• Guest - w'd love to know what you think about the forum! Take the 2025 Survey »

2 days in and it's very confusing!

retrogamer said:
Well I'm old enough (52) but never worried about diets. When I was younger I never put weight on, skinny at school and throughout my late teens.

I found beer!!! :p

I now have to re-educate myself and learn how to eat a healthy diet whilst managing my diabetes. For the record, I am a little concerned about fat content because I also had a heart attack in 2019. Obviously losing weight will help with that anyway.

I am definitely looking into this keto stuff because it's more my type of food anyway.

My biggest issues are going to be bread, but I am intrigued by this almond flour bread and it looks nice, potato products as I did always like chips, potatoes and Jacket spuds, and pasta because I do like lasagne and spaghetti Bolognese. I just need to change my eating habits and thought process when meal planning.

Thanks for the advice guys, it's definitely helped me and hopefully I can pick up more tips as I go along.
Click to expand...

Hi Retrogamer,

Let me pass on some useful advice I found on here about a year ago.

A typical slice of bread contains about 25g of carbs. So a sandwich pack from the supermarket has 50g of carbs in the bread before you consider the filling.

However, there is a type of bread called Liv Life which has only 7g of carbs per slice. This is because it is low carb but also the slices are small and thin. It tastes like normal bread and enables you to have a sandwich with only 14g in two slices of bread.

The downside is it only sold in Waitrose. I travel 10 miles to my nearest Waitrose every few weeks and buy 6 loaves for the freezer.

Welcome to hbrr ee forum.

Dave
 
Dave with T2 said:
The downside is it only sold in Waitrose. I travel 10 miles to my nearest Waitrose every few weeks and buy 6 loaves for the freezer.
Click to expand...
My nearest Waitrose is much farther away from me so unfortunately that isn't an option. I've already got a relative baking me some almond flour bread anyway!

I am finding re-educating friends/relatives quite taxing. I've no doubt you've all had it but all the suggestions under the sun are incoming for meals. When I inform them that certain elements of the meal are unsuitable (jacket potato is a popular one that keeps popping up) I'm getting the "oh, just a one off few carbs won't hurt"

They're not realising that a one off few carbs for breakfast, same for lunch and again in the evening along with any snacks which again are nearly always carb heavy suggestions and before long I'm back into carb overload again.
But now I'm the picky one when I tell them! :D :D

My evening meal yesterday left me feeling a little underfed as it didn't contain the usual bulk of bread, potatoes or pasta (I've sometimes had all three in one meal!!!!) But I haven't woken up this morning feeling like I'm starving so hopefully it's a good sign that it was satisfying enough to keep me going.
 
Managing other people is a knack we all have to develop, and IME managing diabetes is a lot more straightforward! I find it helpful to say gaily but firmly that I'm afraid even a little of whatever WILL do damage and that I can't afford to eat anything that is going to have that effect. I am a duplicitous so-and-so and keep my voice light and merry but the words stay firm. Repeat ad nauseum. Do not give in - it's your health that's at stake.

We have to live within our own personalities, and some of us find being firm with other people more or less difficult, but our welfare and successful management of our illness depends on it.
 
retrogamer said:
Well that's certainly a lot of useful advice. Doesn't make any sense to me whatsoever due to what I've been taught my entire life about foods!! I obviously need to change my thought process regarding diet.
Thanks for all the advice though, it's reassuring to know there are meal options for me even though I have a limited amount of foods that I enjoy.

I think this keto diet thing might be a good idea for me as I do need to lose weight and I have 12 weeks before going for another blood test. I'm hoping for some improvement (apparently my blood sugar was very high)
I am T2 diabetic and I have been prescribed Metformin to help get things under control. I don't fully understand everything yet but I'm reading loads and learning. Unfortunately, as with most things there is an enormous amount of misinformation online regarding diabetes and diets.
Click to expand...
Have you had a HBa1c blood test and if so what number did it come back with. If you want to do Keto, my advice is 2 fold, firstly get a glucometer and measure your blood sugar both prior to eating and 2 hours after you eat. This will give you a good indication of what foods your body can handle and those that it can't. What you're looking for is an increase in your blood sugar reading of less than 2 mmol, more than that and you need to work out what you ate that caused the >2mmol rise and adjust accordingly.

