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A Separate Thread For Type 2 - Diet Only

I also used to post my FBG levels when I first started, and if I am honest it was the first page I looked at when I opened up the forum. It was my way of getting to know the other folk on the forum. Then there was a whole load of controversy on that thread, and it became unpleasant. So I stopped. This was 4 years ago. I never saw much point in going back to it, for me personally.
 
I dont think I will post my next HBa1c on here. I will just update my profile. I am diet only and I dont think having an HBa1c of 37 last week tells the whole story. I test on rising and with/after my three meals and I get 6s or 7s until well into the afternoon and 5s up to supper time. I never get a 4 and that is with very low carb eating 2 very small meals and a normal sized supper. We all have our own frustrations and like others have said it differs hugely. But I dont have any problem that a few months in many people are getting 4s, I just wish I was too. I am now committed to this way of eating and appreciate all the advice and support but that doest make it EASY!
 

Sharing is absolutely fine. Comparing could lead to disappointment.
 
Hello art deco mum. It’s such a roller coaster having to deal with a condition that needs so much attention. I would love to just eat what I want and not have to think about it so much. I purposely didn’t tell a colleague who had it because I knew she would prescribe things based on her own experience and I felt that wouldn’t be particularly helpful to me. But When folks post there numbers on here I’m seeing it as a positive thing that’s there’s stuff out there that works and that one day I’ll gave the numbers I want hopefully with diet and exercise but if not then I’ll take the medicine.
 
I would love to drop all meds but my body thinks differently- I have reduced them enormously from max dose 4 tabs a day to 2 half tabs a day (gliclizide) - believe me the job is no easier on meds I in no way eat whatever I like - they're not a magic wand.

I still have to count EVERY carb and calories too now, I am on 70g carb a day and 1200 calories- I have to count calories to control my weight.

We are all at different stages of our journey and how we manage our diabetes to be the best it can be is a very individual thing - try not to compare yourself with others - that way lays madness - your only competition is yourself
 
@artdecomum I am using diet only to try and get BG under control. I started with the blood sugar diet (8 weeks), and given I cut out potatoes, bread, pasta, and rice, it was pretty much low carb without me specifically understanding it to be. I dropped 16 KG in weight and "normalised" blood sugar. Job done...............or so I thought. :-o

The next phase was maintenance and I played about with the 5:2 diet, again eliminating starchy carbs. Looking back I was eating less than 50g of carbs a day. I maintained my blood sugar levels but noticed that my fasting levels were appearing elevated in comparison to post prandial readings. My weight remained consistent.

In the last six weeks I have experimented with low carb healthy fat alongside intermittent fasting. I still seem to have an occasional issue with fasting BG levels. (I also had my first experiment with bread for one meal - a burger - spiked my BG to 12 within two hours :-o so am now well aware that diabetes has not "gone away")

I'm going to stick to low carb (20-30g per day) and try to lose another 8KG and test before and after meals, experimenting occasionally to see the impact of certain carbs.

I have no desire to be on medication - partly because I forget to take them!!!!!

What really interests me is the impact of stress, whether that be jet lag, lack of sleep in general or work related stress on BG levels. We tend to, rightly, focus on food but the non food impact is important too.

It is all confusing and frustrating though. Last night I exercised (cross trainer for 50 mins) and within 30 minutes of completing my BG was 6.8. I had smoked trout, olives, cheese, raspberries and cream immediately after and two hours later my BG was 5.5. My fasting reading this morning is 6.5. I know this morning is the liver dump, and I am not posting these readings to demonstrate how good or bad they are, just to demonstrate how difficult diabetes is to understand. I wish the medical profession could actually diagnose the real issue causing elevated BG. :-(
 
When I posted my thoughts about a seperate forum for diet only type 2's it was not meant as a criticism of those who take medication. I am not competetive either I am pleased that others have managed to get their BG's down to a healthy level. When I read a post that says ' I did such and such and then I am now in a healthy range' I think what am i doing wrong, why isn't it working for me. As a newly diagnosed person I read most of the posts to try and pick up information, hints and to see if i can apply it to my life. I have stuck to less than 800 calories and on most days less than 10 gms of carbs and certainly no more than 30 on odd occassions. I have lost 3 stones since April 1st this year and yet my bg's are still erratic and in the 7's and 8's. At the moment I have to weed through the posts to see who is doing it the same way I am and i just simply thought that if there was an option to just read posts from diet only that would make life easier for those who follow that option. Some of the replies seemed a little hostile to me and so i think it is best if I don't put forward any more radical ideas.
 
