First post from long time lurker

[Linda66]

Hello everyone, this is my first post (may be a long ramble) but I have followed you all for some months, taking hope and inspiration from your fantastic wealth of experience and knowledge. I’m 66 and in October last year was told my HB1AC was 56. I was given 3 months to tackle it with diet (I stretched it out..) and this week my HB1AC was 41. I was delighted, but then felt a bit flat, as it’s taken 6 months of hard work (Michael Moseley’s blood sugar diet and Fast 800). I’ve lost 2st and have completed Couch to 5K, and exercise regularly. I had gestational diabetes 34 years ago and since then my blood sugar has always been at the high end of normal, tipping into pre diabetes at one point.
Im reaching out for any advice on lowering my HB1Ac further, as I realise I’m still only one point away from prediabetes, and I don’t want to lose any more weight (5’3 and 9st 5lbs). I’m worried my low cal and carb diet is not sustainable in the long term. Any tips on maintenance would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!

 

[Tomra]

Hi Linda.I think your first reaction was the correct one. You should pat yourself on the back for great achievement so far, even while you recognise that some changes are necessary to lead a sustainable lifestyle. Keeping with your current exercise routine seems like a good idea, so the question is then how to manage your diet. You will need to eat enough calories to fuel your lifestyle, but that is to some extent your choice as to how you do it. I would continue to avoid sugar, beyond perhaps an occasional treat. I think that, as long as you avoid things that spike your blood sugar, you should be fine. You don’t say whether you are doing any finger prick or CGM monitoring at the moment, but you can use either to see what foods you really need to avoid/minimise. You could also decide to take in all your calorific needs from fat/protein, which would be a ketogenic diet. Whichever way you go, you should minimise ultra-processed foods, and make sure your body’s nutritional needs for minerals/vitamins are met. There are many good choices available, so plenty of different ways to enjoy food and life!

 

[Alan44]

Hi and welcome to the forum @Linda66
Firstly, you have done extremely well
I've gone from 51 to 46 so still work in progress, but like you don't need to lose much more weight, so will follow your thread with interest as you have raised a good point

Alan😉

 

[Linda66]

Hi Linda.I think your first reaction was the correct one. You should pat yourself on the back for great achievement so far, even while you recognise that some changes are necessary to lead a sustainable lifestyle. Keeping with your current exercise routine seems like a good idea, so the question is then how to manage your diet. You will need to eat enough calories to fuel your lifestyle, but that is to some extent your choice as to how you do it. I would continue to avoid sugar, beyond perhaps an occasional treat. I think that, as long as you avoid things that spike your blood sugar, you should be fine. You don’t say whether you are doing any finger prick or CGM monitoring at the moment, but you can use either to see what foods you really need to avoid/minimise. You could also decide to take in all your calorific needs from fat/protein, which would be a ketogenic diet. Whichever way you go, you should minimise ultra-processed foods, and make sure your body’s nutritional needs for minerals/vitamins are met. There are many good choices available, so plenty of different ways to enjoy food and life!

Hi Tomra, good advice, thank you. I’m not doing any finger prick monitoring at the moment but maybe it is something I should consider. You make a good point about it being important to enjoy food, it shouldn’t be a chore, and I have enjoyed Michael Moseley’s recipes. I have cut out sugar (apart from dark chocolate) but I have to be careful as I’m an ‘all or nothing’ person, which is probably why I found myself diabetic - too many Magnums

 

[Linda66]

Hi and welcome to the forum @Linda66
Firstly, you have done extremely well
I've gone from 51 to 46 so still work in progress, but like you don't need to lose much more weight, so will follow your thread with interest as you have raised a good point

Alan😉

Hi Alan, thank you for the encouragement. You have done well too, and I hope you continue to do so!

 

[everydayupsanddowns]

Welcome to the forum @Linda66 and congratulations on de-lurking

A huge well done on your weight loss and lowered HbA1c.