Secondly to get into Ketosis (fat burning mode) you ideally need to be eating no more than 20g carbohydrates for 3-4 days in a row. This is hard if you've not been used to restricting your carbs, so what I did is work down to it, starting with eating 100g carbs and reducing that amount by 10g every 2-3 days until you hit the 20g mark. Please be aware that this will have an impact on your energy levels, until you achieve ketosis, and even then you will need to supplement your electrolytes (sodium/magnesium/potassium) as you will be losing those when you pee. There are a number of good keto electrolyte solutions available online, just check the carb numbers on the packaging as some can be quite high.

It does work. I went from an HBa1c of 123 in January this year to a level of 38 in August, which is normal non-diabetic person levels. It will also help with any weight loss you are looking to achieve. Good luck
retrogamer said:
Well that's certainly a lot of useful advice. Doesn't make any sense to me whatsoever due to what I've been taught my entire life about foods!! I obviously need to change my thought process regarding diet.
Thanks for all the advice though, it's reassuring to know there are meal options for me even though I have a limited amount of foods that I enjoy.

I think this keto diet thing might be a good idea for me as I do need to lose weight and I have 12 weeks before going for another blood test. I'm hoping for some improvement (apparently my blood sugar was very high)
I am T2 diabetic and I have been prescribed Metformin to help get things under control. I don't fully understand everything yet but I'm reading loads and learning. Unfortunately, as with most things there is an enormous amount of misinformation online regarding diabetes and diets.
Click to expand...
 
Dave with T2 said:
Hi Retrogamer,

Let me pass on some useful advice I found on here about a year ago.

A typical slice of bread contains about 25g of carbs. So a sandwich pack from the supermarket has 50g of carbs in the bread before you consider the filling.

However, there is a type of bread called Liv Life which has only 7g of carbs per slice. This is because it is low carb but also the slices are small and thin. It tastes like normal bread and enables you to have a sandwich with only 14g in two slices of bread.

The downside is it only sold in Waitrose. I travel 10 miles to my nearest Waitrose every few weeks and buy 6 loaves for the freezer.

Welcome to hbrr ee forum.

Dave
Click to expand...
Livlife bread is only 3.4g of carbs per slice:

Screenshot_20230925_124124_Chrome.jpg

Super Seeded Bread | Livlife

Our Super Seeded loaf transforms your healthy lifestyle, making it easy to enjoy the food you love, feed your body and reach healthy diet goals
www.livlifefoods.co.uk www.livlifefoods.co.uk

Two slices cause a negligible rise in BG for me, providing it's used with some fat and/or protein. Everyone's different though, so take this as personal experience, not a guarantee. :)
 
I did get rather angry at one person who was pressing me to eat carbs - I suggested that they take half a cup of boiling water and pour it over their head - after all it was only a small amount - what harm would it do.
They went quiet after that...
I found that I went into remission very easily enough on 50 gm of carbs a day - there is no need to go lower - I have reduced down to 40 gm per day maximum as I was trying to reduce my HbA1c into the 30s - I persisted for a year and got exactly the same result - 42 - but by that time I had settled into the lower amount and so stayed there - though I do very occasionally throw caution to the wind - it seems to have very little effect these days.
There is a bread available from Polish supermarkets called chleb protienowy which is very low carb, but it is a black bread, very different from 'ordinary' stuff.
 
Impy said:
Have you had a HBa1c blood test and if so what number did it come back with. If you want to do Keto, my advice is 2 fold, firstly get a glucometer and measure your blood sugar both prior to eating and 2 hours after you eat. This will give you a good indication of what foods your body can handle and those that it can't. What you're looking for is an increase in your blood sugar reading of less than 2 mmol, more than that and you need to work out what you ate that caused the >2mmol rise and adjust accordingly.

Secondly to get into Ketosis (fat burning mode) you ideally need to be eating no more than 20g carbohydrates for 3-4 days in a row. This is hard if you've not been used to restricting your carbs, so what I did is work down to it, starting with eating 100g carbs and reducing that amount by 10g every 2-3 days until you hit the 20g mark. Please be aware that this will have an impact on your energy levels, until you achieve ketosis, and even then you will need to supplement your electrolytes (sodium/magnesium/potassium) as you will be losing those when you pee. There are a number of good keto electrolyte solutions available online, just check the carb numbers on the packaging as some can be quite high.

