I range between 3.8mmol/l to 8.6mmol/l

[lordburnside]

I am T2 without medication diagnosed Jan 29th
I am a relative newbie and really putting my all into reducing weight and blood sugar. I have given up alcohol, potatoes, crisps, pasta, and rice and I have one slice of brown wholemeal a day!. I eat veg, eggs, salad and meat and drink water with Apple Cider Vinegar (unpleasant) green tea and coffee with 1/3rd of a teaspoon of sugar. I cannot really do any more in the food department. I am walking 4 miles a day and can walk more but I think thats excessive and my legs ache if I walk further.

I have nearly lost a stone after 5 weeks (10 lbs in 3 weeks and only 4lbs in 2 weeks) but with what I have given up I think I should be losing more. I guess 2lbs a week is OK but I am not sure how long I can continue this regime - my next blood test at the docs is end of April and I am hoping for a gold star and top of the class.

I guess I will lose another stone by May but what happens when I start having wine, beer and yorkshire puds again - will I just put 2 stone back on? I can put on 7lbs in a week - I am good at putting weight on. If it were an olympic event I would get gold!

I suppose someone is going to advise me that my current diet is permanent? I feel fitter and healthier but I quite like a beer too!

 

[Leadinglights]

I am T2 without medication diagnosed Jan 29th
I am a relative newbie and really putting my all into reducing weight and blood sugar. I have given up alcohol, potatoes, crisps, pasta, and rice and I have one slice of brown wholemeal a day!. I eat veg, eggs, salad and meat and drink water with Apple Cider Vinegar (unpleasant) green tea and coffee with 1/3rd of a teaspoon of sugar. I cannot really do any more in the food department. I am walking 4 miles a day and can walk more but I think thats excessive and my legs ache if I walk further.

I have nearly lost a stone after 5 weeks (10 lbs in 3 weeks and only 4lbs in 2 weeks) but with what I have given up I think I should be losing more. I guess 2lbs a week is OK but I am not sure how long I can continue this regime - my next blood test at the docs is end of April and I am hoping for a gold star and top of the class.

I guess I will lose another stone by May but what happens when I start having wine, beer and yorkshire puds again - will I just put 2 stone back on? I can put on 7lbs in a week - I am good at putting weight on. If it were an olympic event I would get gold!

I suppose someone is going to advise me that my current diet is permanent? I feel fitter and healthier but I quite like a beer too!

That is where your mistake is in thinking of it as a diet rather than a new way of eating which includes the foods and drinks that you enjoy as 'treats' which are incorporated into your carbs amount for the day, that way if you want a Yorkshire pud don't have the roast potato. You can still have a glass of wine as that is pretty low carb.
Weight loss is often quick to start with as when you reduce carbs some of the weight loss is fluid. A steady loss is better and 2lbs a week is pretty good.

 

[Martin.A]

I suppose someone is going to advise me that my current diet is permanent?

Unfortunately that's the way it is, unless you want to undo all the good work you've put in so far. I found it easy to go low carb at the beginning because I was on a mission to get my BG down into normal numbers. It's harder now but I do feel that I've worked out a low carb diet that's sustainable, with the occasional treat thrown in. With a few swaps - cauli rice for rice, celeriac for potatoes for example - I've found that I can pretty well eat the same meals as the rest of the family.

 

[lordburnside]

That is where your mistake is in thinking of it as a diet rather than a new way of eating which includes the foods and drinks that you enjoy as 'treats' which are incorporated into your carbs amount for the day, that way if you want a Yorkshire pud don't have the roast potato. You can still have a glass of wine as that is pretty low carb.
Weight loss is often quick to start with as when you reduce carbs some of the weight loss is fluid. A steady loss is better and 2lbs a week is pretty good.

Thank you for your thoughts. I will soldier on!

 

[lordburnside]

Unfortunately that's the way it is, unless you want to undo all the good work you've put in so far. I found it easy to go low carb at the beginning because I was on a mission to get my BG down into normal numbers. It's harder now but I do feel that I've worked out a low carb diet that's sustainable, with the occasional treat thrown in. With a few swaps - cauli rice for rice, celeriac for potatoes for example - I've found that I can pretty well eat the same meals as the rest of the family.

