Help me choose a diet please!!

[SpidersAreShitheads]

My GP surgery rang me today to tell me that my latest blood tests show I’m pre-diabetic.

I’m absolutely gutted, but mainly annoyed with myself.

I lead a really sedentary life and my eating is erratic. I’ve piled on the weight over the years, and now at 48 and perimenopausal, just sensible cutting back isn’t having the effect that it has in the past.

My life is a bit tricky - two SEN DC who are now home educated, one of whom has high needs. DP has been off sick for two years and probably won’t ever be well enough to work again. My DM lives in an annexe attached to my home; she has cerebral palsy and I’m her carer. I’m self-employed and have deadlines. We’re in the middle of a huge renovation project - I have a functioning kitchen now but every other room is mid-reno (literally every room).

So what I’m saying is that I’m time-poor. I get very little sleep and I don’t have regular meals. It’s hard to get out of the house to go to the gym or for a solo walk. Exercise has always helped me shed the weight before but I don’t think it will this time.

I’m thinking I can probably get my 10,000 steps in per day walking up and down the garden (reasonably sized garden). I can nip out there as and when I’ve got a spare 10 minutes.

But diet. I think I need to do a “proper” diet in view of the pre-diabetes. But there are so many out there!!!

I’m not veggie, I can cook pretty well from scratch when I’m organised enough (and I enjoy it). I have a sweet tooth but I obviously need to pack that in. I really enjoy eating lean meat and I love my veggies. I also read that peanut butter is low GI and that might help with sweet cravings?

What is the best diet to try? Googling is just giving me a load of paid diet plans and there’s about a million of them.

Please help by pointing me in the right direction!!! I’m not doing the weight loss jabs, no chance.

I just don’t know what diet to look at first….. Low GI? Paleo? Atkins?? Mediterranean? It’s making my head spin…

The obvious one is to reduce carbs, especially the highly refined variety, think white flour, rice, potatoes, bread and sugar.

Fill up on high fibre veg and healthy fats (olive oil, avocado, nuts, oily fish etc) and lean protein.

Look up the glucose Goddess for tips on reducing blood glucose

1. Food ordering - as above and eat any high gi food such as fruit only at the end of a meal with a lots of protein fat first
2. Apple cider vinegar before meals help reduce glucose, I find a handful of almonds equally effective
3. Try to move after eating, even fidgeting can help but ideally a 10 min walk
4. Cooling and reheating carbs e.g potatoes can reduce spikes as it increases resistant starch.

You can do this, I reduced my hba1c doing the above from 38 to 30 in a few months so it is possible to turn it around.

If you do have any time to exercise (it sounds like you have a huge amount on so I would prioritise diet) weight training is much more helpful than cardio as muscle acts as a glucose store.

Broccoli mum has some great recipes for getting more veggies in to bulk out meals

@Thegreatgiginthesky has pretty much nailed it. Also recommend the Glucose Goddess for tips on reducing glucose spikes. She’s on insta and has a couple of books out – you can reserve them at your local library.

You don’t need to follow any particular diet but you do need to make healthy choices – wholemeal pasta over white, sourdough bread, dark chocolate if you’re craving something sweet (and ideally pair anything sweet with fat and protein, so blend your dark chocolate with cream for e.g.). The problem with most diets is that they’re unsustainable. You need gradual but long-term changes that will work around your already full life!

Do you have budget for HelloFresh or similar? It takes the thinking out of dinners and might help you get on track with regular meals. Then you can keep the recipe cards and make the meals without the subscription! Or try recipes from The Blood Sugar Diet book.

And yes, exercise!

Things that have helped me lose weight and not put it back on are new routines and making my life as simple as possible (I'm a disabled single parent and can't exercise).
I started by meal planning a rotating menu so I never have to decide. We have 14 meals that I rotate and a couple of times a year I'll change it up. Perhaps you could meal plan using diabetic principles. I order Tesco to be delivered so no temptation. I batch cook most meals so it saves me time and effort. Once I'd organised myself I started calorie counting and adapting my portion sizes. Writing everything down meant that I could see where I could easily get rid of the empty calories and slowly I adapted my diet to be maintainable for me but also dc. We've had chicken and veg curry for tea with rice the dc had naan bread as well but I didn't. So I'm not making different meals. I also started intermittent fasting which has helped with lots of gastric symptoms and given me more energy. I've gone from a size14/16 to a 6 (I'm only 5ft1).

