Diabetes

The tip about logging truthfully is important. I used to give myself extras or take little snacks and not log it while thinking that those few calories won't make a difference. But, they will! Be truthful to yourself and results will come.

You can still eat carbs, but if you're prediabetic I recommend sticking to unprocessed or mostly unprocessed foods.

For example, foods like rolled or Steel-Cut oats, wild rice, beans, avocado, cauliflower, most fruits, etc are all safe.

But I recommend that you do smart food combinations. For example, white rice has a high glycemic index. But, if you pair that white rice with a source of protein (eggs, meat, seitan) or another carbohydrate like beans which are low glycemic index, then your overall meal wont have a big impact on your blood sugar.

I also recommend trying out soaking and sprouting certain foods. It is much easier to do than you might think.

As a final note,
Fats and Protein are digested much slower than carbohydrates and will not trigger much of an insulin response or blood sugar rise.

Has your doctor referred you to a registered dietician? They can help you with what you should eat based on your medical needs. If not, ask doctor about getting s referral.

Whatever diet you choose, you need to consider the multiple factors of your health and lifestyle - any advice we give here is about what works for ourselves (but may not work for you!). Of course work with your doctor.

When my doctor diagnosed me with insulin resistance (two steps before T2 diabetes, T2 diabetics also have insulin resistance) she suggested I consider a wholefood keto diet to lower my insulin levels, and put me on metformin. Once I reminded her I don't have a gallbladder (so my body won't digest the high fat levels of "keto") she agreed a more moderate approach - (low-carb rather than keto) is the best option for me personally.

I've largely cut out starches and sugars from my diet - avoiding bread, pasta, rice, potato, tropical fruits, junk food, etc - particularly avoiding highly processed and refined foods.

What I primarily eat: eggs, meat, dairy, non-starchy vegetables, nuts, seeds, berries.

These can be arranged into all kinds of meals. Quite often I cook my favourite traditional dishes but swap out the starch portion for extra meat and vegetables - so I could cook spaghetti bolognaise, but instead of eating pasta I have the meat sauce on a bed of vegetables (green beans, cauliflower, or spiralised zucchini, etc).

There are lots of books and websites dedicated to low-carb eating, with lists of foods based on how many carbs they have in them - as well as this information showing up on MFP when you track your eating. It won't take long to learn.

However, it's not just about the amount of "carbs", but the insulin response to them. Highly processed foods tend to spike insulin more, while whole foods take longer for the body to digest and contain more fibre so there is a slower release/conversion of carbs to blood sugar (which means less of an insulin and/or blood sugar spike).

While it is important for T2 diabetics to pay attention to blood glucose levels, it's also important to realise that some foods can elevate insulin even when they don't contain carbs or raise blood sugar. Lots of artificial sweeteners fall into this category. Some people make the mistake of thinking they can drink lots of sugar-free soft drink (pop) simply because there is no sugar or calories in it - but it still raises insulin, which contributes to the illness. Best to drink non-sweet drinks like water, unsweetened tea/coffee, wholefood yoghurt smoothies, etc.

I also do intermittent fasting, and don't snack between meals, which helps reduce insulin levels further. Every time we eat it raises insulin, so by eating fewer times with greater length of time between meals, it gives the body longer to reduce the insulin right down.

All of the above (eating wholefood, low-carb, and intermittent fasting) contributes to fat loss. The book that helped me most to choose this way of eating was The Obesity Code by Jason Fung, and he also has videos on youtube.

I have done all this under the guidance of my doctor, discussing my health and choices with her. I have checkups about every 3 months to see how my insulin resistance is responding and double-check other hormones and vitamin levels while doing this. So far the results have been very promising, and I've also lost 37 kg /82 lbs.

Hi - also type 2 - what medications are you on? If you are on something like a sulphonylurea which lowers blood glucose, your dietary needs will be different from someone taking, say, metformin.

Ignore the slimming clubs and their free foods, which are a recipe for sickness to a diabetic. All carbs (except fiber) raise blood glucose, whether some foolish diet labels them “free” or not. For that matter food has the same amount of calories regardless of whether or not you pretend it’s free.

Get a glucose tester with inexpensive strips and test on waking, after meals, and when you exercise until you learn how different foods and exercises affect you. Then eat the foods you can tolerate in amounts which keep your blood glucose level. Different diabetics have different tolerances for the same foods. For example, I can barely eat rice, but I can eat a large amount of potatoes and fruit without problems, while I have friends who get a huge spike from fruit. Start by limiting your net carbs per meal to no more than about 45g, which is the ADA recommendation, and adjust as needed depending on your blood glucose after meals. Some people find that keto helps, but personally I have never needed to go below about 150g net carbs a day to keep my numbers in non-diabetic range. What matters is YOUR tolerance, which is why it helps to test.

The most important thing you can do for yourself is to lose weight. Many type 2s see a lot better numbers when they get to a healthy BMI. Another important thing is regular exercise. It’s good that you’re walking, but consider adding in strength training, which has been shown to improve insulin resistance. You can start with bodyweight exercises and progress as you get stronger. When I was first diagnosed I could barely do 10 air squats, and I couldn’t even do knee pushups so I did wall pushups. Now I can shoulder squat my weight, and do toe pushups. It doesn’t matter where you start as long as you do a little more every day.

As far as what you should be eating, take a look at your favorite foods and see if you can scratch any of the same itches without the same amount of carbs. For example, I eat Greek yogurt with frozen berries instead of ice cream now. Salted radish slices instead of crisps. I eat one slice of seedy whole grain bread instead of a big white hoagie with a sandwich. I don’t drink any kind of sweetened drink. It helps to have something you like to eat which doesn’t spike your blood sugar for those times when your sugar is high already and you’re so hungry you want to chew your own arm off. Weigh everything and log it until you get the hang of estimating portion sizes.

You can do this! My a1c was sky high when I was diagnosed and has been in normal range for more than two years now. Feel free to ask any questions.

I have a problem controlling myself when it comes to carbs like pasta too. I know you're type 2 diabetic so you'll need some bit of sugar. You can get that sugar from dried fruit, bread, & 100% juice. Usually banana chips are fairly cheap by the lb where I live.

Green Giant recently came out with veggie "noodles" so you could replace some of those high carb noodles that'll make your blood sugar rise with veggie spirals. I suggest talking with your Dr about setting up an appointment with a nutritionist so they can help set you up with a plan.

I’d say nothing drastic until you talk to a doctor/dietician.
I’ve been prediabetic for a couple years but didn’t really think about it until my glucose hit 106 in February and an MRI showed neuropathy. I started cutting out the white carbs (white potatoes, white bread, white rice, white sugar). My doctor approved that last week. Said that the healthiest thing for me is weight loss.
Glucose was back to normal, a1c was down .3, triglycerides normal for the first time in ages.