Hi my name is Jamie and I was told I have type 2 diabetes a few days ago which to be honest didn't come as a shock to me.ive been neglecting my health and fitness for a very long time full of excuses every time.i didn't have any of the usual signs but I was constantly hungry..I would have a huge plate of food then 10 Mins later I would feel like I was starving again.my biggest problem to me seems to be my diet.my job involves me to be in a van all day driving from breakdown to breakdown..I don't get to eat at regular times it's mainly eat when I can normal whilst driving to the next job.im finding it hard to come up with meals I can bring with me in the van.all I can really come up with is sandwich which I know isn't good for me
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2 days in
- Thread starter Mac9421
- Start Date
Hi @Mac9421 and welcome.
I’m tagging @daisy1 for a welcome pack of useful information. Have a good read and ask as many questions as you like.
Do you have an insulated box or bag you could use with ice packs while you’re driving? That would mean you could take almost anything with you to eat during the day - cold meat, salad, fish, cheese, etc. Alternatively a wide necked food flask would allow you to take hot food - perhaps an extra portion of whatever you have for dinner the night before.
I’m tagging @daisy1 for a welcome pack of useful information. Have a good read and ask as many questions as you like.
Do you have an insulated box or bag you could use with ice packs while you’re driving? That would mean you could take almost anything with you to eat during the day - cold meat, salad, fish, cheese, etc. Alternatively a wide necked food flask would allow you to take hot food - perhaps an extra portion of whatever you have for dinner the night before.
JoKalsbeek
Expert
- Messages
- 6,724
- Location
- The Netherlands
- Type of diabetes
- I reversed my Type 2
- Treatment type
- Diet only
Try stuff you can easily take with you, like sausages (bifi salami?), or just some cold cuts and cheese in tupperware. Nuts too. Foods that are filling, can be eaten with one hand on the wheel, and won't spoil quickly. Would be better if you could take a moment to scarf down a salad (leafy greens, tuna, mayo, capers, olives), but if there's no time, one needs to adjust.
There is, of course OMAD. Or IF... But it'll take a lot of getting used to if you're not already low carbing. OMAD is short for One Meal a Day. If I skip breakfast it's easier for me to skip lunch as well, so a few days a week, my one meal is dinner. Or Intermittent Fasting, which means skipping meals. For instance, skip breakfast but do have lunch, or just have breakfast and dinner and skip lunch... You don't absolutely HAVE to eat, unless, of course, you're on bloodglucose-lowering medication, because then you might hypo. Two things about hunger: Quite often we're thirsty, but it feels the same way as hunger. i always thought I could tell the difference until about half a year ago, when i discovered that i really, really couldn't. If you drink, and the hunger persists, then you are hungry. Second: Hunger might be a signal that your body wants more carbs. Most T2's start out addicted to carbs (actually, most people are, period), and it will keep asking for them until we're weaned off of them. That might explain why you're hungy all the time: your body keeps demanding carbs, even if theyre not good for it. It's a rough few days trying to get rid of that feeling, but once it's gone, you'll be doing so much better. (Going low carb will feel like a much less daunting task if you're not hungry 24-7.).
Check dietdoctor.com for meal ideas, maybe that'll help. Good luck!
Jo
Fenn
Well-Known Member
- Messages
- 1,405
- Type of diabetes
- Type 1.5
- Treatment type
- Insulin
Being on the road is not easy when trying to get your eating right, two little tips from me, subway salads are great value and good quality, they are cropping up in petrol stations, also supermarket hot food counters are great, grab some hot chicken on the go
daisy1
Legend
- Messages
- 26,457
- Location
- Switzerland
- Type of diabetes
- Type 2
- Treatment type
- Tablets (oral)
- Dislikes
- Cruelty towards animals.
@Mac9421
Hello Jamie and welcome to the Forum
Here is the Basic Information we give to new members and I hope you will find it useful. Ask as many questions as you need to and someone will 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 well over 235,000 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:
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
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.
Over 145,000 people have taken part in the Low Carb Program - a 10 week structured education course that is helping people lose weight and reduce medication dependency by explaining the science behind carbs, insulin and GI.
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
Access to blood glucose test strips
The NICE guidelines suggest that people newly diagnosed with type 2 diabetes should be offered:
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 blood glucose 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.
Take part in Diabetes.co.uk digital education programs and improve your understanding. Most of these are free.
Hello Jamie and welcome to the Forum
Here is the Basic Information we give to new members and I hope you will find it useful. Ask as many questions as you need to and someone will 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 well over 235,000 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
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
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.
Over 145,000 people have taken part in the Low Carb Program - a 10 week structured education course that is helping people lose weight and reduce medication dependency by explaining the science behind carbs, insulin and GI.
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
- Before meals: 4 to 7 mmol/l
- 2 hours after meals: under 9 mmol/l
- Before meals: 4 to 8 mmol/l
- 2 hours after meals: under 10 mmol/l
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 blood glucose 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.
Take part in Diabetes.co.uk digital education programs and improve your understanding. Most of these are free.
- Low Carb Program - it's made front-page news of the New Scientist and The Times. Developed with 20,000 people with type 2 diabetes; 96% of people who take part recommend it... find out why
- Hypo Program - improve your understanding of hypos. There's a version for people with diabetes, parents/guardians of children with type 1, children with type 1 diabetes, teachers and HCPs.
JoKalsbeek
Expert
- Messages
- 6,724
- Location
- The Netherlands
- Type of diabetes
- I reversed my Type 2
- Treatment type
- Diet only
I hope you'll experience the same thing I did: I discovered a whole range of foods I never even knew I'd like!
It's been an adventure, and a remarcably enjoyable one at that.