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After One Year

T

TwoRivers

Well-Known Member
Messages
49
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Diet only
Dislikes
Obesity.
This week sees the ending of my first year on a low carb diet. The past six months have been a challenge with my body sometimes struggling to fatten itself up again and me desperately resisting, and a long slow plateau in which my weight sometimes went up a bit, and where I did well if I averaged a loss of one kilo a month. I often thought of writing here for advice as the loneliness of the long distance dieter after six months does not seem to be well covered. Anyhow I kept recording weight and food intake daily and keeping carbs below 40g, sometimes below 20g and calories around 1200-1400 a day. And apart from one pub Yorkshire pudding (on a day when I lost a kilo!) I have shunned carbs, grains, alcohol and the like. I can say at least that I seem to have lost the taste for them.
So after a visit to my GP today I can reveal that my weight is about 31-32 kilos lower than this time last year, on their scales, and my HbA1c is 34. A year ago I was taking Metformin twice daily and at least 72 units of insulin. But for the last six months, no medication at all for diabetes.
Oh, and despite advancing years I am walking between five and seven miles most days. Hope that doesn't sound too smug, but a year ago, my ultra- obese former self could never have imagined any of this. The low carb diet was just a try out of a last resort after years of trying to get thin. (I was originally diagnosed as diabetic around 2000.) But let me confess, I think I still have another 20 kilos to lose. No reason to be very smug as yet--though I have reverted from a spherical to a 'normal' shape.
 
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Fantastic achievement @TwoRivers, I think you have every right to be a little smug.
Well done.
 
@TwoRivers well done on your amazing progress to date you must be so pleased. A year is a long time to stay so committed - a congratulatory pat on the back and a hug are well earnt. I was lucky and lost my excess quite quickly thankfully - it’s easier to maintain rather than needing to lose.
More importantly very well done on your hbaca1 and your impressive levels of walking. I love walking it’s my favourite exercise but wish had more free time to do it long walks are very therapeutic.
Congratulations again you’ve found a formula that works for you
 
You are allowed to be a tad smug, you have done an amazing job! Well done You.
 
I think you can afford to be very smug! Well done you! That is an amazing weight loss and well done with your HbA1c. When you have a lot of weight to lose (and you certainly did, a year ago) you have to be patient after the first phase! It will slowly continue to melt away, I lose about 3kg a year now (I am at 27kg lost, maybe 7kg to go) but my target is towards the top end of normal BMI, which I think is the ‘healthiest’ place to be. I’ll never be skinny, I don’t want to be skinny, but I am now shapely, infinitely more toned, and infinitely more full of energy. And sometimes when I get a bit fed up at the fluctuating couple of kilos that seem to come and go in a pretty random fashion, because I keep all my ‘statistics’ on spreadsheets I can see the continuous downward trend! It doesn’t look spectacular, 3kg a year, but whenever I see somebody I haven’t seen for 6 months, they always react as if I’ve lost a stone, funny really!

So, just keep doing what you’re doing, this is a marathon not a sprint and it is to do with your health, not random figures, and you are doing just great, in fact brilliant!
 
@TwoRivers well done on your achievement and your post. I agree that at six months it can be a lonely place for lots of reasons. I admire your strength to achieve what you have and hope I can persevere. Its all about the long term, a new way of life. Enjoy your walks hopefully in scenic places. Best wishes.
 
Many thanks for this. The euphoria in me is quite recent. A few weeks back I was contemplating writing an appeal for help here as no matter how hard I dieted and walked, my weight seemed more likely to go up than down. Then suddenly 5 more kilos slipped away just when I least expected it.
What I have lost is far below those who shed 50+ or 100+ kilos. (There do seem to be some such dieters and it would be good to have much more detail on their experiences. The conventional wisdom about plateaus and how to overcome them seems a bit like whistling in the dark. Also, though I did not believe the idea that a few extra calories can trigger weight loss, I have to admit that my own experience at times did point a bit in that direction.) So your details of long term weight loss are very useful, thanks.
 
Well done on your reductions, I too have just completed my one year from diagnosis and LCHF journey, dropping 15kg and keeping my A1c in normal range, lets keep up the great work....
 
ringi said:
How much surport did your GP give you?
Click to expand...
He's delighted. I kept him informed of what I was doing once I was under way and he has not opposed it. I did take care to show him I knew what I was doing, over proteins, vegetables etc. We don't really mention the dreaded words 'low carb' though, slightly steer off that aspect. I also see a consultant twice a year and he has supported me, popped in and praised my diet to the dietician nurse who had sent me a pamphlet telling me to eat 130g of carbohydrate each day. He says that "it [my diet] is right for you." I wish things could unfreeze to the point where they think it is right for most people especially Type Two diabetics. But it seems attitudes have changed and I guess that readers of this webpage by showing clear results are speeding up this process.
 
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Thank you for sharing your journey with us, and you never have to be lonely on here - I have never experienced such support and camaraderie as on here the last few weeks.

You have done an amazing job to get this far and I am sure you will get to your goal too. I think the weight loss journey is often about keeping going, no matter what the scales say, and I have found before that sometimes the way to get over a plateau is to eat more and pay attention to what you need to do every day without worrying about whether it works this week or not. If you keep going and make sure that you are moving forwards in a positive way to improve your health, everything else will fall into place.

I lost 5 stone around four years ago, unfortunately putting it all on again and a little more. The rules of the game have changed now with my diagnosis of diabetes a few weeks ago, and I will succeed in getting to my goal over the next year or so. I have the strongest motivation of my life - to get healthy and enjoy my family and friends for longer.

The support given by other members on here is phenomenal and I can say that I feel I am truly among friends here, navigating a new path with lots of help and advice.

Keep going, you can do - it and don't face any issues or doubts alone - I am sure you will find many a helping hand to keep you motivated and positive on here.
 
Fantastic results and a superb attitude. Well done indeed for taking such great control.
 
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