Got diagnosed 3 days ago

Hi @ultradad & welcome! What would be a typical days meals for you?, that can help people to advise you. x

Hi @ultradad and welcome!

You’re definitely in the right place for advice and support. I’ll try and answer some of your questions below.

ultradad said:

Has anyone here had a simular reading of 87 and brought it down with diet alone

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Yes! Is the short answer. Many of us started at that level or above (mine was 108), so there is hope. Have you found this website: https://www.dietdoctor.com/u1 - full of food ideas. No need to pay any subscriptions (unless you want to) as you can get what you need for free.

ultradad said:

I didnt realise as i am 51 yrs old i had to keep to 53 grams of protien as well

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Where did you hear that? I’d suggest that the source is wrong. As an example, I’m a 55 year old woman who eats well in excess of 100g protein a day, to very good effect.

You’ll find lots of information about protein intake on the diet doctor site too. This is a good starting point: https://www.dietdoctor.com/dr-ted-naiman-to-help-hone-higher-protein-options-for-better-weight-loss

If your levels were 58mmol 8 months ago you were diabetic then and I don’t understand why the dr ignored it then. The diagnostic level is 48.

Many drs have no experience of people making significant change through diet alone and are very sceptical. It would be doing yourself and the dr a service to prove to her that it’s perfectly possible to reduce down from 87 to a decent level by changing what you eat. Many on here have done just that. Without medication. She can recommend medication but it is your choice not hers if you accept it. Perhaps suggest a 3 month review and see what progress has been made before you make a decision.


As to what to eat, lots of meat fish eggs etc for protein. Plenty of above ground veg and salad options. Cheese, cream etc. Never seen protein requirements linked to age, more gender activity and weight. Basically don’t worry about too much protein from real foods, just too little.

And for the low carb headache be aware of drinking enough fluids. Carbs hold water and without carbs you need more water. Which then washes electrolytes through faster. As you’ll likely be eating fewer as a result of less processed food make sure you eat a lot of sodium, potassium and magnesium rich foods or supplement them til you do. Both dehydration and low electrolytes cause a huge proportion of carb withdrawal symptoms like headaches.

Try swapping the bread for bacon or more eggs or some ham etc. For lunch ditch the roll and add a salad maybe or a lump of nice cheese. Rather than tea and supper have a decent evening meal. Fill up on proteins and fats.
Try this for a couple of days and see what difference it makes.

Sometimes it’s not just the number of carbs but which ones. Some people are better or worse on grains or sugars or legumes for example than you’d expect from the carb count alone.

Definitely go to the diet doctor website and have a good hunt around it. Recipes, food lists and charts and info is all there for free. Have you seen the link in my signature below? It’s a great starting explanation that might also give you some ideas.

It does get easier. It really does.

I eat twice a day, as that is all I need, but I have two 'proper' meals and do not exceed 40 gm of carbs - it is possible to have salads, stirfries stews, curry, lots of meat, fish, eggs and cheese. I use spices and herbs to add a bit of zing, use salad dressings of different oils and vinegars.
I started out with Hba1c of 91, went down to 47 and at 6 months 41. It has gone up to 42 now, but I'm not exactly worried.

I'm another 55 year old woman who eats more protein than you have suggested. The important restriction is the carbs the next important thing is not to be too hungry.

I have gone very low carb so less than 20 grams of carbs a day and usually much less.

I agree that diet doctor is a good place to start.

Try a few days very low carbs-don't restrict protein or good fat(eg the chicken skin with chicken, cream, cheese etc) don't use vegetable oil for example and see what your meter does. Ultimately your meter is an independent source of information. It is the tool that will allow you to work out what your body can tolerate.

Many doctors do not really understand how to manage diabetes by diet. A lot of the advice that is given just leads to progression of the disease and ultimately more medication.

I absolutely believe in low carb but your meter is the thing that will give you the information you need.

