Just diagnosed pre diabetic

Hi Susie and welcome!
First let me post a link to our useful info page:
https://www.diabetes.co.uk/forum/threads/basic-information-for-newly-diagnosed-diabetics.17088/
A blood glucose monitor will certainly help you assess how well any dietary measures are working for you. We can provide info on value for money monitor choices if you decide to buy one.

There is no need to increase your protein to compensate for the reduced carbs - it will just result in the protein being converted into carbs and you will get little benefit.
Avoiding anything low fat would be a good idea, and a slight increase in dietary fat - eating chicken thighs rather than fillets for instance, but as you are not far from normal a simle reduction in carbs ought to do the trick.
A cheap meter and strips does help and it is interesting to see the results.
I gto a Tee 2 recently and that seems fine. There are other meters, of course, but the kit, with the meter, some lancets and 160 strips was under £40 from spirit health

SusieBB said:

Otherwise how do I know if what I’m doing is working - or have I just answered my own question! Appreciate any feedback- thank you

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Yup, you did

I'm sorry about your sister, losing loved ones is hard.
As for Rachox link, it's very useful. Please read it, and read the information about diabetes on the main website and browse the forums. You may pick up useful things from other peoples'threads or they may help you form new questions or you may want to chip in.
Come back with all your questions on the forum and someone will try to help you out!

SusieBB said:

Come back with all your questions on the forum and someone will try to help you out!

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Thank you just one question - is there any recommendations on how many carbs to eat per day or is this based on each individual? Plus I’m not really sure I’ve got the hang of these replies as I seem to be seeing everybody’s messages in my reply box so I’m not sure if Rachox and Resurgam have received my messages - help![/QUOTE]
Don't worry - it can take a few tries to figure out which place to click on.
For this, I just clicked the reply box under your message, then wrote underneath the quote.
The number of carbs, and from which foods is quite individual, and can also be affected by how long you have been diabetic.
I suspect I was unable to deal with carbs for a very long time, which is why, despite avoiding high carb foods, eating only foods with under 11 percent carbs by weight, and just two meals a day I am bouncing off the top of the normal range. Some long walks might help, and I might resort to them in the winter - at the moment the heat here on the south coast is blistering.

SusieBB said:

Come back with all your questions on the forum and someone will try to help you out!

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Thank you just one question - is there any recommendations on how many carbs to eat per day or is this based on each individual? Plus I’m not really sure I’ve got the hang of these replies as I seem to be seeing everybody’s messages in my reply box so I’m not sure if Rachox and Resurgam have received my messages - help![/QUOTE]
Hey SuzieBB,

The amount of carbs depends entirely on you, on what your body han handle and what you're comfortable with. A lot of people use the "eat to your meter" method, where you basically check before a meal and 2 hours after the first bite. If you go up more than 2.0 mmol/l, the meal contained more carbs than you can handle. If it's under, you can safely repeat that meal next time. You can start experimenting anywhere, say, at 120, or 80... I personally stick with 20 and under because it's easier for me (I tend to loose count), and I wanted to go low to fix my fatty liver, which worked. So figure out what you're comfortable with, and go from there.
https://www.diabetes.co.uk/forum/blog-entry/the-nutritional-thingy.2330/ might help, as would this forum's website, diabetes.co.uk (not .org), dietdoctor.com and Dr. jason Fung's The Diabetes Code.

Grief does disguise and blot out things that are going awry... I'm sorry for your loss.
Jo

SusieBB said:

Thank you pretty warm here too

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And if you want to reply to only a part of a post, just select that part and a little reply button appears (and yes, it's way too hot in the Netherlands as well)

SusieBB said:

I’m not sure if Rachox and Resurgam have received my messages - help!

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You can always tag a member like this: @SusieBB by putting @ before their name and selecting the right member from the little pop-up thing that appears.