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T2 newbie

A

Alan M. P.

Member
Messages
16
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Diet only
Hi all,

Reading people's experiences on this forum has brought me much relief & lots of hope. I've been recently diagnosed with type 2 diabetes with hba1c 52 in first test, then 51 two weeks later. My GP suggested to try the low carb dietary & activity changes first & re test my hba1c in 3 months, to see how I get on.

I've tried starting a low carb diet and exercising more in the gym 3-4 times per week, which I like. However, my energy is low, I feel spaced out mentally & I have been sick for the last few days, which is counter productive.
I know I need energy to function & exercise but am unsure how to balance things out. Any suggestion would be great.
 
Alan M. P. said:
However, my energy is low, I feel spaced out mentally & I have been sick for the last few days, which is counter productive.
I know I need energy to function & exercise but am unsure how to balance things out.
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Are you eating enough?
If you reduce one food group (carbs), you need to replace the calories with the other food groups (fats and protein).
 
Hi & thank you for your reply. I don't think I have to be honest. My GP recently suggested a low carb & low fat diet, so I started there. If you could recommend any information on higher fat & protein food that would be fab.
 
Alan M. P. said:
Hi & thank you for your reply. I don't think I have to be honest. My GP recently suggested a low carb & low fat diet, so I started there. If you could recommend any information on higher fat & protein food that would be fab.
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Meat , fish, eggs are all good sources of fat and protein. You need fat and protein to make up for the carbs you are excluding.

Also don't forget to add some salt.. if you have ceased eating more "processed" foods you might find you are not having enough.
 
Fantastic. I will start today. Thank you so much. You have all been a great help
 
Alan M. P. said:
Hi & thank you for your reply. I don't think I have to be honest. My GP recently suggested a low carb & low fat diet, so I started there. If you could recommend any information on higher fat & protein food that would be fab.
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Low carb and low fat is almost impossible!
Possibly your GP has picked up on how helpful low carb can be for diabetics, but hasn't yet wrapped their head around embracing the fats in foods (and forgot to do the math on how to get your calories). Still, well done for them to be aware of the carbs.

I think you'd like to have a read of this: https://www.diabetes.co.uk/forum/blog/jokalsbeek.401801/
And you also might like to have a look around this thread in the low carb section of the forum, where we share what we have eaten with a bit of chat: https://www.diabetes.co.uk/forum/threads/what-have-you-eaten-today.75781/page-2558
 
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My understanding is that changing to low carb can affect energy levels in the short term (especially if you cut a lot in a hurry). Electrolytes, stock or Lo Salt help some people with tiredness and aches. I’d focus more on a low carb diet for now as that should bring down HbA1C on its own, and only do gentle exercise (or rest!) until you adjust.
 
When starting low carb, energy levels will be low until you become fat adapted. At this point your body will burn its own fat when calorie deficient and you should find energy levels rise.
 
Great, thank you. Any rough idea of how long this process normally takes for people trying this new approach?
 
Alan M. P. said:
Great, thank you. Any rough idea of how long this process normally takes for people trying this new approach?
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Unfortunately it varies. As do the actual carbs and the total quantity of them that different Type 2's can handle OK.
The fastest fat adaptation I've heard of is 2 weeks and some have needed up to 3 months. For me it took about 6 weeks.

Now in my case I realised I was fat adapted when I no longer felt hungry at my normal breakfast time. Before that I'd been having 2 (large) boiled eggs for breakfast. But soon after this adaptation I decided that it's silly to eat when you aren't hungry and switched to just 2 meals per day . Actually these days it is only a single late afternoon 'linner' on weekends!
 
ajbod said:
When starting low carb, energy levels will be low until you become fat adapted. At this point your body will burn its own fat when calorie deficient and you should find energy levels rise.
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You'll generally need to up your fat consumption as well to replace some of the "missing" carbs - how much will depend on whether or not you also need to lose some body fat/weight.
 
 
Robbity2 said:
You'll generally need to up your fat consumption as well to replace some of the "missing" carbs - how much will depend on whether or not you also need to lose some body fat/weight.
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Yes, my GP recommended losing weight & body fat, so it could be tricky to balance the two. Im not calorie counting, but think I might benefit talking to a a diabetic dietician to help. What do you think?
 
Alan M. P. said:
I might benefit talking to a a diabetic dietician
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If the dietician were to have diabetes, then maybe, just maybe he/she might have a idea.
Usually though, dieticians tend to stick to the company line and recommend the eat well plate. So 3 meals a day plus snacks, carbs with every meal, wholemeal this, brown that, low fat, oh and don't forget the fruit.
 

Ahh ok. Good to know. Thank you.
 
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