It does work. I went from an HBa1c of 123 in January this year to a level of 38 in August, which is normal non-diabetic person levels. It will also help with any weight loss you are looking to achieve. Good luck
Click to expand...
Had a blood test, results came back last week but doctor only told me my blood sugar was high and I had T2 diabetes. No mention of HBa1c or anything else.

As I'm fairly new to all this I appreciate all the advice. I'll be looking into testing myself asap as several people have said it's useful. I have started cutting all carbs from my diet. This morning I had breakfast consisting of just bacon and eggs. Ridiculous to think that what the doctors have been saying will kill me is actually going to help me lose weight!!

My morning coffee is still an issue though. I only have the tiniest drop of milk so I am not concerned with that but this sugar substitute that I bought from aldi is horrendous. Makes the drink taste sour.

I think I'll either have to include a spoon of sugar in my daily diet or try and get used to coffee without, unless anyone has suggestions for a better alternative?

Anyway, I think this will go quite well because 2 carb free meals so far and I'm feeling very full. I haven't even had the amount I usually have on my plate. Full English would be just that, a FULL (overflowing) English!
 
retrogamer said:
I am finding re-educating friends/relatives quite taxing. I've no doubt you've all had it but all the suggestions under the sun are incoming for meals. When I inform them that certain elements of the meal are unsuitable (jacket potato is a popular one that keeps popping up) I'm getting the "oh, just a one off few carbs won't hurt"
Click to expand...
I politely say "No thanks, I'm diabetic." Should they continue to push, they get what my wife describes as "the crazy eyes", where I just stare at them with a deadpan expression and remain silent until they feel awkward.

My family have been fantastic with it all. Friends are a mixed bag, with more distant friends being mostly concerned about how it impacts their lives or enjoyment for some bizarre reason.
 
retrogamer said:
Had a blood test, results came back last week but doctor only told me my blood sugar was high and I had T2 diabetes. No mention of HBa1c or anything else.

As I'm fairly new to all this I appreciate all the advice. I'll be looking into testing myself asap as several people have said it's useful. I have started cutting all carbs from my diet. This morning I had breakfast consisting of just bacon and eggs. Ridiculous to think that what the doctors have been saying will kill me is actually going to help me lose weight!!

My morning coffee is still an issue though. I only have the tiniest drop of milk so I am not concerned with that but this sugar substitute that I bought from aldi is horrendous. Makes the drink taste sour.

I think I'll either have to include a spoon of sugar in my daily diet or try and get used to coffee without, unless anyone has suggestions for a better alternative?

Anyway, I think this will go quite well because 2 carb free meals so far and I'm feeling very full. I haven't even had the amount I usually have on my plate. Full English would be just that, a FULL (overflowing) English!
Click to expand...
Try using cream and no sweetener.
You should find that your sense of taste changes, strange things such as peas and beetroot will begin to taste sweet if you reduce the levels of sweet tasting things you eat. I find that the low carb recipes online are all oversweet to the point of making me retch.
 
Paul_ said:
I politely say "No thanks, I'm diabetic." Should they continue to push, they get what my wife describes as "the crazy eyes", where I just stare at them with a deadpan expression and remain silent until they feel awkward.

My family have been fantastic with it all. Friends are a mixed bag, with more distant friends being mostly concerned about how it impacts their lives or enjoyment for some bizarre reason.
Click to expand...
It's mainly family at the moment. They're doing it out of the same ignorance that I have had over the years that these carb loaded foods are in some way healthy when clearly they're not. I mean, whoever thought that a baked potato or pasta wasn't actually good for you??? Yes it's low fat but no good for a diabetic.
Resurgam said:
Try using cream and no sweetener.
You should find that your sense of taste changes, strange things such as peas and beetroot will begin to taste sweet if you reduce the levels of sweet tasting things you eat. I find that the low carb recipes online are all oversweet to the point of making me retch.
Click to expand...
The milk aspect isn't the issue, I actually don't like milk or cream. That part I could live without but I do like a little sweetness in my coffee.
Oh and please don't suggest tea, hate the stuff. Just the smell makes me gag! :yuck:

