The challenge - My story + How does one choose the best approach to Type 2 Diabetes Remission?

[OK1]

I am truly over the moon. It took a whole year 2023 to August 2024 to lose 3KG, from 103 down to 100 KG.

In the recent month, since my diagnosis, I have lost at least 3KG more. Definitely a very promising start. Not too shabby.

My target was 2KG a month.

Confident that this will reflect positively on all my health markers.

 

[OK1]

While this video discusses high blood pressure, there is extremely strong evidence, in my opinion, that there are options option, worthy of investigating, to lower blood pressure, and these options coincide with the same recommendations for reversing diabetes.

At the heart of this is :

1. Losing weight - there is just too much corroborating information from every respected source in medicine, in every country from America to UK, to Australia, and Germany, there is no getting round this - it works. Every pound or kilogram we lose, improves our blood pressure and also improves our blood sugar management in diabetes. In fact the opposite is true, increase in weight is one main cause of high blood pressure and diabetes.

While getting down to our ideal weight, according to the BMI rating is ideal, just losing as little as 3 kilograms, can kick start our journey to better health.

I only wish this detail could have been much better publicised, 30 or 40 years ago., in the same manner as telling people that smoking is bad for us.

2. An initial period of significant calorie restriction helps to accelerate the improvements in blood pressure control, as well as diabetes.

Evidence of this is found in so many resources, from the diabetes reversal programmes of Professor Roy, to the Phase 1 of the DASH programme for stopping hypertension, to the fasting clinic practices, prevalent in the United States and Germany.

An initial period of reducing calories, and or cutting out certain things like meat or fruits, for a period, apparently does wonders. Best seems to be to slowly get into a fast lasting several days, with only water, and the need for high blood pressure medication, in many subjects, is gone. At the very least it leads to a lowering of their blood pressure medication, and an improvement of their diabetes.

3. I have also observed that there is another overlooked component - Adequate water intake. But I caution, too much water at any time is bad, cos it will deplete the body of minerals - also known as electrolytes, which are removed by the kidneys to remove the excess water, so what I think is that one should have a little bit of water at a time. But many small bits of water throughout the day, rathere than a whole lot at any one time. I have seriously come to the impression that this is one - unfortunately overlooked aspect of health, especially for Africans.

Based on what I know now, I think 2 litres of water a day, is the minimum. And it is ok to drink even up to 4 litres, if one was physically active. This is an important change for me, both the total amount per day, as well as the need to break it up into little bits, throughout the day.

Why water? Apparently the kidney needs water to function. And this is one reason why any kind of fasting without water, makes no sense, and those who fast without water are doing harm to themselves. All fasting MUST be done with water. Apparently 3 days without water, will lead to severe kidney damage.

I now understand why water is so important to managing both high blood pressure as well as diabetes, as well as kidneys. Paying proper attention to water intake, is a major change for me. This is one issue that does not seem to be on the radar of many. Managing water intake carefully and optimally.

While water in food and teas are all part of this water target, I'll be focussing in my case on getting at least 2 litres of just water and any other water will in teas, or food, will be on top of that.

4. Exercise - of course this is important, but it does not have to be epecially intensive, if one is doing all the other things. Exercise is fundamentally NOT for losing weight, but also has so many other benefits.

5. Cutting out - excessive amounts of fats and oils, eliminating simple sugars, reducing carbs, and increasing vegetables significantly and some fruit - fruit unfortunately in the UK has way too much sugar in it, so one has to be careful with fruit. And reducing food from animals, or eliminating for a while, seems to be consistent with al the various sources.

6. Juicing with vegetables and small amounts of fruit, seems to be a thing - something to investigate. My thinking is that small amounts of juicing with vegetables and a little bit of fruit(i.e really small amounts of fruit), can help make the minerals - more bio available, and absorbed better. We should still eat vegetables and a bit of fruit occasionally, fresh, or boiled, or however else consumed. But the juicing seems to be an optimiser. An add on to the regular advice to eat lots of vegetables and some fruit.

7. Keeping salt low - to no more than a teaspoon of salt in all our food, for one day. This is advice not just for those with high blood pressure or diabetes, but for every human being. Some people need even lower levels of salt, if they are genetically salt sensitive.

8. Definitely good sleep - 8 hours a day.

9. Reducing Stress - I interprete that to mean - enjoying life and not getting bogged down by issues.

 

[OK1]

This coincides with the fundamental question I have also been asking myself - Why? Not why diabetes, but why have I eaten too many calories over many many years.

This discusses the whys that go beyond calories, and hormones, to what may be the fundamental issue. Food as a stress relief mechanism.

 

[Drummer]

This coincides with the fundamental question I have also been asking myself - Why? Not why diabetes, but why have I eaten too many calories over many many years.

This discusses the whys that go beyond calories, and hormones, to what may be the fundamental issue. Food as a stress relief mechanism.

I used to keep budgerigars, and often bought good quality young hens which were not breeding (never admitted by the seller, but I'm not daft)
The problem was a lack of protein.
Over the weeks the plumpy hens would moult their feathers (protein based structures) become slimmer, and start giving the glad eye to potential mates, resulting in eggs and chicks of good quality, considerably taller than their mothers as their diet was high protein from hatching.
The hens I bought over ate to try to get the proteins they needed. All my birds had quality feathers.
You just can't go against nature and make any sort of gain.

 

[OK1]

While this video discusses high blood pressure, there is extremely strong evidence, in my opinion, that there are options option, worthy of investigating, to lower blood pressure, and these options coincide with the same recommendations for reversing diabetes.

