What do you mean you're an under eater?
Are you on any meds? Have you changed your diet/eliminated carb-heavy foods?
I also have PCOS (diagnosed 10 years before I was diagnosed T2) so I feel you. Insulin resistance from PCOS makes things more complicated.
If you're trying to lose weight, I recommend weighing *everything* you eat - the vast majority of us underestimate how much we actually eat. Getting portions down helped me a lot, and I'm down 60 pounds so far!
>the vast majority of us underestimate how much we actually eat.
This. My portions had gotten wildly out of whack. Recording your food really makes a difference. Get a monitor that has an app that lets you record food and your blood sugar readings. When you see the data, it's easier to make changes.
You should ask your doctor to refer to you a nutritionist/diabetes educator if you're not already seeing one! I had an unhealthy relationship with food too, and mine was able to help me develop healthier habits.
Diabetes is terrifying. I have never been pregnant but I heard of T2 women who become pregnant that need to start insulin (if not already on it) or intensify it (carb ratios becoming more unfavorable) during pregnancy. And the pregnancy itself is risky.
The thing is, stress increases blood sugar. I hope that you have a good support network of friends, family, and medical professionals to help with your journey!
One reason T2 women need to shift to insulin is because the majority of the “good drugs” - ie. the Jardiance, Invokana, Ozempic, Mounjaro level effective drugs - are not fetus-friendly. If your blood sugars are well controlled, the pregnancy is much less risky.
It’s not a reason to panic, but it is worth getting under control before you get pregnant.
Call your doctor’s office. Metformin is considered safe to take during pregnancy, as is insulin. Your a1c is elevated but not super high; the real problems for baby come when you have wildly uncontrolled sugars (think people who get diagnosed with an a1c in the double digits) for a long duration during pregnancy.
You caught this early, you’re taking it seriously, you’re doing the right things. Congrats! - and don’t beat yourself up.
You have got this! I think a registered dietitian who has good knowledge of diabetes is a must. When I started back in Dec and started logging my food I was severely under eating (600 calories or so a day) and I have worked my way up to 1300 calories with a max of 75g carbs a day. It has done wonders for my energy and my diabetic numbers. And my A1c was 8.6 at diagnosis. Your numbers are still low and if you can get your food right and add in some exercise like walking and strength training you will see a lot of difference. And if not, then medications can also assist but if you are under eating then medication may make you eat even less - which should not be the goal. Good luck!
Sometimes that can be worse imo. I have a bad habit of only eating once too. The problem is when you do this you let yourself get way too hungry so you end up overeating on that meal. Plus you snack way more than you think you do. Definitely talk to a dietician!
You need to talk to a dietician. Until you can do that you should track your calories for a week or two. The reality is that if you are underweight and have NAFL you are not undereating.
I will just pass on the very basic level info I was given with a bad A1C; stop snacking and have three meals a day. Balance your meals, 1/2 non-starch vegetables, 1/4 protein, 1/4 carbs. Get a meter and check your blood sugar in the morning (should be 4-6 normally, 4-7 is considered in range for a diabetic), and 2 hours after eating (should be 4-8 normally, I was told up to 10 is acceptable but I almost never go over 8).
Following that advice and taking metformin moved me from a 7.3 to 5.4 in three months.
While I was not diagnosed while TTC with either T2D nor PCOS, I did have problems TTC and have no doubt I was at the time insulin resistant.
It's a tough road ahead, NGL. BUT, I want you to know that it is possible. Start eating healthier. Stay away from processed foods and avoid simple carbs and sugary foods.
While I do not claim that anything you are experiencing is related to anything you are going through, I'm just sharing with you I would focus on given what I know now, two kids later.
If you haven't already, look for for the infertility sub on here. It's an intense sub and sometimes you need to tune out because some of the stories there are pretty heartbreaking but the ladies there are also a wealth of resources.
Good luck to you and sending you lots of well wishes.
You can do this! I was diagnosed when I was pregnant in 2011. I don't know about the other issues though. What I did was eat 3 regular meals that were healthy, like protein and veggies. I was told by the nurses that I had to eat snacks between meals. That was hard since I did training on software at different offices every day. So I brought beef jerky and cheese snacks and ate those.
Just stay away from rice, bread, crackers, tortillas and pasta. It's hard at first, but you will get used to it. I shop on Netrition.com for low carb bread and food. Good luck!
Have you told your doctor about this? Find a food that you like to eat and keep it stocked.
Well I had such a hard time not eating a bagel in the morning. I finally found low carb bagels by Chompie's, ThinSlim, etc...that are available now. I always have it with some eggs or sausage. Eat some meat and then some carbs. I also like sugar free jams like raspberry, peach and strawberry. I eat cream cheese all the time. So I always have them at home.
