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ojfbx

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Hi folks,

I was just diagnosed T2 on Tuesday. I’ve always been a pretty big guy so to some degree, wasn’t too much of a surprise. My initial feeling was more of guilt than anything else. Guilt for not listening to those close to me and for not reading the warning signs. Guilt also for drawing resources from our NHS during a Pandemic because I couldn’t control my own intake of pizza and crisps.

I’m gonna turn this around.

As it so happens, about three weeks ago I decided to train for a Triathlon. It was something I did about 10 years ago and enjoyed, so I’m getting back into it. Training-wise, the biggest hurdle at the moment is running, although I hope that’ll get easier the lighter I become. I’ve started counting carbs, so I’m making sure I don’t exceed 60g per meal. The thing I’m finding the most difficult though, is curbing the hunger, especially on days when I’ve done a longer bike ride. Obviously, crisps/biscuits with a cup of tea are a no, which physically isn’t a problem, it’s just getting the thought out of my mind! As someone who has never successfully dieted, does this get any easier? If I tried to get rid of carbs altogether, would I crave them more or less?

Anyway, this has been more of a moan than initially intended but thanks for reading.

My first target is to get my blood down from 109 to below 70 in the next 3 months.
 

Well done fella, and welcome to the forums.

Take a good look around the different forums 'cos we have spaces for people interested in sport and low carb diets.

A lot of helpful people here too who will be willing to give you a helping hand.

Thanks for popping in, and good luck.
 
Signing on here is a good thing and offloading is all part of it.
Have a look around and take what works for you.
Test and see how it goes.
Good luck fella.
 
There’ll be folk along shortly to advise you what to eat so you really don’t have to be hungry.

However if you can get your head around a little light baking, there’s no reason you can’t have keto cookies, cakes, scones etc with your cup of tea .

I am currently mildly obsessed with keto scones - in fact I shall go out for a pre-breakfast bike ride tomorrow and make them in 5 mins when I get back, and shower while they are baking. Then coffee with cream and a couple scones hot from the oven and plastered with salted butter melting in...

And yes, if you decide to follow something like LCHF or keto, you can have that and still lose weight and get your bloods under control.
 

Can you post the recipe please
 
ojfbx said:
If I tried to get rid of carbs altogether, would I crave them more or less?

My first target is to get my blood down from 109 to below 70 in the next 3 months.
Click to expand...

Just to add, I quit carbs when I was diagnosed in December and found the carb cravings become much less with time - bread was the thing I missed most and I tried umpteen keto versions but they didn’t float my boat. Now I am reluctantly reconciled. But since diagnosis I have reduced my bloods from 87 to around 35, which is normal, and currently I have lost over 20kg. And I am not “dieting”, just eliminating most carbs and doing a bit of intermittent fasting, which honestly becomes entirely natural once you change the way you eat.

Have a look around the forum, my experience is repeated by so many people, all quietly refusing to accept that type 2 is inevitably a progressive condition and making huge improvements just by changing their diets. It’s amazing, really, so simple and absolutely something you can try too.
 
Sarahswim said:
Can you post the recipe please
Click to expand...
This is it, with my small modifications

Keto scones
1 cup almond flour - plus some extra to get the right texture if it looks bit wet at the end when making the dough
1/2 cup coconut flour
1/8 cup of 2x sweet stevia/erythritol (my sweetener is twice as sweet as sugar, but it varies by brand).
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp xanthan gum
70g butter, diced
2 eggs
120g yoghurt

Rub butter into dry ingredients, mix eggs and yoghurt, then add to dry ingredients and make
dough. Divide into individual scones, remember that things made with almond flour don’t spread much so what you put in is what comes out.

Bake at 190 fan for 10 - 15 mins until golden brown

This is the original recipe
https://greenandketo.com/keto-biscuits
 
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Hi there @ojfbx and welcome to the forum.

Firstly, this is not your fault and it sounds like you’re already in a good mindset about taking control.

A couple of questions and a few thoughts from me. Incidentally looks like we had similar numbers at diagnosis - assuming 109 was your HbA1c; mine was 108 and has been in the non-diabetic range for almost 3 years now (details in signature).

Firstly, what, if any, medication are you taking for your diabetes? This will impact the information and advice people give to you. Secondly, could you give some examples of what you’re eating?

On to my thoughts - it’s perfectly possible to eat low carb to manage diabetes, lose weight and not be constantly hungry. If you give some indication of what you’re eating, it’s likely people can suggest some changes to help with the hunger.

