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type 2 diabetes diagnosed 3 weeks ago

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shamy

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hi everyone i was recently diagnosed with type 2 diabetes and high cholesterol so i’m on metformin and atorvastatin.i used to have junk all day so it’s not surprising but now i’m confused on what to eat
 
Hi Shamy and welcome to the forums.

Most of our T2 members are advocates of a low carb lifestyle and many have managed to ditch the medication by following this. I will tag a couple of people who may be able to provide better advice than me.

@Goonergal @Rachox @JoKalsbeek @bulkbiker

Do you have a glucose meter to test your blood glucose levels?
 
shamy said:
hi everyone i was recently diagnosed with type 2 diabetes and high cholesterol so i’m on metformin and atorvastatin.i used to have junk all day so it’s not surprising but now i’m confused on what to eat
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Hi @shamy , (And thanks for the tag, @urbanracer !)

Sorry about your diagnosis. I know it's a weird spot to be in, not to call it scary and intimidating. But hey, you found this place rather quick, so you're off to a good start! And here's some hope for the future, should you be in need of it right now.

First off: You're going to be fine. It just takes a few adjustments, but you'll get the hang of things soon enough. Basics: Practically all carbs turn to glucose once ingested. So it's not just sugar that can spike you, but starches too. That means that everything you think you know about a "proper, healthy" diet is now officially out the window, because barely any of it applies to a T2's metabolism. (Very) Broad strokes? Fats are good. Fruit is bad. So is bread. That was the short version without the exceptions to the rules. ;)

Like I said, practically all carbs turn to glucose once ingested, so you try and cut out some carbs and see what that gets you. I see you've already replied to Urban about a meter: you need one. The bulk of us here self-fund, so you want a meter with cheap test strips. The Tee2 for instance. Because the strips is where the costs are. Thing is, we're all different. One is more insuline resistant/sensitive than the other, and there are no absolutes: I can't eat pulses. You might be able to. That's where a meter comes in. It'll let you know what works for you, and what most definitely doesn't. Rule of thumb: Test before a meal and 2 hours after the first bite. You're aiming for a rise of 2.0 mmol/l or less. Sounds complicated until you realise you're a T2 and it's all two's, all the way, so easy to remember for when your meter comes in. Usually after 2 hours your body'll have either been able to deal with what you've but in there, or it couldn't. If you're over a rise of 2 mmol/l, the meal was carbier than you could handle and not worth repeating in the near future.

So what is carby and what isn't? Carb-heavy foods include rice, bread, spuds, pasta, cereal and corn. If it's made out of some form of grain, it's out. Doesn't matter if it's brown or white, wholemeal or whatever.... If you put it in your body, it will have to deal with it no matter what colour the carbs are. And alas, a carb, is a cab, is a carb. Same applies to most fruit. Berries are fine, generally speaking, but anything else? In spite of all the vitamins in there, they don't measure up to what they do to your blood sugars. Thankfully, vitamins can be found elsewhere: veggies and meats/fish. So what does that leave you with? Plenty! Meat, fish, poultry, eggs, cheese, butter, basically have no carbs at all. Eat to your heart's content. Above ground/leafy green veggies are fine too, though you might want to check what pulses do. Cauliflower rice or Celeriac can substitute for spuds/rice, but you could also double up on your other veggies, meats, eggs... So if you're stuck for breakfast, 4 eggs with ham, bacon, cheese, high meat content sausages (fillers are often cheap carbs, so yeah...), a tomato, that sort of thing, should get you to lunch with no problem. On dietdoctor.com you might find some more ideas for meals, but all in all... There's still a tasty world for you out there.

Now, as for cholesterol... Statins, alas, raise blood glucose in a lot of people. In some it even triggers diabetes in the first place. Often, if you tackle the diabetes with low carb, other issues covered under the Metabolic Syndrome umbrella, improve too. (Metabolic syndrome includes high blood pressure, high cholesterol, T2 diabetes, obesity and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease). Treat one, everything else follows suit. So unless you have familial high cholesterol (double digits) or have had a cardiac event in the past, you might want to think about taking statins for a while. You might not suffer any side effects, but some of us here have been damaged by them to horrifying extents. From extreme memory loss to joint pain. So you might want to ask your doc to hold off on that scrip for a while.

https://www.diabetes.co.uk/forum/blog-entry/the-nutritional-thingy.2330/ explains things a bit more, but all in all... There's a lot of voices online. Low carbing worked for me, and for many others here. I even took it so far to switch to a carnivore diet, which is virtually no carbs. (Rule of thumb: if a lion eats it, so can you. It's not for everyone, that's for sure!). But on youtube and elsewhere there's a million other methods to get control of T2, and not all of them are particularly healthy in the long run, or are just plain dead wrong. That's where your meter comes in, when you have it. It won't try to sell you cookbooks, or weird shakes or whatever. It just tells you how your body is responding to certain foods. It's impartial, and has no dogma to sell. I know my post reads as absolutely insane, so do your research. Find out what you want to give a try, test for the effects of those meals and decide for yourself what suits you. For all we know, you could do fine on 120 grams of carbs a day. Or maybe you're better suited to KETO, which is 20 grams or less, generally. There's some vegetarians on here as well, though how they manage it, I don't know... But they do. None os us is 100% the same. What works for you, might not work for another. So don't go with the shouty "Do this or you'll die a horrible death" types who apply scare tactics to sell their channel/book/blog. Just do your own research. Your meter'll let you know soon enough what's good for you, and what isn't. And when in doubt, just ask on here, there's always someone around with an answer.

Hope that helps!
Jo
 
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As jokalsbeek said, carbs in all forms are the stuff to check with a meter.
But that leaves a lot of things we can eat.
When I went low carb I thought about my favourite foods and looked for substitutes - cauliflower rice cooked in the oven (not microwaved at first, though that's fine to reheat) tastes enough like rice, courgette for pasta took me longer to get used to, for bread there are lower carb options to buy or I make 90 second bread with ground almonds. I'm a chocoholic but switched to a couple of chunks of 85% dark chocolate - sometimes I melt it then add double cream to make it into mousse but usually I have full fat Greek yogurt with a few raspberries instead.
 
Hi @shamy and welcome

You mention that you’re confused about what to eat. Could you say more about that? It can be overwhelming at first, so it might help us to give more tailored advice if we know what you’re struggling with.

Personally I really enjoy eating low carb and it’s brought many health benefits, of which remission of type 2 is just one. My go to website for food ideas/recipes etc is https://www.dietdoctor.com - they have ideas to suit everyone from carnivores to vegans. Paid subscriptions exist, but aren’t necessary. You can get everything you need for free.

And do come back here with any questions you have.
 
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