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Encouragement, constructive opinions on pre diabetic

Jared1

Well-Known Member
Messages
53
Type of diabetes
Prediabetes
Some back ground - I'm 33m New Zealander, my whole life lived on pies/pastrys, take away meals or instant meals, never was over weight except over the last 2 years had quite bit of stress with court custody hearings and basicly over ate myself to 102kgs (I'm 5 10" tall), I've never been a person big on exercising.

My doctor gave me a blood test and told me(what I assume is my HbA1c level) at 49 (here in NZ they class diabetes at over 50 for some reason)

Since then (3 weeks) I've been walking at least 30 min a day at pace and some days up to hour and half when can, I have also changed my diet- I feel in a drastic way. The only advice from my doctor was to watch calories,cut out junk food, exercise and loose weight - I'm currently on 95kg (7kg / just over a stone in 3 weeks loss)

I've attached some random days from my food diary and really looking for some comments weather what I'm eating is likely good for me in my current situation. I've never really cooked my whole life or had no advice on what's actually good or not.

I don't have a meter and when asked doctor about I was told don't need one and was just big focus on weight loss- I feel my doctor can be pretty relaxed about things maybe not always drumming in the importance of changing the situation.

Any other advise, comments suggestions are most welcome to please
 
Hello and welcome to the forum. A result of 49 in U.K would put you in the Type 2 category but as 48 is the cut off point then I think you would be borderline Pre D and T2.

Lowering your blood glucose would go a long way in improving your prognoses so looking at your diet it is actually not bad at all except for a couple of things. I would start by swapping your weetabix for a fry up, eggs and bacon with mushrooms etc and no toast (try to avoid the grain based carbohydrates as much as you can). The health bars can be quite high carb when you check the labels and as carbs turn to glucose when you eat them it is wise to lower the amount you have in a day.
The bluberries are a great choice of fruit but in my opinion two servings are a little too much and I would would have just a few berries with double cream or greek yoghurt. If you lower your carb intake you must swap to fats for fuel. Low fat foodstuffs often contain much more sugar which is a carbohydrate so full fat is preferable.

I have put things in, perhaps, oversimplified terms but this should get you started. A glucometer would be a wise tool to buy as this will tell you what foods trigger your blood glucose to 'spike'.
I will tag @daisy1 for the info pack post which is a great resource for those newly diagnosed.
Well done on your great start, cutting out the junk food and takeaways will already have improved your blood glucose so all you need now is some tweaking and a meter and you should see good results come your next HbA1c. The excercise through walking is perhaps the best form you could have chosen, too!
 
Thanks a ton for your reply - I broadly know carbohydrates are not good and have been trying to stay away from bread, pastry, rice etc-and if do trying to have 1 serving a day and picking the lowest amount can find. I'm usually having eggs for breakfast and I thought at the time weetbix were not ideal but thought better choice than the other cerials I had- and in the past I would have had 5 with a spoon of sugar on each - it was bad planning on my part not having much else suitable to have for breakfast.

What I'm doing now is in the morning pre writing my food diary, making sure I have the stuff then eating to that for the day - takes the thought out and bad choices out.

In regards to carbs I'm just not sure what is "to much" in case of the protein bar it's 5.8g carb, 1.3g sugar per serve-I tried to pick a lower carb one but say over a day I don't really know how many g carbs would be to much?

I really appreciate your suggestions on the fruit - and other options, like I say I used to eat shockingly so many things I'm actully trying for the first time and don't even know what half the things at the supermarket are let alone now good they are so it's most welcome
 
As to carbs per day that is a personal choice and a meter helps you decide on a number. Low carb is considered anything under 130g per day but it depends on you and your meter to decide where you are comfortable. I would start off at that number then gradually reduce it over a number of weeks while you are learning which foods spike your levels. I lowererd my number of carbs way too fast and suffered for it.
It is a learning curve when we first start off on any dietary changes. Once you have decided on an amount of carbs then you look at the food labels which will tell you how many carbs per 100g are in that food and we generally aim for 10g or fewer per 100g of weight. Be mindful that some labels quote carbs in terms of servings so you may have a further calculation there.