In my view, the fewer carbs the better in terms of cravings - harder at the outset but easier to maintain. That’s for me - moderation doesn’t come easily to me so eating none of a potentially addictive food item works better than trying to moderate it. Others can manage small quantities of problematic foods without cravings.

With the exercise there are a lot of myths around about the need for carbs for energy during exercise. Look up the writings of Dr Tim Noakes or Phinney and Volek or Dr Ian Lake (a type 1 but the principles hold good). Personally I can do a lot of exercise in a completely fasted state. I do a lot of long distance walking, almost always fuelled purely by water, not eating until I’ve finished (my longest such non-stop walk to date was 30 miles, over 10.5 hours).

Hope that helps a bit and do keep us informed about your progress.
 

I'm not doing triathlons, but from what i understand, you can do just fine with little to no carbs if you up the protein and fats. The 60 grams per meal... Kindof made me squirm. That's still a lot of carbs per day. (I'm at about 10 to 20 grams per DAY myself.). The less carbs you have, the better it'll be. For you blood sugars, and for, well, the cravings. Carbs are addictive, alas, and I personally am partial to going cold turkey. (Some prefer going slower, but I'm a jump-in-with-both-feet kind if person). If there's little carbs going in, your body won't demand them as much anymore.

And quit it with the guilt. If you'd known you couldn't process carbs, you might've done things differently. But you didn't know you had a metabolic disorder. Now you do know, and you're doing something about it. So, yay you, okay?

https://josekalsbeek.blogspot.com/2019/11/the-nutritional-thingy.html <-- this might help a little, it's everything I wish someone'd told me when i was first diagnosed, in a nutshell.
Good luck!
Jo
 

Morning!

I should’ve mentioned - I’ve been prescribed Metformin. I’m just taking the one a day after trying the recommended dose on the first full day, I ended up becoming very familiar with the loo seat, so instead, I’ll be upping the dosage week on week.

Diet-wise, the only info I’ve had is to not exceed the 60g carbs. Yesterday’s meals looked like this,


Breakfast: (straight after bike ride)

Protein shake powder (low sugar)
Handful of porridge oats
Handful frozen berries
250ml water

All whizzed in a blender


Lunch:

Tikka chicken breast
Spinach
Tbsp smashed avocado
Tbsp hummus
2x mini naan (21g carb each)
Hot sauce

A few hours later, still hungry so....

Afternoon snack:
2x dark ryevita
Brie

Dinner:
Tacos (4 x taco shells 7g carbs each) with
Pulled pork (in a home-made marinade w/onions, toms, pepper and chicken stock)
Smashed avocado
Low fat soured cream
Sprinkle of Wensleydale


Late-evening:
Low-fat Greek yoghurt
 
I'm going to put a lot of no's out there. I'll follow them up with yesses though, so rest easy.
No putting stuff in a blender. If you liquefy carbs, they get taken up by your system a lot faster, making a sugar spike high and fast. That should be avoided. No oats, too carby. Dunno what the protein shake is, as some are lower in carbs/sugars than others, while touting the same "low sugar" advertisement, so... That you'll have to check on the package. They're out there, so you might well have got a good one! No Naan, and I don't know what's in the hot sauce and tikka blends, but you might want to check for sugar there too. (I don't use those myself). Ryevita is sort of okay, but you're already having so many other carbs... Tacoshells, not the best either. Far from it, actually. And never ever go for low fat. Low fat products are usually bulked up with carbs, not just for bulking, but for flavour too. Full fat greek yoghurt, full fat sour cream etc would be much better. Not only would they combat the hunger you were experiencing, they'd also give you something to burn, AND, more importantly, they'd slow down the uptake of the carbs you did have. A slower update means not spiking as high, and spikes are to be avoided. (As they do damage to veins, eyes, organs etc).

Better options: Have 4 or more eggs in the morning if you're going out running, with full fat cheese, bacon, high meat content sausages, maybe a tomato... That should keep you going for a while. Instead of taco shells, try using thin omelettes as a kind of wrap, or just go for the filling without the shells. Add in extra cheese, to bulk it up some. If you miss bread, try keto mug bread. (Even I can make it). 15 g of melted butter, 22 g of almond flour and ½ a teaspoonful of baking powder. Mix in a mug. Then add an egg and mix. Microwave at highest W for 90 seconds. Done. It can be toasted, and if you slice it thin and go a little overboard with the toasting, you've got crackers. And if you want to spice it up a little, you can toss all sorts of stuff in there. I've made it with italian herbs, garlic and grated goat's cheese, or with cinnamon and a little sweetener (stevia/erythritol), or with extra dark chocolate drops and some cacao.

Hope that helps a little.

