Hi I've been told recently that I'm pre diabetic and that if I don't do something about it I'll soon be a type two diabetic :cry: I don't want this so am increasing my exercise and am gonna make an effort to lose weight. I have two other chronic illnesses and don't want another one. My problem is I'm a bread addict and although I've switched to Burgen bread--lin soya--I'm still eating way too much. 2 for breakfast, 2 at lunch, 1 after dinner and often two at night not to mention potatoes for dinner!!!!!!!!!!!1What do people do at lunch and breakfast if they don't eat bread ? Is there an alternative? Are there bread recipes or other better breads that I should try? Thanks for any advice.
told I'm pre diabetic
- Thread starter marthabarry12345
- Start Date
Hi marthabarry
Welcome to the forum
I used to be a bread addict but I haven't eaten any since May! I am so determined to keep control of my blood glucose levels.
Natural bio or Greek yogurt for breakfast is easy and quick with nuts or a few berries if you like, or eggs.
For lunch I have either a salad with protein, or fish, or eggs - omlettes are good if you can't manage scambled egg on its own.
You may be able to tolerate a small amount of bread or potatoes, but the only way to find out is to test your blood glucose level after eating. But I have found that the only way to lose weight is to cut them out altogether and now all cravings really have gone. Totally liberating!
Moya
Welcome to the forum
I used to be a bread addict but I haven't eaten any since May! I am so determined to keep control of my blood glucose levels.
Natural bio or Greek yogurt for breakfast is easy and quick with nuts or a few berries if you like, or eggs.
For lunch I have either a salad with protein, or fish, or eggs - omlettes are good if you can't manage scambled egg on its own.
You may be able to tolerate a small amount of bread or potatoes, but the only way to find out is to test your blood glucose level after eating. But I have found that the only way to lose weight is to cut them out altogether and now all cravings really have gone. Totally liberating!
Moya
daisy1
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- Messages
- 26,457
- Type of diabetes
- Type 2
- Treatment type
- Tablets (oral)
- Dislikes
- Cruelty towards animals.
Hi Martha and welcome to the forum
Since you have been told you are pre-diabetic and may progress to T2, I think following this information will be helpful to you. Ask all the questions you like and someone will answer.
BASIC INFORMATION FOR NEWLY DIAGNOSED DIABETICS
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 30,000 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 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
Another option is to replace ‘white carbohydrates’ (such as white bread, white rice, white flour etc) with whole grain varieties. The idea behind having whole grain varieties is that the carbohydrates get broken down slower than the white varieties –and these are said to have a lower glycaemic index.
http://www.diabetes.co.uk/food/diabetes ... rains.html
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
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
Access to blood glucose test strips
The NICE guidelines suggest that people newly diagnosed with type 2 diabetes should be offered:
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.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Please sign our e-petition for free testing for all type 2's; here's the link:
http://www.diabetes.co.uk/petition/
Do get your friends and colleagues to sign as well.
Since you have been told you are pre-diabetic and may progress to T2, I think following this information will be helpful to you. Ask all the questions you like and someone will answer.
BASIC INFORMATION FOR NEWLY DIAGNOSED DIABETICS
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 30,000 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
Another option is to replace ‘white carbohydrates’ (such as white bread, white rice, white flour etc) with whole grain varieties. The idea behind having whole grain varieties is that the carbohydrates get broken down slower than the white varieties –and these are said to have a lower glycaemic index.
http://www.diabetes.co.uk/food/diabetes ... rains.html
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
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
- Before meals: 4 to 7 mmol/l
- 2 hours after meals: under 9 mmol/l
- Before meals: 4 to 8 mmol/l
- 2 hours after meals: under 10 mmol/l
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.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Please sign our e-petition for free testing for all type 2's; here's the link:
http://www.diabetes.co.uk/petition/
Do get your friends and colleagues to sign as well.
