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I was diagnosed with type 2 on April 20th this year with an Hb1c of 99 and over the last 3 months have got it down without medication to 63 which still obviously needs more changes. I have read so much trying to educate myself as i want to try and get it 42 or under but there is so much contradictory advice and in the end it just ends up with confusion. Roy Taylors book states that the important thing if overweight is to loose at least two and a half stone and this should turn things around. Others say we don't need carbs to be healthy and we should cut carbs out but not sure i agree with this but can i have your thoughts please.
I agree with you that getting to terms with all the advice is a bit of a nightmare and, to me, the biggest problem is that the proponents of any particular approach tend to ignore any other as if their idea is the only thing available.
I look at it this way. Reading around the subject unearths four basic principles.
First, many people are overweight at diagnosis, but not all overweight people develop diabetes and not all people diagnosed with diabetes are overweight. That said, if you look at the bigger picture, being overweight is not a good thing when it comes to risk of developing diabetes.
Second, what you eat is important. Carbohydrate converts to blood glucose and reducing carbohydrate intake reduces the load on your system when it comes to processing blood glucose simply by reducing the amount it has to deal with.
Third, exercise helps either by getting your systems to work better or by reducing the glucose in your system by using it up.
Fourth, medication can be effective and dismissing medication out of hand is not a good idea.
To me, you can look at it as if you have four levers to pull and what you are trying to do is to get the settings for them that work for you. For some, pulling on the wight loss lever very hard and taking a light touch on the other levers might be the best approach. For others, medication might be the most sensible lever to use and for others lowering carbohydrate in the diet may work best. Increasing exercise can be helpful but it is an approach not open for all.
So my suggestion is that you think about all the levers rather than just one, and work out what which you can pull and how hard you can pull it without seriously inconveniencing yourself. That's how I went about things. I lost a bit of weight. I was not seriously overweight in the first place, just creeping into the overweight category on standard BMI tables. I am now comfortably "normal" having lost about 6kg. I cut back on carbohydrate intake. Not ridiculously low, just found a level (around 100 g/day) which worked for me. I get a bit of a walk in every day. I take some medication.
Put all that lot together and my blood glucose meter tells me that I'm doing OK and although I have not had a routine blood test for a while, I am sure I will be below the magic 42 for HbA1c when tested.
Having found a regime which works for me, my plan is to stick with it. No big burden for me although advancing years and some neuropathy is making the exercise less of a pleasure than it once was. I'm guessing that I might need to adjust some of the other levers in time but I will work that out when needed. I'm sure a few small teaks is all that will be required.
Usual disclaimer... Ideas only apply to those who do not have a T1 diagnosis, T1 is a whole different ball game.
Anyway, I zapped my T2D by losing a bunch of weight, in line with Roy Taylor's research.
Reducing carbs can help in the early stages of getting things under control, but for long term, most of the credible research I've seen points to losing weight and keeping it off as the main things.
And for me carbohydrate reduction was most significant. Loosing lots more weight would have been very hard and would, in any case, not have been a good idea. Like Eddy and me you have to find out what works for you. There is no magic do this and all will be well solution.
I agree that finding the best approach for you is important.
I had dieted before in the past, twice using low fat/ low GI diets very effectively to lose 2-3 stones, but put the weight back on once I stopped. For me going low carb and higher fat has meant that I don't have the cravings I used to have and I can control my diet and diabetes better. It took a lot of getting my head around such a drastic change in my way of eating, particularly not eating bread as it is a carrier for so many foods, but you learn ways to get around it and I love the fact I have control now. I don't feel deprived and I can easily resist the naughty stuff like sweets and cakes and carb rich snacks. I can walk past the bakery counter without any effort or resentment. I buy the odd bar of dark 70%+ dark chocolate and I have half a square with a spoon of peanut butter and I am not temped to eat the whole bar like I would with milk chocolate and then open a second bar or bag of sweets because once I got that sweetness I wanted more and it clawed at me. Same with starchy carbs. I can now see that my portion control was completely out of perspective. I could happily eat 4 slices of wholemeal bread toast with a whole tin of baked beans on it which might be considered reasonably healthy and filling, but I would be hungry 2 hours later because my body wanted more carbs once they were digested not because it needed more energy or sustenance. Many people find they want a snack a couple of hours after a carb rich meal but once you cut the carbs and eat a bit more fat, you just need less food in general and don't seem to feel hungry and need those snacks. 2 meals a day or even just one sometimes is enough for me. I eat when I am hungry and don't when I am not. I feel fitter and healthier than I have for 20+ years and at 57 I think that is pretty good. My cholesterol is reducing despite eating more saturated fats and my gut health is hugely improved and I no longer suffer migraines which have been debilitating for the past 20 years despite now being able to drink a glass or 2 of red wine which was my only known trigger.
So I have seen a number of health benefits from going low carb/high fat. What I like most about it is that I now have more control over my disordered and compulsive eating and I can therefore see it as sustainable for the rest of my life without feeling deprived. 2.5 years in and it is working for me.
