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Moderate diet success-next step?

SWUSA_

SWUSA_

Well-Known Member
Messages
921
Location
Southwestern USA
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Insulin
Dislikes
Parsnips, turnips, swedes-the vegetable not the people.
I am having success bringing down my HbA1c from 7.5 to 7.0 in the first three months of joining the forum. I am slowly losing weight. I am happy with these trends. My fasting blood glucose numbers are in the 5's, occasionally 4's, (and 6's when I have an extra treat.) I have been pretty obsessive counting carbs and calories. I am eating a moderate diet of 80-120 carbs per day average1450 calories per day with about 40 grams of fat per day. I slacked off during Christmas week and am still doing well.

It is crossroads time-where do I go from here?

Do I relax and enjoy the good but slow trends?

Do I go back to obsessive calorie and carb counting even though trends are continuing without them?

Do I be even stricter with diet and begin to lower medications as I get more low blood sugar readings?

Exercise will increase as the weather improves in the spring-do I need to buy a stationary bike to increase exercise opportunities in the winter with caregiving duties keeping me housebound? I am already paying for gym which I do not get much use from.

I know many will say go LCHF regardless of present success -so let me just say that is not happening due to many reasons I have outlined in past posts-I would like responses geared to my maintaining my present trends in lowering blood glucose and weight with moderate carb and calorie intake. Thank you and so many of you have already been so helpful-I am grateful
 
More exercise would be what I would do - I intend to get another pot of testing strips when the weather is better and see how my BG responds to more carbs and regular exercise. It was what worked for weightloss, and so far I seem to be finding that all my experience with losing weight is relevant to controlling blood glucose.
 
Do what can be incorporated into your lifestyle for everyday. If you can enjoy and handle extreme then kick the living daylights out of this diabetes; if you have the discipline to slowly slowly catch your monkey, then fine as well. Well done for getting a decrease and for having such a positive attitude.
 
Resurgam said:
More exercise would be what I would do - I intend to get another pot of testing strips when the weather is better and see how my BG responds to more carbs and regular exercise. It was what worked for weightloss, and so far I seem to be finding that all my experience with losing weight is relevant to controlling blood glucose.
Click to expand...
Thank you, that is very relevant.
 
SWUSA_ said:
It is crossroads time-where do I go from here?

Do I relax and enjoy the good but slow trends?

Do I go back to obsessive calorie and carb counting even though trends are continuing without them?

Do I be even stricter with diet and begin to lower medications as I get more low blood sugar readings?
Click to expand...

The results you are getting are because of a better lifestyle, diet and exercise. This change is really for life, revert to old ways and your BG and HbA1c will also revert to old numbers.

The numbers you quote look pretty good. As for the calorie and carb counting, so long as your diet doesn't change maybe relax the "bean counting". Just don't get complacent like I did, big mistake, I became complacent and probably suffering for it now.
 
DavidGrahamJones said:
The results you are getting are because of a better lifestyle, diet and exercise. This change is really for life, revert to old ways and your BG and HbA1c will also revert to old numbers.

The numbers you quote look pretty good. As for the calorie and carb counting, so long as your diet doesn't change maybe relax the "bean counting". Just don't get complacent like I did, big mistake, I became complacent and probably suffering for it now.
Click to expand...

A reserved agreement with that.
I tested while I targeted weight, BG, cholesterol etc.
I know how food, quantity, and type affect my body.
And how to offset it with exercise.
Short term changes don't really matter, it's when I have my weight start to creep up, then everything else starts to creep as well.
So I have certainly stopped counting, and testing is mainly a mirror, and getting on the scales, and simply eating less for a while again until my weight and shape are back where they should be.

But that was after I got back down to sub 6 hba1c's, so I would suggest to the op keep doing what you're doing for a bit longer.
Exercise was vital, and continuing exercise, so if you can't get to the gym, buy the exercise bike!
 
Very helpful comments thank you very much. I will continue carb and calorie counting because it is working. I will be a little more relaxed with it until I begin to notice any negative results. I am just BG testing once a day again unless I have new foods because I pretty much know what I can eat and what it does to my BG. My fingers were beginning to get sore with all the testing and I want them to be in tip top shape for gardening this Spring. I will continue to monitor weight weekly, probably on Tuesdays. I hope to continue to slowly lose. I am looking at exercise bikes but have not bought one yet. We are trying to make it to an exercise class twice a week that mom can participate in but we did not make it today. We took down the Christmas tree and packed up most holiday stuff today. It is very cold here today. I backed down the lantus (insulin) by 2 units yesterday and am still at 5.5 mmol or 100mg/dl FBG this morning. Also, I am still very scared of lows at night. The theory is that it will be easier to lose weight if I am using less insulin and my BG's are still good. I have to keep exercising at least a little daily to keep my BG down with less insulin. I want to eventually reduce the metformin down another pill a day also to 2 x 500 a day because I sometimes do get stomach upset with it. I want to continue with the metformin at least once a day for its protective benefits because I am at higher risk of liver, pancreatic, and colon cancer with hemochromatosis and metformin is reported to reduce the risk of developing those cancers. Thank you again for helping me make the decision about how to proceed from here.
 
7.7 or 139 mg/dl, fasting blood glucose this morning.
:) This was a test, only a test-I had a low carb (20) dinner late (8:30pm) with no insulin. Metformin and other usual medications were taken. It was over 200 mg/dl last year when I did the same test with the same meal ( 4 oz hamburger patty, half a bun, A-1 sauce, kale and cabbage shredded with oil and vinegar, water, 20 peanuts in the shell) in the first week of January 2016. This shows progress to me but is still to high to go without insulin. I took 38 units (down from 40) this morning with breakfast.
 
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