You haven't failed
@tinker1 , you're doing the best that you can. Sometimes the system fails us though as we can't always get all the information about our the status of our body (internal fat, insulin production etc.) and/or the support that we need to make the most optimal choices. They pretty much only test glucose and cholesterol levels. Saves money which is important for the NHS, but they might save more money and improve public health with a better application of tests. It might be worth trying to reduce your internal fat by restricting your calories as well as going low carb. I didn't think I could've had much internal fat when I was diagnosed as I looked like a tank, but I followed the Newcastle protocol, went very low calorie and low carb for about 10 weeks. It made a huge difference.
First I just tried cutting out starches and sugars without restricting calories too much, but the effect on blood glucose levels wasn't huge, I saw an improvement but not enough. So I went on the Newcastle protocol and low carb. So that was very low calories for about 10 weeks and what I ate was low carb. That really made a difference. I needed to lose the internal fat I had built up in and around the internal organs, especially liver and pancreas. It took time, but it did work. It is definitely worth trying. There are resources on this site that you might find really helpful. Start with this link (it will lead you to other useful links too):
https://www.diabetes.co.uk/reversing-diabetes.html
The key points are:
- You have to lose some of that internal or belly fat. That means calorie restriction. You'll see results quicker if you go on a very low calorie diet for 2 to 3 months.
- Reduce the carbohydrate intake in your diet drastically - no sugar, no starches (bread, pasta, potatoes etc.). Emphasize whole foods with plenty of protein, don't avoid natural healthy fats (but don't load up on them either, at this stage you need calorie restriction), eat plenty of non starchy vegetables with lots of greens and other colours. Make sure you get enough protein, that is a must have, you must meet your daily protein requirements in your diet). You don't store protein, you will need to eat it everyday, especially if you go low calorie. The body wants you to keep eating until you've had enough protein, make up the rest of your calories from healthy fats and non starchy veggies. The fat that comes naturally with eggs, fish, chicken, red meat and full fat Greek yoghurt is good to eat, fats like olive oils, and from avocados and nuts are good too. I used my Fitbit dashboard to log what I ate every day (if you don't have a Fitbit use an app or website like myfitnesspal to log your food). It gave me an understanding of how many calories I ate and how many grams of Protein, Fat and Carbs I was getting in. It really focussed things for me. The "800" books by Michael Mosley based on the great work by Prof Taylor in Newcastle describe really well what you need to do and give good advice and tips.
- Move more, doesn't have to be crazily strenuous- walks, repeatedly sitting down and getting up from a wooden chair at the kitchen table, press ups (whatever is doable, hands on a wall, hands on a table, hands on the floor, whatever you can do). Again Mosley's books are helpful on this.
- Be patient, and don't be too hard on yourself, it takes time. Work with your doctor/nurse. I told my doctor I was going to try diet and lifestyle rather than the Metformin she was going to prescribe. I didn't get any contact regarding support for T2 from the NHS for months. By then I'd luckily sorted it out myself . But I kept track of my BGs with a monitor and I did find that after about 7 or 8 weeks there were really good changes. If your BGs are spiking a lot talk to your GP, they may prescribe meds to help. They can reduce or even stop your meds once the low carb diet starts to make you less insulin resistant and bring your BGs down.
Good luck, don't be disheartened. Take it one day at a time. There are forums on here with people who have found good health by going low carb or combining low carb with meds. Everyone is really helpful, everyone remembers how it felt when they were first diagnosed and the journey to get to good BG levels. I really recommend the Fast 800 book, it gives great background and good practical tips.