Hi and welcome.
It can be really difficult getting a T2 diagnosis and then trying to work your way through the official advice, what you'll read on the internet, and particularly social media, and then places like this. One of the things I wish someone had told me when i was diagnosed is to try to forget everything you think you know about "healthy eating".
The issue for us T2s is that our systems don't cope well with glucose. High levels of glucose over time can do physical damage to nerves and capillaries throughout the body, as well as stimulating high levels of insulin, which can increase insulin resistance (among other things) and make the problem worse.
I had been symptomatically diabetic for years when eventually diagnosed, and switched to a very low carb diet (no medication) - around 20g/day. Carbohydrates when digested turn to glucose, and that's where the problem is. Unfortunately the official advice for people with T2 is still to eat a diet high in carb. I have not followed that advice since December 2019. My blood glucose was normal by April 2020, and in the years since I've lost around six stone, and my waist has gone from 42/44 to 32.
I would advise using a blood testing system that will tell you which foods have the most impact on your blood glucose levels. Once you know what they are, you can make an informed decision about whether you eat them. The way to do this is to be testing BG before you eat - this gives you a baseline - and then two hours later. By that time your system should have dealt with the incoming glucose (if there's any in the food).
A rise in blood glucose after eating carb is normal and happens to non-diabetic people as well. You are not testing to see "how high you go". That high spot is normally around 45 minutes after eating, it depends. What you are testing to see is whether and how well your system coped with the glucose derived from what you ate. If the second reading is back within 2 mmol/l of the first, that's good. If not, there was too much carb/glucose in that meal for your system to handle at present.
I hope that makes sense. This place is a great resource and helped me greatly in my early days. Questions are free and encouraged. You'll find that there's no one single way to manage this - you need to find what works for you.
