Newcastle diet in response to new diagnosis

dazzer1975

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So I thought I would break out from the introductions forum and start this thread, mainly as a log of my attempt to deal with my newly diagnosed diabetes through lifestyle changes, hopefully! The newcastle diet will serve as a kick start to this.

I was diagnosed on Tuesday after I received a meter I had ordered owing to a few clues that were nagging on my mind that something wasn't quite right. The first result was 24.8 and after advice from this forum contacted my doctor who basically told me over the phone I was diabetic. Wednesday and Thursday I switched to water, salads and vegetable soups. Today I started on the newcastle diet. My readings have been between 16 and 13.5 since Wednesday morning.

I am familiar with very similiar diets (hospital administered lipotrim) and have come across high protein diets before and have been an advocate for them previously when i have been successful with weight loss. However, I never stuck to them and regrettably, I ended up here :( (no offence lol)

So, today I started by gathering together my remaining slimmm shakes from previous efforts and getting organised. I had a "the biggest loser" bar at 201 calories and comparable carb and protein content to the shakes, then a shake and have just eaten my evening meal of 3 sticks of celery and 3 heads of broccoli (kitchen scales have ran out of battery power so this is a guesstimate as to the quantity required)

As the calories vary between 200 and circa 220 dependant upon the flavour I will have two shakes per day and make up the calories via vegetables in my evening meal. Some days i may have three shakes and no vegetables, just mix it up a bit to try and get through such an extreme diet.

I will include the nutritional info for the summer berries flavour and choc mint flavour so you are able to compare and contrast with the other shakes available (and suggest any better ones if you can?)

Summer Berries Slimmm shake:

55g serving pack
211 kcals
20g protein
2.1g fat (1.0g saturates)
26.8g carbs (22.9g sugars)

Choc Mint Slimmm shake:

55g serving pack
20 9kcals
20.3 protein
2.2g fat (1.1g saturates)
25.4g carbs (23.1g sugars)

I am not really liking the level of carbs contained therein but they do seem to be a much of a muchness between these, slim fast, asda's own brand shakes etc so I don't think such a drastic diet overall, will be hampered to any great extent by whichever meal replacement shake we choose... but if I am wrong, I would like to hear it please.

Exercise has been a big issue for me since I have not left the house in circa 16 months, again though, with my desire pre diagnosis to lose weight i acquired a rowing machine. I have yet to use it, but it will become the central plank of my exercise regime over the coming weeks and months.

So I think that is about it, I will take a reading and post it up as a baseline with which to compare future progress against.

Ok, it is reading as 13.4mmol which also happens to be my lowest reading yet yay.

*edit* I have just taken a bedtime test (even though i will be up for another two hours perhaps yet) and the reading is 10.9, another new record lol
 

CathyN

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Well done on lowest reading ever!! That's great. You sound very positive and that's so important.

Go for it!!
 

catza

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13.4 is a good result to get you going. You have already seen a downward trend in just these few days since you were diagnosed so .... onwards and downwards. :thumbup:
 

Fraddycat

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Good luck Dazzer, looking forward to hearing your progress! You're motivation and determination is very inspiring!
 

dazzer1975

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Hi guys,

thanks very much for the encouragement, it is seriously appreciated... I am already remembering why my previous forays into these kinds of diets weren't the most long lived of my experiences lol

Anyway, I do not know the situation regarding allowing links, and I am more than aware that the following info will definitely be old news to some people but i would like to share some links about the newcastle diet for anyone reading and starting out in the same position as me.

General introduction to the study outcomes:

http://www.ncl.ac.uk/press.office/press ... 2-diabetes

this should be the full peer reviewed Newcastle study:

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/article ... e_2204.pdf

I haven't read it yet, but i won't pretend I will understand any of it :lol: :roll:

Here is some further info from Professor Taylor who conducted the study:

http://www.ncl.ac.uk/magres/assets/docu ... 2study.pdf

Finally the diet itself:

http://www.ncl.ac.uk/magres/assets/docu ... ecipes.pdf

Apologies if these links are not allowed or if they are already reproduced on this site somewhere. Please remove if necessary.
 

xyzzy

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Undeserving authority figures of all kinds and idiots.

dazzer1975

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Hi xyzzy,

thats brilliant thanks very much for the links, I am still trying to find my way around the site so have a lot to read and learn.

