Am I likely to be/become diabetic?

[BaconAndAvocado]

Going into menopause over the last year or so, my diet has changed so much!

I’m 53 and at a healthy weight. The main concern is my sweet tooth which is completely new to me.

A typical day would be:
Breakfast - Greek yoghurt, berries, seeds and goji berries
Herbal tea

Lunch - 3 crackers with small amount of cheese
2 cherry tomatoes
2 radishes
1 pear

Dinner - Usually a half portion of a healthy HelloFresh type meal with lots of veg, no read meat involved, either veggie, chicken or fish based.

All healthy so far but in between these meals I would usually have:
2 rich tea biscuits
2 chocolate digestive biscuits
A pastry e.g. pain au raisin, iced bun.
A chocolate bar sometimes 2 e.g. Milky Way, Aero
Mug of latte from a sachet

Ive just calculated the calories to be approximately 1500 which is low but it’s the sugar content that worries me. It feels like an addiction and I can’t seem to cut down!

Do I need to change my diet to be healthy ??

If I eat sugar I crave more and more! Not easy to avoid though.

I’d be concerned about cholesterol too with a pain au raisin, biscuits and chocolate bar habit. Tesco nutritional info for example for their pastry, although I’m guessing yours must be smaller if you are only eating 1,500 calories a day despite also eating biscuits and chocolate. Are you sure you’ve calculated right? Our chocolate digestives are 88 calories each. Anyhow it seems a lot of carbs, fat and sugar if it’s an everyday occurrence.

Its not a given you will end up diabetic but it is a possibility, even if you manage to stay a healthy weight.

I totted up your intake, and I make it around 2000 calories, of which a high proportion is refined sugar. If your body can cope with that, no problem, but if you start to show signs of insulin resistance, you will definitely do damage at that level of sugar intake. Do you have regular blood tests? If so, have a look at the HbA1c result, which should be between 20 and 41. If it’s 42 or above, you have a problem.

I’d be more worried about bone health, cancer and autoimmune disease. You’re not eating enough real veggies and fruits.
two cherry tomatoes, two radishes??
half dinner portion?
disordered eating 101.

Not to criticise as I eat chocolate daily myself
My cholesterol is very good as I eat nuts which are " good fats"
I'd be concerned about the daily pastries which are full of saturated fat and sugar
You could replace them with a Toasted Teacake for example

Could you not eat a while dinner and cut back some of the snacks?

Your current meals seem quite small and restricted. If you bulked out with additional veg, more protein and good carbs you might have fewer sugar cravings. It sounds to me like your body is crying out for fuel.

Your snacks are forming a huge part of your overall calorie intake for very little return. I’d swap those out for fruit - you are still getting sugar but with fibre and nutrients and fewer calories.

I have a long standing battle with my sugar cravings so if this is relatively new to you, break the habit now, before it becomes ingrained.

You say you're a healthy weight so there's no need to eat such small meals.
I used to get sugar cravings as I often missed meals so now I make sure to eat plenty at meal times, eg boiled eggs, toast and fruit for breakfast, cheese and salad sandwiches for lunch, stir fry with veg, fish and rice for evening meal.
I'll eat enough at each meal to feel full but not uncomfortably so and rarely eat anything between meals now.

This is MN. Average diet is 2 lettuce leaves a day and 3 on a sunday. Calories, calories

It sounds fine, OP, but personally I'd put those calories into meals rather than snacks.

I’m aware that it is very unhealthy and the biggest element is my sugar intake.
As I said earlier, when younger I used to eat far less sugar, more fruit.
This has literally coincided with the menopause.

I’ve tried cutting out sugar completely but that gave me headaches and it was just unrealistic.

I will try eating bigger, healthy meals and see if that affects my snacking.

Thanks all for the advice.

"All healthy so far but in between these meals I would usually have:
2 rich tea biscuits
2 chocolate digestive biscuits
A pastry e.g. pain au raisin, iced bun.
A chocolate bar sometimes 2 e.g. Milky Way, Aero
Mug of latte from a sachet"

All of them or one line each day? ie do you have 2 rich biscuits one day and 2 digestives the next or all of this at once?
Do you work in an office where people push this kind of crap on you? That's my downfall.

I think just one of these a day is fine. A little of what you fancy does you good. I have a chocolatey drink every day and I'm not about to give it up despite having put on weight. The calories will have to come off elsewhere.

"I will try eating bigger, healthy meals and see if that affects my snacking"

I would try reducing the snacking first or you might end up with bigger meals plus all the snacks!

Just realised the question is about diabetes so why not ask your doctor to check your blood sugar levels?

Embarrassed to say this is what I gave in one day and no, I work from home.

So hard to get a GP appointment here. I'd feel a bit guilty just asking for a blood test.
We'll see.

"I'd feel a bit guilty just asking for a blood test."

You're not to blame for the problems of the NHS. Prevention is cheaper than cure when it comes to pre-diabetes and type 2 diabetes.
I had a hot chocolate, oreos and two glasses of wine today so I'm no better really - didn't mean to make you feel bad for those snacks.

You can buy a blood glucose meter over the counter. That'd give you some idea, and they're really simple to use. https://www.boots.com/health-pharmacy/electrical-health-diagnostics/dna-test-kits/accu-chek-instant-blood-glucose-system-10295056. I am type 2 diabetic (on medication, not insulin) but this gives me a good guide inbetween 6 monthly blood tests.

Gwenhwyfar
I already feel bad so don’t worry!
Like most people, I equate sweet things with the idea of a treat. I need to change my mindset.

I don’t drink at all so I guess that’s something positive 🤣

Just ring your GP and ask for a standard HbA1c test, which tests your average blood sugar over the last three months (or something like that). 41 or below is fine, 42 to I think around 48 (check) is pre-diabetic, over whatever that number is is diabetic. The NHS is very happy to do that test because it's much cheaper in the long term to spot the people who are pre-diabetic and help them make changes to get out of that range than to treat people with full blown diabetes.

Also, you are unlikely to need an appointment for that, just ring reception and explain you would like a test out of an abundance of caution as you have t had your bloods done recently and if they are anything like my Gp they'll just print the form out at the counter for you to pick up. If the results is normal, you haven't wasted anyone's time. If it's not, you should be talking to a GP anyway.

Your calorie calcs are very optimistic there.
Everyone has different blood sugar and fat control so it's impossible to know if you could become diabetic. You need to ask for a HBA1C test from your gp or order one privately.

See if your surgery do nhs health checks. Some pharmacies do them too.

https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/nhs-health-check/

OP, just stop buying the biscuits and pastry's. Sugar is addictive. It's easier to have none at all with things like biscuits than trying to limit yourself. Drink more water. Up your protein.