Maybe I just need to push myself through with no sugar, or just gradually reduce it in my drinks.
 
retrogamer said:
It's mainly family at the moment. They're doing it out of the same ignorance that I have had over the years that these carb loaded foods are in some way healthy when clearly they're not. I mean, whoever thought that a baked potato or pasta wasn't actually good for you??? Yes it's low fat but no good for a diabetic.
Click to expand...
Baked potatoes and pasta can be healthy options for non-diabetics, providing they're portion controlled and the toppings/sauces are healthy. The main issue is that these end up being high carb and high fat, possibly with a double portion size, way too easily. However, the biggest problem for non-diabetics in my opinion is convenience food - and I was one of them doing this before diagnosis. It's all packed with carbs, with fast food being worse, and people can easily consume 300g+ of carbs a day without even thinking about it. Add in the fact it's generally high fat too (transfats and hydrogenated exacerbating the problem more) and it's just an overload for most people, there's no way to burn or exercise it away when it's so easy to consume 3000 calories a day or more.

I've found that a lot of people just can't imagine a meal without carbs. It's not even necessarily that they think it's healthy, it's just that they've become so conditioned to thinking a plate full of beige carbs is normal that they don't know any other way.
 
Gradually reducing the amount of sugar you take in coffee could work well depending on how much sugar you take and how often you drink coffee.
If you reduce the carbs gradually, then the amount from the sugar in coffee won't be too big a proportion of daily carbs.

Cutting carb too fast isn't a good idea because it takes time for the body to adjust to lower blood glucose - especially the eyes. So doing too much, too fast might give you blurry vision and a large weight loss too fast could give you folds of loose skin.
Taking it at a moderate pace is a better option.
 
Paul_ said:
Baked potatoes and pasta can be healthy options for non-diabetics, providing they're portion controlled and the toppings/sauces are healthy. The main issue is that these end up being high carb and high fat, possibly with a double portion size, way too easily. However, the biggest problem for non-diabetics in my opinion is convenience food - and I was one of them doing this before diagnosis. It's all packed with carbs, with fast food being worse, and people can easily consume 300g+ of carbs a day without even thinking about it. Add in the fact it's generally high fat too (transfats and hydrogenated exacerbating the problem more) and it's just an overload for most people, there's no way to burn or exercise it away when it's so easy to consume 3000 calories a day or more.

I've found that a lot of people just can't imagine a meal without carbs. It's not even necessarily that they think it's healthy, it's just that they've become so conditioned to thinking a plate full of beige carbs is normal that they don't know any other way.
Click to expand...
This x1000!
My portion sizes were wayy ott with most meals. Baked potato and pasta bake in particular because of the pre conceived notion that these are healthy, low fat meals so I could "afford" to go a little over indulgent. Fast food was a big problem for me. Myself and my better half would regularly share meals. In doing so we would add a few extra items that we we could share. Before long we would be spending £30 in the local chippy and gorging ourselves stupid. To top that off we would have bread and butter with literally everything!!
A meal without carbs didn't exist, sometimes double or triple carbs. Lasagna with a few chips at the side. A few chips became a plate full over time. Oh and don't forget the bread and butter for chip butties!

I'm surprised I'm not dead already.
ianf0ster said:
Gradually reducing the amount of sugar you take in coffee could work well depending on how much sugar you take and how often you drink coffee.
If you reduce the carbs gradually, then the amount from the sugar in coffee won't be too big a proportion of daily carbs.

Cutting carb too fast isn't a good idea because it takes time for the body to adjust to lower blood glucose - especially the eyes. So doing too much, too fast might give you blurry vision and a large weight loss too fast could give you folds of loose skin.
Taking it at a moderate pace is a better option.
Click to expand...
Hmm, I have just cut the carbs almost completely. Last night, plain fish with poached eggs. This morning, bacon and eggs. I have had my coffee but used Stevia instead of sugar and I only have a drop of milk. Maybe I should keep the sugar for a few days and maybe have the occasional banana or slice of toast so that I'm still having a small quantity of carbs, then gradually reduce it over a couple of weeks.
 
