Confused

Hiya. I watched the Panorama programme too. It was alarming and brutal..and I guess it's main agenda was to bring home what can happen if people don't change things lifestyles or let things get completely out of control. That said, some people do, undoubtedly, get to the extreme situations that are possible. I am not surprised it terrified you...it would have terrified me too, if I was not in decent control of things. I was diagnosed Type 2 after drug treatment following a transplant and so it was nothing whatsoever to do with lifestyle, and I have never been overweight in my life. I have since informed myself as have many on this site...and have recognised that key changes to diet make the world of difference to your blood sugar levels if you are diabetic. Don't freak out! I have absolutely no intention of experiencing the kinds of complications featured on the programme. My kidney transplant was nothing to do with diabetes (being a genetic condition on the maternal side), and ironically steroid anti-ejection treatment caused the diabetes! There is NO reason for me to lose toes or be anywhere close to these situations so long as I stay in control of my blood sugar levels. There are many, many people here who do this without experience like that. Anyway - as for your main question...diet...we are all variations on a theme, but I would say (as would many now, including my diabetes consultant and four of my renal doctors - to whom I have shown my personal diet/level records), eat at least a healthy amount of calories for energy (I average 1500 cals a day) but cut down on carbs. I got my levels down into the normal range by eating less than 50 carbs a day (often under 30) and kept them there, coming off all meds and simply avoiding foods which have a high carb content. I now afford myself the odd wee treat. So, I'd say its all about cutting carbs. The only way to know what works and what doesn't for you personally is to use a self-testing meter (buy one if you have to - not expensive at all) before and 2 hours after each meal to see what puts your levels up and what doesn't. Record the findings, the levels, the food eaten and the time. Meantime - basic advice is cut carbs - I pretty much stopped eating bread, cereal, spuds and pasta. the more you explore low carb info on line (particularly here), the more you will make progress. I shall tag the amazing @daisy1, who will be along to provide you with some basic but important info. In the meantime - forget the programme, focus on finding you own approach to keeping the levels down. TV...is TV. Life is life. It all helps inform the public, but what we need is to inform ourselves. You'll be fine, pal. Keep asking questions. My levels today have all been under 6mmols...purely due to diet; it was over 20mmols on diagnosis! 4.5-7 is the normal range. Good luck.

For me, I counted both. I'm moving now to counting only carbs (since I've lost 74 lbs and have passed my target weight).

I count calories for weight loss - and decided that as long as I had to watch every mouthful, I might as well lose the weight I'd intended to lose.

But I got my diabetes under control exclusively by counting carbs. I eat no mre than 20 net carbs in a 2 hour period. I arrived at that number by testing my blood glucose at 1 hour, 2 hours, and 3 hours after eating anything new. If my blood glucose went above 7.8 (the top of normal blood glucose ranges), I either cut out that food or cut way back, if I was determined to continue eating it.

Definitely carbs. I eat about 20 grams or less a day and it has brought my average blood glucose from about 20 to about 6.3 or so and it did so very quickly, like in a week or two. There is a good low carb program on this site and @daisy1 has an information package she will send you that will answer a lot of your questions. Calories do count for weight loss but for blood sugar it is carbs. Also remember that all carbs turn to sugar in your body so looking at sugar content is pointless. You need to look at total carbs.

chalup said:

Definitely carbs. I eat about 20 grams or less a day and it has brought my average blood glucose from about 20 to about 6.3 or so and it did so very quickly, like in a week or two. There is a good low carb program on this site and @daisy1 has an information package she will send you that will answer a lot of your questions. Calories do count for weight loss but for blood sugar it is carbs. Also remember that all carbs turn to sugar in your body so looking at sugar content is pointless. You need to look at total carbs.

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Mine took 3 days - perhaps less. I just wasn't brave enough to test it before then.

@Ange1a65

Hello and welcome to the forum Here is the information we give to new members and I hope you will find it useful. It contains a lot of advice about carbs and a link to the Low Carb Program which you could try. Ask as many questions as you like and someone will be able to 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 210,000 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

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 free 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

Blood glucose ranges for type 1 diabetes (adults)

• Before meals: 4 to 7 mmol/l
• 2 hours after meals: under 9 mmol/l

Blood glucose ranges for type 1 diabetes (children)

• Before meals: 4 to 8 mmol/l
• 2 hours after meals: under 10 mmol/l

However, those that are able to, may wish to keep blood sugar levels below the NICE after meal targets.

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.

Neohdiver said:

Mine took 3 days - perhaps less. I just wasn't brave enough to test it before then.

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I kept records. It took a week to be consistently below 8 for fasting and I am still having issues months later with fasting glucose mostly in the high 6's but often enough in the low 7's. Most of my other readings however were in the 5's and 6's within the first week or two. I still, even with very low carb and meds, am in the 6's for the first half of the day and then drop into the 5's for the second half. I don't even want to think about where I would be if I was still eating carbs. This is however my second kick at the can and my diabetes is much worse now.

Ange1a65 said:

Please can someone advise which diet is best to follow. Calorie or carbs and how much of each.

