- Messages
- 194
- Type of diabetes
- HCP
- Treatment type
- I do not have diabetes
What is so interesting is that patients just used the diet sheet printed for you in the article -we never mentioned weighing food or calorie counting this was one of the features they like best about the approach -one lady put it very well 'a diet is something you are on, with all its weighing and measuring , something you will someday come off. the low carb approach is away of life'@Southport GP That is excellent. You need to get the work out to more GP practices.
For info I am 32kg down (down 28% of my original mass) and my HbA1c is now 35 mmol/mol from 91 mmol/mol. I started low cal/carb but now on normal diet. If you ask me it is definitely the weight loss that has the largest impact and not the low carb. However without the low carb it is hard to get control so I do see it necessary and if it becomes a lifestyle choice that is great.
A couple of questions if I may indulge (the scientist in me):
1. How low did your patients go with the low carb and did they reduce calories at the same time?
2. Are your patients aiming for further reductions and will you think about testing their "diabetes" when/if they hit normal BMI?
3. Have you taken them off of medication since their reduction?
So the great majority of them stop on the diet because I suspect their diabetes will deteriorate if they go back to carbs. Though as you say weight loss by itself does help type two diabetes but until I started recommending the low carb diet I personally had not had much success in inspiring weight loss that lasted. I have a theory that carbs are addictive which could explain my observation.
We continue to check HbA1c levels in them all-partly at their request because I'm told it helps prevent 'carb drift.'
Yes a number have come off meds and others have managed to avoid insulin (I should repeat the work was not on Insulin dependent type one diabetics)