GP - Didn't show any interest in planned diet

Hi @Brainy51

I told my diabetic nurse I had been following low cal high fat (Jason Fung) my Hba has gone from 71 to 52 and I've lost a stone and a half. I explained I am about to start intermittent fasting and asked shall I continue my metformin or not take it. She replied I will leave it up to you to experiment! Well thanks! Useless aren't they? You will find lots of support in the low carb forums. Best of luck to both of you in your journey. It works. Just look at some of the success stories.
Debbie

All the best @Brainy51 and Mrs Brainy. Hope you get great results

I'm not saying that i side with the Doctor, but I can see both perspectives in this situation.
On one hand, you have prepared yourself and are ready to tackle this head on, but are looking for validation from him before you begin. Nothing wrong with that.
What he sees is that he told you that you were at risk last year, but you haven't actually started on your plan just yet. He's looking for results from you, not knowledge.

I like that this experience has you determined so consider that maybe his tactics may have worked on you (whether or not it was intentional). In the end, there are many ways to approach the situation just as long as the end result is the same (avoiding diabetes).

To explain why I say this: I have a family member (who also happens to be a medical professional) that has read every diet and exercise book out there. She has offered (without me asking) advice to me over the years. However, she's unable to follow the advice that she gives. In fact, her knowledge is arguably a bad thing because it's caused her to convince herself that she can't lose weight.

In contrast, my father took up running in his 50s after my grandfather diet from emphysema. At first, my father didn't read running books or study the science of running....he just started running. 2 miles, then 4 miles, then 10, and he eventually completed a marathon. Sure, he's read plenty of books since then, but the books themselves didn't help him run. They just helped him to understand running.

Long story short, I wish you the best of luck in your goals. I suspect the conversation with your doctor will be much different the next time you see him when you can say that you've lose X number of kg and Y inches off your waist.

Brainy51 said:

Last year my doctor told my I was on the verge of prediabetes and basically read my the "riot act". After numerous failed attempts of loosing weight I came across the book "8-Week Blood Sugar Diet" by Dr. Michael Mosley which is based on the Newcastle Diet. It has a forward by Dr. Roy Taylor who put forward the Newcastle Diet.

In the book it recommends seeing your doctor prior to starting and monitoring at points throughout the diet, especially if you are on blood pressure medication etc.

My wife and I visited or GP together to discuss this with him and were left feeling that he just wasn't interested and we were wasting his time. He also felt there was absolutely no need to monitor us during the 8 weeks of the diet as recommended by the book. What really shocked us was that he is a young doctor and we thought he would be open to new ideas and be encouraging us to improve our health, especially in my case after he read me the "riot act" the the previous year.

Is this practice standard across all GPs?

This has made us both determined so today (30/7/2016) is day one of the diet,

I am 65 weigh in at 136Kg with a 56" waist. I'll post my progress periodically. I'm going to get a Bg monitor to also track my progress.

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Hi Brainy51
Great !!!! Sounds as if you are really ticked off. My GP (an old geezer like me) did the same thing to me (my a1c was 9.7).
My reaction I suppose was predictable - I'll show the %$D6 smart *#^&!!!.
And I did too. Went on the Newcastle diet, finished it, lost almost 20kgs, and lots of medications. Came out 30 years younger and healthier (a1c 6.5). He named me patient of the year.
You are quite right to try the Moseley book, its good stuff and makes it easier than following the instructions with the original Newcastle diet. BUT, you may want to consider the following:
1. As the book says - do it under medical supervision. If your GP is a git - go to someone who is on the same page as you.
2. Don't think of it as a diet. It is an 'Eating Behavior Modification Plan'. If you do not modify your eating patterns, failure is almost guaranteed. The weight yo-yo will continue (also see 4. below).
3. The good Professor says you have to live on 30% fewer calories after completing the 8 weeks (Very low calorie version)- its the living truth. Count on it. What Dr Moseley writes about the different option is pure gold - please choose carefully.
4. Exercise, exercise, exercise within your capacity. Resistance exercises are a must. At our age we lose about 300g of muscle tissue a year and up to 450g if you are a diabetic. (I did not pay enough attention to this little detail and ended up looking like a malnourished broomstick sporting a spare tyre). Feather dusters like us need all the muscle we can get for a healthy old age.
5. During the "diet" think about what style of eating appeals to you long term. You do not have to follow the herd or be a pioneer. It just makes transitioning off the 8 weeks a lot easier if you have a game plan. We are all different and can pick and choose. See www.gisymbol.com and articles by Prof Jennie Brand-Miller and Dr Alan Barclay in the July 16 newsletter. Practical common sense stuff and easy to follow.
If the above makes sense and/ or appeals to you, just send me a private message and I can provide more references - if it does not, that's also fine.
In any case, good on you for taking the bit between your teeth. "Just do it" and keep doing it.
The very best of luck and outcomes. Do keep posting.
Regards
fene48