At the heart of this is :

1. Losing weight - there is just too much corroborating information from every respected source in medicine, in every country from America to UK, to Australia, and Germany, there is no getting round this - it works. Every pound or kilogram we lose, improves our blood pressure and also improves our blood sugar management in diabetes. In fact the opposite is true, increase in weight is one main cause of high blood pressure and diabetes.

While getting down to our ideal weight, according to the BMI rating is ideal, just losing as little as 3 kilograms, can kick start our journey to better health.

I only wish this detail could have been much better publicised, 30 or 40 years ago., in the same manner as telling people that smoking is bad for us.

2. An initial period of significant calorie restriction helps to accelerate the improvements in blood pressure control, as well as diabetes.

Evidence of this is found in so many resources, from the diabetes reversal programmes of Professor Roy, to the Phase 1 of the DASH programme for stopping hypertension, to the fasting clinic practices, prevalent in the United States and Germany.

An initial period of reducing calories, and or cutting out certain things like meat or fruits, for a period, apparently does wonders. Best seems to be to slowly get into a fast lasting several days, with only water, and the need for high blood pressure medication, in many subjects, is gone. At the very least it leads to a lowering of their blood pressure medication, and an improvement of their diabetes.

3. I have also observed that there is another overlooked component - Adequate water intake. But I caution, too much water at any time is bad, cos it will deplete the body of minerals - also known as electrolytes, which are removed by the kidneys to remove the excess water, so what I think is that one should have a little bit of water at a time. But many small bits of water throughout the day, rathere than a whole lot at any one time. I have seriously come to the impression that this is one - unfortunately overlooked aspect of health, especially for Africans.

Based on what I know now, I think 2 litres of water a day, is the minimum. And it is ok to drink even up to 4 litres, if one was physically active. This is an important change for me, both the total amount per day, as well as the need to break it up into little bits, throughout the day.

Why water? Apparently the kidney needs water to function. And this is one reason why any kind of fasting without water, makes no sense, and those who fast without water are doing harm to themselves. All fasting MUST be done with water. Apparently 3 days without water, will lead to severe kidney damage.

I now understand why water is so important to managing both high blood pressure as well as diabetes, as well as kidneys. Paying proper attention to water intake, is a major change for me. This is one issue that does not seem to be on the radar of many. Managing water intake carefully and optimally.

While water in food and teas are all part of this water target, I'll be focussing in my case on getting at least 2 litres of just water and any other water will in teas, or food, will be on top of that.

4. Exercise - of course this is important, but it does not have to be epecially intensive, if one is doing all the other things. Exercise is fundamentally NOT for losing weight, but also has so many other benefits.

5. Cutting out - excessive amounts of fats and oils, eliminating simple sugars, reducing carbs, and increasing vegetables significantly and some fruit - fruit unfortunately in the UK has way too much sugar in it, so one has to be careful with fruit. And reducing food from animals, or eliminating for a while, seems to be consistent with al the various sources.

6. Juicing with vegetables and small amounts of fruit, seems to be a thing - something to investigate. My thinking is that small amounts of juicing with vegetables and a little bit of fruit(i.e really small amounts of fruit), can help make the minerals - more bio available, and absorbed better. We should still eat vegetables and a bit of fruit occasionally, fresh, or boiled, or however else consumed. But the juicing seems to be an optimiser. An add on to the regular advice to eat lots of vegetables and some fruit.

7. Keeping salt low - to no more than a teaspoon of salt in all our food, for one day. This is advice not just for those with high blood pressure or diabetes, but for every human being. Some people need even lower levels of salt, if they are genetically salt sensitive.

8. Definitely good sleep - 8 hours a day.

9. Reducing Stress - I interprete that to mean - enjoying life and not getting bogged down by issues.

Made a few tweaks, and reiteration of some of the steps I had already taken.

1. Sugar @ Home. That really needed no change. I have not been using sugar for anything - pretty rare, and I have not personally bought sugar for about 8 to 10 years. The only sugar in my tea was the lactose from milk, and that has been so for at least 8 years. Broadly speaking added sugar, in the home was definitely NOT my issue. So cutting out sugar, needed no further action from me.

2. Sugar @ Shop bought products. Completely cut out all products with sugar from my diet - biscuits, cakes, bread of any kind. Had two slices of cake, from a cake which my wife's sister in law, sent us. Otherwise not had cake since my T2D diagnosis, about a month ago. So confectionaries, ice cream, all out.

3. OK on to Carbs, cut out flour products, with one occasional exception, the white fish in batter or breaded. Reintroduced some rice into the diet, cos I was not feeling comfortable on a really low carb diet with only vegetables. Occasionally will have one potato, with my meal. No other carbs.

4. Revised the salt intake from very low, to no more than about 1/2 a teaspoon full - per day. Now using iodized salt, cos the typical table salt sold in the UK, is NOT iodized. My feeling is that a lack of iodine may be lowering my metabolic rate, by decreasing thyroid function.

To be continued

 

[OK1]

Made a few tweaks, and reiteration of some of the steps I had already taken.

1. Sugar @ Home. That really needed no change. I have not been using sugar for anything - pretty rare, and I have not personally bought sugar for about 8 to 10 years. The only sugar in my tea was the lactose from milk, and that has been so for at least 8 years. Broadly speaking added sugar, in the home was definitely NOT my issue. So cutting out sugar, needed no further action from me.

2. Sugar @ Shop bought products. Completely cut out all products with sugar from my diet - biscuits, cakes, bread of any kind. Had two slices of cake, from a cake which my wife's sister in law, sent us. Otherwise not had cake since my T2D diagnosis, about a month ago. So confectionaries, ice cream, all out.

3. OK on to Carbs, cut out flour products, with one occasional exception, the white fish in batter or breaded. Reintroduced some rice into the diet, cos I was not feeling comfortable on a really low carb diet with only vegetables. Occasionally will have one potato, with my meal. No other carbs.

