Blood test results 6 months on..

[faceandedge]

So, just to re-cap I had some blood tests 6 months ago primary for my Cholesterol, as generally they are on the high side.
The results were the following :
Serum cholesterol 6.3 mol/L
HDL 3.0 mol/L
LDL 3.0 mol/L
Triglyceride 0.6 mol/L
More alarming however I was diagnosed pre- diabetic with an HbA1c 42 mmol/mol.
As I mentioned in my earlier post, I was rather shocked as I had a very healthy diet, didn't drink/smoke, keen cyclist/fitness.

So, after tweaking my diet, and reducing my carbs six months on my blood test results are marginally better the results are the following:
Serum cholesterol 5.7 mol/L
HDL 3.0 mol/L
LDL 2.4 mol/L
Triglyceride 0.6 mol/L
HbA1c 40 mmol/mol
Obviously I'm delighted they have gone in the right direction, I'm out of the pre-diabetic range, however a 2 point drop on HbA1c is pretty marginal considering a strict 6 month regime.
Am I expecting too much?!

My apologies for the rather long post

 

[Spl@]

Depends on your body and your diet.

What are you eating. Be specific.

 

[faceandedge]

Depends on your body and your diet.

What are you eating. Be specific.

Breakfast - Porridge (course ground) with water

Lunch - Mackerel with following vegetables Spinach, Broccoli, cauliflower, asparagus, celery, tomatoes, pepper, tofu, chia seeds, olive oil, cider vinegar ( fills a medium lunch box) plus a handful of Almonds.

Evening meal - Either Salmon/ Chicken/ Omelette with salad.

Repeat 7 days! No Alcohol, No bread .

 

[Phoenix55]

By 'tweaking' you get a small result, it has had the desired effect. If you want a bigger change then larger changes need to be made, it all depends on how much you want to have a bigger result which you will need to maintain . To maintain your current result you need to keep to your current way of eating, so bear that in mind if you want a bigger result. You have achieved a successful transition from summer to winter foods, with healthy fats to provide satiety you should be able to keep to this as the cold strengthens, then the tricky bit of moving back to summer foods. Don't expect too much of yourself all at once, it is better to take a long term view and make progress gradually than a quick try at an extreme and not be able to sustain it for life. Are you testing 2 hours after eating? I know I have had to give up porridge as my winter breakfast. But the spreadsheet that I use to record my bg results is easily adapted to also monitor my exercise, weight, body measurements etc. depending on where I need to focus.

 

[faceandedge]

By 'tweaking' you get a small result, it has had the desired effect. If you want a bigger change then larger changes need to be made, it all depends on how much you want to have a bigger result which you will need to maintain . To maintain your current result you need to keep to your current way of eating, so bear that in mind if you want a bigger result. You have achieved a successful transition from summer to winter foods, with healthy fats to provide satiety you should be able to keep to this as the cold strengthens, then the tricky bit of moving back to summer foods. Don't expect too much of yourself all at once, it is better to take a long term view and make progress gradually than a quick try at an extreme and not be able to sustain it for life. Are you testing 2 hours after eating? I know I have had to give up porridge as my winter breakfast. But the spreadsheet that I use to record my bg results is easily adapted to also monitor my exercise, weight, body measurements etc. depending on where I need to focus.

I should be able to maintain this diet summer and winter. Obviously I would like to see my HbA1c drop below where they are now, however without dropping my porridge for breakfast I'm struggling to see what else I can do to make the bigger change you mention.

 

[Bluetit1802]

I should be able to maintain this diet summer and winter. Obviously I would like to see my HbA1c drop below where they are now, however without dropping my porridge for breakfast I'm struggling to see what else I can do to make the bigger change you mention.

Well done on the reduction in HbA1c and the cholesterol/lipids. (the lipids are excellent)

Are you eating large portions? There are hidden carbs in just about everything, even lettuce. Do you count your carbs? You may not be eating many of the major ones (other than the porridge) but just check the content in the other foods you eat. There could be some surprises.

