What to eat!

noblehead said:

Take a look in here to read what other members eat:

http://www.diabetes.co.uk/diabetes-forum/viewforum.php?f=3



Good luck with the heart checks and let us know how you get on futcher!

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WhitbyJet said:

futcher123 said:

Thank you it just some times needs someone to give you a kick start. Some good ideas. Thanks for your help.

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Have a good luck through the recipes threads, I dont know if you are doing low carb or low GI or portion control, diet is an individual choice, thats why we all say eat to your meter.

I eat pasta, but I make my own low carb pasta and have bolognaise or other sauces with that, foir lunches you could make yourself quiche or Scotch eggs to take with you or soups, you could try to bake the low carb 2 minute microwave bread, cut it in half and make up a very decent sandwich, add a yoghurt, jelly, berries and lunch is fixed?!
I know its all a bit overwhelming and difficult at first, but if you can be flexible and are willing to try something new you will soon manage to devise a eating plan that suits you and keeps your bg at good levels.

All the best to you

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Defren said:

When I was newly diagnosed that was my concern, what the flippin' heck can I eat. Now I know what I can tolerate and I love my new low carb lifestyle. Try having a look at the recipe's. Even if your not a great cook, many are very simple and straightforward, and if your are a good cook we expect you to share your recipe's. :lol:

Try not to worry, all will be fine, it just takes a wee while to adapt.

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xyzzy said:

Hi Futcher

To be honest it sounds like you're getting the standard NHS dietary message which dates back 20 odd years and compared to a load of countries nowadays it very out of date. I was diagnosed 8 months ago and now have the levels of a non diabetic (dropped by hBA1c from 11.3% to 4.9% in six months), normal cholesterol and blood pressure levels and have lost 4 stone in weight. I do this with my GP and DSN's support as they can see what I and countless others on this forum do works. I am not cured as if I eat the wrong things then BOOM my levels go through the roof but if I stick to my safe diet for the majority of the time then my levels are no worse than that of an average non diabetic person.

Basically to get control involves two things both of which are NHS tends to object to unless like me you have a progressive gp who has read up on the latest treatments used in other health services. First cut out all forms of natural sugar so the obvious cakes, biscuits, sugar in tea and coffee, non diet sodas and even pure fruit juices as they have loads of sugar. Next as just as importantly at least halve your intake of rice, pasta, bread, potatoes, cereals and other flour based products. Replace with extra meat, fish, cheese, eggs and especially green veg. Things like yoghurt are generally fine. If you want a small amount of fruit then "berries" are best and I find they won't raise your levels as high if you eat them as a pudding after your main meal. On the rice, pasta and bread you have left in your diet swap to brown basmati rice, brown or tri-colour pasta and the best bread by far is Burgen Soya bread that you can get from most supermarkets.

Part two involves getting yourself a blood levels meter. If the gp won't give you one (some are really really anti and will give you a load of rubbish why you shouldn't use one) then get one called an SD CodeFree from the healthcare.co.uk shop on eBay. They also sell on Amazon. It will cost less than £20 with test strips at around £5 for 50. This is by far the cheapest meter and loads of members have them.

Start testing 2 hours after you eat. You need to aim to be under 8 as regularly exceeding 8 is where you start to risk complications such as blindness and amputations. The NICE guidelines say under 8 two hours after eating and between 4 and 7 at all other times.
At the beginning you may find getting under 8 to be really difficult. If it is then also test before you eat and aim for the two hour after eating reading to be back at roughly the level of the before eating reading. If you do that then you should see a gradual day by day improvement until all your two hour readings come out safe.

If you can't stop the readings spiking high after two hours then you have a choice. Either reduce the rice, pasta, bread, potatoes, cereals and other flour based products some more until your levels respond or if you really can't change your diet further then go back to the gp and ask for stronger drugs but as you're finding already the whole problem is you end up having to take more and more meds simply to sustain what many of us think is a bad diet to be on to begin with. The important thing is to recognize that you need safe blood levels.

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