4. Revised the salt intake from very low, to no more than about 1/2 a teaspoon full - per day. Now using iodized salt, cos the typical table salt sold in the UK, is NOT iodized. My feeling is that a lack of iodine may be lowering my metabolic rate, by decreasing thyroid function.

To be continued

5. Definitely on track with water intake. Minimum of 1.5 litres per day, and as much as 2 litres on some days. Looking back, I probably have NOT had enough water to drink, for maybe as long as 35 years. I recall many many days when I drank no water, cos I lived in places where there was ether no running water, or the water from the tap was NOT drinkable, and worked in office premises with NO drinkable water. Reminds me of how once upon a time, it was safer to drink beer, rather than water in the UK. In my case I would have at least two bottle of some sugar laden soft drink, like coke. Every day at work, for many years. Not fully appreciating the kind of damage I was doing to myself. Even when I lived in places with excellent water on tap, I'd drink more of other thinks like chocolate drinks, tea, a bit of coffee, or soft drinks. So now the 1.5 litres minimum is just water, and any herbal tea I take is on top of that.

This is a huge change, and if I had NOT been diagnosed as diabetic, I would never have had cause to revisit my lifestyle habits, so thoroughly.

If I followed the - drink when you are thirsty instruction, I'm unlikely to drink up to 1 litre per day, cos I do not really get that thirsty. But 1 litre I think is a bit low. Main reason I'm taking the trouble to monitor water intake so carefully is I realise how important water is - to kidney function., which is an important contributor to high blood pressure.

My thoughts on water, are this issue coincides with many studies about medically supervised fasts. There is a lot of credit attributed to the fast, but I ask myself, is it possible that the key ingredient of this fast was that the people were now getting enough water? Cos a medically supervised fast would ensure they got enough water. How important is the hydration, to their health improvements during the fast.

Unfortunately we will never know, cos it is impossible and certainly unethical to do a study on fasting, without water, cos that would damage kidneys. Not advised. Maybe a fast with different water intakes, may give an idea of the relevance of water to the fast. Maybe.

To be continued.

 

[OK1]

5. Definitely on track with water intake. Minimum of 1.5 litres per day, and as much as 2 litres on some days. Looking back, I probably have NOT had enough water to drink, for maybe as long as 35 years. I recall many many days when I drank no water, cos I lived in places where there was ether no running water, or the water from the tap was NOT drinkable, and worked in office premises with NO drinkable water. Reminds me of how once upon a time, it was safer to drink beer, rather than water in the UK. In my case I would have at least two bottle of some sugar laden soft drink, like coke. Every day at work, for many years. Not fully appreciating the kind of damage I was doing to myself. Even when I lived in places with excellent water on tap, I'd drink more of other thinks like chocolate drinks, tea, a bit of coffee, or soft drinks. So now the 1.5 litres minimum is just water, and any herbal tea I take is on top of that.

This is a huge change, and if I had NOT been diagnosed as diabetic, I would never have had cause to revisit my lifestyle habits, so thoroughly.

If I followed the - drink when you are thirsty instruction, I'm unlikely to drink up to 1 litre per day, cos I do not really get that thirsty. But 1 litre I think is a bit low. Main reason I'm taking the trouble to monitor water intake so carefully is I realise how important water is - to kidney function., which is an important contributor to high blood pressure.

My thoughts on water, are this issue coincides with many studies about medically supervised fasts. There is a lot of credit attributed to the fast, but I ask myself, is it possible that the key ingredient of this fast was that the people were now getting enough water? Cos a medically supervised fast would ensure they got enough water. How important is the hydration, to their health improvements during the fast.

Unfortunately we will never know, cos it is impossible and certainly unethical to do a study on fasting, without water, cos that would damage kidneys. Not advised. Maybe a fast with different water intakes, may give an idea of the relevance of water to the fast. Maybe.

To be continued.

6. Using more spices. For taste, and who knows what minerals they may introduce to the body?

7. Decided to take a new approach to sleep - 1st I no longer track sleep. I just sleep, and if I wake up, in the middle of the night I do my best to get back to sleep, however many times my sleep is interrupted, and I get up only when daylight shines through. Felt quite refreshed when I woke up today. And have been alert all day.

8. Meal Times, etc - Today was the 1st day in probably months if not years, able to eat and not have the drowsies after a meal. Still alert. I am so glad, may all days be like this. I have had two meals today, and no drowsy sleepiness afterwards. Truly grateful, for such an improvement. Must say though, can't figure out why I have been that bit more hungry. Had something to eat thrice yesterday, and before each of my two meals today, definitely had the urge to eat - I'd describe the pangs as definitely ravenous, definitely more than I am accustomed to feeling, in relation to food. That feeling of - I need some food - NOW, not later. Not something I have felt for many years. And strangely my body wants to eat breakfast, which I normally do not have, and have not had except on Saturday mornings, for at least 8 years. Typically my 1st meal is sometime in the afternoon, or midday, but now I want to eat by 11 am or even a bit earlier. The upside is I seem to want to have my last meal by 5 pm, which is super cos by bed time, that meal is properly digested, and hopefully I do not go to bed with higher sugar levels in my blood.

9. Movement - Able to walk with more gusto, brisker pace, less panting when brisk, and the muscle aches from lactates building up, e.g in leg muscles, is gone. Breathing much better when I walk. Any vestiges of pain in the chest during physical exertion are gone.

10. Still on my medication - Lisinopril. Vitamin D and Magnesium Glycinate as supplements.

11. Urination seems normal, no urge to go frequently. And urine retention after a wee, seems to have also gone, so I can express all the wee at one go, and not struggle to get it all out.

