# Hello from Bristol



## Grace1961 (Jan 19, 2022)

Hi there, just introducing myself. I should have done this a long time ago when I was told I had type 2 diabetes in 2020.
Thought it would all be alright, it was for a while, lost 10kg, got fitter, started cycling.
The dreaded time that followed, things fell apart a bit.
So tomorrow I have an appointment with a diabetic nurse. My weight has gone up 8kg and sure my sugar levels are up.
Not wanting sympathy, I do want to know how everyone manages this, what you eat on a daily basis and hopefully pick up some helpful tips.


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## Inka (Jan 19, 2022)

Welcome @Grace1961  There are lots of helpful Type 2s here who can share their diet tips. Are you on any medication for the diabetes?


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## Grace1961 (Jan 19, 2022)

Inka said:


> Welcome @Grace1961  There are lots of helpful Type 2s here who can share their diet tips. Are you on any medication for the diabetes?


Hi
Thank you.
Yes I am, 2 x 500 mg Sakurto, slow release metformin.


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## Windy (Jan 19, 2022)

Hi Grace, welcome to the forum. I'm also a T2 on metformin, but I'm a vegetarian, so I'm not sure my diet and eating advice is what you might be looking for.
What sort of foods do you eat at the moment? 
Could you do a day where you only have 800 calories each week to get your calories down for that day? That way, you wouldn't have to drastically change what you eat every day, just the day you're on the 800 calories.


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## travellor (Jan 19, 2022)

After lockdown, I'm on a 800 calorie shake diet, and no alcohol for my New Year resolution.


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## Inka (Jan 19, 2022)

Grace1961 said:


> Hi
> Thank you.
> Yes I am, 2 x 500 mg Sakurto, slow release metformin.
> 
> ...



You could have a browse through this thread:

https://forum.diabetes.org.uk/boards/threads/what-did-you-eat-yesterday.30349/page-503

Bear in mind that not everyone posting there is Type 2, but it will give you a few ideas.


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## harbottle (Jan 19, 2022)

Hello, and welcome,

Breakfast: usually Greek yoghurt (100-150g or less if I mix it with peanut butter) and berries (Usually around 50g of either strawberries or raspberries.) Sprinkle cinnamon on top and sometimes have it with a bit of nutty/seed granola I make. An omelette every now and then.
Lunch: Home made bread of low-carb bread salad sandwich; home made Chile; home made vegetable soup (Basically a load of veg cooked in stock) Sometimes a Subway Salad box or a Pret-a-manger Italian salad if I have nothing to take in. Or occasionally just a few oat cakes and cottage cheese and an egg.
Dinner: meat/fish and steamed/roasted veg, plus some cauliflower rice. Occasionally a stir fry with onions/peppers/garlic and prawns and konjac noodles. We make a daal that is pretty nice and very filling. 

Sometimes we have a chicken dish from a supermarket that's pre-prepared (Usually stuffed with Feta.)
Eating out is normally Nandos, or sometimes somewhere like Prezzo where I can have fish.

We occasionally make a large chicken curry and I have that with cauliflower rice and mushrooms cooked in spices. My wife has proper rice. (I haven't tried any proper rice since being diagnosed, too scared of what might happen!) For a side dish I air fry celeriac or swede to make chips (Marinated in smoked Paprika first!)

I sometimes make cakes out of almond flour and berries or pancakes from banana and peanut butter. There's a nice tahini cake I make from almond flour, but it's quite heavy on the calories.

Eat a lot of Almonds, pure peanut butter and treat myself to the odd square of 85%+ chocolate.


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## Grace1961 (Jan 19, 2022)

Windy said:


> Hi Grace, welcome to the forum. I'm also a T2 on metformin, but I'm a vegetarian, so I'm not sure my diet and eating advice is what you might be looking for.
> What sort of foods do you eat at the moment?
> Could you do a day where you only have 800 calories each week to get your calories down for that day? That way, you wouldn't have to drastically change what you eat every day, just the day you're on the 800 calories.


Hi Windy
Thank you.
Yes I am sure I could do one day per week. I cannot do the fasting thing very well. On the whole I eat very healthily, brown rice, brown pasta, more vegetables than meat, I love fish and do not eat any cake or chocolate. 
Are you trying this?