I am half way through that lady's thread actually, it is a fantastic account of what it is like to be on the diet, and I am dying to see what the end result was.

I will try and copy her format of posting the blood readings all at one point each day in one post, keeps it all neater and organised.

Thanks again everyone, this site is a fantastic forum and resource for the newly diagnosed (and anyone else I suppose) lol

p.s. just to add one thing about my symptoms, especially thirst, since my numbers got to around the 15/16 mark the intense dry thirst has gone but the mouth dryness remains. My numbers are still high to what they should be so perhaps it is is still all a part of that?

I drank 5 litres of water yesterday, including the water used to make up the shakes.
 

phoenix

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I am not really liking the level of carbs contained therein but they do seem to be a much of a muchness between these, slim fast, asda's own brand shakes etc so I don't think such a drastic diet overall, will be hampered to any great extent by whichever meal replacement shake we choose... but if I am wrong, I would like to hear it please
I think people on here have used a variety.
This dieteri n the DM used the Asda shakes
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/artic ... tions.html
I think the headline is misleading in the above article though!

The full nutritional breakdown of the original Optifast shakes is here:
http://www.optifast.com.au/about-optifa ... ialog_1858
 

dazzer1975

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Excellent, thank you very much for that info :thumbup: :D I will have a read, especially interested in the nutritional breakdown of the optifast
 

dazzer1975

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After reading a couple of other threads, I thought it may be pertinent to add that this is a diet, a very severe restrictive one designed to mimic patient's diets post bariatric surgery.

After this diet or "Newcastle Study" as some insist on calling it (purely semantics), regardless of bg readings and weight lost there is a need to alter lifestyle and make suitable changes for the duration of my life. For me the changes required will revolve around taking regular exercise and eating a generally low carb diet (well, that's the aim, but a diabetes diagnosis I am learning is quite the motivator). I can't say yet exactly how low, but I will be excluding bread, rice, potatoes, pasta and sugary veg such as sweetcorn etc. These are all my ideas and my management of my disease, of course, things may change as situations change, but for right now, this is my plan. It seems fortunate for me that this is exactly the kind of diet i naturally gravitated towards pre diabetes if i was looking to lose weight.

For me, I have the freedom to try this free from medical supervision for two reasons, it is the diet I would have tried anyway, and I only knew I was diabetic because of my own actions in buying a meter and testing myself, meaning I could have gone undiagnosed and been unaware for a considerable length of time. I have the added benefit that I am now employing this diet from a position of greater knowledge than what would otherwise have been the case. Worst case scenario, this diet is one less thing to try in what will no doubt become my life long management of this disease and my weight.

I think I should also add that I was probably diabetic within the last 5 years (Professor Taylor states the subjects were diabetic for "upto 4 years")

"There is good reason to believe that longer duration type 2 diabetes can be reversible, although after 10 –
15 years of diabetes it is likely that not everyone will be able to achieve a return to normal
glucose control despite major weight loss"

Type 2 Diabetes is reversible after bariatric surgery (, as this diet attempts to emulate the post bariatric surgery diet, then this method of calorie control to give your long term lifestyle changes a jump start has to be worth exploring, for those who feel safe and confident enough of trying it.

Reversal is a big word, personally, my expectations are lower, don't treat this as a one shot silver bullet deal, the hard work will come after this 8 week period.

What I will say though, is just read the paper from Professor Taylor, for me, being newly diagnosed and overwhelmed with an influx of info about how bad my health is, it provided and provides a glimmer of hope to hold onto and that we are in control and we can help ourselves. After watching what this disease did to my father, I simply can't not try this.

