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After the Newcastle Diet.... Update

Pipp said:
That is great, @Chook. I only mentioned it because my own post ND experiments with high carb foods a few years ago led to me craving more. Despite thinking I no longer had a taste for them, I started to have cravings for them, and a short experiment of a few days led me to several weeks trying to detox.

Certainly not taking anything from your achievement. You seem to have your follow on plan sorted. In fact I am almost inspired to have another go at ND.
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I would imagine that would be an easy thing to do - and am guarding against it - especially as my husband (bless him) has always done low carb with me and is just so pleased that I might be having some extra carbs because that means he can have them, too. (I have no idea why he wants to low carb because he doesn't have diabetes of any sort and is slender.)

I was always a carboholic - all the healthy ones.... brown everything and especially lots of fruit - you will see that I haven't experimented with fruit yet as I'm know that would end badly.

I quite enjoyed ND once I'd gotten over the first week but it was getting a bit 'old' by week 10.
 
Chook said:
I would imagine that would be an easy thing to do - and am guarding against it - especially as my husband (bless him) has always done low carb with me and is just so pleased that I might be having some extra carbs because that means he can have them, too. (I have no idea why he wants to low carb because he doesn't have diabetes of any sort and is slender.)

I was always a carboholic - all the healthy ones.... brown everything and especially lots of fruit - you will see that I haven't experimented with fruit yet as I'm know that would end badly.

I quite enjoyed ND once I'd gotten over the first week but it was getting a bit 'old' by week 10.
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Chook-this is great news, congrats on your success. I too am following ND and am currently on week 6. I have lost 30 pounds and have gone off 3 diabetes medications, Jardiance, Januvia and Glucobay. I had gone off Metformin but ended up re-introducing it as I am trying to keep my bg below 7. My fasting glucose in the am is sneaking up again even after eating/drinking the same thing every day-no cheating. This is very frustrating! I have also read Dr. Jason Fung's books and plan on following the intermittent fasting regime at the end of the 8 weeks. I may go 10 weeks on this ND as well, good to hear you had good results.
 
Hi @Chook - Very well done on your perseverance and results. I'm so pleased it has been worth it for you.

Did you have an MRI or DEXA before you started? A DEXA would be cheaper, for sure. There are a places around the country (https://www.stedavies.com/dexa-scan-uk/) doing a commercial offering, but being the contrarian I am, I decided I wouldn't go down that route (unless I get lucky at the local Diabetes Centre, where they have one for measuring/monitoring their research subjects). I won't hold me breath. I decided that the costs could start racking up if I wanted repeat scans; particularly if thing started in the wrong direction!

In the end, I opted for what I consider to be a decent set of body composition scales, including a VF function. I then decided I wanted hand grasps, as they allegedly improve the accuracy of the scans, due to more measuring points (hands + feet, rather than via feet only), and bought some Omron BF511s.

I'm so happy with them that I have a set here and a set at our home from home.

The don't measure your VF as a percentage of anything, but give a score from 1-30 (or it might be 60. Can't exactly recall). Using them to do a weekly scan, I can check my stability as often as I like.

Their range for healthy is 1-10, and so on. When I started using them I was on 3, which dropped to 3, and have stayed there.

For me, bearing in mind I'm pretty skinny, I pay more attention to my VF score on a weekly basis than my weight which is generally very stable.

It's completely up to you which route, if any you go, but I did feel a sense of progress when it ticked down.

Again, a big well done from me.
 
DCUKMod said:
Hi @Chook - Very well done on your perseverance and results. I'm so pleased it has been worth it for you.

Did you have an MRI or DEXA before you started? A DEXA would be cheaper, for sure. There are a places around the country (https://www.stedavies.com/dexa-scan-uk/) doing a commercial offering, but being the contrarian I am, I decided I wouldn't go down that route (unless I get lucky at the local Diabetes Centre, where they have one for measuring/monitoring their research subjects). I won't hold me breath. I decided that the costs could start racking up if I wanted repeat scans; particularly if thing started in the wrong direction!

In the end, I opted for what I consider to be a decent set of body composition scales, including a VF function. I then decided I wanted hand grasps, as they allegedly improve the accuracy of the scans, due to more measuring points (hands + feet, rather than via feet only), and bought some Omron BF511s.