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## Grace1961 (Jan 19, 2022)

harbottle said:


> Hello, and welcome,
> 
> Breakfast: usually Greek yoghurt (100-150g or less if I mix it with peanut butter) and berries (Usually around 50g of either strawberries or raspberries.) Sprinkle cinnamon on top and sometimes have it with a bit of nutty/seed granola I make. An omelette every now and then.
> Lunch: Home made bread of low-carb bread salad sandwich; home made Chile; home made vegetable soup (Basically a load of veg cooked in stock) Sometimes a Subway Salad box or a Pret-a-manger Italian salad if I have nothing to take in. Or occasionally just a few oat cakes and cottage cheese and an egg.
> ...


Hi Harbottle
Wow, thats so kind of you to give me all those ideas. 
I know having porridge and berries for breakfast, boiled egg and toast for lunch and chicken curry and brown rice isn't doing it. 
If it isn't 80g grams of brown rice dried weight then its 80 grams of brown spaghetti. I avoid potatoes, I like sweet potato chips in the air fryer. I make my own  cotswold grain, dark mix of wholewheat/ rye bread. 
Treats are digestive biscuits and ryvita thins and some cheese or olives. Only fruit I eat are berries really with Greek yoghurt. 
I think your food is less carbohydrates?
Maybe this is where I am going wrong - its a minefield. 
I really appreciate your long helpful reply.


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## Grace1961 (Jan 19, 2022)

travellor said:


> After lockdown, I'm on a 800 calorie shake diet, and no alcohol for my New Year resolution.


Hi Travellor
I can't do the shake diets, I wish. Well done you.


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## harbottle (Jan 19, 2022)

Yes, I avoid carb heavy foods like pasta, rice, bread and potatoes. 

I also avoid Oats as they cause my BG to spike, but some people don't seem to have a problem with them. The bread I make doesn't have grains in them, just almond flour, flaxseed and psyllium husk (Recipe came from a book I bought).

I love Olives! I could eat a whole bottle of them in one go, and I think they are good for us and won't raise blood sugar.


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## Windy (Jan 19, 2022)

Grace1961 said:


> Hi Windy
> Thank you.
> Yes I am sure I could do one day per week. I cannot do the fasting thing very well. On the whole I eat very healthily, brown rice, brown pasta, more vegetables than meat, I love fish and do not eat any cake or chocolate.
> Are you trying this?


I did intermittent fasting (which is the one day a week restricted calories) before and got on ok with it. It's much less disruptive than being on a diet all the time. So I've tried it before and I think I managed 3 months, but I was having 500 calories on the fasting days, and it wasn't enough calories for me.
However, since diagnosis of T2 in October, I've been on a low calorie diet of 800 calories a day, as I'm trying to lose a couple of stone/15Kg. 
I have mushroom and cheese omelette for breakfast, soup and blueberries for lunch, and something like veggie chilli with cauliflower rice for my dinner. Everythings weighed and measured, 20g of cheese, 100g of mushrooms etc...
I move to 1500 calories per day in a week, and that'll challenge my limited self control with food, but I've bought a recipe book on diabetic weight loss, and am planning to do recipes from that.


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## Leadinglights (Jan 19, 2022)

Grace1961 said:


> Hi Harbottle
> Wow, thats so kind of you to give me all those ideas.
> I know having porridge and berries for breakfast, boiled egg and toast for lunch and chicken curry and brown rice isn't doing it.
> If it isn't 80g grams of brown rice dried weight then its 80 grams of brown spaghetti. I avoid potatoes, I like sweet potato chips in the air fryer. I make my own  cotswold grain, dark mix of wholewheat/ rye bread.
> ...


If you are having 80g dry weight of pasta then that is a lot of carbs as even wholewheat pasta is 62g carb /100g so 50g carb for that meal without counting any of your other ingredients. Rice is pretty similar.
If you want pasta then edamame or black bean pasta is only 15g carb per 100g dry wt. I only cook 25g per portion and find that sufficient.
Most other things look good choices except maybe the porridge.
Home made chicken curry should be fine as there are some low carb prepared sauces or use dry spice mixes.


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## travellor (Jan 19, 2022)

harbottle said:


> Yes, I avoid carb heavy foods like pasta, rice, bread and potatoes.
> 
> I also avoid Oats as they cause my BG to spike, but some people don't seem to have a problem with them. The bread I make doesn't have grains in them, just almond flour, flaxseed and psyllium husk (Recipe came from a book I bought).
> 
> I love Olives! I could eat a whole bottle of them in one go, and I think they are good for us and won't raise blood sugar.



Not sure about a whole jar of olives in one go.    
That's around 250 calories for a small jar!


