Confusion

12diamonds · Jul 10, 2010

Hi all
I'm new to this forum but not to diabetes. I was diagnosed in 2003 with type 2 diabetes. I have yearly blood tests, foot tests and eye tests and all appears to be well. However I am a few stones overweight and can't seem to lose it. I have read a great deal about diet and exercise but most of these diets are about starvation and far from appealing. I must add that I only eat real food. That means i do not eat low fat spreads or in fact low fat anything nor do I drink skimmed milk or semi-skimmed milk either. Or any supermarket ready meals of any kind. All meals are made from scratch and I try to eat moderate sized portions. So any weight loss advice would be appreciated. Thanks in advance
Diamond

Eurydice333 · Jul 10, 2010

I think you kind of answered your own question, switching to lower fat alternatives and using less fatty products really might help and you can start enjoying the taste or finding different ingredients to use. Even olive oil is really calorific (120 cals per tbsp) so there's extra calories sneaking into your food.

As usual, exercising is really helpful even if it is going window shopping and hoovering or going to the gym every other day ^_^. I always feel more energetic and not thinking about food when i have a busy day.

I also like home baking and cooking and really like watching that show 'cook yourself thin' (available on 4od), and adapt foods i can't/won't eat in the recipes.

Good luck Diamond ^_^

sugarless sue · Jul 10, 2010

It sounds like you would benefit from trying a lowish carb diet for a while. Done properly this does not mean a starvation diet !

Below is the advice we give to newly diagnosed type 2's, some of the info may be of help to you and cutting down carbs can certainly help lose weight, I have lost 3 stone by doing this and it helps keep control of my blood sugars as well.

Here is the advice we usually give to newly diagnosed type 2 diabetics.This forum doesn't always follow the recommended dietary advice, you have to work out what works for you as we are all different.

It's not just 'sugars' you need to avoid, diabetes is an inability to process glucose properly. Carbohydrate converts, in the body, to glucose. So it makes sense to reduce the amount of carbohydrate that you eat which includes sugars.

The main carbs to avoid or reduce are the complex or starchy carbohydrates such as bread, potatoes, pasta, rice, starchy root veg and also any flour based products. The starchy carbs all convert 100% to glucose in the body and raise the blood sugar levels significantly.

The way to find out how different foods affect you is to do regular daily testing and keep a food diary for a couple of weeks. If you test just before eating then two hours after eating you will see the effect of certain foods on your blood glucose levels. Some foods, which are slow acting carbohydrates, are absorbed more slowly so you may need to test three or even four hours later to see the affect that these have on your blood glucose levels.

Buy yourself a carb counter book (you can get these on-line) and you will be able to work out how much carbs you are eating, when you test, the reading two hours after should be roughly the same as the before eating reading, if it is then that meal was fine, if it isn’t then you need to check what you have eaten and think about reducing the portion size of carbs.

When you are buying products check the total carbohydrate content, this includes the sugar content. Do not just go by the amount of sugar on the packaging as this is misleading to a diabetic.

As for a tester, try asking the nurse/doctor and explain that you want to be proactive in managing your own diabetes and therefore need to test so that you can see just how foods affect your blood sugar levels. Hopefully this will work ! Sometimes they are not keen to give Type 2’s the strips on prescription, (in the UK) but you can but try !!

As a Type 2 the latest 2010 NICE guidelines for Bg levels are as follows:
Fasting (waking).......between 4 - 7 mmol/l.
2 hrs after meals......no more than 8.5 mmol/l.
If you are able to keep the post meal numbers lower, so much the better.

It also helps if you can do 30 minutes moderate exercise a day. It doesn't have to be strenuous.

Sue/Ken.

12diamonds · Jul 12, 2010

Eurydice333 said:
I think you kind of answered your own question, switching to lower fat alternatives and using less fatty products really might help and you can start enjoying the taste or finding different ingredients to use. Even olive oil is really calorific (120 cals per tbsp) so there's extra calories sneaking into your food.

As usual, exercising is really helpful even if it is going window shopping and hoovering or going to the gym every other day ^_^. I always feel more energetic and not thinking about food when i have a busy day.

I also like home baking and cooking and really like watching that show 'cook yourself thin' (available on 4od), and adapt foods i can't/won't eat in the recipes.

Good luck Diamond ^_^

Hi Eurydice. Thanks for help but I repeat I only eat real food and not low fat, sugar, salt anything including supermarket ready meals which are full of additives.
Regards
Diamond

12diamonds · Jul 12, 2010

Thanks to sugarless sue and handr. this might work for me. will find myself a carb counter and try. I do love nice crusty homemade bread but will try and cut down as this seems to be my big carb hit. However a carb counter book might point to other items full of unsuspected carbs.

Regards
Diamond

Confusion

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Confusion

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