It sounds like you are about ready to move into a maintenance phase if you are happy with your current weight. It’s easy to get caught up with the phrase ‘prediabetes’, but that’s really only a shorthand for someone being at risk of developing T2 if they don’t act to start helping their metabolism. If you can maintain an HbA1c at 41mmol/mol there are very low risks of any negative effects from your glucose levels. In fact, for those who have a diabetes diagnosis, maintains an HbA1c at or below 48mmol/mol with no meds is considered to be ‘in remission’, so at 41 you are doing really well.

It might help to get a BG meter to check immediately before eating and again 2hrs after the first bite. Ideally you’d want your levels to mostly be 4-7mmol/L before and no higher than 8.5 at 2hrs. If your meals only raise your BG levels by 2-3mmol/L you should gently slide into those target numbers over time. Having a BG meter also allows you to tailor your meals and menu to suit your body’s particular foibles. Reactions to different foods can be weirdly individual, so having an unbiased way to check “can I eat that” by eating it and seeing what your BG does is hugely helpful. You may get some pleasant surprises… and also find out that an allegedly ‘slow release’ food acts like rocket fuel for you.

Good luck with shifting into the next phase. Diabetes is a marathon, not a sprint - so pace yourself 🙂

 

[JimmyBlue]

Welcome to the forum @Linda66 and congratulations on a great result.

You mention sugar a few times in your posts does this mean you still eat grain based foods like bread and pasta or things like rice? If yes then you might want to slightly reduce the portion size as that would reduce the number of carbs. If you do this though you may need to up the amount of healthy fat and/or proteins to cover the deficit.

 

[Linda66]

Welcome to the forum @Linda66 and congratulations on de-lurking

A huge well done on your weight loss and lowered HbA1c.

It sounds like you are about ready to move into a maintenance phase if you are happy with your current weight. It’s easy to get caught up with the phrase ‘prediabetes’, but that’s really only a shorthand for someone being at risk of developing T2 if they don’t act to start helping their metabolism. If you can maintain an HbA1c at 41mmol/mol there are very low risks of any negative effects from your glucose levels. In fact, for those who have a diabetes diagnosis, maintains an HbA1c at or below 48mmol/mol with no meds is considered to be ‘in remission’, so at 41 you are doing really well.

It might help to get a BG meter to check immediately before eating and again 2hrs after the first bite. Ideally you’d want your levels to mostly be 4-7mmol/L before and no higher than 8.5 at 2hrs. If your meals only raise your BG levels by 2-3mmol/L you should gently slide into those target numbers over time. Having a BG meter also allows you to tailor your meals and menu to suit your body’s particular foibles. Reactions to different foods can be weirdly individual, so having an unbiased way to check “can I eat that” by eating it and seeing what your BG does is hugely helpful. You may get some pleasant surprises… and also find out that an allegedly ‘slow release’ food acts like rocket fuel for you.

Good luck with shifting into the next phase. Diabetes is a marathon, not a sprint - so pace yourself 🙂

 

[Linda66]

Thank you, your comments about pre diabetes are encouraging and I feel much more positive today. Yes, maintenance is the key and I would appreciate any recommendations from anyone about which glucose monitor to buy.

 

[Linda66]

Welcome to the forum @Linda66 and congratulations on a great result.

You mention sugar a few times in your posts does this mean you still eat grain based foods like bread and pasta or things like rice? If yes then you might want to slightly reduce the portion size as that would reduce the number of carbs. If you do this though you may need to up the amount of healthy fat and/or proteins to cover the deficit.

Hi, no I haven’t been eating potatoes, bread, rice or pasta at all (I’ve just re introduced the odd Ryvita), so my concern is about what will happen if I re introduce them in limited amounts. I think you make a very good point about upping the fat and protein, I think maybe I’ve not been eating enough protein, so many thanks for that.

 

[Drummer]

Hi, no I haven’t been eating potatoes, bread, rice or pasta at all (I’ve just re introduced the odd Ryvita), so my concern is about what will happen if I re introduce them in limited amounts. I think you make a very good point about upping the fat and protein, I think maybe I’ve not been eating enough protein, so many thanks for that.

I'd encourage you to really consider where you are at the moment - you suspect you might be lacking protein - which normally brings with it beneficial natural fats essential for well being - but you have thoughts on introducing foods so lacing in nutrition they are usually fortified in the making of them. It doesn't seem to be all that logical - I am raising one eyebrow as I type.