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## Windy (Jan 19, 2022)

Grace1961 said:


> Treats are digestive biscuits and ryvita thins


Could you temporarily swap your digestive biscuits for something like Nairn's oatcakes or supermarket own brand equivalents?
A McVities digestive has 71 calories and 9.4g of carbs, compared to a ginger oatcake which has 44 cals and 6.6g of carbs or a cheese oatcake which has 39 and 3.7g. It's still a treat to have with a cup of tea, but it's roughly half the amount of calories and carbs.


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## harbottle (Jan 19, 2022)

travellor said:


> Not sure about a whole jar of olives in one go.
> That's around 250 calories for a small jar!


Yep, which is why I don’t buy them!


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## Grace1961 (Jan 20, 2022)

Leadinglights said:


> If you are having 80g dry weight of pasta then that is a lot of carbs as even wholewheat pasta is 62g carb /100g so 50g carb for that meal without counting any of your other ingredients. Rice is pretty similar.
> If you want pasta then edamame or black bean pasta is only 15g carb per 100g dry wt. I only cook 25g per portion and find that sufficient.
> Most other things look good choices except maybe the porridge.
> Home made chicken curry should be fine as there are some low carb prepared sauces or use dry spice mixes.


Thank you for your reply. 
I just took the advice of my diabetic nurse at my first review, she said to change to brown bread, rice, pasta.
I too have been reading and realise that the way to control diabetes and loose weight is low carb. I brought books and tried this but found it impossible with my carb loving Hubby. I will have to cook separate meals or add rice etc to his. The black bean pasta could work for us both. Thank you so much.


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## Grace1961 (Jan 20, 2022)

Windy said:


> Could you temporarily swap your digestive biscuits for something like Nairn's oatcakes or supermarket own brand equivalents?
> A McVities digestive has 71 calories and 9.4g of carbs, compared to a ginger oatcake which has 44 cals and 6.6g of carbs or a cheese oatcake which has 39 and 3.7g. It's still a treat to have with a cup of tea, but it's roughly half the amount of calories and carbs.


Wow, this is making me realise I can do better, thank you I will definitely ditch them, I thought they were OK to have. This group has given me so many useful tips already. Off to the shops after my blood test and nurse visit later.


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## Windy (Jan 20, 2022)

Grace1961 said:


> Wow, this is making me realise I can do better, thank you I will definitely ditch them, I thought they were OK to have. This group has given me so many useful tips already. Off to the shops after my blood test and nurse visit later.


Hope the blood test and nurse visit goes well.
Food is a bit of a minefield,and there's conflicting views about what's ok to eat.
I've gone low carb, as it works for me, but the NHS guidance is to make 1/3 of your plate carbs, hence the advice from your diabetic nurse, and that I was given on the DESMOND course I attended. Some T2s eat more carbs and it works for them, we're all different and our bodies react differently. It's about finding out what's right for you.
You can buy bags of frozen cauliflower rice to heat in the microwave and have if your husband is having rice with his meal, or make your own if you have a food processor, and freeze it yourself in portions. Or have half cauliflower rice and half brown rice. I usually roast florets of cauli or broccoli on a baking tray with a spray of oil, pinch of salt and a sprinkle of herbs/spices, and have that with my chilli or curry as it's quicker than making cauli rice.


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## Leadinglights (Jan 20, 2022)

Grace1961 said:


> Thank you for your reply.
> I just took the advice of my diabetic nurse at my first review, she said to change to brown bread, rice, pasta.
> I too have been reading and realise that the way to control diabetes and loose weight is low carb. I brought books and tried this but found it impossible with my carb loving Hubby. I will have to cook separate meals or add rice etc to his. The black bean pasta could work for us both. Thank you so much.


If you hubby also need to lose some weight then reduced carbs could benefit him as well, most people eat too many carbs anyway.
He may not even notice if you make mash with half potato and half cauliflower or celeriac and add some spring onion and a bit of grated strong cheese on the top.
If you start doing some home testing of meals then you will know where you need to make changes.


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## Grace1961 (Jan 20, 2022)

Windy said:


> Hope the blood test and nurse visit goes well.
> Food is a bit of a minefield,and there's conflicting views about what's ok to eat.
> I've gone low carb, as it works for me, but the NHS guidance is to make 1/3 of your plate carbs, hence the advice from your diabetic nurse, and that I was given on the DESMOND course I attended. Some T2s eat more carbs and it works for them, we're all different and our bodies react differently. It's about finding out what's right for you.
> You can buy bags of frozen cauliflower rice to heat in the microwave and have if your husband is having rice with his meal, or make your own if you have a food processor, and freeze it yourself in portions. Or have half cauliflower rice and half brown rice. I usually roast florets of cauli or broccoli on a baking tray with a spray of oil, pinch of salt and a sprinkle of herbs/spices, and have that with my chilli or curry as it's quicker than making cauli rice.