I will end with this quote taken from Professor Taylor's paper:

"This study demonstrates for the first time the time course of a return of normal beta cell function and hepatic glucose output by acute restriction of dietary energy intake in individuals with type 2 diabetes. The changes occurred in association with decreases in pancreatic and liver triacylglycerol concentrations. This new insight allows an understanding of the causality of type 2 diabetes in individuals as well as in populations. It carries major implications for information to be given to newly diagnosed patients, who should know that they have a potentially reversible condition and not one that is inevitably progressive."

*edit* just to add, for those considering it is worth reading this (and providing it to your doctor if you choose to inform him) paying particular attention to item 5 for contraindications regarding complications.

http://www.ncl.ac.uk/magres/assets/docu ... torsRT.pdf
 

dazzer1975

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I started yesterday but only have my BG readings from the meter to relay as I didn't start my diary until today. Additionally, today was/is a bit weird as i didn't wake till 12 so have only had 2 shakes and no veg but may have some broccoli later.

Anyway, results from yesterday:

16.6fbg
15.0 +2 hours after shake
13.4 at 18:45 (could be pre or post shake or broccoli?)
10.9 shortly before bedtime

Today I have recorded:
14.1 fbg
15.8 +2 hours after shake (had shake soon after waking so fbg will serve as pre-meal reading)
12.5 pre-dinner shake
11.7 +2 hours after dinner shake

*edit* I did take a bedtime reading it was 10.7

I may take a bedtime reading or may not bother now until the morning, if I do I will update this post later.

I don't understand why my bg went so high after the first shake, and then dropped after the second. Not massively concerned either tbh as i was diagnosed on Tuesday with my very first self test of 24.8.

Infact, just for my own amusement I will write out every result so far by date purely so i can see the downward trend to keep myself reminded of why am i doing this:

21st August:
24.8
18.4

22nd August
21.6
20.2
13.7

23rd August
16.0
15.0
15.2
13.9


24th August
13.5
16.6
15.0
13.4
10.9

25th August
14.1
15.8
12.5
11.7
10.7

water intake is so far at 5 litres today, by the time i go to bed it will be 6 litres (yesterday was 5 litres) I am including the water used to make the shakes.
 

dazzer1975

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Just as an aside for those wondering about which brand milkshake to use etc, I really don't think it matters ultimately, additionally the mre dept at newcastle have this to say:

"Please note that although Optifast was used in the study, this is not readily available in the U.K. unless on prescription. An alternative liquid food supplement of similar calorific content would be equally suitable. These are available from your local supermarket."

http://www.ncl.ac.uk/magres/research/di ... versal.htm
 

Fraddycat

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Dazzer, be proud of what you are doing! But remember its a slow process, have patience, you are doing great things!! Much luck, Jane
 

dazzer1975

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Hi Fraddycat,

thanks for the kind words, I am not the most patient of people at the best of times s is definitely something I should work on lol

Fed up again today as my fasting reading was 13.9 and pre late lunch was 13.7, of course its better than it was but it needs to be much much lower.

How long did it take others to start to see normal numbers after first diagnosis? Obviously with the caveat that everyone is different in different situations?

Theres no question of me sticking at it, I had to force myself to have something on the off chance metabolising some food (biggest loser bar) will help to keep things ticking over as they should.

On a side note I have noticed the bars contain less carbs than the shakes but about 5g more fat. My cholesterol im sure will be high (was 6 two years ago), as will my bp (couldn't take it, always have that issue) but I think I may introduce the odd bar here and there owing to the lower carbs (13.8g with sugars at 2.5g)

I think a pattern is forming that I may have dawn phenomenon, I may take a reading in the early hours if I am up to see what is happening.
 

catza

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You are doing brilliantly but don't be too impatient to achieve low BG levels too quickly, give yourself some breathing room, getting your levels down needs to be done relatively slowly as you you can be at risk of complications if you reduce your levels too quickly.

