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Thinking about "going green" in New Year

T

THEBOT74

Active Member
Messages
27
Type of diabetes
Type 2
So far my Type 2 sugar levels have dropped in last 6 months from a whopping 87 to 51 last month so am just 3 points into the diabetic range. Good steady progress so far.

At present still on Slimming World plan and I have to say that I can still eat well on them as you get your Free and Speed foods as well as your Healty Extra for dairy and grains, then you have your "syns".

After looking at various strategies for reversing Type 2, am looking to make some radical changes to things; whilst I personally don't feel comfortable with the Newcastle diet in the sense of having two shakes and one meal, I am looking to cut out meat and fish, replacing this with substitutes, eat plenty of fresh fruit and vegetables, and change the type of milk I consume to a plant-based one. I would still have to watch the carbs in rice, potatoes, pasta, etc. but have heard that this approach has worked for quite a few poeple. Of course, I'd still have breakfast, lunch and dinner, but think that this is the way to go in order for me to reverse my Type 2. There is the need to make sure that I get enough protein as well as vitamins, but think I can address this. Of course I need to exercise, I do walking every day which helps.

Have any of you gone down this route and have you succeeded in reversing your diabetes? Have you stayed on this for keeps?

Please share any stories you may have.
 
I'm only a month from diagnosis but I went straight back to low carbing and from a reading of 17 I am now consistently under 8 mmpl/l I don't eat grain starchy veges or very sweet fruit, and I don't eat most legumes as they cause me to put on weight. Rice, pasta and potatoes all increase my BG and keep it high until next day, so I might taste them to see if they are cooked, but no more. I eat everything but carbs quite freely, but at the moment I have a lot of weight to lose so I am eating meat and fish or other protein source and either salad stuff with olive oil dressing or mayonnaise or low carb veges which I buy frozen. I do use cream rather than milk, because of the lactose.
 
Hi. Do you mean "green" as in SW Green Days or green as in veg?

If you don't fancy the idea of the Newcastle Diet because of the shakes, have you considered the Blood Sugar Diet? It is a similar idea, but with food instead of shakes. It can be done with low carb, plant-based foods and there is a Mediterranean style maintenance plan for the long term.

"Plenty of fresh fruit" sounds delicious and healthy, but might not be a good choice for a type 2. Do you test yourself? Regardless of which way of eating you adopt, I would say that was essential.

Well done on your progress so far
 
I would not be healthy without some animal/ fish protein but I only eat 4-6 ounces a day divided by 3 meals. Small amounts. I eat loads of avocado, some nuts and olive oil. Not a ton of veggies and just above ground. No fruits other than avoacado. No beans, grains, dairy , starch, sugar etc. I would spike like crazy. Just test test test. Before your first bite nad one and two hours later. Maybe even more.
 

Reversing diabetes - if you can eat 250 gms of carb a day without medication or diet change then you will have truly reversed diabetes. It doesn't work for everyone and even the Newcastle Diet people reckon it's only really successful with newly diagnosed diabetics. Several people on this forum have had good results with the Newcastle Diet. Weight wise and BG wise.

Carbs are the demons and obviously that includes sugars, so careful on the fruit which of course contains sugars.

It's only my opinion but I don't think cutting out fish and meat is going to change your BG by much if any. I'd suggest cutting out rice, potato, bread and pasta to make the biggest difference in your BG.

All the best
 
Thanks for the replies. In answer to some questions, "green" meant going veggie. I personally would severely restrict anything carby so in that sense would only have potatoes very occasionally. Lunch and dinner would almost exclusively be leafy greens, free from substitutes (quorn being an example), nuts and seeds. I would personally avoid bread and severely limit cereal or porridge to maybe once or twice a week. Carbs wise my target would be under 50 grams per day
 
I tend to use Asda's own sausages and burgers if I want that sort of thing as on occasional change from eggs/cheese/pulses as my protein, rather than Quorn as they have less carbs. Also Cauldron sausages. I do have Quorn as well, but more sparingly!
 
