How do you stay motivated?

everydayupsanddowns

everydayupsanddowns

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Have you been trying to make changes aiming to move towards remission of your diabetes (either by substantial weight loss via soup/shake or Newcastle style approach, or via a low carb menu)?

How have you been finding things?

What keeps you motivated?

Have you faced any particular struggles keeping on track? What keeps you on your path to success?

Do you have any hints or tips to share?

Have you already achieved remission (as defined by 2 consecutive HbA1c readings below 48mmol/mol with no medications)? How have you found it transitioning to a maintenance menu? Are you keeping your weight stable? How have you dealt with any fluctuations?

If going low carb, are you finding your menu sustainable? Are there situations or circumstances you find more challenging (eg holidays or celebrations), and how do you navigate those?

What inspires you to keep going with the approach you are using? Let us know below.
 
Lots of great questions, and I’m sure you’ll get plenty of varied answers! We’re all different and we all deal with things in different ways to achieve the same result 😉

For me, my main motivation and what I always come back to if I feel a little de-motivated or ‘out of alignment’ is that I don’t want to return to be even Insulin Resistant let alone T2D, so for me it’s a level of overall health I look to maintain and it’s a long term view…so long that I still want to be completing ParkRuns long into my 80’s!

I also have Roy Taylor’s ‘Life Without Diabetes’ book to hand should I need to remind myself - as well as of course visiting these very forums to remind myself I’m still part of the ‘club’ - forever T2D, but not at the same time…reminders to ‘look after myself’ and keep learning always😉
 
For me it's a decision between things like potatoes and bread, etc., or still having all my toes and eyesight some years from now. With low carb diet I more than halved my HbA1c to 43 in twelve weeks. According to the definition above I was in remission in six months.
 
Diagnosed with pre diabetes at the end of January, at least 6st to loose, hb1c at 45. Lost just under 3st so far, waiting to hear about another blood test. Changed diet to 130 carbs a day, resulting in under 1500 calories. Motivation is not wanting to become a diabetic and relying on medication, worked in and around the nhs for 50 years this year and have seen all the effects this has on your health and lifestyle. This site has been excellent for support and inspiration.
 
2021 I felt awful, crippled with leg pains and lack of sleep.
2 years later I feel great. A few weeks after starting low carb it all stopped.
Don’t want to go back to 2021, so that’s my motivation!

Currently having a rare cappuccino in cafe full of people eating cakes… I have no desire to have one! But I am lucky, as I’ve never had much of a sweet tooth.
 
Tongue in cheek respone with a little bit of truth. To avoid being 'told off' by a GP and a practice nurse who both look about 12 years old.
 
For me, it wasn't that big a deal losing enough weight to zap my T2D, and more, and it hasn't been that big a deal keeping the weight off for 4.5+ years so far.

I think I'm just lucky in the way my bod/brain connections are wired. I've always been able to switch into a mode where I really enjoy very simple, very plain food, mainly raw, without sauces, seasonings, dressings etc & with a limited variety.

I think most people would find this pretty much unbearable & would maybe make a beeline for the nearest KFC after a couple of days of it. It's a highly "non western diet" which I think most people would find bland, monotonous. And this reminds me of hitchhiking in Africa back in the day, observing people shunning their traditional bland, monotonous, limited variety way of eating and flocking to anything that looked like KFC. Somehow my bod/brain wiring lets me turn the clock back.

The other big factor is chronic aeobic exercise - lots of walking, every day. I'm now pretty much addicted to it, which is fortunate given the quantity & quality of evidence for the importance of substantial exercise for weight loss maintenance. I think not so much for increased calorie burning, because that tends to get balanced out by increased consumption and reduced resting metabolic rate, but for dampening & regulating hunger signals, a really fascinating area of current research, perhaps related to the way GLP-1RA's work.

Another thing is weighing frequently, which also associates with successful weight loss maintenance in high-quality research.

Anyway, achieving & maintaining remission hasn't been a very big deal for me, once I'd worked out that weight loss was the key.

Unfortunately, this is probably because I have weird bod/brain wiring. So if you ever see me pushing my magic T2D reversal secrets on YouTube etc you can be sure I've gone on the grift and there's actually no more chance of my magic working for you than there is for all the magic low carb, low fat, whatever grifts.
 
I have a few motivators, all of which are as important as the other:

Not wanting to feel as poorly and generally worn out as I did this time last year.
Concerns about my eyesight and vascular issues.
Feeling generally uncomfortable being fat!! There’s no sugar coating. Being overweight is bloomin hard work.

The only person that’s judged me has been myself. Friends, family and my GP have all been really supportive. What has been nice is my journey has also motivated my friends to look at their lifestyle and make a few changes. Apparently I’m motivating them!!!
 
