After being diagnosed with Type 2 a few months ago, I decided to go low carb, which people here gave great advice on. However, reducing my weight and HBA1C has become my priority. I've become a little obsessed with it all. I've lost over two stone so far, quite effortlessly, but I still have a way to go. Whenever my next test is, I want it to show a much lower HBA1C, mainly for me, but to also show the GP or nurse that low carb works.
I lost quite a bit of weight several years ago, but it just piled back on when I just started eating all the carbohydrates again. With what I've learned recently, I know that the weight will stay off, give or take a few pounds here and there. But before my diagnosis I'd just resigned myself to being fat forever more, with no hope of losing any meaningful weight, because I thought it would be too difficult, and I'd be hungry all the time.
I now know that that isn't true, but I seem to spend an inordinate amount of time thinking about my weight and HBA1C result. What will it be, and why can't I lose weight faster? I know when someone is older it's not that easy compared to when that person was younger. I just need a bit more Vitamin P (Patience) I guess.
Sorry for the rant/moan, and thanks for reading.
Let's start with weight loss. Only 6 weeks in (tomorrow), but completely understand where you're coming from. Even after losing 3st odd so far in 12-13 weeks, just under 2st of which has been while low carbing for the last 6 weeks ish, I'm still 10st away from my ideal weight. I intend to lose it all, but like you I've had moments where I obsess about losing more. At one point, in an effort to do this, I nailed everything down even harder. The result - I lost nothing that week and I suspect I put my body into starvation mode. I reverted everything back to where it was and lost 1.5lb that week, then 3lb the next. Been steadily losing 1.5-3lb a week since. So yes, it's tempting to think you should/could lose more, but odds are you won't if you're being successful already, plus any attempt to do so will reduce your weight loss and stress your body. That said, just wanted to highlight that you're not alone on this point!
Like you, I'm also somewhat obsessed with my next HBA1C. I'm also under a lot of pressure from the GP surgery nurse to go on max dosage Metformin, with the only basis for that being that my first HBA1C 6 weeks ago was 83. I've declined every time, but that adds more pressure to prove my decision. It's a battle of wills and due to her dismissive "once a fatty, always a fatty" style approach, it's one I'm determined to win. That HBA result was a point in time as far as I'm concerned, it's all in the past. That version of me was already irrelevant, with major changes made shortly before the blood test, so the 83 result was based on my pre-low carb diet self, who didn't exercise, and was weighing 2st more than now. My BG reading on the morning my HBA test bloods were taken was 15.4. My reading this morning was 6.2. I'm consistently in the range I need to be, have been for 4 weeks now (from 1 week after the HBA blood test). This is all because I ignored the nurse's advice to "not make any immediate changes" and instead changed everything about my life. The data currently shows I was right and she was incompetent, but the proof is in the next HBA result.
My BG readings give me confidence that all my lifestyle changes are having the desired effect, so I'm not bothered about the cost or overhead of testing at the moment - that may change, admittedly. An HBA result that was based on the version of me pre-low carb and pre-exercise just isn't relevant in my mind, the nurse can talk about it all she wants and I'll continue not caring, but that doesn't stop me being slightly obsessive around what my next one will be in early November hopefully.
So yeah, I completely get where you're coming from, I share many of your obsessions around self-improvement. I'm slowly learning to see the bigger picture progress and successes, not just the odd "bad" reading, or minor weaknesses. With the help of many perspectives on this forum, I'm slowly retraining myself to be happy with things moving in the right direction, rather than always seeking the route where I'm harder on myself. It doesn't come naturally, but I'm trying, and with your results you posted then you should too mate.