Like most new(ish) diagnosed diabetics I have found this forum a life-saver, an invaluable source of help, support and information, it’s difficult to imagine where I’d be if I’d just been relying on the health care professionals. My thanks to all and may it continue evolving.
Following ‘your’ encouragement, last week I ordered a copy of Bernstein from Amazon (I must say their service and delivery were excellent). I am now about half way through and intend to read it all (even those bits that aren’t 100% relevant to my situation).
So on Saturday I started some dietary modification. Now I have never had to worry about food ever before in my life. I am 5’9’’ and have never been more than a couple of pounds over 10 stone until diabetes took that too close to 9 for comfort.
I reduced to at least half my morning muesli (Sainsbury’s no added sugar variety with extra nuts) and had a couple of boiled eggs as well. The shocking thing was that for the first time I weighed out the cereal – 100g and that was less than half of what I had recently been eating. Because in the pre-diagnosis days I used to have porridge with raisins, apricots and/or prunes, we have migrated to using deep bowls for breakfast cereals – stops the porridge erupting over the dish and splattering the microwave, but a deep bowl, like a big plate, can be very misleading. Like most people I had been lead to believe that this high CHO breakfast with fruit was a healthy meal that would keep me going until lunch time.
OOPS – now I know better and have learnt a salutary lesson about portion size control too.
Later that morning we went to Colchester, and half way up North Hill the tell-tale signs of low BS hit – luckily right next to a seat. A shaky blood test gave a result of 3.7 – the lowest I’ve yet recorded. But the Glucose tabs were back in the car, in the car park down the hill! So my wife’s bottomless handbag came to the rescue with some sugar laden mints, sufficient to help me make it into town. (Reminder to put some glucose tabs in the pouch with the meter!!)
A reduced CHO lunch gave another 3.7 before dinner (when this happens doesn’t it make you worry that the meters got stuck or gone wrong?) so I dropped the second Gliclazide of the day. I normally take one at breakfast and one at dinner.
BG levels were lower than normal all day Sunday with a 4.1 before dinner so that Gliclazide was dropped again. It seems impossible that such a small change to my diet can so quickly get me to the first stage of my goal of reducing meds.
We haven’t even started yet – our intention is to develop a two-weekly meal plan of reduced carbs, after this period to review levels achieved (BG, carbs and meds) and then develop a second two weeks at lower levels to see what further reductions can be made.
I’ll try to keep you up-dated on progress or disasters…
Following ‘your’ encouragement, last week I ordered a copy of Bernstein from Amazon (I must say their service and delivery were excellent). I am now about half way through and intend to read it all (even those bits that aren’t 100% relevant to my situation).
So on Saturday I started some dietary modification. Now I have never had to worry about food ever before in my life. I am 5’9’’ and have never been more than a couple of pounds over 10 stone until diabetes took that too close to 9 for comfort.
I reduced to at least half my morning muesli (Sainsbury’s no added sugar variety with extra nuts) and had a couple of boiled eggs as well. The shocking thing was that for the first time I weighed out the cereal – 100g and that was less than half of what I had recently been eating. Because in the pre-diagnosis days I used to have porridge with raisins, apricots and/or prunes, we have migrated to using deep bowls for breakfast cereals – stops the porridge erupting over the dish and splattering the microwave, but a deep bowl, like a big plate, can be very misleading. Like most people I had been lead to believe that this high CHO breakfast with fruit was a healthy meal that would keep me going until lunch time.
OOPS – now I know better and have learnt a salutary lesson about portion size control too.
Later that morning we went to Colchester, and half way up North Hill the tell-tale signs of low BS hit – luckily right next to a seat. A shaky blood test gave a result of 3.7 – the lowest I’ve yet recorded. But the Glucose tabs were back in the car, in the car park down the hill! So my wife’s bottomless handbag came to the rescue with some sugar laden mints, sufficient to help me make it into town. (Reminder to put some glucose tabs in the pouch with the meter!!)
A reduced CHO lunch gave another 3.7 before dinner (when this happens doesn’t it make you worry that the meters got stuck or gone wrong?) so I dropped the second Gliclazide of the day. I normally take one at breakfast and one at dinner.
BG levels were lower than normal all day Sunday with a 4.1 before dinner so that Gliclazide was dropped again. It seems impossible that such a small change to my diet can so quickly get me to the first stage of my goal of reducing meds.
We haven’t even started yet – our intention is to develop a two-weekly meal plan of reduced carbs, after this period to review levels achieved (BG, carbs and meds) and then develop a second two weeks at lower levels to see what further reductions can be made.
I’ll try to keep you up-dated on progress or disasters…