If it is any consolation I still get hit with the dawn phenomenon even though I have got my other readings down to almost normal levels. The level has reduced somewhat but it is still a fair bit higher than my late evening levels.

I think I have read that the fasting level can be the last to get sorted so don't be disheartened at this stage as I am sure your fasting level will come down as you get more control of your diet.

As I know, from repeated tests, that my breakfasts are all safe I don't test my fasting levels every day as it seems a waste of a strip when I don't need to do a +2 test. I just do a random fasting test every now and then to see what is happening.
 

hanadr

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dazzer
you mention high protein diet
The key to success with controlling T2 is a low carb/ high fat diet. the calorie count can be quite high and it still works!
Well done trying to get stuck in and get it right. I doubt you'll eliminate Diabetes, but you CAN CONTROL it.
Hana
 

dazzer1975

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Hi Hanadr,

I haven't read around a lot regarding fats in relation to diabetes, but am familiar with "good fats" as opposed the bad, but I am at a high risk of heart attack and other cardiovascular conditions owing to family history in addition to diabetes and my weight and my smoking history, which means it is a prerequisite for me to watch fat intake especially the acknowledged bad types.

I know this diet is a short term thing, but over all it is a part of my long term lifestyle changes.

Just to add i won't be shunning fat in its entirety, pretty much any changes i make to my diet regardless of what they are will be a vast improvement on what it was previously, but it does mean I won't be using cheese and dairy as a "filler"
 

dawnmc

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Good luck dazzer, a word of caution, take it slower, don't want you getting burn out before you take in all the information, think thats what I've done really.
 

dazzer1975

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Hi Dawn,

thanks for the words, yes I will keep an eye on how i am doing and what is happening and of course will back off if I feel I need to. It is a long term life style thing, but I can get a bit obsessive and all or nothing about things... if it isn't already apparent lol

catza said:
You are doing brilliantly but don't be too impatient to achieve low BG levels too quickly, give yourself some breathing room, getting your levels down needs to be done relatively slowly as you you can be at risk of complications if you reduce your levels too quickly.

If it is any consolation I still get hit with the dawn phenomenon even though I have got my other readings down to almost normal levels. The level has reduced somewhat but it is still a fair bit higher than my late evening levels.

I think I have read that the fasting level can be the last to get sorted so don't be disheartened at this stage as I am sure your fasting level will come down as you get more control of your diet.

As I know, from repeated tests, that my breakfasts are all safe I don't test my fasting levels every day as it seems a waste of a strip when I don't need to do a +2 test. I just do a random fasting test every now and then to see what is happening.

Hi Catza, sorry, I missed this post hiding at the end of page 1 lol

Yes the dawn phenomenon is bugging me but i really do have a lot of weight to lose so I suppose it would quite possibly take longer to show any great improvement in me than others with less fat viscerally and around their midriff, in addition to fasting readings taking longer to show improvements than toward the end of the day?

I have just had diarrhoea and am not sure if this is down to the diet or not but throwing it out there to maintain the log/thread/journal. I dont feel ill or weak and haven't eaten anything that could contribute towards food poisoning so presumably it is something to do with the diet or my generally poor insides, but i feel good in myself kind of thing. Had a headache yesterday but nothing today. Water consumption is down today though, i have had nearly 2 litres today which ordinarily would be around 3-4 a this time.

I have noticed since my bg hit circa 15 the crazy all consuming thirst I was experiencing has left me and am simply drinking now in response to both a dry mouth and wanting to keep my fluids up (remembering the advice I received when i was on the lipotrim diet). Seeing as my levels are still crazy high i am surprised my thirst has decreased, but it's not a moan just an observation.

I am currently doing no exercise, I am hoping as soon as I feel up to it physically and probably psychologically too I can make a start on that and see further improvements.
 

catza

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Glad to hear you still feel so positive. I too have a lot of weight to shift. 70lbs gone since the beginning of February and another 120 to go so it looks like we are both in for the long haul.