Borderline Diabetic

Hi. I m 73. Bit under 12 st. 5' 7", Diabetes 2, now taking metformin to help sugar level. I got a blood glucose monitor, and use it to tell me what I m doing right or wrong with my diet. I find it really helps. I can actually control the level, though I do indulge sometimes. Chocs, biscuits but not often. I don't test on those days! I

Mainly eat a healthy range of foods, some meat, fish veg salad , try to avoid carbs but can't altogether leave out. Also try to eat small portions. Hope that helps. JanR

LCHF diet is one of the best ways to manage diabetes with least dependence on drugs.

It is true that when one reaches above 60, one would like sweet things and "nice" food but one has to resist and eat diet food. At your age just control your sugar level through diet but do not starve yourself in order to slim down.

If you visit diabetes.co.uk you will find all the information you need. Type 2 diabetes is usually associated with overweight people yet like yourself I am not overweight being 5' 10'', weighing 9 stone 5. What really annoys me is other people's assumptions. One example of this is that not too long ago I was asked to attend an interview for a position of Assistant Lecturer in Creative Writing at the University of Central Lancashire. The interview went well (the Lecturer being an American which by default meant I had to speak very little!) and her final question was 'do you have any special requirements'. I told her that since I was diabetic I would require somewhere private to test my glucose levels and insulin injections and that I would need to have access to meals three times daily. Her exact words were 'I thought you had to be fat to be diabetic'.

Hi Liz

In one way you are lucky to be be borderline because it has been spotted early and it gives you a chance to start some things now that could, could delay the diabetes progressing further.

Let me give you my potted history. I'm male, 67. I was diagnosed with pre-diabetes at 60. My father had type 2 and lived, healthily, into his 80's with it. He was a very active person, always on his feet and this is one of the key things, be active. I'm beginning to think that is more important, just, than diet. Obviously you need to watch what you eat and I'll come on to that in a moment. Activity doesnt need to be strenuous but it should be regular and best after a meal, say a 30 minute walk. The body will need that sugar being produced from the food eaten. If you can get other walks fitted in or doing things on your feet all the better. Avoid using a car if you can. Every little helps and can make a significant difference in the long run.

As regards food start thinking about portion size first. Get small dinner plates! Eat a breakfast. Almost anything except cereal and personally I avoid porridge. Its high in good fibre but also high in sugar producing carbohydrate and its tough to eat without added sugar. My choice is selection of 2 small slices of seeded, w/meal toast, egg, tomato, mushroom, bacon (once a week). The last 3 I microwave. The egg is nice fried in olive oil but of course you can cook any way you wish. Boiled is probably best. Obviously I dont have all of these every day! Sometimes I may just have the toast with a smattering of marmalade and cholesterol lowering yogurt but usually I am not hungry again for some time and dont crave snacks either. However, as I said earlier, if you do fancy a biscuit or 2 or a chunk of chocolate, have it before a little exercise.

I wont keep rambling on but just add that for the main meal keep the carbohydrate in a smaller proportion to the rest of the food. My experience is that pasta and rice are the 2 foods that are guaranteed to shoot up my blood sugar the most so I have to severely limit the portion size and number of days I eat them and choose brown rice and w/meal pasta when I do. I have also cut back (a bit!) on root veg such as potatoes and now try to substitute them more with roasted squash or sweet potatoes which a quite delicious with a little olive oil. Dont try to curb your sweet tooth too much! You should find by adopting some of the ideas above your craving for sweetness diminishes but do not feel guilty or downhearted if there is still a need for a sweet treat, occasionally! Exercise and carbohydrate control are the key! Good Luck Liz.

PS I'm still 'pre-diabetic' after 7 years.

I agree with the above comment on Low Carb High Fat diet. There is a lot of information about these types of eating habits on line. I do not have diabetes, but am very scared to get it, so have been eating low carbohydrate high fat for over a year now. I have lost nearly 3 stones (gradually) over this time. I had my cholesterol tested and it is 4.2 and the nurse is very happy with me as I have lost weight too.

Fat is very filling so it stops you over eating .