Thank you again.
My appointment was cancelled at 8.45am. Disappointed but perhaps this gives me a chance to do some good work, with all your help. I am off to 
Sainsburys in a minute and cauliflower rice frozen is a brilliant idea. I made it once but such a pain to do, it put me off, easier to just cook brown rice.  
I also have not really been shopping with Covid - bit scared as I also have asthma, really only just out and about again. 
I can't thank you all enough. 
I have a healthy list including oatcakes.
My low carb books are out in earnest.
Prawn salad for lunch, curry and cauliflower rice for dinner.


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## Drummer (Jan 20, 2022)

@Grace1961 Your nurse has obviously got no idea about type 2 diabetes if she is advising that you replace carbohydrate with carbohydrate - it is just not going to do any good at all. 
I used a testing meter to check my response to various foods, so knew that grain of any kind was not sensible for me to eat, nor legumes, potatoes and other starchy veges, and only berries and the lowest carb fruits in modest amounts.  
Some people find that they can eat oats, but they are no good for me.


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## everydayupsanddowns (Jan 20, 2022)

Welcome to the forum @Grace1961 

Glad you have found us!

As you can see there’s no one-size-fits-all approach to eating that will suit everyone. but hopefully by comparing notes with others you’ll get some ideas to try, and some encouragement as you continue your experimentation to find a menu that works for you


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## trophywench (Jan 20, 2022)

Nobody 's body gives a stuff what colour the carbs are. (cos pasta can be quite pretty, can't it!)  It just converts the carbs to glucose come what may.

The scientific theory with 'brown' and 'wholewheat' is that the extra fibre slows down the absorption of the glucose - but frankly I've never noticed any such thing.


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## Mrs Mimoo (Jan 22, 2022)

Grace1961 said:


> Hi Harbottle
> Wow, thats so kind of you to give me all those ideas.
> I know having porridge and berries for breakfast, boiled egg and toast for lunch and chicken curry and brown rice isn't doing it.
> If it isn't 80g grams of brown rice dried weight then its 80 grams of brown spaghetti. I avoid potatoes, I like sweet potato chips in the air fryer. I make my own  cotswold grain, dark mix of wholewheat/ rye bread.
> ...


I've cut all obvious carbs out, so no rice bread pasta or any beige food. No potato. I find it easy to just eat quality protein like salmon chicken and a small steak, and accompany with a green leafy veg cauliflower etc. Celriac is my potato sub. I eat full fat dairy.  I am currently eating one meal a day of this kind of low carb food and two meals which are meal replacement shakes. I have lost 9kg in 7 weeks.  Brown rice and brown pasta have the same carbs as white rice and white pasta.... probably not helping. 

You can make smaller changes than i have and lose the weight. I would avoid all rice pasta and potato and bread for a while? and oatcakes. Snack: baby bel. Or a small walnut portion. Double the green veg instead?


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## Grace1961 (Jan 23, 2022)

Mrs Mimoo said:


> I've cut all obvious carbs out, so no rice bread pasta or any beige food. No potato. I find it easy to just eat quality protein like salmon chicken and a small steak, and accompany with a green leafy veg cauliflower etc. Celriac is my potato sub. I eat full fat dairy.  I am currently eating one meal a day of this kind of low carb food and two meals which are meal replacement shakes. I have lost 9kg in 7 weeks.  Brown rice and brown pasta have the same carbs as white rice and white pasta.... probably not helping.
> 
> You can make smaller changes than i have and lose the weight. I would avoid all rice pasta and potato and bread for a while? and oatcakes. Snack: baby bel. Or a small walnut portion. Double the green veg instead?


Thank you, that's great advice, already helping. I now have cauliflower rice, no bread, potatoes or pasta. Cross fingers.
Another appointment tmrw - to replace the cancelled one last week for my blood test etc. Hope I can do as well as you have and others on here.


