- Messages
- 12
Hi everyone,
Just joined today and this is my first post other than introducing myself. I’ve been reading lots of posts on this site for the last 4 months so thought it was time to join in. It might be helpful to some people if I describe what has happened to me and how I feel about it.
4-5 years ago I had blood tests for something else and glucose was a little high. Oral glucose test followed and told I was pre-diabetic but follow-on test was in normal limits as were later annual ones so I didn’t worry about it. Meanwhile practice nurse gave me a printed sheet of foods to avoid/eat and mentioned the GI Index. Not enough data so I bought a good GI book to learn more. Adopted many of the principles as it made sense even if not diabetic. Like others on this site ‘pre-diabetic’ was not explained enough to me or I would have taken it more seriously but I did introduce more complex carbs to my diet as instructed. Over the last 5 years I have gained 4 stone though lost 1 stone last year, became 'apple shaped', had puffy ankles most days, and needed the loo so often it was embarrassing! In addition I had become increasingly tired and the slightest physical exertion was an effort.
Routine blood test this March and HBA1c at 60/8.8 with cholesterol 7 (1.1 HDL/4.2 LDL) so this time diagnosed diabetic. Initial disbelief and in denial but within hours realised I should take this seriously. GP gave me an information pack which I read all through. Like most people of my generation I knew that food played a big part in diabetes but had no in-depth knowledge of nutrition. I thought I had a healthy diet with lots of fruit/veg/salads, chicken, fish but low red meat, etc. but obviously not healthy enough. OK, so diabetes is the problem, where am I now, where do I want to be, what’s the gap, and what is the action plan to bridge it? Hmmm … don’t remember reading about that so read the pack again. The only food advice really is the pretty plate showing food type ratios but no specific guidelines so I knew then that I would have to develop my own strategy. I’d heard of GDA (Guideline Daily Amounts) so searched for those online. Interesting … GDA is the same for diabetics as non-diabetics. This didn’t make sense as to reduce weight you reduce calories, to reduce cholesterol you reduce saturates, and to reduce blood pressure you keep salts down so surely to reduce sugars you keep sugars (carbs) down?
I started reading on various websites, including this one. I learned that the UK NHS advice is based on the UK Prospective Diabetes Study that was undertaken with just over 5,000 people between 1977 and 1997. NHS advice was slated by numerous people on this website but there were lots of good links to other sites related to later studies (Mayo and Kumamoto for instance) as well as other diabetes-focussed sites. Within 48 hours the overwhelming message was that the only food group of real significance related to diabetes was carbs. I started a spreadsheet to list the nutritional values of everything I ate and, as I am still learning, still do that today. This has enabled me to identify foods that are high sugar, saturates, salt, etc. and there were quite a few surprises along the way. Doing this has enabled me to make informed choices about what foods or what quantity of foods I now wish to eat. I also bought books recommended on this website including a quick calories/carbs/protein/fats reference written by Chris Cheyette and Yello Balolia (great for the supermarket or eating out) and ‘Blood Sugar 101 What They Don’t Tell You About Diabetes’ written by Jenny Ruhl. Do a search and you’ll find a website for the latter too. I strongly recommend anyone with diabetes/pre-diabetes to read this as it is very informative. I refer to this book regularly.
When I added the nutritional values to the foods I had eaten in the week after diagnosis I was shocked that my healthy diet wasn’t as good as I thought … who would have thought that a famous brand no-fat yogurt contains 11.9 gms sugar or that cheese was so high in saturates? I decided to be drastic and cut my carbs to around 20 gms/day as outlined on some websites. I only did this for a few days as it was really restrictive, I was hungry, and I knew that I would not be able to maintain the motivation to do it long-term. Fairly soon I settled at around 150 carbs/day spread out over 3 meals/day (65-70% GDA). Within 2 weeks the weight loss was marked. I asked my GP for a blood monitor and morning bloods started coming in around 7.5 which encouraged me. This level of carbs is comfortable for me though I might have to adjust them in the future depending what progress I make. We are all different so although this level works for me a different level could be better for you if you decide to adopt this approach.
About 3 weeks ago I attended the diabetes education session and was not impressed. Talking about future complications the phrases ‘when you get to that stage’ and ‘when the time comes’ didn’t exactly inspire me with confidence. When I questioned why GDA was the same for a diabetic as for a non-diabetic I was told that it was because these were government guidelines. I asked about reducing carbs and was told that was not recommended as carbs were needed for energy. The whole dietary section was about the ‘pretty plate’ with little focus on sugars at all and lots about saturates. This echoes what many people on this forum have said about this approach. Quite a bit of time was spent on alcohol too. Beer and wine does contain carbs but a spirit and low-calorie mixer doesn’t and even the dietician had to admit that such a drink did not affect sugars! The real alcohol issue is for those people on meds where getting tipsy can mimic a hypo. The only thing I learned from this session was the need to eat regularly to prevent the liver from releasing stored sugars so I continued my strategy although altered my mealtimes.
