• Guest, the forum is undergoing some upgrades and so the usual themes will be unavailable for a few days. In the meantime, you can use the forum like normal. We'd love to know what you think about the forum! Take the 2025 Survey »

A Separate Thread For Type 2 - Diet Only

A

artdecomum

Active Member
I don't know if anyone else gets 'upset' when they read the comments from people who are type 2 and have reduced their BG's quickly and are in the low range daily. I read them and think mine are much higher and I am really trying hard, why aren't mine doing the same. Then somewhere at the end of the comment they confirm that they are taking drugs to lower their BG. I am in no way criticising them at all but my heart sinks when I compare my results and the length of time it is taking for me to reduce my BG. Is there already a thread for people who are trying to reduce their BG by diet alone? If not would anyone else be interested in having thread just for us who are trying diet alone so that we don't have to compare ourselves to those needing medication etc. I apologise if i have not expressed myself well, I do not mean to be critical of any one else or their way of dealing with diabetes, just telling it from my view point.
 
Please don't feel disheartened. We have to get our numbers down before we can give up the drugs. It does feel like a long hard slog at the beginning.

The support I found on here helped me through the hard times.
 
It isn't just a question of diet only or drugs, it is also where we started from, and how long we have been on this journey.
My numbers are low on diet only, but I have been doing this for over 4 years and never had horrendous levels even at the beginning.

There is no point in comparing ourselves to others unless we are all on the same playing field - and we aren't.
 
I too have felt that when seeing people post with what for me are really low numbers. For the first three months of this year and low carbing but on no meds, I hardly ever had a number below 7 to start off with, even though the majority of my rises were within the 2mmol range. And then there are people posting things like 'oh no, I'm at 7.6 - what happened?' and I was just confused. I was working really hard to be post prandial under 8.5, just like the guidelines said - and that often didn't happen.

I'm six months in, and added the dreaded 'exercise', which is actually just walking instead of being a complete sloth, and now have started to expect numbers below 6 prior to my evening meal. Which I'm thrilled about. But it's taken 6 months, and I was beginning to wonder if I should be asking my dr for meds. But that seems weird when I think about it, as my glucose trajectory has gone steeply downwards, just like all those low carb people said it would :)
 
Smallbrit said:
I too have felt that when seeing people post with what for me are really low numbers. For the first three months of this year and low carbing but on no meds, I hardly ever had a number below 7 to start off with, even though the majority of my rises were within the 2mmol range. And then there are people posting things like 'oh no, I'm at 7.6 - what happened?' and I was just confused. I was working really hard to be post prandial under 8.5, just like the guidelines said - and that often didn't happen.

I'm six months in, and added the dreaded 'exercise', which is actually just walking instead of being a complete sloth, and now have started to expect numbers below 6 prior to my evening meal. Which I'm thrilled about. But it's taken 6 months, and I was beginning to wonder if I should be asking my dr for meds. But that seems weird when I think about it, as my glucose trajectory has gone steeply downwards, just like all those low carb people said it would :)
Click to expand...

I love your post @Smallbrit
Absolutely LOVE it.
Because so many of us have been through these stages, and it is so easy to forget what each one of them was like.
Diabetes is a long game, not an instant fix. Quick weight loss, quick uber LC and unrealistic expectations can be a double edged sword for so many of us.

Me? I never had silly high numbers, but still, after YEARS of low carb, very low carb and keto I STILL avoid comparing my fasting blood glucose numbers with anyone else's because mine are STILL higher than all those lovely 'normal' figures that other people celebrate, and then stress if they vary by 0.1 or 0.2 over a few days. I wish!

It is just different people, different habits, different bodies, different durations of blood glucose dysregulation, and a 1000 other differences too.
 
It's one of the reasons I've never read and/or posted on the threads for fasting BG. Seems absolutely pointless to me to compare myself to anyone else. I find my fasting BG varies so much from day to day and also depends very much on how much food I ate the day before, etc. It's so variable, I don't find it to be a very reliable measure of how I'm doing. There's no reason to read the threads at all if you find they upset you.
 
Last edited:
I think the problem is failing to recognise that everybody is different. Does it matter if you see a post that examples a reading lower than yours or someone expressing concern about it? Once you know the massive variations between people you can simply ignore individual posts whilst still getting the vast amount of information from the rest. I just think if you have too many separate posts about essentially the same thing, a lot of useful info is missed. Also, as I think another poster alluded to, diet tends to go hand in hand with medication with the majority of posters talking about their diet leading to coming off medication. Try not to get upset about it all, nobody is criticising you for YOUR efforts.
 
