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Am I an oddball?

G

Gary1205

Well-Known Member
Messages
117
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Diet only
Sorry if this seems a bit weird, but I am coming up six months into diagnosis, and things seem to be going well. My HbA1c was 98 in late Feb brought down to 47 in mid June with my metformin dose halved at that point and if I carry on with good progress come off completely next month when tested again.

I started off at 16 stone 3 and weigh myself each Monday morning, set myself a target of 13 stone which I reached last week after 24 weeks and lost another 2lbs during the last week so now 12stone 12. First time I have weighed 12 something since the 1990's. I have changed my diet, mainly cutting out snacks and a few minor tweaks and exercise a bit more than I did.

I know I will have to wait and see what my HbA1c is next month but going by my own testing should be fine, as can count on fingers of one hand how many times I have exceeded 8.5 since the last test. One of them down to three things stressing me out at the same time rather than food, one had a cold which seemed to raise my level and once went out for an Indian for first time since diagnosis and pretty sure I know which element caused me to reach 10.4 so know what to avoid in future.

I regularly seem to be 4s and 5s before meals including overnight. Generally 6s and 7s and rarely low 8s after. That is good you are all saying and it is. I do know through testing what spikes me but they don't seem to be the things a number seem to tell newbies to avoid. Accepted there is also advice to say to learn what causes you to spike and avoid but for example I eat weetabix and three days a week end up falling back by .5 on it and when I do go up never by more than 1. I am also fine on granary and wholemeal bread(7.2 2 hours after my lunch todayof two granary rolls). I still eat rice pasta and and potatoes, albeit lesser portions than pre diagnosis without any apparent ill effects on my BG. I am still getting the same pattern of results currently that I got before my last hbA1c of 47, so it seems to me although I feel I am doing things right for me given the apparent results, the way some seem to word their advice to newbies, you can't have this or that rather than finding out what affects you as some do is unnerving me somewhat.Appreciate that they are saying what affects them and they are right to do so, but as I say unnerving me as I do not seem to be affected in the same way at the moment. Only last week I had a meal which contained in theory 80g of carbs, 5.7 beforehand 6.3 two hours later. the way some people go on here I should be way over the 8.5 all the time and yet I am not.

Am I an oddball, or proof that we are all beggared up to different levels insulin wise with our type 2, (for want of a better expression), and need to find our own tolerances of carbs and what is right for one is not neccesarily right for another?
 
You're very lucky then Gary, as you say starchy carbs are no-go areas for most of us. We can all experiment with our meters and see what works and what doesn't.
 
You are very lucky Gary, and I'm envious. Well done. I hope you see another big improvement in your next HbA1c.

.
 
Thats great news Gary congratulations.

I have posted on here many times that IMO the best thing any overweight T2 can do to control their diabetes is to lose weight, Ive never said it was easy but you and I are the proof if proof is needed. Even slim T2's can benefit from a crash diet to lose the visceral fat that is causing their insulin resistance, lose the fat and lose the insulin resistance.

I'm 6 years down the line now and have maintained the 5 stone weight loss I achieved early on and now I eat a fairly normal diet although my "fairly normal diet" is a million miles from the diet that I used to eat when I was diagnosed as a T2 diabetic, so all the hard work I did in the first year or so has paid off for me now

I found that after a few years it became easier to maintain my weight loss as my body is now used to eating smaller meals with fewer carbs so I dont miss the snacks and the sorts of carb heavy meals I used to eat.
 
I take the view that eating carbs is like playing Russian roulette. To be diagnosed with diabetes in the first place, there's a carbohydrate-processing problem. So why risk that getting worse in the future, by playing around with carbs ?
 
@Gary1205 I can see where you are coming from. Ive seen people being badly berated for eating a piece of pizza. Oddly enough I find that I am fine with chocolate and if I eat some starchy carbs that would normally affect my BS, if I then eat some chocolate afterwards my BS will be back in the 5's after 2 hours so it definately goes to show how different we can all be and its not one size fits all.
 
One thing we know from reading this forum is that everyone is different.

Reading how different people manage their diabetes in such differing ways is empowering.

Taking control is the important thing, once you have it your life becomes so much better.
 