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## Windy (Jan 23, 2022)

Can I suggest doing a couple of weeks of reduced carbs before you cut them out significantly @Grace1961 ? It'll make you feel a bit poorly if you stop too quickly, and can cause some damage to your fine blood vessels - better to ease into lower carb so your BG doesn't fall sharply too quickly.
@Mrs Mimoo suggests avoiding oatcakes - I can eat a couple of cheese ones without spiking my BG levels - no idea if this is normal for just me, or other T2s! They're probably the most carby food I have currently, though I have a recipe for low carb bread in my Caldesi Diabetes recipe book that I'm going to try out next week.
Hope your appointment tomorrow goes well, Sarah


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## Grace1961 (Jan 23, 2022)

Hi Sarah
Thank you so much for your messsge.
Yes, I already experienced a really bad time Friday morning at 5am I was wide awake, starving hungry- felt really bad, I had to have a piece of toast and tea, at that time in the morning. Then went back to bed to sleep. I am having about 25 per day now. The cheese oatcakes are nice and I have not had a digestive biscuits since. I have coconut flour pancakes, for breakfast 1 carb each and blueberries with some yoghurt. I brought some rye bread, 11 carbs a slice, if I need. Then fish or chicken with veggies and or cauliflower rice. Hopefully this has to help. 
Thanks again.


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## Leadinglights (Jan 23, 2022)

Grace1961 said:


> Hi Sarah
> Thank you so much for your messsge.
> Yes, I already experienced a really bad time Friday morning at 5am I was wide awake, starving hungry- felt really bad, I had to have a piece of toast and tea, at that time in the morning. Then went back to bed to sleep. I am having about 25 per day now. The cheese oatcakes are nice and I have not had a digestive biscuits since. I have coconut flour pancakes, for breakfast 1 carb each and blueberries with some yoghurt. I brought some rye bread, 11 carbs a slice, if I need. Then fish or chicken with veggies and or cauliflower rice. Hopefully this has to help.
> Thanks again.


If you are only having 25g carb per day and that is a big reduction from what you were having previously then you may feel unwell as you body is having to adapt to much lower glucose levels, this can affect your eyes and small blood vessels. It is suggested you reduce carbs over a period of time to avoid that, so reduce by one third for a couple of weeks then another third until you get to where your need to be.


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## Grace1961 (Jan 23, 2022)

Leadinglights said:


> If you are only having 25g carb per day and that is a big reduction from what you were having previously then you may feel unwell as you body is having to adapt to much lower glucose levels, this can affect your eyes and small blood vessels. It is suggested you reduce carbs over a period of time to avoid that, so reduce by one third for a couple of weeks then another third until you get to where your need to be.


Well I just did my reading at 9.30pm and it was 10. Of course I will check in the morning after fasting overnight. I will talk to the nurse during my diabetic review tomorrow. Many thanks for your thoughts.


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## Leadinglights (Jan 23, 2022)

Grace1961 said:


> Well I just did my reading at 9.30pm and it was 10. Of course I will check in the morning after fasting overnight. I will talk to the nurse during my diabetic review tomorrow. Many thanks for your thoughts.


Fasting levels are useful to monitor progress but testing before you eat and after 2 hors will tell you if your meal was too high carb for you to tolerate if the increase in more than 2-3mmol/l and ideally no more than 8.5mmol/l so your reading of 10 implies your meal was too carb heavy. What did you have for your meal and what time did you eat.


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## Grace1961 (Jan 24, 2022)

Yes it does but I ate dinner at 6.30pm it was roast chicken and tray baked veg, carrot, parsnip, leeks, sweet potato, steamed broccoli and Brussels sprouts with gravy.
I had a tiny portion of carrot, parsnip and sweet potato (I know these are higher in carbs). Lots of sprouts and broccoli. Then tea and a tiny square of keto, sugar free lemon cake, which should not increase my BS as its made with almond flour. Nothing else so finished around 7pm. 
The bottom line is I need 2 x 500 mg of metformin per day, not one, hence my need for blood test so Doctor can put it back on my prescription. For now! 
Can I ask what Rampiril is ?


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## harbottle (Jan 24, 2022)

Isn’t parsnip quite high in carbs? It’s a vegetable I have been avoiding.


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## Windy (Jan 24, 2022)

Grace1961 said:


> Can I ask what Rampiril is ?


Ramipril is anti-hypertensive medication, I take it each day as I have high blood pressure.


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## Grace1961 (Jan 24, 2022)

Windy said:


> Ramipril is anti-hypertensive medication, I take it each day as I have high blood pressure.


Oh sorry, I tmdidnt mean to be intrusive.
Had my bloods done today and will receive a phone call next Monday in place of review! I am sure everyone is experiencing this.


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## Windy (Jan 24, 2022)

Grace1961 said:


> Oh sorry, I tmdidnt mean to be intrusive.
> Had my bloods done today and will receive a phone call next Monday in place of review! I am sure everyone is experiencing this.


