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diagnosed last week and confused about carbs

P

pippi

Active Member
Messages
27
Type of diabetes
Treatment type
Diet only
Hi

I was diagnosed with type 2 last Monday

Saw the practice nurse today and came away with some leaflets

I have been on weightwatchers for 10 weeks and lost 22lb so far , eating very healthily, skimmed milk, brown rice/pasta, lean meats and fish , no foods with added sugar etc

Hba1c last week was 6.9 so despite my healthy eating my sugars were high (of course, the 12 weeks took christmas and a holiday in that period which did not help) .

I can only think that maybe I am eating too many carbs but how many are too many

I do not want to go on a low carb diet , just a normal quantity ..I do find that on the filling and healthy weightwatchers plan I am eating an awful lot of carbs !!
 
hi, welcome

well done for the weight loss that awesome

well the less carbs you eat, the less sugar you are eating, so it depends how low you would like to go, many people so i have read seem to like around 130g a day but its up to you there isnt really a normal
 
so do I just read the labels on the foods to see how many carbs are in 100g of that food ??
are there labels on potatoes etc ?
And do I count carbs in fruit ?? how do I find out what fruit has how many carbs ?
 
you can used a smart phone app called myfitnesspal or just search for "how many carbs in potatoes" on google for example, but the app has a barcode zapper which makes things easier

yes reading labels is important

yes if you counting carbs you must include fruit and everything else really
 
Thankyou xxx
Just noticed your stats , very impressive ..well done xx
 
Hi. While Weight watchers can be very useful in helping weight reduction, it costs money for the products and is not directly targeted at diabetics. I'm afraid as a diabetic you have little choice but to control the carbs. The question is how many per day. Having a meter will help guide you. There are many websites and books/Apps which show pictures of foods such as potatoes with their carb content. Obviously packaging labels will always help
 
I have been on w watchers for 4 years and played about but got into it properly since Jan 2nd
In that time I have never bought any w watcher products lol
fortunately I can cook fairly well and find I can get more food for my points without buying any of their foods

I do find the cookbooks hgelpful and enjoy the support of the meeting and have made good friends there

I know where you are coming from thoughxx
 
Hi Pippi and welcome, I am also recently diagnosed T2, (3 weeks ago) my HBA1c was 64 in new money (which I think is about 10 mmol/L). I was put on Metformin and told to go back to see DSN in May. So like you I was pretty confused as to what I should be eating, however I joined this Forum and followed the advice of other members and reduced by carbs significantly and have managed to get my bg down between 5.2 and 5.8 two hours after food and also lost about 11 pounds in weight. Look around this website and search the internet for low carb recipes, you will find there is so much information out there. At the moment everything I eat I check on google what the carb value is.
 
Thankyou Mazzer , I will be certainly having a good look on here

where do you live ?? our PCT do not give anyone a monitorto check their bllod sugar so its hard lol .... like wandering round in the dark for 12 weeks

even if I bought one they would not issue the strips on prescription x

I will certainly watch my carb intake and have sent for a book with lots of foods and carb content ion xx

well done on the weight loss , thats amazing in 3 weeks sx
 
Hi Pippi, I live in Wiltshire, I have just joined the Type 2 testing programme and received a free monitor (Gluco Rx Nexus) with 400 test strips and 400 lancets for £99.00 or you can pay monthly it can be found on this website if you are interested. My Gp will only give 100 per year on prescription for T2 Diabetics. It is really important to check your bg initially to see what foods affect your levels. Hope this helps.
 
thanks for tht , will look into it xxx
 
Weight Watchers are more interested in selling their crisps etc than helping you to lose weight. They are owned by Heinz and that tells you all you need to know !! I lost weight because of hypertension and took up walking for the same reason and also to keep my arthritis at bay. Now I find I have prediabetes and have to watch the carbs. I bought a small carb counter book which lists the carbs of almost everything. I am shocked at the amount of carbs in fruit and some vegetables and although I don't need to lose weight now, I do need to control those carbs. Eating healthily, as I thought I was, I found I was eating about 4 times the amount that I should - and am well on the way to a T2 diagnosis :-( Weight Watchers and the NHS Eatwell Plate are hopeless for diabetics. You need to cut carbs drastically.
 
Hi Pippi,
Welcome to the forum.

I too attend Weightwatchers and I know its not for everyone. I have been fighting with my weight for over 40 years, so you would think by now I should have mastered the right eating plan, but it has always beaten me. Even finding I was diabetic didn't give me the willpower to stop eating the wrong things. I joined WW 3 years ago and lost 3 stones in 18 months, that was doing no exercise. I spend most of my day semi reclined in an armchair which of course gives me lots of time to eat.

I counted Pro-points, I had no rice or pasta, occasionally ate oven chips, no other potatoes and limited my bread to "Nimble". I must admit I ate a lot of fruit and veg and it is only since I joined this site that I discovered the role of carbs in my weight gain. What I will say is that my blood glucose readings dropped from very high into the Normal ranges within 10 days of starting WW. My diabetic clinic actually got me to do a video spot on how I had halved my Insulin intake and how it was done with no exercise. Anyway eventually my weight loss stopped, I became very depressed and started eating initially more and then the wrong kinds of food, that's when being able to get Supermarket deliveries came in handy. I stopped attending the meetings. I put on over a stone in nearly a year. I couldn't get back into the right frame of mind. I knew what I had to do, but my love of chocolate was greater.

After I found this site I realised that I had actually been eating a lot fewer carbs while following the WW plan, so decided if I couldn't do it alone, I would go back to the club. I did on 2nd Jan this year and although I am now following the Filling and Healthy way, I am picking the low carb option as often as possible. I have lost 21 pounds so far.

The people on this site and the information they are willing to impart are second to none, I am hoping one day soon that I can follow a Low Carb plan without the need of a club.

I hope this is of some help and I wish you good luck on your journey.
Chris
X
I
 
 
Sorry ... it was gardengnome with the book

I am on a new phone and finding it tricky lol xxxxxxc
 
pippi said:
I can only think that maybe I am eating too many carbs but how many are too many

I do not want to go on a low carb diet , just a normal quantity ..I do find that on the filling and healthy weightwatchers plan I am eating an awful lot of carbs !!
Click to expand...

What I would suggest is adding targeted exercise. I bring my blood glucose levels down by exercising short;y after eating (normally a little before the hour but that does depend on what I have eaten). I find it only takes walking up and down the stair for about 200 steps is enough to get my thighs soaking up the sugar in my blood. May be worth a try and if you can do more even better.
 
pippi said: ↑
"I can only think that maybe I am eating too many carbs but how many are too many

I do not want to go on a low carb diet , just a normal quantity ..I do find that on the filling and healthy weightwatchers plan I am eating an awful lot of carbs !!"


I am eating on average about 170g of carbs in a day, but I will come down further when my weight loss slows down again. As I can't exercise much this is the only way I can see to get the momentum started again. I too was shocked to see how many carbs are in fruit, especially bananas, they were my go to snack.
Chris
 
Most people at WW meetings don't buy the products either at the meeting or the ones available in Supermarkets. It isn't obligatory and it's not like a diet programme which provides the food, like Jenny Craig, for example. Also, the plan can be very easily adapted for those who have diabetes/ low carb.

I like the weekly weigh-ins, the camaraderie and the encouragement of Weightwatchers. No, it isn't for everyone but for some people, diet clubs do work and there is always something to learn.
 
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