Newbie

[lizzyloo]

Hi I'm new here,I am a Type 2,supposed to do it by Diet, I really must get to grips with this,don't know what I am supposed to eat, but not having much success.
I am at the water checking stage,don't know if I am supposed to check my blood,every time I ask,get a different answer.but I feel really tired all the time,and just can't be bothered with things.
This is a horrible time of year,very depressing.
Liz

 

[sami]

hi liz
welcome i was told to cut out cakes and sweets and anything with more than 10 grams of sugar per 100 grams in it and to follow a low fat low sugar diet that everyone is ment to be on i have only been doing it since i found out 3 weeks ago and already i dont feel as tired as i did i started to go on long walks around my local dam on days im not working and i have just got back from a 5 mile bike ride with the dog he is more warn out then me
i find the more i make myself do the more i want to do
have you been refured to a diabetic clinic they will be better at answering your questions than your gp
i no its not a nice time of year but it wont be long untill spring and the lighter nights
the good news is i have lost over 6lbs in 3 weeks and if i can do it anyone can i once put on over a stone on a very low fat diet (wine gums dont have fat in them )
hope you feel better soon

sami
just found out
HbA1c 7.7

 

[Talia]

Hi Liz
Sorry to hear about your diagnosis, most T2 try initially to control by diet alone but it can be hard. You need to talk to you Dr or Diabetic nurse to see about getting a blood glucose monitor and test strips. As you are diet controlled you will have to pay for prescriptions but depending on your health trust they should prescribe the strips for you. Self blood testing is important for those who are trying to control diabetes, as testing after eating tells us what certain foods do to our blood sugar level. For example some people find that eating bread causes high blood sugar levels 2 hours after eating it whils't others find the opposite. Pasta causes high blood sugars in me but rice is tolerable.
Testing by measuring sugar in your pee is a lot less sensitive than blood testing as most 'dipsticks' will only register any sugar in your urine if your blood glucose is around 10 mmol/l. As diabetics we are encouraged to keep our blood sugar between 4-6 mmol/l before eating and no more than 10mmol/l 2 hours after eating.
As to what to eat, your Dr may refer you to a dietician but the official line is eat a balanced diet of meat, fruit and veggies. Try to limit foods with high sugars such as sweets, chocolate, cakes and biscuits and high fats such as cheese. You will be told to eat some starchy foods with each meal such as pasta, rice, bread or potatoes but to use the wholemeal versions or brown rice as they are less easily digested and release their carbohydrates more slowly than the refined versions.
Many people find that they have to limit the amount of carbohydrates they eat to keep their blood sugars in the correct range (carbohydrates which are found in foods like bread and pasta are complex sugars which, over time during digestion, are broken down by the body to produce glucose the most simple sugar there is and which is used by the body to produce energy).
The most important message here is you need to know which foods cause you blood sugars to rise and then avoid them or only eat small amounts. To way to do this is to eat, record what you eat and then test your blood glucose using a simple finger prick test 2 hours after you have eaten. If your blood sugars were high then try with other foods.
Hope this helps
Talia

 

[Dennis]

Hi Liz,

Although the sugar content is important, the thing that has the greatest effect on your blood sugar levels is carbohydrate. Your body converts the carbohydrates that you eat into sugar which remains in your blood waiting for insulin to convert it to energy and store it in your body's cells.

If you are type 2 then your body is failing to convert all the sugar, leaving you with a high residual sugar level in your blood. So the first thing you need to do is work out how much carbohydrate you are eating. If you look in the "General links for diabetes" sticky in this section you will find loads of information on carbohydrates.

Next thing is to work out how you can reduce your carbohydrate (and sugar) intake to a much lower level that your body is able to cope with. Again there is loads of information on this site that will help you to decide what to eat that will help you and what won't.

Another thing that will help is taking more exercise. Exercise burns off energy so the body compensates by converting more of the sugar into energy, thereby lowering the blood sugar level. One of the problems of high sugar levels is that they make you feel lethargic, so less inclined to exercise, so less suger gets burned, so your sugar levels go even higher. It becomes a vicious circle unless you do something about it.

You mentioned checking your blood and I think you will find that everyone on this forum will say this is absolutely essential. If you don't know what your sugar levels are then how can you make adjustments to your diet to control them. Unfortunately Type 2s who are on diet alone don't qualify for a monitor and test strips on prescription, so you will need to buy one. They are not very expensive and every chemist stocks them.

I hope this helps, but please fire away if you have any questions. There's loads of people on here who can help you, whether its with practical advice or just a word to cheer you up on a miserable winters day.