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Protein

H

Helen1899

Member
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8
Hi everyone!
I have been diagnosed with type 2 diabetes now for around 9 weeks. I’m 33, have an 11 month old son (was boaderline while pregnant but no gestational diabetes) and weigh 67kg. My BMI is 25. This diagnosis was a big surprise to me but I’ve come to terms with it.
I have for the past 6 weeks been seeing a personal trainer. She has set my macros, my blood sugars are improving and I’m losing cms in all the right places.
My question is about protein. I can never meet my protein goals. I’ve tried a few low sugar protein bars but find them quite powdery. I’ve always been a fan of a protein shake made with water. Is there any that you would recommend? This would only be for once or twice a week while I’m building muscle and to inch me closer to that goal. I’m eating as much meat and eggs as I can tolerate. I also have a bowel condition (life can be very unfair).
Sorry for the long post and thanks in advance for your help!
 
Thanks! I do eat some cheese but it definitely reacts badly with my colitis. I eat low sugar yoghurts too.
It has been very tough as GP basically threw me the tablets and gave me a lecture on smoking and no other advice. Diagnosing hba1c was 106. Only saw my diabetic nurse this week as was only referred last week. Feel completely lost and let down tbh. Wasn’t even given a glucometer and had to buy my own. Sorry for the rant
 
you rant all you want. We are here for you, and some have had similar treatment. What tablets are you on? Am I right in thinking seeds and nuts are out for you?
 
After seeing the diabetic consultant this week I’ve been switched from metformin 500mg twice a day to the slow release metformin. To be kinder on the bowel as I really struggled for a few weeks with the quick acting metformin. I will be increasing this to 1500mg per day from Monday and then 2000mg per day the following Monday.
Seeds and nuts are ok for me. My colitis seems to tolerate them ok. It’s just finding ones that are tasty and not totally bad for you lol
 
Most people are eating too MUCH protein - we live in a society that is completely obsessed with protein. I doubt you are not getting enough of it. Most personal trainers are misinformed too.
 
Great - if you are doing a lot of exercise and are eating low carb to control your blood glucose then you need salt - and fats too - saturated fat is nothing to worry about as most of what is 'known' about saturated fat is quite frankly something made up to prove what someone thought ought to be right.
 
I am excerising quite a bit. I really don’t want to put the weight on that I lost pre diagnosis. It was the kick start I needed. Now I’ll be heading back to work next week so will need to bring all foods to work with me (I work 7.30 am to 8.30 pm). I’m just struggling a bit with what to eat and when. Especially protein and carb wise.
 
Breakfast is usually porridge with sweetener and a banana. Lunch is a sandwich or an omelette. Usually a very low sugar yoghurt with this. Dinner is usually meat and veg sometimes with a small portion of potato/chips (rarely and very small amount.) I would have a low cal bag of crisps for a snack (under the 150 Cals mark).
Fasting blood sugars have come from 18 to 8 so I know I’m going the right route. I’m allowed 1700 kcals per day and a lot of the time I don’t meet this. I eat a low sugar protein bar two times per week. I just don’t enjoy them and struggle to finish due to the powdery taste.
 
thats quite a lot of carbs, especially for breakfast.

as you are watching your calorie intake, you could have fewer carbs to help your blood sugars, and up your fats in nuts and cheese, but still keep your calories the same by swopping?
 
If you're still actively trying to lose weight, you might find the musings of Dr Ted Naiman interesting - especially his writing on the 'protein leveraging hypothesis'.

If you look around a health food shop, I'm pretty sure you'd be able to find a low carb protein shake. I used one called Locarb Bodies for a while, but pretty sure it was an Aussie product.

Hard boiled eggs make great protein on the go. If your nutritionist is still on the 'saturated fat is bad' bandwagon, frankly I'd be finding a new nutritionist.
 
I use a pea protein I get from Amazon - https://amzn.to/2JOqCzV - in a shake made with almond milk to get enough (I don’t eat meat or poultry). It’s ok on its own, but I often add flavourings like caramel, orange oil & cacao powder etc. Sometimes peanut butter
 
Jaw dropping amounts of carb there - I'd be putting on weight really fast eating so much starch unless I was exercising like mad to counteract it.
I eat a normal meal first thing, these days it is often a humongous salad, with coffee and cream, then later I eat meat or fish often with a stirfry or steamed cauliflower, but I don't need to snack as the first meal doesn't leave me hungry a few hours later due to the low insulin response.
 
Have a look at this website https://www.dietdoctor.com/low-carb/60-seconds

It gives a lot of information on foods that are suitable for T2 diabetics, and ones that need avoiding.

You have a glucose meter, so my suggestion is to use it to guide you with your food choices.
Test before you eat
Test 2 hours after first bite
Look to see if there is a rise from before to after.
If this rise is more than 2mmol/l, preferably less, there are too many carbs in that meal
Keep a detailed food diary and record your levels alongside.
Soon patterns will emerge and your personal danger foods will become obvious.

The major culprits in raising blood sugar levels are breakfast cereals including porridge, potatoes, rice, bread, pasta and anything containing flour. Fruit and milk are also very difficult.

Instead of looking for low sugar products, you need to look at the nutrition label for the "total carbohydrate" and ignore the "of which sugars" as sugar is contained in the total carb amount. Anything more than 10% carb needs careful thought. Forget calories - concentrate on carbs.

As for fats, you need to increase these as you reduce carbs or you will lose energy.

How much protein have you been told to eat?
 
Helen1899 said:
Seeds and nuts are ok for me. My colitis seems to tolerate them ok. It’s just finding ones that are tasty and not totally bad for you lol
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I buy raw almonds from Aldi, walnuts from Home Bargains, brazils from Sainsbury's, all in quite large packets which makes them cheaper, not the snack size, which are always over-priced. My local wholefood shop also sells raw nuts, but they are dearer. Holland & Barratt are dearer still. They also sell nut butters made from just the nuts, some without even salt added. Peanuts and cashews contain quite a lot of carb, almonds, walnuts and brazils are lower.
 
Helen1899 said:
Usually a very low sugar yoghurt
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Full fat Greek yoghurt is the lowest carb type and quite high in protein. I just discovered the Fage Total 5% fat Greek yoghurt which has only 3g carbs but 9 g protein per 100g. It is mind-blowingly delicious.
 
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