I think I know where you're coming from. It is such a steep learning curve when you start out. My BG started to drop when I started the highest dosage of Metformin, but it also coinsided with finally getting to grips with LCHF.

It does take a few months for numbers to get better, especially if you started high.

Don't worry about the fasting BG, that will sort itself out in time.

It sounds to me like you are doing well. Your most important tool is your meter and food diary. We are all so different, if only we were all the same it would make life so much easier.
 
Hi @artdecomum it is really hard to work out what to do for the best isnt it. What works for one person might not work for another, I found it very tough in the early days trying to get my BG levels lower by diet alone.


If I could go back in time and talk to myself (well actually I do talk to myself but you know what I mean) I'd say
  • don't be too hard on myself - I AM doing the best I can and what I think is right with the information I have NOW (this advice also works with raising kids!)
  • test each food and build up a "library" of foods that don't typically spike - this takes time so as I'm not a time traveller just go with the fact it takes time!
  • keep hydrated helps with BG levels (might be due to body feeling under stress)
  • reduce stress as much as you can (i went as far as changing my job - but it was super stressful! now have a life!)
  • accept that even with super strict eating - only foods that don't normally spike me, other factors are out of my control - menstrual cycle, cough & colds, heat

Please dont get disheartened by others results - do the best you can - just for you There are lots of lovely friendly supportive people on these forum. Many of us want to enthusiastically share what worked for us but we are all human, all genetically different - you are unique
 
Yes, I have gotten frustrated with discovering belatedly that the magnificent results of a poster were aided by drugs (all good! just not if you find out after perusing their treatment details for too long only to find out it is not helpful to oneself as a non-medicator). Not so much in this forum though, but more in the US based one, Diabetes Daily. There, it seems, at least online, medicating is by far the norm, to such an extent I always direct folks IRL who want to know the in's and out's of diabetes medications to the US based forum as an online community.

This is not to say this forum couldn't take 'diet only' as a sub-forum. It is perhaps a good idea.

If one is an English speaker not based in either UK or the US, maybe we get better at filtering out posts that don't apply? ie everything about the NHS and 'NICE' here, and medical insurance details in the US. (I won't even get into the blasted measurement and weights differences! lol.) So not such a problem to filter out the medications experiences.

Just a plug from my pov - without medications it is in fact more easy/obvious/possible to study the pathology of diabetes, if you like, in terms of us comparing and contrasting our experiences and outcomes. That's how I see it with myself, comparing and contrasting my own treatment methods. And reading other's experiences with diet only. So having such in one place on the forum would be convenient for sure!
 
Don't get disheartened, sometimes you can be the loan voice or be surprised at responses; I was in a thread last week or so, where it was about 8 to 1 against what I had written. In your position I would setup the thread - it is not offensive, and after all that is what you do on forums. If people like / want to use it, they will vote with their keyboard.
 
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That's not a radical idea or if it is it's one I've had too. Thanks for writing it up and posting.
 
@artdecomum have you read the Diabetes Code by Jason Fung or Dr Michael Mosley's 8 week sugar diet?

I found them very helpful in getting to grips with the way it all works. I had to skip the bits I didn't understand and go back to read them again.
 
I agree with Mbaker, set up a thread and see how it goes. My only concern was the comparing of readings. I would not be able to join in as I take Metformin but I wish you well.
 
I completely understand your desire for a diet only thread. When initially diagnosed 3 yrs ago I used to read this site daily and found it very supportive. But also confusing for the same reasons you give, I'd be following someone's posts thinking their experience related to mine only to find they were taking meds so not comparable. Because of this I seldom look at the forum threads, I occasionally look in after seeing something of interest in the email update but they are mainly not relevant to me. I tend to stick to dietdoctor.com and Jason Fung sites.
My boyfriend (really ?!at 63 lol but don't know what else to call him) is T2 and takes meds so I know first hand how this affects attitude and life style, we come at our diabetes from very different directions .
 
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