Prediabetes and the menopause

The advice is to reduce the carbohydrate - and depending on what you eat, there is no reason not to select which carbs you chose to remove from the menu, in the spirit of the song lyrics 'its not where you start it's where you finish'.

HelJoh said:

Now I have to avoid my beloved choccie

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Do you by any chance like high percentage cocoa chocolate? That's quite low in carbs and most people tend to eat less of it because it's strong.

You might like to have a read of this: https://www.diabetes.co.uk/forum/threads/basic-information-for-newly-diagnosed-diabetics.17088/, and if you feel like reading even more you could try this: https://www.diabetes.co.uk/forum/blog/jokalsbeek.401801/

Being pre-diabetic you might find minor diet changes may be enough to get your blood glucose back to healthy numbers, for instance less potatoes, more meat and veggies, moving to a darker chocolate, eating nuts instead of crisps, and have bacon and eggs or full fat greek yoghurt with fresh strawberries for breakfast instead of porridge or weetabix.

Many of our members found that by eating higher fat foods but less carbs, they also lost weight without watching the calories, hopefully you'll find the same!

I'm 55 and female as well. Well into menopause here - I've not had a period in well over 3 years.

I was told back in June after routine blood tests, that I'd got into prediabetic territory. Since then I've gone quite strongly low carb, started walking 5 miles a day, and dropped my BMI from 37 to 27. I'm not going to pretend it's easy, but it is definitely possible. I have got a decided taste for Montezuma 100% chocolate (I love the mint one, the orange one is good too). Last night the blokeshape opened a bar of Lindt 70% chocolate and I thought I'd try some - it was incredibly sweet, I managed less than half a square.

I don't pretend that I couldn't quite easily go back to my former high carb ways, but I really don't want to. I do suspect though that it would be much much easier to get the taste for my previous style of eating back than it was to get used to low carb as a routine. For me, I've found that by far the easiest way to do it was by going cold turkey. No bread, no potatoes, no pasta, no rice. Not trying to limit them, but just abandoning them completely. Lots of eggs, cheese, olives and good veggies are my diet now - cauliflower, leafy greens, cucumber, celery etc. (I'm vegetarian, but I have added a small amount of fish back into my diet for the sake of the good fats in things like salmon)

I’m also 55 and going through the menopause. I found out in August that I’m prediabetic. My GP didn’t even tell me but luckily I checked through some blood test results and spotted it. When I finally saw a doctor he told me to lose 25 lbs but didn’t advise how. I’ve read everything I can find on diabetes and healthy food choices and have so far have lost 17lbs. I too love chocolate but thankfully do like dark chocolate. I’ve been really strict though and haven’t had any added sugar since I found out. I’m hoping that when I get a repeat blood test my results will have improved. Until then I will keep being strict about what I eat. I dramatically reduced my carbs, so no bread, potatoes, pasta or rice. I’m veggie but like widgets above, I’ve introduced some fish just for health reasons. Read what you can on low carb and get some meal ideas from the diet doctor website. It seems loads of people have had success with this way of eating. Good luck!

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HelJoh said:

Hi

I have just been told that I am prediabetic and, to be honest, am feeling a bit down about it! I’m also going through the menopause, so have heaped on the pounds as well. I don’t drink or smoke and enjoy my chocolate. Now I have to avoid my beloved choccie and lose at least 2 and a half stone to be within an acceptable BMI level and avoid developing Type 2 diabetes. I’m also on medication for familial high cholesterol, and my level has increased a little. So life isn’t looking so great at the moment! I know I have lifestyle changes to make, and I know it’s not going to be easy because of my age (55). I just wondered if there were any other ladies around the same age who are also going through the same thing and what changes you’re making.

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Believe it or not, it's not the end of the world. You know, at least. I never was told my results were prediabetic, and I ended up walking around undiagnosed with T2 for years, with damage and misery along the way. You, however... You know! Yay! Now you can do something before things go massively wrong, which is such a good thing! (Seriously, it is!). And you don't even have to give up chocolate. Mind you, when you start low carbing, if you're not into really dark chocolate... It'll come. Your palette'll change as you get used to less sugar, and the once insanely bitter 100% will have sweet, sour, vanilla and fruity notes. (Peruvian is heaven. So much more flavour to it when your tongue becomes more sensitive!). However, if it is a bit much for you at the mo, try a square of Lindt 85% with a bit of butter, a sip of cream or together with a pecan or walnut. No need to give up chocolate, just go for the better quality stuff. It's more expensive, but you need less to hit the spot, and it's a decadence a lot of people don't afford themselves for whatever deluded reason.

Since you're on a statin for something you actually do need them for (they're often handed out like candy when people don't have proper high cholesterol), you'll need to know that that stuff can cause a rise in blood sugars. For some it even triggers T2. So what do you do? You work around it. If you can't change one thing that ups blood sugars, change another. Going low carb should help you get your blood sugars back into the normal range, and I don't think you'll have to change all that much at this point. Skip bread, spuds, rice, cereals/weetabix, underground veggies and corn. Add in more meat, fish, poultry, full fat dairy, eggs, above ground/leafy green veg and of course, extra dark chocolate. You'll be fine. Stick with that and your blood sugars should remain in the normal range. And get yourself a meter, see whether it's doing enough and tweak as you go. In The Nutritional Thingy there's a bit on how to use it effectively.

You'll be okay. I promise!
Jo

Allell said:

I’m also 55 and going through the menopause. I found out in August that I’m prediabetic. My GP didn’t even tell me but luckily I checked through some blood test results and spotted it. When I finally saw a doctor he told me to lose 25 lbs but didn’t advise how. I’ve read everything I can find on diabetes and healthy food choices and have so far have lost 17lbs. I too love chocolate but thankfully do like dark chocolate. I’ve been really strict though and haven’t had any added sugar since I found out. I’m hoping that when I get a repeat blood test my results will have improved. Until then I will keep being strict about what I eat. I dramatically reduced my carbs, so no bread, potatoes, pasta or rice. I’m veggie but like widgets above, I’ve introduced some fish just for health reasons. Read what you can on low carb and get some meal ideas from the diet doctor website. It seems loads of people have had success with this way of eating. Good luck!

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Don't wait for a repeat blood test; get yourself a meter. Then you'll know without having to wait for months. Very motivating.