Meal idea

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Just had a health check and showed I had high cholesterol and high blood sugar, basically pre diabetes . Doctor appointment is not till end March. In the meantime I am trying my best to adjust my diet, fewer red meat and carb etc.

I actually quite like veg and fruit. But cutting carb makes me feel hungry all the time. Anyone has tips on what to add to my daily meals?

Protein is filling, limit alcohol or give up completely.

What is your regular food intake?

I don't have much alcohol

Normally a portion of meat, some veg and sobe pasta or rice

But I have quite a bit of snack, chocolate, biscuits, nuts, crisp, which I know is bad so want to drop these. I feel hungry between meals though

Drop the sweet snacks, have an apple or some carrot sticks.

Instead of meat try fish (not fried) or skinless chicken. Tofu if you really want to give it a go.

I can drop sweet and swap for fruit. Just still feel hungry

Try drinking cold water, add lemon juice if you like it. Sometimes I get the munchies between meals and a big glass of water, or even a cup of tea usually sorts it out. When I am trying to be disciplined that is! Hunger can often mean thirst, and sipping water is something to do other than dipping the paws in the biscuit tin. I think hunger (in my case) is often the result of boredom. So I get on with some tricky bit of work, or do something around the house to distract myself. It's not easy.

Look up a list of low GI foods just so you can see that there's loads of options and pick out the stuff you like.

I was diagnosed with T2 diabetes last August.

What I have done is basically switch out the carb element for green veg or mushrooms.

• so if I'm making lasagna for the family I hold back a bit of the meat in red sauce and use that to stuff peppers or mushrooms then cook it all at the same time.
• spaghetti bolognaise I have green beans instead of pasta
• chicken and chips I have a double portion of roasted broccoli instead of chips.
• chilli and rice, I have cauliflower rice
• cooked breakfast is now bacon, sausage, fried egg, mushrooms and tomato

I make a lot of casseroles using tinned tomatoes, onions, carrots, mushrooms and a cheap cut of meat then letting it slow cook all day. I make it heavy on the mushrooms so it's really filling and doesn't need a side to make it a full meal.

There are some 'tricks' I use to not feel like I'm missing out, I love jacket potatoes, they're way up high on my list of favourite foods, they also send my sugar levels insanely high. So now as a treat I will hold back the potato peels sometimes, season them, add a little oil and air fry them till they're crispy, I get the delicious crispy jacket potatoes skin which is what I miss the most, and the carb content is way way lower, they barely cause my sugars to increase. I have a small teaspoon of peanut or almond butter if I'm craving a sweet treat, the gooeyness of it and the way it sticks to the roof of my mouth satisfies that need.

If you do have refined carbs like white bread, pasta, cake, chocolate...then pair it with a protein, that helps your body to break down the sugar, and try to go for a brisk 20 min walk after eating, again it helps to process the sugar. So apple slices with peanut butter, toast with egg....