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Type 2 What to eat

K

Kelz198211

Member
Messages
9
Type of diabetes
Type 2
I'm newly diagnosed but I keep eating chocolate when my bloods say 4.5 I tend to have weetabix n then a few hours later an orange. Lunch is pasta or a sandwich then I snack again until my main meal roughly 10pm I'm on two metaformin tablets a day. I'm not really sure what I should and shouldn't be eating.

I have to eat Cereal As I'm usually working when I take my first tablet is there any advice on the food side of things ?
 
Cereal probably isn't the best thing, do you test post meal? if so use that method to see what works for you, ideally the rise 2 hours after eating should be no more than 2mmol than your pre meal reading, pasta and bread are also a problem for people and can cause relatively large spikes, what kind of foods do you like, as for breakfast you say you have to have cereal as you are working but why don't you try making something the previous night? x
 
Hi @Kelz 198211 and welcome to the forum. None of the things you say you are eating are advisable for Type 2 diabetics.
Starchy carbohydrates like pasta, bread, cereals, potatoes and rice turn to glucose in our bodies.Oranges and most fruit have a high sugar content, though berries seem to be better. Dark chocolate with a high cocoa content is ok, but milk chocolate will have a lot of sugar.
A lot of T2s on here find that adopting a Low Carbohydrate High Fat (LCHF) approach to eating has lowered our blood sugar levels. Have a read round the threads to see how it works. There is a forum on here with nutrition an recipe ideas, and you can find low carb recipes on dietdoctor.com
 
Sorry for late reply I didn't not see any responses until now.

I'm still eating cereal for breakfast and at times cereal bars.

I'm still struggling with a typical daily menu so I'm tough guessing foods but have taken to testing before and after foods.

Foods I don't have or liquids I don't like:
any type of milk, fish, some vegetables, eggs,

I do like to have fresh cooked foods however if anything will help I will try, are they any ideas for breakfast ? Snack ? Main meal ?
What would the ideal typical daily foods be ? I should mention I work as a cleaner for up to 10hrs per day so o need to maintain sugar levels.

I have been reading books and trying to get to grips with low sugar and high sugar etc I have a meeting with my diabetic nurse soon and which I'm hoping will also help.
 

What is your testing before and after meals telling you?
Do you keep a food diary that includes portion sizes?
Do you record your before and after levels alongside your food?

If you do all that, and the rise from before to after is more than 2mmol/l there are too many carbs in that meal. Over a period of time you will see patterns emerging, and will be able to use this information to lower the carbs by either eliminating some or reducing the portion size. A rise of more than 2mmol/l is not good. Ideally it needs to be a lot less than that, under 1.5mmol/l at most.

Have a look at this for some ideas
https://www.dietdoctor.com/low-carb/60-seconds
https://www.dietdoctor.com/low-carb/foods#foodlist

and have a look at this
https://phcuk.org/sugar/

Try not to snack too often. Eating between meals does not give your pancreas the rest it needs, and if the snack contains carbs or fruit your levels will rise and will still be up when you are about to eat your next meal - the higher you start a meal the higher you will finish.
 
Depends on what I've eaten before hand but usually before is between 4-7 after is usually 7-8, I try to have small meals that won't make my sugars high I'm very cautious for example if I have jacket potato and cheese then I don't have anything else on the plate,

I haven't recorded anything would that be a good thing to do ?.

Also do we need to weigh foods ?
I mainly snack if I start to feel hungry usually green olives or banana sometimes nuts.

When I feel like I've over done it with physical work I test and if it's on 4 or lower I use chocolate to boost which a friend recommended.

I have family who have t2 and not much help both say eat and drink what you like because your medicated they drink beer and eat cakes etc, I don't drink so that's a good thing and I don't eat sugar apart from the chocolate if I feel shaky.
 
You are not taking anything which will control your diabetes, so if you eat carbohydrates your blood sugar will go up.
If you eat fat and protein and find out what amount of carbs and what foods you can cope with then you should settle into a normal range with your tests, but diabetes is not being able to cope with carbohydrate, so eating high starch and sugar foods is not a good idea.
Contrary to popular belief, sugar doesn't give you energy - not a consistent steady supply, which is probably what you need for your job. I keep the carbohydrate content of my first meal fairly low, and beer and cakes are not on the menu because they would raise the blood glucose level of most type two diabetics, and to dangerous levels if over indulged in. Sugary chocolate is also something which tends to push your blood glucose high, but sometimes it can mean that there is an outpouring of insulin and glucose levels drop rapidly, so you then think that you need more sugar for more energy, and you are on a roller coaster of highs and lows.
 
Kelz198211 said:
I haven't recorded anything would that be a good thing to do ?.
Click to expand...

If you are testing before and after meals but not recording anything, are you actually learning anything?
Do you know which foods cause your blood sugar levels to spike?
What does your jacket potato and cheese do to your levels? (at 2 hours and 3 hours)
What does your banana snack do to your levels at 1 hour and 2 hours after?
Same with your pasta/sandwiches at lunch time.

