How long have you been battling T2 and blood sugars with a dedicated plan?
I don't
battle with diabetes & glucose but I've had and controlled T2 for just over six years now. However I do sometimes have battles with other issues which may impact on my diabetes e.g. pain or severe stress. For me diabetes is a real doddle compared to a lifetime of chronic migraines - happily also "fixed" by low carbing!
Where did you start at & where are you now? (A1C as % and avg tested blood as mg/DL, maybe even your morning fasting check)
Started with diagnostic HbA1Cs of 61-62 and after quickly coming down to 47, since then HbA1Cs have remained between 40-43 with a couple of blips to 45 when illness, pain or stress have had an impact. (Main diabetes.co.uk site has units converters)
I don't actually take particular note of waking/fasting levels, and I'm content to let my liver dump if it feels necessary. But I have seen little or no dawn phenomenon rise at all on occasion when I've used a Freestyle Libre sensor.
How long did it take you to accomplish this? Where have you seen the best improvements?
Reduced HbA1C down to just on pre-diabetic level (47) within 2 months and over the Christmas/New Year period
simply by cutting out stuff obviously high in sugars/starchy carbs, and before I actually was aware of the benefits of using a meter to monitor levels. Reduced to low end of pre-diabetic levels before next checkup.
Which of the following and how drastically did you change: diet, exercise, meds, stress, supplements, etc.
Main change was to reduce carbs right back down and up nomal fats slightly. However before high carbs crept up/were thrust upon me, my previous diet was similar to the way I eat now. I've never been a great breakfast eater since I was a child, so don't have any problems with skipping meals if i don't want to eat, and I've also done a few longer up to 24 hour fasts. But it's definitely the initial carbohydrate reduction which had the greatest effect, and everything since has been refinement and maintenance.
I was on metformin for four years, but don't feel aware of any obvious benefits from taking it. I've also reduced the number of non-diabetic meds I took having seen various non-diabetic improvements to my health since low carbing. However, I'm very aware that it's not only food than can affect glucose levels, and since I don't have necessarily control over some of these other issues, they sometimes cause me more problems with my actual glucose levels than whatever I tend to eat.
How would you describe your current diet? Keto, Paleo, Moderation (or variations thereof)
LCHF/ketogenic. I take the
high fat in LCHF to mean
normal full fat, in slighter qreater quantities than I previously consumed. I try to keep my diet as varied as possible within my carby limits which I aim to keep below 50g carbs a day, though I'm sometimes well below that, or very occasionally higher, but I don't normally count carbs now; just "eat to my meter". I'm fat adapted and go in & out of ketosis all the time depending what fuel(s) I've eaten/burned.
How best would you describe your current exercise? Like is it mostly running, mostly weight training, Yoga, some mix of various, what is it?
Exercise - what's that?? I've never done anything other than gently cycling & walking (generally with dogs) in my life. My exercise has always been mainly from normal activities - work, housework, gardening, shopping, using my brain, etc. But I do very little now apart from a little "brain work", due to my venerable age and resulting decrepitude.
ETA: I forgot - I lost about 20 kilos early on without actually trying, though this was what my GP had recommended. That weight has stayed off, though I'm still overweight, but I need to keep that extra layer of padding as insulation against the cold...
