Food choice struggles

HI and welcome. You had a lot of good advice from the posts so far and which I support. We have nuts and berries around for snacking. We don't buy biscuits so can't be tempted! Cheese is always good for snacking or at any time. Yes avoid bananas and tropical fruit other than occasionally. Have full fat yogurt with no added sugar. I tend to have eggs and bacon for breakfast and a small portion of home-made muesli. Do you know what your last HBa1C was? Be aware that some Slimming World food is high in carbs and therefore not good. With the right low-carb diet you shouln't need to buy any branded diet meals. Think carbs not calories.

I eat much more varied diet than many on here. I don't need to restrict my carbs too much.

However I only know what I can eat by testing.

That said, if you don't want to test, and your bloods are good as you say they are then simply eat less of what you're already eating. If you want to get your chocolate on then just eat half a bar and bin the rest to avoid temptation.

Pasha said:

All you need to know is clearly written here, its a very good source.

http://www.phlaunt.com/diabetes/

Click to expand...

@Pasha, For me IMHO this is one of the best sites I've ever come across, So thanks for that, Having been diagnosed 4 years ago T2, and been lurking on this site and gained an enormous amount of knowledge thanks to the great bunch of people here, now in my second week of the Newcastle Diet, down 9 lbs, and BS average at 6.9 instead of 13+

I really admire those who follow the Newcastle diet - it is amazing to have the power to put yourself through that!

For me, a large part of making successful food choices is (1) forward planning and (2) scheduled cheats.
I think it is true whatever diet you choose (LCHF, low calorie, low fat, Newcastle, Slimming World etc.), but for me on LCHF, I avoid temptation by planning ahead as much as possible.

(a) I always have suitable snacks to hand so that I reach for a Babybel or a handful of nuts instead of that bag of Malteasers.

(b) I try as much as possible to take a packed lunch to work so I actively avoid a situation where I have to go out to buy my lunch and I am hungry and faced with bad choices.

(c) When I think I am hungry and it is between meals, I have a large glass of water then wait 10 minutes. I read somewhere that often we confuse thirst with hunger so, I check first if I am truly hungry!

(d) I seek alternatives to food to combat boredom - read a few pages of a book, buy and read a magazine, go for a walk, have a bubble bath, try out a new "look" with my hair/make up, online window shopping, reading and posting on an online forum etc. (the magazine one works best for me as buying a trashy magazine costs as much as a chocolate bar and I count it as a "treat" is it's not something I do often!)

(e) I plan a cheat meal once a week. If on a Monday I really need some cake then I remind myself that on Friday I am planning on going out to eat. It helps to have something to look forward to! (Although interestingly, if I have been "good" for a week, I tend to forgo my cheat meal as I don't want to ruin a winning streak!!)

(f) Reward yourself for good behaviour - you deserve it!

I'm relatively new here Cratat I was diagnosed type 2 March this year, and the best thing happened to me when I stumbled through here.
I've learned no one size fits all, but to find out you need to check your blood glucose....and LCFF works!! I didn't believe it either.
I no longer eat pasta, rice, bread, cakes or biscuits, and fizzy juice is off the menu too, but I can get away with a potato every now and then, in 4 weeks I lost 4kgs, no counting calories and dare I say it no portion control either!!! I'm back to the docs tomorrow for a weight and BP check, I've got lots of weight to lose, so fingers crossed.
The best bit of advice I got was eat to your meter - just because one person can't have something doesn't mean we're all the same.
Good luck

cratat said:

Cant understand why people are obsessed with testing as I explained I dont feel any difference no matter what I eat

Click to expand...

Hi, I look at it like this... If you have constant abnormally high blood sugar levels? You get used to it & sort of build up a "tolerance level." (Of sorts.)
A little like a "functioning" alcoholic or drug addict..? But the damage is still being done...

Jaylee said:

Hi, I look at it like this... If you have constant abnormally high blood sugar levels? You get used to it & sort of build up a "tolerance level." (Of sorts.)
A little like a "functioning" alcoholic or drug addict..? But the damage is still being done...

Click to expand...

Same for high blood pressure, you dont feel it, but the damage is being done. And how !!!

cratat said:

Diabetic nurse told me that there was no reason to test

Click to expand...

Good morning and welcome, you'll get some useful advice on the forum, which may not necessarily comply with NICE guidelines which our health professionals have to dish out.
Diabetic nurse is wrong, if you test, test, test, you can alter your diet as soon as things start going adrift. If you wait until you get an annual HbA1c then it could be the best part of a year before you see the problem. Then you end up getting even more medication.
I can only say that reducing carbs and seeing how that affected my BG has enabled me to stop taking Gliclazide (affects weight), Januvia (affects weight) and Atorvastatin (affects . . . . . .). My GP is delighted, puts well done in my notes, is interested in how I managed it but will never advise her other diabetic patients to do the same.

cratat said:

Cant understand why people are obsessed with testing as I explained I dont feel any difference no matter what I eat my 3 monthly bloods are always in the very good to excellent range of control. I am hoping for advice on choosing correct food choices r u saying that I could be struggling to lose weight as my body is fighting the battle with sugar control. What is a low carb food surely there has got to be choices other than salad

Click to expand...

It's not an obsession. I'm intrigued that you get 3 monthly blood tests, mine are now annual. Maybe it's post code lottery thing.

You may not feel any difference, but did you feel diabetic in the first place? The thing about weight loss is that it's more than calories in and calories out. The diet industry has chosen to use the laws of thermodynamics which don't exactly apply to our bodies anyway. Then you have the fact that calories from carbs are used differently to calories from protein and fat, then there is the state of our own individual metabolisms and if you're on any medication that makes you produce more insulin you'll be struggling with weight loss, it's not that straight forward and don't let anybody tell you otherwise.

Why do I know? I've been on a calories restricted diet for 8 years and it has never worked, I only lost weight when I stopped taking Rosiglitazone, when I reduced my carb intake and the six weeks I had to take antibiotics and diplofenac after a knee replacement last November.

There is loads of stuff you can eat when you lower your carbs and the important thing to remember is that you don't have to cut them all out, I just stopped bread/pasta/rice/potato and even then I'll still have a bit of toast at weekends. Sugar is a carbohydrate and carbs have the same affect as sugar when it comes to BG.

Spanish omelettes are great and very low carb, substitute the potato for vegetables; cauliflower and broccoli. If you can't cut out the bread yet go for Burgen 'soya and linseed' 11g per slice, cut off the crusts and it will be approx 8g per slice.

I'd advise cutting out bananas and bread for starters.
Along with spuds and rice pasta and noodles.
I've just had a large gammon slice mushrooms tomatoes and egg and very nice it was too.
Oh and a nice slice of bread fried in goose fat.
Tomorrow apparently is cod with steamed veg with grilled cheese on top.
Snacks will be nuts pork scratchings full fat plain yoghurt with nuts and berries chucked in maye a sweetener.
I've lost three stone in around five months.

graj0 said:

I'm intrigued that you get 3 monthly blood tests, mine are now annual. Maybe it's post code lottery thing.

Click to expand...

I've only had one review so far, 3 months after diagnosis. My DN was pleased with the results and only wants to see me annually. However, she said I can have 3 monthly blood tests for HbA1c if I choose to, I just need to self-refer.

Don't be worried about a fry up either its all good and low carb; bacon, sausages, fried egg, black pudding, mushrooms Total 7g carb (no bread though or beans) i do have a Burgen 1/2 slice occasionally 5g puts it up to a Total Carbs of 12g. Always look for total carbs on the packs you buy too, not just the sugar content.