I have to say here that the advice I have given you in my comments relates to the LCHF lifestyle. This is not everyone's choice of approach and there are other regimes to choose from such as The Blood Sugar Diet, The Newcastle Diet etc. LCHF (Low Carb High Fat) suits a lot of people and thousands have had success with it but the choice is yours.

If you are a fan of Youtube then there are a lot of lectures and presentations on the science of LCHF. Search for Low Carb Down Under and Low Carb Breckenridge for starters. Good luck.
 
1st thing, swap the skim milk for full fat or cream, and switch the light mayo for full-fat mayo: if you check the difference in carbs on the label between light mayo and real mayo, you'll see the first will be high carb/ sugar, the second will be low or very low, depending on the brand.
Weetabix will be high carb, so that tends to put sugars up, and the protein bar looks pretty carby too.

Now, it doesn't mean you can't eat these things- they may not affect you that much, but they will put more glucose into your body, so it's worth bearing in mind.
For the mayo and milk, I don't see much disadvantage to switching to the low-carb option.


EDIT: I forgot to mention that in general, it looks like you're doing a pretty good job though: keep it up, and the weight should keep dropping off. More power to you!
 
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The blueberries are twice the carbs of strawberries, and there are a lot more lower carb fruits to chose from,and adding some thick cream will slow down the absorption, I buy the bags of ready made salad and throw on a handful with most meals, or add in a tomato - particularly in the mornings a no carb meal tends to send me higher and then I go lower in mid afternoon as a result - as my insulin resistance reduces.
If you can check your blood glucose before and after meals you will see what you can and can't eat. The way I am eating now seems to be ideal, and I have normal test results, non needing any medication.
 
@Jared1

Hello Jared and welcome to the Forum Here is the Basic Information we give to new members and I hope this will be both interesting and useful to you. Ask as many questions as you want and someone will help.


BASIC INFORMATION FOR NEWLY DIAGNOSED DIABETICS

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 235,000 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 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.
Take part in Diabetes.co.uk digital education programs and improve your understanding. Most of these are free.

  • Low Carb Program - it's made front-page news of the New Scientist and The Times. Developed with 20,000 people with type 2 diabetes; 96% of people who take part recommend it... find out why

  • Hypo Program - improve your understanding of hypos. There's a version for people with diabetes, parents/guardians of children with type 1, children with type 1 diabetes, teachers and HCPs.
 
I’ve heard you say thins over and over about your bf needing a few carbs. What so you have for bf? I can’t eat a lot of protein in the morning so I have a thin slice of turkey/ chicken with a little avo smashed in on a lettuce wrap. I still always need an extra bolus an hour after bf to stop the morning rise no matter what I eat.
A few weeks ago I found out AGAIN that I too need a small amount of carbs with meals to slow the protein and avo is the ticket. The carbs fat and fiber in the avo slow the protein and the protein slows the carbs. I ran out of avo on vacation as they went off traveling too much and I quickly was reminded how fast I gluconeogenisis
 
Mostly salad stuff. If I have scrambled eggs I add grated cheese and a tomato - but I can have sausages or left over meat kippers tuna - I always have fatty meats and fish as that does the trick for me. Low fat cuts of meat always raise my BG more than fatty ones - but it means being able to have chicken thighs roasted in the Actifry hot air cooker - they are so juicy inside and the skin goes crispy - except the skins seem to evaporate before breakfast next day is even thought of
I have tried mushrooms sweet pepper and courgette stir fry now it is cold - particularly as I got a huge windfall of mushrooms from Lidl - free on Christmas Eve as the shop would be shut past the sell by date.
 
Thanks. I always need 80% fat at each meal or spike. It doesn’t have to be fatty meat as avocado does the trick but if I just ate lean white meat chicken or shrimp with no fat I think I’d have serious issues.
But I’m Type 1 so too much animal fat and it just drags things out too long.
 
