Newly diagnosed.

Hello and welcome!

You don't have to eat anything you don't like. You may have to cut down or sidestep some of the things you do like. You don't have to starve, you don't have to take extra exercise unless you like to do that, you won't become a social pariah.

Learning curve yes! This Board is a great place for learning. Enjoy your read through, and come back with questions. Don't ever be afraid to ask - no question is stupid or trivial. You want to know, we'll try to answer, and we speak from actual experience and cause/effect. If we don't know, we'll say so. Welcome.

Changing to a better diet for T2s is possibly easier than you think.
I do low-carb but you can adopt a carnivore diet if that suits you better.

I bought a meter and then tested before and 2hrs after every meal at first. This showed me how many carbs I can have and which foods are better for my new way of life.

I thought about the foods I loved and looked for low-carb substitutes.
I also celebrated the foods I now eat that we are told are bad for us
And in spite of eating extra, healthy, fats my cholesterol is better than it was before.

I swapped to a small amount of dark 85% chocolate instead of milk choc.
I now have cauliflower rice with tomato-based curries - I grate a cauliflower, cook it in the oven for about 12-13 mins on 180C then store it in the fridge or freezer ready to reheat as needed. Using the oven method means it hardly tastes of cauliflower.
I have full-fat Greek yogurt with a few berries most days and sometimes make low-carb cake.
Low-carb bread is easy. Use ground almonds (cheaper than almond flour) in a 90-second microwave bread recipe. I add a little cream cheese to mine as it cuts the eggy taste, then split and toast it after cooking.

I think you will be very surprised to find the foods you think are not healthy, are actually the exact foods you need to eat for your diabetes. Seeing your reply, try Celariac chips.

My recipe for low carb bread, funnily enough got one sitting waiting to bake.

Very low carb Bread
If you are Gluten intolerant, I’m sorry it’s not for you.
Ingredients
150 grams Vital Wheat Gluten
80 grams Golden flax seed meal* (you can use non golden, but get a darker looking bread)
50 grams Oat fibre
1 tbsp Coconut flour (optional, but I find bread toasts better with it)
1tsp Xanthum gum, OR 1 tbsp Psyllium husk, (optional)
216 ml water (warm to activate yeast)
1tsp honey (to activate yeast)
4 tbsp Erythritol
2 eggs
1tsp salt
40 – 70 grams butter, (original recipe 70 grams, I use 40)
7 grams, (1 sachet) dried yeast.
Bread maker
Put warm water in a jug, with dried yeast and honey. Ready to use when foamy on the top.
Put salt in the bottom, all dried ingredients on top of salt.
Lightly beat the eggs, and add with yeast mix.
Settings Large loaf, I prefer medium crust,
Basic bread. Hit start and wait however long your bread maker takes.
Mixer and oven
Place ingredients in mixer bowl as above, mix until combined, and knead for 5 min’s.
Shape and put dough in bread tin, cover loosely with oiled cling film, to allow to rise.
Or alternatively shape into bread rolls.
Prove until doubled in size (1 – 2 hours)
Bake at 180° C for 40 min’s
Based on Diedre’s low carb bread, google it and you’ll find loads of sites with their version.
* I buy Golden Flax Seeds and pour into a running Liqiudiser to grind my own(cheaper)
Approx’ 2 grams of carbs per large slice.

I find if you cut your chips the size of chip shop chips, par boil them for 4 - 5 mins, then change the water, and bring back to the boil. Drain and dry them, coat in olive oil, with a sprinkle of salt and pepper and maybe some paprika. cook in oven or air fryer they are pretty good, excellent with sausage and egg. Or Gammon steak or a big juicy steak.
I will have to try par boiling etc and freezing, just like a bag of frozen chips.
If you can list the foods you like, we can give a thumbs up or down, to help you get started.

retrogamer said:

Just googled these, never heard of them but they look awesome. I'll have to try them

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Celeriac is a great vegetable. I use it instead of potato in soups.

retrogamer said:

Problem is, most of the stuff I do like is not good for me!

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retrogamer said:

Hmmm, I'm definitely a meat eater

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I think you'll like the stuff that's good for you!
Don't bother with fruit if you don't particularly miss it either, and have a read of this. https://josekalsbeek.blogspot.com/2019/11/the-nutritional-thingy.html

retrogamer said:

Problem is, most of the stuff I do like is not good for me!

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I thought the same, it's really daunting when you're first diagnosed. However, I've found new foods I do like that I'd just never tried before, or thought I didn't like. I've found low carb replacements for a lot of stuff. I've kept an open mind and put in a lot of time researching, especially on this forum.

On the evening meal after I received the official diagnosis in July (I'd kind of diagnosed myself with a BG monitor, as far as you can, while waiting for my first appointment), I stood in my kitchen looking for a dinner option, and very dramatically declared to my wife that "everything we have is going to kill me". Easy to think like that, but try not to.

There are options. There are ways and means to get around a lot of dietary issues, but not starve in the process. Following July's diagnosis, I went on a low carb diet. I've lost shedloads of weight. My BG is under control, as far as a blood glucose meter can show me it is. I feel so much better already, 10 years younger at least. And the best thing? I eat like a king. If someone had told the me standing in the kitchen that day in July that I'd be in this position now, I'd have laughed in their face until my throat was dry! But here I am, still ok, still not starving to death, loving my food, and feeling better for it.

You've found the best resource going - this forum. The people here are amazing. Sure, some of them like avocados, but don't hold that against them (at least try not to! ) They're so helpful, supportive and really can't do enough to guide people. Stick around, look on past and current threads, and before you know it you'll hopefully look back and wonder why you ever worried about diet.