briped
Well-Known Member
Or go for some whipping cream in your tea. Lower carb content and yummier taste. 20g in a mug of tea cost me 0.6 carbs.
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Totally confused!!!
- Thread starter Deborahdesylva
- Start Date
jjraak
Expert
Hi @Deborahdesylva
i think @AllieRainbow , and @Charis1213 , and others all make excellent points.
Not my drink, but @briped tip for coffee, which i did try, ( just coffee was NOT for me,) was much tastier.
And your not alone, not now you've found your new home.
a place where other people share your dream & goals.
The thing i have taken, and we all respond differently to various foods, etc.
is that anything Low Fat, tends to have more sugar in tho compensate.
in terms of the milk in teas, i swapped from green top (semi skinned UK)
to the Blue to (full fat) because of that.
And i believe that runs right through the food chain as represented by supermarkets
And if i'm honest, i rarely even bother looking at calorie content, it's pure "How many carbs in 100g" for me.
and depending on what that is...over a certain amount and it goes back on the shelf.
BUT while we have had to give up so much we enjoyed,
the foods i know eat 'taste' better..more 'flavoursome'
and while it IS a case of Adapt & Survive, i'm starting to rather like what i eat.
For instance, recently i began a fledgling running career, lol...having not run for anything since my 30's..(almost 60 ssshh
)and the other week surprised myself.
Was running late for work, so just had 3 scoops of Greek yogurt, some blueberries, and was so full of energy i thought i'd jog/walk / briskly to the train station,
ended up running most of the way and got the EARLIER train..
on other days, once diagnosed i thought a normal breakfast was history..now i have the same breakfast as before, egg bacon, tomatoes, mushrooms etc i used to have , but no bread, sadly...but I've now lost close on 2 1/2 stone since august..and i'm not really even trying..LoL..win/win
It sounds awful and bleak, at the start as you probably know, but you have prior knowledge, so are better versed then many to handle the rough and tumble of mixing it up with your diet and taking a fresh look at what you eat.
You have great reasons to look after yourself and be kind to YOU,
...and if part of that is changing foods...so be it.
as they say in the ads..."YOUR worth it !"
Last edited:
@Deborahdesylva - Apologies if I missed it, but when was your last HbA1c test? If it was a while ago, it would be good to have that repeated, so that you have a bit of a benchmark. It'll also help you understand how long your bloods might have been running a bit rich.
Whatever you do, don't panic. Just take it steady.
Whatever you do, don't panic. Just take it steady.
daisy1
Legend
@Deborahdesylva
Hello Deborah and welcome to the Forum Here is the Basic Information we give to new members and I hope you will find it interesting and helpful.
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:
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
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.
Take part in Diabetes.co.uk digital education programs and improve your understanding. Most of these are free.
Hello Deborah and welcome to the Forum
Here is the Basic Information we give to new members and I hope you will find it interesting and helpful.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
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
- 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.
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.
Deborahdesylva
Member
Hi and thanks for your reply, it has cheered me up this morning and I feel more positive. My reading first thing was 15 and I then have had breakfast of tomato.musroom and eggs cooked in butter and a coffee with sweetener syrup and cream. Going to walk the 4 dogs now and see what happens! Last hbA1c was October but doctor said I had to wait til April for another? I am thirsty all the time and drinking lots water. Also can this affect your mood? I have been very short-tempered recently, I seem to get really stressed very quickly over nothing much.Hi @Deborahdesylva
i think @AllieRainbow , and @Charis1213 , and others all make excellent points.
Not my drink, but @briped tip for coffee, which i did try, ( just coffee was NOT for me,) was much tastier.
And your not alone, not now you've found your new home.
a place where other people share your dream & goals.
The thing i have taken, and we all respond differently to various foods, etc.
is that anything Low Fat, tends to have more sugar in tho compensate.
in terms of the milk in teas, i swapped from green top (semi skinned UK)
to the Blue to (full fat) because of that.
And i believe that runs right through the food chain as represented by supermarkets
And if i'm honest, i rarely even bother looking at calorie content, it's pure "How many carbs in 100g" for me.
and depending on what that is...over a certain amount and it goes back on the shelf.
BUT while we have had to give up so much we enjoyed,
the foods i know eat 'taste' better..more 'flavoursome'
and while it IS a case of Adapt & Survive, i'm starting to rather like what i eat.
For instance, recently i began a fledgling running career, lol...having not run for anything since my 30's..(almost 60 ssshh
and the other week surprised myself.