I know this isn't what you want to hear but plant based has genuinely changed my life. There is a plant based version of absolutely everything these days - bacon, pie, quiche, you name it. So I am not missing out on a single thing. I can eat whatever I like and I am always slim, it's truly life changing. I feel great, full of beans and I look so healthy

Disclaimer I am also teetotal, exercise loads and try not to eat too much!

There’s a buzzfeed video from absolutely years ago, that I rewatch a lot to keep me going lifestyle changewise! where 3, two pre diabetic and one full one, all drop their A1c to normal levels, basically focusing on whole foods, lots of fresh veg and regular exercise

Hi all, thanks so much for taking the time to help. Some really great advice here. It’s really helped get my head straight.

About 15 years ago I lost a lot of weight cutting right back on carbs. I’d completely forgotten about that. So I’m going to do that as a starting point as @Thegreatgiginthesky suggested.

I’m also going to look at the Mediterranean Diet for some recipe ideas I think. It’s supposed to be a healthy way to live and should be sustainable beyond losing weight.

I eat a ton of processed food, and LOADS of sugar. I grab bags of crisps on the go as a quick snack or Jaffa cakes if I haven’t eaten all day and feel wobbly. I know , I know!! I honestly feel so disgusted with myself. I do have days when I cook everything from scratch, and I do eat quite a bit of veg anyway.

My B12 is very low again (my body doesn’t absorb it properly) so once that’s sorted hopefully I’ll feel less knackered.

I haven’t had any cakes, sweets, biscuits, or crisps for two days now which is unheard of! I realise how ridiculous that sounds celebrating something that’s normal for other people 😫

No big carbs yesterday either - no bread/rice/pasta/potatoes.

I’ve got a bit of a stomach ache today, and I did have last night too. Wondering if it’s maybe my body getting used to the change??

I’m going to check out the people suggested above - thank you @Paythosebitchesnomind, @AtLeastThreeDrinks and again, @Thegreatgiginthesky.

I just need to figure out some healthy food that I can grab when I’m hungry.

I went plant-based for about three months a few years ago but it didn’t last.

I have heard lots of people say it’s helped. I’m just not sure I can cut out all sugar, snacks, and processed food as well as cutting out meat at the same time 😂

I might revisit the idea in 6 months….

Oh, your life sounds hard. Is your DP doing all he can? You say he's unlikely to be able to work again, but is he able to do his share of food prep/cooking, home schooling and house renovation?

Do you have the budget to buy in healthy meals if you don't have time to cook?

Your life sounds tough OP. I think the secret is planning. We've been cutting down on processed foods and it's made a big difference but it involves a lot of meal planning and shopping. Full fat Greek yoghurt and berries for breakfast, some kind of salad with protein for lunch and normal dinners with fish, meat and stir fry or roasted veg. If I make bolognese then DH and I have it with courgetti and the kids have pasta. We use cauliflower rice a bit too. Snacks are either fruit or veg sticks with houmous or plain nuts. More of a lifestyle change than a diet which I think is key.

Exercise wise maybe try some short HIT workouts? Plank, pushups, sit ups, jumping jacks etc as well as the steps?

The Fast800 diet sounds like it would work for you - if you go to their website, they also have some fantastic recipes, that are easy and would also work/can easily be adapted for the rest of the family.

Their approach was based, initially, on work done at the University of Newcastle in reverting diabetes.

I think go back to basics. Don't 'diet' as such. Eat proper whole food, lots of veg, nothing too processed.

2 scrambled eggs on decent toast with some tomatoes
Chicken, lots of veg, a medium sized baked potato.
A salmon stirfry and measure a portion of rice.

Don't snack - or if you do have a banana.

The more veg, pulses, full fat foods you eat the less cravings you'll have.

I've lost a stone and a half doing this - another stone and a half to go....but I'm getting there. It's taken a year.

Don't do FAst 800 without talking to your GP first....

Don't do FAst 800 without talking to your GP first....

Why on earth not?! Given that it's a diet that has been developed specifically for people with/at risk of diabetes, the GP is more likely to recommend it.

