Type2 Blog...the race is on

Hi, I am Dean. Recently diagnosed 2 weeks ago with type 2. My HbAC1 was 67. I’ve always kept myself fit and active, eat sensibly and when I want or need... so I was a little downhearted when my doctor joyfully blurted out “hey i’m glad to inform you that you are diabetic”. Cheers...lucky I didn’t shove your stethoscope in your ear canal, no need to be so happy about it. I guess that was his cue for £££ with the whole government targets of hypocrisy. Yes not best pleased. Began to waffle on about diabetic nurse, medication, this that and the other. Anyway I let him finish and then explained my background in Sports Science and Nutrition. Served 11 years in the most senior regiment of the British Army and used to getting off my rear and doing something about it. I pledged a bet with him to significantly reduce my carbohydrate, sugar and fat content Over the next 6 weeks to which he could have some more of my precious red venom for analysis. I’m doing well, masses of literature on Doogle and even what I am putting in my gob has become the norm. Yesterday on the way to work all I could smell was lovely bacon wafting around.....and then around lunchtime and before I could even see KFC I could smell the flagrant aromas of that establishment....I could have cried. No I have a mental picture in my head of Roger Murtaugh sticking an onion in Martin Riggs face for stopping smoking. So that analogy sticks when I have a craving for a mega carb fix. Even succumbed to eating an avocado(alien looking berry) this morning with my oats strawberries and blueberries....nasty little green thing. Anyway, hello.

JoKalsbeek said:

Hello Dean. And guess what: bacon is a diabetic's friend. I think, with your background in nutrition, you'll find there's a lot of recent studies that will be of interest to you. (dietdoctor.com is a good place to start, as are the Dr. Jason Fung books). Low carb, perfect. Add -comperatively- high fat tho... It helps keep your blood from spiking when you do eat carbs, (slows down the uptake), and helps make you feel full.

I eat bacon once or twice a day, with my meal. My HbA1c is down to 34, my cholesterol is loads better, I was 102+ kilo's, now hovering around 76. And you can have chicken as long as you peel that carby KFC breading off. Heck, have a Whopper, just tell them to hold the bread. (5 grams of carbs, right there, including bacon, cheese, onion, lettuce, tomato, whatever...).

Avocado took some getting used to, but I kinda like it now. Usually toss it into my daily salads, but I read they make a good base for chocolate mousse too. I get them frozen though, because getting a perfectly ripe one still trips me up.

It's a lot to take in and adjust, because what's right for regular people isn't right for us pancreatically challenged types... But something tells me you're goong to tackle this head on.

Good luck, welcome, and I'll tag @daisy1 for the welcome-blurb, which is more useful than anything I just said.
Jo

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thank you, I find you amusing. Nice to virtually meet you.

Antje77 said:

Hello, and welcome on the forum!
I wouldn't reduce fat along with carbs, it's not needed to reduce your blood glucose and you do need to eat something to live

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Thank you very much

Daibell said:

Hi and welcome. Congrats on keeping the carbs but don't worry about the fat as you need fats and proteins to keep you feeling full for longer and avoid carb hunger. The fat thing which were all told to keep down has been shown to have little scientific basis.

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G’day, thank you.

Prem51 said:

Welcome to the forum @Dean76.

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Hello, thank you for your message. It is people like yourselves as to why I came on to the forum. Masses of help.

Breakfast has always been the same. Prepared the night before and left in fridge overnight to soak. Eaten cold as the flakes take longer to “flower” in the stomach keeping you/ me fuller for longer...as opposed to lovely hot porridge(treat).

80-100g of oats(Mornflakes)
100-200ml of 1% milk
1 banana(normally)

Lasts me most of the day if not until dinnertime anyway.
My meal times are always the same:

06:00, 12:00 and 18:00(I never eat past 19:30).

My problem is that as a Mechanical Engineer(physically intensive). I slog my guts out all day and then will consume the closest thing I can(past). So if you gain 1 stone you have consumed 52000 calories beyond your bodies desire. It is unable to cope and stores as total saturation. Even though my meal times are the same everyday my working window is and can be 24 hours. So when tired my nutrition is out of sink because say for instance I am out until late at night(+21:00) and driving home I will stop and chow down or what I like.