Go on with you, it's not intrusive at all! 
Fingers crossed that your review is positive. I've managed to get both an in person appointment with the phlebotomist (v difficult to do over the phone ) and with the practice nurse for my three month review.
I've got everything crossed for myself that my numbers are looking healthier.


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## Leadinglights (Jan 24, 2022)

With those higher carb veggies it all depends on how much you have, it could just be the combination of snips, carrots and sweet potatoes and leeks which also have carbs. But you could try same again bit with a bit less of those of or alter the proportions of each. Per 40g, the sweet potatoes are 15g carb, parsnips 8g carb, carrots, 2g carb. So I suspect the sweet potatoes were the problem.
Sounds a lovely meal anyway.


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## Grace1961 (Jan 24, 2022)

Windy said:


> Go on with you, it's not intrusive at all!
> Fingers crossed that your review is positive. I've managed to get both an in person appointment with the phlebotomist (v difficult to do over the phone ) and with the practice nurse for my three month review.
> I've got everything crossed for myself that my numbers are looking healthier.


I hope it goes well for you. 
Let me know.


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## Grace1961 (Jan 28, 2022)

Grace1961 said:


> I hope it goes well for you.
> Let me know.


Hi Windy
Had my bloods done and my result is HbA1c is up 10 to 50.
To be honest I expected worse. 
I have a phone review with the Diabetes Nurse at our practice on Monday.
I am currently only taking 1 x 500mg metformin per day. She may put it back to 2 per day. I have cut out my normal brown pasta and rice now, replaced it with cauliflower rice and veg. I found the Burgens bread everyone mentioned, I have a slice for breakfast as my carbs. Can't live without toast.
Overall really pleased as I know I can bring that 50 back down. Yay. 
Grace


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## Gwynn (Jan 28, 2022)

Lower carb, higher protein and fats coupled with lower calories overall, with increased exercise, was the method I have adopted. Protein and fats have to increase to balance the loss of carbs in the diet.

There seems to be a lot of confusion with many at first (me included) with conflicting advice and sometimes misleading advice (like, switch from white bread to brown, or cut down on just sugar, etc). The real emphasis and battle is with the Carbohydrates that an individual can tolerate and that is different for every individual and specific food items they eat. It's personsl ! I keep my carbs down to below 130g aa day and generally beliw 100g a day if I can. It works for me but may not work for others.

I seem to be able to tolerate quite a range of foods but BG testing is really the only way of finding out which foods are ok for you and which are not.


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## Windy (Jan 28, 2022)

Grace1961 said:


> Overall really pleased as I know I can bring that 50 back down


Good to hear that it went ok @Grace1961, keep it going, you can do it. 50 isn't very far past the diabetes HbA1c diagnosis point of 48 and over. You're doing great.
Sarah


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## everydayupsanddowns (Jan 28, 2022)

Hope the phone appointment goes well on Monday @Grace1961 

Sorry to hear your HbA1c has risen, despite your carb reductions. Hopefully subsequent results will reflect the changes you have been making.

Are you checking before/after meals? Are your spot-check BGs showing smaller rises on low carb? Sometimes it can take a while for the HbA1c to catch up!


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## Leadinglights (Jan 28, 2022)

Gwynn said:


> Lower carb, higher protein and fats coupled with lower calories overall, with increased exercise, was the method I have adopted. Protein and fats have to increase to balance the loss of carbs in the diet.
> 
> There seems to be a lot of confusion with many at first (me included) with conflicting advice and sometimes misleading advice (like, switch from white bread to brown, or cut down on just sugar, etc). The real emphasis and battle is with the Carbohydrates that an individual can tolerate and that is different for every individual and specific food items they eat. It's personsl ! I keep my carbs down to below 130g aa day and generally beliw 100g a day if I can. It works for me but may not work for others.
> 
> I seem to be able to tolerate quite a range of foods but BG testing is really the only way of finding out which foods are ok for you and which are not.


I totally agree the low carb works for many people including me. I never really see mention whether it makes a difference how much carb an individual can tolerate depends partly on whether you are male or female. I do suspect it is one of many factors that come into the whole minefield of diabetes.
I hope your eye op goes well, anything to do with eyes is never trivial.
I can look at all sorts of gory ops but not eyes.


