Type 2 Just been diagnosed type2 what are the first things I should do?

[Shem S]

No .... you ATE a lot of fruit.
Just so you know, fruit is full of sugar (fructose) which can't be digested in the stomach. The liver deals with it and treats it as toxic in the same way it treats alcohol. It ends up as stored fat round the liver - which leads to insulin resistance and high blood glucose levels, not to mention other nasties such as NAFLD (Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease). The very worst fruits are tropical ones, especially grapes and bananas.

Yeah this just gets worse and worse. Grapes, bananas and peas are my top 3 of my 5 a day. I pretty much eat them every day.

I’m gonna need therapy

 

[Bluetit1802]

Thank you. My next job is a clear out. If it’s not here it can’t kill me.

Did low carb/high fat adversely affect your cholesterol? I’ve got raised cholesterol too so been following the healthy eating advice for that; which is the exact opposite

Cholesterol is a whole new topic, and there are thousands of threads on here about it. @bulkbiker has a thread that you will find interesting, but you need a whole day to read it all and watch some of the videos.
https://www.diabetes.co.uk/forum/threads/cholesterol-and-statins.156985/

Low carb and high fat has given me a very high HDL level (good cholesterol) and very low triglyceride levels (these are the baddies) with excellent ratios. My total has gone up, but that on its own is meaningless. The healthy eating mantra issued by the NHS is not as healthy as you imagine. That is also a whole new topic.

Are you taking statins for your cholesterol? They won't have helped with your blood sugar levels.

 

[Hotpepper20000]

It’s got to be worth a try and basically sounds like everything I’ve been doing for years to try to stay healthy is having the opposite effect

*throws the wholemeal pitta in the bin*

Test test test. Eat to your meter and you will soon know what keeps your BG under control.
For me once I did that I started losing weight.

 

[Hotpepper20000]

Ps, do people use/recommend any apps? I’m a sucker for data. The best one I’ve found so far for tracking my BG is DAFNE but I think that’s supposed to be for people with T1

I use mySugr app

 

[Resurgam]

Since going back to low carb my cholesterol levels have dropped.
The results from my time eating low fat are mysteriously not in my records.
Grapes and bananas are high carb, and not good for the liver.
I do have small amounts of peas a couple of times a week now I have got to normal levels, but would more usually have cauliflower broccoli mushrooms sweet pepper aubergine courgette celeriac swede turnip, small portions of french or green beans - or other veges. There are lots of choices which are low carb, and delicious.

 

[Shem S]

Hey Shem,

Another one here with Hashimoto's and PCOS. I was told with the thyroid being what it is and my meds, I wouldn't be able to lose weight. I believed that nitwit and ended up a blimp of a T2 on her dietary advice, so... I can tell you, it CAN be done! (I'm +/-50 pounds lighter!). And get your bloodsugars uinder control in the same go. The pescatarian bit is a bit of a hurdle, but dietdoctor.com has loads of meal-ideas that would fit the bill. I do have to say though, low fat is NOT good for a T2. It's not dietary fat that makes us big, it's the glucose that gets stored in fatcells. Dietary fat is your friend, actually, as it slows down sugar peaks and helpt to make you feel satiated. It's not the baddy we've been told for over 50 years it is. (It explains the sudden T2 pandemic.) Quite a shift of gears eh. I know, it sounds completely counter-intuitive, but living proof right here. Are eggs okay? I know I can't push bacon on you, but cheese and musrooms with your scrambled eggs maybe? Full fat greek yoghurt? Double cream? Fatty fish is really good for you (I have a can of tuna almost daily, and some salmon when I can afford it ). Lots of veggies are fine for us, above-ground, leafy greens... Get yourself some books by Dr. Jason Fung and get a bit of a grasp of the dynamics of this disease, and how it works on our body. You don't have to take in everything overnight, you have time to make adjustments and *gasp* a couple of mistakes. And if you have questions, pose 'em here, we'll help. All in all though, this is do-able. And yay for your doc for giving you a meter! I have to buy my own, and strips too. You already know when to test, but keep in mind after a while, once you know what which foods do to your glucose levels, you can do it a lot less and give your fingers a break.

You'll be okay. Give yourself some time to process all the info you're getting. The low carb/high fat method works for a lot of people here. I took it a step further, opting for a ketogenic diet (it's a little more extreme), because it was, oddly enough, easier for me and helps me tackle my fatty liver to boot. But those two are your best bet. There's a muntitude of names for them (Mediterranian, Keto, Newcastle, Scandinavian, Atkins, whatever), but the basic thing is, reduce the carbs, up the fats, moderate proteine... And your T2 can actually go into remission.(Which wouldn't happen on pills alone.). You're not doomed or anything. It'll be okay.

What you describe is basically me too. Am so grateful for your advice. Thank you. I’m a tough cookie and renowned for loving a good problem to solve. The harder the better. But right now this is completely beyond me. I feel crushed that everything I’ve been doing to be healthy is what had put me in this position.

Ps dairy is fine. I just don’t eat meat

Pps the blood testing is already doing my head in

 

[KK123]

Thanks for coming back to me so quickly. 2 best bits:
1 - I didn’t know the 2 hour rule for post meal testing so will start doing that now
2 - as a non-meat eater, I basically try to eat a low fat diet and survive on many of the things listed.
Worst bit: no more peas
This is going to be tough

The worst bit is no more peas?, gosh you've led a sheltered life.