Kia ora, @Jared1. Fellow Kiwi here.

Local health authorities run Diabetes Self-Management Education courses, which are definitely oriented to prediabetics also. At an HBA1c of 49 (but probably dropping - well done!) you will be entitled to go to one, if you live in an urban area? Don't go for the nutritional advice (all about low glycemic index choices - egads! - who could stand eating like that?) (few it seems), go for the blood glucose meter and the tutorial on using it. That makes the whole thing well worth it! Comes with the course. No cost, naturally, outside of the taxes you pay. . I found the course wonderful for talking with and listening to other diabetics and prediabetics. The nurses were terrific, as they often are. And very patient with me going on about nutrition. I didn't visit this wonderful forum back then, or know about low-carbing exactly (I was just moderate carbing back then) - now I do of course.

Once you have your blood glucose meter, you can monitor your food choices, and see what works for you and your body, carbohydrate and blood glucose level wise. Also with the exercise. This is how I know, for instance, that weeding the garden does not do much for getting excess blood glucose into my muscles, but using the weed-eater sure does!

If you are not urban, then you can get a meter through your medical centre/doctor's/via the medical centre's nurse.

You can get test strips for the meter on prescription, if you can talk your doctor into seeing you as a special case. I am very sorry that NZ does not see eating to your meter as a standard measure (as I certainly do) but it doesn't, as yet. How you talk about it is you are using diet and exercise as your treatment method, and in order to not be one of the statistics for prediabetes developing into diabetes, you want to make a good go of it (which you certainly are already - well done again!) You can make a good case about this to your doctor, as you are literally on the border. (Or were at your last blood test.)

And as extra encouragement - I have quite a few friends and family who have been diagnosed with prediabetes who have dropped to normal levels with even only what I see as minimal intervention on what they eat and how much they move.

Starting to read the ingredients list on bought food products, and avoiding the high carbohydrate food is the first port of call. And if you need support for making what can be a surprisingly overwhelming diet change, this forum is excellent.

I hope to meet up with you more here in this forum, Jared.
 
Hi thanks for your reply, it's nice to see someone local on here! Yes I'm urban - rotorua, I've actually had discussions with my gp about meters so can see what works and dosint but the gp was pretty dismissive about having/needing one - I'm guessing because I'm pretty honest about my previous habits- mega carbs basicly and they assume any deviation from that diet will be a good effort.

The problem I have is it seems the more you know the more questions you have - for example I went to the "green prescription" they seemed pretty hard core on protein and healthy fats(seemed sports focused) and basicly zero carbs except from things like vegetables, were as my gp/nurse will tell me to eat carbs but as part of a more balanced diet (diabetes nz booklet) so it gets confusing because there is actully no way day to day to see what's best for me and I'm waiting 3 months to see if there has been any benifit.

On top of that im told to watch calories and lose weight - I'm average 2kg less week for last few weeks and I get the feeling my gps view currently is that losing weight and exercising is the top priority - it's just all quite over whelming- sometimes conflicting and like I say it takes 3 months to have any indication of progress.


I've got no issues with low carb - enjoy low carb food - really is the preparation of that's hardest for me- some of its just lazyness I guess but does get time hungry when running to schedules and with a pre schooler.

I could go on and on with questions and frustration but your right - without meter I just really don't know day to day I'm just guessing based off advice given - none of that would be wrong advice but it's generic and not personal suited.

I'm definitely be interested in doing a course - more so if benifit is been around others to see what they do to help themselves.
 
Just want to add to all the advice given
If you have existing health issues and take medication you need to consider this when altering your diet.
I have a normal reading by altering my diet but because I also have health issues these need to be considered also.
For example I would not eat egg yolk, prawn, liver because I have high cholesterol
I eat a low salt diet because I have high blood pressure.
and so on.
You know your own health issues what might work for someone else may not be good for you, just something to consider when altering your diet and reading the advice of other members.
 
