• Guest - w'd love to know what you think about the forum! Take the 2025 Survey »

Diet help!

B

bunny

Member
Messages
8
Type of diabetes
Type 2
My husband was recently diagnosed with T2. We have virtually had no help whatsoever other than a visit booked in with the nurse for two weeks time. This would have been a month since being diagnosed. I am struggling to feed him! The doctor suggested a website for healthy eating, but on looking this had things lke bread and oranges, etc. I have read that because you have to watch the carbs, bread is a no no and also oranges, watermelon, etc. Can anybody point me in the right direction as to the basics, please!?! I got him a glucose monitor and today at lunchtime his reading was 13.1. I know that is high and would be grateful for any help. He has also lost 18 pounds over six weeks and is still losing weight. If he can't eat potatoes and bread, etc, he is going to waste away. Many thanks for any help you can give!
 
For me no food is a complete NO-no.It's the quantities which matter. I say I don't eat anything that originates with grain, or potato, or the other starchy roots or sugars. That doesn't mean I have a flid attack if something gets by me. I make sure the amount is TINY.
I've just had a square of dark wholenut chocolate and enjoyed it. 1 per day is my ration
I have been known to have the crust off my granddaughter's slice of bread, but that's the level of it.
As to what is good to eat, meat,fish, eggs, cheese and leafy greeen veggies make a good basis for a way of eating.
there are plenty of low carb web sites, which have recipes And a few good books. Atkins recipe books have useful ideas.
Hana
 
Many thanks for that. I have ordered some books on carbs and diabetic cooking (although not using diabetic food, just the ordinary) and hope to make some headway via this route. It's just a shame that diabetics get so little advice from doctors, etc. I feel he has been thrown in at the deep end and, at the mo, is treading water furiously! I'll just have to find an alternative to his beloved daily sandwiches! Unfortunately he is a typical meat and two veg man!
 
Welcome to the Forum, Bunny. There are plenty of good healthy foods he can eat. Meat, cheese,leafy veg etc. Once you get a carb counter book and start calculating with it you will find lots of things. The secret is to find things he already likes and work out the portion that he can eat without putting up his blood glucose levels too much.

Testing is very important so that he learns which foods are affecting his blood sugars. Have a look in our Food forum for recipes that are low in carbs. You will find many different suggestions for diets on here which members use to control their diabetes.


Here is the advice we usually give to newly diagnosed diabetics. We hope that these few ideas gained through experience help you to gain control and give you some understanding of Diabetes. 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.

If you are on Insulin you may find that reducing the carb intake also means that you can reduce your dose of insulin. This can help you to keep weight gain down as Insulin tends to make you put on weight and eventually cause insulin resistance. This should be done slowly so as not to cause hypos.

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 effect 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!!
If you are an Insulin user in theory you should have no problem getting test strips.

The latest 2010 NICE guidelines for Bg levels are as follows:
Fasting (waking).......between 4 - 7 mmol/l........(Type 1 & 2)
2 hrs after meals......no more than 8.5 mmol/l.....( Type 2)

2hrs after meals....... no more than 9 mmol/l ......(Type 1)

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.

The above is just general advice and it is recommended that you discuss with your HCP before making any changes. You can also ask questions on the forum on anything that is not clear.

Sue/Ken.
Click to expand...
 
Be very leery about buying books or anything that declares it is for diabetics... they are often way off the mark. I got a few and they are misleading because making recipes for us is not a trivial task because you should be very stingy with the spuds, pasta, rice and bread... Save your money and read around this forum. 8)
 
Gosh do I agree Cowboyjim! When I was first diagnosed I bought a few books, some that were endorsed by the Diabetes Societies. They are FULL of carb high meals. Needless to say they are now relegated to the back of my cupboard ( along with Nigella and Delia :lol: )
 
One of the few good books on DM.. but not a recipe book (that IMHO has yet to be written) is that one called something like Diabetes My First Year... some scary stuff in there but you can skip it for the while... kind of essential reading since it is written by a HCP with the poxy blight... was in the opticians the other day and none of their staff either had DM... have met quite a few HCPs and so far none have declared they have it...

Another recourse is Google's online books and mags, viz:
http://www.google.com/search?q=diabetes ... 95f1b035d2
Not many recipes there tho. 8)
 
For UK sourced books try Amazon as here......Top 10 Diabetic Books.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Top-Most-Popula ... USD6SZAVGT

Mind you as another poster stated.....be wary of some Cook books etc as they are quite often full of information which is NOT really the best thing a Diabetic needs. Diabetes for Dummies is a good guide, but you cannot beat the information from experienced fellow diabetic's on here. Most have 'been there, done it, got the T shirt !' Many of us have thrown the books away ! :wink:

Jim.
Why does any HCP need to have Diabetes to better understand it ? My Endo and SDSN are both experts on the subject and neither are Diabetic. TBH it matters not to me if they are as fit as a 'robbers dog', so long as they know what they are doing.

As evidenced on here and elsewhere there are many Diabetic's whose views about the correct treatment I wouldn't say are very good ! Some have written books etc and they are not very good either. :twisted:

Just a thought. :)
 
I understand what you mean about the merits of having it or not having it - but I have encountered folks from many walks of life who have it and yet so far not one in the health service. Maybe my contacts are too small but the stats kind of speak otherwise.

DM is also what some might describe as an holistic illness. It affects every aspect of your life - I am sure other illnesses do too but it is from my perspective here. Before I had it I was as I see it now totally ignorant of its scope and impact. I had no need to get under its skin so to speak.

DM is with you forever which in itself requires a careful understanding and sympathy from your HCP. Sure they have skills and training but they will always be 'outside our club'.

