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Help I'm not sure what to eat!

J

JasmineL

Newbie
Messages
2
Type of diabetes
Treatment type
Tablets (oral)
This may sound silly, but I've been diagnosed for 1 1/2 weeks and in that time I have been in hospital for 3 days to have a hernia repaired and now I don't know what to eat. I'm T2 and it was only found during my pre-op appointment (2 weeks ago tomorrow), before being diagnosed I felt really really well and had no symptoms. I swim 4 times a week (approx 3 hours in total) and although I enjoy my carbs I ate fairly well. I have lost nearly 6 stone over the last 2 years but that has been very slowly and due to my diet and the swimming and I know that I have more to loose. I also have an added problem due to the fact that I had part of my bowel and colon removed 3 years ago and eating lots of fibre (wholemeal bread, salads etc) is a really problem for me as I end up spending lots of time on the toilet,

I have had an appointment with my Doctor who said that I was doing everything I can do and then had an appointment with a Diabetic Nurse who said that she did not want me to test my blood every day as she thought it would cause me to worry. I have been given metformin and I am slowly introducing these adding a tablet each week. (I tablet the first week then the second in week 2 etc). My kitchen is already sugar free or reduced sugar so I don't think that is a worry.

My issue is carbs ...... if I don't have toast or cornflakes for breakfast what do I eat?? 2 days every week I swim before going to work and have to eat in the office so cornflakes are idea, but if I can't eat them what do I eat? I've normally had a bread roll for lunch with fruit and a bio yoghurt for lunch but what to eat now? We don't have a canteen (or even much of a kitchen!) so I can not make things there. I'm sorry that this seems like a small thing but I've looked at cookbooks online for suggestions but frankly I don't like the idea of eating salsa for breakfast, and even on this site someone says porridge but then someone else says that's not a good idea.

Thank you so much
 
Hi @JasmineL , sounds like you are making a good start.
Breakfast: eggs: (poached, scrambled, fried, boiled, hard boiled, made into an omelette). Meats: Bacon, sausages, cold meats such as ham (watch out for added sugars), salami, pastrami, cold chicken. Cheeses. Fish (smoked salmon, tin of sardines). Plain Greek yoghurt with berries. Coffee with cream or even butter in it!
Lunch at the office: Invest in a cold bag and take any of the above which are suitable for eating cold. Add salad items. Consider taking hot soup in a flask. Nuts and seeds are good for "pudding".
Before you know it, you won't be able to imagine eating anything else, you would be surprised how your tastes can change.

You mentioned that your diabetic nurse came out with the "don't test, you might worry" cliche. Personally, I'd be much more worried if I didn't know what was going on. Knowledge is power in my book, ignore her!
Sally
 
Hi Jasmine - I'm a newbie as well. When I was diagnosed, I had some confusing advice from the NHS DESMOND course and thought I'd be OK trying low GI foods. Having read loads of helpful info on this forum, I decided that wasn't the way to go and am now on the low carb high fat regime.

I really noticed a difference in my blood sugar levels immediately. It does make sense, if you're on low GI, it's still carbs and those are the beggars which mess up your blood sugar levels. I've felt more full, but boy, am I struggling with what I can eat. I'm slowly learning and getting better at spotting what my body can and can't tolerate, but am relying on my meter to show me the way. As Sally says, ignore a nurse who discourages testing. As a newbie, it's a must. How else can you work out what you can eat?

I'm wallowing in full-fat Greek yogurt for the first time in years and really enjoying it! I don't eat meat, but fish is fab, as are cheese and eggs. Mind you, I overdosed on the mushroom omelettes and am paying the price - don't need to say any more, I'm sure your imagination will finish it for me! I'm also having loads of salads with tuna and full fat mayo (I'd forgotten how good that tastes!). all the vegetables which grow about the ground are OK as well. There's also a lovely person, Sugarless Sue, on the Low Carb Diet Forum (under Food and Nutrition) - there are loads of great recipes there for inspiration.

Good luck, it's not easy, I know, and it's easy to become overwhelmed, but there are a lot of really helpful people here who can guide you.
 
Thank you for your suggestions and you are right people seem to give some very confusing advice such as changing some foods for others (for example my nurse gave me a sheet and it said, instead of eating cornflakes I could eat special K instead - but that has a higher sugar content). I can only really eat a salad every few days because that causes me problems with my bowels and nuts and seeds are off the list due to diverticulitis. I like your idea of high fat but unfortunately that causes me problems as well! I seem to be in a no win situation :banghead:

Has anyone ever gone to a dietitian and got advice from them?
 
It's not unknown for people to think that they can't eat something, but when they cut right down on carbs, well, they find it was the carbs all along. I blamed fats and acidic foods for bloating, wind and reflux …. turned out it was all down to bread etc. Unless there are very good medical reasons, try to keep an open mind about what you can eat at this stage. Always important to concentrate on what you can do, rather than what you can't.

Has anyone got good advice from a dietician? Somebody may have done, but I haven't heard about it. My own suspicion is that diabetic nurses share a single brain cell with the local dietician, so you have to be careful which day you visit each one. The special K recommendation supports my thesis.
Sally
 
Hi. Your nurse is proferring standard but largely useless NHS diet advice; don't blame her but the idiots that send out the information. All cereals are carbs and need to be controlled; even more so with your conditions. I can't guide you specifically as fat is also a problem you say. Eggs and bacon are fine if you can eat them and access them. How about no-added sugar muesli for breakfast with cold milk. It's better than stewed oats in porridge although still carbs
 
Hi and welcome - you have had some great advice above.

Read the forum, take it gently, and get yourself a meter (your surgery may prescribe one, or you can buy one, the SD Codefree is very reasonably priced) then you can work out exactly what foods do to your blood glucose and settle on the diet that suits you best.
 
The high protein rolls from Lidl are low carb and very filling ,very worth a try
CAROL
 
Do u Carty or does anyone know if they have these protein rolls in Lidl shops in Ireland? ?Tried a couple of shops cant find them :-[!
 
Hi and welcome to the forum.

Metformin can be fine for a lot of people but some people find it causes really bad diarrhoea, wind, flatulence and stomach cramps. With your medical history, keep an eye for these side effects as your dose increases. If you get these effects, ask your doctor or nurse for slow release metformin. If that isn't much better, then metformin may not be right for you. But don't stop taking it or any drug without consulting your doctor or nurse.
 
That is an excellent weightloss .Very well done!!! :-) Welcome to the forum ! I see u have had great advice from reading the above posts.I think also using a meter to test which foods aid your b glucose to stay low is very very important .I am learning more each day through trial and error. I had a small bowl of muesly one day and mine shot up massively .How else would I have known if I didnt see reading.I also greedily had 2 packets of popcorn once and not good apparently. I was probably expecting it after all I had read on lower carbing but never would have thought the odd scoff of popcorn woyld have been a negative thing before this diagnosis and all I have learned on here! But I can tolerate a packet or part thereof with no spike.Meter is very important in my book..Good luck :-)
 
I've been told I haven't got to the stage of using a meter, but how am I supposed to know if I'm eating the right things or not?
this was from the diabetic nurse.
I've been diagnosed for 6 weeks. Type 2.
Both my mum and dad had type 2.
I'm at a loss what to do. When is the right stage to use a meter?
 
coffeemmm1 said:
When is the right stage to use a meter?
Click to expand...
Now.

You need to learn what you can and can't eat now. Not when your diabetes has got worse and you are taking drugs which can give you dangerous hypos. A good understanding of the subject now, will prevent deterioration and going down this sorry path.
Sally
 
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