Hi all,
I feel as if I am not a new diagnosis as it was 6 months ago now, but it still all feels new to me, and I am always looking for knowledge particularly around food as I have a limited understanding of my options.
I was diagnosed in September 2021 with a figure of 59 mmol. At the time I had Covid and was steroids and therefore this was being treated with insulin and metformin. I was told that I would need to start taking metformin daily after this. But I wanted to try managing my diabetes through diet and if it didn't work then go onto the medication. So once I stopped taking steroids, I also stopped taking any medication.
I was testing myself regularly, before and after each meal to learn what was spiking me and what wasn't. I didn't really understand the full extent of how carbs worked, so pretty much cut them out of my diet. I was not counting my daily intake of carbs, but do believe it would have been between 20-40 g a day. I was tired a lot of the time. After reading the 8-week diet book I also decided that rapid weight loss was necessary. I knew that I must be losing weight anyway, because I was not snacking and sticking to 3-4 meals a day. At the same time I read a magazine about tackling diabetes and was introduced to intermittent fasting. Again I realised that I most probably was doing that naturally because I was not snacking and sticking to set meals. But now this all became intentional. Cutting out carbs, fasting for 14 hours a day (a 10-hour eating window) and drinking up to 3 litres of water a day.
I informed my GP that I was not taking any medication because so far my daily readings had dropped considerably and I was maintaining a low rate. So I had a fasting blood test and it was 3.9, then they decided to do an HBAC1 and it was 40 - this was the end of October. I continued dieting and keeping my carbs low, and I lost 3 stones by the end of January. My fasting had increased to 16/8 based on further education, but I did start to increase my carbs as I wanted to start exercising, and I walk daily and do short bursts of high-intensity workouts a couple of times a week. My hair thinned considerably during this time and I have had to cut it a lot shorter. The hospital contacted me to see how I was progressing with diabetes and were not convinced that my HbAc1 was totally accurate in October, so sent me off for another test. This came back at 37.
My goal is to maintain this, but I am concerned about how feasible this is, as I also aim to increase my carbs to about 130g a day, as advised by the diabetes dietician at my hospital. But I get we are all different and what works for me might not work for others. I know I have done well, but I just don't want this to be a fluke and am struggling with the concept of maintaining this long term, maybe that is just paranoia.
Anyway any tips or suggestions is greatly appreciated.
I feel as if I am not a new diagnosis as it was 6 months ago now, but it still all feels new to me, and I am always looking for knowledge particularly around food as I have a limited understanding of my options.
I was diagnosed in September 2021 with a figure of 59 mmol. At the time I had Covid and was steroids and therefore this was being treated with insulin and metformin. I was told that I would need to start taking metformin daily after this. But I wanted to try managing my diabetes through diet and if it didn't work then go onto the medication. So once I stopped taking steroids, I also stopped taking any medication.
I was testing myself regularly, before and after each meal to learn what was spiking me and what wasn't. I didn't really understand the full extent of how carbs worked, so pretty much cut them out of my diet. I was not counting my daily intake of carbs, but do believe it would have been between 20-40 g a day. I was tired a lot of the time. After reading the 8-week diet book I also decided that rapid weight loss was necessary. I knew that I must be losing weight anyway, because I was not snacking and sticking to 3-4 meals a day. At the same time I read a magazine about tackling diabetes and was introduced to intermittent fasting. Again I realised that I most probably was doing that naturally because I was not snacking and sticking to set meals. But now this all became intentional. Cutting out carbs, fasting for 14 hours a day (a 10-hour eating window) and drinking up to 3 litres of water a day.
I informed my GP that I was not taking any medication because so far my daily readings had dropped considerably and I was maintaining a low rate. So I had a fasting blood test and it was 3.9, then they decided to do an HBAC1 and it was 40 - this was the end of October. I continued dieting and keeping my carbs low, and I lost 3 stones by the end of January. My fasting had increased to 16/8 based on further education, but I did start to increase my carbs as I wanted to start exercising, and I walk daily and do short bursts of high-intensity workouts a couple of times a week. My hair thinned considerably during this time and I have had to cut it a lot shorter. The hospital contacted me to see how I was progressing with diabetes and were not convinced that my HbAc1 was totally accurate in October, so sent me off for another test. This came back at 37.
My goal is to maintain this, but I am concerned about how feasible this is, as I also aim to increase my carbs to about 130g a day, as advised by the diabetes dietician at my hospital. But I get we are all different and what works for me might not work for others. I know I have done well, but I just don't want this to be a fluke and am struggling with the concept of maintaining this long term, maybe that is just paranoia.
Anyway any tips or suggestions is greatly appreciated.