An idea for eating meals:

Breakfast, bacon, eggs, high meat content sausages fried in a healthy oil, such as Ghee, Coconut oil, Lard, Dripping . "bullet-proof coffee" Google it

Lunch: Ham and cream cheese with cucumber, salad with full fat mayonnaise, 1/2 avocado and a meat/fish of choice.

Dinner: chicken and courgette fried in butter with salt, pepper, garlic salt , or I like to make a chicken curry with double cream (no flour to thicken) coconut creamed, over broccoli. Or any other meat/fish/eggs with low-carb vegetables. (cabbage, broccoli, courgette etc)

I love belly pork too - delish!!

There are groups on Facebook for Low Carb too, Paleo is another good one and Keyto diets too.

Anything with reduced/limited carbohydrates really.

People can reverse their diabetes type 2 - as can be seen on these forums,

Good luck

P.S. please do your own research into these ways of eating, to see if you think they will suit you, they are not for everyone.

Thanks for that - it sounds amazing! I didn't know I could eat all that fat but it is yummy

Will have a go. May not eat all of that but will slip it in with my new diet. I have enjoyed eating sticks of celery filled with soft, flavoursome, cheese. That is a favourite of mine which I often have for lunch. Food for though - excuse the pun Thanks again.

do look at that link to diabetes uk.

When you log on to HU you will see newsfeed. If anyone replies directly you should get an email notification with a clickable link to the post or reply.

In a nutshell type 2 means fat around the cells stops insulin operating a lock. So losing a bit of weight is set to help. In the meantime sugar intake is crucial. Try artificial sweeteners. Some have a bad reputation though they're officially ok. (they're foods not drugs so less controls). And if you get packeted foods, look at the label. It's amazing how much hidden sugar there is like in tinned fruit and veg. Yoghurt's good but not all of them.

I wish you well in your quest

Thank you, I will do that. I have cut out most of my sugars now bur am a bit confused about how much fat I should eat given that it adds weight and as you say type 2 is fat around the cells.

Can anyone clear up this puzzle for me please?

I'm not entirely sure I understand the mechanism myself. But it's visceral fat not body fat and still needs control. Insulin is the key that lets sugar into the cells. The fat blocks the keyhole, so we end up with excess sugar in the blood, which must be curbed (some still gets in).

are you due a review soon? Please ask a health professional or checkout diabetesuk website.

First of all I would request you all to respect your body as it is super, super and super intelligent, more intelligent than your doctor. It kills 1 billion cell daily and rebuilds, your skin is renewed every 24 days, your blood renewed in 28 days, your kidneys have the capacity of cleaning 6 liters of blood every 20 minutes, your vital organs are renewed in this period, there are four hundred thousand reaction taking place in 24 hours and your bones are new in 12 to 14 months. {So next time anyone ask your age, just tell them you are 14 months old}.

Your body is self healing and self adjusting. If your brain or kidney is not getting oxygenated blood how will your body react? Of course, it will raise the blood pressure. When you go to a doctor what will he do? he will give you a chemical that lowers blood pressure. Is he harming the body by restricting oxygenated blood to the brain and kidneys? What should we do? address the root cause.

if you are Type 2 diabetic, that do does not mean your pancreas have packed up, it means you are insulin resistant. You pancreas are producing adequate amount of insulin but your body is resistant to insulin. To prove my point you can take the tests C-Peptide and insulin. You would realize that your pancreas are working optimal. So I would not be worng if I say that type 2 diabetes is not a dis-ease rather it is an indication. Further I would like you to understand that type 2 diabetes is a metabolic indication and not a dis-ease. You give your body 60 colloidal, ionic minerals, 16 vitamins, 12 amino acids and omega 3 and 6 and your body will heal itself.

TYPE 2 DIABETES IS CURABLE, what did I say ? TYPE 2 DIABETES IS CURABLE.

Dear Azhar,

Any advise for a diabetic type 2

Have you tried eating more veggies and fruits? Depending on your blood sugars, you can eat some fruit with in reason. Too much fruit can cause the blood sugars to go higher than you would like.

Borderline Diabetes means the Dr can count you in his stats for watching your diabetes nothing more and nothing less.