New diabetic struggling with meals

Poolkid83 said:

She didn’t warn me off as much, she just said there were better fruits than them. She was all about eating things low in sugar and low in salt. She never mentioned carbs which seems strange

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Its that confusion that is a major barrier in getting people to understand how to manage this condition-if everyone at first diagnosed were informed that's its carbs and not just sugar - then people would not get so confused about what food choices to make - mis-informed health care professionals advising people who are already in shock from diagnosis incorrect information - that leads them to make poor food choices for their specific condition. One of the biggest hurdles is unlearning the junk knowledge that is out there - my view is your BG meter never lies - try a baked potato with beans - you might be lucky and be able to tolerate it - OR - you will see first hand within two hours the impact on your blood glucose level of such poor dietary advice for a T2 - apologies for the rant !

EllieM said:

Just curious, but how do you work that out? The information page seems to suggest it's only 12g, so I'm obviously looking at it wrong... (And I agree if I was eating out and guessing I'd be assuming the 44g not the 12g).
https://groceries.asda.com/product/...zone-turkey-meatballs-spaghetti/1000003091928

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Are you just looking at the sugar content in the traffic lights? You need to scroll down and look at the total carbohydrate amount in the nutritional values table. It says 9.5g per 100g and 44g per pack. It isn't just sugar we need to look at, sugar is just one carb. There are other carbs in the meal.

Poolkid83 said:

I won't try it then lol. Cheers. I want to be as good as possible. I am so used to having takeaways, this is definitely a culture shock but probably a good kick up the backside to try and lose some weight

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Can I maybe take you a step back. You say you like takeaways. Can I ask what sort of food you usually get. There are low carb options in a takeaway menu too so you might find those easier to do while you are teaching yourself to make your own food as well (I don't want you to starve!).

Poolkid83 said:

Same with potatoes. I've read they are bad for you but if I have a Jacket potato with cheese and butter it comes up to around 30g of carbs, within the 45-60g limit. It's very confusing

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The 45 to 60g of carbs per meal is not really low carb. It is moderate carb, and for the majority of us far too many carbs at one sitting. Low carb is that much per day, not per meal. Even less for many people.

I simply say, get a meter and test. If you are so determined to eat a jacket potato, please have one and test it out.

The point with ready meals is not just the carb content, it is all the other ingredients. They are often cheap industrialised vegetable oils stuffed with too much inflammatory omega 6 and trans fats, added chemicals for preservatives, and other unmentionable rubbish. You would need to learn to read nutrition labels and understand what they mean if you want to continue eating them and at the same time make yourself healthier..

Hello @Poolkid83 different people accept differing amounts of carb per day. I aim for 60g per day but don't worry if I go slightly over. I find it useful to use the myfitnesspal website to keep my food diary. On this you can set your own targets and log in your food, exercise and measurements . I find it helps me to keep track of the carbs and calories I'm eating.

Poolkid83 said:

Same with potatoes. I've read they are bad for you but if I have a Jacket potato with cheese and butter it comes up to around 30g of carbs, within the 45-60g limit. It's very confusing

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Anything under around 120g - 130g of total carbs per day is low carb.

Some can eat that many carbs a day, some cannot. Once you have your meter up and running you will know what your personal safe carb amount is per day and per meal.

For example, I can eat 80-100g of carbs a day, but no more than 30g of carb in any one meal.

paging @daisy1 for her excellent advice.

Try this -

https://www.dietdoctor.com/low-carb/foods#foodlist

Poolkid83 said:

Would ikea meatballs be ok? I see on myfitness pal they have extremely little carb. Sorry for all the questions. Also the cream sauce but I don’t mind skipping that if it’s bad

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Ask as many questions as you like , your curiosity will lead you to better choices - there are loads of us who have been through where you are right now - it is very confusing to start with - a meter will help you massively - its also a great motivational tool - just remember - we all react differently - some can tolerate more carbs than others, benefit of a meter is you will be able to tailor a diet that suits you whilst enabling you to get control of your BG levels - its a lot to take in at first -

Hi I’m in exactly the same boat diagnosed in Sept I was given exactly the same advice which amounted to lose weight and cut out sugar. I’ve tried to cut out as much sugar as I can and carbs by cutting out all bread,spuds, pasta etc. I’ve lost over a stone so far but found I can’t stand coffee which I loved.

I had blueberries, natural yoghurt and flaxseed for breakfast but recently found its making me feel ill. So I feel that advice about the blood testing is really useful as I want to find out what is causing my nauseousness (if that’s a word). A bacon bagel now works for me. for breakfast with soup for lunch and something meat based with green beans or Heinz sugar free baked beans for tea.

I’m beginning to realise that it’s not easy finding my way through the food minefield but this forum is a great help.

Dodo21 said:

A bacon bagel now works for me. for breakfast with soup for lunch and something meat based with green beans or Heinz sugar free baked beans for tea.

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Yes, you do indeed need a meter, and you will most likely discover that the bagel, soup if not home made, and baked beans (sugar free or not) may have to come off your menu. They are all very heavy on the carbs.

For breakfast try bacon with eggs, a tomato and mushrooms, or a cheese omelette, or eggs cooked any which way. The blueberries and yogurt with flaxseed was a better choice than the bagel, although you would need to check the total carb content on the yogurt pot and only have a very few blueberries as they are quite sweet.

Hello @Dodo21 and welcome. I will tag @daisy1 who will kindly post some very useful information.

Hi, poolkid83,

Welcome to the starting gate of the wild Diabetic Roller Coaster ride. You will have your ups and downs, highs and lows, and extreme frustrations in what you can and cannot eat.

My first comment is, yes, for sure, you need a meter. After all, how do know what works and what does not? My endocrinologist said the same thing - no more testing needed - and then in the classes afterwards by the diabetes nutritionist we are told to watch and monitor our glucose levels. I was using one as soon as my family doctor said that it looked like I had pre-diabetes. Be pro-active, not re-active! It is your life, your body, your health.

X Porridge
X Pasta
X bananas
X Kiwi
X sweet corn and sweet peas

Well, maybe not as drastic as complete withdrawal, but moderation and CARB COUNTING is the key. Basic guideline is 30 Carbs for a meal, 15 Carbs for a snack. LOL, you won't starve to death if you find the right foods to keep the carbs down to those numbers. Carbohydrates, Fibre, and Serving size is what you look for on the Nutrition labels of food products. Learn to read the labels like your life and health depends on it ... well, it does. You don't feel organ degradation until it is too late, so be pro-active and prevent.

If you are overweight, try to slim back a little at a time. Just following the Carb counting guidelines will help in this area. Skinny people have diabetes too, so weight is not always the factor

As far as Metformin goes, search the forum for user experiences and suggestions. I don't and won't use it but others swear by it. Everybody's body is like a different combination lock. Size, age, weight, other medical inflictions, allergies, and other meds being taken. Too many combinations for anybody to give an exact solution for you - you will eventually find your own. But this forum is the best "go to" resource you will ever find to help you on your journey.

I haven't seen it mentioned, so I'll add it here: Once you stop eating "sweets", you'll find your sweet tooth will not nag at you as much. It's tough getting it out of the system; for me, I felt deprived. But after a while, I felt better and got to where veggies, especially raw ones, became my treat. I know it sounds crazy.

As a substitute for potatoes, you may want to try cauliflower. You can cook that with cheese and bacon and really have a feast.
I've also been turned onto cabbage steaks recently, where you roast cabbage sliced 1/2 thick with melted garlic butter. It's so yummy that I think I'll go fix one right now (my mouth is watering!).