Help please

[christinet]

Hi. I am a Type 2 on insulin (bosal basal regime taking Levermir split morning and evening and Novarapid 3 x daily before meals). I will be 60 later this year. I also have peripheral diabetic retinopathy (registered partially sighted) and have some neuropathy in my feet. Those are the basics. For many years now I have not treated my diabetes with respect and taken it seriously despite losing a lot of my eye sight. I have had small stabs at sorting myself out in the past but with no real success.

I have recently joined Weight Watchers as I need to loose about 4 to 5 stone, but the added complication is the diabetes as I still need to be making the right food choices for the diabetes. This is where I come stuck as I really don't fully understand all the stuff about food.
I believe one of the best ways to go forwards for me is to low carb. To be honest I did look at low carbing years ago but didn't really understand it. Also I may be at a misapprehension but I am sure somewhere I was told when low carbing that on food packaging you need the carbohydrate to be lower than the 'of which are sugars@ .. so I am very confused.

Can any one tell me where on this forum is the best place to look at low carbing and also any idiot proof/understandable things I can read.

I woke up this morning feeling so low, emotional and depressed and determined that I now have to get this and my life sorted once and for all. I have my first grandchild that I want to be around for a long time to enjoy and see grow up. I am fed up having lots of days where I feel absolute rubbish but the only way I can understand this is to understand the food/carbing that I am eating. Any help on reading material etc etc greatly received. My husband is going to help support me to understand the information, and that will go a long way in helping me.

So many thanks in advance.

 

[catherinecherub]

Hi and welcome.

I would start off by reading @daisy1's advice that is basic and then have a read around the forums. She will post it for you as I have tagged her.
Take time to digest all that you read, equip yourself with a meter and test strips and a food diary and then start looking at which foods raise your blood sugars.
You will find that even amongst low carbers there is a variation in the amount of carbs that they can eat and which food choices are suitable for them and that is why your meter is your best friend.

You will not crack this overnight so please keep reading and keep asking any questions you have.

 

[christinet]

Hi and welcome.

I would start off by reading @daisy1's advice that is basic and then have a read around the forums. She will post it for you as I have tagged her.
Take time to digest all that you read, equip yourself with a meter and test strips and a food diary and then start looking at which foods raise your blood sugars.
You will find that even amongst low carbers there is a variation in the amount of carbs that they can eat and which food choices are suitable for them and that is why your meter is your best friend.

You will not crack this overnight so please keep reading and keep asking any questions you have.

 

[christinet]

Thank you Catherine. I take it that @daisy1 will post something in this group? I will keep a watch out for it. Thanks again

 

[daisy1]

@christinet

Hello Christine and welcome to the forum

Here is the information we give to new members and I hope you will find it useful. It contains much info about carbs and diet in general. Ask all the questions you need to and someone will be able to help.


BASIC INFORMATION FOR NEW MEMBERS

Diabetes is the general term to describe people who have blood that is sweeter than normal. A number of different types of diabetes exist.

A diagnosis of diabetes tends to be a big shock for most of us. It’s far from the end of the world though and on this forum you’ll find over 140,000 people who are demonstrating this.

On the forum we have found that with the number of new people being diagnosed with diabetes each day, sometimes the NHS is not being able to give all the advice it would perhaps like to deliver - particularly with regards to people with type 2 diabetes.

The role of carbohydrate

Carbohydrates are a factor in diabetes because they ultimately break down into sugar (glucose) within our blood. We then need enough insulin to either convert the blood sugar into energy for our body, or to store the blood sugar as body fat.

If the amount of carbohydrate we take in is more than our body’s own (or injected) insulin can cope with, then our blood sugar will rise.

The bad news

Research indicates that raised blood sugar levels over a period of years can lead to organ damage, commonly referred to as diabetic complications.

The good news

People on the forum here have shown that there is plenty of opportunity to keep blood sugar levels from going too high. It’s a daily task but it’s within our reach and it’s well worth the effort.

Controlling your carbs

The info below is primarily aimed at people with type 2 diabetes, however, it may also be of benefit for other types of diabetes as well.
There are two approaches to controlling your carbs:

• Reduce your carbohydrate intake
• Choose ‘better’ carbohydrates

Reduce your carbohydrates

A large number of people on this forum have chosen to reduce the amount of carbohydrates they eat as they have found this to be an effective way of improving (lowering) their blood sugar levels.

The carbohydrates which tend to have the most pronounced effect on blood sugar levels tend to be starchy carbohydrates such as rice, pasta, bread, potatoes and similar root vegetables, flour based products (pastry, cakes, biscuits, battered food etc) and certain fruits.

Choosing better carbohydrates

Another option is to replace ‘white carbohydrates’ (such as white bread, white rice, white flour etc) with whole grain varieties. The idea behind having whole grain varieties is that the carbohydrates get broken down slower than the white varieties –and these are said to have a lower glycaemic index.
http://www.diabetes.co.uk/food/diabetes-and-whole-grains.html

The low glycaemic index diet is often favoured by healthcare professionals but some people with diabetes find that low GI does not help their blood sugar enough and may wish to cut out these foods altogether.

Read more on carbohydrates and diabetes

Eating what works for you

Different people respond differently to different types of food. What works for one person may not work so well for another. The best way to see which foods are working for you is to test your blood sugar with a glucose meter.

To be able to see what effect a particular type of food or meal has on your blood sugar is to do a test before the meal and then test after the meal. A test 2 hours after the meal gives a good idea of how your body has reacted to the meal.

The blood sugar ranges recommended by NICE are as follows:

Blood glucose ranges for type 2 diabetes

• Before meals: 4 to 7 mmol/l
• 2 hours after meals: under 8.5 mmol/l

Blood glucose ranges for type 1 diabetes (adults)

• Before meals: 4 to 7 mmol/l
• 2 hours after meals: under 9 mmol/l

Blood glucose ranges for type 1 diabetes (children)

• Before meals: 4 to 8 mmol/l
• 2 hours after meals: under 10 mmol/l

However, those that are able to, may wish to keep blood sugar levels below the NICE after meal targets.

Access to blood glucose test strips

The NICE guidelines suggest that people newly diagnosed with type 2 diabetes should be offered:

• structured education to every person and/or their carer at and around the time of diagnosis, with annual reinforcement and review
• self-monitoring of plasma glucose to a person newly diagnosed with type 2 diabetes only as an integral part of his or her self-management education

Therefore both structured education and self-monitoring of blood glucose should be offered to people with type 2 diabetes. Read more on getting access to bloodglucose testing supplies.

You may also be interested to read questions to ask at a diabetic clinic

Note: This post has been edited from Sue/Ken's post to include up to date information.