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I'm Struggling

L

Lucysmum

Member
Messages
13
Location
Leeds
Type of diabetes
Treatment type
Diet only
Hi all. I was diagnosed 12 months ago with type 2 diabetes but I am trying to control it by diet. I am female, 66 years of age, comparatively fit, 5ft 8 in tall and weighed 10.8 stones before being diagnosed which is slightly underweight for my height but that is as I've always been. All I know is I was registered as 49 and my GP said if I got to 50 I would have to go onto medication which is not what I want and, after discussing with my GP, it would appear my father was diabetic but this was some 30 years ago. I remember seeing his leg horrifically gangerous which was amputated and, because of this memory and not wanting it to happen to me I became very strict with myself and I cut out all sugars..... no sweets, chocolate, biscuits, deserts and looking at all tins and packet foods I bought to ensure none exceeded a sugar content of 10g.

After 6 months I was down to 46 .... sorry I have no idea what these figures relate to. After 12 months I am now down to 44 but I now weigh 9.5 stones. I always looked slim but now I look too slim and scrawny. Where I was feeling quite fit I find I now feel quite lethargic, tired and do not feel hungry so now I am wondering if I have been too strict with myself and my sugar levels are too low. Is this possible? And how do I put weight back on? I will be gratefull for any advice. Thank you.
 
Welcome Lucys mum.
You're in the right placxe.
Sorry I caan't help with the putting weight on.
Welcome anyway you'll find a mine of information and willing and helpful people here.
 
Thank you so much for your reply. I thought I was doing really well with my figures.... even though I have no real idea what they mean.... but I've just had 2 weeks of feeling pretty ill which is unusual for me and friends are now saying I look thin not slim so I need to get back on track but just not sure how to.
 
Hi, and welcome,

I think you need to rethink your eating - and if you do it the right way, there's no reason why you shouldn't feel great, have more energy, and lower your blood glucose levels even further.

Cutting out sweets, deserts and processed foods is great, but how much rice, pasta, bread, potato, pastry and hidden sugar are you eating? All of those convert to sugar in the blood, and drive blood glucose up. No need to cut them out completely (although a lot of us do!), but just reducing portion sizes can make a massive difference.

But if you just reduce intake like that, you will end up even thinner, and hungry.

So you need to add nutritious foods back in, to increase calories - but they need to be foods that don't send your blood glucose up.

The good news is that there are a LOT of things you can eat:
All meat, fish, eggs, cheese and dairy.
All veg that grows above the ground (not starchy root veg)
All salad.
Healthy fats and oils like hemp, flax oil, coconut oil, butter, cream, mayo, etc.

Please don't be put off by that last sentence. There has been a lot of new evidence over the last few months/years, showing that eating low fat was based on faulty science that has now been debunked. But don't take my word for it, have a google. There's even been a massive cover article in Time magazine about it.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Thank you for your advice. I was'nt aware there was a difference between veg grown above and below the ground. As for rice and pasta .... I never eat these but do eat bread and potatoes though I do try to limit them as I am aware of low carbing and I tend to have pastry one day a week. I was coping really well but I've suddenly hit this low. As a single person I find cooking for one can be soul destroying (for me anyway as I can't really cook) and I thought about having meals delivered but the companies I've seen advertised all appear to be for those who want to lose weight whereas I am the opposite. To add to it I'm not a great meat eater and my GP said my cholestrol levels were rising so I began to reduce my dairy intake so I'm now at the point of saying forget about being careful and just eat as I did.... which was quite healthy.... but I don't want to give up on all the work I've done and I know what the consequencies will be if I do. I'm not usually as negative as this but I have just got myself into such a muddle over what to eat and not that I am really struggling now and my weight loss is adding to it.
 
Lucysmum said:
Thank you for your advice. I was'nt aware there was a difference between veg grown above and below the ground. As for rice and pasta .... I never eat these but do eat bread and potatoes though I do try to limit them as I am aware of low carbing and I tend to have pastry one day a week. I was coping really well but I've suddenly hit this low. As a single person I find cooking for one can be soul destroying (for me anyway as I can't really cook) and I thought about having meals delivered but the companies I've seen advertised all appear to be for those who want to lose weight whereas I am the opposite. To add to it I'm not a great meat eater and my GP said my cholestrol levels were rising so I began to reduce my dairy intake so I'm now at the point of saying forget about being careful and just eat as I did.... which was quite healthy.... but I don't want to give up on all the work I've done and I know what the consequencies will be if I do. I'm not usually as negative as this but I have just got myself into such a muddle over what to eat and not that I am really struggling now and my weight loss is adding to it.
Click to expand...