Hi @retrogamer and thanks for the tag @Antje77 , here’s some info on UK meters, and to be clear I have no commercial connections with any of the companies mentioned.



HOME HEALTH have the Gluco Navii, which is a fairly new model and seems to be getting good reviews.

https://homehealth-uk.com/all-produ...ose-meter-test-strips-choose-mmol-l-or-mg-dl/



Links to the strips for future orders:

https://homehealth-uk.com/all-products/glucose-navii-blood-glucose-test-strips-50-strip-pack/



Then they sell the older SD Code Free, details to be found here!

https://homehealth-uk.com/all-products/codefree-blood-glucose-monitoring-system-mmoll-or-mgdl/





SPIRIT HEALTHCARE have a meter called the Tee2 + which is quite popular:

https://shop.spirit-health.co.uk/co...e2-blood-glucose-meter?variant=19264017268793



The strips are to be found here:

https://shop.spirit-health.co.uk/co...py-of-tee2-test-strips?variant=19264017367097



If there is a choice of units of measurement then ‘mmol/L’ are the standard units in the UK, ‘mg/dl’ in the US, other countries may vary.



Don’t forget to check the box if you have pre diabetes or diabetes so you can buy VAT free. (for all meters and strips)
 
retrogamer said:
It's mainly family at the moment. They're doing it out of the same ignorance that I have had over the years that these carb loaded foods are in some way healthy when clearly they're not. I mean, whoever thought that a baked potato or pasta wasn't actually good for you??? Yes it's low fat but no good for a diabetic.

The milk aspect isn't the issue, I actually don't like milk or cream. That part I could live without but I do like a little sweetness in my coffee.
Oh and please don't suggest tea, hate the stuff. Just the smell makes me gag! :yuck:

Maybe I just need to push myself through with no sugar, or just gradually reduce it in my drinks.
Click to expand...
My taste is all over the place after Covid, which I've had 5 times, but the worst of all that was the AZ jab, which I thought had killed me.
Oddest thing was eating yoghurt and it tasting exactly like my mother's beef stew, right down to the Oxo cube and celery - that was so weird.
I still can't drink tea - and I used to do tasting for Allied Lyons, used to be Lyons Tetley.

The toast and banana don't seen like a good idea, as they are so high carb - I only eat berries, and the last bread I ate was Chleb proteinowy from the Polish supermarket, very low carb black bread, but when a bacon sandwich is the only thing that is going to cut it, it does the trick.
 
Resurgam said:
My taste is all over the place after Covid, which I've had 5 times, but the worst of all that was the AZ jab, which I thought had killed me.
Oddest thing was eating yoghurt and it tasting exactly like my mother's beef stew, right down to the Oxo cube and celery - that was so weird.
I still can't drink tea - and I used to do tasting for Allied Lyons, used to be Lyons Tetley.

The toast and banana don't seen like a good idea, as they are so high carb - I only eat berries, and the last bread I ate was Chleb proteinowy from the Polish supermarket, very low carb black bread, but when a bacon sandwich is the only thing that is going to cut it, it does the trick.
Click to expand...
Time for my tin foil hat!

Nobody is getting anywhere near me with that covid jab. I don't care what anyone says, 6 months or so testing a new drug is nowhere near long enough for mass rollout. Also several people I know have had quite major health problems since having it where no problems existed previously.
Coincidence? Maybe but until long term effects are known they ain't touching me with that ****.

I've decided against the banana and toast idea. I'll just continue for now with my couple of coffees per day with a little sugar and milk until I'm ready to go almost carb free.

I've tried a 90 second bread recipe and it had quite a bitter aftertaste. It may be that I could only get finely ground almonds rather than almond flour, IDK!

I'm trying a few other homemade items so at least this gives me the push I need to try and get creative in the kitchen. It's just a ballache checking all ingredients for carbs, everything seems to have them. Gravy!!! Love my gravy. I need an alternative. Chinese style curry, has carbs so need alternatives. There are some hot pepper sauces with very low or zero carbs and I do like spice.

It's still early days, I suppose I'll get used to it but it's very daunting at the start.
 
Back
Top