Really bloody annoyed with pre diabetes/diabetes!! What am I doing wrong???

[icantwaitforsummer]

I am so pissed off with my pre diabetes diagnosis in November.

Nothing is working and I feel like I am heading toward diabetes and feeling really deflated. Can someone tell me what I am doing wrong, feel free to be really honest as I am getting so bloomin sick of it.

Yesterday I had a salad for lunch just chicken and leaves, for dinner made shepherds pie, full of veggies, celery, carrots, peas and made a thin layer of mash on top. With a side of broccoli, peas, cabbage and kale and gravy.

Walked on the treadmill, fast pace for 15mins straight after dinner. At 9pm I had a cup of tea with 1tsp xylitol sugar.

By the morning my blood sugar was 8.1!!

Tonight before dinner my blood sugar was 6:9. Had a roast with mounds of broccoli, kale, cabbage, some roast chicken from the air fryer and 1-2 small roast potatoes. Gravy.
Had 4 squares of chocolate after dinner. Ran on the treadmill for 16 mins. My blood sugar 2 hours after is 8.9!

I cannot get it below 6. I don't eat breakfast, I only drink green tea and water, very occasionally have a cup of tea or coffee with almond milk. Sometimes sourdough with avocado, mushrooms, egg, chia seeds. I feel like I live on salad and vegetables, celery, hummus and occasionally Greek yoghurt with nuts, but nothing is working!!!

I don't drink, don't smoke, since diagnosis I have lost a stone and will try to lost another 5-7lbs. But my weight is in the healthy range now.

After 3 months I feel ready to give up. Can anyone tell me what I'm doing wrong?

Try ditching all potatoes, my friend just couldn't eat them at all else her blood sugars soared.

Some people (me included) have “dawn phenomenon” which means your BGs are higher than you would expect in the mornings and there is not a lot you can do about it. Eating breakfast helps get it down (sounds weird, I know) so do try that.

I reversed it over the course of 12 months by following the Zoe guidelines and doing intermittent fasting. Using a continuous glucose monitor I could see that eating during an 8 hour window and fasting the other 16 kept my blood sugar lower for a longer period of time. I eat a Mediterranean diet with lots of pulses, tones of olive oil and very little red meat. Full fat dairy and the two meals I eat a day are packed with seeds and veg etc. Very littler white rice/bread/pasta.

I know Zoe is stupid expensive but their podcasts and Youtube are widely available and free.

Good luck, it's doable with perseverance.

Oh yeah and potatoes are the enemy as mentioned <sobs>

Yes definitely sobs! I bloomin love potatoes, jacket potato, new potatoes, mash. It's so sad but I will have to say goodbye.

I do the 16:8 anyway and have done for years, so that part is easy as I dont like breakfast.

But why isnt it below 7 or 6? Surely that tiny bit of mash yesterday and 2 tiny potatoes with the skin on is enough to make it soar?

I feel so fed up with food, it used to make me happy now it's rubbish. I just cannot get excited about another bloody salad.

I've been T2 diabetic for nearly 20 years and never have a morning reading below 8. Don't get too caught up in daily testing, it's your HbA1c that counts.

Watch your portion sizes too. I find that I can't snack at all, and have 3 small meals only. Only eat veg that grow above the ground and avoid starchy carbs.

What are their guidelines if you dont mind me asking?

I think you are just going to have to cut them out completely for now and see. Sort of go back to complete basics and add things in one at a time to see what triggers you. It could be for now potatoes are your absolute nemesis but after you get more control you can have a little bit now and then? You can also make sure everything else you eat with them is fibre crazy. If I was going to have a jacket potato I'd eat a fibre rich snack first like handful of almonds/olives and have home made baked beans with it, plus veg or solid salad items with an olive oil dressing and seeds.

<draws in OP and lets her sob out her potatoless future>

If you want a super comforting mouthful though investigate making your own dahls, the red lentils that mush down completely are almost mash like in loveliness. Also you can smoosh butter beans up to make a tastier mash than you'd imagine. Don't go sweet potato not only are they stupidly un nice potato like they spike my blood sugar just as much!

@EchoChamber you can find them on YouTube but basically you are trying to eat 30 grams of fibre a day from 30 different sources a week (including herbs and spices in this). Make time for fermented foods, splash olive oil on everything, and steer well clear of anything that is ultra processed. There's a bit more to it but basically that!

You do know blood sugar 4-8 is normal right? And certainly ambulance wise, we don't worry too much until it's over 10-13?

As a PP said, it's not so much the daily testing that will define you as diabetic, it's the HbA1c blood test that will.