Good luck and welcome.

ultradad said:

At the moment i am having a piece of warburtons brown bread (9grms of carbs) and 2 eggs and a cup of decaf tea with a small drop of milk in the morning. Have something 11.30 ( meat or fish in a round of brown bread ). Something again at 4.30 ( had a angas hamburger in lettice with brocclli) and i will finish off with a snack at 8ish (rivetta with a baby bell)

Still working on what i can eat and like but i am fine with brocclli, meats etc. Bit stuck on the carbs as i cannot tollerate more than 12 grms so scratching my head abit. I am doing 20-40 grams of carbs at most. Not sure i can get more than 40 grams in a day as i am restricted.

I got up this morning and my bloods was 5.5ml. 2 hrs after breakfast it was 7.8 so even 9 grams of carbs pushed it just over 2ml increase. The rest of the day its been at 6.6-6.8 with what i have eaten but have had less than 20 carbs so far but over 55 grams of protein. Bit of a juggling act but its only been 3 days and i have alot to learn

I am going to have some celary and a low carb dip as a snack later on to finish off the day

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Hi @ultradad

i think that would leave me hungry, personally.

it's a LOT to take in early on

I found it helpful to imagine the body as a pot.

over the years we trickle in too much glucose,
it can't all be used so gets stored inside us,
then the pot fills up and spills over.

that's DX

As T2D's we don't tolerate carbs very well, that is why the advice on here of LCHF, has the aim to reduce the amount we input.
but its also to remove the amount we do have, as in weight loss.
But even slim people can be T2D, so it can still be in us and at too high a level, even after we lose the weight.

At your BG levels i'd say your doing great, so don't beat yourself up.

It took me 3 months to get to sensible FBG levels each day,
and each month seemed to be a plateau that i had to descend until the next level could be met.

i too found the meals times went from 3 big meals + several little snacks...

down to 2, and one of those could be a small snack,
once i settled into the LCHF way of life.

"Fuller for Longer" would be my advice for the diets "USP" if we Marketed it properly.

If it helps, that protein thing..mmhh.

i only measure the carbs and if i'm honest not even that much now i know
what foods i can eat without tripping out the meter.

And I never measure the protein

so a bit more meat on the plate and a good portion of veg, sees me filled up at each meal time,
and keeps the hunger at bay until the next meal quite easily.

it was however a different matter when i was starting.

scared to eat so starving hungry, but as the meals & the snack list got better. That feeling of being scared and hungry drifted away

pepperami
Biltong
any deli meat
chicken
salads.
baby bels
all cheeses
Ryvita
double cream and real fruit (berries)
small handful of nuts
greek yoghurt/real berries add a little sweetness
Dark chocolate 80%+

some you're already doing.

and surprising how small the amount of food could be, to keep me satiated.


I was concerned when i started, after all, we have had decades of being told what's healthy, when it's anything but for T2d's

So i dug out my old Blood tests, and began taking a lot more interest in ME.

Seems most of my Lipids where reading DANGER, back in 2010.

i had a scare back then, hence blood tests, and then began eating a 'better' diet, and made some very modest progress over the years until i got DX'd ib 2018.
so 8 years to make the tiniest of dents in my lipid panel.barely moving out of the danger zone, I now realise

Got DX'd in aug 2018, began LCHF in Oct 2018,
and by June 2019, ALL those markers were now GOOD
or OPTIMAL.

Your mileage may vary, obviously, I'm just putting it out there for information purposes.

Good luck finding a way that works for you.

From my viewpoint you're doing great.
keep it up.,

ultradad said:

Has anyone here had a simular reading of 87 and brought it down with diet alone

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Yes. After three weeks of hell with metformin I chucked them in the bin and went ultra low carb.. you can see what hapened in my signature.

ultradad said:

First thing i did was come here for some great information. I think i am a type 2 sa they want to put me on meds but have not been able to get the prescription yet. She wants me to satrt on me on Metformin 3 times a day but not sure of dosage yet

I told her i would like to do a low carb diet and check my bloods regular but she said diet alone might not be enough. She said my hba1c had gone from 58 to 87 since last test 8 months ago , dont think pandemic has helped

