Confused - what IS best?

abseil12

Member
Messages
15
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Tablets (oral)
Hi
I am a 53 year woman with a sedentary lifestyle, type 2 diabetes and stomach ulcers. I know what my problems are: missed meals, poor choices, and no exercise. I have been the other side - slim, fit, and healthy but that was 15 years ago. Now, I need to get serious - stomach ulcers and deteriorating eyesight, and now 1x metformin a day (supposed to be increasing to 2 but I haven't yet) - it's a wake up call to get my overweight, spreading backside into gear. But, boy! I am confused by all these options on weight loss and diabetes 2 control. I know we are all different but, can anybody just tell me what I should be doing? I get gradual increase in exercise with walking as the best option, and I get low carbs but, what are all these others options? Can anybody spell it out simply please. I know I am being lazy but I just want to be told what I need to do to get going. Anybody?

thanks
Abseil
 

DeejayR

Well-Known Member
Messages
2,375
Type of diabetes
Type 2 (in remission!)
Treatment type
Diet only
Hello and welcome. We can certainly tell you the options but you have to make the decisions. Broadly many here get great benefit from eating fewer carbs to reduce blood sugar levels, but by how much is very personal. I'll tag @daisy1 to give you a lot of info and in the meantime one piece of advice might be to buy a meter and test your blood sugar regularly. We can tell you how to do that, and how and when to use it. But the choice, as in all things, is yours. Welcome to our happy band of travellers!
 
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Pobertali03

Member
Messages
6
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Hi there. Hard as it is try not to worry. I am type 2 and sugar levels have been high for a while. I currently take 4 metformin, 4 gliclizide and 1 saxigliptin a day yet my readings still stay in double figures. My diabetic practitioner is looking to change my medication. I am remaining optimistic that my levels will come down. I believe carbs are the enemy more than sweet things. I have only joined the forum recently and this seems to be the consensus of what I've read. Personally I need to look at my carb intake again and up my exercise. Also going to keep a food diary. Hope you get things sorted out soon.
 

daisy1

Legend
Messages
26,457
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Tablets (oral)
Dislikes
Cruelty towards animals.
@abseil12

Hello Abseil and welcome to the forum :) Here is the information we give to new members which contains lots of information about diet, especially carbs, and following this should help you. Ask more questions if you need to and someone will be able to help.


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 over 150,000 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

Another option is to replace ‘white carbohydrates’ (such as white bread, white rice, white flour etc) with whole grain varieties. The idea behind having whole grain varieties is that the carbohydrates get broken down slower than the white varieties –and these are said to have a lower glycaemic index.
http://www.diabetes.co.uk/food/diabetes-and-whole-grains.html

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

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 bloodglucose 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.
 

Mongolia

Well-Known Member
Messages
845
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Diet only
Welcome to the forum Abseil! As DeejayR says, different people have different opinions and experiences about what works so you will need to find something that works for you and that you can stick with. There is no point setting yourself impossible goals and then beating yourself up when you are unable to achieve them. I can tell you what works for me. I was diagnosed in January and soon after found this forum and adopted a low carb full fat way of eating (I don't look on it as a diet; it isn't a quick fix to follow for a few weeks/months, it is a change in eating habits for life). I was really lucky in that it didn't make me feel unwell in any way and I didn't have any carb cravings. I found it easy to switch to - maybe the thought of the diabetic complications that could arise if I didn't change my eating habits was also an incentive! I have rediscovered a love of cooking as I have had to find new recipes - there are so many things you can eat and lots of inspiration on the internet. I eat under 50g of carbs a day which come mainly from green veg, cauliflower, berries and nuts. The best thing to do is to buy a glucose testing meter (lots of people on this site use CodeFree. You could ask your diabetic nurse if they will provide you with one but it is unlikely unfortunately). Test your blood before and after meals and keep a record. This is a good way of learning what spikes your blood sugar levels.

By eating low carb my HbA1c levels have dropped from 64 to 41 which is back within normal range and I have lost over 2.5 stone. This is on diet alone - exercise is still an area to work on! (Though it has been proven that exercise has little effect on weight loss - this is down to diet. However exercise is still vital for maintaining healthy heart etc.) Cholesterol has also improved with HDL going up and LDL going down. When you go for consultations with your diabetic nurse be prepared to be told off if you are eating LCHF and to be advised to eat wholemeal carbs with every meal. Also make sure you ask for a full break down of your results so you can monitor what's going on. I have been told 'everything is fine' when I phone up for results and actually have to request the figures!

Keep asking questions; the good folk here are a wealth of knowledge and always happy to advise:)
 

Southbeds

Well-Known Member
Messages
260
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Diet only
With the help of the forum members i learnt about lowcarbing and since been diagnosed T2 a year ago I have lost 4st and my is hbalc31, no drugs and very little exercise ,two new hips and a slipped disk saw to that, my doctors don,t have a Diabetic nurse so I was saved from that advice which is more to do with helping the farming industry than my health
 

Daibell

Master
Messages
12,642
Type of diabetes
LADA
Treatment type
Insulin
Hand welcome. You've already had a lot of good advice so far on the posts. Exercise is always good and helpful but the right diet is the highest priority together with meds should this not be enough. Yes, low-carb is usually vital and you don't need to worry about the other foods such as protein, fats, veg, non-tropical fruit and so on. These will provide energy, vital nutrients and fibre. The Metformin will help reduce any insulin resistance due to excess weight but it doesn't have dramatic effects. If it gives you any stomach/bowel problems do ask for the SR (Slow Release) version.
 

4ratbags

Well-Known Member
Messages
3,334
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Diet only
Hi and welcome to the forum. I cant really add to the great advice given above other than to say if you are reducing your carbs to be aware of hidden carbs. When I started eating LCHF I was astonished at how easily the carb count crept up during the day.
 

Indy51

Expert
Messages
5,540
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Diet only
Hi and welcome to the forum.

If you're interested in learning more about lowcarb, the link in my signature is a great start :)
 

SueB743

Well-Known Member
Messages
376
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Diet only
Hi and welcome. Loads of useful info on the site on good foods and diet. Excercise wise the best thing you can do is find what works for you. Walking is great and also free, helps keep you active and in contact with people whilst you are out and about. Go for it and enjoy yourself