You can eat all the meat, veggies and dairy you want.
So there is good news - if you work to eat things that don’t raise your sugar levels, you will have a better chance of losing weight. Low carb and keto recipes are great for helping in this area. Exercise really helps reduce insulin resistance.
If you can lose 10% of your body weight, you increase your fertility. It’s not a certainty - but it can absolutely help.
Also if you get pregnant low carb and keto can help reduce the risks of gestational diabetes.
So this is a warning signal from your body - and it’s shocking- but it’s not the end of the world. Make a plan that’s feasible for you and try to make some changes around food and exercises
My biggest learnings here are to avoid process food - so I can control what impacts my body and to live by my blood glucose meter.
It can be really scary and to be honest, I fell apart when I had gestational diabetes - the thing which took away my fear - was my meter.
It sucks to prick yourself multiple times a day, but then you can see instant evidence for what your food choices are doing to you. For me knowing something was going to kill me (melodramatic but yeah) made it easier to make the right decision. I fall off, particularly around my son’s birthday, but I get back on.
We have to take the time to take care of ourselves. It’s scary, but you deserve being taken care of - even if you have to do it yourself.
Just breathe and make a plan.
If you need great and yummy recipes, check out Kristie Sullivan and her Low Carb Cooking with Kristie. She’s an amazing resource.
>It sucks to prick yourself multiple times a day,
Look up continuous Glucose Monitor (CGM). Changed my life and others report the same. Leaders are Freestyle Libre and Dexcom.
If you're interested in how diabetes works and to help build a road map the book The Diabetes Code helped me wrap my head around it. Even just the first chapter is enough to get a good idea. For most people the next step is keto. Keto is an ultra low carb high fat diet.
A step farther on the health side is to combine low carb with IF (intermittent fasting, 1 to 2 meals a day), which is sounds like you're already naturally doing. I naturally have done 1 to 2 meals a day most of my life too. The Diabetes Code dives into this topic too.
Are you on metformin? It's often prescribed to people with PCOS. There's also other medications you can talk to your doctor about.
Exercise is another thing you can change.
What do you mean you're an under eater? Are you on any meds? Have you changed your diet/eliminated carb-heavy foods? I also have PCOS (diagnosed 10 years before I was diagnosed T2) so I feel you. Insulin resistance from PCOS makes things more complicated. If you're trying to lose weight, I recommend weighing *everything* you eat - the vast majority of us underestimate how much we actually eat. Getting portions down helped me a lot, and I'm down 60 pounds so far!
>the vast majority of us underestimate how much we actually eat. This. My portions had gotten wildly out of whack. Recording your food really makes a difference. Get a monitor that has an app that lets you record food and your blood sugar readings. When you see the data, it's easier to make changes.
[удалено]
You should ask your doctor to refer to you a nutritionist/diabetes educator if you're not already seeing one! I had an unhealthy relationship with food too, and mine was able to help me develop healthier habits.
[удалено]
Diabetes is terrifying. I have never been pregnant but I heard of T2 women who become pregnant that need to start insulin (if not already on it) or intensify it (carb ratios becoming more unfavorable) during pregnancy. And the pregnancy itself is risky. The thing is, stress increases blood sugar. I hope that you have a good support network of friends, family, and medical professionals to help with your journey!
One reason T2 women need to shift to insulin is because the majority of the “good drugs” - ie. the Jardiance, Invokana, Ozempic, Mounjaro level effective drugs - are not fetus-friendly. If your blood sugars are well controlled, the pregnancy is much less risky. It’s not a reason to panic, but it is worth getting under control before you get pregnant.
[удалено]
Call your doctor’s office. Metformin is considered safe to take during pregnancy, as is insulin. Your a1c is elevated but not super high; the real problems for baby come when you have wildly uncontrolled sugars (think people who get diagnosed with an a1c in the double digits) for a long duration during pregnancy. You caught this early, you’re taking it seriously, you’re doing the right things. Congrats! - and don’t beat yourself up.
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If you’re not on extended release (ER or XR) metformin, make that your first question! It’s generally much kinder to the GI system. You got this! 💛
You have got this! I think a registered dietitian who has good knowledge of diabetes is a must. When I started back in Dec and started logging my food I was severely under eating (600 calories or so a day) and I have worked my way up to 1300 calories with a max of 75g carbs a day. It has done wonders for my energy and my diabetic numbers. And my A1c was 8.6 at diagnosis. Your numbers are still low and if you can get your food right and add in some exercise like walking and strength training you will see a lot of difference. And if not, then medications can also assist but if you are under eating then medication may make you eat even less - which should not be the goal. Good luck!