 

[Bluetit1802]

Ps, do people use/recommend any apps? I’m a sucker for data. The best one I’ve found so far for tracking my BG is DAFNE but I think that’s supposed to be for people with T1

I prefer to use an Excel sheet where I record everything - my testing levels, my cholesterol results and the full breakdown of the components, all other blood test results, weight, blood pressure and so on. They are all in one place, and easy to add to and look back at, and importantly to show trends.

 

[Resurgam]

The blood glucose meter should show you your progress and give early warning of problems, it really is your friend.
I can say this as mine shows an average of about 6 mmol/l and was useful in guiding me here.

 

[Bluetit1802]

The worst bit is no more peas?, gosh you've led a sheltered life.

They are by far my most favourite vegetable! Garden peas and butter or home made mushy ones. Delightful.

 

[Bluetit1802]

Ps dairy is fine.

That is wonderful. If you cut the carbs you can eat as much as you need to keep your energy levels up and to stop you being hungry. Butter, full fat Greek yogurts, cheese, cream, and eggs by the truck load. Dairy makes meals so much more enjoyable. What you can't do is eat carbs at the same time.

 

[Shem S]

It seems that fats actually make you more slender - I can't say thin - but on the low fat high carb diet I was on to 'lower cholesterol' I reached 264lb - before I stopped weighing myself.
Once diagnosed I went back to low carb and ate the fats which were naturally present in the low carb foods I chose. My cholesterol dropped, my weight dropped, my waist measurement is still reducing even though my weight isn't - but I have muscles appearing again.

Thank you. All this advice is just what I need to change course and set out in a new direction.

Sidebar - what’s the common thinking on milk? Between my weetabix & banana* and brews, I drink about a pint of semi skimmed a day

*the bananas are obviously now going to the food bank too

 

[Hotpepper20000]

I have PCOS as well. This way of eating has cleared up my skin, my hair has thickened, I sleep much better, and cleared up my brain fog.

 

[Shem S]

Since going back to low carb my cholesterol levels have dropped.
The results from my time eating low fat are mysteriously not in my records.
Grapes and bananas are high carb, and not good for the liver.
I do have small amounts of peas a couple of times a week now I have got to normal levels, but would more usually have cauliflower broccoli mushrooms sweet pepper aubergine courgette celeriac swede turnip, small portions of french or green beans - or other veges. There are lots of choices which are low carb, and delicious.

Thank you

 

[Bluetit1802]

Thank you. All this advice is just what I need to change course and set out in a new direction.

Sidebar - what’s the common thinking on milk? Between my weetabix & banana* and brews, I drink about a pint of semi skimmed a day

*the bananas are obviously now going to the food bank too

The weetabix will be a thing of the past I'm afraid, as will all breakfast cereals.
As for brews. If you drink coffee, then cream is a good addition. If you drink tea, then a dash of milk won't do you any harm, but not half a cup full!! Most people will tell you it is better to change to full fat milk for brews, but quite honestly there is so little difference between skimmed and full fat sugar/carb wise that if it is only a dash, it is insignificant. I use skimmed in my tea, and cream in coffee.

 

[Shem S]

Cholesterol is a whole new topic, and there are thousands of threads on here about it. @bulkbiker has a thread that you will find interesting, but you need a whole day to read it all and watch some of the videos.
https://www.diabetes.co.uk/forum/threads/cholesterol-and-statins.156985/

Low carb and high fat has given me a very high HDL level (good cholesterol) and very low triglyceride levels (these are the baddies) with excellent ratios. My total has gone up, but that on its own is meaningless. The healthy eating mantra issued by the NHS is not as healthy as you imagine. That is also a whole new topic.

Are you taking statins for your cholesterol? They won't have helped with your blood sugar levels.

Brilliant. Thanks. I’m off work atm (it was an operation two weeks ago that uncovered my BG issue & thus led to my T2 diagnosis), so will obsess over all of this til I have to go back to work on Friday.

No statins just the bog standard NHS advice so that’s a silver lining of sorts

 

[Bluetit1802]

Brilliant. Thanks. I’m off work atm (it was an operation two weeks ago that uncovered my BG issue & thus T2 diagnosis) so will obsess over all of this til I have to go back to work on Friday.

No statins just the bog standard NHS advice so that’s a silver lining of sorts

What I suggest you do is ask for a print out of your blood test results. You are entitled to these. You can ring the receptionist to ask. They will include your cholesterol and lipids. It would be good if you know where you are starting from so you can watch for trends. If you are in England, most surgeries now put test results on line. You could ask if yours does (it should have been doing this since 2016) and how to register for it.

 

[Shem S]

Since going back to low carb my cholesterol levels have dropped.
The results from my time eating low fat are mysteriously not in my records.
Grapes and bananas are high carb, and not good for the liver.
I do have small amounts of peas a couple of times a week now I have got to normal levels, but would more usually have cauliflower broccoli mushrooms sweet pepper aubergine courgette celeriac swede turnip, small portions of french or green beans - or other veges. There are lots of choices which are low carb, and delicious.

Lots of veg in that list that I love. Thank you

 

[bulkbiker]

Because I am very fat, have always been fat and have been trying to lose weight since I hit puberty. I am currently 5 and a half stone overweight

Cut carbs and up the fats.. I lost 8 stone doing that along with some fasting. Low fat just makes you hungry and so give up. Fat provides satiety so you are less hungry. Shame that you don't eat meat as that's the best source of fat and protein however butter and cheese are great as well as avocados.

 

[bulkbiker]

Thank you. All this advice is just what I need to change course and set out in a new direction.

Sidebar - what’s the common thinking on milk? Between my weetabix & banana* and brews, I drink about a pint of semi skimmed a day

*the bananas are obviously now going to the food bank too

Double cream.. I glug it from the pot.. and add it to drinks.