Has anyone here had a simular reading of 87 and brought it down with diet alone or am i going to have to take the meds for a few months and then go from there after my 6 months checkup to see how i am doing

I have been following the adive of testing before food and 2 hrs later and have found very quickly that more than 12 grams of carbs will push it past 2 mmol increase that you dont recomend. I feel quite restricted in eating withing 12 grams of carbs tbh. I didnt realise as i am 51 yrs old i had to keep to 53 grams of protien as well

So i been following guides and listening to davice from here and its been a great help while i work out what works for me. I am 16.8 stone so losing weight is going to help and i will be doing better in 6 months as i dont have a choice now

Glad i found a new place to hang out and learn from. Nice to meet you all and thanks from any advice or help. If i forgot something i can give more information.

Be glad when this low carb headace goes (feeling better to day)

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My first a1c was pretty high at 9.4% . I cut carbs to zero and started an exercise routine, worked wonderfully.

electrolytes may help get rid of the headaches.

Please don't restrict your protein too much. I am 73 and eat large quantities. The older we get, the more we need to keep our bodies as strong as possible. If I fall down I want to know I can get up again. I eat around 3 eggs most days and never go a single day without at least 1, I also eat plenty of meat and fish - as much as I like.

KennyA said:

You're doing the right thing and seeing results already.

I don't restrict protein or fat and keep carbs generally to ~20g/day. I eat when I want to eat, generally one substantial meal/day around 7pm with maybe some salami and cheese at 2pm. Personally, I couldn't cope with the bread you're eating - so I don't eat it. There are low-carb "breads" around which do work up to a point but are usually fairly expensive.

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agree fully.

while i do eat some bread, and the Hi Lo is my go to WHEN i can find it.

we did try the 90 sec mug bread, once.

wasn't too bad, tbf

( https://duckduckgo.com/?q=90+second+mug+bread&t=brave&ia=recipes
this one looks promising, not tried but may well do now.
https://www.wholesomeyum.com/keto-90-second-bread-recipe/)

i did, to be honest buy all the flours etc once i realised baking/cooking my own was an option.

but due to my poor skills, it really was too much of a faff, and as you rightly say,
an eyeopener for how expensive alternative cooking can be.

so while it didn't 'Cost ' me much to try, as we had it all sat aside.
it would be a cost just to make mug bread once.

ultradad said:

Thanks again everyone, i am leaving bread out now and just using lettice leaf or a rivita once a day. Find its much easier and my bloods are only going up by 0.5 after a meal so bread wasnt working for me. Looks like 5grams of carbs or less with a meal to keep the spikes down

Looking better today, got up at 6 this morning and bloods at 5.0 went upto 5.5 after breakfast and down to 4.9 for 12.00. Just had a riveta with half a tin of tuna on top and a baby bell so will see how it looks around 2

Only problwm i have is something to go with my protein . I like brocclli, lettice, cucumber,riveta but nothing else seems to catch my eye.So going to keep it simple for now and keep a eye on bloods while i work this all out

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Sticking with what you like is a good plan - you’re more likely to stick to it. And never worry about what others think. If it works for you and you feel healthy, it’s all good.

Once things are settled down and you feel more confident in what you’re doing, trying new things gets easier (if that’s what you want to do) and it’s also easier to assess the impact of any changes.

ultradad said:

Thanks goonergal . Bloods went from 4.9 to 6.1 2 hrs after lunch so looks like half a riveta or leave it lol

I am shocked what just 6.9 grams of carbs is doing. I would hate to see what my blood lvls were over the past 8 months

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4.9 to 6.1 is less than a rise of 2, and personally I'd be happy with both of those readings (and the rise)

Everyone will spike after a meal, including non diabetics. Please don't worry about a 6.1 after 2 hours, especially as your total rise was less than 2. 7.8 is the magic number not to exceed at 2 hours, although that depends where you started from of course. You will end up starving yourself and getting fed up.