# Newbie to the diabetes forum



## Jugular (Aug 3, 2019)

I don't personally have diabetes - touch wood - but have joined on behalf of a very dear friend to see I can help in any way and obtain some advice, particularly about being overweight and the correct diet to follow.
Thanks to all.
Jugular.


----------



## Ralph-YK (Aug 3, 2019)

Welcome to the forum Jugular.


----------



## stephknits (Aug 3, 2019)

Welcome to the forum, does your friend have type 1 or type 2 diabetes do you know?


----------



## Jugular (Aug 3, 2019)

Type 2


----------



## Kaylz (Aug 3, 2019)

Hi Jugular and welcome to the forum  

As to being overweight, does your friend do any exercise? if not is there a walking group in your area they could have a look into joining? or would you even be willing to go on walks with them?

Diet - are you enquiring to weight loss or a diet regarded as ok for diabetics?
xx


----------



## CathyB (Aug 3, 2019)

Hi and welcome


----------



## Drummer (Aug 3, 2019)

Many people find that simply reducing blood glucose levels results in weight reduction, as the gain was a symptom, not a cause.


----------



## welshy1 (Aug 3, 2019)

Hi Jugular welcome to the forum


----------



## SueEK (Aug 4, 2019)

Hello Jugular, sounds like your friend has a great ally in you. As @Anitram says a reduction in carbs will generally lead to weight loss which will give your friend more energy to do some exercise, however small which will also help in reducing her bg levels. Continue asking questions, we are all happy to help x


----------



## zuludog (Aug 4, 2019)

Hello Jugular, and welcome to the forum. 

Welcome, too, to your friend. Even if she (?) doesn't do computer stuff herself perhaps you can show her this forum and some of the useful Threads on it
The other thing you could do is to get her a book on diabetes - Diabetes For Dummies is as good as any, but make sure you get the UK edition to make it more relevant. It's about £5 used from Amazon, and i have always found their used books to be in good condition

I presume she will get some advice from her doctor/hospital/clinic, but in practice she will need to do a lot of the control & management herself. With your help plus this forum and any books that shouldn't be so difficult
The hard part is acceptance, and making the decision to do something about it. Once you've done that everything else just follows on

Yes, changes to her diet and some exercise is where to start, but take it easy at first. You don't have to run marathons or go on a starvation diet

There is loads of info on diet, usually starting with cutting out sugary food, junk food, and most carbohydrates like pasta, rice, & spuds.

Simple walking is great - it's summer at the moment so you won't need much equipment. Decent trainers, or trail shoes and a waterproof jacket
Start walking around the lanes & footpaths of your local town and build it up from there. You'll be surprised at all the odd corners you never knew existed. Even cities and large towns have urban walking routes
Most clinics & sports centres will have info about short heath walks
Go with your friend for a bit of mutual support & encouragement, and take some snacks for a picnic lunch

Diet and exercise have a sort of rolling on or combined effect - the two work together to reduce weight, and as you do that, so you can do more, and lose more weight, and do more.....and so on


----------



## Jugular (Aug 6, 2019)

Kaylz said:


> Hi Jugular and welcome to the forum
> 
> As to being overweight, does your friend do any exercise? if not is there a walking group in your area they could have a look into joining? or would you even be willing to go on walks with them?
> 
> ...





zuludog said:


> Hello Jugular, and welcome to the forum.
> 
> Welcome, too, to your friend. Even if she (?) doesn't do computer stuff herself perhaps you can show her this forum and some of the useful Threads on it
> The other thing you could do is to get her a book on diabetes - Diabetes For Dummies is as good as any, but make sure you get the UK edition to make it more relevant. It's about £5 used from Amazon, and i have always found their used books to be in good condition
> ...


----------



## Jugular (Aug 6, 2019)

Thanks so much for your reply and helpful advice. I think this has all come as a shock to her. She does walk and is not too overweight - bmi 23 - so guess some weight loss would be 'handy'. I imagine the walking doesn't mean dawdling, but brisk and for at least 30 mins a day?
There are two of you in the photo. Do you both have diabetes?
I've been searching Google of course and note there have been some success stories for complete elimination. I'll make a note of some URLs and post them next time.
Thanks again.