If you are worried about cholesterol, there are some great articles on the bloodsugar 101 website (see my signature), which reflect the new findings on that too! Most people who low carb seem to find their cholesterol rises for a while, then drops significantly.

It really sounds as though you haven't been eating enough, and that makes for physical misery as well as depression...

Really feel for you.

If you are thinking low carb, then have a look in the low carb section of the forum. I'm the laziest quickest cook ever, but there are some recipes and easy meals (see what did you eat today), that are really inspiring. You'll also see that everyone does it differently, to suit their lifestyle.

See you there!
 
Lucysmum said:
Thank you for your advice. I was'nt aware there was a difference between veg grown above and below the ground. As for rice and pasta .... I never eat these but do eat bread and potatoes though I do try to limit them as I am aware of low carbing and I tend to have pastry one day a week. I was coping really well but I've suddenly hit this low. As a single person I find cooking for one can be soul destroying (for me anyway as I can't really cook) and I thought about having meals delivered but the companies I've seen advertised all appear to be for those who want to lose weight whereas I am the opposite. To add to it I'm not a great meat eater and my GP said my cholestrol levels were rising so I began to reduce my dairy intake so I'm now at the point of saying forget about being careful and just eat as I did.... which was quite healthy.... but I don't want to give up on all the work I've done and I know what the consequencies will be if I do. I'm not usually as negative as this but I have just got myself into such a muddle over what to eat and not that I am really struggling now and my weight loss is adding to it.
Click to expand...
We all get a bit low.
Dead this place right now so doubtful you'll get many responses unless of course ... those in other parts of the world are on.
Stick with us and you'll get to know some great people on here.
Bye for now I'm off to my bed.
 
Brunneria said:
If you are worried about cholesterol, there are some great articles on the bloodsugar 101 website (see my signature), which reflect the new findings on that too! Most people who low carb seem to find their cholesterol rises for a while, then drops significantly.

It really sounds as though you haven't been eating enough, and that makes for physical misery as well as depression...

Really feel for you.

If you are thinking low carb, then have a look in the low carb section of the forum. I'm the laziest quickest cook ever, but there are some recipes and easy meals (see what did you eat today), that are really inspiring. You'll also see that everyone does it differently, to suit their lifestyle.

See you there!
Click to expand...

Thank you again. Knowing about cholesterol rising then dropping is really helpfull as I have been reducing my dairy intake which was taking another category of food out of my diet. Before I was diagnosed with diabetes I had a healthy appetite and could eat anything, and I did, and it never affected my weight.... lucky I know.... but I was also very active. Now it is the weight loss and muscle loss that is affecting me the most and I'm not sure how to reverse it or even if I can but I will certainly look at the website and forum you have suggested.
 
questions I would ask myself and Dr...weight loss is your body eating its self..
am I getting my calories,...lots of veg, topping up with fat, getting your protein
then is my BG high and I need to move onto more drugs, to stop eating my body muscle/fat

if your blood test shows you have good kidney eGFR, you can bump your protein to 75g a day for a while. to put back on the muscle

these sites helped me
http://www.phlaunt.com/diabetes/14045524.php
http://www.dietdoctor.com/lchf
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/
 
Please add in some healthy fats and get your calorie intake up using fats.

Include lots of eggs which are a good source of omega 3 too.

I am a low carber (all my life) and only realised from this forum that I wasn't having enough fat. I too am lean but am all muscle...(cos of my work) and I make sure each day I have 2 teaspons of flaxseed, a teaspoon of chia on berries with double cream etc. that is very easy for a 1 portion eating.

My body has toned up even better with more fat. My muscle pains in legs and thighs have completely gone and I feel the best I have done in 50+ years of eating lower carbs....
 
Thank you all so much for your advice. I will increase my fats and see how things go and I can certainly manage to prepare the flaxseed, chia, berries and double cream which sounds really nice. I looked on the "what have you eaten today" thread as advised and that has lifted me as it has given me ideas on how to have variety whilst still having control of bg levels.

Now may I ask, can someone inform me what the figures my GP has quoted mean as I cannot equate them to the figures most people use on here. The figures are: 49, dropping to 46, then down to 44. Many thanks again
 
jack412 said:
you are in the pre diabetic range now
http://www.diabetes.co.uk/what-is-hba1c.html
Click to expand...
Thank you jack412.... the link you provided is really usefull. Whilst on the one hand I felt pretty good that I had managed to reduce my bg levels, on the other is the toll it has taken on my weight and muscles but I'm sure with the very good advice I have been given that I can only improve. Many thanks to you all again.
 
