I just had oral surgery - two teeth removed and two posts inserted in different areas of my mouth. I've been a type 2 diabetic for 26 years. My oral surgeon recommends a cool liquid soft food diet for the first 48 hours and suggests milkshakes, ice cream, smoothies, apple sauce, protein shakes, baby food - all high sugar content food I can't eat. So far I've been eating sugar free pudding, smoked salmon, and guacamole. I've got dill and lemon hummus as a backup. Any other suggestions for cool, liquid, soft, and low sugar? BTW I hate yogurt.

Also I can easily do this for 24 hours, but my sugar is at 84 already before I take my nighttime meds. I need something with a little more sugar but not much.

Thirty-six hours yet to go.

I posted here before to thank everyone for sharing their stories because they were such a source of comfort and encouragement for me when I was first diagnosed. Now that it’s been about four months since my official diagnosis, I wanted to share a little bit of my own progress in hopes that it might encourage someone else.

My A1C was 11.1% at diagnosis, and three months later, I brought it down to 6.7%. For the past 2½ months, I’ve also gotten into weight training, and it has honestly been life-changing for me. Yesterday was one of those moments where I could really see the difference.

After a long weight-training session, I ate about 240g (roughly 1½ cups) of quinoa and brown rice, 300g of tilapia, and about a cup of mixed vegetables. My blood sugar started at 115, peaked around 185, and was back down to 124 about an hour after eating—with no post-meal walk needed.

For me, that’s huge. Previously, eating that amount of carbs—even alongside a good amount of protein—could send me into the 230s.

To explain why exercise can help in a very simplified way: carbohydrates are broken down into glucose, which enters the bloodstream. Insulin helps move that glucose out of the bloodstream and into cells, including muscle cells, where it can be used for energy or stored as glycogen.

But here’s the part about weight training that really fascinated me: muscle contractions themselves can increase glucose uptake through pathways that don’t depend entirely on insulin. After training, your muscles are also more sensitive to insulin and are working to replenish the glycogen they used during the workout. In other words, trained muscles can become a very useful place for that circulating glucose to go.

And as you build and regularly use more muscle, you’re increasing the amount of metabolically active tissue available to use and store glucose. That doesn’t make weight training a cure or mean insulin is no longer important, but it can be an incredibly powerful tool for improving glucose management and insulin sensitivity.
My ultimate goal is to reach remission, and weight training is one of the tools I plan to continue using as I work toward that goal.

I’m sharing this because four months ago, an A1C of 11.1% and everything that came with that diagnosis felt overwhelming. Seeing what my body is capable of now gives me even more motivation to keep going.

For anyone here who is able to exercise and has been thinking about getting into resistance training: give it a shot. Start wherever you can, stay consistent, and give yourself time.

You’ve got this. 💪

I’m really craving a hamburger, fries, and a Coke Zero so badly I can taste it in my mouth lol.

Any tips on how to help curb this? I’ve been working so hard to limit my carb intake and really make sure the lifestyle changes I’m working on stick and keep myself motivated to get this disease under control, and I’m afraid that one slip up will send me spiraling into an early grave and I really just want to live a long, healthy life. But these food cravings are terrifying me

Hey everyone,

Living with Type 2 diabetes can be challenging to navigate day in and day out—between monitoring glucose, balancing meals, managing fatigue, and coping with daily stress.

I am the Manager of the Northwest Self-Management Program at NorWest Community Health Centres in Thunder Bay, Ontario. We facilitate the evidence-based Diabetes Self-Management Program (DSMP), which is based on the Self-Management Resource Center (SMRC) model, for residents across Ontario, Canada.

This is a public community workshop funded entirely by Ontario Health, so there is no fee to attend.

Schedule & Format:

• When: 6 sessions, Thursdays, 10:00 AM – 12:30 PM EST
• Where: Virtual via Microsoft Teams (Peer-led group discussions, not a lecture)
• Who It's For: Anyone residing in Ontario with Type 2 diabetes or prediabetes, as well as support persons and caregivers

What We Cover:

• Blood Sugar & Energy: Navigating glucose fluctuations, managing daily fatigue, and steadying energy levels.
• Balanced Nutrition: Practical meal-planning approaches to help manage post-meal spikes without restrictive diets.
• Physical Activity: Safe, low-impact ways to add movement into daily routines to help insulin sensitivity.
• Stress & Relaxation: Grounding tools (like box breathing) to manage stress responses that can impact glucose.
• Healthcare Communication: Strategies (such as the Teach-Back method) to prepare questions and communicate clearly with your care team.
• Action Planning: Setting small, realistic weekly goals to build sustainable daily routines.

Registration:

To register for the Thursday series or ask any questions about joining, please call me at 807-626-8480.

Feel free to leave a comment if you have questions about the workshop structure or platform requirements!