----------



## Jugular (Aug 6, 2019)

SueEK said:


> Hello Jugular, sounds like your friend has a great ally in you. As @Anitram says a reduction in carbs will generally lead to weight loss which will give your friend more energy to do some exercise, however small which will also help in reducing her bg levels. Continue asking questions, we are all happy to help x


----------



## Jugular (Aug 6, 2019)

Hello SueEK
I must say, the community sound so charming and helpful. My friend's name is Sultana - English by birth, even with a name like that - grandfather from Morocco (acrobat) married to English schoolteacher. I've told her the more exercise she does, the more energy she will have, the opposite of what most people believe. What a pity she loves pasta! I'll certainly tell her to cut out the carbs.
Thanks and regards.
Jugular.


----------



## Jugular (Aug 6, 2019)

CathyB said:


> Hi and welcome


----------



## Jugular (Aug 6, 2019)

Thanks for the welcome.
It would appear you're in the same boat as me.
regards.
Jugular.


----------



## Jugular (Aug 6, 2019)

Anitram said:


> Hi. Welcome to the forum.
> 
> The universal advice for managing Type 2 generally revolves around weight loss, diet and exercise. If your friend is overweight they'll have been advised to lose some. The dietary advice would have been to reduce carbohydrates. Exercise doesn't mean taking up squash - swimming or brisk walks will do.
> 
> ...


----------



## Jugular (Aug 6, 2019)

Hi Martin
Yes. Same advice from everybody. My friend will have to stick with it and be serious about it!
Thanks for the help.
Regards.
Jugular.


----------



## Jugular (Aug 6, 2019)

Drummer said:


> Many people find that simply reducing blood glucose levels results in weight reduction, as the gain was a symptom, not a cause.


----------



## Jugular (Aug 6, 2019)

Hi Drummer
Your helpful advice is noted.
Many thanks.
regards.
Jugular.


----------



## Jugular (Aug 6, 2019)

welshy1 said:


> Hi Jugular welcome to the forum


----------



## Jugular (Aug 6, 2019)

Hi Welshy1
Many thanks.
Regards.
Jugular.


----------



## welshy1 (Aug 6, 2019)

Same as you Jugular. I joined here on behalf of my partner who was recently diagnosed. Your definitely correct, this community on here are very welcoming. I have learnt stuff on here in such a short time. They are all so helpful. It is so hard to get to terms with, when just having a blood test and telling  you that you have D, especially when the blood tests were done for a whole lot of things besides D, not even expecting to have that outcome.


----------



## Kaylz (Aug 6, 2019)

@Jugular no he isn't diabetic, he's my partner and is epileptic instead lol
xx


----------



## Oslo65 (Aug 7, 2019)

Evening Jugular,

Welcome to the forum and much respect for wanting to help your friend. 

As others have said regular exercise is key to both the weight loss and control, but before anything make sure that there are no underlying health issues I.e asthma, heart conditions etc, you they might be best asking their GP or DN  before they start. I made the mistake of setting big goals (45 minutes every day) and got fed up and stopped when it became evident it was not sustainable. Start small, aim to walk in the spot in front of the TV for 30 seconds, or walk up and down the stairs two or three times per day more than usual. This gives the brain small wins and motivates to do more. If your friend is ahead of that, look on your local council website as many of them have a “couch to 5k” programme designed to get people like me out and about and eased back into exercise. It’s hard work at first but well worth it and from my perspective I’ve met a couple of good people to boot.

Take Care

Oslo


----------



## Drummer (Aug 7, 2019)

I do disagree that exercise is the key - it serves to give a good appetite and increases fitness and stamina - but to control blood glucose you need to control blood glucose - that means not eating dense carb foods and sticking to the lower carb foods.
Making a list of the normal foods eaten, calculating the intake of carbs and using a test meter to discover the resulting levels is the way to go.
If you see high numbers then reducing the amounts, replacing high with low carb will all help. After a while with lower levels energy levels rise, and well being should improve.


----------