Are there any slim type 2 diabetics out there who have managed to reverse diabetes. I'm 5'2" and 63kg finding it difficult to lose weight as diet already v good. Thanks
 
taunty said:
Are there any slim type 2 diabetics out there who have managed to reverse diabetes. I'm 5'2" and 63kg finding it difficult to lose weight as diet already v good. Thanks
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Welcome to the forum, Often people think they have a good diet as they have been following NHS recommendations which for many is too high in carbohydrates to enable them to reduce their HbA1C. They are going with the brown versions of things like bread, pasta and rice which is just as high carb as the white version and plenty of fruit which apart from berries are again high carb. These food may be fine if not Type 2 diabetic trying to manage their blood glucose and weight by dietary measures.
Have a look at this link and see how it compares with the meals and foods you are having. https://lowcarbfreshwell.co.uk/
You may want to start your own thread so you can ask specific questions. What your HbA1C is and if you are taking any medication would help people with suggestions.
 
taunty said:
Are there any slim type 2 diabetics out there who have managed to reverse diabetes. I'm 5'2" and 63kg finding it difficult to lose weight as diet already v good. Thanks
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Check out the Diabetes UK-funded ReTUNE trial: https://www.ncl.ac.uk/press/articles/latest/2022/04/diabetesremissionforlowbmi/

T2Ds with BMIs like yours, around 25, are just as likely to achieve remissiojn via weight loss as obese T2Ds. In the trial the average weight loss required for remission was around 10kg.

FWIW, that corresponds very well with my experience.

Achieving the weight loss is obviously the hard part, and then maintaining the it. At the end of the day, the main thing is eating fewer calories via some combination of changing what you eat & eating less of it. But how to do this is different for everybody - low carb isn't a magic cure-all, neither is low-fat, or intermittent fasting, or whatever. It may be wirth talking with a dietitian. Good luck!
 
Despite my hba1c being < 42, I have no desire to be classed as "in remission" which is another reason I keep taking 1 metformin per day. Being in remission may mean coming off the diabetic register and therefore out of the system. I'd rather take advantage of regular checks and monitoring to make sure there are no nasty diabetic surprises down the road!
 
Vonny said:
Being in remission may mean coming off the diabetic register and therefore out of the system.
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You don't have to take the tablets!
I declined Metformin but ended up asking the doctor for a prescription and that entitled me to 50 test strips a month on the Irish health care system. I've never collected the tablets.
According to my doctor, he doesn't consider me diabetic anymore. I wonder what that means if I look for a prescription renewal!
 
Vonny said:
Despite my hba1c being < 42, I have no desire to be classed as "in remission" which is another reason I keep taking 1 metformin per day. Being in remission may mean coming off the diabetic register and therefore out of the system. I'd rather take advantage of regular checks and monitoring to make sure there are no nasty diabetic surprises down the road!
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I've been in remission since January 2020 and am still having the usual regular checks and monitoring, so not quite sure what you mean.
 
Martin.A said:
I've been in remission since January 2020 and am still having the usual regular checks and monitoring, so not quite sure what you mean.
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That's good news, I thought that if you came off the diabetic register you'd be cast adrift!
 
Vonny said:
That's good news, I thought that if you came off the diabetic register you'd be cast adrift!
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No, we’re not cast adrift!

I also still have all my regular checks as normal - no meds either…

Just make sure your GP classes you as ‘In Remission’ rather that Diabetes Resolved…
 
I've slipped back into old habits over the past few weeks and I feel like s##t so back on low carb today. It will take a week or two for me to feel the real benefits but worth it.
I love to cook so trying g out new recipes and adapting old favourites is the best way to keep me on track, along with menu planning...
I've never been a lover of veg (I used to get my 5 a day mainly from fruit) so my mission at the moment is to go through my low carb recipe books trying out anything that looks like it will be tasty.. I'm even going to try a recipe with courgettes. Almost unheard of for me.
 
Lilsis said:
I'm even going to try a recipe with courgettes
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I'm not crazy about the taste of courgettes but bought a cheap spiraliser to make noodles from them. The trick is to not stew them. Either heat them in the microwave oven or drop them into boiling water for just long enough to heat them. Effectively I eat them hot but raw! Drain and shake them in a colander and serve with pasta sauce and grated cheese. Nice!
 
Transistor said:
I'm not crazy about the taste of courgettes but bought a cheap spiraliser to make noodles from them. The trick is to not stew them. Either heat them in the microwave oven or drop them into boiling water for just long enough to heat them. Effectively I eat them hot but raw! Drain and shake them in a colander and serve with pasta sauce and grated cheese. Nice!
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My rule is they never go near water, slice or chop into pieces, put in a pan with knob of butter, seasoning and herbs if you want, pop on a low heat with a lid on for a few minutes absolutely delicious.
 
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