There are good nutrition resources on both the Vegetarian Society and Vegan Society websites. Just keep an eye on the carbs, as you know. We also have a vegetarian sub forum on this site where you will be warmly welcomed. I am a lowish carb vegan and my numbers have never been better. All the best
 
Personally though I was vegetarian for a couple of years I am not now. But do remember because its veg don't make it suitable for T2's some are good some are not.

If you are making the change on moral grounds then why not do it now rather than in the new year if it's not about the morality of eating meat then good luck for the new year and I hope you continue to improve your situation every one has their own strategy and I hope yours works out for you as well as mine did for me.
 
Thanks for your messages. I certainly am proceeding with this diet change and am convinced that staying on it permanently with low carbs will reverse T2. As mentioned, with the change, I can't see myself consuming much carbs at all, it's about making wise food choices.
 
THEBOT74 said:
Thanks for the replies. In answer to some questions, "green" meant going veggie.
Click to expand...

If you find you can't go full-time on a vegetarian diet try having alternate days, just this past year my wife and I have had a meat-free day once a week and I think we could stretch to two without any issues, couldn't give up meat completely but don't miss it on the day where we do abstain.

Good luck and hope it all works out well
 
Thanks for your reply. When you're on your veggie days, what do you usually have for breakfast? If it's a cooked one, how do you vary it? Thanks
 
THEBOT74 said:
Thanks for your reply. When you're on your veggie days, what do you usually have for breakfast? If it's a cooked one, how do you vary it? Thanks
Click to expand...

I'm a type 1 so my diet is different to what yours would be as a type 2 @THEBOT74 , meaning I don't need to be as careful with the carbs but do keep them under control and eat them in moderation.

Breakfast, I'm a creature of habit and always have a bowl of porridge and on a meat-free day this doesn't change, for lunch I'll have a sandwich and a piece of fruit and for our evening meal I've been making a pan of homemade soup, I've got a pan simmering on the cooker at this very moment.

There's a thread running in the Vegetarian section of the forum where members list what they've eaten in a day, take a look as it might give you a few ideas.

Edit to include link:

http://www.diabetes.co.uk/forum/threads/vegetarians-what-have-you-eaten-today.88074/
 
question not addressed to me I know but there are vegan sausages, bacon and cheeses until recently a now ex grandson's GF and now ex vegan lived with us hence my cupboards and freezer are chock full of vegan foods so once or twice a week we eat vegan. just so not to have to chuck it away.
 
I don't prescribe to low carb diet. I average 200 - 300 carbs a day and eat what I like , My Hbac1 was 5.6 and my bad colestorol was less than 1.
I'm a believer in medicating to control diabetes. My diabetes nurses are in total agreement.
 
TomGreen101 said:
I don't prescribe to low carb diet. I average 200 - 300 carbs a day and eat what I like , My Hbac1 was 5.6 and my bad colestorol was less than 1.
I'm a believer in medicating to control diabetes. My diabetes nurses are in total agreement.
Click to expand...
Great for you.. however some of us prefer to be unmedicated and not have the side effects that prescription medicines can bring.
 
TomGreen101 said:
I don't prescribe to low carb diet. I average 200 - 300 carbs a day and eat what I like , My Hbac1 was 5.6 and my bad colestorol was less than 1.
I'm a believer in medicating to control diabetes. My diabetes nurses are in total agreement.
Click to expand...
I'd be concerned if the medication was a sulfonylurea though.
 
I get regular blood tests which are posted on the internet.
My numbers don't lie and I feel great with no side effects. My diabetic nurses are specially trained in diabetes care.
I never am stressed out about diabetes. I take 70 units of Lantus and between 20 and 36 units of Novo Rapid before each meal. I also take 2 Janumet 1000/50 pills and 120 mugs of Dyamicron each day.
If I ever had side effects I would switch to one of the wonderful meds available out there but never had to.
My attitude is you can suffer with diabetes or you can deal with it.
 
I like to do whatever I can to not put a strain on the NHS budget. Just my small contribution, but every little helps. I might need their help one day for something more serious.
 
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