Was running late for work, so just had 3 scoops of Greek yogurt, some blueberries, and was so full of energy i thought i'd jog/walk / briskly to the train station,
ended up running most of the way and got the EARLIER train..
on other days, once diagnosed i thought a normal breakfast was history..now i have the same breakfast as before, egg bacon, tomatoes, mushrooms etc i used to have , but no bread, sadly...but I've now lost close on 2 1/2 stone since august..and i'm not really even trying..LoL..win/win
It sounds awful and bleak, at the start as you probably know, but you have prior knowledge, so are better versed then many to handle the rough and tumble of mixing it up with your diet and taking a fresh look at what you eat.
You have great reasons to look after yourself and be kind to YOU,
...and if part of that is changing foods...so be it.
as they say in the ads..."YOUR worth it !"
briped
Well-Known Member
Oh most definitely. Ask my husband
You get back to normal once your BGs have improved, so don't worry.
Bluetit1802
Legend
It all depends how much milk you put in your tea. I also drink several cups of tea with skimmed milk, because I hate creamy tea. Even semi skimmed is awful for me. However, I make my tea a bit stronger and only put a small amount of milk in. It makes no difference to my levels, but that is me, not you. You could test it out on its own with no other food in that time to see what it does to you. Then again, you could change to double cream.
JoKalsbeek
Expert
That breakfast sounds perfect; much, much better than porridge! (Which you weren't a fan of anyway, so yay). And you may want to google bulletproof coffee. No idea if it'll work for tea, but who knows. And I've been putting cream in my nespresso's for a while now... (Unwhipped, no sugar). Now I'm just sorry cafe's don't offer it!
Your fasting blood glucose will come down as glucose stores are depleted (because you're low carbing) and don't be surprised if your bloods are still up in the morning even if you low-carb the entire day; liver likes to give us some glucose for energy to start the day. It'll get less severe as time goes by. Give yourself a week or two of low carbing, see what happens. Just please, stay away from anything oaty! (especially in the morning!)
There is, as yet, no actual cure for T2. But with low carb/high fat you can control your bloodsugars, and get back into the non-diagetic range, as you have done before. That way you can stay off of meds, avoid complictations and whatnot. I've been in the non-diabetic range for 2 years now and I know my bloods will respond badly to a piece of cake (or porridge), so I know I'll probably always be a T2.... But a well controlled, complication-free one, if I can help it. Same could well be true for you.
Deborahdesylva
Member
Thank you ! Must be a bit stressy still as your reply made me cry lol! Had 2 coffees with bit zero syrup and double cream today and managed drink cup tea black with lunch and wasn't as bad as I expected! So much to discover and fingers full of holes already!! Seeing Dr this afternoon - going to educate him a bit more( on last occasion 18mths ago he didn't know about fasting diet) and make sure I can access some blood testing when I want it.That breakfast sounds perfect; much, much better than porridge! (Which you weren't a fan of anyway, so yay). And you may want to google bulletproof coffee. No idea if it'll work for tea, but who knows. And I've been putting cream in my nespresso's for a while now... (Unwhipped, no sugar). Now I'm just sorry cafe's don't offer it!
Your fasting blood glucose will come down as glucose stores are depleted (because you're low carbing) and don't be surprised if your bloods are still up in the morning even if you low-carb the entire day; liver likes to give us some glucose for energy to start the day. It'll get less severe as time goes by. Give yourself a week or two of low carbing, see what happens. Just please, stay away from anything oaty! (especially in the morning!)
There is, as yet, no actual cure for T2. But with low carb/high fat you can control your bloodsugars, and get back into the non-diagetic range, as you have done before. That way you can stay off of meds, avoid complictations and whatnot. I've been in the non-diabetic range for 2 years now and I know my bloods will respond badly to a piece of cake (or porridge), so I know I'll probably always be a T2.... But a well controlled, complication-free one, if I can help it. Same could well be true for you.
JoKalsbeek
Expert
Of course you're a little shell-shocked! Your numbers were a little on the high side, and you weren't expecting that. But you'll be okay. And hey, you can check dietdoctor for meal ideas too, (and drinks). Doc may not want to test regularly, but since you slipped back without more regular testing, it might be a good arguement to have it as a check, every 3 months. Your doc can't be adverse to that, can he...? I know mine went for every three months because she wanted to see what would happen to her guinea-pig. (I'm the only one in the practice who went LC/HF and later, Keto/IF). After things remained stable for a year and a half we cut back and just test whenever I want to, which is about every 6 months. Maybe suggest he read the Diabetes Code by Dr. Jason Fung? He's big on keto and IF. (And you might want to read it too. Fascinating stuff!)