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## Grace1961 (Jan 28, 2022)

Gwynn said:


> Lower carb, higher protein and fats coupled with lower calories overall, with increased exercise, was the method I have adopted. Protein and fats have to increase to balance the loss of carbs in the diet.
> 
> There seems to be a lot of confusion with many at first (me included) with conflicting advice and sometimes misleading advice (like, switch from white bread to brown, or cut down on just sugar, etc). The real emphasis and battle is with the Carbohydrates that an individual can tolerate and that is different for every individual and specific food items they eat. It's personsl ! I keep my carbs down to below 130g aa day and generally beliw 100g a day if I can. It works for me but may not work for others.
> 
> I seem to be able to tolerate quite a range of foods but BG testing is really the only way of finding out which foods are ok for you and which are not.


Hi Gwynn
Congrats you have done brilliantly.
It's a minefield, appreciate all your advice and if I could loose this stubborn weight, it would be a different story I feel. 
I will keep plugging away.
It's interesting, I will beat this one day!


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## Grace1961 (Jan 28, 2022)

everydayupsanddowns said:


> Hope the phone appointment goes well on Monday @Grace1961
> 
> Sorry to hear your HbA1c has risen, despite your carb reductions. Hopefully subsequent results will reflect the changes you have been making.
> 
> Are you checking before/after meals? Are your spot-check BGs showing smaller rises on low carb? Sometimes it can take a while for the HbA1c to catch up!


Hi there
I expected the rise as I had asked to reduce the metformin thinking I could crack this. Best laid plans! 
It took some weight gain, less cycling, a holiday and letting go a bit of the reins. 
It has taught me a lesson, there is no escape, I will have to work harder which is now cutting out pasta, rice, potato. 
That should prove significant alone as most of my meals were based around pasta and rice - brown of course, little meat or fish and veg / stir fry. 
So now I do the cauliflower rice replacement and I will need to up my protein. 
Hopefully will get there.
Grateful it isn't worse but want improvements of course.
Thanks for your reply and help.


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## Grace1961 (Jan 28, 2022)

Ps I check first thing in the morning.
Sometimes 2 hours after my dinner in the evening.


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## everydayupsanddowns (Jan 28, 2022)

Grace1961 said:


> Ps I check first thing in the morning.
> Sometimes 2 hours after my dinner in the evening.



Might be worth checking both before and 2hrs after a meal or two to see what the effect on your BG is. Having both numbers means you can see the meal rise, which puts the ‘after’ result in context.

Eg 9.8mmol/L 2hrs after you eve meal might not look brilliant, but if you were 9.2 before the meal, then what you ate in the evening was great, and something else is up (illness… injury… stress… what you had at lunch etc etc).

There are so many things that can affect BG readings, and you don’t want to mistakenly feel that one or other food choices are ‘no good’ for you, when you could still be enjoying them


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## Leadinglights (Jan 28, 2022)

Grace1961 said:


> Hi there
> I expected the rise as I had asked to reduce the metformin thinking I could crack this. Best laid plans!
> It took some weight gain, less cycling, a holiday and letting go a bit of the reins.
> It has taught me a lesson, there is no escape, I will have to work harder which is now cutting out pasta, rice, potato.
> ...


Sometimes it is just a gradual slippery slope which can be precipitated by change in circumstances and illustrates how fragile your body is at maintaining good blood glucose levels.
It is so important to have a regime which become the normal and then it is less tempting to revert to old ways


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## Burylancs (Jan 28, 2022)

Grace1961 said:


> Ps I check first thing in the morning.
> Sometimes 2 hours after my dinner in the evening.


Have you come across the Glycemic Index and the Glycemic Load ?  They're both important concepts for T2s. A low GI , Mediterranean Style diet has been the recommendation for decades.


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## Mrs Mimoo (Jan 29, 2022)

Grace1961 said:


> Hi there
> I expected the rise as I had asked to reduce the metformin thinking I could crack this. Best laid plans!
> It took some weight gain, less cycling, a holiday and letting go a bit of the reins.
> It has taught me a lesson, there is no escape, I will have to work harder which is now cutting out pasta, rice, potato.
> ...


You can also try 'slim pasta' and 'slim rice' whcih are made of konjac, a kind of fibre. They are a bit slimy at first but if you rinse and pat dry with kitchen roll they make acceptable subs for rice and pasta. 18 calories a portion and no carbs. I also like cauliflower rice.


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## harbottle (Jan 30, 2022)

I recently found my local Aldi sells a low carb pasta made from Edamame beans and Mung Beans. I was quite surprised at how nice it was.

I second the recommendation for Konjac based products. I use noodles quite often, and yes, they do need rinsing as they pong and feel slimy! They make great stir fries.


