Hi newbie here.

[Mad about sport]

I am type 2 which I have put into remission through sports and diet, but I never rest on my laurels!

 

[Toucan]

Hello @Mad about sport . Welcome to the forum.
CONGRATULATIONS on getting your type 2 into remission, this is a really great achievement.

It would be very interesting and appreciated if you could tell us more about how you went about achieving this.
What kind of eating plan, exercise plan and any other things did you do? Did you take any medication?
What HdA1c levels were you initially diagnosed with, and what are they now?
How is it going with maintaining this?

Sorry to ask so many questions, but it may be a great help to others (including me) to know how you did this.

 

[Mad about sport]

Hi Kay,

I can see from your bloods that you have also halved your Hb 1ac, well done, I can see you have had some help via tablets.

I have not been on tablets I was just outside the criteria, I was 82 kilo's at the time and training twice a day but, my calorie input plus alcohol intake was some what questionable.

I started eating less and not lifting such heavy weights, cut my alcohol down and started eating a low GI Diet.
This contained lots of whole wheat pasta rice, sweet potatoes whole wheat bread etc, more veg sweeteners in my tea
and fruit in my cereal plus Greek yogurt and fruit,

I know fruit is a sugar/natural not refined, plus the amount of exercise I do burns off any sugar instantly if I should include
any while training for many hours, I am quite highly motivated and do multi discipline sports.

I hope this helps.

Regards

Les

 

[Toucan]

Hello Les
Many thanks your reply, the way you achieved your good results is very interesting.

Yes, as you say I do take metformin, although my goal is to eventually ditch these.

I am a long way from being an exercise enthusiast, but I do a lot more than I did pre-diagnosis, and I am sure it helps -and your level of exercise I'm sure will have helped you big-time.
Your eating regime is very interesting as although low GI you still eat a lot more carbs than I do, and like many of us here follow a low-carb regime.

We often say on the forum that there is no 'one-size-fits-all' solution, and you are clear proof that this is the case.
The causes of Type 2 diabetes are varied and so are the solutions likely to be.

Thanks very much for joining the forum and sharing your success story.

 

[Drummer]

If you are ever unable to exercise then I suspect that your intake of high carb foods will shoot your blood glucose up extremely high, so do be aware that there are other options when it comes to eating to control type two.
I tested out just a couple of foods which are considered low GI and compared them with the high GI equivalents - scarcely any difference, so I decided to go entirely low carb, which made huge differences.

 

[Mad about sport]

A low GI diet is used for slow acting sugar release through out the day which is useful for Diabetics, also, slow release
for long distance cycling which one of my sports.
I can burn 3000 calories on a 5 hour ride especially on big climbs, I eat two small rounds of fruit loaf with peanut butter and
a little jam. this equates to a small calorie intake of less than maybe 500 calories, leaving 2500 to play with!

I am told and I know that I am not eating enough to sustain my energy needs, think 60 to 100 miles cycling!
Also, Keto springs to mind which can be dangerous.

I am well aware of calories in and going out, I have been a sportsman for years, the only thing I did which way was not spoken about, was loading for weight training, I was quite a big lad even though I was running and cycling I had built
a lot of muscle bulk.

I am now two stone lighter and 57 % plus body weight is muscle, the point I am making and not being nasty, I obviously know what I am doing as year on year my bloods are well within tolerance, but I do not take it for granted!

Have a nice day

 

[Drummer]

I used to be very active too - so I know what you mean - and the point I was making was not about your present regime, but a possibility.

 

[ianf0ster]

Eating low GI carbs for sustained exercise isn't the only way of doing it.

I don't understand why you say that Keto can be dangerous. Nutritional ketosis is a good way to fuel the body for endurance sports. many triathletes use it. Dr Aseem Malhotra (a UK Cardiologist) talks about one such guy who'd had a heart attack, when low carb, got much healthier and then wanted to do the 'Ironman Triathlon' - he ended up doing it several years in succession starting in his 50's.

However Ketoacidosis is something that uncontrolled Type 1 Diabetics and others needing Insulin have to be aware of, but this is associated with high Glucose levels with low Insulin - the body is starving because the glucose isn't getting into the cells and so starts making Ketones in desperation.

Have your heard of Prof Tim Noakes the famous South African Sports doctor he trained marathon runners including some record breaking ones. He switched from Carb loading to Keto soon after he himself was diagnosed with Type 2 Diabetes. He then wrote a new version of his prior best selling book in order to explain what he had found for himself about fat adaptation and keto powered endurance sports.

 

[Drummer]

I used to buy those huge turkey drumsticks - I think it was from Tesco, and roast them to take with me when going out for the day. I used to see the really fit men speeding away in the first hours, and then there would be a few by the roadside with breakdowns or injuries, some stopped to have something to eat, a few who'd exhausted themselves, and gradually I would catch up with quite a lot of those who'd set out. At the 25 mile mark I would sit down and eat my turkey and have a drink. It was often amusing to see the expression on the faces of those who realised that I was about to set off and cycle back along the same route rather than be picked up in a van and taken home.

 

[Mad about sport]

Well done, my neighbour is type one and does Keto, he was waned not to by the health practitioners, he still follows
his regime and as he says he has looked into it extensively.

I am about to obtain a slow release carb low GI powder, so that I can fuel my long rides as I do not eat that much and,
when doing lots of climbs I am using a lot of calories for energy and putting nothing back.

It only contains five grams of sugar per serving, which is burnt off rapidly while exercising
this is why I came on this site to put the question out there, is this good for endurance sports!

I also run,swim weight train sometimes all in one day, and any other sports that I can fit in. I also know what you mean
about other competitors, I have many times past young lads on their expensive bikes who go fast on the flat, only to grind
to a slow crawl on the climbs, they will not speak to you as you pass them on a heavier machine and double their age.

It is not the bike, runner, or swimmer, on the day it is the athlete mindset and determination, oh what a fun world we live in.

 

[everydayupsanddowns]

Welcome to the forum @Mad about sport

Look forward to hearing more about your exploits and adventures.

I see you’ve already found our exercise and sport section 🙂

 

[Mad about sport]

Hi Mike, I have done and continue to do some fairly extreme sports which I have not included as it would look like
I am boasting, which is not me, just do it is my philosophy!