I havent tried the cauli rice but I like cauliflower cheese if that is allowed. Never cooked celeriac but will give it a try next week.

 

[Drummer]

I havent tried the cauli rice but I like cauliflower cheese if that is allowed. Never cooked celeriac but will give it a try next week.

as long as you use cauliflower and cheese, and not starch and sugar, cauliflower cheese is a great dish for a type 2 - or anyone really, it gets rave reviews when I take it to parties. I steam frozen cauliflower, dividing any really large bits, then put it into a warm dish cover with cream cheese, sprinkle on any herb or spice I fancy, cover with grated hard cheese and put it into the oven - already hot from heating the dish, until it is very lightly tanned and the cheese is melting but not like molten lava.
I prefer swede to celeriac.

 

[lordburnside]

That is where your mistake is in thinking of it as a diet rather than a new way of eating which includes the foods and drinks that you enjoy as 'treats' which are incorporated into your carbs amount for the day, that way if you want a Yorkshire pud don't have the roast potato. You can still have a glass of wine as that is pretty low carb.
Weight loss is often quick to start with as when you reduce carbs some of the weight loss is fluid. A steady loss is better and 2lbs a week is pretty good.

Thanks. I have forgotten what a roast potato tastes like! There are 600 calories in a bottle of wine and in December could manage at least 3 bottles a week! However I have managed 5 weeks without any.
600 calories is a 6 mile walk. Its easier not to drink than walk for two hours so I suppose I am now going to be practically teetotal.
I will probably keep my walking going during the warmer months. I do a lot of gardening too.
Maybe best to get to say 14 stone and if I lose a lb I can drink 6 bottles of wine on the assumption a lb is 3500 calories.
Not in one go!

 

[lordburnside]

That is where your mistake is in thinking of it as a diet rather than a new way of eating which includes the foods and drinks that you enjoy as 'treats' which are incorporated into your carbs amount for the day, that way if you want a Yorkshire pud don't have the roast potato. You can still have a glass of wine as that is pretty low carb.
Weight loss is often quick to start with as when you reduce carbs some of the weight loss is fluid. A steady loss is better and 2lbs a week is pretty good.

So its a new way of eating. I am practically vegetarian and teetotal. Diabetes is so cruel!

 

[Lucyr]

Sounds like you need to think about incorporating a bit more of whatever would make your diet sustainable for you, or you’re just going to get burnt out and give up and regain.

If you don’t like apple cider vinegar, don’t drink it. If you’re missing other foods and alcohol, try adding them in. But try keeping it to modest portions and occasional frequency. The diet program I’m on suggests allowing a bit more freedom 20% of the time which is 1-2 times a week.

 

[Lucyr]

So it’s a new way of eating. I am practically vegetarian and teetotal. Diabetes is so cruel!

There’s no need to be vegetarian or teetotal just because you’re diabetic.

What meats and alcohol do you want to add in that you’re avoiding because of diabetes? And what sort of quantities or frequency are you thinking about ideally.

 

[rebrascora]

Meat contains no carbs so that is OK. Beer does contain carbs but dry wine and spirits contain almost none, so treat yourself to a rib-eye steak with salad and coleslaw if you like it with celeriac chips and a glass of wine or a gin and slimline tonic or whatever at the weekend perhaps. That is still a low carb meal and very tasty.

 

[Leadinglights]

Thanks. I have forgotten what a roast potato tastes like! There are 600 calories in a bottle of wine and in December could manage at least 3 bottles a week! However I have managed 5 weeks without any.
600 calories is a 6 mile walk. Its easier not to drink than walk for two hours so I suppose I am now going to be practically teetotal.
I will probably keep my walking going during the warmer months. I do a lot of gardening too.
Maybe best to get to say 14 stone and if I lose a lb I can drink 6 bottles of wine on the assumption a lb is 3500 calories.
Not in one go!

There may be 600 calories but virtually no carbs in a bottle of wine which is one of the important things to be keeping an eye on rather than calories. It is quite hard to do both and have an enjoyable regime.

 

[Deb_l]

It is a new way of eating but it doesn't have to be cruel. I love my food and I'm still eating plenty but the food I'm eating doesn't spike my blood glucose so it's had the added bonus of shedding the pounds as well as taming my HbA1c.

