After the newcastle diet?

I don't think there are many people who have completed the diet.I finished on November 4th 2011 (engraved on my mind) having ended up at my ideal weight of 12 stones.I believe that to avoid subsequent weight gain it is imperative that you exercise daily during the diet,this stops muscle wastage.I did three pieces of exercise per day either running,walking or swimming and I have maintained this regime to this day.

I now weigh 12stone 3lbs having put on a bit of muscle due to an increase in the running bit of my exercise.One month post diet my Hb was 38 and three months after that it was 39.Fasting bloods have settled down to a steady 5.1-5.5,with an average of 5.2/5.3.I was recently told by a diabetic consultant that I was "in remission" and my doctor considers that I have normalised my insulin sensitivity.Obviously I am off medication and my next Hb is February/March next year.

Diet wise once I came off the diet I found that my appetite was reduced and this has not changed.For me the key seems to be eating very small portions of "good" food.I still try to eat in a diabetic way,ie low or medium GI foods and will not eat anything out of a box (I like cooking despite being a bloke).Snacks tend to be apples or mixed nuts and raisins,not crisps,sweets or cakes.It is difficult to be precise because foods which would spike a diabetic no longer have that effect on me because my insulin production and use is normal.

While on the diet I must have been in ketosis (fat burning mode) because the 800-900 calories per day I was consuming were insufficient to fuel my body given my exercise regime.One tip:every time I felt hungry between meals I would go for a run or a walk,this caused more fat to be burned off,raising blood sugars and stopping the hunger feelings.These days I get up early and by 7.00am I am running three miles for my paper on an empty stomach.Despite this I am no longer in ketosis implying that I am controlling my weight by balancing calories in with calories expended.I have apparently been described by one of my medical professionals as "a control freak with food issues" but choose to take this as a compliment because it seems to be working.

Take a look at Defrens post in weight loss,she kept a day to day diary.

I believe I had been diabetic for a number of years before diagnosis.I had cataract surgery, I think in 2004,and this can be a classic side effect of diabetes.I was placed in the pre-diabetic category a couple of years later,and then a full type 2 sometime in 2009.I did the Newcastle Diet in 2011 because I could not control my blood sugars on Metformin,diet and exercise.

Post diet my doctor reckons I will be back on Metformin within a few years.A consultant recently said that she had experience of this sort of diet going back five years and that the outcome depends on the individual patient maintaining their strict diet and exercise regime.Some patients are still in remission,others have slipped back into the diabetic condition.

youngmanfrank said:

A consultant recently said that she had experience of this sort of diet going back five years and that the outcome depends on the individual patient maintaining their strict diet and exercise regime

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This is the key to me. I think the diet is great for grabbing control of your diabetes and well done anyone who does it, but I think talks of "returning to the diabetic state" are a tad confusing as it implies you have otherwise left the "diabetic state" (become non-diabetic). If you need to "maintain strict diet and exercise" then you still are in the "diabetic state"; you are diabetic. I also feel that referring to it as "remission" is a little misleading. With cancer it means that it has temporarily become inactive or gone so also can suggest our diabetes has "gone". Our diabetic "remission" doesn't mean it's gone or is inactive, because it's still very active if we don't "maintain the strict diet and exercise" It's still there but managed. My HbA1c is also 39 currently, and fasting BGs are normal, on about 150 grams of carbs a day. But it's "managed" because if I went back to the GDA of 300 grams a day carbs I'd soon see the beast push my BGs up.
Nonetheless, following the ND to lose weight and visceral fat, reducing insulin resistance and enabling BG management to non-diabetic levels on a sensible diet (controlled carbs and low GI) is a great way to go in my view.

Sparklygal said:

Hi, just wondered what happens after the 8 weeks on Newcastle diet? Does anyone use Lipotrim's refeeding guide? I am no stranger to the VLCD but unfortunately was only successful with the very first attempt in 2006 when I shed 3.5st in about fourteen weeks on Lighterlife. Well, I wasn't truly successful because I didnt refeed properly, went back to old habits with a vengence and piled on 5st in the following 5 months! I have tried to get back onto it at least twice a year ever since without success and I am more obsessed with food now that I ever was. I consider myself a compulsive eater.

My hba1c was below 7 when I had it checked a month or two into the diet and I would dearly love to do ND for the eight weeks but I just cannot stick with it. I really admire anyone who can, especially those who failed a couple times and went on to be successful with it.

To anyone who has completed it: How did you reintroduce food and what kinds of foods do you eat now? Did you exercise daily during the diet and do you continue to do so now? I have read pages and pages but can't seem to find any info on people who completed it.

TIA.