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It's already been said but just think of it this way. Carbs make your BG go up (without more and more medication) so best to keep to a minimum and that number will depend on you and the way your body works. Calories, or at least an excess of calories will increase your weight so in theory less calories than you need will help you lose weight.

Personally, I watch both. Taking carbs out of the equation (bare in mind that's recommended to be 1/3 of calories by NHS/NICE) answers both carbs and calories. If you replace those calories with HF then you'll need to watch how much fat.

Hi. You really don't need to worry about calories; just think carbs and keep them down. Lower carbs will reduce blood sugar and weight gain. Increase the proteins and fats a bit to keep you feeling full and they only really contribute to weight gain if you have too many carbs as well. The reason calories are of little value is that the calorific value determined thru burning them in a test has little relevance to the way the body metabolises carbs, fats etc.

Lowering the carbs is the most important thing you can do when battling diabetes. It isnt an easy journey.but it is very beneficial in the long.run.

chalup said:

I kept records. It took a week to be consistently below 8 for fasting

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Fasting is the most challenging - but I was lucky that mine was below 8 within 3 days. It took quite a bit longer to consistently stay under 5.5 for fasting.

Neohdiver said:

Fasting is the most challenging - but I was lucky that mine was below 8 within 3 days. It took quite a bit longer to consistently stay under 5.5 for fasting.

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I agree. I've been LCHF for about six months. My numbers are in the low to mid 6's in the morning.
It's rare that I get a 5. But I think for myself as my lose weight my fasting numbers will come down.
I find the more I do intermittent fasting the lower my morning numbers go.

HI I am still comparatively new Type 2 diabetic myself - who refused to go on Metaformin or Statins - I researched, read books, watched U-Tube lectures by Emer Prof Tim Noakes on the human body and insulin - and went for his recommended 'Banting' type diet. Otherwise known as Low Carb/High Fat, no added sugar 'lifestyle change' (not a diet). Atkins diet was condemned for being too low carbs at about 20 per day. I try to keep to about 70 carbs in a day. The Banting LC/HF way of eating is meat/fish/eggs etc with green vegetables in abundence, limited fruit, nuts and seeds, full fat yoghurt and milk, cheese etc.
They said it would take 10 weeks to reduce my bad blood glucose levels, and I am certainly getting there. My HbA1c was 103/4 and is now 55; my triglycerine levels were 3.1 and now 1.2, my cholesterol down from 6.4 to 5.7, and I have gradually lost over a stone and a half and still losing. I count only carbs - thus I sleep better, think better, mood better, and am not hungry - more fat and few 'addictive' carbs is how the human body was evolved to live.
Good/helpful book is: 'Carbs & Cals' by Chris Cheyette & Yello Balolia (6th Edition) - gives portion sizes and carbs in most things (eg which nuts are lowest/highest). Look at the banting diet website (don't HAVE to join it). It advises on what one can and can't eat. Having said that -still have to remember everyone is different; this type of food/with exercise change might suit you, or you might want to look at LOW GI, Mediterranean, Paleo (?) or other forms of diet which work for other people. There's always help on the forums when you want it. Regards, Alison

Hotpepper20000 said:

But I think for myself as my lose weight my fasting numbers will come down.
I find the more I do intermittent fasting the lower my morning numbers go.

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I hope it works for you! I'm down 74 lbs, but for me the change has nothing to do with losing weight. (Long complex story, but I have tracked the changes in carb tolerance and fasting blood glucose, going back and forth between LC and blood sugar diet, and switching between weight loss and maintenance. Each change I have noted corresponds to diet, not weight.)

Neohdiver said:

Fasting is the most challenging - but I was lucky that mine was below 8 within 3 days. It took quite a bit longer to consistently stay under 5.5 for fasting.

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I am 6 months in now and could only dream of those kind of fasting numbers. Hopefully they will come with time and weight loss.

Neohdiver said:

I hope it works for you! I'm down 74 lbs, but for me the change has nothing to do with losing weight. (Long complex story, but I have tracked the changes in carb tolerance and fasting blood glucose, going back and forth between LC and blood sugar diet, and switching between weight loss and maintenance. Each change I have noted corresponds to diet, not weight.)

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Wow fantastic success on your weight loss. Interesting that diet made the changes for you not necessarily weight loss
I have PCOS. And with this comes severe insulin resistance.
The debate is did I gain weight because of insulin resistance or do I have insulin resistance because of my weight gain?
All I know is I feel much better then I have in years and as such I will continue with this lifestyle even after reaching my goal. The weight loss is a side affect and the goal is steady low BD
This is the first thing that has worked for me in over ten years of feeling like ****.

chalup said:

I am 6 months in now and could only dream of those kind of fasting numbers. Hopefully they will come with time and weight loss.

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I didn't get down to the 6 untill I started intermittent fasting.
Three to four days a week 16 hours.
Drove me crazy every morning still in 8s.

Most people on here will say LCHF but the HF can affect some people accessory, I thought I was doing OK but my last test wasn't good so I'm going to try reduced carb reduced fat to see if it is possible to control both blood sugars and cholesterol

Could a low carb/high fat diet be better for diabetics? - http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/hea...arbhigh-fat-diet-be-better-for-diabetics.html
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Its about time they started to catch up.