Following an instruction from HR, I went for a health MOT. The upshot (other than the usual “lose weight and get more exercise”) was a follow-up blood test to measure something called Hb1A1c and a letter to my GP.
About ten days later, having dealt with the robot appointment “service” I got a text saying “You are diabetic”, and a two-day wait for a call from the diabetes nurse. Apparently my Hb1Ac really was 94, and I needed to take action..
The advice was poor: “eat less, exercise more, lose weight, don’t drink beer”. Nothing positive, just what came across as sanctimonious advice and a promise that there was a workshop I’d be invited to at some random point in the future.
My initial reaction wasn’t great: all the things I enjoyed were no longer available to eat or drink, and I’d no idea what I actually could eat (grapes and melon must be better than bread for lunch, surely).
I started a project and doing some research (it’s sort of what I do professionally)… which led me to this website and forum: so much more useful and evidence-based than anything done through the GP.
The experiences and insights, links and hints on here became a set of things I thought I could do to make a difference.
Three months on, I’ve lost 15kg, the repeat Hb1Ac has come in at 38, and the nurse has asked if I’d like to come off Metformin (yes I would: it really isn’t a great combination with my campylobacter-damaged gut flora). I know this has to be a lifestyle change, or it’s a waste of the effort expended thus far, but I have a plan for Christmas and a happier outlook for 2025.
So, thank you, wonderful people, for helping me and so many others
Dr IG
About ten days later, having dealt with the robot appointment “service” I got a text saying “You are diabetic”, and a two-day wait for a call from the diabetes nurse. Apparently my Hb1Ac really was 94, and I needed to take action..
The advice was poor: “eat less, exercise more, lose weight, don’t drink beer”. Nothing positive, just what came across as sanctimonious advice and a promise that there was a workshop I’d be invited to at some random point in the future.
My initial reaction wasn’t great: all the things I enjoyed were no longer available to eat or drink, and I’d no idea what I actually could eat (grapes and melon must be better than bread for lunch, surely).
I started a project and doing some research (it’s sort of what I do professionally)… which led me to this website and forum: so much more useful and evidence-based than anything done through the GP.
The experiences and insights, links and hints on here became a set of things I thought I could do to make a difference.
- Reduce carbs (basically no bread, potatoes, pasta, rice)
- Eat less
- More vegetables (lots more vegetables, particularly green ones)
- Thirty minutes walking at lunchtime
- Take a salad to work (saves quite a bit of cash)
- Carbs & Cals app to log what I eat
- Target <75g per day (I don’t often go above 50)
- Be honest with yourself
- Caldesi cookbooks
- If I go out (which is a thing when travelling with work) steak and veg instead of chips; no pudding; wine or gin, not beer
- Buy and use a blood glucose meter
- Test before and after food to see what has an effect
Three months on, I’ve lost 15kg, the repeat Hb1Ac has come in at 38, and the nurse has asked if I’d like to come off Metformin (yes I would: it really isn’t a great combination with my campylobacter-damaged gut flora). I know this has to be a lifestyle change, or it’s a waste of the effort expended thus far, but I have a plan for Christmas and a happier outlook for 2025.
So, thank you, wonderful people, for helping me and so many others
Dr IG