 

[Daibell]

My reaction is that your diet is very good and the results are generally good. Cholesterol is dependent upon genetics so there may not be much you can do other than take statins and there are pros and cons on that. I would keep doing what you are doing and perhaps accept where you are and possibly consider a small statin dose if needed? BTW porridge is not the best for BS and you might try eggs and possibly bacon but I think you're OK anyway

 

[Spl@]

OK. Porridge is a monster villain there. I don't go near it now.

You don't mention drinks.

What do you snack on?

How do you vary your food. I ear differently on different days. Beef or pork etc.

Lastly for me you are short on fat. Good stuff like pork or beef fat. The fish is good but it's all protein which without some healthy fat to balance things (when cutting carbs) can be converted to sugar by the liver.

 

[Rachox]

I should be able to maintain this diet summer and winter. Obviously I would like to see my HbA1c drop below where they are now, however without dropping my porridge for breakfast I'm struggling to see what else I can do to make the bigger change you mention.

Is there a reason why you can’t drop the porridge? It looks like that’s the only high carb food on your menu. Every day I eat this low carb coconut ‘porridge’ with strawberries and cream for breakfast:
https://www.dietdoctor.com/recipes/keto-coconut-porridge

 

[faceandedge]

My reaction is that your diet is very good and the results are generally good. Cholesterol is dependent upon genetics so there may not be much you can do other than take statins and there are pros and cons on that. I would keep doing what you are doing and perhaps accept where you are and possibly consider a small statin dose if needed? BTW porridge is not the best for BS and you might try eggs and possibly bacon but I think you're OK anyway

High Cholesterol runs in the family, I would prefer not to take statins, I appreciate that porridge is not good for BS but its good for Cholesterol, balancing the two evils I guess!

 

[Bluetit1802]

High Cholesterol runs in the family, I would prefer not to take statins, I appreciate that porridge is not good for BS but its good for Cholesterol, balancing the two evils I guess!

There is nothing wrong with your cholesterol. Your HDL and triglycerides are perfect, and they are all that matter. Your total is only what it is because your HDL is top of the range, and that is good. Worry not about porridge or statins. You really do not need them. In my opinion. I am not a doctor.

 

[faceandedge]

Is there a reason why you can’t drop the porridge? It looks like that’s the only high carb food on your menu. Every day I eat this low carb coconut ‘porridge’ with strawberries and cream for breakfast:
https://www.dietdoctor.com/recipes/keto-coconut-porridge

Maybe I will have to drop it, I have stuck with it because of the Cholesterol benefits .

 

[faceandedge]

OK. Porridge is a monster villain there. I don't go near it now.

You don't mention drinks.

What do you snack on?

How do you vary your food. I ear differently on different days. Beef or pork etc.

Lastly for me you are short on fat. Good stuff like pork or beef fat. The fish is good but it's all protein which without some healthy fat to balance things (when cutting carbs) can be converted to sugar by the liver.

I drink tea, with a dash of milk, no snacks apart from Almonds I really could be a Monk!

 

[faceandedge]

There is nothing wrong with your cholesterol. Your HDL and triglycerides are perfect, and they are all that matter. Your total is only what it is because your HDL is top of the range, and that is good. Worry not about porridge or statins. You really do not need them. In my opinion. I am not a doctor.

I'm pleased with my cholesterol levels, no intention of taking statins, its my HbA1c levels I would like to minimise further.

 

[Bluetit1802]

I'm pleased with my cholesterol levels, no intention of taking statins, its my HbA1c levels I would like to minimise further.

And so you should be pleased with your cholesterol results. No need to worry about dropping the porridge then.

 

[Fruitella]

Just a thought but if you are keen to stick with the porridge, could you have it later in the day and have something like eggs for breakfast? Many people get a spike from porridge and often also have a raised BG on waking so it can give you a double whammy.