Forgot to say if you don't have one buy a meter and keep a diary and be honest, include everything you eat if you are trying to loose weight.
Test first thing in the morning before eating and drinking.
 
Thanks for your point - think any advise other than from a professional that's aware of a person's needs should be only taken at face value. I've found the practical knowledge of others invaluable though - its given options and alternatives to consider and a totally better understanding of nearly every thing and I thank every one. In my situation I've got no known complicating issues and really no knowledge of how to be healthy as silly as that sounds so it's all taken in as learning.
 
jeanie99 said:
Forgot to say if you don't have one buy a meter and keep a diary and be honest, include everything you eat if you are trying to loose weight.
Test first thing in the morning before eating and drinking.
Click to expand...
Yea I do record every thing - it's actully quite interesting - one day had toast - wouldint in the past even thought about the peanut butter but as far as calories it had more than the toast itself! So I'm quite picky now - every one on here says to eat to meter but my gp is fully dismissive of needing to do that at this stage. If I was diagnosed with t2 they just give you a meter here for free but until then they just focus on a healthier lifestyle insted of- I guess if next test was better they just say to carry on doing what doing
 

Hi again! Sorry that it has taken me a while to go into the forum again - it was the big rain storm, and also getting used to the mediterranean type of heat we have this year and therefore lifestyle! (meaning my usual routines are out the hot summer hols window....). Anyway.

I am pleased you are open to doing a DSME course - it was fabulous for the BG-metre stuff and meeting other diabetic folk IMHO.

And open to the low carb thing. Even moderate carbing is marvellous. I got down from an HBA1c of 93 to 54 from moderate carbing. (and lots of walking.) (LOTS. But I started out at 93, so...) I lost 20-30 kg, and have not gained those kilos back, from first moderate and now low carbing, with some lifestyle change fluctuations. I have been 40-45 HBA1c range for almost three years now. (Sadly I am one of these people who probably has to be really lean to be in the normal blood glucose range, and I have not been able to do that easily or maintain that.)

Which brings me to - activity and exercise is great for keeping your vascular system, heart, and muscles healthy, and really important, but when it comes to having blood glucose dysregulation (ie pre/diabetes) nothing beats putting less of the carby-sugary stuff into your system in the first place. I say this as someone who had a couple of weeks off for xmas/new year and am paying the price - but bear in my mind my dysregulation is way worse than yours (using HBA1c-history as evidence there ).

This means bucking the 'balanced diet' advice which I know is tough as we were brought up on it, and continue to be advised on. All I can tell you is - the high carb prescribed diet is what lead you to blood glucose regulation in the first place, and that balanced diet advice (which is high carb) will not help you get better, alas. It means ignoring the official nz diabetes diet advice I am sorry to say.

I do feel for you re the food prep issue. Learning to cook new foods and so on was a bore, but now it is second nature, and I learnt to cook in bulk basic items, and have a lot of almond meal/flour in the pantry. If you look at it as basically dead critters and veg - it becomes a lot easier! Doesn't take long to cook up lamb chops and toss a salad (with olive oil and vinegar!). And you have the added bonus of being able to pass on these nutritional gems to your kids - I was too late with my eldest for that, although have been able to affect my youngest. This is very good as they inherit my body type and therefore tendency to blood glucose dysregulation, as yours might. As a parent of young one/s you have an enormous potential to truly affect their health in a good way.

But, as I said above (I think? Ah - the heat! Even my cats re panting) (First time I have seen cats panting!) I know many folks whose insulin resistance was not as dyed in the wool as mine obviously is who were able to achieve normal blood glucose levels by doing not so very much, just fairly minor adjustments. This could be your story. They have all been close to normal weight though, and very active, so maybe all it took was minor adjustments? who knows. I would look at the weight as a sign of your body's dysregulation rather than a cause (as I believe scientifically - it is), and getting your body systems functioning well and healthily directing yourself away from the too high insulin (and blood glucose) 'complications' of diabetes - which is the strokes and cardiovascular diseases. And yeah - that is in lowering carbs and upping physical activity. It sounds easy, but I do understand it is easier said than done. As many on this forum will and are saying - it can be a challenge. But good health is sure worth it.
 