I'm so happy with them that I have a set here and a set at our home from home.

The don't measure your VF as a percentage of anything, but give a score from 1-30 (or it might be 60. Can't exactly recall). Using them to do a weekly scan, I can check my stability as often as I like.

Their range for healthy is 1-10, and so on. When I started using them I was on 3, which dropped to 3, and have stayed there.

For me, bearing in mind I'm pretty skinny, I pay more attention to my VF score on a weekly basis than my weight which is generally very stable.

It's completely up to you which route, if any you go, but I did feel a sense of progress when it ticked down.

Again, a big well done from me.
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Thank you :)

The scales that measure VF are top of my wish list letter to Santa!

When I finished ND I couldn't think how (apart from waist measurement) I could find out if it had worked without spending a lot of money on scans, etc, then I realised that the easiest way was to find out if I can eat more carbs - which is why I did the tests. Not very scientific, I'm afraid, but a good indication that something has changed.
 
Chook said:
Thank you :)

The scales that measure VF are top of my wish list letter to Santa!

When I finished ND I couldn't think how (apart from waist measurement) I could find out if it had worked without spending a lot of money on scans, etc, then I realised that the easiest way was to find out if I can eat more carbs - which is why I did the tests. Not very scientific, I'm afraid, but a good indication that something has changed.
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Chook, would an OGTT not be a better option that eating all those carbs you don't really want to eat? Just a suggestion, but it only one big shot of glucose and all over and done with - and as you have started your carby bit, you wouldn't need to carb up any more beforehand.
 
Bluetit1802 said:
Chook, would an OGTT not be a better option that eating all those carbs you don't really want to eat? Just a suggestion, but it only one big shot of glucose and all over and done with - and as you have started your carby bit, you wouldn't need to carb up any more beforehand.
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Not nearly so much fun though. ;)

I hated the OGTT. Such an empty hit of carbs and not even pleasant tasting, for me anyway.

I'll get m'coat.
 
Chook said:
Thank you :)

The scales that measure VF are top of my wish list letter to Santa!

When I finished ND I couldn't think how (apart from waist measurement) I could find out if it had worked without spending a lot of money on scans, etc, then I realised that the easiest way was to find out if I can eat more carbs - which is why I did the tests. Not very scientific, I'm afraid, but a good indication that something has changed.
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I didn't discover the Tanita range when I researched mine, but even in my high status of gadget geekery, I don't believe I'd have justified the extra cash, just for the bluetooth functionality - particularly now my weight seems to circle -/+ about 1.5kg on my daily step-on/step-off routine, but my averages are very close indeed.

I'm sure there are other options available too, including from Lidl for c£20, but of course they're not always on sale, and they have, thus far, had the hand grasps, which were important to me, but may not be to you.
 
Chook said:
Can you do it with Lucozade or OJ?
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It is difficult to calculate how much Lucozade to take, and since they reduced the amount of glucose in it, you have to drink a lot. You can buy a ready made drink called Rapilose, which is cheap enough. It has a long shelf life. Its in a sealed container and you just pour it into a glass and drink. Really easy, not fizzy, and not a bad taste. http://penlanhealthcare.com/products-rapilose-ogtt-solution It is what many doctors are using now.
 
Rapilose appears to be what my Docs use these days. I noticed one on the side when I was there a few weeks ago.
 
I've just been reading about the OGTT. I wouldn't be having it done at my GPs surgery - so would only be using normal finger prick BG tests to monitor it. Would you do more than just the 'before starting' and 'two hours after' tests or more frequently?
 
Chook said:
I've just been reading about the OGTT. I wouldn't be having it done at my GPs surgery - so would only be using normal finger prick BG tests to monitor it. Would you do more than just the 'before starting' and 'two hours after' tests or more frequently?
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I made myself a chart on Excel.

I tested my fasting BG immediately before drinking the liquid. I then tested every 15 minutes after finishing the drink for 3 hours, recording the level on the chart in the appropriate Excel column, then drew a graph after I'd finished. I don't think just the one test at 2 hours is sufficient, you will already have passed your peak by then, and you need to know at what stage you are back to where you started, so in my case it was 2 hours 45 minutes. I would have continued after that had I not reached base. I had to use my fingers in strict rotation. Remember, this is not to diagnose diabetes, it is to examine your insulin response times, which is why the 2 hour test isn't relevant.

