What to feed pre diabetic husband ?

[Lizzy7596]

Husband was called to see nurse yesterday and was informed his blood sugar was 46 ( prediabetic) the nurse told him to half the amount of alcohol he drinks and cut out bread , pasta rice and lose weight (he’s 5 stone over weight )
Im really annoyed because he’s blood sugar was 43 last year and no one bothered to tell him he was pre diabetic ! .
I’ve gave him a chicken salad for lunch today and a couple of boiled eggs to snack on . He can’t eat this everyday he will be so fed up . What else can he eat & can he really not eat any bread ? .

Thanks very helpful .

I was told I was borderline pre-diabetic at 42.

Between 43 and 47 is pre diabetic.

Lots of information on this site, started with the blood glucose page for reference, but lots more to read.
www.diabetes.co.uk/diabetes_care/blood-sugar-level-ranges.html

My GP suggested the Michael Mosley book. If I want inspiration I Google low carb recipes or keto recipes.

Low GI, Keto or Low carb recipes will all help and there's loads of them free online.

Some ideas.

• eggs - scrambled, fried, poached, omelette. Add some veg and ham to the omelette, or spring onions, jalapeños and cheese to the scrambled egg.
• fake fry up - grilled bacon, mushrooms, tomato, sausage
• Greek yoghurt and berries
• meat and 2 veg, stick to things like broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, Brussels sprouts, green beans, asparagus, sugar snap peas, sweet potato.

Pre-diabetic is a hba1c between 42 - 47.9 mmol

Never said I was perfect at all. 🙄
But he’s an adult. He needs to take responsibility for his own health. You can’t blame the surgery and you can’t fix this for him.

My DH was told he was pre diabetic in January, the nurse gave him 3 months to try and get his blood sugar reduced. He stopped eating all biscuits, had one or 2 small cakes each week. Took sweeteners in tea and stopped having orange juice, but upped his intake of fruit. He used to have a beer each day and wine with dinner 3 times a week, he has reduced this now. He has brown toast for breakfast maybe 3 times a week, other days he has weetabix, shredded wheat or readybrek with sweeteners added. Generally he cut out snacks and he has smaller meals and we hardly have any puddings. He lost over a stone in weight and at his check up last month he has managed to get the level reduced.

I asked for advice on what he can eat . I never blamed the surgery but they actually did fuck by not calling him in earlier . I don’t expect to fix anything. I provide the family meals that’s why I ask for advice.
Go away .

I'm a practice nurse and diabetic specialist,

Pre diabetes HBA1c level is 43-47
Diabetes is 48 and above.

Unfortunately It's a fact that lifestyle, diet and obesity is the main cause for type 2 diabetes.

That being said - loosing weight and having the will power to cut out the sugary snacks and carbs is really really hard for many people. Food is addictive and it's hard to eat healthy.

Your husband needs to understand (and I'm sure he does) that diabetes is an absolute burden and causes lots of secondary complications later in life, and he can do something now to stop it from developing. Ask the practice to refer him to the "diabetes prevention program"

Low carbs, low sugar diet is key. Alcohol is a total waste of calories so cutting that down is also important.
Small changes - cutting sugar out of tea and coffee. Swapping to brown bread, smaller portions, bulk meals with veg, protein Keeps you full for longer. Don't even have chocolate and crisps in the house....... all just ideas.

One of my patients had great success with the "hello fresh" home delivery recipe boxes. Maybe give that a try if you are running out of ideas. Also the Mediterranean diet is also a good diet plan to look into, they have lots of recipe books on Amazon.

Hope this helps x

OP- Do we have the same husband???

Only this week he was told his bloods showed pre-diabetes. I don't know the HbA1c though. The diabetes clinic called him today. Apparently he will have a 45min 1:1 consult, then a weekly group session. He thought this was for 9mths-but I very much doubt that is the case. I'm 'assuming' it will cover healthy diets, exercise, weight loss etc?

