advance

Just another vote here to avoid a money-pit like a slimming club... They're really not equipped to help with a metabolic condition like T2. Just cut the carbs, done.

 

[PenguinMum]

Hi All,

I have recently been diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes my HBA1C was 108, the doctor put me on metformin 2 twice a day, i am also going to a slimming club every week to help with my weight loss, the doctor told me to keep going with what i am doing.
To be honest i am struggling with what to eat, as i loss weight one week and gain the next (sometimes i feel like giving up).
Any advice would be greatly received.

thanks i advance

For T2 and losing weight I strongly suggest you follow the red banner at the end of Jo’s post above…the nutritional thingy. An interesting coincidence of going low carb is losing significant weight. It takes a while to get into the swing of it but you learn all the time with the support of a meter and talking to folk on this forum. I couldn’t go back to Weight Watchers even if I wasnt diabetic because I dont like the accountability of weighing in front of a room of people. Save your money as others said and all the support and info is on here for free. Best wishes to you getting started.

 

[MichaelTimothy]

I would like to encourage chunkyboy with my own story, if it can help:
- I was diagnosed with T2 on 26th August - only 6 weeks ago
- My stats were: Hb1Ac 8.8 (I am on US system), which translates to Mmol of 11.7, I think
- Weight was 97.5 kilos, BP was 179 systolic

Today my stats are:
- Daily waking glucose average from meter: 4.9 Mmol (88mg/dl)
- Average BP systolic: 121
- Current weight: 87.2 kilos - loss of 10.3 kilos

If it helps, I set myself targets in what I felt was the order of priority: and No 1 for me was: LOSE WEIGHT. Everything else followed on from that.

For the first 3 weeks I restricted calories (850/day) - and yes I know that is not sustainable for a long period. But it did the job. And while I was doing that I researched food intake, and went immediately onto a very very low carb diet. I hunted for the best protein sources, and for the very best fat sources - omega 3 and 6, and olive oil, sesame, rice bran oils - with which to cook and dress salads.

I cut out salt at the table completely: at first food tasted really weird without salt, but now it tastes vile with it. You would be surprised how fast that transformation happens! And you can research other spices that are positively healthy and replace salt very well in terms of flavour. Cinnamon, cumin, cardamom, many others.

Oh, I almost forgot: fluid intake. If you don't take enough fluids, your body salt will rise, and all your other stats will rise too. I take not less than 3 litres of water, though admittedly I live in a hot climate. I have quit the booze totally, but this is not a permanent decision.

If you crave bulk, to make you feel full: I experimented with "superfood mash" (!) Did you know how good cauliflower is for you? Try cauliflower puree, with herbs and spices, or beetroot puree with fresh chopped chilli in it: delicious and very filling. Many others - it is fun to find menus that fit in the restrictions you have put on yourself. BUT - two words: Portion Control.

Finally: exercise. I am 73 years old and I am exercising like a youngster. I swim for an hour morning and evening (yes I know, not everyone has access to a pool) and I do a lot of anaerobic exercise, weights and vibration plate. I got a nasty surprise though when I discovered that my glucose went UP after a session, every time! But then I researched the thing and learned that anaerobic exercise provokes an increase in glucose. So now I have included a healthy chunk of aerobic, and my glucose has stabilised.

I cannot tell you that I enjoy being suddenly diabetic.....but, perversely, I AM enjoying the challenge of beating the beast back to where it belongs!

Good luck, you can beat it too.

 

[Roadie2]

I would like to encourage chunkyboy with my own story, if it can help:
- I was diagnosed with T2 on 26th August - only 6 weeks ago
- My stats were: Hb1Ac 8.8 (I am on US system), which translates to Mmol of 11.7, I think
- Weight was 97.5 kilos, BP was 179 systolic

Today my stats are:
- Daily waking glucose average from meter: 4.9 Mmol (88mg/dl)
- Average BP systolic: 121
- Current weight: 87.2 kilos - loss of 10.3 kilos

If it helps, I set myself targets in what I felt was the order of priority: and No 1 for me was: LOSE WEIGHT. Everything else followed on from that.

For the first 3 weeks I restricted calories (850/day) - and yes I know that is not sustainable for a long period. But it did the job. And while I was doing that I researched food intake, and went immediately onto a very very low carb diet. I hunted for the best protein sources, and for the very best fat sources - omega 3 and 6, and olive oil, sesame, rice bran oils - with which to cook and dress salads.

I cut out salt at the table completely: at first food tasted really weird without salt, but now it tastes vile with it. You would be surprised how fast that transformation happens! And you can research other spices that are positively healthy and replace salt very well in terms of flavour. Cinnamon, cumin, cardamom, many others.

Oh, I almost forgot: fluid intake. If you don't take enough fluids, your body salt will rise, and all your other stats will rise too. I take not less than 3 litres of water, though admittedly I live in a hot climate. I have quit the booze totally, but this is not a permanent decision.

If you crave bulk, to make you feel full: I experimented with "superfood mash" (!) Did you know how good cauliflower is for you? Try cauliflower puree, with herbs and spices, or beetroot puree with fresh chopped chilli in it: delicious and very filling. Many others - it is fun to find menus that fit in the restrictions you have put on yourself. BUT - two words: Portion Control.

Finally: exercise. I am 73 years old and I am exercising like a youngster. I swim for an hour morning and evening (yes I know, not everyone has access to a pool) and I do a lot of anaerobic exercise, weights and vibration plate. I got a nasty surprise though when I discovered that my glucose went UP after a session, every time! But then I researched the thing and learned that anaerobic exercise provokes an increase in glucose. So now I have included a healthy chunk of aerobic, and my glucose has stabilised.

I cannot tell you that I enjoy being suddenly diabetic.....but, perversely, I AM enjoying the challenge of beating the beast back to where it belongs!

Good luck, you can beat it too.

 

[Roadie2]

Thanks I have had a very similar trip
Started in July lost weight 99k down to 93k
By down from steady 9 ish to 6 ish
Job done….. oh no it isn’t
2 weeks in Greece 2 boys golf tours later and weight ok but bg back up and bp back to old numbers
Sooo back on the wagon, and NO BREAD
BREAD seems to be the thing that drives all the rest for me
Hopefully back on the straight and narrow with lesson learned
Stick at it, best of luck

 

[rman]

Just got diagnosed, am still waiting for a specialist consultation for further review and soon visiting a registered dietitian. So far my issues are when eating out. At home I can control, portions, ingredients and everything but in a restaurant I am in their hands and I cannot just eat salads all the time !!

 

[Jak13]

I am new too and I have found a great help reading the threads on here about what people are eating! There also a thread which explains low carb eating. I found them really helpful, I do find low carb a challenge but they’ve been really informative. Hope you find them a help, much better than a slimming club!

 

[MrsA2]

but in a restaurant I am in their hands and I cannot just eat salads all the time !!

But you can make informed choices, and ask them to leave out or substitute items eg a burger without the bun or chips, steak with salad in stead of chips, carvery but passing on the potatoes and Yorkshire.
Somewhere on here was a thread about eating out.... found it
https://www.diabetes.co.uk/forum/threads/eating-out-normally-again-is-something-i-dream-of.182353/
I find independent places better than the chain pubs and restaurants whose profits depend on them pushing carb heavy plates