The OGTT is different from a meal because it contains pure glucose and absolutely nothing else - no protein, no fat. It is quick release with nothing to hinder it or delay a spike.

You should really have 150g carbs a day for the 3 days prior. I didn't do this personally. I wish I had. Next time I will. You also have to sit quietly during the whole test with no food or drink, of course. I found the sitting quietly very easy .. I just came on the forum for the duration!
 
Thank you for the advice. I will have a crack at it in a couple of weeks time when I'm next not on restricted calories (I'm doing two weeks on low calorie / two weeks off) . It will give me a chance to 'carb up' prior to taking the test. :)
 
@Chook - I did mine at home, testing every 15 minutes. It would actually have been good to have been wearing a Libre because the 15 minute testing (my choice) was a pest.

I didn't carb up beforehand, and I accept that that's off standard protocol, but since I have low-carbed for around 4 years (with differing levels of carb consumption), I felt it would be creating a false state (for me) by carbing up. I had also recently been tested for Coeliac (and a bunch of other stuff) and when I commented on the pre-test gluten consumption requirements, my Endo stated that it was up to me, be he saw no need to create a false state, not reflecting my usual way of living, but added the caveat that it made a negative test more likely. I didn't gluten up.

My take on it was that I wanted to understand my tolerance, or intolerance of a hit of glucose within my day-to-day usual way of living. If I were intending to increase my carb intake, I might have chosen differently.

For me, the important thing is that if I chose to do another test, I would mirror the first time conditions (no carbing up, Lucozade in the same "dose" etc) as first time, to understand any significant variances.

I'm not suggesting that's the way you, or anyone else tackle it, just explaining my own rationale.
 
Bluetit1802 said:
Good luck! (and make sure you have enough strips!!!)
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Thank you - and I'm one of the lucky ones - 200 strips per 28 days on prescription (because I used to inject insulin and because my doctor doesn't believe that LC 'works' he's assuming that one day I will go back on the insulin and therefore classes me (after over two years of being without) as still being insulin dependant - but non compliant. Hmmmm

DCUKMod said:
@Chook - I did mine at home, testing every 15 minutes. It would actually have been good to have been wearing a Libre because the 15 minute testing (my choice) was a pest.

I didn't carb up beforehand, and I accept that that's off standard protocol, but since I have low-carbed for around 4 years (with differing levels of carb consumption), I felt it would be creating a false state (for me) by carbing up. I had also recently been tested for Coeliac (and a bunch of other stuff) and when I commented on the pre-test gluten consumption requirements, my Endo stated that it was up to me, be he saw no need to create a false state, not reflecting my usual way of living, but added the caveat that it made a negative test more likely. I didn't gluten up.

My take on it was that I wanted to understand my tolerance, or intolerance of a hit of glucose within my day-to-day usual way of living. If I were intending to increase my carb intake, I might have chosen differently.

For me, the important thing is that if I chose to do another test, I would mirror the first time conditions (no carbing up, Lucozade in the same "dose" etc) as first time, to understand any significant variances.

I'm not suggesting that's the way you, or anyone else tackle it, just explaining my own rationale.
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Thats actually very much how I feel. I don't want to reintroduce carbs in to my diet on a full time basis as I enjoy LC and feel healthier for it generally but I'm just curious as to how my body would react if I were to have the occasional carb extra - like Yorkshire Puddings with a roast beef dinner. (Actually, stupid as it sounds, that would be quite a luxury as we are having roast beef for Christmas Dinner.)
 
Chook said:
Thats actually very much how I feel. I don't want to reintroduce carbs in to my diet on a full time basis as I enjoy LC and feel healthier for it generally but I'm just curious as to how my body would react if I were to have the occasional carb extra - like Yorkshire Puddings with a roast beef dinner. (Actually, stupid as it sounds, that would be quite a luxury as we are having roast beef for Christmas Dinner.)
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I expect this would give you no issues provided you combines some fasting with the feasting. When we go out for meals, I often walk home (while my wife drives) so I can have more carbs.
 
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