Good luck,
Jo

Edited because I got medication wrong, sorry!
 
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Hi

Thanks for coming back. If you’re just taking metformin then there’s no issue with you reducing carbs as much as you choose.

From what you’ve posted for meals, there are a few easy things you could do to a) better control your blood glucose levels and b) reduce hunger.

I’d suggest:

Breakfast
- Ditching the protein shake powder in favour of some real protein - eggs would be a good choice
- Ditching the oats
- Not blending anything - it increases the absorption of sugars and doesn’t fill you up so much as solid food.

Berries and full fat yoghurt/cream work for breakfast, although personally I’d favour bacon and eggs or such, or just skip breakfast.

Lunch/dinner/snacks
- Suggest replacing the bread/ryvita etc with more satisfying foods higher in protein and fat
- Use full fat dairy products (fewer carbs, more satisfying)
- Eat enough at meals so that you don’t need to snack

Check out dietdoctor.com for recipes, meal plans etc (you can get everything you need for free)

Would be worth you investing in a copy of the Diabetes Code by Dr Jason Fung, or checking out his youtube videos.

And finally, do you have a blood glucose meter so you can check your progress? It’s very important to check your levels immediately before eating and again 2 hours later. As a type 2 on metformin only you’ll have to self fund, but it’s worth it.

Tagging @Rachox for some information
 
Thanks for the tag @Goonergal
Here’s some info on UK meters, and to be clear I have no commercial connections with any of the companies mentioned.

Spirit Healthcare have a meter with cheap strips, the Tee2 + found here:

http://spirit-healthcare.co.uk/product/tee2-plus-blood-glucose-meter/ with the strips found here:

http://spirit-healthcare.co.uk/product/tee2-testing-strips/

Some members have got a free Tee2+ by phoning up to order, with a large order of strips they often throw the meter in for free:

Phone number 0800 8815423

With more expensive strips is their Caresens Dual which I currently use, this one has the advantage of glucose and ketone testing in one machine, it’s to be found here:

https://shop.spirit-health.co.uk/collections/caresens-dual



Home Health have recently bought out this one, but I haven’t heard any reviews yet, links to strips and the meter: (See also latest* from HH below regarding discounts for the Navii):

https://homehealth-uk.com/all-products/glucose-navii-blood-glucose-test-strips-50-strip-pack/

https://homehealth-uk.com/all-products/gluconavii-blood-sugar-meter-glucose-monitor-starter-kit/

*The latest news from Home Health states:

"We have a special promotion for switching Codefree customers to the GlucoNavii, whereby if you buy a meter with 2 or more packs of strips from the below link and add the discount code "dcuk" at checkout, we will subtract the price of the meter.

https://homehealth-uk.com/all-produ...ose-meter-test-strips-choose-mmol-l-or-mg-dl/

There are also discount codes for when you come to buy more strips - "navii5" and "navii10" will give you 20% off purchases of 5 packs of strips and 25% off 10 packs of strips respectively (these are printed on a business card supplied with the meter like with the Codefree).

Please note that the 20% discount off 5 packs of strips has already been applied to the meter plus 5 strips price if you buy from the above link.”


And to be totally transparent I used to use the SD Code Free from Home Health which has the cheapest strips available if bought in quantities of 5 or 10 pots with the codes below. However I found it to be becoming less and less reliable. Here it is for anyone wanting to give it a go, just bear in mind it seems they are replacing it with the Navii, details above.

http://homehealth-uk.com/product-category/blood-glucose/blood-glucose-monitor/

and here for the extra strips

http://homehealth-uk.com/all-products/sd-codefree-test-strips-to-be-used-only-with-the-sd-monitor/

There are discount codes if you buy in bulk.

5 packs 264086

10 packs 975833



Don’t forget to check the box if you have pre diabetes or diabetes so you can buy VAT free. (for all meters and strips)
 
Another welcome to the site.

My experience is that the more I redid carbs the less hungry I was. I had plenty of protein and fat but less than 20 grams of carbs a day- usually much less.

I'm a carbolic so for me moderation is a lot harder. During the week I usually only eat once a day.On the weekend it is 2 or 3 times- usually with slightly more carbs- less than 20 grams still. I feel more hungry with more crabs. Before this I could never imagine only eating once a day and not being starving. When I read it oaths site frankly I thought they were either a bit mad or nothing like me as that was not possible for me. but I now do it.

I don't count calories at all I eat untilI am not hungry. I thinkI'mless riven to eat what I'mnot hungry because I don't eat my previous go to foods for comfort etc.

Good Luck- welcome!
 
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