12. Possibly the other really important thing, to add to the feeling of all day alertness, is, I feel I have done enough research on all the areas of concern, kidney health, cardiovascular health, high blood pressure, diabetes, and have a handle on the key issues. Don't think there is much more to learn, so I'll dial that effort back down. It has been quite intensive, responding to the wake up call. Feel I am doing 80% of all I need to do, and any further improvements, from now on will be minor tweaks, here and there, a bit more of this, or a bit less of that. Knowledge, and the feeling that my body is responding positively to changes, is wonderful. Above all I feel great, definitely feel better than I used to feel, before my T2D diagnosis, when I'd be a bit prickly, fatigued, and feel like sleeping during the day, not realising what was making me feel that way. Would be wonderful if I never had to feel like that ever again. A certain chill I felt for about 2 or 3 weeks, after I started the rigorous lifestyle changes, has gone. At that time, I'd be the only one in the house feeling cold.

Overall I'm hoping and thinking that my metabolism is being corrected, and my body is better able to use the energy stored, e.g. mitochondria working better, etc, etc. So they can supply energy to the body, when needed, at rest, and also when I move, at the right level, which may explain why I do NOT feel as exhausted. Long may this continue. If this be the case, then hopefully it means the body should be able to burn fat more efficiently, and over time, I feel less of the hunger pangs, cos the body is being supplied by my excess fat, and my weight (and in particular fat %) can decrease over time.

 

[OK1]

Apparently there is more nuance to the debate on High Carb/Low Fat vs Low Carb/High Fat.

There is evidence that some people benefit from either approach, and can achieve remission using either. But there seem to be many more influencers touting the Low Carb approach, or maybe that's what Youtube has prioritised in my suggested videos, based on what I had been watching,

This video postulates from a highly educated researcher that the approach which works best, depends. On you, and what one has been eating. The body has a preference for the most dominant food source in our diet. Furthermore, it takes quite a bit of effort to change this preference. So in my case where I had been having a fair amount of carbs, this explains why my initial few weeks of cutting out carbs almost completely (limiting my carbs to mostly non starchy vegetables), did not go down too well. I was losing weight, but still felt lacking in energy, especially after meals - drowsy. Like my body was too uncomfortable with the sudden change, as it had been more comfortable with carbs. So it explains why adding a bit more carbs and a bit more fruit, improved how I was feeling - making me more energetic, and without the tiredness/irritation.

TBC

 

[OK1]

Apparently there is more nuance to the debate on High Carb/Low Fat vs Low Carb/High Fat.

There is evidence that some people benefit from either approach, and can achieve remission using either. But there seem to be many more influencers touting the Low Carb approach, or maybe that's what Youtube has prioritised in my suggested videos, based on what I had been watching,

This video postulates from a highly educated researcher that the approach which works best, depends. On you, and what one has been eating. The body has a preference for the most dominant food source in our diet. Furthermore, it takes quite a bit of effort to change this preference. So in my case where I had been having a fair amount of carbs, this explains why my initial few weeks of cutting out carbs almost completely (limiting my carbs to mostly non starchy vegetables), did not go down too well. I was losing weight, but still felt lacking in energy, especially after meals - drowsy. Like my body was too uncomfortable with the sudden change, as it had been more comfortable with carbs. So it explains why adding a bit more carbs and a bit more fruit, improved how I was feeling - making me more energetic, and without the tiredness/irritation.

TBC

This other video explains why diet changes should not be sudden, but gradual.

I did not grow up as a meat eater. I ate predominantly carbs, with a little bit of meat. And while I eat a bit more meat/fish/chicken/pork/eggs in recent years, they do not form a significant part of my diet. I'd find it hard to eat a predominantly keto or carnivore diet. Not that I have tried, but that's not what I'm used to. Furthermore its very expensive to eat that way in the UK, in my opinion.

So listening to the info in these videos, I must take into consideration several factors in defining the diet that works best for me to address the following concerns :

1. Satiety. Especially being able to incorporate this into an Intermittent fasting protocol.
2. What I enjoy eating.
3. Weight loss and in particular fat loss.
4. Rate of Weight loss/fat loss in particular. How to attain the balance of weight loss, and especially fat loss, without adversely affecting metabolic rate.
5. Metabolic Rate
6. Mental Clarity
7. Fatigue.
8. Of course - impact on my blood sugar.
9. Progress towards T2D remission.
10. Also help reduce High Blood Pressure.
11. Help improve Kidney function.

TBC

 

[OK1]

This other video explains why diet changes should not be sudden, but gradual.

I did not grow up as a meat eater. I ate predominantly carbs, with a little bit of meat. And while I eat a bit more meat/fish/chicken/pork/eggs in recent years, they do not form a significant part of my diet. I'd find it hard to eat a predominantly keto or carnivore diet. Not that I have tried, but that's not what I'm used to. Furthermore its very expensive to eat that way in the UK, in my opinion.

So listening to the info in these videos, I must take into consideration several factors in defining the diet that works best for me to address the following concerns :

1. Satiety. Especially being able to incorporate this into an Intermittent fasting protocol.
2. What I enjoy eating.
3. Weight loss and in particular fat loss.
4. Rate of Weight loss/fat loss in particular. How to attain the balance of weight loss, and especially fat loss, without adversely affecting metabolic rate.
5. Metabolic Rate
6. Mental Clarity
7. Fatigue.
8. Of course - impact on my blood sugar.
9. Progress towards T2D remission.
10. Also help reduce High Blood Pressure.
11. Help improve Kidney function.

