- Messages
- 2,445
- Type of diabetes
- Treatment type
- Diet only
When I was diagnosed a couple of years ago, I started a regime of weight loss, improved diet and daily exercise. I lost 17% of my weight, became more active and returned to normal BG levels. The interesting question became, were the improved BG levels temporary or permanent? Was I producing more insulin or were my BG levels being kept low because I was avoiding all refined carbs and consuming only small amounts of complex carbs?
Dr Roy Taylor of Newcastle fame states that some insulin producing insulin cells are not dead but blocked or at least not functioning properly in patients with Type 2 diabetes. Weight loss, if sufficiently large, will help these cells recover, more insulin will be produced and function can be normalised. However, his labs have equipment which monitor insulin levels whereas most type 2s are lucky if they have a cheap BG meter. How can we tell if we have normalised the function?
Knowing my HBA1c test was due, I started to eat some 'normal foods' for three months. I still avoided some of the stuff I used to eat, toast and marmelade, sugary drinks, cakes, sweets etc but I started to eat white bread, chips, mashed potatoes, yoghurt pot type puddings, sweet fruits, pizzas and normal pasta, as opposed to wholewheat pasta, white rice and a few biscuits, mostly digestive. I monitored my BG level every morning, effectively a 10 - 12 hour fast.
As a result, both my weight and HBA1c have gone up but the latter by not much. I am still just within the normal range so, something must be working better than it used to. Even over the christmas period when I would have some mince pies and some chocs, my early morning readings were still between 5.1 and 6.0. However, it is all too easy to relax too much, fall into bad old habits and let things slide again. My aim this year will be to lose another 10 Kg, drop the white carbs again and stick to only the complex carbs, carry on with the cycling/rowing/walking/gardening and see what next year will bring. The Hairy Dieters Book 3, and Encyclopedia of Italian Cooking and a new Soup Maker/Juicer/Blender will help keep my motivation up. Cooking nutritious and tasty meals using healthy ingredients is a pastime worth learning for those who have the time.
There is no point in 'reversing diabetes' only to go back to old ways. It'll come back. Afterall, it's why many of us got it in the first place. But, it can be stopped in its tracks by most people who can motivate themselves to lose enough weight and you can even forget that you have diabetes on some occasions, a works do, a wedding, a party or whatever, just as long as it is occasional. Not having to worry about having diabetes is a better reward for your efforts than eating a sticky toffee pudding.
Dr Roy Taylor of Newcastle fame states that some insulin producing insulin cells are not dead but blocked or at least not functioning properly in patients with Type 2 diabetes. Weight loss, if sufficiently large, will help these cells recover, more insulin will be produced and function can be normalised. However, his labs have equipment which monitor insulin levels whereas most type 2s are lucky if they have a cheap BG meter. How can we tell if we have normalised the function?
Knowing my HBA1c test was due, I started to eat some 'normal foods' for three months. I still avoided some of the stuff I used to eat, toast and marmelade, sugary drinks, cakes, sweets etc but I started to eat white bread, chips, mashed potatoes, yoghurt pot type puddings, sweet fruits, pizzas and normal pasta, as opposed to wholewheat pasta, white rice and a few biscuits, mostly digestive. I monitored my BG level every morning, effectively a 10 - 12 hour fast.
As a result, both my weight and HBA1c have gone up but the latter by not much. I am still just within the normal range so, something must be working better than it used to. Even over the christmas period when I would have some mince pies and some chocs, my early morning readings were still between 5.1 and 6.0. However, it is all too easy to relax too much, fall into bad old habits and let things slide again. My aim this year will be to lose another 10 Kg, drop the white carbs again and stick to only the complex carbs, carry on with the cycling/rowing/walking/gardening and see what next year will bring. The Hairy Dieters Book 3, and Encyclopedia of Italian Cooking and a new Soup Maker/Juicer/Blender will help keep my motivation up. Cooking nutritious and tasty meals using healthy ingredients is a pastime worth learning for those who have the time.
There is no point in 'reversing diabetes' only to go back to old ways. It'll come back. Afterall, it's why many of us got it in the first place. But, it can be stopped in its tracks by most people who can motivate themselves to lose enough weight and you can even forget that you have diabetes on some occasions, a works do, a wedding, a party or whatever, just as long as it is occasional. Not having to worry about having diabetes is a better reward for your efforts than eating a sticky toffee pudding.