Any decent dietitian will tell you 1lb a week is a good and sustainable weight loss so your 2lb a week is excellent. Don't be so hard on yourself.

You do probably need to re-think how many calories you're burning through exercise though. I swim at least four miles a week, run several miles and walk at least five miles a day with the dogs but all of that has very little impact on my weight. What exercise does however is give you the 'feel good' factor and it helps me to stay motivated.

 

[Speedbird]

One of the best things you can do is equip yourself with a blood glucose monitor to test your BG levels before and after meals. We might have the same diagnosis, but we're all very different in terms of what carbs, and how much of those carbs, we can tolerate. I've been pleasantly surprised to find normal portions of rice (all types), potatoes, and pasta have virtually no effect on my levels. Porridge is very bad news in any quantity and bread tolerance is currently work in progress.

Experimentation and elimination is the name of the game.

 

[AnGelA65]

So its a new way of eating. I am practically vegetarian and teetotal. Diabetes is so cruel!

I asked my consultant Endocrinologist how many carbs should I keep to, she said ‘YOU’VE GOT TO LIVE’ ‍♀️ She’s not wrong. I’m low carb as best as I can but do occasionally have maybe a tart/cake and will ‘exchange’ a carb element of the main.

 

[childofthesea43]

I am T2 without medication diagnosed Jan 29th
I am a relative newbie and really putting my all into reducing weight and blood sugar. I have given up alcohol, potatoes, crisps, pasta, and rice and I have one slice of brown wholemeal a day!. I eat veg, eggs, salad and meat and drink water with Apple Cider Vinegar (unpleasant) green tea and coffee with 1/3rd of a teaspoon of sugar. I cannot really do any more in the food department. I am walking 4 miles a day and can walk more but I think thats excessive and my legs ache if I walk further.

I have nearly lost a stone after 5 weeks (10 lbs in 3 weeks and only 4lbs in 2 weeks) but with what I have given up I think I should be losing more. I guess 2lbs a week is OK but I am not sure how long I can continue this regime - my next blood test at the docs is end of April and I am hoping for a gold star and top of the class.

I guess I will lose another stone by May but what happens when I start having wine, beer and yorkshire puds again - will I just put 2 stone back on? I can put on 7lbs in a week - I am good at putting weight on. If it were an olympic event I would get gold!

I suppose someone is going to advise me that my current diet is permanent? I feel fitter and healthier but I quite like a beer too!

You may find - but may not - that if you can get into remission then subsequently you can eat whatever things you fancy provided you control portions so as not to regain weight. This is what I found, to my surprise, and I have done many separate 3-month experiments demonstrating that for me there is no need to curtail carbs, though I now stick to about 150g daily. I consume potatoes, fries, rice, pasta, bread, fruit, wine etc but always in carefully moderated quantities within a strict calorie limit (2000). So you will not necessarily have to face a low carb future, only time will tell. The fundamental point is that to avoid becoming a low-carber for life you have to fix the underlying pathology, not simply drag your HbA1c down by the artificiality of consuming little glucose-generating food. You need to put out the fire, not just survive by reducing the fuel you throw on it.

 

[Proud to be erratic]

I love the fire analogy. The only tiny note of caution would be that we are all different and what works for many might not work for all. This probably should be stated as the first rule for managing D (no doubt there should / could be other rules).

E.g.

D is fickle.​

Sometimes what you expect doesn't happen because you're wearing the wrong colour socks.​

 

[childofthesea43]

I love the fire analogy. The only tiny note of caution would be that we are all different and what works for many might not work for all. This probably should be stated as the first rule for managing D (no doubt there should / could be other rules).

E.g.

D is fickle.​

Sometimes what you expect doesn't happen because you're wearing the wrong colour socks.​

Yes, it is seemingly fickle. I think much depends on what has been happening inside one prior to diagnosis and perhaps it is the variability in this that determines the apparent variability in remission outcomes.

 

[Proud to be erratic]

Or even that the generic diagnosis of T2 is just too generic and there are many subtle but important variants that need their own subtle treatments. As well as D being fickle.

 

[childofthesea43]

Yes, that could also be so, although if there were many variants I would think there’d have to be one overwhelmingly dominant one to explain the explosion in T2D prevalence.