Gwynn
Well-Known Member
- Relationship to Diabetes
- Type 2
Just read your question. I have an HbA1c of 34 at the last check. I am due another check at the end of this month.
How did I do it? 140 to 34?
Firstly, I acknowledged that I needed to know what my enemy was (carbs, body weight, general fitness)
Secondly, I set myself short term and long term goals, like, doing at least 30 minutes of exercise a day, and dropping my body weight down by 30Kg.
Thirdly, I did a lot of reading on the internet, sifting through all the good info and bad and working out what was good or bad
Fourthly, I looked at several diabetic sites and forums and decided that this one was the most supportive and helpful
Fifthly, I decided I needed to 'somehow' visualise the data of everything I would eat in terms of calories, carbs, protein, fibre, fats, saturated fats, salt, cholesterol, and recently potassium and create a diet that suited me whilst fitting in with whatever diet strategy I chose. I selected to write my own App and to use Microsoft Excel VBA rather than a commercial App purely because I could program it the way I wanted it to be.
Sixthly, I changed my diet to low carb, higher fats, higher fibre (carefully monitored), and was determined to stick to it.
Seventhly, I came off all diabetic meds very early on, just weeks after leaving hospital (following which everything, but especially my BG, came tumbling down towards the normal range)
Eightthly, but only after six months, I started exercising, small amounts at first, building up over time.
Ninethly, I started to actually write the App that would help me manage my diabetes. It turned out to be essential for me and kept me amused and solidly engaged with my diabetes.
Tenthly, I decided to continue to do the blood tests and other health checks every day giving me good data and graphs to demonstrate to the DN and GP any successes or difficulties I might be having. It really has proved useful in discussions with the DN
Eleventhly, I decided to supplement any diet deficiencies with specific vitamins and minerals, checking that everything was in the correct range from my blood serum tests, and correcting the supplements accordingly.
In a nutshell...discover what your enemy is, eat well, exercise well, monitor everything (no guesswork), set achievable, sustainable goals, and really enjoy it. Learn lots, succeed lots.
If I can see something and it is good then that is good news.
If I can see something and it is bad then that is also good news because I can then correct things.
What I can't do is fly blind.
No idea if any of that is any help but I hope so. I have probably missed out something, hmm. It is a big question you asked.
Oh, one last thing. This all worked for me and every single forum member here will have a different strategy. My strategy is not the only successful one. So, pick and select with knowledge and create your own strategy for success.
Good luck.