 

[bulkbiker]

I'm pleased with my cholesterol levels, no intention of taking statins, its my HbA1c levels I would like to minimise further.

Do you measure your blood sugar levels through the day? I wonder what kind of readings you are seeing?
That may make you want to drop the pesky porridge and replace it with something both more filling and lower carb?

 

[faceandedge]

Do you measure your blood sugar levels through the day? I wonder what kind of readings you are seeing?
That may make you want to drop the pesky porridge and replace it with something both more filling and lower carb?

Yes I do, but generally upon waking and returning home from work in the evening prior to eating.
As an average at breakfast 5.8-6.1 In the evening average 5.6- 5.8
Out of interest today's was 5.8 had my standard course rolled porridge with water and a cup of tea, two hours later after a short dog walk it was 5.6 I took 3 samples just for clarity all 5.6.
So it appears no massive spike?
Why a HbA1c on the higher range scale then?!

 

[KK123]

So, just to re-cap I had some blood tests 6 months ago primary for my Cholesterol, as generally they are on the high side.
The results were the following :
Serum cholesterol 6.3 mol/L
HDL 3.0 mol/L
LDL 3.0 mol/L
Triglyceride 0.6 mol/L
More alarming however I was diagnosed pre- diabetic with an HbA1c 42 mmol/mol.
As I mentioned in my earlier post, I was rather shocked as I had a very healthy diet, didn't drink/smoke, keen cyclist/fitness.

So, after tweaking my diet, and reducing my carbs six months on my blood test results are marginally better the results are the following:
Serum cholesterol 5.7 mol/L
HDL 3.0 mol/L
LDL 2.4 mol/L
Triglyceride 0.6 mol/L
HbA1c 40 mmol/mol
Obviously I'm delighted they have gone in the right direction, I'm out of the pre-diabetic range, however a 2 point drop on HbA1c is pretty marginal considering a strict 6 month regime.
Am I expecting too much?!

My apologies for the rather long post

Hi there, I was diagnosed as 'pre diabetic' 4 years ago with numbers pretty similar to yours. I too, followed a 'lifestyle' that sounds very much like yours and was told to eat 'fewer processed foods', not that I ate that much of them anyway but the Nurse said she couldn't think of anything else to advise. Roll on 3 years and I ended up being diagnosed as type 1 (which I suspect I was all along). I now use insulin (very small amounts since diagnosis 18 months ago) and follow a diet almost identical to yours. My A1c is at 43 (was 42 the time before that). I keep my after meal readings in the 4s/5s by eating low carb (usually no insulin). However, the only way I can keep the fasting (between meal readings) in the 4s/5s is by using long acting insulin. In the first few months following many hypo's, I stopped insulin for 3 months under the advice of the Dr and my A1c rose to 44. Now I know that's ok but my point is that your glucose possibly sounds as if it simply refuses or is unable to go any lower without medication . You may achieve an A1c in the 30s like many do if you truly are type 2 nd the wonderful people on here are proof of that but if you are not type 2 then it's more complicated. I wonder though, given your lifestyle and (apart from the porridge) your low carb diet and continued exercise etc, whether you are even a type 2. I was written off 4 years ago as a pending type 2 but it was most likely LADA. I don't wish to worry you and I stress this is MY story but I do know they do not test 'pre diabetics' for anything, they go on the A1c result only. Without knowing for sure you may be striving for something that is impossible. After that 3 month 'experiment' they did the proper tests and said yep, definitely t 1 and the only reason I had managed without insulin was probably because of the honeymoon period. Back on the insulin I went. x

 

[smw99]

Maybe I will have to drop it, I have stuck with it because of the Cholesterol benefits .

You could try testing before eating porridge and then at an hour and 2 hours after to see the impact it has. I gave up museli with fruit and yoghurt and changed to eggs, mushroom and spinach. I am now at HbA1C 35 and no meds. Or try intermittent fasting I dont eat after 2pm, a few days a week. You are doing well though!