Then again once you know you have it you can empower yourself to attain and sustain control so maybe what they do for you is of less consequence compared to other illnesses. I dunno. 8)
 
i was also diagnosed with t2 early this year after suffering a stroke. i was given a pack from the local NHS Trust which says make carbs the largest part of meal. What i read here contadicts that. My GP has manaaged to find a dietician to give me advice. Diabetic care in Cornwall is poor. Being veggie i eat mainly salads and pulse based steamed veg dishes. I understand how daunted you feel with getting little advice from medical professionals.
 
Confusing isn't it.

For a diabetic on medication then some medications actually need a certain amount of carbs to make them work and to avoid having a hypo.

For a diabetic on diet only however it is not the right advice at all. We have no way of correcting if we eat too many carbs except sit and wait till your blood sugar drops or go for a mad exercise session and make a note not to eat that again !

Get to know the amount of carbs in the food you eat and then you can work on portion sizes so that you keep your blood sugar levels down. Testing before and 2 hours after meals and keeping a food diary for a week or two helps you do this.
 
Sue... this is news to me... my DN did not AFAIK mention I MUST eat carbs because of taking metformin tho she is always encouraging the 'plate' model. How does this work? Have I been doing something wrong all this time unknowingly? Argh. 8)
 
I was actually meaning hypo inducing drugs such as Insulin, Byetta, Gliclizide etc. For instance Ken is on Byetta which needs a certain amount of carbs to work.

Metformin is not a hypo inducing drug therefore it's up to you how much carbs you eat with that.
 
bunny said:
Many thanks for that. I have ordered some books on carbs and diabetic cooking (although not using diabetic food, just the ordinary) and hope to make some headway via this route. It's just a shame that diabetics get so little advice from doctors, etc. I feel he has been thrown in at the deep end and, at the mo, is treading water furiously! I'll just have to find an alternative to his beloved daily sandwiches! Unfortunately he is a typical meat and two veg man!
Click to expand...

Bunny, I was diagnosed with T2 about 4 weeks ago and still waiting to see my GP, diabetic clinic is another 2 weeks away. I was given no advice either, and there is so much to learn. I've started lo-carbing and hubby who is not a diabetic saw what I was doing and decided to join me to lose weight. He was a meat and two veg man and is so surprised how filling low carb meals can be. Anyway what I wanted to say is he works at a very physically demanding job and was worried about his lunches. Now he takes either a salad or stir fry with chicken, ham or pork to work and is satisfied with what he is eating. Hope this may be of some help to you.
 
What I meant Jaykay is he was a meat, veg and 3 spuds man lol. Still has the meat and 2 veg - and yes he actually likes broccoli and courgettes!! And no he no longer misses the spuds.
 
You have trained him well Obi-wan :D My family have had to learn to eat my meals too. Well it's either that or ( the gods forbid) they have to cook themselves! My hubbie has lost about 10 kg. He's very pleased.
 
Thanks Sue! Phew... 8)

Probably OK having something like a noodle based stir fry salad if you are going to be doing physical activity afterwards. A small amount of the noodles for the rest of us... those with sedentary jobs.

It puzzled me that exercise after meals was better for my BG. So I try to do the cross trainer or a bike ride after meals. AFAIWK you should not exercise eg swim, after meals. Dunno why.

Salads without bread is a toughie but given the poor recipes used in shop bread advisable to be considered by everyone.

Argh, why couldn't God have made some nicer tasting veggies those that are good for us... I am a broccoli a day man and my my have I come to hate it. Always scoff it down first! I feel like a kid and his greens. Zucchini is almost as bad.... 8)
 
Hi Bunny, I'm no expert, but am new to diabetes too.

Having been diagnosed with T2 a couple of months ago and on medication, I'm still finding out what I can and can't eat - I have been ok with bread so long as it isn't white, find that Kingsmill wholemeal medium sliced is fine, but I stick to just 2 slices a day though. I tend to find that if I keep to wholegrain foods such as bread, pasta and rice, I'm ok - everything in 'moderation'.

I didn't get a lot of support in the first week after being diagnosed, so I felt a little bit lost until I found diabetes.co.uk, the site offers a great deal of information and advice - I downloaded all the information I could get my hands on, printed it off and then sat for a couple of hours reading through the lot. I felt a lot more informed about my condition and had a better understanding of what I needed to do. I definitely agree with the posters on here that recommend you take some advice from other diabetics, although you need to remember that we all react to foods in different ways, and what suits some does not necessarily suit others.

By the way, my GP asked recently if I understood what it felt like to go 'hypo'.....I do now. Was cleaning the car out on Saturday afternoon and completely forgot about lunch - was hoovering away listening to a new cd - by the time I'd finished I couldn't stop shaking, went inside and took my bs and was down to 3.1 which is a record low for me as I've only just managed to get under 10 with Metformin and Gliclazide. Won't make the mistake of missing a meal again, I can tell you!
 
sugarless sue said:
Confusing isn't it.

For a diabetic on medication then some medications actually need a certain amount of carbs to make them work and to avoid having a hypo.

For a diabetic on diet only however it is not the right advice at all. We have no way of correcting if we eat too many carbs except sit and wait till your blood sugar drops or go for a mad exercise session and make a note not to eat that again !

Get to know the amount of carbs in the food you eat and then you can work on portion sizes so that you keep your blood sugar levels down. Testing before and 2 hours after meals and keeping a food diary for a week or two helps you do this.
Click to expand...

thanks Sue beginning to make sense at last!! :D . Not heard from dietician yet so will chase up soon. Will have to try bit more on exercise bike as limited with walking. GP not sugggested testing equipment so no idea what BG levels are. should b having more blood tests soon so will have idea then. thanks :D
 
Back
Top