- Messages
- 173
- Type of diabetes
- Type 2
- Treatment type
- Diet only
I have been a member for about a year but haven't posted for a while. I thought I would share with the group.
In June 2017 I was diagnosed as Type 2 with a HbA1C of 52. I was lucky they caught it early so I did not have to go on Meds.
I have suffered a few injuries and the odd health scare (Lumps that had to be cut off and biopsied) over the years but being told I was diabetic was like being slapped in the face with a big heavy very wet Salmon. Yes I was overweight but I was not obese, yes I was over 40 (and had been for a few years) but even so my diet was relatively healthy. My wife follows Slimming World so my diet included Veg, fruit etc. and a lot of it was/is cooked from scratch so why me? I could not figure it out. After a day or so I decide the reason why was of secondary importance and the real key was what I was going to do about it.
I did a bit of research but there is an awful lot of “do this it works” while another website advises you to do the opposite. It was all very confusing. I basically stopped eating sugary foods ( I still miss doughnuts L) and tried to exercise a little more. At this point I was still eating pasta, rice etc.
Jump forward 5 months and my weight dropped about 6.5kgs (14.5 lbs) and my HBa1C reduced to 48. Result!!
My BMI at this stage was 26 so a little way to go to get under 25. I know that BMI is now being reviewed but it is an indicator and one that is relatively easy to calculate.
FYI even when I was overweight my waist size was 35. These days is 32/33 (depending on the shop J)
In November 2017, my GP put me on the Xpert course which opened my eyes more and I decided to try the Low Carb approach. Having read around the subject I decided to aim for 75g Carbs a day. I stopped eating carb heavy foods – Bread, Rice and pasta some root veg etc etc. My average Carb intake over the next 6 months was 78 grams a day. This allowed me a very varied and interesting diet that was not too restrictive. Key to this was remembering it was a target and not to get fixated on it. I would miss it occaisionally.
I was also advised to cut back on my fruit intake. Fruit is very good for you and I did/do love fruit. I was eating between 8- 10 pieces a day. 2 bananas’ apples, oranges, berries, Kiwi’s and so on. This intake could have been the deciding factor for me contracting Type 2, as the amount of sugar I was/had eaten every day for years was rather large. I cut out the exotic fruits (Oranges, bananas etc) and just ate European fruits and in smaller quantities – one apple every other day, strawberries – the low carb end of the fruit world.
I also got a monitor and started testing so I could see the impact of differing foods on my BG.
It was a bit tedious for the first few months, weighing the food so I could calculate the grams of carbs. These days I don’t weigh the food as I have developed a good idea of how much is too much.
Remembering to test every morning, before you eat, after you eat etc. was also a bind. These days I only test first thing and if I am eating something different .
Jump forward another 4 months to Feb 2018 and my HbA1C is now 44 and I have lost 12 Kgs (26lbs). BMI is 24.9, so below the magic 25. Hurray. I stuck to the Low carb approach. My aim was to get to 42 or below.
Breakfasts are Scrambled eggs, cheese, ham, Omelettes, berries and cream. On a weekend when I have time, A fry up – Bacon, eggs, Mushrooms, good quality sausages and very occasionally a slice of toast.
Lunches are various salads – easy to make with lots of differing ingredients, white meat one day, fish the next – and easy to take to work in a lunch box. NO Sandwiches . Evenings meals were very trying initially as my wife (who does most but not all of the cooking) could not get to grips with my low carb approach but now its straight forward. Like me, she has learned what is good and what is bad. I still do have a curry once a month, takeaway or sit down. I still eat some “bad” foods – High cocoa chocolate (Green and blacks) but in smaller quantities and not the whole bar J. I still eat Crips (Pringles) but in very limited quantities. Yes I can “pop” and stop.
I had my Bloods tested about 1 week ago (sept 2018). HbA1C is now 42, weight has stabilised around 79 KGS which is about right. I could probably stand to lose another 1 KG but I look and feel a healthy weight. It does flucutate - one week it may be 80, it might be 78.5 on other weeks.
What I learned:
1) If you are diagnosed – Read about the condition and talk to other people with the same condition face to face or virtually.
2) Remember what works for me might not work for you. We are all different.
3) Do not always thin the NHS is right. The advice the NHS gives is out of date – they suggest healthy diet and it is a good diet but not if you are diabetic as but it includes too many carbs.
4) Eating the right fat is ok – I use Full fat milk, real butter, Double cream and I fry foods (which upsets my wife)
5) What you eat makes a BIG difference. Look at what you eat and also how much.
6) Be strong. You don’t have to be monastic about your diet or approach to it. Just accept that sometimes a bit of (good quality) chocolate is OK, so is a bag of crisps or a takeaway, just not every day or week.
7) You don’t have to stop eating cakes or bread or pasta you just need to be really careful. Rice is the killer food for me. It raises my Blood Glucose and does so for hours and hours. I still e t rice though. I have had it about 3 times in the last 16 months.
8) Get a BG monitor and test your blood after meals. His will help guide you in what you eat as not everyone is the same. I can eat Weetabix others can’t It spike m blood by about 1.5 mmols but after 2 hours its back down.
9) Watching your diet can be tedious and boring at times but then that’s life. I used to teach martial arts and a lot of it is just endless repetition, correction and repeating but once it clicks it becomes “normal”. My diet is now normal. It’s not special although I still joke that I have to eat strawberries an double cream as that is an essential part of my diet.
10) Avoid Low fat or “diabetic” food. Eat real food.
11) Eating in restaurants or takeaways can still be done, just choose wisely or say what the hell and accept you BG will be high the following day.