TBC

It's a delicate balance, and these videos help establish that there is no "one size fits all" diet. Each person has to "experiment" and adjust their diet to optimally achieve, the best balance of their personal targets. These opinions, also explain why some things do not work for some. I get the impression that personalisation is also very important.

What occurs is - as great as the medical profession is - a lot of the information out there on diet is general, but may not apply to all individuals, so the duty of care is there, for each person to study all these protocols, to see what works best for them, and to keep adjusting and improving that combination of protocols, throughout life.

I had been die hard about becoming Low Carb/Higher Fat, but one of these videos stopped me in my tracks, warning that the danger of such an adaptation, when my body has completely become fat adapted, is that I could then become intolerant to carbs, and not able to process carbs well. This also explains why I have heard such a strong anti-carb mantra from the Low Carb world. It appears that the penalty for becoming Low Carb/High Fat and adapted to predominantly burning fat, is an aversion to carbs.

I recall a UK Dr - David Unwin - A GP in the North of England, who is an advocate of Low Carb/High Fat, but in one interview, he mentioned that the lactose in milk raises his blood sugar, so he avoids milk. The videos above explain the danger of extreme tending diets.

 

[OK1]

It's a delicate balance, and these videos help establish that there is no "one size fits all" diet. Each person has to "experiment" and adjust their diet to optimally achieve, the best balance of their personal targets. These opinions, also explain why some things do not work for some. I get the impression that personalisation is also very important.

What occurs is - as great as the medical profession is - a lot of the information out there on diet is general, but may not apply to all individuals, so the duty of care is there, for each person to study all these protocols, to see what works best for them, and to keep adjusting and improving that combination of protocols, throughout life.

I had been die hard about becoming Low Carb/Higher Fat, but one of these videos stopped me in my tracks, warning that the danger of such an adaptation, when my body has completely become fat adapted, is that I could then become intolerant to carbs, and not able to process carbs well. This also explains why I have heard such a strong anti-carb mantra from the Low Carb world. It appears that the penalty for becoming Low Carb/High Fat and adapted to predominantly burning fat, is an aversion to carbs.

I recall a UK Dr - David Unwin - A GP in the North of England, who is an advocate of Low Carb/High Fat, but in one interview, he mentioned that the lactose in milk raises his blood sugar, so he avoids milk. The videos above explain the danger of extreme tending diets.

My main consideration then has to be a whole gamut of considerations.

1. Satiety. Especially being able to incorporate this into an Intermittent fasting protocol.
2. What I enjoy eating.
3. Weight loss and in particular fat loss.
4. Rate of Weight loss/fat loss in particular. How to attain the balance of weight loss, and especially fat loss, without adversely affecting metabolic rate.
5. Metabolic Rate
6. Mental Clarity
7. Fatigue.
8. Of course - impact on my blood sugar.
9. Progress towards T2D remission.
10. Also help reduce High Blood Pressure.
11. Help improve Kidney function.
12. What is available where I live and where I am likely to live in the future. And taking into account any seasonal variations.
13. My pocket - what can I afford
14. Oxidation flexibility. I'd like to be able to be able to equivalently switch between burning fat and carbs. I.e metabolic flexibility, if such a thing was possible.

So at this time, rather than go too low on the carb, because I do NOT want to lose my ability to burn carbs as I am likely to have some carbs in my diet, rather than go really low carb, I'm thinking of becoming Lower carb - i.e about 20% to 25% of calories from carbs. But not any lower. I.e looking at what's on the plate. in %'s.

I may need to bump up my exercise(daily walk) by about 10 minutes extra a day, to do my best to use up these carbs, stored predominantly in the liver and muscles. Yes I'd prefer to eat a bit more carbs and exercise a bit more, to help me actually become more carb tolerant, rather than intolerant - which is the danger of a low carb/high fat diet. In the abscence of carbs, the body actually becomes carb resistant/ and insulin resistant - which is an interesting twist, and the only way to deal with this kind of insulin resistance that develops from cutting carbs too low, is to continue to keep carbs low, driving the body even further into carb resistance and insulin resistance/cos the body is no longer functional with insulin, cos insulin is very low, and has been kept low for a very long time.

What bothers me is - do the proposers of the Low Carb regime, also make their audience aware of these caveats?!!!

I am so glad I found out about this, and can adjust my diet accordingly. It is such a bit of a shock, that in an attempt to make the body more insulin sensitive, that if one goes extremely low carb, for too long, the very objective one wanted to achieve - insulin sensitivity, could be made worse, by the extreme exclusion of carbs. ! Shocking.

TBC

 

[OK1]

My main consideration then has to be a whole gamut of considerations.

1. Satiety. Especially being able to incorporate this into an Intermittent fasting protocol.
2. What I enjoy eating.
3. Weight loss and in particular fat loss.
4. Rate of Weight loss/fat loss in particular. How to attain the balance of weight loss, and especially fat loss, without adversely affecting metabolic rate.
5. Metabolic Rate
6. Mental Clarity
7. Fatigue.
8. Of course - impact on my blood sugar.
9. Progress towards T2D remission.
10. Also help reduce High Blood Pressure.
11. Help improve Kidney function.
12. What is available where I live and where I am likely to live in the future. And taking into account any seasonal variations.
13. My pocket - what can I afford
14. Oxidation flexibility. I'd like to be able to be able to equivalently switch between burning fat and carbs. I.e metabolic flexibility, if such a thing was possible.

So at this time, rather than go too low on the carb, because I do NOT want to lose my ability to burn carbs as I am likely to have some carbs in my diet, rather than go really low carb, I'm thinking of becoming Lower carb - i.e about 20% to 25% of calories from carbs. But not any lower. I.e looking at what's on the plate. in %'s.