The good news is that a week or so ago I had my 3-month check-up. HBA1c was 53/7% and cholesterol down to 5.5 (1.1 HDL/3.4 LDL). I have lost 25 pounds since March, got my face back with no double chin, no more puffy ankles even at the end of the day, sleep through the night most nights and if I do need a diddle it is once not 4 or 5 times. Morning bloods are more often in the 6 range rather than the 7 and 2-hour post meals vary from 4.7 to 11.2. (The 11.2 was after eating half an olive roll recommended by a neighbour diabetic! I’m learning.) I feel great and full of energy, am not hungry, and feel I am back to the person I was 5 years ago. I still have some way to go with weight loss and want A1c to be 6.5% or less with post-meal no higher than 7.8 so am at the stage of testing and ‘eating to the meter’ as so many people on the forum recommend.
What I have found is that whatever % of carbs I eat then the % calories is pretty similar and as I am running at 65-70% this accounts for the weight loss. I’m keeping saturates etc. to similar levels and all combined this probably accounts for the positive progress. I am still eating a wide variety of foods and many of the changes I have made have been relatively small such as changing my salad dressings to much lower carb ones and buying naked chicken/fish rather than in breadcrumbs. I still eat butter in small portions and enjoy my scotch and low-calorie ginger in the evenings. I still eat bread, pasta, and potatoes but limit the quantity to match my target carbs quantity for the meal. A piece of cake or a biscuit is a very occasional treat. A square of 85% cocoa dark chocolate is good sometimes too (1.9 gms carbs/1.3 gms sugar). GP and nurses happy with me and even the dietician was interested in my charts and asked to keep them!
I’ll be very interested to see what my results are in December and hope to see further improvement as I feel I am going in the right direction. Sorry this is so long but I hope that it is helpful to some of you. If anyone wants more detail then please feel free to ask. Suggestions for improvement also welcome.
Just joined today and this is my first post other than introducing myself. I’ve been reading lots of posts on this site for the last 4 months so thought it was time to join in. It might be helpful to some people if I describe what has happened to me and how I feel about it.
4-5 years ago I had blood tests for something else and glucose was a little high. Oral glucose test followed and told I was pre-diabetic but follow-on test was in normal limits as were later annual ones so I didn’t worry about it. Meanwhile practice nurse gave me a printed sheet of foods to avoid/eat and mentioned the GI Index. Not enough data so I bought a good GI book to learn more. Adopted many of the principles as it made sense even if not diabetic. Like others on this site ‘pre-diabetic’ was not explained enough to me or I would have taken it more seriously but I did introduce more complex carbs to my diet as instructed. Over the last 5 years I have gained 4 stone though lost 1 stone last year, became 'apple shaped', had puffy ankles most days, and needed the loo so often it was embarrassing! In addition I had become increasingly tired and the slightest physical exertion was an effort.
Routine blood test this March and HBA1c at 60/8.8 with cholesterol 7 (1.1 HDL/4.2 LDL) so this time diagnosed diabetic. Initial disbelief and in denial but within hours realised I should take this seriously. GP gave me an information pack which I read all through. Like most people of my generation I knew that food played a big part in diabetes but had no in-depth knowledge of nutrition. I thought I had a healthy diet with lots of fruit/veg/salads, chicken, fish but low red meat, etc. but obviously not healthy enough. OK, so diabetes is the problem, where am I now, where do I want to be, what’s the gap, and what is the action plan to bridge it? Hmmm … don’t remember reading about that so read the pack again. The only food advice really is the pretty plate showing food type ratios but no specific guidelines so I knew then that I would have to develop my own strategy. I’d heard of GDA (Guideline Daily Amounts) so searched for those online. Interesting … GDA is the same for diabetics as non-diabetics. This didn’t make sense as to reduce weight you reduce calories, to reduce cholesterol you reduce saturates, and to reduce blood pressure you keep salts down so surely to reduce sugars you keep sugars (carbs) down?
