Help needed

[kellieb]

I was diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes and high cholesterol about 4 weeks ago, i already had high blood pressure. So, having been told i must be careful of what my sugar intake is and also cut out my fat intake i am getting frustrated. When i am shopping and i choose low fat or zero fat products i find they are high in sugar or carbs and vice versa. What is the answer do i prioritise one over the other. Any suggestions would be really helpful as i am struggling.

Kellie :?

 

[sugarless sue]

At the moment prioritise the diabetes. Choose lower carb options but also do not choose higher fat options. There are products out there if you look. Natural fats are better than artificial fats and, of course steer well clear of any product with Trans fats. For instance some weight watchers yogurts can be low in both fats and carbs.However not all so called 'healthy' options are low in carbs! The more natural product you can buy the better, processed foods are often high in fats and carbs and also salt which is not good for blood pressure.

If you need to lose weight then lowering your carb intake will help with this. It will also help your blood pressure and your cholesterol levels.

Has your doctor put you on any statins to help lower your cholesterol ?

 

[kellieb]

Hi, Yes my dr has prescribed a statin for the cholesterol but i cant remember the name of it. I dont use any salt in my cooking. Also i was wrongly diagnosed about a year ago with Coeliacs disease and since then i have always made just about everything from scratch, dont buy any packet mixes or sauces make my own etc etc ( they decided i was actually suffering from IBS not Coeliacs!). The only good thing that came out of that was that i got into the habit of making all my meals from scratch!. The doctor has decided at the moment to leave me with diet and exercise to control my diabetes and wants to check my levels after 3 months, he said he would probably put me on metformin then. I was also told not to get a glucose monitor, but i really want to as i think it will help me find out what effect foods have on me. I went out for a meal at the weekend and as ihad been so good over the last 5 weeks i treated myself to a choc nut sundae. The following day about mid morning i felt really weird, lightheaded and extremely tired. Even though i have had these feelings before im kind of assuming this is the diabetes at work!. God, this is all so confusing and scary. I just dont want to do the wrong thing

 

[kellieb]

forgot to say, my doctor doubled my dose of bp tabs from 4mg to 8!!

 

[sugarless sue]

Get a meter, it is an essential tool when you are first diagnosed.

You are right when you say that it will show you how foods affect your blood glucose levels. If you keep a food diary as suggested in the 'Basic guide to new diabetics' and also a record of the readings you get from your meter, show it to your doctor and you MAY get them to prescribe the test strips for you because you are obviously being po-active in the control of your own diabetes.

We are here to help and support you through what is a scary few weeks till you get the 'hang' of it. We have all been there.

 

[kellieb]

Thank you, your comments really help. Im gonna go get a monitor on my way home from work!!!

 

[Cowboyjim]

Meanies should have given you a meter... mind you I bought mine without even asking them.

It's fun too kind of empowering feeling and will appeal to the experimenter in all of us. It will surprise you what you can and can't eat then you can make a table of acceptables, no-no's and 'treats' etc.

I too have been under the gun for BP and cholesterol... these all go together it seems. That said it is surprising how little practical help there is out there for what is an increasingly common condition.

Not everyone has the time or inclination to make your own meals. Every morning I agonise over which thing to have... hmm toast? Porridge? Cereals? Nah.... well, go on then.... use meter... argh...! Berries and cream? Fine for DM maybe but all that fat?! Bah! Egg and bacon with mushrooms, onions peppers etc should be suitable... but what about the salt in the bacon, the cholesterol in the egg? More bah!

It's a compromise that is going to be personal.

The meter will be your biggest ally. The labels can help avoid the BP and fatty stuff.

But what about eating in restaurants? Let's open another can of worms. 8)

 

[kellieb]

i agree cowboyjim, since i got my meter i have become very competitive and challenging!!?? weird yes i know, i have since found out really shouldnt have toast for breakfast alternatives? well your egg and bacon that you mention sounds very appetising, what about the cholesterol? ho hum.
regarding your comment about making your own food and having the time, was my thoughts exactly when i was told i had coeliacs, i though oh my god when am i gonna have time to make anything :shock: but i can actually say the time consuming part is the actual shopping for the ingredients not the cooking. i spend less time cooking now than i ever did and the reward is that the food tastes sooooo much better.
and yes i agree.....its personal!!!!!

 

[Cowboyjim]

Maybe the shopping part is the biggest torment... and hassle. I didn't want to go in supermarkets much before. Now I loathe it.

Supermarkets are halls of temptation for the weak-willed. Think of it as a treasure hunt... see how quickly you can find the minuscule items that might fit the bill for folks like us. No, let's make that for anyone who wants to be healthy on a reasonable budget. DM is a plus because it MAKES you fight the system. Those in the pending file are doomed IMHO.

We live in a paradoxical society - hunger is history but health is still in the future as elusive as ever.

That said we owe it to ourselves to not be discouraged and keep looking.

Once you have whittled down the list of suitable constituents and meals you can make from them you have reached the next stage of trying not to get bored (let alone repelled) by them. Some days I have had no appetite for anything.

If only we could separate the emotion from eating. If eating were purely functional we could eat basic fodder several times a day augmented by vitamin pills perhaps much like astronauts etc. But as you will read on so many threads here most of us eat for emotional reasons. We will likely never separate the two. 8)