pebbles2you said:
Hello,
I was just diagnosed with type 2 about 3 months ago with my fasting levels were at about 19. I was given 5 minutes advise from the nurse (stay away from pasta,rice,bread,potatoes&cereal) and then sent on my way and told to come back in 4 months to see if I have improved any on my own. I'm really struggling to know what to do/eat. I have lost about 20 lbs in 3 months from watching/counting everything I eat and trying to stay away from pasta/potatoes and have gone to whole grain breads... I thought I was doing well, but then I bought myself a tester and was shocked to see that I have only lowered my levels by about 5 points! I'm still reading about 14 in the mornings. I don't know if it's normal to take this long to get my levels down or if maybe I need to omit all bread/grains/carbs completely until I can get down to a normal level? I am concerned and could use some real advice... thanks for reading and I appreciate any comments/help.
Your story is very similar to mine .. My level was 18. and I got the same unhelpful diet advice.. except my GP also wanted to put me on metformin and statins immediately – I refused, and asked for time to try to bring my levels down. I bought myself a tester immediately, (GP was against testing) so I was testing from the start. In 4 months I got my Fasting BG down in the 5’s, and I had lost 20lbs too.
As is very common, you do have a particular problem with your fasting BG. I did too, until I cut out bread and cereals at breakfast.
What do you eat for breakfast? I found that my favourite food (toast) is off the menu, at least at breakfast time. You say you are 14 in the mornings? – Is that a fasting level or is that your BG +2hrs after breakfast. Do you eat the wholegrain bread at breakfast time?
I tried all sorts of bread, even everyone’s favourite Burgen Linseed & Soysa can spike me at breakfast. I found that I can only safely eat a half slice of Burgen at breakfast, and 1 slice, at a time, any other time – so sandwiches were also off the menu at lunchtime. Wholegrain bread spikes me as much as white! – looks as if you may be the same.
When I want bread I eat thinly sliced Rye Bread from the Village Bakery It’s made with Wholegrain Rye Flour, water and salt. – Nothing else, not even yeast. You can buy it from Asda or Waitrose. It took a while to get used to the flavour, but I love it now.
Livlife Seriously Seeded bread (Waitrose) is great too for making a sandwich (bacon sandwich, yum!) It’s made with soya flour, and has an unusual tang on first tasting, but If like me, you love bread, desperation means you get used to it.. see Rye Bread above
For breakfast, you might like to try bacon, eggs, yoghurt, cheese, cold cuts, etc., play around and find what suits you best. I love Greek (full fat - more filling) Yoghurt with a sprinkling of granola, fruit or nuts.. A word on fruit -berries are generally more kind to BG's than other fruits. Bananas make my BG’s go stratospheric!! I now love plain Greek Yoghurt so much that I make it by the vat :lol: I recently bought an Easiyo Yoghurt Maker from Lakeland (currently on half-price special offer at £7.14.,
http://www.lakeland.co.uk/7531/EasiYo-Yoghurt-Maker) and make a litre of plain greek yoghurt for breakfast, and add fruit, nuts, seeds, or toasted coconut – whatever I fancy. If you zap the fruit in the microwave for 20 secs or so, it will release some of the juices, yum!
Is your fasting BG your only concern, or are you having problems at other times too?
You have 4 weeks to go to your retest.
Is it a fasting BG test or an HBA1c? You still have time to get your levels down further before then. However, an HBA1c test is allegedly(!) an indication of your average BG over the previous 3 months. Some experts say that it’s only over the previous 4 or 6 or 8 weeks – take your pick. The reason I’m saying this, is if your BG’s HAVE been uncontrolled to around an average of 14 over the time since you were dx, then this MAY be reflected in your HBA1c when measured in 4 weeks time. However, if you only have a problem with your fasting BG, then although it may push up your average BG (and therefore your HBA1c), it may be balanced out somewhat if your BG's are within range the rest of the time. (But the next 4 weeks can also make a significant difference if you can reduce your levels.
So obviously start with breakfast.
Don’t be intimidated by your DSN into taking the drugs, if you can get your levels down further, then you may be able to control your diabetes with diet and exercise alone. HCP's are nothing, if not, predictable.....They want us to take the drugs, as
they EXPECT us to fail .. so they think they are protecting us from ourselves. BUT, It’s YOUR choice to take the drugs or not. Metformin can help with weight loss, if you still have weight to lose, but can (ahem!) cause what they like to delicately call “gastric upset”. I have managed to resist all medication for over a year now, despite some heavy-handed scare tactics by my GP. At my annual review last month, I felt vindicated – the dietician (and I use the word loosely here – as I had no real useful help from her) called me a “star”. My new GP is happy for me to carry on as I “have good control” and non-diabetic BG’s) - and doesn't want to see me again for 6 months.
However, if you feel that you want to take the drugs to help for a while, you can always opt to reduce or stop them later, but don’t feel pressured to do what they want – you can always say you want more time to get your BG’s down. You are CLEARLY making progress, and despite what you say, a drop of 5 is significant. But you will be able to do better once you get to grips with your diet and learn better which foods suit YOU and WHEN you can eat them.
There's loads of helpful advice on this forum, but you also have to find what suits YOU best, and I (and others) firmly believe that testing is the key to that. New habits take time to form, so don’t beat yourself up about it. You CAN use food & exercise to get and keep your BG levels down. Unfortunately there is no “one-size-fits-all diet” which anyone can advise that will fix it. We are all different, as we are all a different stages of the disease at diagnosis.
I use a little book (you can get it on Amazon) called Collins gem Carb Counter which will tell you the carb content of common foods. There are many other books and online or phone apps too, that you may find useful. Browse the forum and see what others use .. MyFitnessPal is very popular.
In general terms, you will have to restrict carbohydrates to some extent, especially, as you already know, refined carbs such as white bread, potatoes (esp. mashed), white rice, pasta, sugar (obviously!).
It’s worth trying the more complex carbs like wholegrain bread, brown rice, wholewheat pasta, small NEW potatoes (1 or 2 about the size of a hen’s egg), beans, legumes etc., but again, it’s likely that you will have to restrict portions.
How much you restrict your carbs is down to personal choice and how they affect your BG levels. The best way to find out is to TEST,TEST,TEST your blood. Based on the results, adjust portion sizes, or eliminate problem foods from your diet, and you should see your BG levels come down.
Your BG's may not come down overnight, but will come down when you make changes to your diet that suit YOU. Testing will give you the information to do that. Whatever you choose to eat, think of it as transitioning to your future healthy lifestyle. It will become a way of life, and new habits are formed one step at a time.
If you'd like a diet buddy for the next 4 weeks, you can PM me.
Best wishes