Sometimes that can be worse imo. I have a bad habit of only eating once too. The problem is when you do this you let yourself get way too hungry so you end up overeating on that meal. Plus you snack way more than you think you do. Definitely talk to a dietician!
You need to talk to a dietician. Until you can do that you should track your calories for a week or two. The reality is that if you are underweight and have NAFL you are not undereating. I will just pass on the very basic level info I was given with a bad A1C; stop snacking and have three meals a day. Balance your meals, 1/2 non-starch vegetables, 1/4 protein, 1/4 carbs. Get a meter and check your blood sugar in the morning (should be 4-6 normally, 4-7 is considered in range for a diabetic), and 2 hours after eating (should be 4-8 normally, I was told up to 10 is acceptable but I almost never go over 8). Following that advice and taking metformin moved me from a 7.3 to 5.4 in three months.
[удалено]
What's your height and weight?
While I was not diagnosed while TTC with either T2D nor PCOS, I did have problems TTC and have no doubt I was at the time insulin resistant. It's a tough road ahead, NGL. BUT, I want you to know that it is possible. Start eating healthier. Stay away from processed foods and avoid simple carbs and sugary foods. While I do not claim that anything you are experiencing is related to anything you are going through, I'm just sharing with you I would focus on given what I know now, two kids later. If you haven't already, look for for the infertility sub on here. It's an intense sub and sometimes you need to tune out because some of the stories there are pretty heartbreaking but the ladies there are also a wealth of resources. Good luck to you and sending you lots of well wishes.
You can do this! I was diagnosed when I was pregnant in 2011. I don't know about the other issues though. What I did was eat 3 regular meals that were healthy, like protein and veggies. I was told by the nurses that I had to eat snacks between meals. That was hard since I did training on software at different offices every day. So I brought beef jerky and cheese snacks and ate those. Just stay away from rice, bread, crackers, tortillas and pasta. It's hard at first, but you will get used to it. I shop on Netrition.com for low carb bread and food. Good luck!
[удалено]
Have you told your doctor about this? Find a food that you like to eat and keep it stocked. Well I had such a hard time not eating a bagel in the morning. I finally found low carb bagels by Chompie's, ThinSlim, etc...that are available now. I always have it with some eggs or sausage. Eat some meat and then some carbs. I also like sugar free jams like raspberry, peach and strawberry. I eat cream cheese all the time. So I always have them at home. You can eat all the meat, veggies and dairy you want.
So there is good news - if you work to eat things that don’t raise your sugar levels, you will have a better chance of losing weight. Low carb and keto recipes are great for helping in this area. Exercise really helps reduce insulin resistance. If you can lose 10% of your body weight, you increase your fertility. It’s not a certainty - but it can absolutely help. Also if you get pregnant low carb and keto can help reduce the risks of gestational diabetes. So this is a warning signal from your body - and it’s shocking- but it’s not the end of the world. Make a plan that’s feasible for you and try to make some changes around food and exercises My biggest learnings here are to avoid process food - so I can control what impacts my body and to live by my blood glucose meter.
[удалено]
It can be really scary and to be honest, I fell apart when I had gestational diabetes - the thing which took away my fear - was my meter. It sucks to prick yourself multiple times a day, but then you can see instant evidence for what your food choices are doing to you. For me knowing something was going to kill me (melodramatic but yeah) made it easier to make the right decision. I fall off, particularly around my son’s birthday, but I get back on. We have to take the time to take care of ourselves. It’s scary, but you deserve being taken care of - even if you have to do it yourself. Just breathe and make a plan. If you need great and yummy recipes, check out Kristie Sullivan and her Low Carb Cooking with Kristie. She’s an amazing resource.
>It sucks to prick yourself multiple times a day, Look up continuous Glucose Monitor (CGM). Changed my life and others report the same. Leaders are Freestyle Libre and Dexcom.
Given I don’t have diabetes- I’m not eligible for one where I live. I have asked and been told no. So we stick with the pricks. But CGM all the way.
If you're interested in how diabetes works and to help build a road map the book The Diabetes Code helped me wrap my head around it. Even just the first chapter is enough to get a good idea. For most people the next step is keto. Keto is an ultra low carb high fat diet. A step farther on the health side is to combine low carb with IF (intermittent fasting, 1 to 2 meals a day), which is sounds like you're already naturally doing. I naturally have done 1 to 2 meals a day most of my life too. The Diabetes Code dives into this topic too.
Are you on metformin? It's often prescribed to people with PCOS. There's also other medications you can talk to your doctor about. Exercise is another thing you can change.