Whilst I understand that fats are good they clearly work different with metabolism and are unique and vary with the individual(s). Nutrition is key and not a dirty word. Understanding different fat types is good:

Brown Fat: a dark-coloured adipose tissue with many blood vessels, involved in the rapid production of heat in hibernating animals and human babies.

Trans Fats: Trans fats, or trans-unsaturated fatty acids, trans fatty acids, are a type of unsaturated fats that are uncommon in nature but became commonly produced industrially from vegetable fatsfor use in margarine, snack food, packaged baked goods and frying fast food starting in the 1950s.

Unsaturated Fats: Unsaturated fats contain a higher proportion of unsaturated fatty acidsand are usually liquid at room temperature.

Monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats help to maintain healthy cholesterol levels and are found in vegetable oils such as olive, rapeseed and sunflower oils, avocados, nuts and seeds.

Saturated Fats: A saturated fat is a fat in which the fatty acids all have single bonds. A fat is made of two kinds of smaller molecules: monoglyceride and fatty acids. Fats are made of long chains of carbon(C) atoms.

I am 41 now and still frequent the gym but not as often as I would like or should. In my younger days or until 3 years ago my body was a temple spending up to 30 hours a week burning my way through physical endurance. CV and bodybuilding. My body has slowed down somewhat and i’m ageing.

I do not have one of these or those self harming machines to test myself but will endeavour to source the machine.

The other element in my life to which I became accustomed to from an early age of 12-13 was my mothers father. He developed T2D which developed in to Chronic Pancreatitis. It ended his life, something that made me aware of hereditary traits. His mother was diabetic, my uncle his son has it(not many toes left). So it has always been a huge worry that “I was next”. My Grandad was in a coma, intensive care and rigged up to pipes, IV’s, machines of this and that and laying on some spacecraft looking slab called a bed.

bulkbiker said:

First two yes agree completely but the fat quotient I would say is not necessary to reduce... and indeed you'll be making life harder for yourself if you do.
Fat replaces the carbs for energy and also gives satiety a major player in weight loss as I'm sure you know. If you are starving hungry all the time then losing weight is a pain. If you are feeling fuller for longer then its a far easier task.

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Pain is weakness leaving the body, embrace

Guzzler said:

I'm totally with you on the avocado front. Much better to have a couple of knobs of butter on your veggies.
And there's no such thing as too much bacon!

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Haha its what goes with....nice sliced spelt bread, spread of Anchor Butter. Load it up with Chelsea red and a perfectly fried egg. Sprinkle of pepper....heaven. Have one you have to indulge for another. It would be rude.

Diakat said:

I lied your post - not because I like that you have diabetes but because I like your get up and do something approach. Avocado is not compulsory.

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I am not scared to die. Just not ready yet. Do not want all the hassle either. But yes I never do much in my life later.

I am also a Sarcoidosis sufferer, it is in remission and can stay there for all I care. My immune system is naf so if someone sneezes I give them a 10m radius exclusion zone. Last November I caught a cold from my now 6 year old to which developed in to influenza. I soldiered on and dropped in to the NHS centre when I was in dire need. Unfortunately whilst coping with mundane immune problems I developed Laryngitis and acute Bronchitis which bedded me down for 3 days in January 2018. So this diagnosis 2 weeks ago has put a totally different aspect on my life. To which I will not lose or be beaten.

JoKalsbeek said:

Your breakfast is a massive carb-bomb. (More carbs than I eat in 2 or three days, I'm guessing) But hey, some people's pancreas' can handle it better than others! That's where the testing comes in. We're snowflakey: for every one of us the levels of insulin resistance, insulin production and liver dumps are unique... So with a meter you can check how many carbs you can handle. (Rule of thumb: check before a meal and 2 hours after first bite. If it goes up more than 2 mmol/l, you couldn't process that much and the meal needs adjusting or tossing all together). There are practically no carbs in eggs, bacon, cheese & mushrooms... And it is a solid, filling breakfast. I scramble mine up in a few minutes, takes no time at all. Maybe throw in some cherry tomatoes. It's 15:30 where I am, and I'm still not hungry.

I know we probably sound like a bunch of fanatics to you, haha. But hey, it works for the bulk of us, and your HbA1c isn't anywhere near as bad as mine was... So I do believe the odds are in your favour when it comes to any bets with your doc.

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Nah, you are all good. Could I ask you which machine and where to purchase?