Lucysmum said:
Thank you jack412.... the link you provided is really usefull. Whilst on the one hand I felt pretty good that I had managed to reduce my bg levels, on the other is the toll it has taken on my weight and muscles but I'm sure with the very good advice I have been given that I can only improve. Many thanks to you all again.
Click to expand...
stay with the amount of carbs you eat now, eat lots of non-starch veg....eat normal amount of protein, 50-60gram a day...eat more fat/oil to make up your calories to the right amount.

you need to eat more food, enter what you eat into free to join http://www.myfitnesspal.com/ for a week to make sure you are getting enough food
lots of people here can help you with it, a lot of us use it
 
Thank you again Jack 412..... I've used the myfitnesspal website today and will do as you suggest and use for a week.... and maybe longer.... and see how I go.

To Donnellysdogs....Thanks for informing me about flaxseed and chia. I tried to get some today without any luck but I will be out on a mission tomorrow to track some down.

To Jackthelad and Brunneria ..... many thanks for your advice and support..... much appreciate it.
 
Hi Lucysmum

I believe there is such good advice in this thread I would make one recommendation for better control of BG level and if you read Dr. Bernstein's books he also recommends getting lots of aerobic and weight training exercise.

He believes that pushing your heart to its theoretical maximum every day is an important component in his protocol and has stated that depending on his patients level of fitness he will push them to increase their heart rate as slow as 1 beat a month until they reach there goal.

My own experience seems to bear this out and I would take it further by saying that resistance training enough so that one is putting on muscle is hugely important.

He has stated that aerobically one needs to stress the body to be affective and I believe this is also true on the weight training. I recently read a report where they took a number of elderly patients with heart failure and put them on an intense exercise program - depending on their level of fitness.

After 6-weeks ( or months not sure ) they measured the oxygen uptake in the high intensity exercise group and it had increased by 28% on average. This was amazing in that it changed their quality of life.

I believe too by increasing ones ratio of muscle / fat greatly influences BG control more so than just exercise alone- which has a short time period of keeping BG levels low.

Purchasing a kettle ball can help along with following one of the many youtube videos that show how to strengthen ones core without lots of weights too.

When I started I was in such bad shape due to my diabetes waisting away my muscles, I could not do even a knee push up or more than 5-squats. By starting with wall push-ups and squats and doing small intense sets spread out over the day I've been able to gain 15-lbs of muscle in a years time and my BG control has never been better and I am in the pre-diabetes range ( following a LCHF diet )
 
You sound as though you have done really well and I will certainly start with the wall push ups. The squats may be a bit harder due to having a slight problem with one of my legs but I will try anything to increase my muscles. I was feeling quite down when I posted this thread but receiving such positive advice has really boosted me. I've always taken a pride in my appearance but to suddenly have my clothes hanging off me, which is great if you want to lose weight, but in my case that is something I really do not want and cannot afford to do, to have sagging skin, particularly on my arms and then family and friends telling me I look ill was the prompt I needed to do something about it but not knowing quite how. So, I turned to this site, as I have read other posts and knew you are a lovely bunch of people ready to help anyone and you have so much more knowledge about this disease then many, many professionals.... so, once again, many, many thanks.
 
Lucysmum you are so right. The people here are awesome if it wasn't for people like @Scandichic I would never tried the high fat part of the diet.

I think the real key here is two parts and the first managing this disease is a marathon not a sprint and like a marathon there are ups and downs.

Second, it is a chronic conditions that often progresses no mater what you do. But the good news is that it can be managed at almost all stages.

Check out all the YouTube videos and you will get sore - but mostly it will be good try a plank for 30 seconds it is tough but strengthens you.

Do short groups multiple times a day.

Oh and skip the burpees or jumping ones. LOL
 
@Lucysmum
I buy my virgin coconut oil and peanut butter (100%) from bulkpowders (online).
Wouldn't advise the htc brand of coconut oil on the top shelf at Tesco's unless its used on your face or hair. It is an excellent product for that tho.
I also buy the linwoods ground flaxseed online and the chia seeds. These are bought from the cheapest amazon sellers I can find.
I know Holland and Barrats sell some ranges of products.
High street shops that sell the flax n chia seed are few.
Make sure you get ground flaxseeds.
 
Hi Lucy's mum
I am a skinny too struggling to put on weight I find that eating nuts as a snack almonds , brazil ,walnuts are all good also avocado ,,don't worry about your cholesterol too. much mine went. down with a lower Carb and higher fat diet .You have lot's. of good advice on here ,just keep on asking questions
CAROL
 
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