Hi, just found out that I've got type 2... Seems that a beneficial diet and life style change will do some good... Was abit of a shock, just going through pre and post meal testing to determine trends, feel like a pin cushion. Premeal sheens to average about 9.5 mml and post meal about 13 to 15 mml. Still v unsure of best regime. Any ideas re impact from weight loss and excecise... Is it reasonable to try to get bown to say 9mml post meal?
Another newbie. Type 2
- Thread starter Wazza
- Start Date
daisy1
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@Wazza
Hello Wazza and welcome to the forum
You are right that weight loss and diet are very important in reducing your levels. Here is the information we give to new members and I hope you will find it useful. Ask lots of questions and someone will help.
BASIC INFORMATION FOR NEWLY DIAGNOSED DIABETICS
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 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
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 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.
Hello Wazza and welcome to the forum
You are right that weight loss and diet are very important in reducing your levels. Here is the information we give to new members and I hope you will find it useful. Ask lots of questions and someone will help.BASIC INFORMATION FOR NEWLY DIAGNOSED DIABETICS
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
- 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 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.
Robbity
Expert
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- Type of diabetes
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Hi and well done for your good start in managing your diabetes.
Refer to Daisy's post for recommended glucose levels, and work your way down to within these, but remember Rome wasn't built in a day, so if necessary take it in small steps. If you can record readings on your meter, use these to show you how you're progressing, avoid high carbohydrate/sugar/starch foods in your diet, (many of us here eat a low carb high(er) fat diet) - and yes, weight loss and exercise can help you.
Robbity
Refer to Daisy's post for recommended glucose levels, and work your way down to within these, but remember Rome wasn't built in a day, so if necessary take it in small steps. If you can record readings on your meter, use these to show you how you're progressing, avoid high carbohydrate/sugar/starch foods in your diet, (many of us here eat a low carb high(er) fat diet) - and yes, weight loss and exercise can help you.
Robbity
Bluetit1802
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Hi and welcome,
Yes, have a god read of Daisy's post, and also round other areas of the forum. It is perfectly possible to get your levels down much lower than yours are now. Indeed, not only possible, but I would say essential. Diet is the key to blood sugar control and weight loss. Exercise helps a lot, but diet is the most important. In particular, read what she says about carbs. They all convert to glucose inside the body, so it makes sense not to eat too many as extra glucose is what we don't want. Bread, potatoes, rice, pasta and cereals are the worst culprits, along with flour and things made from flour. We also need to be careful with milk and fruit.
Good luck on your journey, and ask as many questions as you like.
Yes, have a god read of Daisy's post, and also round other areas of the forum. It is perfectly possible to get your levels down much lower than yours are now. Indeed, not only possible, but I would say essential. Diet is the key to blood sugar control and weight loss. Exercise helps a lot, but diet is the most important. In particular, read what she says about carbs. They all convert to glucose inside the body, so it makes sense not to eat too many as extra glucose is what we don't want. Bread, potatoes, rice, pasta and cereals are the worst culprits, along with flour and things made from flour. We also need to be careful with milk and fruit.
Good luck on your journey, and ask as many questions as you like.
Sirmione
Well-Known Member
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- Type of diabetes
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The biggest single improvement will come from getting rid of carbohydrates from your diet not just sugar but bread, pasta, rice, breakfast cereals, potatoes and greatly reducing other root vegetables.
The official NHS advice focuses on sugar and ignores other carbohydrates.
The way I think of it is Sugar is like petrol it burns quickly, other carbohydrates are more like diesel slower burning but is just as dangerous.
The carbohydrate is replaced by fats and oils in the diet, your protein intake will also tend to increase but eating more fats and oils rather than protein is better for blood glucose control.
Once you have cut the carbs you need to become more physically active, going to the gym may not be for everyone but simple things like leaving the car at the far side of the car park when you go shopping or using the stairs instead of the lift.
The official NHS advice focuses on sugar and ignores other carbohydrates.
The way I think of it is Sugar is like petrol it burns quickly, other carbohydrates are more like diesel slower burning but is just as dangerous.
The carbohydrate is replaced by fats and oils in the diet, your protein intake will also tend to increase but eating more fats and oils rather than protein is better for blood glucose control.
Once you have cut the carbs you need to become more physically active, going to the gym may not be for everyone but simple things like leaving the car at the far side of the car park when you go shopping or using the stairs instead of the lift.
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sanguine
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Hi @Wazza , yes you need to get those BS levels down, initially aim for no higher than 8.5 2 hours after starting to eat, coupled with 6.5 beforehand (i.e. the spike is no more than 2). The lower you can get the more you can reduce the risk of longer-term complications from the condition.
Have a read below to see how I did it.
Have a read below to see how I did it.
