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Hello

Dandadumbo

Member
Messages
9
Type of diabetes
Treatment type
Tablets (oral)
- What is your name?
Dan

- How old are you?
39

- Are you male or female?
Last time I looked, Male

- Which country are you from?
England

- Which city/area do you live in?
Derby

- Are you religious?
Nope

- Pick three words to describe your personality.
Very Easy Going

- Do you have any pets?
Nope

- Microsoft or Apple?
Microsoft

- Which sport(s) (if any) do you like/play?
I like to watch sports sometimes

- Do you get angry easily?
Takes a lot to get me angry

- Do you have any tattoos or piercings? If so, where?
Yes, on my arms, back and chest

- List your five favourite musicians/bands.
Foo Fighters, Zac Brown Band, Guns 'n' Roses, Metallica and Dire Straits

- What would you say your favourite music genre is?
If it's good then I'll listen to it.

- What is your favourite flag?
That is a random question.

- Ever gone camping?
Yes to a few music festivals

- Ever been in love?
Yes, to my wife

- Ever used fake tan?
Absolutely not

- Which countries have you visited?
Scotland, Ireland, Wales, France, Germany, Belgium and Italy

- Favourite city?
My favourite town is Sorrento, Italy

- List your five favourite TV programmes.
The Goldbergs, Only fools and horses, American Pickers, Who do you think you are, and Taskmaster.

- List your five favourite films.
No Country for Old Men, Step Brothers, Legend, Sexy Beast and Monsters INC,

- Are you wealthy?
No


- Do you work? If so, as what?
I'm an NDT Inspector

- List the subjects you study/have studied.
Contemporary popular music HND

- What do you like most about yourself?
Not much

- What do you like least about yourself?
Quite a bit
 
Hi,

and another couple of questions
what type are you
what if any meds are you on (alt, are you low carb?)
 
StealthyB said:
Thanks, all new to this stuff, there's a lot to take in.
Click to expand...
Hello @StealthyB ,

Yeah, it is a lot, all at once... You don't have to get everything absolutely right overnight though. Have a moment to let things sink in and learn. With all those answers (I like your taste in music!), are there any questions you'd like to ask us?
Anyway, welcome!
Jo
 
Hi Jo, there is one question, there are a lot of low carb/high fat diets out there and obviously low carbs is a good thing but surely the high fat will affect your cholesterol, so which is better low carbs or low fat?
 
TooSweetForMe said:
I've been diabetic for almost 11 years, and I still get overwhelmed at times.
Click to expand...
I'm finding it hard to get into the mind-set that the things I used to eat I can't have any more, obviously there's always an alternative but still.
 
StealthyB said:
Hi Jo, there is one question, there are a lot of low carb/high fat diets out there and obviously low carbs is a good thing but surely the high fat will affect your cholesterol, so which is better low carbs or low fat?
Click to expand...
Well, speaking for myself and a great many people on here.... We've struggled with our weight and followed low fat diets.... For me personally, I went to the hospital's dietician and she got me onto a low fat diet. Within a few months I went from obese to morbidly obese, and wahey,soon after that I was a diabetic. Guess what: Most of the cholesterol in our blood streams doesn't come from what we eat: we make it. So anyway... When I was diagnosed and started experimenting with diets -didn't find this place until much later- I got my cholesterol down and could ditch the statins by going low carb, high fat. Just a happy side effect of getting my blood sugars under control. And keep in mind, it is relatively high fat... You're not required to start eating sticks of butter. @bulkbiker is extremely knowledgable on cholesterol, so I'm tagging him in. But all in all. It's not the villain we've been led to believe it is. And fats? They do contain micro nutrients, the vitamins and minerals we need, besides being capable of filling us up. You can cut ONE macro nutrient... Cut two, and the diet isn't sustainable, it becomes a one-way ticket to scurvy. Check https://josekalsbeek.blogspot.com/2019/11/the-nutritional-thingy.html if you're interested. As for "there's a whole lot of low carb diets", well, yeah, I guess there are... Loads of labels, but what it comes down to, if you own body, your own needs. Some have more severe insulin resistance than others. So when someone can follow a moderately low carb diet (at, say 80 grams of carbs a day), others need to get into keto (20 grams a day or less) or even a carnivorous diet (0 carbs a day) to get their blood sugars under control. (And thus fix their high cholesterol, non-alcoholic fatty liver disease and quite often, high blood pressure too. Just to name a few). That's where a meter comes in. You don't just subscribe to some diet or other, you taylor-make one for yourself. Just experiment. Get a meter, -cost of the meter doesn't matter, it's the strips that'll cost 'ya, so try a Tee2 or something- and check before a meal and 2 hours after the first bite. You're aiming for a rise of no more than 2.0 mmol/l. If it was more, there were more carbs in the meal than you could process. (and remember, practically all carbs turn to glucose once ingested). A list of okay foods is in the link I put in earlier, and a LOT of food and meals are discussed over on dietdoctor.com, and on this forum's website, diabetes.co.uk (not .org). And if you feel like learning a whole lot in one go, try Dr. Jason Fung's the Diabetes Code.