Thanks for those replies. I think not eating carbs is going to be very hard!! Today now I 've switched to All Bran with raisins for breakfast and two cuts of Burgen at lunch. With those and potatoes at dinner and one more bread at night I'll only have had 5 carbohydrate servings today which is good for me but still probably too much. Next week I may try salad for lunch. I'm finding the exercise easier and am doing 40 minutes per day, I actually enjoy it. At 5' 7'' and 11stone 5 pounds I don't have a massive amount to lose but the problem is most of it's on my belly. Thanks again.
Hello Martha one food I have found useful in my diet is the tortilla wrap I buy the whole meal variety and find it a good alternative to a sandwich tom
I have a very excellent eating program for bashing through insulin resistance and stopping the "stodge/bread" cravings. It is not medically approved or nutritionist approved but it worked for me. 7 years later and my weight is still stable, i am on no meds and my basal insulin and thyroid are both fine. Please PM me if you want detail.
The program has to run for 5 weeks with not one cheat so don't embark on it lightly.
It is not an austerity eating plan but eliminates carbohydrates almost entirely for 5 weeks.
Love from the forest
Philly
xxx
The program has to run for 5 weeks with not one cheat so don't embark on it lightly.
It is not an austerity eating plan but eliminates carbohydrates almost entirely for 5 weeks.
Love from the forest
Philly
xxx
I started eating a lot more nuts as part of my dietary changes after finding out I had prediabetes. And that and other fats like avocados and coconut milk have helped feel more full. I'm realizing now that I can eat soo many breads and grains without ever feeling full and that's probably why I used to eat them in such large quantities.
I really like carrots and peanut butter for snacks too.
E.B.
I really like carrots and peanut butter for snacks too.
E.B.
Hi Martha you might find All Bran is high too esp. with raisins. I used to love All bran then I tested my blood, needless to say it was high. Check on the side of the box for number of carbs. Just be aware all carbs turn to sugar once in the body.
Hi, I was told for years I was pre-diabetic [borderline]. I kept thinking I must do something about it - I didn't! My thoughts are doctors should send all pre-diabetic patients off to a DESMOND education day. Recently I was confirmed as a diabetic, and now the ball is in my court - I am overweight so I need to control what I eat and do a lot more walking, self help should be pushed towards patients I feel much more than it may be. It is hard work and this is after 6 weeks of being diagnosed, but I am determined to delay as long as I can the need for drugs and to push the barrier back further and further so that complications stay a 'maybe'. :wave: If you get the chance to attend a DESMOND day - it is well worth it.
Recently told I was prediabetic. HBA1c test was 47! Came as a shock but I am being proactive, picked up a meter and I am checking what affects me. Was told in a telephone consultation by the doctor then the DN called (by phone) and said diet and exercise, low sugar low fat and another HBA1c test in 6 months. I asked about the Atkins diet (which I have done before) and she said "oh no I wouldn't advise that"...do doctors usually just leave you to it?
Sent from the Diabetes Forum App
Sent from the Diabetes Forum App
saloplass said:
I had to have a fasting blood test done a few weeks ago - it was to check my cholesterol levels as I take statins (heart disease in family and i already have P.A.D (Atherosclerosis) and i also suffer from Sleep Aponea and use a CPAP machine) When i went for the results they were given to me by a student who mentioned, in passing, "I see you are also Pre Diabetic" - I was like WHAT? this was the 1st I had ever heard of it, no one had mentioned it before. The student then infd me my fasting level was 6.8 which was quite high (his words) but as i had so many other things to worry about it was nothing i should bother with. However I have decided to ignore that advice and get myself sorted. I stopped smoking when I got my P.A.D diagnosis and have put about 12 kilos on in the last 2 years (Iam 57 yrs old, 5'1" and 79 kilo - BMI 33) so today I stared a Low Carb diet - i have worked out that today I will eat approx 15g of carbs. I will up my exercise level - I do a desk job so dont get much normally but that has to change!! But, my point is mainly as the writter above said, this is all been left to me to do, no advise, no help, sort it yourself. I am off to buy a glucose meter now so that i can do my own tests and keep an eye on what is happening. This forum is a godsend.
