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Where I am at in the Type 2 world

srobertson06

srobertson06

Well-Known Member
Messages
321
Location
Lincolnshire
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Tablets (oral)
Dislikes
Cycling, Exercise Classes
Hi Everyone,

In National Diabetic Week I went along to an event being held by my employers with regards to Diabetes - I have to be honest and the information was NHS guidelines - but I got chatting to a lady who was also type 2 diabetic and had been for around 8 years, she told me that she followed NHS guidelines for 6 years and all to no avail - then she started to learn about LCHF and began to eat that way - approximately 9 months ago she began in full to follow the LCHF diet and the weight has fallen off her - gone down 3 dress sizes in 9 months, dropped one of her diabetic medications and hoping to become medication free in the near future.
She was an inspiration to me - finally someone to speak to who had done it and proved it worked for her.
I admit I had begun to look at LCHF and was doing it in a small way and it was showing progress so I do believe it will work for me but I realised I needed to do it in full and so have ordered a couple of cookbooks to help me find some meal options I can live with - sadly I cannot live on just salad so need some other ideas.......
Then today I was talking to another colleague and he mentioned the Bitter Gourd Melon - so I investigated and from what he said and what I found here on the website I have ordered some from a well know company. My colleague also mentioned the coconut oil and said it has to be cold pressed so I ordered that as well as I cannot purchase it locally.

I have purchased some coconut flour and flax meal so I can have a go at doing some baking over the weekend and once my books arrive hopefully I can really get on board to a full LCHF way of life as I appreciate it has to become a way of life.

Many of you are a long way down the road of Diabetes and making really great inroads to the glucose levels - I have still to get there, but I am feeling like I just might be able to get those ideal blood glucose readings that so many of you have reached and then I will aim to become medication free. Your stories on here are wonderful to read but because we are all so individual I guess we each have to find our way - so I thought my progress on the diabetes road might just help others along the way but as always I am no expert and this is only what I have done so far.
 
The evidence for Bitter Gourd is weak to say the least and Metformin is much better at doing the same thing. Being medication-free isn't anything special or clever, Many people on here with low HbA1c scores take Metformin as well as eating in a LCHF way. It might not do the whole job, but it definitely lowers your BG and it's safe with a few well-known inconvenient side effects which tend to fade over time or use of the Slow Release versions for most people. Unless you have a particular bad reaction to it, and your health care professional has prescribed it, then I'd take it.

If I could give you my view, it's that you should just stop thinking in terms of single ingredients, supplements or magical superfoods dreamed up by marketing teams to treat you, and concentrate on the main issue - cutting right down on carbohydrates. Cookbooks can be helpful for some ideas, but essentially, I've found ones that try to recreate the same recipes you've always eaten with low-carb versions are usually disappointing and aren't what you need. You need to experiment without the ingredients you would previously have put in (potatoes, pasta, rice, flour, sugar) and with the ones you can now let yourself eat more of - cream, high-fat cheese, full fat yoghurt, butter, avocados, nuts, mayonnaise etc.

I too wasn't a big fan of salads, but it's amazing how they're transformed with high fat ingredients. As I type this, I've just finished a salad of Spinach, with mozzarella and taramasalata, and bought the ingredients for a stir fry of mixed cabbage, cauliflower, peanut and steak which we'll eat tonight. For breakfast I had full fat greek yoghurt with a couple of fresh ripe apricots, walnuts, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds and chia. I have a jar of the pumpkin, sunflower and ground linseed at home which I usually put on salads and along with fullfat mayonnaise it transforms them into a tasty meal not some kind of penitance.

If you approach it right, it's a liberation to eat wholesome, tasty and satisfying food, rather than a burden you'll have to carry for your whole life. I personally, am enjoying food now more than I ever did before and all the other benefits you get from LCHF - more energy, weight loss, and most of all - low blood sugar and the prospect of no diabetic complications to look forward to.
 
Its great to hear you are getting yourself on track. Im sure your glucose levels will continue to drop with LCHF. If you are.looking for meal ideas Pinterest is great.
 
Thank you for taking the time to give me your thoughts, I am on meds right now and I am facing more meds to counteract the meds I am currently on so I am willing to try all options in my goal of getting my blood glucose levels down, it is all well and good to get some ideas off the web but I wanted to be able to look at options when not looking at a computer screen as I need to be aware of the time I am looking at a screen.
 
Well done on finding a buddy you can chat with.

A reduced carb diet is definitely helpful to many on here, and is how I have managed myself (stats in my signature), but the thing with diabetes is we have to find our own way forward, as anything we do is usually for the longer term. The reason I say usually is recognising those who elect to do some time on the Newcastle Diet, or the like.

My comment would be not to close your mind to using the internet for food options and suggestions. I subscribe to a few free sites, like ditchthecarbs, ibreatheimhungry, sugarfreemom and lowcarbmaven being some examples. I have searched their respective recipe resources, but they also do periodic emails, which sometimes just make me want to lick my lips and explore something I'd never have thought of.

Do be careful of many cookbooks stating they are diabetes friendly, as sometimes they will be following the Eat Well Plate style of diabetes care, and I don't think that's what you're looking for right now.

Good luck with it all.
 
The cookbooks are LCHF and Paleo - which I think are what I need for suggestions but thank you for the advice and for the website I can look at but as I spend all day everyday working on a computer it is nice to have an actual book
 
srobertson06 said:
The cookbooks are LCHF and Paleo - which I think are what I need for suggestions but thank you for the advice and for the website I can look at but as I spend all day everyday working on a computer it is nice to have an actual book
Click to expand...

I'm not suggesting paleo is poor, but the paleo way of eating includes a wider range of fruit (such as mango and peach) for sweetness and sweet potato for thickening at other uses, so just read those with care. The sites I mention have all done the carb counting when they post their recipes on the web, which is a handy reassurance.

Enjoy your new food ideas. :)
 
I have printed off some ideas from the dietdoc website - I will be reading with interest the cook books when they arrive and yes may well need to amend ingredients but looking for meal ideas - finding it difficult to look when I do not know what is out there - even dietdoc asks you what you are looking for...........

A little bit of more good news is that for the first time ever my blood sugar readings are 5.6 before lunch........... I cannot put into words the way it makes me feel to finally be getting my numbers down to even close the range my doctor wants - just hoping I can keep it going which is why I wanted some ideas for meals.

Thank you for your support it is very much appreciated.
 
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