Thanks for those responses, feel better now, no longer feel an oddball and clearly doing what is currently working for me although will keep a vigilant eye to see if what I am doing stops working and will adapt if neccessary. Just so glad I followed the advice of finding out what affects me rather than following the "you cannot have x, y or z" which clearly impacts on those concerned and appreciate is well intentioned advice but was making me feel I was some sort of freak to be blunt the way some word it, but clearly judging by these responses T2 does all affect us differently and we need to find the appropriate way to manage it for ourselves. Clearly my way is not going to be right for someone else as their way would not be for me, but it does seem under control to me at the moment and I am feeling much better than I did a few months ago.
This may make you chuckle (or not), I know my work colleague is highly amused, basically whenever I have acheived a target weight wise, I treat myself to a small bar of Dairy Milk and eat one chunk a day and find that extremely satisfying and a real treat, just one single chunk, which as I say my colleague is highly amused that I can restrict myself to one chunk and even find it satisfying as she would devour a large bar in 10 minutes she reckons. Always make sure as well I go a few weeks between this treat as I do not think it would feel like a treat if I had a chunk every day, day in day out. Working for me at any rate. My own daughter is amazed at the way I have been disciplined in my diet and also the way i am not tempted to take more than that one chunk a day when I have treated myself.
Thanks again for the replies
 
I hope you're not odd. My story is the same as yours.

Actually I am odd. You probably are too!

I also suspect how early one was diagnosed plays a massive factor in how well we can reverse diabetes.
 
Gary your post meal numbers do almost look too good to be true. Perhaps you might consider taking your readings at 90 or 150/180 minutes after a carbohydrate meal for a trial period. There could be earlier spikes and similarly later spikes. The 2 hour rule is not set in stone and valid for everybody. Some people digest much faster or much slower than the average person. It also depends on what was else was consumed along with the carbs.

Congratulations on your progress. And as everybody said, you are no oddball - just do what is required for you and keep doing it. Ignore the 'diabetes police', everybody is different and you are the person who knows your own body best.
 
Hi there,

Congratulations on your weight loss and hba1c achievements, is great that you have found a way through this all that suits you and may that continue.

It is important to acknowledge personal differences, and understand that there is no easy way around this, as a general rule of thumb we all respond well to weight loss and carb reduction in terms of BGs, but there are differences from individual to individual, we are not oddballs, we are unique in our personal conditions and circumstances.

A lot of people can't have certain foods without seeing spikes that don't come down for hours, I don't agree with people saying don't eat that or the other, but I agree with commenting that certain things do spike and do affect people and that if you can get them quickly out of the way (not necessarily permanently) improvements can be achieved faster.

I can too, tolerate starchy carbs and other treats without affecting my BGs (I don't spike into double figures). Having said that my aim is to have a non diabetic level rather than a good control diabetic level, and when people ask questions, I give my opinion and share my experience based on that objective, anything below a hba1c of 41 is good for me but ideally I want to see 30's.

However, everyone should be left free to find out what works for them and to have a lifestyle that is sustainable in the long term and therefore the best way to achieve that, in my opinion, is to test, test, test and make sure to know what works for one's own body and what doesn't, and find out at what levels one feels comfortable at, if good diabetic control is what you are aiming for, that's great, if you are aiming for non diabetic level control that's great too.

You take metformin and so do I, and for some of us that helps dramatically, and I personally don't want to come off from it ever (as it helps me in other ways), not all newbies take metformin, not all newbies have the same amount of weight to lose, and not everyone comes from stuffing themselves with carbs or are overweight, not all are sedentary, not all have a horrible diets before diagnosis. Solutions need to be personalised.

There are so many variables that it really is, in my opinion, down to the individual to find the right path.

I can eat carbs, I don't affect my BGs but I gain weight, which tells me that that is not the right path for me.

To see a 6, 7 or 8 after two hours would be alarming for me (I normally go back to 5's and 4's). I prefer to keep constant non diabetic levels at all times.