Its all a bit trial and error..finding what works best for you...really we are all on our own dealing with it but obviously tips and advice from others on here can help. I think those guys on diet only control must have a tough time ...thosetaking medicines are gettin that extra help .. try making small changes at first, look at the posts about diet and meal ideas...in a few weeks youll notice a difference. ..good luck
 
It took me ages to accept that comparing numbers is a complete waste of time. And to be honest, I do not see the point of comparing my unique circumstances with someone else's unique circumstances. The important thing for me is that I continue to do better than I used to.

As to excercise, the next time someone tells me that the only way I could possibly reverse my Diabetes is to run around the block 27 times before breakfast and lift 4 stone of weights up and then put them down again repeatedly is going to get a poke in the eye with a dirty stick. We do what we can but we must do it comfortably.
 
artdecomum said:
I don't know if anyone else gets 'upset' when they read the comments from people who are type 2 and have reduced their BG's quickly and are in the low range daily. I read them and think mine are much higher and I am really trying hard, why aren't mine doing the same. Then somewhere at the end of the comment they confirm that they are taking drugs to lower their BG. I am in no way criticising them at all but my heart sinks when I compare my results and the length of time it is taking for me to reduce my BG. Is there already a thread for people who are trying to reduce their BG by diet alone? If not would anyone else be interested in having thread just for us who are trying diet alone so that we don't have to compare ourselves to those needing medication etc. I apologise if i have not expressed myself well, I do not mean to be critical of any one else or their way of dealing with diabetes, just telling it from my view point.
Click to expand...

I am diet only now , actually most Can get their numbers Down to normal levels if they go very low carbs and stay low every Day, it just takes a strict character which I don’t have all days , some only need to be under 150 grams of carbs in total others need to go under 50 grams and a few needs to be under 20 grams of carbs daily and this is without taking any medication at all
 
It is difficult the moment we start to compare ourselves with others. Keep doing the best you can and gradually you will find that the numbers come down. Some are diagnosed early, most are not, so some have further to go before they hit the 'magic' number. As long as the general trend is in the right direction it is OK. There are days when we all have a wobble, times when things stall. Set yourself a target that you want to reach - for me it was being able to wear a particular dress for an event. It meant not only losing weight but also toning up my arms. I did it and complete strangers were commenting on how good I looked. Now I need to sustain that look so salads and gentle exercise for the summer. Give yourself time and celebrate each little success.
 
Guzzler said:
It took me ages to accept that comparing numbers is a complete waste of time. And to be honest, I do not see the point of comparing my unique circumstances with someone else's unique circumstances. The important thing for me is that I continue to do better than I used to.
Click to expand...

If so why be on the forums at all if no one else's experiences are relevant to your own unique circumstances.

Is it maybe the support you get from others here in coping with your dieates even from those who pointlessly post their FBG figures.
 
Is it maybe the support you get from others here in coping with your dieates even from those who pointlessly post their FBG figures.[/QUOTE]

Because there are a couple of things that are not unique. We all need to eat and we all need to do the best we can to manage this condition. That is why I am here.
 
JohnEGreen said:
If so why be on the forums at all if no one else's experiences are relevant to your own unique circumstances.

Is it maybe the support you get from others here in coping with your dieates even from those who pointlessly post their FBG figures.
Click to expand...
It certainly is not pointless to those who chose to post them. I would think that is their way to keep on track. I don't post mine, but if I felt the need to it would be to ensure I maintained the discipline of testing regularly and managing what I was eating. Having a competitive nature, it could make me demoralised if I was not comparing favourably with others. For me competition in diabetes management is not how I would choose to go, because I don't need to be the best here, just the best ME I can be. I think the support and relevance of the experiences of others is what is most valuable. I learn from that and appreciate differing views to my own.
 
We all manage our condition in ways that suit us as individuals. I post my fbgs but I like data. I am about 7 months in and I am absolutely delighted with my numbers.

I have had loads of advice and encouragement from the people here whether they were on medication or diet only. It has been far more help to me than any advice from the NHS.

It took a while to get my head around things. It is not a competition and it's not a sprint.
 
Though I recognize a competitive element at times for me its a way of sharing and communicating how I'm doing and how I feel about it also getting a sense of how others are getting on and how they feel about their progress, sharing of information is never to my mind pointless that is what this forum is about in it's entirety otherwise it would indeed be pointless.
 
JohnEGreen said:
Though I recognize a competitive element at times for me its a way of sharing and communicating how I'm doing and how I feel about it also getting a sense of how others are getting on and how they feel about their progress,
Click to expand...
Same here. posting my bgl readings when I first started on this forum helped me get mine down from high readings down to where I am now.

I had some good encouragement from members to help me along the way, and it never bothers me that some members do not take medication and or fasts to get low bgls.
 
Back
Top