Type 2 No pasta, rice or potato? what instead?

jessejazza said:

I am high risk Type 2 at present and trying to work out a low cal diet. I am slim and have always tried to eat healthy foods. In trying to work out suitable pack lunch as well I am getting a bit lost.

If one shouldn't have potato, rice or pasta what on earth do you eat instead?

Much appreciate any advice.

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Cauliflower rice is a good one.

I make Singapore fried rice with it.

jessejazza said:

I am high risk Type 2 at present and trying to work out a low cal diet. I am slim and have always tried to eat healthy foods. In trying to work out suitable pack lunch as well I am getting a bit lost.

If one shouldn't have potato, rice or pasta what on earth do you eat instead?

Much appreciate any advice.

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Simply put more of the stuff that isn't potato, rice, pasta or bread.

Preferably energy dense foods that don’t start breaking down into sugar before you’ve had a chance to swallow

Check out dietdoctor.com for ideas

jessejazza said:

I am high risk Type 2 at present and trying to work out a low cal diet. I am slim and have always tried to eat healthy foods. In trying to work out suitable pack lunch as well I am getting a bit lost.

If one shouldn't have potato, rice or pasta what on earth do you eat instead?

Much appreciate any advice.

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It's low carb, not low cal. Big difference for the likes of us. Lunch? Bag of pork scratchings? Cheese, cold cuts? Maybe a salad with tuna, mayo, capers and olives in tupperware? Boiled eggs with salt? Nuts (30 grams worth). Personally I love my cauliflower rice with bacon and cheese, but that's only nice if you have a microwave at your disposal, I suppose. Considering you're slim, up the fats/oils considerably, otherwise you might start losing weight on low carb. (And it's not just potato, rice and pasta, but bread and cereals too... Careful! )

Dietdoctor.com will have loads of options for you.

This section from the dietdoctor website should answer your question

https://www.dietdoctor.com/low-carb/foods

Hi and welcome to the forum
Theres a whole load of stuff you can use in place of high carb / calorie alternatives
From a diabetes management point of view, it is very important to get yourself a blood glucose meter. Your GP is unlikely to prescribe but you can get one quite cheaply ( eg the Tee2 from Spirit healthcare or the Codefree from home health) you can then use it to find out how different foods affect hour blood sugars ( not everyone reacts in exactly the same way to the same foods)
These are a few suggested alternatives
https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/low-carb-pasta
https://perfectketo.com/low-carb-rice-substitutes/
https://experthometips.com/cutting-carbs-21-alternatives-to-bread-potatoes-pasta

jessejazza said:

Thanks for your replies. For lunch I make up a 'nose-box' - coleslaw, cheese, ham, sausage roll, tuna. Cornish pasty for snack in between but have the odd Twix or Mars which I think I should stop doing.

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The pasty isn't such a hot idea either... (Sorry!)

Tagging @daisy1 for the introductory info

jessejazza said:

Thanks for your replies. For lunch I make up a 'nose-box' - coleslaw, cheese, ham, sausage roll, tuna. Cornish pasty for snack in between but have the odd Twix or Mars which I think I should stop doing.

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The pastry won't be helping in the sausage roll or the cornish pasty.. a cold sausage in both instances (if its a hgh meat content sausage 97% or more may be better for you and your blood sugar)
In your opening post you say you are

jessejazza said:

I am high risk Type 2 at present

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does that mean you are pre-diabetic ? Do you know your HbA1c used to make the diagnosis?

Sausage roll and pasty are potentially problematic due to the flour content.

jessejazza said:

Thanks for your replies. For lunch I make up a 'nose-box' - coleslaw, cheese, ham, sausage roll, tuna. Cornish pasty for snack in between but have the odd Twix or Mars which I think I should stop doing.

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OK you need to rethink that lunch box. Pastry is very high carb. It isn't just sugar that needs to be avoided because all carbs turn to glucose once in the system. The worst culprits are breakfast cereals and porridge, bread of any colour, rice of any colour, pasta, potatoes, pastry and batter - in fact anything made with normal flour. We also need to be careful with fruit and milk.

How about boiled eggs and cherry toms with your tuna, cheese, ham or any cold cuts, chicken legs, and a plain unsweetened yogurt with a few berries added for sweetness?

Basically, for the purposes of motivation, you may as well view flour as sherbet.

Soups can be a good lunchtime option, but I'd recommend home-made, as store-bought varieties often contain added carbs.

Most days I have a large salad for lunch with olive oil, tinned fish and cheese, plus extras. Once you get into the swing of it, making a salad doesn't take any longer than making a sandwich.

But definitely avoid Twix and Ginsters!

@jessejazza
Hello and welcome to the Forum Here is the Basic Information we give to new members and I hope you will find it both interesting and helpful.

BASIC INFORMATION FOR NEW MEMBERS

Diabetes is the general term to describe people who have blood that is sweeter than normal. A number of different types of diabetes exist.

