Am I correct ? re diet

Congratulations on the weight loss.

Service levels between practices vary too much for me to say you are quite right.

I think the thing to realise is that we need to reduce carbs in order to improve BG levels, how far you have to reduce carbs is an individual matter, your mileage may vary. There are several "low-carbers" on this forum who are doing very well and there are some of us who have been fortunate enough to receive some sensible advice from the NHS and are also doing well. There are a number of approaches you can take to diet, I would say that there isn't a one-size fits all diet for people with diabetes.

The biggest thing a BG meter will tell you is how your diet affects your blood glucose. As your regime has recently changed, I would advise you to get a BG meter sooner rather than later and press your GP into prescribing you test strips - don't take no for an answer, NICE guidelines stipulate that you should be testing, and PCT interpretation of those guidelines also acknowledge you should be testing. Your practice may have some "sample" BG meters, there is a "competition" on this site where you may win a meter, but BG meters aren't a prescribable item - meters are comparatively cheap though.

Regard, Tubs.

Tubolard is spot on, we all vary as to how many carbs we can eat, and also at specific times of day.

http://www.alt-support-diabetes.org/NewlyDiagnosed.htm

purely coicidentally <G> most people who do that find their carb requirements are significantly less than what they have been told to eat.

There are some exceptions, both in terms of people who can handle carbs significantly better than others and in terms of highly competent GPs and dieticians with better dietary recommendations.

I'm dreadful with carbs and can only handle a little. I aim for under 50 per day and preferably nearer 30.
I don't buy any special foods, just use wholesome fresh stuff, such as meat and greens.
I went to a Mediterranean resaurant on Thursday and even had dessert, by having a Baclava platter for 2 with a friend. He had all the little pastries and I had Greek yogurt with honey and almonds.
I then had to go home to tell my husband that I'd shared a desser with another man. I walked from the town centre to the restaurant anf back again afterwards . Only a mile or so in total, but BG was about 4 when I got home.

hanadr said:

I'm dreadful with carbs and can only handle a little. I aim for under 50 per day and preferably nearer 30.
I don't buy any special foods, just use wholesome fresh stuff, such as meat and greens.
I went to a Mediterranean resaurant on Thursday and even had dessert, by having a Baclava platter for 2 with a friend. He had all the little pastries and I had Greek yogurt with honey and almonds.
I then had to go home to tell my husband that I'd shared a desser with another man. I walked from the town centre to the restaurant anf back again afterwards . Only a mile or so in total, but BG was about 4 when I got home.

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That's the way to do it!

I do more carbs than that, about 60 - 100g as I need to manually drive my liver to avoid lows or highs but the principle is exactly the same.

Good things to replace them with

http://www.diabetic-talk.org/freeveggies.htm

also meat and especially fish, nuts, cheese, eggs, if anything my diet has become an order of magnitude tastier with far more micronutrients

How do they think you can learn what to do without a meter? Yes they are essential.
PS if you have the full syndrome, Blood Pressure and all the rest, you would do well on reduced carbs. It will help the weight too, 15 stones is a lot to carry, but you don't say how tall you are.
Cut out sugars and cut starches down a lot and you'l feel a lot better. Metformin won't cause hypos, but it can only reduce BG by a little. Lowered carbs will do the rest.
In any case it's worth a try and it's free.

mgzteed said:

Are testing machines as important for type 2 then, especially in the early days

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IMNSHO they are absolutely essential

http://www.alt-support-diabetes.org/NewlyDiagnosed.htm

http://loraldiabetes.blogspot.com/2006/10/d-day.html

By using such intensive testing at first you can quickly get a handle on what you can and cannot eat and kick-start the process of improving. Later when it's become second nature you can get away with testing less.