Your diet sounds great, but don't stress over blood reading at the moment.

Thanks.

I thought that potatoes were not permitted for diabetics.

Potatoes are generally not great for BG levels but some people tolerate them ok, especially when paired with oil (ie chips and roast potatoes). Everyone is different, which makes it such. bloody minefield.

You don't mention portion sizes, are they reasonable?

I have wierd reactions to food. It was trial and error with the help of glucose monitor to find out what i didn't tolerate well. Timing was also very important.

If you try some level of intermittent fasting it should increase your sensitivity and get things back under control.

Def don't give up, eat more protein and fat, limit carbs to higher fibre veg, eat 2 or 3 proper meals and nothing in between. Keep up the walking. Get good quality sleep, that makes a difference too

Good luck, keep going.

Think you need some more exercise. 10-15mins on a treadmill is barely anything. Do more cardio and add in resistence training with weights or callisthenics.

If you use salad dressings, check them, they usually are full of sugar. You might need to make your own with olive oil, vinegar and herbs.

@icantwaitforsummer

even a tiny amount of potato has my blood sugars sky rocketing.

have you tried celeriac mash?? & chips?

the chocolate would too unless it's over 85% cocoa, even then check out the carbs per 200g there a big variance.

cut out the sourdough & check the carbs per 100g in the Greek yogurt, some are really high. I buy fage total full fat (blue one)

up the meat & don't eat mounds of veg, there's a lot of carbs with a lot of veg unlike meat.

vheck the nuts you're eating as their carb count varies a LOT. Macadamias & cashews are high, almonds & peanuts are liw. I can't remember others as I don't like them!!

unfortunately I'm vegetarian so it makes it more tricky.

i also can't tolerate pulses.

just cut out more carbs including carb heavy veg (carrots & peas)until your reading ms are what you want & then try one thing at a time.

HbA1c is NIT the best measure at all because it evens out the spikes & what you need to do is stop the spikes.

The gravy, the potatoes and the carrots are the problem. 10g carbs to one small carrot.

I was told dairy is ok however I can't have a lot of it or my sugars are sky high.

Check glycemic load of foods - the lower the better.
Watch how many carbs you’re consuming - my fitness pal or other app can help you. Aim for less than 60g.
Try intermittent fasting.
Don’t give up :-)

I had gestational diabetes so slightly different. But my morning fasting levels were high to start with, I managed to get them down by having a high protein/fat snack in the evening (this is a really common suggestion in the GD world) I’d typically have a Babybel light and a handful of nuts.

Have you looked into carb pairing? It really worked for me and I was able to avoid metformin/insulin. Basically when you eat anything carby like your potatoes, make sure you also have a good portion of protein and/or fat. Maybe the potatoes combined with gravy and carrots are too much for you to tolerate as there’s 3 carbs there with only your meat to pair.
I think that the cooking method of foods can also alter the glycemic index, so you may be better with a few boiled salad type potatoes rather than roast.

I checked the gravy and the carb content I didn't think it was too bad. But I suppose I need to work out each meal. What should an average meal contain carb wise?

I am going to try these mash versions you have all suggested, lentils, butter beans and celeriac. That's a good tip thank you.

I'm going to avoid carrot, parsnip and potato from now on. All above ground.

Portions I would say are normal. My plate was 60/70 percent veg today and yesterday. But maybe I'm not eating enough protein.

Tomorrow I feel stuck,
Do ignore the first reading?

Do I fast until lunchtime?
Do I have Greek yoghurt with blueberries and walnuts and chia seeds
Do I have sour dough, avocado, mushrooms and spinach?

It's so bloody complicated!

The glucose goddess says have a savoury breakfast so that makes me think the sourdough mushrooms and avocado.

But then told to avoid sourdough? And have yoghurt with berries.

It's don't know how to do this right.

I avoid potatoes (yes, that's hazard,) rice, pasta, bread. If I go out for a meal, I might have them then, but mostly not. Breakfast could be egg and bacon. Watch yoghurt - plain is okay, but flavoured yoghurts are often sweetened.

Sure you shouldn't be eating more fat??

Not claiming to be an expert at all on this matter, but have you tried the low carb boot camp recipe threads?

Have a look at The Sugar Solution by Dr Mark Hyman.

Dr Becky Gillaspy on YouTube also has a lot of useful.

Have you heard of the glycemic index? It rates how various foods enter our blood stream.

From what I'm looking at I don't think you're getting enough pure protein. Red meats have little to do with this.

Look up Zimbabwe Hand Jive food measurements system for portion control.

HA1c is the most important blood factor to look at. And you should get it checked every 3 months.