All in all though... You'll be okay. Take your time, review your meals, (check with us if you're uncertain, if you like), and as for your fingers.... Test before a meal and 2 hours after first bite. If it went up more than 2.0 mmol/l, the meal was carbier than you could process back out again. Tests outside that window don't usually tell you much, so you can save the strips.
And maybe skip the fasting bloodglucose for now, because it's just making you anxious, and it'll take a little while to go down anyway. Maybe try again in a week, see whether there's any improvement. But if your postprandial goed down, eventually your fasting BG will drop too. All will be well! (And good luck at the doc's!)
Jo
Deborahdesylva
Member
Wow that's really helpful, thanks. I think you're right about the morning one so I will follow you're advice and leave it for a week. Lunch I had mashed cauliflower, smoked mackerel and cucumber. After 2hrs and 10 km on the exercise bike the reading is 7.9!!!! First time under 12 since sat so thrilled! Thanks to you all I am feeling like I might be okOf course you're a little shell-shocked! Your numbers were a little on the high side, and you weren't expecting that. But you'll be okay. And hey, you can check dietdoctor for meal ideas too, (and drinks). Doc may not want to test regularly, but since you slipped back without more regular testing, it might be a good arguement to have it as a check, every 3 months. Your doc can't be adverse to that, can he...? I know mine went for every three months because she wanted to see what would happen to her guinea-pig. (I'm the only one in the practice who went LC/HF and later, Keto/IF). After things remained stable for a year and a half we cut back and just test whenever I want to, which is about every 6 months. Maybe suggest he read the Diabetes Code by Dr. Jason Fung? He's big on keto and IF. (And you might want to read it too. Fascinating stuff!)
All in all though... You'll be okay. Take your time, review your meals, (check with us if you're uncertain, if you like), and as for your fingers.... Test before a meal and 2 hours after first bite. If it went up more than 2.0 mmol/l, the meal was carbier than you could process back out again. Tests outside that window don't usually tell you much, so you can save the strips.
All will be well! (And good luck at the doc's!)
Jo
M
Member496333
Guest
The fingers full of holes thing will go away as the tips glaze over and turn into high-carbon steel. I went through a phase initially where I needed a drill to get any blood out 
Deborahdesylva
Member
Dr admitted didn't know much so got see another one in 2 weeks. He just said I'm diabetic and needs to be controlled. Said can be told anything on internet but it's a disease and did not seem to believe it could be managed with diet. Hope the next one is more supportive!
AllieRainbow
Well-Known Member
Type 2 diabetes most definitely can be controlled by diet in many cases - take a look at the success stories part of the forum for some good examples of what people have achieved using diet - and you have proof yourself with your earlier drop in HbA1c results after you did the Michael Mosley diet for 8 weeks.
Hopefully the next doctor will be a little more open to control with lifestyle changes. I am lucky to have a supportive doctor, who was very pleased when my second HbA1c came in with a drop from 82 to 42. He is now happy with testing every few months and no medication as long as I continue with good results.
did you have something the previous night before you went to bed? If I have anything after 8pm for instance it does carry through and give high numbers in the morning also it may be worth trying to eat protein first before the poridge so start with say bacon and egg then 20 mins later a bowl of poridge or have your carbs at the end of the day
also you mention diabetic cookies when I tried them they increased my number higher than a twix bar
Dr Jason Fung would dissagree take a lookon you tube, interesting fact that UK doctors spend 5 years at uni and only spend 8 weeks on the subject of nutrition
Deborahdesylva
Member
thanks - have put porridge experiment on hold. I do like to nibble so had a few mixed nuts after 8pm, will try to stop but tonight didn't get to eat until 8,30pm. Will leave cookies for while now as that is quite alarming and would prefer the twix!
Major Buckmaster
Well-Known Member
I’m the same! Hate the milky taste! My tea is extra strong Assam tea with a tiny splash of semi skimmed and it’s fine.
JoKalsbeek
Expert
Nuts are fine, as is cheese, pork scratchings, extra dark chocolate, olives... Nibble away!
jjraak
Expert
Me too @AllieRainbow.
And @Deborahdesylva ..bless you for the tears.
@JoKalsbeek is spot on.
I still get snappy and irritable for no other reason, but my blood sugars low..I also found when it was high, I got a little too chatty for the wifes liking..,(first I don't talk enough...then I talk too much..can't win..lol
)Good news on the lower figs.
That glucose us a sneaky b*****, and the body also conspires against us, that why the less ammunition the pair of them have (carbs/sugar) the better off we are in the long run.
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