Over the last 8 years I have eaten such things as steak and mushrooms for breakfast, other options such as stirfry with chops, fish with lots of salad, egg and cheese with mashed swede, fried with bacon have taken about 20 years off the age I feel.
Calories seem immaterial, my energy levels are high and for someone just coming up to 74 years old I get up to a lot of mischief. I eat twice a day and drink coffee with cream.

 

[JITR]

I found maintenance a bigger challenge than losing weight as I did not know what to do.

In the end I just carried on eating protein (with its natural fat) and vegetables, plus some olive oil, berries, yogurt and a modicum of cheese.

Michael Mosley's 5:2 diet helps too.

 

[Linda66]

I'd encourage you to really consider where you are at the moment - you suspect you might be lacking protein - which normally brings with it beneficial natural fats essential for well being - but you have thoughts on introducing foods so lacing in nutrition they are usually fortified in the making of them. It doesn't seem to be all that logical - I am raising one eyebrow as I type.

Over the last 8 years I have eaten such things as steak and mushrooms for breakfast, other options such as stirfry with chops, fish with lots of salad, egg and cheese with mashed swede, fried with bacon have taken about 20 years off the age I feel.
Calories seem immaterial, my energy levels are high and for someone just coming up to 74 years old I get up to a lot of mischief. I eat twice a day and drink coffee with cream.

 

[Linda66]

Thank you, I do appreciate your comments. However I do eat very well, lots of vegetables, nuts, Greek yoghurt, berries. Lots of Michael Mosley recipes are delicious, using chicken, fish, and lamb, steak. I never have eaten a lot of fortified food such as white bread and pasta, but I do like a few new potatoes, with a touch of butter of course. and with this diet and exercise (running, gym, walking, weights) I feel better than I have for years. At least you only raised one eyebrow

 

[Linda66]

I found maintenance a bigger challenge than losing weight as I did not know what to do.

In the end I just carried on eating protein (with its natural fat) and vegetables, plus some olive oil, berries, yogurt and a modicum of cheese.

Michael Mosley's 5:2 diet helps too.

Thank you, that sounds exactly where I’m at, and yes I’m following the 5.2 now, some really delicious recipes!

 

[pjgtech]

Hi and welcome, all gooreally d advice above so I'll not add to it, and well done and what you have achieved so far. As you say, ideally, it needs to be sustainable long term. I have found that as long as I eat lots of healthy stuff, so I'm not feeling hungry, that helps, otherwise I would tend to "snack" in between, which is usually not good. I'm lucky in that there is not much that I don't like, so I have a vast range of healthy stuff to eat. Be wary of fruit, as some has lots of sugars, eg: bananas and exotic fruits, so avoid too many of those. I also find finger rpick testing for new meals useful, as it lets me know how they affcet my BG levels, so whether they are good or not. Luckily I can still eat oats, so I have overnight oats in the morning and they don't seem to spike my BG levels, but for others its a no no. so you need to find what works for you.... Good luck and let us know how you get on....

 

[Leadinglights]

I followed the principals in the Freshwell program and found it a very sustainable was of eating and just regard it as my new normal. https://lowcarbfreshwell.com/

 

[silver minion]

Welcome @Linda66 and congratulations on getting your hbA1c down and losing weight by making lifestyle changes. I can understand you not wanting to lose any more weight but still keep your blood glucose in range.

I needed to reduce my blood glucose substantially but as I was already thin I didn't want to lose weight so I kept my calories up to 2000 per day and concentrated on reducing carbs to help the medication do it's job. This is working for me although too many treats over Christmas derailed my efforts but I am focused again and measuring my blood glucose regularly to keep on track.
I did increase protein and fat intake to make up the calorie deficit As mentioned by others, you will need to experiment to find the levels that work for you.

 

[Linda66]

Thank you to everyone for your encouragement and valuable advice. Being new to posting, I do hope I’ve navigated around to put my replies in the right place, if not I do apologise. I am prone to some Senior moments these days. I will take on board all your comments and continue to try to maintain my weight and sugar levels and update at some point.