Type 1 Need a bit of guidance

Hi @LiamC93 Welcome to the forum

My personal snacking favourites are cheese, olives and pork crackling, simply because I don't need to bolus for these.

A good app to download on your phone is 'Carbs and Cals' as it shows portion sizes and carb content, it will help you build your knowledge of the carb content of foods. All type 1's get highs and lows, it's just being mentally prepared to deal with them and learn how to take correction doses to bring you back into your range. Also a good course to get onto through the NHS is DAFNE - Dose Adjustment for Normal Eating, this course is comprehensive and will help improve your knowledge greatly just ask your diabetes team to get you signed up for one, and of course we are here too to help

Hi and welcome @LiamC93

LiamC93 said:

But would like to know from you guys what works for you?

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If I were to describe my diet it would be a Mediterranean Diet, choosing healthy sources of carbs, fat & protein. But what works for one may not work for another so the best course of action is to find a diet that works for You, meaning one that keeps your bg management in check and one that you can enjoy and stick to in the long-term.

The book Think Like a Pancreas is a great book to teach you the basics of type 1 diabetes management, if you do purchase it pay particular attention to what it says about bolus timing to prevent postprandial spikes.

But as @Juicyj says, if you get the opportunity do enroll on a carb counting course such as DAFNE take it. Good luck.

LiamC93 said:

Yeah I just want to see what type of food everyone recommends then I can see whats best for me. Just will take time to find the perfect diet for me.

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I simply don't recommend any diet @LiamC93 , most of us keep our carb intake under control, some eat low-carb and some eat carbs in moderation, but it's early days yet for you being newly diagnosed and I'm sure in time you'll find foods that you enjoy and don't have a huge impact on your bg control.

LiamC93 said:

I have recently been diagnosed with type 1 diabetes, and need guidance on what specific foods are highly recommended to have as snacks/meals. Luckily I have done a bit of research of the science behind it all prior to my diagnosis and have adapted pretty well mentally for the sudden change.

I'm learning about my dosage of insulin and how much I need from what I eat, but at times my levels go too high! Thankfully, I'm not a fan of cake, chocolate and most sugary sweets. But would like to know from you guys what works for you?

Thank you,
Liam.

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Hi Liam, I'm T2 so slightly different in some respects, but still need to contol my carb (= sugar) intake. I do it by reducing carbs as far as I can and apart from reading the carbohyrates on the backs of food packaging I use the Composition of Foods Integrated Dataset (aka Cofid). You can download it in Excel format, but if you can then import to a database you can then very quickly look up any of almost 3000 foods to check carb content.

Like you I never had a sweet tooth....currys,beer..yes.....chocolate...no....it sux.....but....Nuts as snacks OMG."sweet dreams are made of these" .to the point my local Tesco ran out of Brazil and walnuts....I had never eaten a nut in my life other than peanuts before my diabetic diagnosis. The consultant that diagnosed me said it was "life changing" how right he was I bloody love nuts now !

Hi @LiamC93

I eat both non-carb snacks like nuts and cheese, and also carb snacks like biscuits, oatcakes, fruit, etc. I bolus for the carb snacks unless I'm about to exercise, and I tend to keep them 25g carbs or under. My control is very good and I don't need to lose weight, so carb snacks work for me.

Don't be too focussed on foods that you 'can't eat'. Obviously, a healthy diet is sensible for everyone, but moderation and thinking ahead means you should be able to eat most things. I've found the biggest key to control is using insulin wisely. Your carb counting course will help a lot, as will your own experience as you learn how your body reacts, and about things like timing your boluses to the best effect