New diagnosee, type 2, 39 years old

[Andybyrne79]

Carbs reduction would be the first big step...there will be some tiredness from the carbs withdrawal as glucose level normalize, because our brain had become glucose impaired. But it will quickly stabilize if we fuel it right.

One of the best kept secret for maintaining stable glucose is a balance meal of fats and protein...otherwise known as roast pork belly...it helps to keep insulin and glucose level really stable.

Completely no offence intended but to me that looks awful! I can't stand fat on meat, if bacon is not well done I have to cut the rind off. I avoid pork belly because of how much fat there is. Is this really a good food to be eating?

 

[Prem51]

If you like sugar in tea / coffee then I suggest you buy xylitol which you can get in Holland & Barrett plus supermarkets.

Wow, I'll have to try that. Thanks

Other sweeteners are available! I tried most of them after I was diagnosed T2. Some have aftertaste, some have laxative effects.
I like Splenda which tastes to me the most like sugar. It does cost more but you only use half the amount than sugar. It is available in most supermarkets too.

 

[shelley262]

It's definitely the pasta (have bolognese or lasagne once a week) and the energy drinks I'm going to struggle with, but in just over an hour you've all given me loads of advice and encouragement. Thank you.

Welcome just a quick few tips to get you going
If pasta a biggie you can buy bean pasta alternatives from supermarket called explore cuisine it tastes similar to ordinary pasta once it’s got sauce on but it’s low in carb compared to the real stuff it’s 13g per 100g but I found 30g enough for me. Having eaten low carb though for a year or thereabouts now though I don’t often fancy it preferring to serve sauces etc on beds of low carb veggies such as cauliflower mash, courgettes, or cabbage etc. Or serve with low carb garlic bread.
Re the alternative sweetner I find erythritol is a better bet both for your gut and to protect any pets!
Hope this helps and meanwhile ditch as many of the obvious carbs as you can you can get ideas of what carb numbers are in different products on

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

Have a good look round forum and ask any questions

 

[rosco 2]

It seems every time I open my daily newspaper - a broadsheet - there is yet another article debunking yet another fondly held belief about health. About the only thing not yet researched is effect of water on humans so you pays yer money and takes yer choice. I see my GP tomorrow. I am planning on refusing to continue with my statin. A bit of me wonders just how much, if any, effect the metformin sr has on my bg. The antihypertensive, who knows if it’s working despite my BP checks.
All I do know is the travel insurance companies have loaded my quotes despite my pretty low risk.

 

[Prem51]

Not sure what you mean by this? Slimming food????

@EllieM ProPlus are caffeine tablets which some people use to stay awake.

@Andybyrne79 if you need caffeine, coffee with double cream and sweetener would be better.

 

[rosco 2]

The sugar issue and taste seems to be genetic. My partner loves low cal and no cal drinks. All I taste is the vile aftertaste and there is nothing I can do to change that. Hence the xylitol which is the one product I have absolutely no problem with the taste. Splenda tastes awful to me, Erythritol I have not tried as I found the xylitol. Off to Mexico next week, the land of diabetes and high carb processed food. Still, at least it’s also the home of lovely people, avocados and wonderful places to see.

 

[Prem51]

Completely no offence intended but to me that looks awful! I can't stand fat on meat, if bacon is not well done I have to cut the rind off. I avoid pork belly because of how much fat there is. Is this really a good food to be eating?

Any meat or fish, especially oily fish like salmon, and mackerel, is good. Eggs are good too. A lot of the T2s on here find that adopting a Low Carbohydrate High Fat (lchf) approach to eating has lowered our blood glucose levels and usually weight too.
Starchy carbs like potatoes, pasta, bread, rice, and beer are best avoided. To replace the energy provided by carbs you need to eat foods with more healthy fat like oily fish, avocados, extra virgin olive oil, dairy products, and nuts.

 

[Bluetit1802]

@Andybyrne79

Have a look at the Diet Doctor website for some ideas on what to eat, or not eat. https://www.dietdoctor.com/low-carb/60-seconds

I'm with you entirely on that belly pork advocated by @kokhongw and any other fatty meat. I always buy lean cuts, and remove any visible fat. You can get your fat intake from other sources, such as oily fish (salmon, mackerel etc), full fat dairy instead of the plastic chemical filled low fat alternatives, real mayonnaise, olive oil, nuts, eggs etc.

 

[Andybyrne79]

@Prem51 @Bluetit1802 at the risk of sounding like a diva, the only fish I can stand is battered cod!!! I do like my mayo though, so an excuse to buy the full fat stuff rather than low call is all good. Does that go for milk as well? I've pretty much had semi skimmed all my life, and my wife doesn't like full fat, so would have to end up getting two different milks.

I'll research the sweeteners before going out and grabbing the first one mentioned. My mother always used the hermesetas little tablet sweeteners, which were a bit **** tasting, but bearable. I can handle that anyway .

The more I think about it, the more I realise how much bread, pasta and potatoes are actually in my diet

 

[Bluetit1802]

@Prem51 @Bluetit1802 at the risk of sounding like a diva, the only fish I can stand is battered cod!!! I do like my mayo though, so an excuse to buy the full fat stuff rather than low call is all good. Does that go for milk as well? I've pretty much had semi skimmed all my life, and my wife doesn't like full fat, so would have to end up getting two different milks.

I'll research the sweeteners before going out and grabbing the first one mentioned. My mother always used the hermesetas little tablet sweeteners, which were a bit **** tasting, but bearable. I can handle that anyway .

