I was told 3 weeks ago that my HbA1C had increased from 44 to 57 and I’ve been started on low dose metformin. To try and figure out where I’d gone wrong diet wise, I bought a blood glucose monitor to track my blood sugar before and after meals. Of course my surgery have refused to give me the test strips on prescription as metformin isn’t a criteria for blood sugar testing. C’est la vie.
Anyway I attended the Smart Review course on Monday and mentioned to the dietitian my issue of reducing carbs causing my calorie intake to be low, sometimes I’ve been lucky to consume 1000 calories in a day, my daily amount is 1600. She suggested increasing what I eat plus exercising more to counteract it. I explained about monitoring my blood sugars to see where I was going wrong diet wise and that there’s be no massive spikes 2 hours after eating. The dietitian suggested checking my blood sugar sooner as my stomach could be empty two hours after eating. Since following her advice I’ve noticed I’m getting raised fasting blood sugars, but not markedly raised. Last two days I’ve eaten Quaker protein porridge for breakfast and yesterday spiked at 10.3mmol/l. I had a flat white at breakfast. Today my fasting bm is 7.3mmol/l spiking at 11.2 after the same meal but with coffee with milk. I’m currently drinking water to try to and reduce my blood sugar. I woke up this morning feeling hungry but really lousy as if I’d been on a sugar binge.
I don’t know if I’m making matters worse trying to keep myself in check. Protein porridge is definitely a no no for me so I won’t be eating that again.
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LentilBurgermot699
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I'm sorry you are struggling but it is possible to turn round T2 diabetes. I would suggest you reread the replies to your last posthealthunlocked.com/weight-l....
You were given lots of helpful tips and links. Read the links especially the DietDoctor one. There is helpful information and meal ideas. You can even get meal plans to get you started if you are not sure what you should eat. WWW.DietDoctor.com.
I was prediabetic when I started and I found Michael Moseley's books very helpful. He turned his own T2 diabetes around. There are recipe books to go with them to give you ideas.
I followed and still follow Low carb healthy Fat diet. The most important things to cut out are bread, potatoes, rice and pasta - all white carbs as they raise blood sugars. For breakfast try eggs however you like them or greek yogurt with berries. An English breakfast is okay e.g bacon, egg, tomatoes and mushrooms. Avoid things like toast and hash browns.
Has your GP referred you to a diabetes course? I went to one which was very helpful. I can't remember the name now but ask your GP or diabetes nurse. They do get very booked up but its worth going. Have they given you a diet sheet? Sadly GPs are not very clued up on Low Carb Diet and it sounds like they are giving you conflicting information. Do your own research by reading the links and find out as much as you can.
It is possible to turn your diabetes around. You can do this.
Thank you. When I was first diagnosed I aimed to eat 40-50g carbs per meal and my HbA1c fell to 44. I got a little lax and had some takeaways and allowed a bun twice a month. Then I discovered my HbA1c had increased to 57 and now on metformin. As I’m no longer working so not as active aimed for 30-40g carbs per meal and I’m losing weight. My calorie are low and not sure if 1200 max is too low for a 17 stone retiree who walks their dog twice a day. It’s the blood sugar spikes that are bothering me. The dietitian says I’m not eating enough carbs and to increase them. Apparently I should have 80g protein a day which is hard for someone who doesn’t like meat. I think I’ll go back to having yogurt and berries for breakfast. It seems oats are not my friend.
I’ve been on the smart course and just attended the review course and highlighted my problems to the dietitian. They don’t like low carb diets and try to steer you towards Mediterranean diet. I am going to repeat the healthy lifestyle courses when the dates come out. I was never given a diet sheet but found some information regarding food dos and don’ts from NHS Lanarkshire which I’m going to read again. I’ll look at all the other links as well. My daughter is type 1 diabetic and says she won’t be giving me any sympathy as I’ve only got myself to blame. I don’t know if having a family history of type 2 diabetes through 3 generations works against me.
I think you have answered your own question. When you ate 30-40g carbs your blood sugars went down to 44. This is what you need to do. Keep carbs low. It's easy to let things slide and eat more carbs but it's important to keep them as low as possible. Don't worry about calories. Just focus on the carbs. Log your food on an app e.g MFP if its helps to keep count or a food diary. You can Google the carbs if you are not sure.
As TabbyCat said mixing calories and carbs doesn't work. If you are hungry fill up on healthy fats. If you are following LCHF you shouldn't be hungry. It is possible to do if you are vegetarian. The DietDoctor website will give you lots of ideas. Michael moseley books explain it in an easy to understand way and gives you recipe ideas. Have a look under topics on the right of your screen and scroll down to recipes-low carb for more ideas from members who have/do follow low carb
Do read as much as you can. The more information you have the better. There is lots of information available if look in the right place
Hi LentilBurgermot699,I'm very lucky in that I don't have blood sugar problems. When I joined here I counted calories which works, then I tried the low carb lifestyle and I found that that works too. What doesn't work is mixing the two lifestyles. We can't have our cake AND eat it. When we lower our carbs the calories need to be bumped up with healthy fats, which are expensive calorie wise,so it's better not to count them.
I suggest that you follow Gizmocat's suggestion. Low carb can definitely turn pre-diabetes around. Try not to over think it, many of our members use the "diet doctor " site. It's free, too.
If you don’t count calories how do you keep track of what you’re eating? I sadly had porridge and peanut butter with raspberries for breakfast which spiked my blood sugar. At lunch I had avocado and poached egg on toast with cherry tomatoes and some nuts. Who knows what I’ll eat for tea. I’ll look at the diet doctor site.
Cut out the porridge and have Greek yogurt with raspberries. Full fat yogurt not the low fat stuff which is full of sugar. Always go for full fat which fill you up. Don't eat anything low fat or fat free.
Avocado and poached egg with tomato and nuts is fine but leave out the toast. It's a case of getting to know what you can eat. BridgeGirl gave you a link to a simple pictorial guide on your previous post which is helpful. Its hard to get used to but once you get into the swing of it it gets easier
Many of us have been there. It's seems hard but now I don't miss them. It is possible. It's a life style change but you will be better for it. My blood sugars are normal. It can be done.
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