I started reading on various websites, including this one. I learned that the UK NHS advice is based on the UK Prospective Diabetes Study that was undertaken with just over 5,000 people between 1977 and 1997. NHS advice was slated by numerous people on this website but there were lots of good links to other sites related to later studies (Mayo and Kumamoto for instance) as well as other diabetes-focussed sites. Within 48 hours the overwhelming message was that the only food group of real significance related to diabetes was carbs. I started a spreadsheet to list the nutritional values of everything I ate and, as I am still learning, still do that today. This has enabled me to identify foods that are high sugar, saturates, salt, etc. and there were quite a few surprises along the way. Doing this has enabled me to make informed choices about what foods or what quantity of foods I now wish to eat. I also bought books recommended on this website including a quick calories/carbs/protein/fats reference written by Chris Cheyette and Yello Balolia (great for the supermarket or eating out) and ‘Blood Sugar 101 What They Don’t Tell You About Diabetes’ written by Jenny Ruhl. Do a search and you’ll find a website for the latter too. I strongly recommend anyone with diabetes/pre-diabetes to read this as it is very informative. I refer to this book regularly.
When I added the nutritional values to the foods I had eaten in the week after diagnosis I was shocked that my healthy diet wasn’t as good as I thought … who would have thought that a famous brand no-fat yogurt contains 11.9 gms sugar or that cheese was so high in saturates? I decided to be drastic and cut my carbs to around 20 gms/day as outlined on some websites. I only did this for a few days as it was really restrictive, I was hungry, and I knew that I would not be able to maintain the motivation to do it long-term. Fairly soon I settled at around 150 carbs/day spread out over 3 meals/day (65-70% GDA). Within 2 weeks the weight loss was marked. I asked my GP for a blood monitor and morning bloods started coming in around 7.5 which encouraged me. This level of carbs is comfortable for me though I might have to adjust them in the future depending what progress I make. We are all different so although this level works for me a different level could be better for you if you decide to adopt this approach.
About 3 weeks ago I attended the diabetes education session and was not impressed. Talking about future complications the phrases ‘when you get to that stage’ and ‘when the time comes’ didn’t exactly inspire me with confidence. When I questioned why GDA was the same for a diabetic as for a non-diabetic I was told that it was because these were government guidelines. I asked about reducing carbs and was told that was not recommended as carbs were needed for energy. The whole dietary section was about the ‘pretty plate’ with little focus on sugars at all and lots about saturates. This echoes what many people on this forum have said about this approach. Quite a bit of time was spent on alcohol too. Beer and wine does contain carbs but a spirit and low-calorie mixer doesn’t and even the dietician had to admit that such a drink did not affect sugars! The real alcohol issue is for those people on meds where getting tipsy can mimic a hypo. The only thing I learned from this session was the need to eat regularly to prevent the liver from releasing stored sugars so I continued my strategy although altered my mealtimes.
The good news is that a week or so ago I had my 3-month check-up. HBA1c was 53/7% and cholesterol down to 5.5 (1.1 HDL/3.4 LDL). I have lost 25 pounds since March, got my face back with no double chin, no more puffy ankles even at the end of the day, sleep through the night most nights and if I do need a diddle it is once not 4 or 5 times. Morning bloods are more often in the 6 range rather than the 7 and 2-hour post meals vary from 4.7 to 11.2. (The 11.2 was after eating half an olive roll recommended by a neighbour diabetic! I’m learning.) I feel great and full of energy, am not hungry, and feel I am back to the person I was 5 years ago. I still have some way to go with weight loss and want A1c to be 6.5% or less with post-meal no higher than 7.8 so am at the stage of testing and ‘eating to the meter’ as so many people on the forum recommend.
What I have found is that whatever % of carbs I eat then the % calories is pretty similar and as I am running at 65-70% this accounts for the weight loss. I’m keeping saturates etc. to similar levels and all combined this probably accounts for the positive progress. I am still eating a wide variety of foods and many of the changes I have made have been relatively small such as changing my salad dressings to much lower carb ones and buying naked chicken/fish rather than in breadcrumbs. I still eat butter in small portions and enjoy my scotch and low-calorie ginger in the evenings. I still eat bread, pasta, and potatoes but limit the quantity to match my target carbs quantity for the meal. A piece of cake or a biscuit is a very occasional treat. A square of 85% cocoa dark chocolate is good sometimes too (1.9 gms carbs/1.3 gms sugar). GP and nurses happy with me and even the dietician was interested in my charts and asked to keep them!
I’ll be very interested to see what my results are in December and hope to see further improvement as I feel I am going in the right direction. Sorry this is so long but I hope that it is helpful to some of you. If anyone wants more detail then please feel free to ask. Suggestions for improvement also welcome.