Type 2 Remission question

[Ryhia]

Just wondering if there are folk on the forum who are eating a different diet to low carb/keto and are staying in remission without the use of drugs?

 

[AndBreathe]

Just wondering if there are folk on the forum who are eating a different diet to low carb/keto and are staying in remission without the use of drugs?

I have been in remission for over 8 years now. My diet isn't keto, but it is reduced carb.

Personally, I don't think what I eat should be a guide for others, as we all have to learn what suits us best - in terms of our health and out enjoyment, and also taking into account any other conditions we might be living with.

 

[Ronancastled]

I eat moderate carb 150-200g per day.
A normal non-diabetic eats 300-350g per day, puts it in perspective.
Works for me.

 

[catinahat]

Just wondering if there are folk on the forum who are eating a different diet to low carb/keto and are staying in remission without the use of drugs?

If someone has normal blood sugar levels whilst eating a high carb diet and not taking any medication, that would mean they probably don't have diabetes.
But there are quite a few posters who are friends or partners of people with diabetes so I guess the answer to your question is yes

 

[LaoDan]

Just wondering if there are folk on the forum who are eating a different diet to low carb/keto and are staying in remission without the use of drugs?

Currently doing 50/25/25(percent) .. protein, carbs, fats. I play around with the carbs and fats, super strict on getting my protein since I’m into resistance training

 

[Deleted member 475901]

I slowly upped my carbs to around 120-130g a day after a while in remission.
But upping more during the first lockdowns did lead to a rise in my HbA1c tests - still below pre-diabetes but a clear pattern until I cut back again.

 

[NicoleC1971]

there are 3 known ways to get into remission namely bariatric surgery, low cal 800 for 12 weeks or low carb /keto (it is a spectrum ranging from 'prescription strength' keto to 130g carb daily).
It is reckoned that those who did the 800 kcal Newcastle diet then had to keep their calories lower than 2000 in order to maintain their remission/weight loss if they continue to eat a Eatwell Plate/Med diet volume of carbs.
As others have indicated the carb tolerance of each individual is going to vary based on your amount of muscle (correlates with sex and age generally) and activity level.
Some people also continue with metformin though this isn't then remission technically. on the basis that is a safe drug that does help with IR in the context of a low carb diet.
I am not even going to mention the stomach surgery option as that is an extreme option with serious downsides which may still fail!

 

[Ryhia]

I have been in remission for over 8 years now. My diet isn't keto, but it is reduced carb.

Personally, I don't think what I eat should be a guide for others, as we all have to learn what suits us best - in terms of our health and out enjoyment, and also taking into account any other conditions we might be living with.

Thank you for responding. I take your point about finding what suits us best. I am just interested to hear what has worked for others and how others have achieved remission also if there is anything that may give me options. My preference would be to continue eating the way I like i.e. low carb as this WOE suits me and keeps my bloods at reasonable levels however the hospital lipid consultant has advised me to change my diet to help reduce my high cholesterol levels unfortunately he did not tell me how I might achieve this. I am a little concerned if I lift my carbs too high that my body cannot take it and I revert to diabetic levels. I did try a simple fix and increased my carbs to around 95gms by adding extra bread, unfortunately I was seeing high post-prandial levels so it looks like my body may not be able to cope well with a higher carb intake. Maybe I just tried to increase this too quickly or did not include proper food I don't know but if I were able to increase my carbs, I think this may resolve my cholesterol issue as testing with my own cholesterol tester I saw my cholesterol levels plummet.

