Hi
What a strange new reality I find myself in. I was diagnosed with Type 2 yesterday afternoon. I'm in complete shock, whilst at the same time really annoyed and upset with myself.
I am 49 and 18.5 stone, I piled on a couple of extra stone during the last 2 years, death of parents, lockdown etc (I'm not making excuses) it's just reality. Now I find myself here.
For extra spice, I have been on blood pressure and Cholesterol tablets for 10 years now... perhaps thinking I was invincible....
I literally have no idea where to start now. The nurse from my GP gave me the news over the phone yesterday and asked me to arrange another set of blood tests within the next couple of weeks and then book an appointment to see her.
And this is where I find myself....
Hi
@Mattrblue ,
Sorry about your diagnosis. It is quite the shock, but rest assured, you're not alone and you will get a handle on this. Can I be 100% certain of that? Well, pretty much. You're here and you're looking for answers, so.... That's a good, and hopeful start.
@KennyA already gave you the link to my Nutritional Thingy, which I hope helped. When looking at your current diet it's some tweaking that'll get your numbers down to acceptable/normal levels. Let's see.
"I am not a big breakfast eater, so I usually skip it during the week"
That's fine. Quite a few of us practice Intermittent Fasting, meaning we skip a meal, sometimes two, a day. Normally I skip breakfast, and my first meal of the day then would technically be lunch, which tides me over until dinnertime. Breakfast is NOT the most important meal of the day. The most important meal is every single meal you do have, as long as it is nutrient-dense and low carb. In other words: it keeps you sustained, and not deficient in vitamins, minerals and what have you.
"however, every Saturday I cook a fry-up for us all at home."
I take it a fry up is the traditional english breakfast? (Sorry, I'm Dutch). Some things you'll want to skip, some things you'll get to double up on. Bacon, eggs, high meat content sausages ("regular" ones often have a lot of carby filler and are to be avoided). Maybe some cheese and the like, to make up for the lack of beans, pud and spuds.
"For lunch I usually have a soup (from the cafe downstairs), sushi (from M and S) or a sandwich with crisps."
Soup can be problematic, but not all of them. If there's noodles in there or corn starch, flour or whatever to bind it, or say, liquefied tomatoes, or chunks of underground veggies... Have some, test around your favourite soup and see whether it's still suitable for you. Broth should be fine. Steer clear of chinese tomato soup. It's pure sugar. Sushi's a carb-bomb with all that rice, and a sandwich with chips is too, with the starches in there... You might want to look into alternatives, maybe check dietdoctor?
"Dinner is usually a Hello Fresh dish, and can be anything really..."
Hello Fresh, if they do pretty much the same as they do here, aim for an average eat-well plate. That means a portion of the plate'll be carby. If you can ditch the potatoes, rice, pasta and corn that'd be better, but it would make for a rather meagre meal, I fear. If you can buy an extra cut of meat to go with it, or a chunk of salmon or something....?
"also at least one take away a week, usually curry or chinese."
...Chinese take-out... Haven't had that for almost 5 years. *sigh* Just too many carbs in the rice, noodles, soups and sauces. Unless you can order the meats without sauce, which I feel is easier to request in the restaurant rather than the take-out window, it's pretty much a no-go. Curry, if you make your own rather than take-out, can be made with cauliflower rice rather than real rice. I've discovered the joys of gyros and shoarma, though some might have sugars in the marinade. Again, test and see what happens.
"I cook a roast every Sunday."
Meat, yay! That's good. The puds are out, but if you can stick with above-ground veggies, like paprika, mushrooms, broccoli, caulifower and whatnot, it should be fine. Careful of thickened gravies, don't drown your meals in 'em.
Also, you say you've been on statins for 10 years now. Statins can raise blood sugars and in some people, can cause diabetes to arise. Considering your blood sugars as they are right now I think a tweak in diet should nullify whatever the statins are doing though.
You've got this.
Jo