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I didn't use any refeeding plan but I did read up on a couple. I spent some time as I got to the end of the diet, thinking about post diet. I kicked a few idea's around, then settled on the Paleo/Primal way of eating, and I have carried that on as it works for me. I haven't always had the best relationship with food, I would eat when bored, and in the evenings. I still struggle with that, but post ND I have tiny tum syndrome, so can't manage a lot all at once. I keep a strict and brutally honest food diary, and it makes me accountable to myself, and if you can't be honest with yourself, then who can you be honest with. I have days where I go over calorie, but it's all in the diary. It's an online version and some people from this forum can read it, so I can't hide any naughty moments. :lol:

The ND is tough, but I'm pleased I did it. Weeks 5-8 I added a small evening meal, so when I finished the diet really only had to add lunch (I can't eat breakfast). It made life a bit easier that way, and when I snack (and I do every day) it's low carb snacks quite often things I make myself, like muffins or bread etc. I have sugar free jelly and cream, or ham wrapped around Philly cheese, nuts, things like that.

My diet now is made up mainly of berries, veg, meat, poultry, dairy, and home baked low carb items. I drink water, coffee with cream, green tea, and I snack on the things I said above. My diet is made up of all fresh wholesome and nutritious food and I am still loosing weight. It's been really worth the effort for me, gaining a 4.9 HbA1c following the diet. My BG are still good and from being very carb intolerant I am better than I was. I will never manage control on 100g of carbs a day, but from <20g a day to now 50g a day it's better. I rarely eat 50g a day, preferring to stay low carb, but I know I can have extra safely if I want it.

While I follow grazers logic I personally think the whole issue is more complicated than feeling that once you are diabetic you are always diabetic.

Recently I volunteered to take part in a study of diabetic patients in the South West.Talking to the study nurse and reading the literature that they sent it appears that they are looking for genetic markers which pre-dispose individuals towards developing diabetes.

Obviously type 1 develops because of the underlying genes,but it appears that some type 2 diabetes runs in families,with several generations developing the condition.In other cases,such as my own,there is no real family history of diabetes and they believe that here it is a combination of genes plus non-inherited factors which causes type 2.They have already found that high doses of steroids can trigger type 2 in some patients who are being treated for another condition.

The effect of the Newcastle Diet is to restore insulin sensitivity,maybe back to levels found in non-diabetic people.Because of this the possibility exists that blood sugar control will be maintained indefinitely if you can avoid the non-inherited factors which triggered the condition in the first place.Because you don't know exactly what caused your diabetes then diet and exercise and general healthy living is a good place to start.

Some diabetics control their blood sugars incredibly well by using diet plans such as low carb and Atkins,however their results do not mean that their insulin sensitivity has been improved,as can be proved by returning to a high carb diet.The difference after the Newcastle Diet is that with insulin sensitivity restored you can eat high carb high calorie foods without exceeding NICE guidelines for blood sugars,although personally I choose not to on a regular basis because I believe for years I was consuming too many calories and this was probably the cause of my diabetes.

Right now I am on an eating regime which aims to balance calories in with calories burnt in order to maintain my weight loss.I can report that I have never felt fitter or healthier and have lost all the minor diabetic complications.

Did you see horizon last night ??

There has been a lot of research on fasting, which makes you loose weight, improves diabetes and makes you live longer by reducing human growth factor.

Now fasting doesn't mean starving yourself. Just restrict yourself to say 600 calories on a fasting day. You can do it every other day or just one a week for two days.

So have a low carb diet, and fast once per week. :crazy:

flyerphil said:

Did you see horizon last night ??

There has been a lot of research on fasting, which makes you loose weight, improves diabetes and makes you live longer by reducing human growth factor.

Now fasting doesn't mean starving yourself. Just restrict yourself to say 600 calories on a fasting day. You can do it every other day or just one a week for two days.

So have a low carb diet, and fast once per week.

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Yes, I saw it - very interesting. He also did a Horizon piece on exercise, which my doctor told me about, basically one of the things you can do is run on the spot for a minute, as fast as you can, (harder than you might think).

I did the Newcastle Diet, lost a lot of weight and now am trying to keep the weight off and my Blood Glucose low. I'm sorry to say I did cheat a bit so although I lost the weight I'm still diabetic but controlled by diet.I'm generally between 5.2 or 5.9 FBG, (5.7mm yesterday am and 10 7lb weight).

Today I tested after 1 nectarine, 4 small plums and beans on toast, and it was 8.7mm so not very happy. Last Friday I went to my first Zumba class and expected I would struggle, I used to go to the gym about 15 years ago and I thought I would find it hard,(I used to get very red in the face) IT WASN'T, probably because then I was heavier then than I am now, so I feel more motivated that way. Defren can you post a link to what you are eating, I need better "after care" than I am getting at the moment food wise.

I don't spend enough time researching diabetes, I had two cataract operations in early 2000's I DIDN'T KNOW THEY WERE OR COULD BE DIABETIC RELATED until 5 minutes ago and youngmanfrank's post. I was diagnosed as diabetic about 2009/10. I've also had breast cancer (2004) but at the time no one knew or if they did no-one told me that could be because of being overweight. I'm not worrying over something I can't now do anything about and I feel if we are overweight we should not be castigated, but, if I had my life to live again I would have done the ND in 2000. To anyone on the brink - go for it - at worst you lose the flab, at best you can extend your life by ten years (some statistician or other said that) and it is great to tell folk (the zumba teacher for one) - yes I am diabetic, but it is controlled by diet. (very hit and miss at some times)