I may need to bump up my exercise(daily walk) by about 10 minutes extra a day, to do my best to use up these carbs, stored predominantly in the liver and muscles. Yes I'd prefer to eat a bit more carbs and exercise a bit more, to help me actually become more carb tolerant, rather than intolerant - which is the danger of a low carb/high fat diet. In the abscence of carbs, the body actually becomes carb resistant/ and insulin resistant - which is an interesting twist, and the only way to deal with this kind of insulin resistance that develops from cutting carbs too low, is to continue to keep carbs low, driving the body even further into carb resistance and insulin resistance/cos the body is no longer functional with insulin, cos insulin is very low, and has been kept low for a very long time.

What bothers me is - do the proposers of the Low Carb regime, also make their audience aware of these caveats?!!!

I am so glad I found out about this, and can adjust my diet accordingly. It is such a bit of a shock, that in an attempt to make the body more insulin sensitive, that if one goes extremely low carb, for too long, the very objective one wanted to achieve - insulin sensitivity, could be made worse, by the extreme exclusion of carbs. ! Shocking.

TBC

So what's the strategy that I think will work.

1. Extreme exclusion of carbs, should be temporary, i.e short term, no more than a few weeks.

2. Reduction in carbs should not be done too quickly.

3. The regular diet for me, will NOT cut out carbs too low, cos I do not want to lose my ability to process carbs, as I may find myself in an environment where carbs are the most affordable things, within my budget.

4. Move a bit more to deal with the impact of any extra carbs, that would be considered higher than usual in a Low Carb regime.

5. Rather than use extreme exclusion of carbs as the method to lower average insulin, as a way of improving insulin sensitivity, resort to intermittent fasting, so insulin is low outside of the feeding window. But eating enough carbs to trigger some insulin during the feeding window. i.e achieve metabolic flexibility, where the body is exposed to variations and can respond to whatever situation it is exposed to.

A similar issue occurs in things like allergies, where the solution should not be complete exclusion to the allergens, but the more novel approach of introducing the allergen, to the person under supervision, in such small amounts that are not damaging to health, but slowly build up their tolerance to the allergen.

As another example, living in the UK can be a bit of a sterile existence, I spend many years without seeing a single ant. Never a cockroach (thankfully), and with only one exception (where I think they came in via a tree with branches close to a bedroom window, which has been left open during a hot summer - real nightmare) - no rats/mice in the home. So one is not exposed to any pathogens, from insects, etc, etc.

And especially when one lives predominantly indoors or works from home, contact with others is limited. I recall working for a while far from home, and each day had to travel through London, and back through London, on the way back. The 1st few weeks, because I was suddenly interacting with lots of pathogens from other commuters, I acquired a bit of a flu, but this went by the 2nd month.

So I now think of carbs in this manner. It's all about the dose. Too low, may be bad for me, too is definitely bad for me, so it's about striking the right balance that keeps me metabolically flexible.

Intermittent fasting, Lower Carb - but not too low, and a bit more Exercise, seem to be the key, to maintaining that metabolic flexibility. Outside of the feeding window, the body burns fat predominantly when at rest, cos insulin is low. During exercise, the body burns some more carbs, as well as fat, especially when exercise involves some intensity, or is longer duration.

No extreme fasts on a regular continuous basis, No regular extreme diets with exclusion of food groups as the norm, No extreme exercise as the norm. Finding the right balance, and making any extremes an acute rather than a chronic event.

 

[OK1]

I used to keep budgerigars, and often bought good quality young hens which were not breeding (never admitted by the seller, but I'm not daft)
The problem was a lack of protein.
Over the weeks the plumpy hens would moult their feathers (protein based structures) become slimmer, and start giving the glad eye to potential mates, resulting in eggs and chicks of good quality, considerably taller than their mothers as their diet was high protein from hatching.
The hens I bought over ate to try to get the proteins they needed. All my birds had quality feathers.
You just can't go against nature and make any sort of gain.

I have come to the same conclusion. Some protein in meals, and a bit of fat, definitely helps with satiety, and actually helps with appetite control, and being able to feel good while eating less, during this weight loss phase of my recovery.

Thanks

 

[OK1]

My thoughts today are on the ideal mix of calorie restriction and exercise, and metabolic rate, three factors that can contribute to the caloric deficit needed to lose weight, and ideally lose more fat rather than just lose body weight, of any kind.

Option 1 - High focus on caloric restriction, with minimal focus or none on increasing exercise. My experience is that this is difficult, leads to hunger, irritation, discomfort, thinking of food all the time, lowers frequency of bowel movements, and may slow down motility, especially of the diet is high in fibre. Movement as I have discovered, is such an important aspect of the digestive process, it moves things along faster.

Option 2 - Focus on exercise as the more significant factor in achieving a caloric deficit. This I think does not lead to better eating habits, and as soon as the herculean effort to exercise is stopped, all the weight comes back. I have had this experience a few times. Not doing that again. Also the older one gets, or busier, it's not as easy to sustain a vigorous exercise regime. Definitely not likely to sustain one for a lifetime, and then the impact this can have on joints, would be terrible.

Option 3 - Use a combination of caloric restriction, not cutting the food down too much, and bumping up exercise a bit, to achieve the calorie deficit. Key benefit, I can still enjoy a bit of food, and not suffer with excessive hunger. Bowel movements are great. And beyond weight loss or fat loss, I can also gain many other benefits of exercise, including improvements in many parts of the body, via better blood flow, better oxygen supplied to every cell, better getting rid of waste products and any toxins, and the feel good endorphins from exercise. I also consider that exercise helps to improve the circulation of hormones, so for example I can feel fuller faster during or after a meal, and feel fuller for longer. Mitochondria can work better over time, so they convert energy more efficiently, and I feel less tired during the day, or after food. This also should contribute to reducing high blood pressure, and blood sugar. I think this cycle of feed and burn is more attuned to how the body should work. And should also reduce insulin resistance, by getting the body far more familiar with the cycle of storage and depletion, of energy in cells, from all sources of energy. Building up a bit of muscle in the process, should also help to increase the glucose sink, and the regular exercise, helps to empty this glucose sink in the muscles, making them more acceptable to storing glucose (or fats), whenever food comes in, taking this out of the blood. Every little helps.