 

[LaoDan]

Thank you for responding. I take your point about finding what suits us best. I am just interested to hear what has worked for others and how others have achieved remission also if there is anything that may give me options. My preference would be to continue eating the way I like i.e. low carb as this WOE suits me and keeps my bloods at reasonable levels however the hospital lipid consultant has advised me to change my diet to help reduce my high cholesterol levels unfortunately he did not tell me how I might achieve this. I am a little concerned if I lift my carbs too high that my body cannot take it and I revert to diabetic levels. I did try a simple fix and increased my carbs to around 95gms by adding extra bread, unfortunately I was seeing high post-prandial levels so it looks like my body may not be able to cope well with a higher carb intake. Maybe I just tried to increase this too quickly or did not include proper food I don't know but if I were able to increase my carbs, I think this may resolve my cholesterol issue as testing with my own cholesterol tester I saw my cholesterol levels plummet.

One factor not mentioned is exercise. An hour of resistance training at the gym makes a huge difference on what I can eat.

 

[Ryhia]

I eat moderate carb 150-200g per day.
A normal non-diabetic eats 300-350g per day, puts it in perspective.
Works for me.

I am so jealous of you, if I could tolerate 150-200gms carbs a day pretty sure that would resolve my cholesterol problem but I am not even close I generally only eat between 30 and 50 gms a day and eating 50gms caused my HbA1c to rise a couple of points. I am not even sure what 150 gms of carbs even looks like as for years prior to diagnosis I was eating the recommended diet, i..e. the Eatwell plate or struggling to lose weight. I know now that the problems with weight was insulin resistance building up. I thought after 3 years in remission my insulin resistance would not have been so impactful but this does not appear to be the case. I am still struggling to get levels down after my short experiment. To be honest I also felt yuck eating so many carbs and only managed to keep to 95gms for a couple of days. As soon as I dropped the to around 60gms carbs my cholesterol started to rise. So higher carbs seem to resolve my issue but I think my body won't be able to cope.

 

[Ryhia]

One factor not mentioned is exercise. An hour of resistance training at the gym makes a huge difference on what I can eat.

I do try to walk but maybe do not do as much as I should, I do around 10,000 steps 2-3 times a week when I can but I am sure that this is not the level of exercise you are talking about. As regards real exercise, I have always avoided too strenuous activity partly because I think I am too old to exhibit myself in a gym. I have recently had my 69th birthday, but as I feel I am a young 69 and pretty flexible (but maybe not full of stamina but then I never have been) I should not let age deter me. You are never too old to give things a try.
I have been considering taking up swimming which I have not done for years. Might need to disguise myself so that no one recognises me but if it is beneficial what the heck! I need to do something as its not just my total cholesterol which is scary at 9.8 (last official test), it is also my ApoB levels which indicate a risk factor for heart disease. Exercise should be helpful its just getting into a proper routine. Thank you for the suggestion.

 

[Ryhia]

I slowly upped my carbs to around 120-130g a day after a while in remission.
But upping more during the first lockdowns did lead to a rise in my HbA1c tests - still below pre-diabetes but a clear pattern until I cut back again.

Thanks for responding. I find that even though I am extremely strict with myself, and I mean strict, my annual HbA1c is generally around the 40 mark so I haven't got a great deal of leeway to play around with food. How much did your HbA1c rise over the time you increased carbs if you don't mind me asking?

 

[LaoDan]

I do try to walk but maybe do not do as much as I should, I do around 10,000 steps 2-3 times a week when I can but I am sure that this is not the level of exercise you are talking about. As regards real exercise, I have always avoided too strenuous activity partly because I think I am too old to exhibit myself in a gym. I have recently had my 69th birthday, but as I feel I am a young 69 and pretty flexible (but maybe not full of stamina but then I never have been) I should not let age deter me. You are never too old to give things a try.
I have been considering taking up swimming which I have not done for years. Might need to disguise myself so that no one recognises me but if it is beneficial what the heck! I need to do something as its not just my total cholesterol which is scary at 9.8 (last official test), it is also my ApoB levels which indicate a risk factor for heart disease. Exercise should be helpful its just getting into a proper routine. Thank you for the suggestion.

swimming is fantastic exercise, highly recommended as it’s zero impact on the joints.

