How to eat

Hello @Nicolii Welcome to the DCUK Forum.
I think there's plenty of help on the site. Firstly, we'll ask @daisy1 for her excellent run down on things.
You may like to use the search facilities (top right) to peruse carbohydrates, and low carbohydrate eating (LC) eating, as I suspect this will be your cornerstone, blood sugar wise, and weight wise.
Perhaps you could help people off by posting your blood sugar results? They're quite important. Thanks

It will be said you may have to cut down on the starchy carbs like bread rice pasta potatoes and bread as they can raise blood glucose the most and many find cutting down or stopping them makes a big difference to their blood levels. A lot here also eat more fat as in full fat dairy and red meat but you can get good fat from oils like olive rapeseed and coconut oils avocados and oily fish . None of us can tell you what you can or can't eat but can only give our own personal experiences as we are all very different so it is really trial and error. If you test your blood that may give you more idea but you may not want to do that it is up to you

Nicolii said:

Hi all,

Back in 2012 I had gestational diabetes. After giving birth the tests kept saying I don't have diabetes but I still have manny of the symptoms. Especially the hunger headaches in the second half of the day. The following year I got pregnant with twins and I've really suffered with weight gain. Before kids I could eat whatever I wanted and not put on weight. Now after kids I find my body super sensitive. My doctor told me that if I want my blood sugar levels to be stable I need to eat 6 small meals a day, but I just find that this constant eating and small portions really irritate me. I want to have s big meal and then forget about it for a few hrs. Also, the dr said all my meals should be balanced with protein carbs and veg and fruit. But far out for me to fit that in every meal the calories count up pretty high. Like I've been told that if I want to lose half a kilo a week I have to consume 1200 calories a day and for me this is like only eating twice a day and u just can't do that. I feel like this is impossible. I never had to be cautious about what I ate and now I'm struggling. Can someone please advise on what to do? Will a dietician help. I'm also hungry most of the time.

A typical day for me would involve two bowls of rice bubbles at 10am. A decaf coffee at 1pm. At 2pm I might have a multigrain sandwich with haloumi cheese and capsicum. At 4pm I'll have 2 bananas. Then for dinner 2 chicken schnitzels with potatoes broccoli and carrot.

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Step one is to understand if you are taking medication or not? if you are taking insulin or insulin like drugs then you need to proceed carefully.
So please can you let us know some details? incluing the results of any recent blood tests, the most usful ones are
fasting glucose, hba1c, HDL and triglycerides from your lipid profile.
@daisy1 will b along to give you some general advice shortly.
there is a "low carb" programe that will guide you along the way, a and www.dietdoctor.com is a great resource too so take a look at both of these.

In the meantime your diet is very high in carbohydrates and especially fruit and very low in natural fats , that will drive your hunger. If you eat little and often that will also drive hunger as well. If you want to lose weight the trick is to limit the carbs, ditch most of the fruit, , increase the natural fats and limit how often you eat. It all sounds bizarre I know, but it rally does work !

If you switch your diet to only eating real foods no potations, only berries for fruit, include butter and olive oil in place of any vegetable oils , then eat to satiety and stop eating until you are truly hungry again its likely that you will lose weight. I got from 115kg to 91 kg going this before hitting a stall. Many of the people here have similar or better results.
I am now trying to get that final piece of by limiting myself to eating one high quality meal a day. of about 1600 calories the result so far has been 7kg weight loss in 10 days ! I've no idea how long that will last but its certainly fun trying!
If you want to check out what is happening to me when I moved at eating only one big meal a day, check out what I am doing on the thread set out below . Others try other things, there are plenty of options that work as long as you limit the processed foods and carbs in your diet, so have a read round.

In the meantime, don't worry too much, this IS sortable, many of us have done so and we can show you how. Many of us also had strange advice from our doctors. Doctors are not trained in nutrition, if you have a read round the forum you will soon see many others having being given nutritional advice from doctors that is not helping. We soon learn to distinguish what makes sense and what doesn't.

welcome !

