Newbie - prediabetes - food

[Sunnyside4]

Hi, just looking for a bit of general advice before I join the NHS programme, which starts in my area in a month.

Breakfast - eggs or full fat yogurt and fruit for breakfast are suggested, but then I've read you can eat wholegrains. Are there any better breakfast cereals or bread? Also, would it have to be full fat yogurt (always have low fat as prefer).

Are there any better fruits or veg to eat?

If I'm out/having people around for coffee, is it a complete 'no' to cakes/biscuits or are there any that I could consider in moderation, ie eat half portion cake while out, one biscuit?

Carbs with meals, I tend to have 1-2 new potatoes, a couple of spoonfuls of wholegrain pasta or rice? Is that ok, or should I reduce/cut out.

A cake treat in my mind is my one bad thing, as everything else is wholegrains, I'm mainly veggie so lots of pulses, something like shreddies, low fat yogurt and fruit for break, but either way I obviously need to make changes/adjustments.

To be honest not everyone reacts the same to everything so it might take time to discover what works for you.

I'd avoid sugar and I think the cake has to go to be honest. If I fancy something like that, I have a little bit of dark chocolate (80% plus) or some of the kind bars are lowish carb/sugar. Multipack size rather individual.

The high fat is to slow down the release of any sugars in the fruit and also to provide enough calories to keep you going.

The surreal cereal and some keto type granolas are okay for me. I've been suggested Steel cut oats but they don't seem to agree with me bloodsugar wise.

I get hi lo bread in sainsburys or livlife from waitrose but also occasionally have small amounts of wholegrain sourdough. I also sometimes have wholegrain crackers with full fat cheese and/or pate. Bread is less carby if frozen and toasted for some reason. Always combine with fibre, fat and protein. Eat your fibre, fats and proteins first when possible.

The amount of carbs with your mains sounds reasonable.

Watch what fruits you have, berries are good, green apples eaten with peanut butter I find fine. I think tropical fruits tend to be sweeter and higher sugar.

Good luck with it all.

Are you overweight, do you exercise, is there anything "obvious" that could be leading to the pre diabetes, or is it just bad luck/genetic predisposition?

Just go keto, it’s the easiest thing to do. You’ll avoid all potentially harmful foods that way.

Watch out for hidden sugars in "diet" or low fat products like yoghurt and cereals. Avoid citrus fruit particularly. More protein , less carb especially processed.

I wouldn't eat fruit. Carbs need to be complex. No idea about the full fat - I'm sure low fat is fine.
The carb based diet recommended to me just didn't make sense if it's carbs that raise blood sugar levels. I did query it but the doctors (all non diabetic) just said that was what was recommended!
I find a whole foods regime, heavy on vegetables, works best. Occasional cake is fine. Monitor frequently as your body may react differently than others.

Why no fruit:at all? I don't eat much except for a handful of blackberries, half an apple or pear and a banana (for potassium) Not all at once obv!
Otherwise my carb intake is very low indeed. Full fat Greek yogurt, eggs, hard cheese are mainstays for me. Some dark chocolate is a rare treat.

Thanks for your replies, interesting and helpful. As I'm prediabetes and feel ok, it's going to hard right now to know what really works as I'm not due another blood test until May. Definitely going to make adjustments and I guess at that point, I can see if I'm doing the right thing.

olderbutwiser I think it's just I'm more I'm prone to it. My diet isn't perfect (I like a couple of biscuits or cake a day), but I eat 95% wholegrain cereal, bread, rice, noodles, don't like cream or butter (not really relevant to diabetes), might have a desserts once every three months, mainly eat veggie. I exercise far more than recommended. I'm a low weight - 7st5lbs - have actually lost 5lbs over the last three months as I want to keep my cholesterol in check due to family history - that'll be another thing, if I'm eating a lot more salads/making changes, I'll have to keep my calorie content up.

Annoying my diet is better than DHs, his blood sugar is ok and he's got a cholesterol level of 3.3!

Hang on, you’re fit and slim (very, unless you’re very short) but pre-diabetic? That sounds very unusual. How old are you and how did you find out? Do you have high cholesterol?

I found Freshwell useful. https://lowcarbfreshwell.com/resources/meal-planners/

SnakesAndArrows Haven't seen a GP for years, but as there's heart disease in my family I wanted to know my cholesterol level as I'm getting older. At the same time they tested for blood sugars. GP hasn't come back to say they're worried about my cholesterol but I've recently made a few adjustments so that's probably helped.

I'm 57 and my bmi works out at 18.6.

What was your hbac1 reading? If you are not visiting your gp how did you get diagnosed?

I found out as I asked for a cholesterol test. The nurse decided to extra blood at the time, so I didn't go via GP.

With the cake, it depends how often you mean going out for a coffee with friends and having a treat.

My DM is retired so most of her social life is meeting up with friends at cafes for tea + cake. So if it's most days a week it isn't really 'a treat' anymore.

She reversed her diabetes with diet and never ever has cake when she goes out. But finds it hard as all her friends will be eating it, encouraging her to just have a bit - and yes they are all diabetic.

Are you sure you’re pre-diabetic? What was your HbA1c?

I was also diagnosed diabetic/pre diabetic while being a normal bmi and having a better than average diet. I have officially reversed it through diet and exercise and my last hba1c was 35.

It can be done even though you don't really have weight to lose. I did keto initially and dropped to almost below healthy weight but for me it wasn't sustainable longer term. I don't know what I was initially but my hba1c was 47 at this point. I gradually reintroduced small amounts of healthy carbs and initially went up to 51 but stuck with it and it dropped to 42 within a few months. Just avoiding sugar and sticking to low carb, I'm now normal range and considered reversed. Current bmi is 20 but that's having gained a much needed 20 pounds.

I'd be tempted to go in quite hard to kind of shock your body into processing sugar better and then when your level is down then you can maybe have your occasional cake. It does suck when you don't live an unhealthy lifestyle and you get this but it is what it is and it's better to know while you can still do something about it.

I'm 58 and my dm had age onset diabetes so I guess I just have a predisposition to it. My sister is overweight and has been tested and is normal 🤷

A big thank you everyone. It's a bit of a learning curve, but knowing you've all been through it and made a difference helps.

As I'm feeling fine, in some ways that doesn't help as I don't know what might cause a spike. It's a shame I've got to wait until next spring before having another blood test, but I guess that's due to the fact it takes a while to get your levels down. At least at that point, I can see if I've made a difference in the way I eat and what I eat, and if it's not as good as hoped, look for more pointers.

You can buy a blood glucose monitor and strips fairly cheaply from amazon or the chemist to check for any particular reactions, but it's easy to get a bit obsessed and it's not the same as the a rage that the Hba1c is.

You can also try a continuous monitor but those work out quite expensive. Also useful if you just want to try a few things though.

You can ask yo get tested earlier . Hbac1 is usually done every 3 months. Mine crept up to 49 and have brought it down to 46 in 3 months with exercise and diet. Mainly switched to nimble bread. Very little sugar. More protein. More eggs. Less rice potatoes and pasta. I am.hoping to get it down further with more exercise and stricter diet in next three months. My GP allows tests every 3 months.