The more I think about it, the more I realise how much bread, pasta and potatoes are actually in my diet

You can have your battered cod - but do scrape the batter off first! I do this and find it slices off nicely with an ordinary knife.
As for mayo - Hellmanns Real Mayo has hardly any carbs in it and is the one I use. There are other makes available. You just need to do the shopping and make sure you read the nutrition labels on everything and compare different brands of the same food - look for "total carbs" and ignore the "of which sugar". I suggest you explore your kitchen cupboards, fridge and freezer and look at these labels. You may have a big shock. As a general rule of thumb, the total carbs in any packaged food needs to be less than 10% (10g carbs per 100g) and preferably a lot less depending on how much of it you are going to eat.

 

[Andybyrne79]

@Bluetit1802 I will do - its the relatively new heinz mayo that does it for me

Thank you

 

[Guzzler]

Has anyone mentioned https://www.dietdoctor.com/ yet?

The site is well worth a wandering on. Lots of recipes are free though to have full access there is a fee.
I can recommend the Tex Mex Casserole, a favourite of all my non Diabetic relatives, too. Loads of low carb menus and meal planners.

 

[Alexandra100]

I completely understand that the condition is my own doing

Not according to well-respected author (and long-term T2 survivor now over 70) Jenny Ruhl. She says:
You Did Not Eat Your Way to Diabetes Read more here: https://www.bloodsugar101.com/the-real-causes-of-type-2-diabetes

 

[Resurgam]

Despite being on a cholesterol lowering - so called - diet for almost two years, I suspect that my numbers were not improving - the results are somehow absent from my records. The numbers I do have are from diagnosis onward, and they go down despite eating high fat - that is the normal fats which come with the meat fish and dairy rather than low fat cuts or products.
The nurse I saw after the three month test said that it was a delayed reaction. yeah, right.

 

[Alexandra100]

Pasta is gonna be a ball ache

If you are desperate for pasta, try Slim Pasta, invented by those fiendish Chinese and only 9 cals, zero carbs. Rather expensive but often on offer at Holland & Barratt. Needs no cooking, just rinsing very thoroughly and warming up. https://www.hollandandbarrett.com/shop/product/eat-water-slim-pasta-fettucini-60007573

 

[Alexandra100]

So I might put more weight on? Nooooooooooo *raises fists to sky

People often find they lose weight without trying when they adopt a low carb diet. More reading matter from Jenny Ruhl here: https://www.bloodsugar101.com/diet

 

[Alexandra100]

@Bluetit1802 I will do - its the relatively new heinz mayo that does it for me

Thank you

Just check the label for carbs. Bottled mayo varies a lot in carb content. And Hellman's"Lite" has more carbs than the Hellman's "Real". Indeed, avoid anything that calls itself Lite, Healthy Choice, LO-Fat etc - you get the idea.

 

[britishpub]

What would a diet such as this.. high in fat do to my cholesterol levels?

It will probably lower your Cholesterol levels ( I know that goes against everything we have been "brainwashed" to believe )

 

[Alexandra100]

an excuse to buy the full fat stuff rather than low call is all good. Does that go for milk as well? I've pretty much had semi skimmed all my life, and my wife doesn't like full fat, so would have to end up getting two different milks.

You can solve this and lower your carbs further by buying yourself double cream to replace all milk in your life. (Great in coffee and even OK in tea. As for on cereal, you won't be eating that!) And, while you're at it, Fage 5% Greek yoghurt is the lowest carb yoghurt and quite delicious.

 

[JoKalsbeek]

Hi there,

I have recently (yesterday in fact, over the phone) been diagnosed with type 2 and have an appointment with the diabetes nurse at my GP surgery in a couple of weeks. I need a little help before then.

I completely understand that the condition is my own doing, I'm overweight, have been having 3 sugars in hot drinks for years and drinking a can of monster every day at work for the last 4 years or so. So yes, I know I have created a rod for my own back

My question is, in the short term, is there anything I can do to combat my tiredness whilst at work? Obviously I've got to cut out the energy drinks altogether, and hopefully after a few weeks of eating healthier the tiredness will start to abate, but in the meantime, has anyone got any tips?

I don't want to go down the pro plus route but if there is no danger in that then I may have to for a couple of weeks.

Thanks in advance,

Andy

I hope by now you've gathered you didn't give yourself T2. But just in case; you didn't. It's part circumstances, part genes. And the latter you couldn't help, so this would've happened sooner or later.

As someone probably already mentioned, all carbs turn to glucose/sugar once ingested... But there's so much good stuff out there that's low in carbs! And if pasta is a big deal, get the konjak kind (may have spelled that wrong), or use a spiraliser to make courgetti. Cauliflower-rice is versatile as heck. I did catch you don't like fat, and I can't help but wonder if that goes for *all* fats...? Proper butter, full fat greek yoghurt, avocado, olives, cheese? Because you're going to want to feel full, and if the carbs aren't filling you up, something has to. So that'll be fats, or protein. And don't worry about statins...! I started low carbing and I could stop taking mine within a month. (Due to the side effects aggrivating my rheumatism, I didn't intend on taking them any longer, doc's permission or no... But she agreed. ) While having bacon twice a day! Go figure. And even so, recent studies say cholesterol isn't the Big Bad it's made out to be. So there's that.

Check Dietdoctor.com for ideas, and info... And if you do choose to go the diet route, and head towards remission, you'll get rid of the fatigue too. Part & parcel.

Good luck!
Jo