I previously did a keto diet which is a more extreme form of a low carb- often recommended for pre-diabetes when weight loss is needed too. I used the carb manager app. It helped keep track of carbs, fibre, daily allowances etc and the website has recipes too. I'd obviously take advice from his Dr/diabetes team on what they advise, but if low carb is advised, its a great way to keep track of what you are eating.

The thing is if you take control and do this for him then he likely won't take responsibility and will moan about what he 'can't have.

You do all the cooking and shopping for normal everyday eating, he is ill and need to sort himself out. I would expect my DH to be looking up what he can eat, menu ideas etc. is he going this or is he just expecting you to fix it? By all means do all the leg work but you are not helping him by doing this.

There are some low carb groups on FB

@Lizzy7596 the HBA1c value is a 3-month BG measurement and something like Fast 800 keto will give you meal plans & exercise for 12 weeks - very low carb and low calorie for that period of time, and should get his HBA1c down in that time period (then see if his blood can be re-tested!!).

That's just to get started. Follow up with long term lower carb. With veggies, a great rule-of-thumb is that if it comes from above the ground, it's almost always lower carb than veggies from below ground.

The Diet Doctor website, despite the name, has heaps of low carb recipes.

Highly recommend cauliflower for lots of things. Mashed cauliflower is fabulous, as is sliced wide roasted in the oven. Filling without being starchy.

The easiest things are lean meat and vegetables. Can vary the meat. Oh, and eggs are your friend. A soft boiled egg on basically anything is delicious, feels like a treat, and is very low carb.

He is going to try the low carb approach. He can go without sweet things but he is very fond of beer. He has a stressful job and likes to wind down with alcohol .
He does realise he has to cut down .

Look for recipe books by Katie & Giancarlo Caldesi.

My husband went from a HBA1C level of 92 to 38 by following the advice in the Michael Moseley book.

The recipes in there are good, it took a lot more thought and planning to eat like that, but he didn't feel like he was missing out

Wow @Edderkop , what a result! Did he lose weight too?

DH reversed his pre-diabetes.

He stopped taking sugar in tea, stopped eating chocolate and biscuits (he ate a lot of them), cut down on cakes and beer. No cutting down of carbs or change to the normal main family meals he ate, it was all the rubbish outside meals that was doing the damage.

Yes, he lost about 12kg, he was on a low dose of metformin for the first three months but then weaned off that with support of diabetic nurse. He's a year on from that now.

Try https://www.diabetes.org.uk which is a brilliant resource with information about the positive benefit of low carb (not no carb)

MN's has a really helpful Low Carb Boot Camp threads, DH managed to reverse his type II diabetes using this low carb approach. He has maintained low blood sugars using a less restrictive way of eating.

All the best.

I hope Michael Mosley reads this thread - he's been mentioned 7 times 🤣

@Lizzy7596 if you want a meal plan & shopping list to get him started, the Fast800 is a great way to start. Gives you an exercise plan if needed as well. 12-week kick start to get him going. He'll lose weight as well as getting his HbA1c down.

FYI I'm in NZ & pre-diabetes is considered 41+. To my horror I hit 41, started Fast800 at Easter & am 1 stone 3ib down already. Will retest HBA1c in another 6 weeks.

Hi OP, I can absolutely guarantee what you give him won't make any difference, because what most of us don't realise for ages about our overweight husbands, is that they stuff their face at any given opportunity at any time in secret.

My husband got given a shock when he was told his kidneys were dodgy and pre diabetic and he had to face up to all the face stuffing.
Now he eats a varied diet with carbs, including porridge to fill him up, protein and LOADS of vegetables, some fruit and a more measured approach to alcohol. No food is off the table, just less of it.

Another thing we stopped was any fizzy drinks - even the sugar free ones, as they also can cause insulin levels to spike.

In addition, you have to add in lots of exercise, walking for miles, swimming, whatever makes you happy and feel better. It's easier to get healthier if you do it together, good luck!

I’ve found the Fast 800 recipe books to be excellent - the recipes are all straightforward to make and taste good. There are meal planners to help you think ahead and shop.