Probably the most under-appreciated benefit of exercise, is the stress relief, time to think, ME time, connecting with you environment, especially if one does this exercise outdoors.

In this 2nd month post T2D diagnosis, having sorted out diet in month one, exercise is my next main focus. I walk between 30 minutes and 2 hours each day, target is to do this every day, albeit about three days in the last 2 weeks, I did not walk. Not wanting it to become a chore, took a bit of a break. For the mental benefits, definitely worth doing daily. Kind of like one's own meditation. With these thoughts, finally enjoying the walking, and no longer see it as a chore. Now view it as part of my daily medicine.

If exercise can replace some or all of the medicines I am now forced to take, that would be great, especially as exercise has no side effects, unless one is excessive with exercise.

Other benefits would be to increase stroke volume, which should lower the effort the heart has to bear, and reduce blood pressure, and also improve VO2 Max, which has implications for overall health outcomes, via better oxygen intake, even when at rest. Finally exercise improves metabolic rate, over the 24 hour period after, which should be great for burning off more fat even when at rest.

 

[OK1]

How am I doing?

1. Feel great, more balanced. More in control. Have a lot more information.

I took the trouble to ask for a copy of the results of two blood tests taken about a year apart, one from 2023, and 2024. The one taken in 2023, was a missed opportunity, to have caught my diabetes earlier, due to my fault and a mixup at the GP's, due to a doctor who, from what I can deduce was a temporary fill in the gaps doctor, while the GP was a way. OK no crying over spilled milk, part of that mixup was my fault.

I think it is important to read all the results and make an effort to understand them. HbA1c in 2023 was 109 mmol/mol and 115 mmol/mol in 2024, so I fully appreciate that my diabetes is pretty serious, and has been for a while, without my knowledge. This is definitely very high blood sugar, consistently over most likely many years, without being detected.

The upside of knowing these details, is you know how much work is needed on your part, especially if remission is a desired intention.

The reality is enormous, but its better to know the whole truth. So that the response can be as rigorous as possible.

This explains so many of my symptoms, such as loss of feeling (i.e numbness) in my feet and toes, feet/ankles/lower leg swellings, blurring of vision - especially long distance vision. The tiredness, frequent urination at some points in time.

TBC

 

[OK1]

How am I doing?

1. Feel great, more balanced. More in control. Have a lot more information.

I took the trouble to ask for a copy of the results of two blood tests taken about a year apart, one from 2023, and 2024. The one taken in 2023, was a missed opportunity, to have caught my diabetes earlier, due to my fault and a mixup at the GP's, due to a doctor who, from what I can deduce was a temporary fill in the gaps doctor, while the GP was a way. OK no crying over spilled milk, part of that mixup was my fault.

I think it is important to read all the results and make an effort to understand them. HbA1c in 2023 was 109 mmol/mol and 115 mmol/mol in 2024, so I fully appreciate that my diabetes is pretty serious, and has been for a while, without my knowledge. This is definitely very high blood sugar, consistently over most likely many years, without being detected.

The upside of knowing these details, is you know how much work is needed on your part, especially if remission is a desired intention.

The reality is enormous, but its better to know the whole truth. So that the response can be as rigorous as possible.

This explains so many of my symptoms, such as loss of feeling (i.e numbness) in my feet and toes, feet/ankles/lower leg swellings, blurring of vision - especially long distance vision. The tiredness, frequent urination at some points in time.

TBC

But there is hope. My blood tests were the result of a relocation, so the new GP ordered these tests, otherwise it may have been a few more years before I became aware that I was diabetic. What's been done is done, no crying over spilt milk. I was not fully aware of the symptoms of diabetes, my ignorance. Now I can tie all of my symptoms to one main cause - unmanaged diabetes, and other causes such as high blood pressure.

The course of action for both of these is same. Proper diet, exercise, sleep, enjoy life, have a bit of a social connection, connect with the world around you - e.g nature, art, music - enjoy some positive excitement, and have hope. Lifestyle for 40 years or more caused damage, and if I stick to a lifestyle correction, I can expect the body to recover, much or all of the damage. How much? Only God knows, but I am aiming for a full recovery of all conditions, back to as optimal or as normal as anyone can have.

I have improved every single one of the factors - diet, exercise, sleep, social connection, and appreciation of life. Am also taking one high blood pressure med. Lisinopril.

The detailed review of my blood tests reveals, I also have concerns with other aspects like cholesterol, but thankfully the solutions are same as everything else. Medicines can only be an icing on a lifestyle cake, not a replacement for refusing to make lifestyle changes.

What are the most significant changes?

TBC

 

[OK1]

But there is hope. My blood tests were the result of a relocation, so the new GP ordered these tests, otherwise it may have been a few more years before I became aware that I was diabetic. What's been done is done, no crying over spilt milk. I was not fully aware of the symptoms of diabetes, my ignorance. Now I can tie all of my symptoms to one main cause - unmanaged diabetes, and other causes such as high blood pressure.