 

[ultradad]

Went all out on LCHF diet (20 grams of carbs or less most day) and ended up at 11.10 stone (lost over 5 stone) and looked like i was still going to keep loosing weight. Had to up my carbs to 50 grams daily and got my weight back to 12.10 stone and bloods seem ok so i am happy with that . I just go for a walk with the dogs now and again
Biggest problem right now is the cost of living, having to cut out things and finding cheaper cuts of meat mean my diet is limited to chops, burgers, roast chicken and a bit of steak when i see it cheap. Lucky i only eat twice a day and some cheap ass snacks spread through the day to make my carbs up

 

[Ronancastled]

I am so jealous of you, if I could tolerate 150-200gms carbs a day pretty sure that would resolve my cholesterol problem but I am not even close I generally only eat between 30 and 50 gms a day and eating 50gms caused my HbA1c to rise a couple of points.

This experience is so different for us all. I compare your sig to mine & we're nearly twins.
You were diagnosed 2019, so was I.
Your diagnostic A1c was 53, mine was 52.
You lost 30% of your body weight, so did I.
So why have we faired so differently, bloody thing is a mystery

 

[lovinglife]

And some of us no matter how much weight we lose or how low we keep our carbs never achieve remission whilst it’s a goal it’s not the be all and end all - I’m 13 years in started out on insulin for a short while along with Gliclizide and metformin, morbidity obese. To date dropped a LOT of weight reduced and then stopped all meds apart from metformin,
I am in remission? No
Am I successful? Yes

 

[Ryhia]

This experience is so different for us all. I compare your sig to mine & we're nearly twins.
You were diagnosed 2019, so was I.
Your diagnostic A1c was 53, mine was 52.
You lost 30% of your body weight, so did I.
So why have we faired so differently, bloody thing is a mystery

I think age and the amount of exercise has a lot to do with it plus my gene pool is very strongly diabetic. It always had the potential to get me no matter what, I've got four other siblings all with Type 2 so was my mum and her siblings.. All mum's sisters lived well into their 90s - so I hope those longevity genes carry on through to my generation. The potential risk of me developing diabetes was actually pointed out to me in my early 20s when I was invited to take part in a long term medical study. I wasn't overweight or anything it was just my family history and my waist to height ratio. I declined to take part.

 

[Outlier]

Sensible decision in my opinion.

I wonder just what it would take for people who state that we should measure this or weigh that, to realise that there are several different shapes to normal healthy humans, and it is quite usual for otherwise lean people to carry weight around the waist, just as others can have lean waists but carry weight across shoulders, upper back or thighs and bums.

 

[Ryhia]

I slowly upped my carbs to around 120-130g a day after a while in remission.
But upping more during the first lockdowns did lead to a rise in my HbA1c tests - still below pre-diabetes but a clear pattern until I cut back again.

Thank you for your comments re your bloods rising as you upped your carbs. I am pretty sure the same thing would happen to me. When I was trying to add more carbs, I was seeing blood rises in the 3s and 4s one post prandial reading had even gone from 5.4 to 11.8. Totally scary. The doc wants bloods from me in three months, he ain't going to get that until this episode is out of my system.

 

[AndBreathe]

Thank you for your comments re your bloods rising as you upped your carbs. I am pretty sure the same thing would happen to me. When I was trying to add more carbs, I was seeing blood rises in the 3s and 4s one post prandial reading had even gone from 5.4 to 11.8. Totally scary. The doc wants bloods from me in three months, he ain't going to get that until this episode is out of my system.

Ryhia, forgive me if I have missed it, but do you know what your lipids scores actually are? Do you have any medical history of cardiovascular disease? Is there cardiovasculr disease in your close blood family?

My total cholesterol is always high, but my breakdowns are excellent. At one stage, my GP wanted to refer me to the Lipid Clinic, but the total dropped again.

When I took part in cardiac research, I was dreading the conversation about my lipids, but they were supremely unconcerned - due to my breakdowns.

I'm not saying your doctors are wrong in anything, but just wondered where their specific concerns lie.