Newly diagnosed DIABETIC 😟

Are they sending you for diabetes education? If not, then you need to ask for it. You should be getting some classes with a registered dietician that cover dietary recommendations.

lisalisaopp wrote: »

Hi all,
I'm Lisa and I just found out I am a diabetic. Like full blown, I skipped the pre-diabetes stage! I'm 128 lbs and 5'6" and a vegetarian. My meals always consisted of carbs and sugars and now I'm not sure what to eat. Anyone else a diabetic with meal ideas (easy meal ideas - I can't cook to save my life!) I'm so scared my life will suck now. I dont know what to expect and I dont know what to eat. 😟
Thank you

i was diagnosed diabetic too. my doctor sent me to a dietician and also recommended the Dash Diet book. where you don't seem to need to lose weight you could probably add more calories, but it is a good book that lays down some principles that apply to diabetics and has some healthy meal ideas. (such as eat 4 small meals a day instead of three bigger ones)

lisalisaopp wrote: »

Hi all,
I'm Lisa and I just found out I am a diabetic. Like full blown, I skipped the pre-diabetes stage! I'm 128 lbs and 5'6" and a vegetarian. My meals always consisted of carbs and sugars and now I'm not sure what to eat. Anyone else a diabetic with meal ideas (easy meal ideas - I can't cook to save my life!) I'm so scared my life will suck now. I dont know what to expect and I dont know what to eat. 😟
Thank you

I went into shock for the first six months after my diagnosis. It was really difficult changing my eating, but I made gradual changes, and a year later my diabetes is really well controlled through a healthier diet and medication. Try and put it in perspective; it's not a death sentence, rather think of it as a wake up call to change your lifestyle and become healthier.

Firstly, I'd recommend Googling diabetes websites to find other T2 diabetics to talk to. Your HCP should provide you with an appointment for a dietitian, and arrange for you to attend a food course to find out what to eat to better stabilise your blood glucose (BG). If you can't give up all free/added sugar immediately, start cutting down right away.

These are some basics I learned on my food course:

Switch to diet sodas, sugar free/no added sugar cordials, iced teas and fruit punches, sugar free sweets, artificial sweeteners or stevia.

Increase your vegetables, whole grains, beans, pulses, lean meats, fish, and use small quantities of healthy fats like rapeseed or olive oil, and plant based spreads instead of butter and margarine.

Have some dairy every day, like 200ml semi skimmed milk, 50-100g 0% natural or no added sugar yogurt, 30g hard cheese, or 50g soft or cottage cheese for calcium and protein.

Starchy carbs like potatoes can be reduced, or you can substitute sweet potatoes, which is a vegetable, instead. Reducing carbs is important, but you don't have to limit or stop eating them. Diabetes UK recommends 5-14 portions of carbs (up to 130g carbs) a day.

Wholewheat pasta, wholemeal, granary or seeded bread, whole cereals like fruit & fibre, oatmeal/low sugar granola and no added sugar muesli, and brown rice, bulgur wheat, and quinoa are good options too. Many of the wholewheat/wholegrain options release glucose more slowly.

A typical portion of carbs would be:

A slice of bread
Three small potatoes
One medium potato
120g mashed potato
A handful (30-45g) cooked rice or pasta
A medium tortilla wrap
1/2-1 bagel
1 pitta bread
25-45g wholewheat/wholegrain cereal
25g uncooked oatmeal

Drink more fluids and try to lower your salt intake. Lunch meats, corned beef and cured meats can be quite high in salt, so try to have less of those.

Try to eat about the same amount of carbs at every meal to give your blood glucose a better chance of staying stable through the day, and if you overeat a lot of carb and sugar heavy food, reduce it or cut it out until you can stabilise your BG enough to start including those foods in your diet again. You can still have doughnuts, cookies, ice cream, cakes etc, just in more moderation than you might have had before.

Some breakfast things to try:

Half a bagel with cream cheese and smoked salmon, 150ml fruit juice

Boiled or poached egg, 1 rasher bacon, 1 sausage, 1 grilled tomato, 40g steamed asparagus, 40g grilled mushrooms

25-45g no added sugar muesli/low sugar granola/fruit & fibre/2 weetabix, 100ml semi skimmed milk, 150ml fruit juice, 1 slice toast with 10g peanut butter

1 pot fat free, no added sugar natural/fruit yogurt, 80g blueberries, 1 slice toast with 10g spread and/or peanut butter, boiled egg, grilled tomato, 80g grilled mushrooms

You can make simple soups for lunch and dinner, have a sandwich, have meat and vegetables, pasta with sauce, grilled or baked fish with vegetables, mixed bean chilli, salmon wrap with salad, basically normal average meals, just with more veg and a few less carbs.

It's not too complicated, especially if you're used to weighing and logging your food, so don't panic and think your life is over. My diagnosis was the spur I used to change my lifestyle and I'm healthier now than I have been in a long time. My diagnosis didn't end my life, it just ended the unhealthy part of it. I hope you get to that point very soon!

lisalisaopp wrote: »

Hi all,
I'm Lisa and I just found out I am a diabetic. Like full blown, I skipped the pre-diabetes stage! I'm 128 lbs and 5'6" and a vegetarian. My meals always consisted of carbs and sugars and now I'm not sure what to eat. Anyone else a diabetic with meal ideas (easy meal ideas - I can't cook to save my life!) I'm so scared my life will suck now. I dont know what to expect and I dont know what to eat. 😟
Thank you

Assuming your diabetes is Type 2, you may find the following group to be of interest, lots of advice there.

https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/group/1772-type-2-diabetes-support-group

All the best with dealing with this. In addition to nutrition planning, my doctor keeps emphasizing the important role played by exercise (regular daily cardio and resistance training) in attempting to drive the A1C number down.