A diagnosis of diabetes tends to be a big shock for most of us. It’s far from the end of the world though and on this forum you'll find well over 235,000 people who are demonstrating this.

On the forum we have found that with the number of new people being diagnosed with diabetes each day, sometimes the NHS is not being able to give all the advice it would perhaps like to deliver - particularly with regards to people with type 2 diabetes.

The role of carbohydrate

Carbohydrates are a factor in diabetes because they ultimately break down into sugar (glucose) within our blood. We then need enough insulin to either convert the blood sugar into energy for our body, or to store the blood sugar as body fat.

If the amount of carbohydrate we take in is more than our body’s own (or injected) insulin can cope with, then our blood sugar will rise.

The bad news

Research indicates that raised blood sugar levels over a period of years can lead to organ damage, commonly referred to as diabetic complications.

The good news

People on the forum here have shown that there is plenty of opportunity to keep blood sugar levels from going too high. It’s a daily task but it’s within our reach and it’s well worth the effort.

Controlling your carbs

The info below is primarily aimed at people with type 2 diabetes, however, it may also be of benefit for other types of diabetes as well.

There are two approaches to controlling your carbs:

• Reduce your carbohydrate intake
• Choose ‘better’ carbohydrates

Reduce your carbohydrates

A large number of people on this forum have chosen to reduce the amount of carbohydrates they eat as they have found this to be an effective way of improving (lowering) their blood sugar levels.

The carbohydrates which tend to have the most pronounced effect on blood sugar levels tend to be starchy carbohydrates such as rice, pasta, bread, potatoes and similar root vegetables, flour based products (pastry, cakes, biscuits, battered food etc) and certain fruits.

Choosing better carbohydrates

The low glycaemic index diet is often favoured by healthcare professionals but some people with diabetes find that low GI does not help their blood sugar enough and may wish to cut out these foods altogether.

Read more on carbohydrates and diabetes.

Over 145,000 people have taken part in the Low Carb Program - a 10 week structured education course that is helping people lose weight and reduce medication dependency by explaining the science behind carbs, insulin and GI.

Eating what works for you

Different people respond differently to different types of food. What works for one person may not work so well for another. The best way to see which foods are working for you is to test your blood sugar with a glucose meter.

To be able to see what effect a particular type of food or meal has on your blood sugar is to do a test before the meal and then test after the meal. A test 2 hours after the meal gives a good idea of how your body has reacted to the meal.

The blood sugar ranges recommended by NICE are as follows:

Blood glucose ranges for type 2 diabetes

• Before meals: 4 to 7 mmol/l
• 2 hours after meals: under 8.5 mmol/l

Blood glucose ranges for type 1 diabetes (adults)

• Before meals: 4 to 7 mmol/l
• 2 hours after meals: under 9 mmol/l

Blood glucose ranges for type 1 diabetes (children)

• Before meals: 4 to 8 mmol/l
• 2 hours after meals: under 10 mmol/l

However, those that are able to, may wish to keep blood sugar levels below the NICE after meal targets.

Access to blood glucose test strips

The NICE guidelines suggest that people newly diagnosed with type 2 diabetes should be offered:

• structured education to every person and/or their carer at and around the time of diagnosis, with annual reinforcement and review
• self-monitoring of plasma glucose to a person newly diagnosed with type 2 diabetes only as an integral part of his or her self-management education

Therefore both structured education and self-monitoring of blood glucose should be offered to people with type 2 diabetes. Read more on getting access to blood glucose testing supplies.

You may also be interested to read questions to ask at a diabetic clinic.

Note: This post has been edited from Sue/Ken's post to include up to date information.
Take part in Diabetes.co.uk digital education programs and improve your understanding. Most of these are free.

• Low Carb Program - it's made front-page news of the New Scientist and The Times. Developed with 20,000 people with type 2 diabetes; 96% of people who take part recommend it... find out why
  
  
• Hypo Program - improve your understanding of hypos. There's a version for people with diabetes, parents/guardians of children with type 1, children with type 1 diabetes, teachers and HCPs.
  

Cana said:

Cauliflower rice is a good one.

I make Singapore fried rice with it.

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@Cana what do you add to make Singapore fried rice? I do "normal" egg fried and sometimes add turmeric, but always look for new flavours

jessejazza said:

I was just below the value but as high risk been advised to change diet. So yes pre-diabetic. I gather one can be 'high risk' for many years.

Changing diet lessens the risk as I see it. I hate sandwiches so that's ok but struggling with giving up potato, pasta, rice as I have always enjoyed them. Seems best to give them up altogether. I got some cauliflower rice in my Tesco delivery but 200g for £2. I spent some time yesterday going through the suggested links.

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Better to invest in a whole cauliflower and either grate it or use a food processor to make your own.. far and away cheaper and fresher too.