12) Eat ehn you are hungary, not just because it's lunchtime. It’s OK to skip the occasional meal. I sometimes don’t have breakfast and I do mean sometimes.
In June 2017 I was diagnosed as Type 2 with a HbA1C of 52. I was lucky they caught it early so I did not have to go on Meds.
I have suffered a few injuries and the odd health scare (Lumps that had to be cut off and biopsied) over the years but being told I was diabetic was like being slapped in the face with a big heavy very wet Salmon. Yes I was overweight but I was not obese, yes I was over 40 (and had been for a few years) but even so my diet was relatively healthy. My wife follows Slimming World so my diet included Veg, fruit etc. and a lot of it was/is cooked from scratch so why me? I could not figure it out. After a day or so I decide the reason why was of secondary importance and the real key was what I was going to do about it.
I did a bit of research but there is an awful lot of “do this it works” while another website advises you to do the opposite. It was all very confusing. I basically stopped eating sugary foods ( I still miss doughnuts L) and tried to exercise a little more. At this point I was still eating pasta, rice etc.
Jump forward 5 months and my weight dropped about 6.5kgs (14.5 lbs) and my HBa1C reduced to 48. Result!!
My BMI at this stage was 26 so a little way to go to get under 25. I know that BMI is now being reviewed but it is an indicator and one that is relatively easy to calculate.
FYI even when I was overweight my waist size was 35. These days is 32/33 (depending on the shop J)
In November 2017, my GP put me on the Xpert course which opened my eyes more and I decided to try the Low Carb approach. Having read around the subject I decided to aim for 75g Carbs a day. I stopped eating carb heavy foods – Bread, Rice and pasta some root veg etc etc. My average Carb intake over the next 6 months was 78 grams a day. This allowed me a very varied and interesting diet that was not too restrictive. Key to this was remembering it was a target and not to get fixated on it. I would miss it occaisionally.
I was also advised to cut back on my fruit intake. Fruit is very good for you and I did/do love fruit. I was eating between 8- 10 pieces a day. 2 bananas’ apples, oranges, berries, Kiwi’s and so on. This intake could have been the deciding factor for me contracting Type 2, as the amount of sugar I was/had eaten every day for years was rather large. I cut out the exotic fruits (Oranges, bananas etc) and just ate European fruits and in smaller quantities – one apple every other day, strawberries – the low carb end of the fruit world.
I also got a monitor and started testing so I could see the impact of differing foods on my BG.
It was a bit tedious for the first few months, weighing the food so I could calculate the grams of carbs. These days I don’t weigh the food as I have developed a good idea of how much is too much.
Remembering to test every morning, before you eat, after you eat etc. was also a bind. These days I only test first thing and if I am eating something different .
Jump forward another 4 months to Feb 2018 and my HbA1C is now 44 and I have lost 12 Kgs (26lbs). BMI is 24.9, so below the magic 25. Hurray. I stuck to the Low carb approach. My aim was to get to 42 or below.
Breakfasts are Scrambled eggs, cheese, ham, Omelettes, berries and cream. On a weekend when I have time, A fry up – Bacon, eggs, Mushrooms, good quality sausages and very occasionally a slice of toast.
Lunches are various salads – easy to make with lots of differing ingredients, white meat one day, fish the next – and easy to take to work in a lunch box. NO Sandwiches . Evenings meals were very trying initially as my wife (who does most but not all of the cooking) could not get to grips with my low carb approach but now its straight forward. Like me, she has learned what is good and what is bad. I still do have a curry once a month, takeaway or sit down. I still eat some “bad” foods – High cocoa chocolate (Green and blacks) but in smaller quantities and not the whole bar J. I still eat Crips (Pringles) but in very limited quantities. Yes I can “pop” and stop.
I had my Bloods tested about 1 week ago (sept 2018). HbA1C is now 42, weight has stabilised around 79 KGS which is about right. I could probably stand to lose another 1 KG but I look and feel a healthy weight. It does flucutate - one week it may be 80, it might be 78.5 on other weeks.
What I learned:
1) If you are diagnosed – Read about the condition and talk to other people with the same condition face to face or virtually.
2) Remember what works for me might not work for you. We are all different.
3) Do not always thin the NHS is right. The advice the NHS gives is out of date – they suggest healthy diet and it is a good diet but not if you are diabetic as but it includes too many carbs.
4) Eating the right fat is ok – I use Full fat milk, real butter, Double cream and I fry foods (which upsets my wife)
5) What you eat makes a BIG difference. Look at what you eat and also how much.
6) Be strong. You don’t have to be monastic about your diet or approach to it. Just accept that sometimes a bit of (good quality) chocolate is OK, so is a bag of crisps or a takeaway, just not every day or week.
7) You don’t have to stop eating cakes or bread or pasta you just need to be really careful. Rice is the killer food for me. It raises my Blood Glucose and does so for hours and hours. I still e t rice though. I have had it about 3 times in the last 16 months.
8) Get a BG monitor and test your blood after meals. His will help guide you in what you eat as not everyone is the same. I can eat Weetabix others can’t It spike m blood by about 1.5 mmols but after 2 hours its back down.
9) Watching your diet can be tedious and boring at times but then that’s life. I used to teach martial arts and a lot of it is just endless repetition, correction and repeating but once it clicks it becomes “normal”. My diet is now normal. It’s not special although I still joke that I have to eat strawberries an double cream as that is an essential part of my diet.
10) Avoid Low fat or “diabetic” food. Eat real food.
11) Eating in restaurants or takeaways can still be done, just choose wisely or say what the hell and accept you BG will be high the following day.
12) Eat ehn you are hungary, not just because it's lunchtime. It’s OK to skip the occasional meal. I sometimes don’t have breakfast and I do mean sometimes.
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