Pre-Diabetic and love sugar!
- Thread starter mramsay
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Hi @mramsay and welcome to the forum. Well done for taking your pre-diabetes diagnosis seriously and finding this forum. I wish my GP had explained what it meant when I was pre-diabetic. If I had known more and found this forum I would have avoided progressing on to becoming diabetic. Once you cross that threshold and become diabetic you will always be diabetic, and you really don't want to go there.
I loved sweet things too, which obviously contributed to my diabetes. But you are probably aware of the complications that could result from diabetes, and that should be enough to curb your sugar cravings. Sugar is addictive and it is difficult to give it up, but it can be done. After a while you will get used to doing without sugar, your palate will adapt, and you won't miss it. You know you have to do it and that is the first step.
Have a read round some of the threads and ask any questions you want. There is a lot of good advice and support on here.
I loved sweet things too, which obviously contributed to my diabetes. But you are probably aware of the complications that could result from diabetes, and that should be enough to curb your sugar cravings. Sugar is addictive and it is difficult to give it up, but it can be done. After a while you will get used to doing without sugar, your palate will adapt, and you won't miss it. You know you have to do it and that is the first step.
Have a read round some of the threads and ask any questions you want. There is a lot of good advice and support on here.
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ally1
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Hello and welcome. found cutting out sugars very hard. I used to have 6 sugars in my tea and started by cutting back by half a tea soon once a week. I got down to 1 teaspoon but just couldn't, t give that one up. I decided to replace it with 1 sweetex. I also decided to start drinking black coffee without sugar but it did take time to adjust too it.re biscuits and cakes, I did the same. I do crave sweet things and do have the tiniest piece of cake every now and cake
Liam1955
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daisy1
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@mramsay
Hello and welcome to the forum
If you cut down on sugar a bit you will fancy less, and so on. Here is the information we give to new members and I hope you will find it useful. Ask as many questions as you want and someone will be able to help.
BASIC INFORMATION FOR NEWLY DIAGNOSED DIABETICS
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 over 150,000 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 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
Another option is to replace ‘white carbohydrates’ (such as white bread, white rice, white flour etc) with whole grain varieties. The idea behind having whole grain varieties is that the carbohydrates get broken down slower than the white varieties –and these are said to have a lower glycaemic index.
http://www.diabetes.co.uk/food/diabetes-and-whole-grains.html
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
LOW CARB PROGRAM:
http://www.diabetes.co.uk/low carb program
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
Access to blood glucose test strips
The NICE guidelines suggest that people newly diagnosed with type 2 diabetes should be offered:
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 bloodglucose 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.
Hello and welcome to the forum
If you cut down on sugar a bit you will fancy less, and so on. Here is the information we give to new members and I hope you will find it useful. Ask as many questions as you want and someone will be able to help.BASIC INFORMATION FOR NEWLY DIAGNOSED DIABETICS
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 over 150,000 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
Another option is to replace ‘white carbohydrates’ (such as white bread, white rice, white flour etc) with whole grain varieties. The idea behind having whole grain varieties is that the carbohydrates get broken down slower than the white varieties –and these are said to have a lower glycaemic index.
http://www.diabetes.co.uk/food/diabetes-and-whole-grains.html
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
LOW CARB PROGRAM:
http://www.diabetes.co.uk/low carb program
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
- Before meals: 4 to 7 mmol/l
- 2 hours after meals: under 9 mmol/l
- Before meals: 4 to 8 mmol/l
- 2 hours after meals: under 10 mmol/l
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 bloodglucose 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.
Scimama
Well-Known Member
- Messages
- 942
- Type of diabetes
- Treatment type
- Diet only
Hi @mramsay it will be difficult in first few weeks/month/year but keep posting on this site and you will get lots of support.
There are ways to have seethes with less sugar, so having a square of 85% dark chocolate rather than a bar of dairy milk. Using almond flour instead of wheat flour in cakes and biscuits and adding sweet tasting spices such as cinnamon and mixed spice means that you don't need to add any sugar. There are lots of recipes on the forums so have a good look around.
If you need motivation to reduce your sugar you could use the 'trick' I use, I think about how much I want the sugary treat, then I think about how much I want to keep seeing (watch my family grow up etc) I want to keep my feet (don't want to end up in a wheelchair) and I need my fingers to be able to work. So whilst its a bit gruesome…….it is a real risk of raised blood glucose levels. HOWEVER I do have an occasional treat and I have a selection of sugar free cakes etc (many that my friends and family have no idea are actually sugar free and always ask "should you be eating that" ).
It does take time for your tastebuds to adjust but they do.
There are ways to have seethes with less sugar, so having a square of 85% dark chocolate rather than a bar of dairy milk. Using almond flour instead of wheat flour in cakes and biscuits and adding sweet tasting spices such as cinnamon and mixed spice means that you don't need to add any sugar. There are lots of recipes on the forums so have a good look around.
If you need motivation to reduce your sugar you could use the 'trick' I use, I think about how much I want the sugary treat, then I think about how much I want to keep seeing (watch my family grow up etc) I want to keep my feet (don't want to end up in a wheelchair) and I need my fingers to be able to work. So whilst its a bit gruesome…….it is a real risk of raised blood glucose levels. HOWEVER I do have an occasional treat and I have a selection of sugar free cakes etc (many that my friends and family have no idea are actually sugar free and always ask "should you be eating that" ).
It does take time for your tastebuds to adjust but they do.
Hi and welcome. The problem with carbs is that they are addictive and short lived. The carb-hit just makes you want more. Once you break the loop and have proteins and fats instead of too many carbs then you will feel full for longer. BTW think carbs not calories.