Nicolii said:

Hi all,

Back in 2012 I had gestational diabetes. After giving birth the tests kept saying I don't have diabetes but I still have manny of the symptoms. Especially the hunger headaches in the second half of the day. The following year I got pregnant with twins and I've really suffered with weight gain. Before kids I could eat whatever I wanted and not put on weight. Now after kids I find my body super sensitive. My doctor told me that if I want my blood sugar levels to be stable I need to eat 6 small meals a day, but I just find that this constant eating and small portions really irritate me. I want to have s big meal and then forget about it for a few hrs. Also, the dr said all my meals should be balanced with protein carbs and veg and fruit. But far out for me to fit that in every meal the calories count up pretty high. Like I've been told that if I want to lose half a kilo a week I have to consume 1200 calories a day and for me this is like only eating twice a day and u just can't do that. I feel like this is impossible. I never had to be cautious about what I ate and now I'm struggling. Can someone please advise on what to do? Will a dietician help. I'm also hungry most of the time.

A typical day for me would involve two bowls of rice bubbles at 10am. A decaf coffee at 1pm. At 2pm I might have a multigrain sandwich with haloumi cheese and capsicum. At 4pm I'll have 2 bananas. Then for dinner 2 chicken schnitzels with potatoes broccoli and carrot.

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Please tell us what medications you are taking, as this will help with any replies.

How unstable are your blood sugars? What sort of levels do you see, and what was your last HbA1c?

I personally can't see any benefit in eating 6 meals a day, especially if they all contain carbs. When we eat carbs they convert to glucose once inside the system. That then triggers the pancreas to produce insulin to clear this glucose, but as Type 2s our insulin doesn't work properly. With 6 meals a day containing carbs (and fruit) our pancreas will be working overtime, and that does it no good at all. He would have been better telling you to reduce carbs and avoid most fruit (especially bananas).

However, we do need to know your medication before advising on your typical daily diet.

@Nicolii

Hello Nicolii and welcome to the Forum Here is the Basic Information we give to new members and I hope you will find it useful. Ask as many questions as you want 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 well over 250,000 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

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.

Over 145,000 people have taken part in the Low Carb Program - a free 10 week structured education course that is helping people lose weight and reduce medication dependency by explaining the science behind carbs, insulin and GI.

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 blood glucose 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.

Take part in Diabetes.co.uk digital education programs and improve your understanding. They're all free.

• Low Carb Program - it's made front-page news of the New Scientist and The Times. Developed with 20,000 people with type 2 diabetes; 96% of people who take part recommend it... find out why
• Hypo Program - improve your understanding of hypos. There's a version for people with diabetes, parents/guardians of children with type 1, children with type 1 diabetes, teachers and HCPs.

Nicolii said:

Wow this is really good advice from all of you. I'm happy you can see my diet has too many carbs. I try to include it cos I think I have to but I feel worst after eating bread or other flour products. Far out.

No I'm not on any medication. My blood tests and prick tests say I'm fine - like a reading of 7 at bedtime. but I still physically feel like I have diabetes. The fatigue and foggy head, excessive weight after carbs, extremely thirsty, foot pain muscle aches and always hungry and poor memory. The more I eat the more hunger pains I get.

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It will be too many carbs causing your fatigue and foggy head, thirst, aches, and hunger. Carbs turn to glucose in the system, and too much glucose makes you feel very ill. Use your meter to guide you. If you test immediately before you eat and again 2 hours after first bite you will see at a glance what that meal has done to your levels. If the rise from before to after is above 2mmol/l there are too many carbs in that meal. It is best to keep any rise under 1.5mmol/l if you can. Keeping a food diary is also a good plan, and include all the ingredients of the meal and portion sizes. Then record your levels alongside and look for patterns. This gives you the chance to reduce portion sizes of the carbs or eliminate some completely.

The carbs to watch carefully are bread, potatoes, rice, pasta, breakfast cereals and fruit.

I personally only eat 2 meals a day. I skip breakfast apart from a decaf coffee with double cream. I have lunch about 1-15pm and evening meal about 7-15pm. My pancreas gets a long rest between evening meal and lunch the next day. It also gets a good rest in the afternoons! But that is me. This may not suit you.

Nicolii said:

So is a dietician z good idea? I mean I need some sugar don't I? Like can I have two fruits a day with oats and milk or cut out the oats and have yogurt?

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We don't actually need any sugar at all. Our bodies can live very happily off fat, fat from within the body and fat from diet. We need a tiny bit of glucose for our brains and red blood cells, but our livers can (and do) produce this for us.