Low carb or keto is your friend in this situation - heaps of resources on line and easy to follow, once you get over the sugar/carb cravings.

Aw well done OP, it sounds like you have made a great start. Regarding healthy low carb snacks I eat a lot of nuts (I keep lots of different ones in jars), peanut butter with apple is also good, I also like kaiko seaweed thins (although this might be an acqired taste) or some edamane beans which are high in protein.

Hopefully though if you fill up on fibre, protein and healthy fats you should feel the need to snack a lot less.

Thank you all so much. I’m still refining exactly what I’m going to do but I think I’m essentially just going to drop all of the sugary snacks and processed foods, and try to really minimise the carbs. Not going to stress too much about occasionally having a higher fat ingredient, at least for now.

For example, last night I had baked bbq pork loins (trimmed, no fat) with cheesy leeks and peppers. I briefly felt a bit guilty about the cheesy leeks (home made dish) but I only had about 1100 calories yesterday in total, no snacks or sugar, so I thought on balance it probably was ok.

I didn’t mention in my OP but I’m autistic/ADHD - and while I love a meticulous plan, I really struggle with my organisation and time management. I am time poor but on top of that, I don’t use the little time I have productively.

I can make time to cook from scratch if I organise myself a bit better and plan ahead. So I need to kick myself up the arse and focus. Went shopping yesterday and bought natural peanut butter, eggs, ton of veg, fruit, sour dough crackers, Greek yoghurt, chicken so I’m sorted for next few days at least.

Also, I’m writing EVERYTHING down that I eat or drink.

Honestly though, yesterday and today, absolute whopper of a headache!! Really bad head pain and nausea, plus dizziness. Painkillers not even touching it. I don’t think it’s the heat - I’m guessing it’s the sudden and radical change in diet. I hope this fucks off soon because it’s making it really hard to do anything. I feel absolutely bloody awful!!!

@SpidersAreShitheads if you're going low carb, then you don't need to worry about the fat. A low carb diet is a high fat one.

The other thing you need is to keep your electrolytes (key = sodium, magnesium and potassium) up. You can buy a supplement for this, High5 Zero is the one I usually recommend, but you can also get them from food. The key electrolyte is sodium, so you should be using salt in your cooking and on your food. The lack of these electrolytes is what is causing the headache - it's called carb flu.

@BIWI aaah that’s really useful, thank you!

I don’t eat much salt so that makes sense. I might start with the supplement you suggested and then go from there.

I’m struggling with the headache but not struggling with the diet plan at all so far (very early days) so it would be great to get a handle on it. Probably also not being helped by the lack of caffeine - no chocolate or coke so no caffeine. I’m not a coffee drinker (or tea).

The headache is problematic as I get hemiplegic migraines and I don’t want this to develop into one. With all the care responsibilities I have, I can’t just stop if I’m ill so a migraine is a major pain in the arse. So I’ll get into that supplement now.

I wasn’t 100% sure about the fat (cheese) but that’s good to know that I haven’t gone wrong already! 😂

In the short term, you can make yourself a hot drink with a beef Oxo cube or Bovril or Marmite.

(and if the headache is really bad, then up the carbs a bit - try a slice of wholemeal toast with some Marmite)

Oh OXO cube is a great idea, thank you! I used to drink a mug of OXO as a late night treat.

I’ve just added a pinch of salt to a glass of squash as I googled electrolytes and it suggested that.

I’ve got a Greek yoghurt and fruit here for lunch which I think will help with potassium and magnesium.

I’ll keep the toast as an emergency solution - I find it easier to cut things out completely than have small amounts.

I really appreciate all your advice, thank you.

Unless you are in ketosis (unlikely if you are eating fruit as you need to be under 30g carbs a day) the headache is unlikely to be carb flu.

It is more likely to be down to sugar withdrawal. It should dissipate after a few days on its own but if you can't deal with it cut down gradually
www.verywellhealth.com/headache-after-eating-sugar-5116290

Sugar withdrawal IS carb flu!

OP I have been making an effort to cut out sugar due to high HB Ac1. My vices are white bread, pasta, cider and 0% beer

I've found Sainsbury's online shopping a good guide for sugar content as they have quite comprehensive nutrition advice

Some great tips here. Placemarking for inspiration.