So confused

If you make your own gravy, fine. Don't use the usual thickeners cornflour, flour etc. If you must have a thicker gravy use a tiny amount of xantham gum.

By the way, be wary of peas and sweetcorn is a grain, bad for us.

Hotpepper20000 said:

Yes. Lol but it would a yummy supper as well.
I mean, who says bacon just has to be for supper?
Didn’t @bulkbiker do a bacon fast?

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Yes indeed.. you can read up if you google "the bacon experiment" that wasn't me but a guy called Dan Quibell who ate only bacon for a month lost a stone in weight and brought his blood sugars down.

Once you have your glucose under control you can start to re-introdce carbs, a little at a time. Your meter will tell you whether you can eat them.

Christmas dinner. Do you like Brussel sprouts?

In a dry pan, cook some pancetta. Parboil sprouts. Drain, slice, reheat in the pancetta fat, add garlic if that's your thing. Crumble the cooked pancetta in and stir before serving.

xfieldok said:

Cauliflower cheese, mmmmmmm.

If you start lchf, there are a couple of things you should know. Carbs are addictive as you will find out if you cut them out, I started at 20g per day. It took me around 4 weeks to get over the carb addiction. Suddenly, I was through it and I wasn't hungry. No more snacking, the urge was rarely there. I was concentrating on keeping the numbers down and all of a sudden my clothes were getting baggy. In around 9 months I had reached my target weight and shed 14kg.

Keto flu. This can occur when you first start. There are things you can do to avoid/minimise the effects.

Everything you have learned about dieting is now turned on its head. Count carbs not calories. Do not buy low fat anything.

You don't have to eat certain foods for breakfast/lunch/dinner, whatever you want can be eaten at any time of day, it may seem a little odd at first.

@Rachox, is the inspirational stories book that was compiled available as a link anywhere?

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I will send you a copy @xfieldok

Deborah 85 said:

Sprouts aren’t my fav to be honest, what’s the deal with cous cous? Can we have that?

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Cous cous is high in carbs, I wouldn't partake personally. I don't eat hummus either.

Cauliflower rice is very versatile and well worth looking into.

Konjac products, rice, noodles, spaghetti are worth looking into.

I hope that the information you have had today is making you feel a bit better. Have a good night's sleep and wake up feeling a lot more positive.

Brussel sprouts are not my fav veg either, but cooked the way I described are actually yummy.

Rachox said:

I don’t have it saved as a file but @Debandez does

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Done

Deborah 85 said:

Thank you! I’m assuming gravy will be ok then?

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No because most are thickened with flour

Thanks Debra, emailed you.

I have a Bamix and when I make a stew or need a gravy I take some of the cooked veges and smoosh them.

Deborah 85 said:

Will defo take me a while to get used to all this

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For sure. Be kind to yourself. It takes time to get in the swing of things.
Those who have given you advice here have been at it longer then you.
But the goal is better health and with the knowledge here you’re already ahead.

You are right, you will get there and yes, it will take time. Try not to be too impatient. It is a marathon and not a sprint.

You will make mistakes, fall of the wagon, don't beat yourself up. Dust yourself off and climb back on.

Once you have your meter, you will be able to take control. It may take a while, but you are definitely going n the right path.

@Deborah 85
Hello Deborah and welcome to the Forum Here is the Basic Information we give to new members and I hope you will find it useful. Ask as many questions as you like and someone will be able to help.

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.
  

Don’t forget the bacon. Crispy, streaky bacon. Cooked in animal fat.

OMG is it too early for lunch?

Deborah 85 said:

Thank you so much for your reply, it took me a few reads to take it in. I honestly have no clue what I’m doing and I just feel so overwhelmed.

I will struggle with breakfast stuff as I work in an office and I can’t make eggs and bacon and things like that so I have no idea what I’m supposed to do.
I just wish I understood what I can and can’t have, it’s devestated me that I will have this for the rest of my life.

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We all feel like that. It does feel so overwhelming at the beginning. I'm only 4 months into the journey but thanks to the help here and some great support at home I'm getting to grips to it and you will too!

You can live a full and healthy life, far healthier than most of the population of this world in fact.

Hang on in there!

Jim Lahey said:

Don’t forget the bacon. Crispy, streaky bacon. Cooked in animal fat.

OMG is it too early for lunch?

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never too early for some crispy bacon...

Deborah 85 said:

I would love it if that could be fixed as well, I just feel like a proper failure as a human with my PCOS and now this, I know that I’m sounding like a Debbie downer but I’m just in a funk the now.

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I got told about the PCOS as an aside while a bigger issue was being discovered, so all I was told was that I wouldn't be able to have kids without jumping through flaming hoops. And since that was all i knew, and with my medical/mental issues I didn't want kids anyway, that's where it ended... If I'd known back then that PCOS causes insulin-resistance, I wouldn't be a T2 now. Other matters seemed more pressing back then. Ha. What did I know. (The DOC knew though... And he should have told me!) And my husband didn't understand why not being able to have kids the natural way made me upset, as i don't have a wish to be a mom. But it was just another thing my body was supposed to be built for, and couldn't correctly do. (Not to mention a small, malformed uterus, from what I understand). With my hairy legs and whatnot, I just didn't feel like an "actual" woman. Insanely enough, when someone else with PCOS or other (fertility or other) issues says something like that. I tell them it's nonsense and they're absolutely wonderful, perfect people, haha. We really do put ourselves through the wringer eh, judging ourselves more harshly than we do others. But yeah, low carb should help with the PCOS too. It should help with neigh on everything, really.

As for fruit, if you stick with a hand full of berries in something fatty like greek yoghurt or cream, you're all good. Strawberries, raspberries, blue or black... Just don't go overboard and you'll be fine. Sometimes I make myself a cinnamon omelet with berries, coconut shavings and cream on the side. Just as a little treat.