You need to use your meter to tell you if you can manage fruit, and which fruits. Most of them are full of sugar. The best ones are a few strawberries or raspberries and maybe a small apple. Strawberries with cream is a delicious dessert. Fruit should never be eaten as a snack, but as part of a meal. Don't forget that tomatoes and avocados are fruits - and they are low carb. I say the same again about oats and milk. They are both full of carbs, so you need to use your meter to test them out. Yogurts are good as long as they are unsweetened and plain. Full fat Greek ones are good. You could pop a couple of strawberries in a plain yogurt.

The feeling ill could also be an intolerance t some food /food group as well as too many carbs? I feel quite unlwell with any grains, sweet potato puts me right to sleep, oats as well. Flour products make me achy. Try paying attention to how you feel before your meal and how you feel after. MANY people are sensative to flour products and potatos, even rice. Starchy foods have always made me achy and exhausted. Food intolerances are very common. It's just figuring out which ones

Hi @Nicolii .. and welcome
I was diagnosed T2 in early Feb and, like you and many others, I was a bit shell-shocked with little information and no real idea of what was happening to me. You have had some diet advice from your Doc but I suspect that it's not going to be right for you. That said, you have certainly made a good move coming here .. since joining this forum, the folks here have given me so much info, advice and support that I am now much more confident about the journey ahead. So ask your questions and be assured that you will receive the answers that you need. It can all seem uphill to start with but, in my experience, it gets easier .. very quickly.

The key point to take on board now is that managing and controlling your diabetes through exercise, diet and testing your blood glucose seems to be the best way forward for many people. For me, committing to an LCHF (Low Carb High Fat) lifestyle and testing 3-5 times a day seems to be working and you'll find that there is a wealth of info, relevant advice and positive support about LCHF on the forum ..

I see that @ daisy1 has already been in touch and I suggest that you read up on the valuable information that she has sent you. You might also find the discussion on the Low Carb Diet forum helpful .. together with the following Diet Doctor websites, which will give you all the info that you need on what and what not to eat ...
Low Carb Intro and Information and Low Carbs in 60 Seconds

Unless you are given one by your Doc or Nurse (unlikely), it is a top priority that you get yourself a test meter and, for this, the following websites might help:
https://homehealth-uk.com/product-category/blood-glucose/
for the SD Codefree meter, which costs £12.98 or:
http://spirit-healthcare.co.uk/product/tee2-blood-glucose-meter/
who distribute the TEE 2 meter, which is free.
I have both which I alternate for comparative purposes and I have never found any significant difference between them.

The costs of testing comes down to the ongoing charges for test strips and lancets. Make sure that you tick the appropriate box on the on-line order form and you won't pay VAT on your meter or strips.
For the SD Codefree, the strips are £7.69 for a pack of 50 and there are discount codes available for bulk purchases:
5 packs x 50 use code: 264086 .. cost is £29.49
10 packs x 50 use code: 975833 .. cost is £58.98
For the TEE 2, the strips are £7.75 for a pack of 50 .. but there are no discount codes currently available

I'm testing 4 or 5 times a day, before meals and two hours afterwards .. this enables me to monitor trends over time and to check which (if any) foods give me "spikes" .. some folk also test their fasting blood sugar. Testing costs me around £10 to £12 a month but, more importantly, I now know what my BG levels are .. and I can manage them.

Hope this helps

Nicolii said:

I remember during my studies they said carbs were essential for allowing the body to have energy to break down food and transmit nutrients

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To put it bluntly that is absolute cobblers.. I'm afraid you were mislead rather badly.

You are describing classic symptoms of eating more carbs you can cope with - if you cut down the high carb foods you should, with any luck, see some surprising alterations and also get back some energy. One of the problems with carbs is they cause rapid fluctuations in blood sugar, which make you feel hungry. If you then eat more carbs it causes the same thing, over and over.

You found a diet that worked for you to some extent once before so listen to your body and try a similar approach again. I would suggest aiming to lose weight slowly, about 0.5 kilo /week. It sounds very small but it soon begins to mount up, your body has time to adjust to the slimmer you, and it is easier to move to a maintenance diet which allows you not to feel deprived but to have an occasional treat. Your body stores fat against a time of famine to keep functioning. What you will be doing is persuading it to use those fat stores to provide you with energy. With a LCHF diet some people report having much more energy, feeling less tired, able to think more clearly and the healthy fats part stops the hunger but it does not work for everyone, we all have to find our own way with support from friends, family and the members of the forum. If bread is a problem you do not have to eat it, and with a meter you may find that it is causing a larger rise than you want in your bg. The aim is not to lose weight too quickly, but to lose it steadily so that you change your habits in a sustainable way.