For now though, just learn the basics: Carbs will up your blood sugars. Protein might do that a little. Fats won't raise them at all. And even mitigate the effect of whatever carbs you do consume, besides letting you feel full and giving you nutrients you need. Little word of warning: as you lose weight, at first, your cholesterol MIGHT go up for a bit. No worries, that cholesterol was already there and packed onto your liver, so while it was there, it wasn't measurable. If it shows up in your bloodstream when you're losing weight, its because it's on it's way out the door. Once your weight stabilises, it'll come back down. So don't panic.

Good luck!
Jo
 
Welcome ... can understand.. once you are diabetic even when it’s in controlled, it does not go out of your mind .. how about trying intermediated fasting though you will have to adjust your medications accordingly..
 
StealthyB said:
Hi Jo, there is one question, there are a lot of low carb/high fat diets out there and obviously low carbs is a good thing but surely the high fat will affect your cholesterol, so which is better low carbs or low fat?
Click to expand...

Hi Stealthy..

If you are interested in cholesterol and why it's not quite the villain it is painted to be then have a read/watch here... you might want a coffee!

https://www.diabetes.co.uk/forum/threads/cholesterol-and-statins.156985/


Edit to add
If you have a recent full lipid profile then we can see if your "cholesterol" is as bad as your doc probably makes out.. If you haven't had one then your doc is being slightly out of date and possibly disingenuous by rescribing them..

Full disclosure.. I'll never take them.
 
Thanks Jo
 
Thanks Bulkbiker
 
Reemap said:
Welcome ... can understand.. once you are diabetic even when it’s in controlled, it does not go out of your mind .. how about trying intermediated fasting though you will have to adjust your medications accordingly..
Click to expand...
Thanks Reemap
 
@StealthyB Welcome to our little club. You're right, there's a lot to take in and a lot of seemingly counter-intuitive options. Rest assured, it does get easier and makes sense as time goes on. If you don't mind, may I ask how well controlled you are today with blood glucose. Have you had fasting profile of your lipids. When I was first diagnosed several years ago my blood glucose was 22.5 and my HbA1c 9.5% and I weighed 107kg. Today my BG is pretty well always in the 5s before I eat and with attention to diet very rarely goes above 8 and then only for a short time anyway. HbA1c is routinely 5.4 - 5.8 and I'm now 88kg. Good control can be done. It just takes will, application and persistence.

You asked a very pertinent question re low carbs, high fats and the cholesterol trade off. You would have noticed that most of us here accept low carb diets but in varying degrees. I can only relate my personal experience but it will mostly be in line with many others. Firstly, I found this group out of frustration that the information provided by my diabetic carers here in Sydney, Australia was not improving my outcomes. For me, reducing carbohydrate intake did work and worked in a short timeframe. Losing weight was also a great help. These two things combined have turned my life around.

Our bodies need energy no matter what. Even sitting on the couch watching TV burns energy. On average, for a fella my size, about 8500kj per day. I'm not getting energy from carbs because I don't have enough of them. The extra fats that have supplanted the carbs in my diet are now the primary energy source. Little wonder that the effect on cholesterol was not noticeable. I will add that my GP is excellent so I'm lucky and he totally supports my approach. Today, I limit my carbs to 20g per meal. for some here, that will be high and for others it will be low. However, that is my sweet spot and everybody is different. You will need to find your own. If you don't have a blood glucose meter I urge you emphatically to procure one. Noting what foods and combinations of foods causes reactions to your blood glucose level is impossible without it. Anyway, sorry for the long winded post and good luck on your journey.
Glenn
 
Hi Crocodile, Thanks for the post, I have ordered myself a meter which has literally just arrived. Tbh I don't know much about my diabetes, I was briefly told what it was and told to take the tablets I'm on, I was supposed to be booked on a course to learn about how to deal with diabetes but when I phoned the place they said that I have to be referred by my diabetes nurse, I have had my eye screening and had my vitamin D level checked only because I complained my leg was aching. This group has taught me a lot already and I have not even been on it a week yet. Congrats on the weight loss by the way. And thanks for the info, much appreciated.
Dan
 
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