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## Windy (Jan 30, 2022)

I went to a health food shop for edamame spaghetti, and it was over £4 a box! Looked on Aldi's website and there's is half the price there. Looks like I'll be having a walk to Aldi sometime soon. Cheers for the heads up @harbottle


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## Leadinglights (Jan 30, 2022)

Windy said:


> I went to a health food shop for edamame spaghetti, and it was over £4 a box! Looked on Aldi's website and there's is half the price there. Looks like I'll be having a walk to Aldi sometime soon. Cheers for the heads up @harbottle


I bought from Amazon, product not a bad price but some suppliers were charging delivery as if it was coming from THE AMAZON. Beware. A bit hit and mis whether our Aldi has it.


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## Windy (Jan 30, 2022)

Leadinglights said:


> I bought from Amazon, product not a bad price but some suppliers were charging delivery as if it was coming from THE AMAZON. Beware. A bit hit and mis whether our Aldi has it.


Cheers @Leadinglights . I don't normally shop at Aldi (as there's a Lidl closer to my house), so I'll make a list of other stuff to get too, in the hope that they do have the low carb pasta in, or just order it from Amazon if they don't.


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## Grace1961 (Feb 1, 2022)

I had my review from my blood results  over the phone with a nurse, seems to be the new norm! My bloods had gone from 41 to 50 and my weight well up 8kg.
I have been offered the injection and am going into the surgery to chat and discover more - I have basically said Yes, if it helps me loose weight along with the Dukan diet I started yesterday - thats all I want. Does anyone have any comment on this weekly injection which I understands aids with appetite and is licenced in Europe for weight loss.
Love to hear anyone who is taking it and any negative thoughts comments too. 
Thank you.


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## rebrascora (Feb 1, 2022)

Grace1961 said:


> I had my review from my blood results  over the phone with a nurse, seems to be the new norm! My bloods had gone from 41 to 50 and my weight well up 8kg.
> I have been offered the injection and am going into the surgery to chat and discover more - I have basically said Yes, if it helps me loose weight along with the Dukan diet I started yesterday - thats all I want. Does anyone have any comment on this weekly injection which I understands aids with appetite and is licenced in Europe for weight loss.
> Love to hear anyone who is taking it and any negative thoughts comments too.
> Thank you.



I am guessing it is going to be Ozempic or Victoza or something like that. Many people find that it does suppress their appetite but it can also come with nausea and digestive upset from what I have read. Of course not everyone will get such side effects so you might be unfortunate not to suffer them. I believe you start on a low dose and gradually build it up over a number of weeks. There are a few threads on the subject if you find out what is being offered and come back to the forum, you can do a search for that particular one. Bear in mind that unless it is exceptionally effective (ie. miracle cure ) most people will come and create a post about the side effects they are suffering from it rather than say that it is working fabulously and that they have lost 6 stone using it, so comments may over emphasize the negatives rather than reflect the possible longer term gains.


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## trophywench (Feb 1, 2022)

There are still some carbs in almonds albeit a lot fewer than eg 'normal' wheat flour.  There are carbs in even eg cucumber and lettuce - but of course you'd have to eat an awful lot of lettuce to get anywhere near the carbs in a piece of toast!


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## Grace1961 (Feb 1, 2022)

rebrascora said:


> I am guessing it is going to be Ozempic or Victoza or something like that. Many people find that it does suppress their appetite but it can also come with nausea and digestive upset from what I have read. Of course not everyone will get such side effects so you might be unfortunate not to suffer them. I believe you start on a low dose and gradually build it up over a number of weeks. There are a few threads on the subject if you find out what is being offered and come back to the forum, you can do a search for that particular one. Bear in mind that unless it is exceptionally effective (ie. miracle cure ) most people will come and create a post about the side effects they are suffering from it rather than say that it is working fabulously and that they have lost 6 stone using it, so comments may over emphasize the negatives rather than reflect the possible longer term gains.


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## Grace1961 (Feb 1, 2022)

rebrascora said:


> I am guessing it is going to be Ozempic or Victoza or something like that. Many people find that it does suppress their appetite but it can also come with nausea and digestive upset from what I have read. Of course not everyone will get such side effects so you might be unfortunate not to suffer them. I believe you start on a low dose and gradually build it up over a number of weeks. There are a few threads on the subject if you find out what is being offered and come back to the forum, you can do a search for that particular one. Bear in mind that unless it is exceptionally effective (ie. miracle cure ) most people will come and create a post about the side effects they are suffering from it rather than say that it is working fabulously and that they have lost 6 stone using it, so comments may over emphasize the negatives rather than reflect the possible longer term gains.


Hi Barbara
Thank you so much for your message. Well I will keep my eye open and do some more investigation.


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