We are all different, sharing our different experiences is what helps people find their own path.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Celeriac said:
I take the view that eating carbs is like playing Russian roulette. To be diagnosed with diabetes in the first place, there's a carbohydrate-processing problem. So why risk that getting worse in the future, by playing around with carbs ?
Click to expand...


Actually T2 diabetes is an insulin resistance problem and the best way to tackle it is by reducing that insulin resistance. By increasing the fat in your diet all you do is make your insulin resistance worse, fact.

But if you dont want to read about the success of members who achieve great success by controlling their diabetes by another method other than lchf why start telling him he is playing Russian roulette? Are you saying that your way is the only way?

Sorry about the rant Gary and once again congratulations.
 
mikej1973 said:
I hope you're not odd. My story is the same as yours.

Actually I am odd. You probably are too!

I also suspect how early one was diagnosed plays a massive factor in how well we can reverse diabetes.
Click to expand...


Congratulations more proof that there IS more than one way to control diabetes
Welcome to the NON high fat club.
 
Well done, Gary

A nice reminder that 'one size doesn't fit all'. We're all different and we all need to see what helps us as individuals.
 

I agree with you about T2 being an insulin resistance problem, and to tackle the insulin resistance is the best way to deal with it. And I really wish it was tackled long before people is diagnosed with diabetes... life would be easier for many of us.

But: Who talk about increasing fat? Who said my way is the only way? why there is contentiousness in this reply?

I can't see any of the messages suggesting that. I personally don't endorse high fat.

There is a general assumption that low carb means high fat, which I totally disagree with.

My diet is only a high fat diet in relation to a low calorie diet that includes carbs, in terms of calories is probably really low, and at points due to lack of hunger it's been less than 1000 calories a day.

Neither I think a one size fits all is the best approach... I am up for anything that helps weight loss and improves general health condition. I believe if a person is not comfortable with the idea of normal calories or high calories in fat that they should follow what they feel suits them the best.

If that is achieved while restricting calories, carbs or fats, that is fine in my opinion, as it is in the opinion of Prof. Taylor which we all seem to respect.

We all to an extent though, have to manage our level of carbs without exception (and most people admit good control by eating low GI and moderate to low carbs).

I agree, the more carbs you consume the less fat you should ingest. The more fat you ingest the less carbs you should eat. It is a matter of balance not black or white.

The more carbs we consume, the higher the risks we expose ourselves to, there is no exception to this in the forum, and to be oblivious of that doesn't seem healthy to me. So they are a Russian roulette in a sense.

That doesn't mean that the achievements are less valuable, or positive, any progression towards the level of health ones aspires to is important and positive, because it is better than none.

Keep doing what you are doing Gary and thanks for sharing, because it is working for you , if you feel better and your overall health is improving and you are happy there, that's all that matters.
 
Well done Gary! Not far to go before you are out of the pre-diabetic range and back into the normal range for HbA1c. Keep it up!
 

Yes I agree with this. However the best way for someone with insulin resistance to lose weight is to cut the carbs so there isn't so much insulin in the system for the body to be resistant to.

Sid Bonkers said:
Actually T2 diabetes is an insulin resistance problem and the best way to tackle it is by reducing that insulin resistance. By increasing the fat in your diet all you do is make your insulin resistance worse, fact.
Click to expand...

Fact: adding fat to the diet instead of carbs can hep you lose weight I have done it and fully intend to do it again.

http://www.diabetes.co.uk/forum/threads/my-5-day-dairy-fat-fast.81433/

OK this example is extreme and shouldn't be undertaken for more than five days but it does show that fat doesn't make me fat. Carbs do.
 


The best way for you with insulin resistance was to cut carbs. That's great. For me fasting 2 days a week has hugely decreased my insulin resistance. After a fasting day I could eat a pack of Tate & Lyle and have great BS readings! If I don't fast for 3 days my BS is higher (but normal) after a carby meal. I believe weight loss is the single most important thing in cutting insulin resistance. How that is achieved is down to the individual. If BS spike because of carbs then cut down the carbs. If you can eat carbs and keep your BS normal then you have many more choices in losing weight.

Trick is to monitor. That's the only advice anyone should give. LCHF, LCLF, HCLF, KFC if it works then tell your story, it doesn't mean it's right for everyone
 
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