Thanks for the reply is most appreciated - I hear you about the heat today is horrible here over cast - but hot and muggy as makes for pretty hard to do much of any thing, sweating just trying to breath nearly lol.

I've read through about of the posts - before I didint really know what was a high reading- I still don't but read about one well over 100 so it's at least put things in to perspective a little in relation to my past reading - I must say yours at 93 sounds up there though - you must be proud to have that under 50 now!

As you say that prob need to - I've basicly ignored the doctors advise for at least now - especially since don't have any day to day indication on what my levels are and although I've not actully added it up - I write every thing i consume daily and flicking through my book id say I'm low carb for sure . (actully just quick checked last 3 days - highest day was 35g others mid 20s, not sure if that's low carb?) some of thats helped by small portions at the moment to as only having between 800-1000cal a day - might be a bit more harder to keep down if portions were bigger.

I'm hope that weight loss helps some - I'm down atleast 10kg in last 4-5 weeks and saw gp yesterday - she got a test done today for levels - don't know if that will be just for the last month of good behaviour or will be a 3 month again - either way I'm hope come Monday that there is some improvement - will have to cross fingers and wait and see.
 
Yeah, @Jared1 - I would absolutely say between 20 and 35g was low carb! Well done, for sure. I think you will almost certainly see a drop in your HBA1c and I look forward to hearing what you got it down to!

Journaling is a great method to get control and a better understanding of what you eat and the role of food and health, and good to read of someone getting a lot out of it too. I still keep a diabetes journal, although I have the carb level of food under wraps now after so many years of it, but am using it at the mo to detail how little walking and cycling I have to do! Yes, due to the blasted heat. My entries nowadays are very short! usually moaning about my waist height ratio and how I can't look at a carb without it storing around my middle .

So you are on a low cal food regime as well? Wow! I don't find any relationship between low carb and low cal (ie small portions) - a big portion of 0 g of carbs is 0 g! still. The beauty of low carbing. I am not sure how you would be upping your exercise as well as having a lot less food? - we need energy after all. I couldn't, and can't, do that (a lot of activity with little food). But whatever works for you, and I suspect this is working for you very well - it's all good. The lowest HBA1c I have had was after doing a low cal regime for a couple of months, but I couldn't do a lot in that time as I get affected by hunger a lot. People are different in this way - hunger affects me keenly and I can't be active when feeling weak and low ebb, and low cal is definitely only shortish term for me - as in I cannot sustain it over time. Also low cal changes your metabolism, or can do? and for me it means it takes very little time to gain back weight lost on low cal, even on very low carb. There is some elaborate thermo something explanation for it, lol, why low cal can affect many people that way. I portion control beloved food like tropical fruit, all year round, and kuumara in the winter. (I have no desire to eat roast starchy veg in this heat!) But not food generally, when not actually fasting.

Re getting your head around the numbers - '50 Shades of Diabetes' chart on this website is fantastic. Delightfully colour coded for us to see and understand the numbers easily. Your what is now 'at diagnosis' HBA1c 49 - is orange (my 93 is brick red almost moving into deep brown). I would love to get down to a normal 37 which is lemon-green. Nice and healthy normal is a deep green at 31. As you can imagine it reflects the danger level of the blood glucose level! HBA1c measures the amount of glucose in a set amount of blood in a 3 month period, basically. The chart also lists the average blood glucose reading for that time period, as in what you read on your meter. And the chart de-confuses the American measuring system which is different, and also states the old percentage reading - ie 7.9, (which is your at diagnosis 49). (My 93 is 10.8 or some such, as in the percentage of sugar in the blood.) Many folks with diabetes on the forum still use the percentage system for HBA1c, but not in our own country, thank goodness. I consult my 50 shades a lot when defining my health goals and understanding others' readings and progress generally, not to mention reading American information and readings.
 
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