New prediabetic - Advice on eating & snacking

[JoKalsbeek]

Thanks again Jo. Wish you were right beside me so that I can just fall into your arms for a big hug...at this point, I need it. Every time I eat something, i think of what my insides are doing to this food that i'm feeding my body...like I picture the liver, the pancreas, etc...like an animation in my head as to where these sugars are heading and being stored...i know crazy right? I like tea also, but it just makes me go to the bathroom alot, and the water consumption as well...ugh..the struggle is real.....

It'll pass as you become used to the idea and learn what can and can't be tolerated well... When I was just diagnosed, it seemed like regular, every day food was absolute poison and I didn't know what was "safe" to eat. Every meal was positively scary. When you start low carbing you'll lose some water weight, so peeing for England'll be part and parcel of that. You do want to keep hydrated, so while it is a nuisance, do keep drinking enough. Also, if you're eating less carbs, there won't be all that much storing, if at all.. What is already stored'll head for the exits. So if you want to visualise anything, visualise that: your body getting RID of the bad stuff and starting to heal. Because that's the path you're on now.

It does get better, really, it does.

 

[bulkbiker]

I mean if I ate eggs every day, my cholesterol would be through the roof without going on statins. and all those fats from meat and cheese would destroy my fatty liver.

Sorry but that's simply not true you have been misled.

Fatty liver is caused by over consumption of carbohydrate, mine went away with a keto diet, and eggs are fine for "cholesterol".

 

[KK123]

Hi @Madisons (with apologies to Helen because it's your thread!). If I were you I would just pick one issue to focus on as it's impossible to come up with a strategy that appears to suit every single condition bearing in mind contrasting issues. For me, that would be the pre/diabetes. You do not have to go full keto at all, that is not for everybody and many can be put off by the very low carb aspect. I'm different to you but I eat between 70 &100 carbs each day which is low carb. For my carbs, I eat vegetables (most kinds) but I roast them in the oven with a bit of olive oil or butter and they taste so much richer and nicer than a bit of boiled broccoli. I have them with salmon or fish, or steak or chicken or any other kind of meat. I eat meat around 2/3 times a week.

I eat cheese or Greek yogurt and sometimes (shock, horror) I even have a slice of toast on occasions. I know I am an insulin user so it's not the same but if you continue to agonise over every single food group you will become ill. My cholesterol is up there at 7.6, but my ratios are excellent, I too was sent off to a Lipidologist and it came back that my LDL was polygenic. They mentioned statins and I refused, my HDL was 2.45, my trigs 0.5 so as far as I'm concerned there s nothing to suggest I will drop down from a heart attack. The Consultant did say that it mattered not what you ate regarding cholesterol as the body makes most of it and the food you eat makes virtually no difference, in fact he said cutting out cholesterol containing foods just means your body makes more of it to top it up to the level it is happy with. In other words it likes to keep its balance. The myth around eggs etc, was debunked long ago, even he said that. Of course I am only talking about those with no other conditions related to 'high' cholesterol and is mine even high, I don't think so, it's normal for me, just not 'average' evidenced by the ratios.

I would say try and calm down, maybe go for a low carb diet of under 130 carbs a day which you can adjust downwards if you like. This gives you a little more freedom and if you check your glucose levels you may see great results.

You need to eat well though as I note you are underweight I think you said, just to mention I was diagnosed as 'pre diabetic' in my early 50s, I did not fit the so called profile of type 2 other than age...slip forward 3 years and I was in hospital with DKA and was actually found to be type 1. I say this not to alarm you further but to just bear it in mind if you see your numbers creeping up.

 

[Helen100%]

Hi @Madisons (with apologies to Helen because it's your thread!). If I were you I would just pick one issue to focus on as it's impossible to come up with a strategy that appears to suit every single condition bearing in mind contrasting issues. For me, that would be the pre/diabetes. You do not have to go full keto at all, that is not for everybody and many can be put off by the very low carb aspect. I'm different to you but I eat between 70 &100 carbs each day which is low carb. For my carbs, I eat vegetables (most kinds) but I roast them in the oven with a bit of olive oil or butter and they taste so much richer and nicer than a bit of boiled broccoli. I have them with salmon or fish, or steak or chicken or any other kind of meat. I eat meat around 2/3 times a week.

I eat cheese or Greek yogurt and sometimes (shock, horror) I even have a slice of toast on occasions. I know I am an insulin user so it's not the same but if you continue to agonise over every single food group you will become ill. My cholesterol is up there at 7.6, but my ratios are excellent, I too was sent off to a Lipidologist and it came back that my LDL was polygenic. They mentioned statins and I refused, my HDL was 2.45, my trigs 0.5 so as far as I'm concerned there s nothing to suggest I will drop down from a heart attack. The Consultant did say that it mattered not what you ate regarding cholesterol as the body makes most of it and the food you eat makes virtually no difference, in fact he said cutting out cholesterol containing foods just means your body makes more of it to top it up to the level it is happy with. In other words it likes to keep its balance. The myth around eggs etc, was debunked long ago, even he said that. Of course I am only talking about those with no other conditions related to 'high' cholesterol and is mine even high, I don't think so, it's normal for me, just not 'average' evidenced by the ratios.

I would say try and calm down, maybe go for a low carb diet of under 130 carbs a day which you can adjust downwards if you like. This gives you a little more freedom and if you check your glucose levels you may see great results.

You need to eat well though as I note you are underweight I think you said, just to mention I was diagnosed as 'pre diabetic' in my early 50s, I did not fit the so called profile of type 2 other than age...slip forward 3 years and I was in hospital with DKA and was actually found to be type 1. I say this not to alarm you further but to just bear it in mind if you see your numbers creeping up.

Ah - no apologies needed at all, it's good to read all this, after all I've got no idea what my next set of tests will show. I will be disheartened if I don't see changes, that's for sure.

I do know that I've massively reduced my carbs, which I wouldn't have done if I hadn't found this thread and had stuck to the advice on the standard letter I got from the GP which advised eating healthy carbs (as part of the advice). I would have taken that as free rein to eat plenty of brown rice etc.

I bought a Tee2+ following a suggestion from @Resurgam, and used it when I first got it after eating a meal with what I thought was a small portion of carbs (about 1/10 of my former portion size, which I would then have followed by a sweet treat). It was over 12 mmol! There are some days when the Tee2+ figures have been good, and some when they have been consistently higher than they should ideally be and basically I think those are the days when I just eat too much, or don't leave long enough between meals. So I do need to address portion size generally. Very glad for the advice to get the Tee2+ thanks @Resurgam!

One thing that I have found in the couple of weeks since I changed to eating high protein, high veg meals is that I feel I can understand my hunger better. I used to feel ravenously hungry and grumpy, craving a huge meal, but it was like I never felt hunger in my stomach. Now I sort of feel hunger in my stomach, but it's a welcome kind of hunger, like it's telling my how hungry I am and when to eat. I don't know if that makes any sense!

 

[Helen100%]

Ooh I like the look of the Nikola Howard website (https://lowcarbinthe.uk/) @MrsA2, thanks for that tip. I've only had a quick look but there's lots on there that sparks my interest and I like the tone of it, thanks!