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Help, type1 stuck for food ideas

Gordon F

Member
Messages
9
I have been T1 for 17 yrs and by and large have had poor control. I have in the past few years tried to improve rather than ignore my diabetic control. I will be attending a roche carb counting course soon, i have already been to a basic course. The main issues i have now is that as i have a diabetic foot ulcer i have been under instructions to rest at home. I have been doing this but as a result i find i am eating more, usually snacking on crisps as i tend to avoid chocolate. Blood sugars usually run between 5- 20mmol. I am quite slender (always have been) at 9.5-10 stone and wish to put a bit of weight on. I am struggling to find suitable meals where i have a balance of lower carbs that would make me feel full and not reaching for snacks as often ( again although slim i can eat a set meal for 2 myself, but I don't) .. due to see my dietician soon again but would appreciate any help or suggestions.
 
If your sugars are high that could be adding to your hunger because your body can't use the food you eat properly, so improving your control should help.

Are you confident adjusting your own meal time insulin doses or are you on a set level of carbs for each meal?
 

I am on a ratio of 1 unit of Novorapid for every 10carbs. I have an adjustment dosage as well so i am ok with that. I am getting there i am just struggling with ideas as to what i can snack on between meals that won't mean high adjustments of insulin and thusly have my levels spiking, something that would keep me on an even level.
I was thinking if i can get my meals correct it would stave off snacking as much. Usually for breakfast i have porridge oats, works out at 40 carbs so 4 units of Novorapid is fine but i tend to see the biggest spikes between lunch and dinner, dinner and nighttime insulin..
 
I snack on low carb stuff like hardboiled eggs with loads of full fat mayo, Peperami and cheese, @Gordon F, and keep my carb intake pretty low in general.

That helps me with my control, and gives my brain a break from all the maths!

 
Snapsy said:
I snack on low carb stuff like hardboiled eggs with loads of full fat mayo, Peperami and cheese, @Gordon F, and keep my carb intake pretty low in general.

That helps me with my control, and gives my brain a break from all the maths!

Click to expand...

Thank you, i have found scrambled egg and egg mayonnaise have been good, thats about it so far though.
 
Have you done a basal test to check your basal is at the right level? That's a good starting point as if that's wrong, it can make control more difficult.

If you're using the ratio 1:10 and going high (assuming your basal is ok) then either your ratio for some meals need changing or you could consider injecting further in advance of eating. It's quite normal to have different ratios for different meals.

For lunch and evening meal, you could bulk up your plate with low carb veg (eg green veg), eat enough protein and make sure you have a reasonable level of fat as that can help with fullness.

For snacks, if you prefer you could try non carb items like nuts and cheese, etc, or try adding some fat to your carbs and avoid high GI carbs. So maybe an oatcake or two plus cheese, etc

Carbs will help you put on/maintain weight. Excessive carbs make control hard, but most Type 1s eat moderate carbs in amounts that suit them as individuals.
 
Hi @Gordon F

There's an on-line carb counting course called BERTIE, you could register and learn a few things before your Roche course:

https://www.bertieonline.org.uk/

As for spiking, many of us have found pre-bolusing 20 mins before food helps to reduce postprandial spikes, but this will only work if you get your basal dose sorted first.

As for snacks, I have to bolus for snacks so tend not to eat them, even low-carb snacks like cheese & nuts pushes my bg up, however some type 1's can get away without bolusing for low-carb snacks so you could give cheese, hams and nuts/seeds a try and see how you get on.
 
I have recently changed from Lantus to Levemir, my pre breakfast levels are always good, between 4-8mmol so in range there. I see that there is a lot more info on the site so i will read up on that. I had my hba1c again today and things are going in the right direction but infelt deflated as for the past month and a half i have had good readings. Just felt deflated that it hasn't went down as much as i thought it would.
 
A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step @Gordon F

As well as the info on the forum why don't you purchase the book Think Like a Pancreas, it comes highly recommended by the type 1 members here. Best wishes and well done on what you've achieved so far.
 
Although your questions have been pretty much answered by our lovely forum members, here's some things you may want to munch on and not be too concerned about bolus insulin:

-Olives
-Nuts (Brazil, pecans, roasted peanuts)
-Ham (and most cold meats)
-Celery and peanut butter (don't laugh until you've tried it!)
-Feta cheese stuffed chillies
-Pork scratchings
-Cheese

There's a great deal to choose from. There's a good deal of information on the low carb section of the forum too!
 
Another vote for cheese here. The protein helps keep you full and as it is calorific it might help with the weight?
But it really sounds like your insulin ratio needs looking at as others have said...
 
Can definitely say that ham and chicken are great to snack on as healthy protein snacks that wont affect your BSL
 
NewlyT1 said:
Can definitely say that ham and chicken are great to snack on as healthy protein snacks that wont affect your BSL
Click to expand...
I quite often put coleslaw inside wafer thin ham and roll it up.
 
Thank you all for input. Still working on insulin dosages as i have not long been switched from Lantus to Levemir background insulin..
hopefully my dietician can add to the snack ideas. As i said although thinnish i can eat a lot, i have always been this way all 17years as T1 and all 18 years of my life pre diabetes.. Always stay around the 10 stone mark..
 
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