The course of action for both of these is same. Proper diet, exercise, sleep, enjoy life, have a bit of a social connection, connect with the world around you - e.g nature, art, music - enjoy some positive excitement, and have hope. Lifestyle for 40 years or more caused damage, and if I stick to a lifestyle correction, I can expect the body to recover, much or all of the damage. How much? Only God knows, but I am aiming for a full recovery of all conditions, back to as optimal or as normal as anyone can have.

I have improved every single one of the factors - diet, exercise, sleep, social connection, and appreciation of life. Am also taking one high blood pressure med. Lisinopril.

The detailed review of my blood tests reveals, I also have concerns with other aspects like cholesterol, but thankfully the solutions are same as everything else. Medicines can only be an icing on a lifestyle cake, not a replacement for refusing to make lifestyle changes.

What are the most significant changes?

TBC

1. Do not think too far into the future. Focus on today. What can I do today, to continue to get better?

2. If I slipped up on something, e.g ate something I should not, either out of ignorance or forgetfulness or lack of discipline or temptation, do not worry about it. Get back on the horse. An occasional slip up is negligible. What counts is the daily, weekly, monthly average of good actions.

3. Do not be too extreme. Yes I can have a small amount of cheese occasionally, it's not the end of the world.

4. Stop living in fear, its going to be OK. I have received a lot of strength from my faith, as a believer in Jesus Christ, especially reading the gospels, where there are recorded accounts of Jesus healing people. This has given me a lot of hope. That fundamentally God made me OK, and my own indiscipline and ignorance ruined what God gave me.

5. On the other hand change is gradual, things like weight loss, take time, if done in a manner that is NOT injurious to health. It took decades to put on the pounds. It is foolishness to expect it to go away in a week or two. Give it time. With consistency and persistence, its going to be OK.

6. In recent times, the main decision has been to completely avoid anything that could be considered a processed food. If it has more than 5 ingredients, sorry - NO. I had been enjoying some humus (made from chickpeas), but knowing how bad my diabetes has been. No more. So everything I now eat is cooked from well known ingredients, or fresh.

7. Carbs in small quantities are reintroduced, but definitely small negligible quantities. Just to add some interest to the meal. I prefer potatoes. I have completely lost my love for white rice, I'll have a tiny portion, but it provides absolutely no satisfaction anymore, cos it has no taste to me - none whatsoever. I could live without white rice.

TBC

 

[OK1]

8. Fruits - limited for now to no more than 1.5 fruits per day. And usually I take a walk after taking any fruit.

9. Vegetables are at least 50% of every meal.

10. I was binging on nuts, peanuts in particular, but that needs to stop. Simple just do not buy more than one small packet every week.

TBC

 

[OK1]

11. Daily movement - at least 30 minutes a day, sometimes as much as 2 hours of walking in total. One day I had 3 total hours of walking on the same day. And where possible I split the walking into several segments in the day, so it does not occur all at once. After about 6 weeks of gentle walking and occasional brisk walking, my body is much better toned, I am breathing better especially when at rest, muscles are not aching as much, and the lactate build up in muscles is almost non existent. So next steps are to incorporate some jogging - starting as low as just 1 minute of this per day, slow jogging to start with, and over time, increasing the intensity, to a total of about 10 minutes of jogging per day. The jogging could be done in segments of 1 minute, followed by a rest of 5 minutes. The whole point is to ease into this, slowly and gradually, and completely avoid any injuries. Especially as these habits will become lifetime habits, I'm taking the ramping up of exercise, very slowly.

It is so tempting to want to achieve everything in a day, but I think that would be wrong. For someone who has been sedentary for about 4 decades, with occasional spurts of regular exercise, at my age, best I take it easy, same as I did somewhat with the walking. A gradual approach seems to have been the best thing for exercise.

I definitely think moving throughout the day, rather than one long bout of exercise is best. Getting up as regularly as possible to move, feels like the most ideal thing. Important thing is to set a goal, and work towards it. Initially any change feels strange, but one can adapt to it, if we do this slowly.

The impression I get about all the research on exercise is that frequency is more important than intensity. A little bit done every day, or several times a day, is better that killing oneself at the gym once or twice a week. My opinion obviously.

TBC

 

[OK1]

12. Recovering and managing diabetes or high blood pressure, has to be a priority, demanding an investment in time, effort, courage, money, discipline. No one else will do this for you. The doctors will do their best, typically give advice, and drugs, but the hard grind is up to us, and no one else. We determine how far we will improve by our own actions.

13. Water - so far it still is not clear how much water one should drink. 6 to 8 cups on the NHS means nothing, Cos cup sizes are not constant. This should have been expressed in a known quantity - so for a body based on science to omit this specificity, I deduce they also do not know. Based on everything I have studied that has been specific, I think 2 litres a day is the minumum for a man of my size, and I am willing to go to 2.5 litres per day if I am exercising a lot and sweating on any day. That is already a huge jump from sometimes no more than 1 litre a day, of all fluids including water, a poor habit I now realise that I had sustained for maybe decades. And good to spread the drinking over the day, in equal amounts. e.g every hour a bit. I have a hunch that water is a key factor, that is largely ignored in most of the advice given.

Like most changes, I think this should also be gradual, if one is increasing water intake, so the body adapts easily.

14. I now use iodized salt, albeit in very small quantities. 1/4 of a teaspoon per day. And the use of salt in cooking in the home is far better controlled. I realised that my wife who has been responsible for much of my meals in the past never measured how much salt she was adding to her cooking, and had done this for the approx. 30 years of our marriage. That's a whole lot of salt, that could be solely responsible for much of my high blood pressure. I now try to do as much of the cooking as possible, to more tightly control my salt intake. Avoiding ALL processed food with any salt added, goes a long way to managing salt intake. Low salt intake is supposed to lower blood pressure.

TBC