Until you have a sustainable and suitable diet sorted out, it is a very good idea to record everything in a food diary - what you eat, how much, and what your before and after levels are. Unless we learn something from our testing we are wasting our time and money doing it.

I am very surprised you can eat some of the foods you have told us you eat without very high spikes.
 
I've not been recording I wasn't aware that it's something we should do, I've noticed the main thing that's makes my sugars high is white baguettes,

My sugars prob do spike but as I'm physical for a lot of hours a day a it maybe that it's not so noticeable,

I was told when I went to my dn back In sept that because I lost weight and was weighing 9.8 and now 8.4 to have added carbs, cereal and banana for breakfast, pasta for lunch etc,

Also told I shouldn't be looking for carbs but The with sugar part on food labels which is what I've been doing, but after reading this site and a few books it's seems I should actually be looking into carbs more and obvs sugar intake.

I've recently found out last week that I can contact my dn when I'm worried or have any questions I wasn't aware of this as she told me I won't be seen until late Jan - Feb.

The foods they recommend fish milk etc are foods that don't agree with me or I do not like.

Yesterday was my day off so I took on board what was mentioned regarding snacks and recording.

Breakfast- whole grain cereal - 4.2 peaked to 6.1

Lunch - Lidl roll with cheese no butter - 3.5- peaked 5.2

Tea- potatoes- chicken- veg - 4.5- peaked 6.8

Bedtime measure 5.5

Hope I'm doing it right finally-
 
It's a steep learning curve that's for sure. It's great to see you are taking the advice you have been given from other forum members on board after all we are all in the same boat.
 
I have recently seen my dn,
I explained to her regarding my foods, snacks and times along with physical working, I mentioned I have maybe eaten the wrong types of foods since being diagnosed and that I seeked help on this site.

She did all my checks and weight and said carry on as I am with what I'm eating,

I had mentioned I've lost weight and have started to worry about this being I was a size 10-12 and now 6-8, having mentioned this she then said I may not be diabetic but to continue with medication for another 3 months and see if anything changes,

My overall hb test has come back 6.1.

Hopefully I have now managed to keep all controlled and await to see what is what is May time.
 
Hi can I ask what was your HBA1C when diagnosed and what medication are you taking for diabetes? You have definately brought it down well from diagnosis levels to 6.1/43 which is prediabetes level.
 
You seem to be eating very little protein and fat - your numbers are not at all bad - but your nutrition seems rather inadequate. How many servings of fresh vegetables do you usually have in a day? Anything close to the recommended five? Any fruit?
Cereal and bread are high carbs and you could possibly substitute something with more vitamins and minerals. Potato is often the source of spikes, as it is so high carb. You might do better to try multicolour mixes of veges for the different nutrients they contain
 
Kelz198211 said:
any advice on the food side of things ?
Click to expand...

Hi Kelz, I'm not going to weigh in with any advice here just a different way of thinking about food that might help.

Think of it this way what your doing now (lots of carbohydrates) is like trying to keep a coal fire lit by throwing £5 notes on it to keep it burring,
By eating Low Carb foods its like putting logs on the fire it last longer and you don't have to top it up as often.
(ie snacking)
 
My dcct levels were 11
My ifcc levels were 97
Fasting levels 14.1
All when diagnosed

Recently dcct 6.1
Ifcc 44
Fasting 5.2

I'm currently on metaformin 500g twice a day.
 
I tend to eat fruit at least 3 times a day and veg not every day if honest.

I struggle with what sort of foods are classed as low carb , is there a certain amount not to go above when planning meals ?

I must say since being diagnosed I have had the flu often being 4 times in the last 5 months, now I'm not sure if it's linked to being diabetic or weather it's the fact that It's something else.
 
Kelz198211 said:
I struggle with what sort of foods are classed as low carb
Click to expand...

Its realy easy to feel out of your depth when trying to figure out what is and is not good for you to eat, do not worry we have all been there. I felt pretty stupid when I didn't understand what carbs meant let alone a complex carbohydrate.

A carb is food you body can turn in to sugar quickly and can spike some peoples blood sugar.
I'm sorry but almost every food you have mentions your eating so far is a carb.
Bread, pasta, oranges, weetabix, (cereals are carbs).

Veg is mostly good. (except potatoes)
Fruit is mostly not so good, because fruit is sweet (sugar) and has carbs as well.

There is a whole section on this website about helpful recipes and food tips
https://www.diabetes.co.uk/recipes/

And there's google if you ask it what are low carb fruits and veg you will get lots of helpful pages.
 
If your protein intake is inadequate or you have reduced it a lot then you are going to lose weight in the form of muscle mass. Not a good thing. Everyone here is giving you good advice. It takes time to learn a new way of living, which is basically what it is.

Diet doctor has a lot of good info on low carb eating. They are also on facebook.

https://www.dietdoctor.com/

There is also a low carb program here on this site you can take a loot at also.
 
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