6 Months In

[joshandjess]

I was diagnosed with T2 6 months ago (only just in the T2) and given medication to take, however I stopped taking the medication as I was in denial However I went back for a blood test a month ago and saw the doctor last week and found that I'm still only just got T2 and she said if I had continued with the medication my result would have been better. So I've started again with the meds and also started to cut back on the units of alcohol and need to get within the 14 units a week that she said, so have cut the wine out and only drinking beer.

However my biggest problem is my diet. I do cook from scratch cutting out any sugar, potatoes and bread, but finding it more difficult to cut out treats, so instead I'm eating unsalted nuts

I go back in September for another blood test so hopefully the results will be better.

 

[Resurgam]

There are far more carbs in beer than wine, so you might want to rethink your decision.

 

[dipsydo]

You would probably have been better drinking the wine and cutting out the beer , particularly if wine if dry white or red which are both of which are lower carb than beer. Many spirits are low or nil carb , but of course high in alcohol and mixers will increase the carb intake . I also understand that there can be an interaction of alcohol and some diabetic medicines - so read the instructions and limitations about alcohol.

Everyone reacts differently to carbs so is trial and error and you need to test to see what you can tolerate. In my case I cut out sugar, potatoes, bread and all grains so no breakfast cereals , oats ( although some can tolerate) , no pasta, rice or most fruits apart from berries although the occasional apple , pear may be OK. Vegetables and salads are above ground but some find peas not a good idea but they are fine for me . Cheese , meat , ( I do not eat fish as allergic but it is fine indeed good for others ) all OK in moderation - aim for 0.8 protein per kilo of the weight you want to be ( if wanting to loose weight). Low fat foods often have sugar in them so full fat yogurt, butter, cream, olive oil is better. For snacks hand full of nuts ( no more than say 5 Brazil nuts ), stick of cheese, olives , pork crackling are all low carb occasional treat 85% chocolate two pieces. Drink at least 1.5 to 2 litres of fluid a day ( milk has sugar in it so can cause issues ) and diet drinks can have odd reactions ( diet coke makes me hungry I tend to have as an occasional treat).

On this forum you can see a section about low carb diets which have a lot more detail .

I suspect others will be along with more information

 

[gavin86]

Beer does have carbs, but if you're trying to curb alcohol intake it may still be a better option for you. it's a lot harder to drink 7 beers than a bottle of wine!

How are you when on alcohol? I lose control and eat more when I drink (but I'm type 1 so that's not such a bad thing)

Sounds like you're doing well with the main meals. As for snacks, it's very hard! I haven't solved that problem yet...
Some thoughts:
Jerky
Cheese
Berries

 

[AM1874]

Hi @joshandjess ..
I agree about a glass of wine being better than beer .. but other than that it seems that you have overcome your initial bout of denial and that you are moving forward ..

The reality is that managing and controlling your diabetes through exercise, diet and testing your Blood Glucose seems to be the best way forward for many people. For me, committing to an LCHF (Low Carb High Fat) lifestyle and testing 3-5 times a day seems to be working and you'll find that there is a wealth of info, relevant advice and positive support about LCHF on the forum ..

I would suggest that you read up on the Low Carb Program in the information that you have already had from @ daisy1. You might also find the discussion on the Low Carb Diet forum helpful .. and the following Diet Doctor websites ...
Low Carb Intro and Information
Low Carbs in 60 Seconds

I strongly recommend that you get yourself a meter for testing and I suggest that you try the website at:
https://homehealth-uk.com/product-category/blood-glucose/
for the SD Codefree meter, which costs £12.98 (you don't pay VAT) or:
http://spirit-healthcare.co.uk/product/tee2-blood-glucose-meter/
who distribute the TEE 2 meter, which is free.
I have both for comparative purposes and I have never found any significant difference between them. Unless you are prescribed test strips by your doctor (unlikely), the costs of testing comes down to the ongoing charges for test strips and lancets. I'm testing 3-4 times a day which works out at around £10 to £12 per month for either of the two packages above but, more importantly, I now know what my BG levels are .. and I can now manage them

Hope this helps