A diary: my variation of the newcastle diet 2013

[nubs13]

Hi,

New year kind of new start. Attempting this diet for the third time after an overindulgent xmas and a sobering visit to the diebetic clinic. I was asked to start a cocktail of medication including metformin, ramipril as well as the victoza I currently use to prolong my life as apparently I'm at risk of dying before I get to cash in my pension in a few years time! Ideally I'd like to be medication free but need to completely overhaul my lifestyle to remotely achieve this. After 5 years of living mostly in denial I've finally decided to make 2013 the year to get to grips with diabetes and do something positive about it. The longest I have lasted on the newcastle has been 19 days and I lost well over a stone so sure I can do it and complete the 8 weeks this time.

Current weight = 20 stones
Last cholesterol reading = 6.4
Last HbA1c = 6.6
Last blood pressure reading = 153/100
Current medication = victoza - but will come off it for the duration of the programme.
My goal - full year weight loss of 8 stones
End of Newcastle weightloss target - to weigh 18 stones or less
Exercise goal - at least one hour a day.

Thanks to all those forum members who documented the highs and lows - very inspiring.

I start tomorrow - wish me luck!

 

[Yorksman]

Well I do wish you luck. Did you manage to find who supplies Optifast in the UK or are you using an alternative?

 

[SportyRich88]

Dear nubs13,

Good on you taking on the newcastle diet! I hope it goes well for you. However, have you talked to your doctor about stoping your victoza treatment!? That's not something you should ever entertain doing yourself! Your treatment is for your diabetes, and helps with your lifestyle changes...it's not an optional ditch when you go on a diet! I'd really urge you to speak with your doctor beforehand

Kind regards

 

[nubs13]

Thanks for your kind words Yorksman - no luck finding optifast so I've substituted it with Slimfast instead. Aware sugars high but hope exercise will counteract the potential rise in blood sugar levels.

Thanks for your wise words Sporty (hope ok to shorten your name). Agree decision to stop medication should not be taken lightly and ordinarily should be agreed with one's medical team. My diabetic nurse had wanted to take me off it as didnt feel it was working for me as I wasnt losing weight. She had previously indicated that she was inclined to take me of it as it was costing the NHS loads and I wasnt losing weight even though my blood sugar had reduced to near non diabetic levels. I was able to win that particular battle and got a fresh prescription but on reflection have found that it hasnt been so good for me because I am eating more 'bad' things in the belief that the drug will regulate my blood sugar. Another problem is that I seem to have more chest pain whenever I'm on medication - it may just be in my head but I found myself getting really worked up and scared that I was going to have a heart attack or a stroke and decided that they just werent worth the risk.

The other problem with taking drugs is that with this strict eating regime and the exercise the blood sugar drops to really low levels which can be a worry if on medication. If I'm not taking the medication then I dont have to worry about that low sugars and can just get on with the diet. I've got an appointment to see my doctor on Wednesday so will see what she advises.

Day 1 of 56

Harder than expected - felt hungry and really cold - had to resort to putting my coat on during the day at work- some folk must have thought I was barking! Thankfully no headache or any other symptoms. Feel good and positive in myself that I will be able to complete the diet this time (only achieved 19 days the first time and 3 the second) and hopefully achieve my weight goals

Fasting blood sugar @ 7.15 am was 5.3 mmol/L - as currently not on medication will only take a daily early morning reading
Breakfast - ready made slimfast choc shake (currently 5 for £5 in Morrisons) and 12 mins on the wii
Lunch - veg feast of tomatoes, broccoli and carrots topped off with a small spoon of hot pepper sauce
Evening exercise session - walked 3.5 kms on the treadmill in the gym which took about 46 mins
Supper - bottle of choc flavoured slimfast

Almost time for bed - roll on day 2....

 

[Yorksman]

I don't know if you have seen this, but it contains some recipes for soups. It was the diet sheet for the Newcastle team's study:

http://www.ncl.ac.uk/magres/assets/docu ... ecipes.pdf

 

[nubs13]

Thanks for the soup ideas Yorksman - a couple of them look quite interesting - might give it a go one of these weekends.

Day 2 of 56

Woke with a horrible headache but it eased when I went back to sleep for an extra hour (I'd decided to wake an hour earlier to get some exercise in but quickly had to change that plan and rack up some much needed shut eye).

Breakfast - choc shake
Lunch - spinach, broccoli, carrots and a couple of tomatoes with a dash of pepper sauce
Supper - choc shake
Liquid intake -really stuggling here - lucky if I can drink more than one litre a day (excluding shakes). I dont drink tea, coffee or chocolate so generally drink water and non-calorific fizzy drinks.

Fbg - 5.9 @ 7.50 am - not sure why higher than yesterday but could be due to headache and slight cough.

Exercise - 14 mins on the wii and 47 mins on the treadmill where I clocked up 3.75 km in 47 minutes and sweated loads - it wasnt quite as painful as yesterday but I'm still feeling quite tired once I've finished my workout. Hopefully that will improve as the weight starts to fall off.

Happy to get through another day without being tempted...

 

[Yorksman]

Fbg - 5.9 @ 7.50 am - not sure why higher than yesterday but could be due to headache and slight cough.

Your bg doesn't necessarily keep going down the fewer carbs you eat, your liver keeps supplying your body with extra by converting your fat stores. If you don't eat, your liver will get some energy for you. It gives you more than you need, it's up to your pancreas to mop up any excess.

Besides, you can get a difference of 0.5 between fingers. The difference between my index and middle fingers is around 0.3. and nothing has fallen off yet.