Recent Diabetes Diagnosis, Back to Save Myself

Yeah, me too :-) Nice to meet you. No criticism here; this is my third time around on MFP. I do find that each time, some good habits stay, and the diagnosis is a stronger motivator than what I've had before, so I'm cautiously hopeful.

I'm currently aiming for around a third of my calories to come from carbohydrates, and when I eat those, I'm choosing high-fibre, low-GI carbs (like wholemeal oats, sweet potato, brown rice, black beans). Very, very little refined sugar and white carbs (white rice, white bread, white pasta, potatoes). I'd forgotten just how many calories and carbs there are in white rice, and how much of a better deal brown rice is nutritionally (plus it's nutty, great mouthfeel and leaves me full and satisfied for ages).

Around half of my calories are healthy fats (olive oil, Greek yoghurt, avocado, salmon, sardines, mackerel etc). Well - maybe some unhealthy ones too :-/ Who doesn't love sausages. And the rest is protein (chicken, beef, eggs). I'm enjoying the healthy fats, it's an unexpected bonus. No more thin smears of avo and toast; I'm having half of the thing along with a couple of eggs for breakfast. AND some ham. Mayo (the good stuff, no added sugar) is back on the menu too.

Only a few weeks so far, and as I say I've been here before so there is always a risk of slipping back. But with this balance of amount/type of carbs, I do feel calmer, yet more energetic, less hungry, more satisfied. I even sat in front of a bowl of chips at the pub a couple of weeks ago and not only didn't have any, but really wasn't that attracted by them. That's a first, for me (normally I'd have had to be dragged away from them).

My diet's nowhere near keto, though I'm finding my desire for carbs naturally reducing, but I must say the keto people have some very nice recipes, I had a good deconstructed cheeseburger the other night (very cheap, quick, and easy to make) that was just as good as a Big Mac to me, and there's one where you smear a whole tub of hummus over two chicken breasts and bake them on top of vegetables and it's moist and delicious. I recommend browsing through keto websites for recipes.

Good luck. I'm mostly here for the logging so I don't engage heaps with other stuff, but happy to friend you if you feel that would be helpful :-)

Type 2 diabetic, a1c was 11 when I was diagnosed and now consistently under 5, following 125 lb loss and lifestyle change.

My advice is to get a blood glucose meter and test after meals until you learn what spikes you. Different diabetics react differently to the same foods. For example, @HeftyLeftyNZ - I haven’t noticed any difference in my blood glucose based on brown rice versus white rice. Brown has slightly more fiber but really not enough to make a difference. I don’t eat either because the spike isn’t worth it for me. However, your results may be different and you won’t know until you test. I can eat a ton of oranges, sweet potatoes, and several other foods which you would think would be a problem! Others are the exact opposite.

The most important thing you can do to improve your insulin sensitivity is to lose weight. Get that weight off and things will improve! The second most important is to exercise. Both cardio and weight lifting. Heavy lifting in particular improves insulin sensitivity. When I lift heavy it improves my numbers for 48 hours afterwards.

Best of luck to you, you got this!