• Guest - w'd love to know what you think about the forum! Take the 2025 Survey »

Managing diet too strictly

RachieSparkle

Member
Messages
5
Type of diabetes
Family member
Treatment type
Insulin
Hi, I wonder if anyone could help me out please?

My husband was diagnosed with T1 about 2 weeks ago. We usually eat a low GI diet with no refined sugar. Our main source of carbohydrate is sweet potato, quinoa, vegetables, some fruit etc. We also exercise regurlary.

So far - since the diagnosis - he has managed to keep his blood glucose between 5 and 8.9.

He spoke to the diabetes nurse today and she kept emphasising that he shouldn’t manage his diet ‘so strictly’ as it isn’t good in the long run. We haven’t changed our diet because of the diagnosis; we’ve eaten like this for years.

Can anyone help me out and explain why this is. I’m really confused as I genuinely didn’t know that there was a benefit to eating refined carbs / sugar.

I want to do what’s best for our family so we’re being very open minded.

Thanks in advance.
 
Hi @RachieSparkle Welcome to the forum

Please ignore your nurse, her advice is wrong, you haven't changed your diet so are not doing anything 'special' since diagnosis, they often give out this advice with the aim to instruct newbies to continue with 'normal' eating, she may of mis-interpreted what you said and thought you were doing this as a result of diagnosis.
 
Don't mess with a winning combination!

Both he, and you are to be congratulated for hitting the ground running.
 
When health professionals who are otherwise fairly sensible start talking about diet stupid things come out of their mouths.

If it's working for him, that's great.

Perhaps what she *should* have said is don't be afraid to try things. It might give you a 'bad' number afterwards, but don't stress, you know for the future.

Don't panic. Be kind to yourselves. Your husband is a very lucky man to have such wonderful support from you.
 
I wonder with him being diagnosed as type 1 (and presumably starting on insulin) she may have been clumsily alluding to the effect of (new) insulin on him and possibly hypo's based on his current diet etc? They always seem to start everyone off with the same carb to insulin ratio regardless of what diet they follow and then observe. Sounds like she wants your husband to up his carbs simply to suit the amount of insulin everybody else gets when first diagnosed. I had similar and 4 units was dropping me like a stone for weeks. Then they kept reducing the insulin until I was on 2 units.
 

Thanks for the reply.

Good to know that our normal way of eating shouldn’t be detrimental.
 
kokhongw said:
I think he is doing an amazing job with his glucose control.

Thanks, he’s really keen on aiming to stay within the target range and avoiding the ups and down. We’re so new to it all so taking it day by day and trying to be really positive.
Click to expand...
 

Thanks so much. We’ve taking the diagnosis on as a family. So what he can eat, I eat too.
 

Thanks for the reply.

I see, I didn’t realise they started people off on the same. He is taking 10 units of levemere before bed and 4 units of novorapid before breakfast and lunch, and 6 units before evening meal. When he’s felt ‘low’ he’s checked his blood glucose and if it’s in the low 5s he’ll have an apple and almond butter or mixed nuts or something like that, and that picks him up. I think maybe his body just isn’t used to being so low, as it was running on high for so long.

Hopefully, the nurse might lower his insulin soon then. He reduced it last night before evening meal as we had a smaller tea and didn’t want to go too low over the night.

Thanks, for the advice. We’re so new to all of this and really want to start off doing the best we can.
 
To be fair to them I guess they don't know how people will react to the insulin to begin with so they have to start somewhere, but I would say really keep an eye on it and don't let them convince you that he must adjust his diet to the insulin instead of the other way round. Good luck.
 
RachieSparkle said:
He spoke to the diabetes nurse today and she kept emphasising that he shouldn’t manage his diet ‘so strictly’ as it isn’t good in the long run.
Click to expand...
People keep telling me this, I keep doing what works (or what works least badly.)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Menu
Log in
Register
Cookies are required to use this site. You must accept them to continue using the site. Learn More.…