I don't do keto, I just avoid carb rich foods (unless I have a hypo which needs treating). Very occasionally (maybe just once a month) I might have a small portion of chips (about 10) or a little rice but to be honest I find the other stuff that you have with them so much more tasty and enjoyable that I am not that bothered. It is more customary behaviour in that I think I should enjoy them so I have a few chips with my fish but the reality is often disappointment. 2 dessertspoons of rice to soak up the juice from my Chinese or Indian meal so it fulfils a purpose more than a dietary need or craving. What I will say is that I make healthy choices. I limit the amount of sweeteners and processed foods that I eat and I fill up on veggies and fibre rich foods so I order a low carb vegetable dish like stir fried Chinese vegetables or a vegetable bhaji (this is curried vegetables rather than deep fried onion with flour that we tend to associate with the term bhaji) I do eat meat but not huge quantities. I eat eggs and cheese without restriction and I cook cabbage and leeks in butter and cauliflower cheese is a favourite with ham or high meat content sausages or gammon and lots of lovely Mediterranean veggies made into ratatouille with plenty of olive oil which is nice topped with mozzarella or halloumi cheese or served with quality burgers or steak or chicken or pork. Salmon pan fried in butter with green veg and maybe a small portion of sweet potato or one or two new potatoes.
I personally think that the shakes with the Newcastle diet are too highly processed and "chemically manufactured". If I was doing a very calorie restricted diet, it would need to be whole foods and it would take too much time and effort to work it out, so that is another reason why Newcastle wouldn't appeal to me. I manage my weight through adjusting fat intake and exercise and I manage my diet (ie control not weight loss) and diabetes through low carb. Sounds complicated but it is intuitive rather than empirical. If my belt needs letting out a notch I reduce my cheese and cream intake and perhaps stop my alcohol (empty calories) consumption for a few weeks and increase my exercise until I go back to my original belt setting but the carbs stay the same (low) as that is my diabetes and disordered eating control.
Newcastle and then maintaining the weight loss but eating more carbs might work well for you. Knowing yourself and your relationship with food may help you decide which has the better chance of success
Well for me it was/is the low carb, more exercise, weight loss levers that seem to work. I pulled all three. The medication lever screwed everything up !! I am now not on any medication and have not been from one month after diagnosis (thats about 8 months ago).
I have managed to lose 34Kg, but it has taken perstistence and determination.
I seem to remember reading an article which said the human brain does need some carbs to function properly. I'm following 90gm carbs daily, Aquafit 3 times a week, Medication, and I need to get to grips with weight loss. If worked for me pre-lockdown and I hope it will again. But that's what suits me.
I seem to remember reading an article which said the human brain does need some carbs to function properly. I'm following 90gm carbs daily, Aquafit 3 times a week, Medication, and I need to get to grips with weight loss. If worked for me pre-lockdown and I hope it will again. But that's what suits me.
If the brain does needs some glucose, you don't need to eat carbohydrate to provide it, your liver can release glucose to maintain your glucose levels under normal circumstances.
As I have been eating 50 gm of carbs or less almost every day since diagnosis it seems that brains can cope.
I have also lost quite a bit of weight, without having to think about it, so I really do recommend the low carb way of eating, with the carbs derived from a variety of low carb salads and other veges plus some berries now and again it seems a really easy way to stay fit and healthy.
Many thanks for all the replies i think i am going to try and reduce my carbs even more and cut out things like yoghurt and occasionally a small amount of cous cous with salads in this hot weather etc.
My weight is slowly reducing and have loads more energy but waking BG is still to high
I have found a balance between the two so weight loss very low carb (For me that is around 70/80g's) god know what my previous carbs were, being more active. I found these all come together naturally as things improve so I now don't take T2 meds BP is normal feel alive (Most of the time). For myself It's important to remember that it might not always be like this so at some point I might need to go on meds again therefore I do not put myself under pressure, what will be will be. Full fat Greek yog/Butter/Nuts/Cheese/Egg's are foods I now do not fear in balance these foods I feel are very important and not to be avoided and if I want a big fat Sirloin steak I will have it including the fat although my main meat is chicken.
BG testing has been key for me it gives me a great understanding of what my body is doing so I'm now testing twice a day along with BP.
Many thanks for all the replies i think i am going to try and reduce my carbs even more and cut out things like yoghurt and occasionally a small amount of cous cous with salads in this hot weather etc.
My weight is slowly reducing and have loads more energy but waking BG is still to high
I'm not sure how waking glucose levels relate to overall HbA1C as I never get a waking level of below 6.5mmol/l yet my HbA1C is now 36mmol/mol. So depending on what you are seeing for your waking reading what is happening the rest of the day may be more important.
Cutting out yoghurt unless it is low fat with higher carb is probably unnecessary and if you like your yoghurt then go for the full fat Greek type.
Many thanks for all the replies i think i am going to try and reduce my carbs even more and cut out things like yoghurt and occasionally a small amount of cous cous with salads in this hot weather etc.
My weight is slowly reducing and have loads more energy but waking BG is still to high
