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Help with reducing blood sugars

R

rads41

Active Member
Messages
39
Type of diabetes
Treatment type
Insulin
Hi All,
I'm a newbie to this site and could do with some help....
I'm a 41 yr old female and have been type 2 for 7 years. 1 and a half years ago my doctor put me on insulin in an attempt to reduce my HBA1C so I could try to get pregnant. I'm at the end of my tether with this. My sugars are stabilising during the day but my morning sugars are still in the early teens ( typically 11-13).
I've been told I shouldn't try to get pregnant until I get to 7 in the mornings. My HBA1C is around 10 at the moment. I know some of this is my doing, I'm really bad for eating the wrong things and although I try to take the correct amount of insulin ( I'm on a 2:1 ratio at the moment) it's hard to get info on certain foods so I find myself guessing. I know I need to get a grip and focus but I'm finding this really hard and am scared of running out of time in terms of fertility. I guess I'm just looking for tips/advice/support to help bring my sugars down....
Rads
 
Don't consume anything with flour or sugar in it.. That's about the biggest step forward you can make without getting complicated. Some prepared foods have flour in them as a bulking agent. You won't necessarily know which ones without using your meter after eating them. Just don't eat them again for future meals.
 
Thanks Squire! Problem is I'm Indian ( and scottish ) so I love chapattis, rice, potatoes. I can just about handle getting rid of sugar. Finding it really hard to stop or substitute rice and chapattis. I've read loads about low carb/high fat but don't know if I can do it. . Maybe I just need to cut down on portion sizes? I've been digging about the forums and I think I should try taking my sugar 2 hours post meals. Will try that for a bit and see I I can gt my head around what's going on. Does anyone know of any good sites where I can get nutritional info for Indian food?
 
as a n00b I went cold turkey on no grains and potato. What got me through the first week of low carb high fat was the solid coconut blocks [I'm sure you know it in the indian shops] which I found tasted better than the oil, so every time I got a craving hunger I has a tea spoon or 3 of coconut block
to get rid of carb/sugar cravings, you get rid of carb/sugar http://lowcarbdiets.about.com/od/lowcarbliving/a/Food-Cravings.htm
LCHF would be easy with indian, lots of veg meat fat and dairy and spiced so it's always a variety
cauliflower rice would be a good substitute and give the same hand to mouth way of eating comfort
 
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Yes I agree. It is a problem being Scottish and having to give up the deep fried Mars bars.

But seriously though, we have all had to give up things that we thought we liked since they make us ill. I gave up bread but haven't missed it as much as I thought I would. Have half a chippatti and see how that goes. Find alternative meals. The last paragraph of jack412's post above should be printed out, framed and hung on your wall.
 
Thanks guys! You're all really supportive and have given me loads of really helpful advice! Planned positive steps - some of which have been inspired by this thread, and others from digging about in the forums -
1) no more sandwiches for lunch. Thought this was healthy enough but I don't need those carbs.
2) experiment with different flours as per list above and WEIGH out what I'm using ( I'm really bad for guessing...)
3) cut down on portion sizes and fill up with veg
4) choose healthy snacks between meals... Nuts/seeds
5) less fruit, especially bananas. Man, I thought I was being healthy :/
6) cut down on the deep fried mars bars ;-)
7) I'm gonna try the coconut bar thing as soon as I can get to the speciality food shop...

I'll let you know how I get on!
 
If you follow LCHF you don't need to weigh anything. I have lost 1 stone 10lbs or 10kg. Eat greens (unlimited) fish (any kind), meat (any kind- with fat left on if you like it) eggs, full fat plain Greek or normal yoghurt. I have Puy lentils once or twice a week. All veg growing above ground is fine. I eat cheese. Wine - 1 or 2 glasses a week but not at same time. Tea, coffee and water to drink. You must drink loads (sadly not alcohol - lol!). Nuts are also good but limit if you're trying to lose weight! Good luck!
 
Hi

If you REALLY want a baby it is worth the sacrifice of changing what you eat.

I would have eaten anything to guarantee a good pregnancy.

Cara
 
I'm glad you're motivated, it will turn your life around.
In this chickpea roti, I would change all purpose flour for almond flour/meal/ground up and add an egg to bind, made like a pancake
http://breads-pies.qualitylivingstyles.com/channa roti.html
  • 1 cup chickpea flour
  • 1 cup. almond meal
  • 2 egg
  • 1 tsp. salt
  • 1 tsp. baking powder
  • 1 tsp. cumin powder (optional) You could use oregano or any spice you prefer
  • ¼ tsp. turmeric powder
  • Approximately 1½ cups of water
  • 2 tablespoon of canola oil or olive oil for lightly spreading on a non-stick surface
 
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Thanks Jack412, I'm so gonna try that
Cara, I understand what you're saying, I really do. That's the hardest bit about this whole thing isn't it? I really really want to get pregnant and have a healthy baby. It's all too easy to think it'll be ok and get caught up in the other roller coasters of life - work, family etc. and then spend the rest of the time beating myself up for not trying hard enough. I do understand though, I need to keep my ' eye on the prize' as it were and get on with achieving my goals.
 

If you are trying to lose weight I would consider dropping the nuts/seeds as a snack. If you are like me, I know, I could easily eat 100g (prob more) of peanuts in a day from a big bag without thinking and that would be up to 650kcal which is around half my daily calories.
 
anything with flour i wouldn't eat, flour = bad food..just veggies, some fruit and some nuts beans and fish and the symptons will fade away faster than you know it
 

I found it hard to reduce bread and rice and potatoes, but now I find I need the Potato with skins on because the Metformin has an effect on potassium levels, this was why I got bad cramps, but mostly in the tummy before rushing upstairs, I started on bananas but now I need more so i have more milk, more yogurt, concentrated tomato paste, tuna, cod, salmon, sardines, raisins, apricots, beans all good sources of potassium, I'm really concerned in avoiding low potassium, apart from avoiding cramps its also keeps heart healthy, if I get sudden bad cramp in my foot I grab the bottle of tonic water, it has Quinine in it,
 
Hi rads41 and welcome to the forum. Being Scottish like you I found pearl barley very early after diagnosis. I use it instead of rice. It has little effect on my BG. I think I may prefer it now actually.
 
Yes, pearl barley is great. I cook a batch and then freeze it in portions. Saves phaff, cos it is slower than rice to cook.
 
Brunneria said:
Yes, pearl barley is great. I cook a batch and then freeze it in portions. Saves phaff, cos it is slower than rice to cook.
Click to expand...
I use a vaccum sealer to make boil in the bag portions and freeze them. I think of it as my secret weapon.
 
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