How long does it take to really lower your blood glucose on keto?

[MrOrsom]

I was diagnosed with T2D a month ago, and have been on keto for three weeks. My blood sugar has dropped from 10-12 to 7s and 8s, but obviously I'm keen to get it down into the 5s, if not the high 4s.

How long does it usually take to get there? I'm anxious about living with high blood sugar every day, and want to be able to feel that I'm out of danger.

My weight is far from what it needs to be - have 140-170lb to lose, in case that has an impact.

Thanks

 

[Rachox]

It varies enormously from person to person. Looking back at my records it took me around four months to reach the readings you are aiming for. However don’t stress about it, every time your levels lower is sign your body is recovering.
Are you losing weight on keto? Weight loss should help, especially around your middle, as your liver and pancreas escape from the fat surrounding them.

 

[MrOrsom]

I think I'm losing weight. I've avoided the scale for so long as I found it so discouraging. But if my doctor's reading from September is to be believed, I've lost around a stone. Will be tracking it frequently going forward.

 

[bulkbiker]

I was diagnosed with T2D a month ago, and have been on keto for three weeks. My blood sugar has dropped from 10-12 to 7s and 8s, but obviously I'm keen to get it down into the 5s, if not the high 4s.

How long does it usually take to get there? I'm anxious about living with high blood sugar every day, and want to be able to feel that I'm out of danger.

My weight is far from what it needs to be - have 140-170lb to lose, in case that has an impact.

Thanks

Took me about 6 months of keto and intermittent fasting to get down to "normal" levels and lost about 70 pounds over that period.

 

[Rachox]

Oh yes just to add more context, I lost 50 pounds (3 and a half stone or 22 kilos) over those four months.

 

[Ronancastled]

My weight is far from what it needs to be - have 140-170lb to lose, in case that has an impact.

You have tremendous potential for wiggle room.
It's a long game & you're already seeing results.
I would add in a 30 min walk after your main meal of the day if you can

 

[Mezza n]

Took me about 6 months of keto and intermittent fasting to get down to "normal" levels and lost about 70 pounds over that period.

@bulkbiker Can I just ask does it take longer if you have been diabetic for a long time before being diagnosed T2.

 

[Member496333]

About two years hardcore keto before I considered my glucose completely normal with no dawn phenomenon to speak of.

Keep calm and carry on.

 

[KidDougi]

I was diagnosed with T2, about 6 months ago at 48mmo/l. My initial average was around 7 with regular peeks between 10 - 15.
I went low carb straight away but was not testing for Keto.
Three months later, on my first re-test I made it to 38. I put this down to two factors. The first was that I had a run of eating very sweet things before my first test, which pushed my average into the diegetic band. So cutting all those sweets out was a quick win. The second was that I started HIIT training. 15-20 minutes, most days in the week, (starting slow so that i didn’t injure myself). This started to flatten my daily BG readings.
For the last few weeks I have been testing for my keto levels with a keto breathalyzer. My keto levels are over 2 through most of the day and my BG is averaging 5.5 with peek taking me to 7 at the most. (Apparently the pee sticks become less effective at showing your levels after a few weeks).

My conclusion is that if I don’t use up my glucose reserves by exercising, I get bigger peeks and I have to be stricter with my low carb diet.

Hope this helps.

 

[bulkbiker]

@bulkbiker Can I just ask does it take longer if you have been diabetic for a long time before being diagnosed T2.

I'll guess that it depends what your levels have been beforehand.. someone who has been 'just' diabetic with HbA1c's in the 50's over a long period might respond faster than someone with HbA1c's in the 80's for a shorter period.
However as eating fresh prepared single ingredient keto food won't do anyone any harm it's certainly worth a try and don't forget the power of intermittent fastng too.

 

[Member496333]

However as eating fresh prepared single ingredient keto food won't do anyone any harm it's certainly worth a try and don't forget the power of intermittent fastng too.

Bingo. Eating real food is a great idea anyway, irrespective of anything else. I rarely even think about diabetes these days but I maintain the lifestyle that gave it a black eye because I prefer the food and it brings myriad benefits that go way beyond not being diabetic.

 

[Mezza n]

I'll guess that it depends what your levels have been beforehand.. someone who has been 'just' diabetic with HbA1c's in the 50's over a long period might respond faster than someone with HbA1c's in the 80's for a shorter period.
However as eating fresh prepared single ingredient keto food won't do anyone any harm it's certainly worth a try and don't forget the power of intermittent fastng too.

Thank you for your reply, my Hba1c was 130 my last review they were down to 61. I am back in Dec for my next review hoping to be in the 40s this will be exactly a year of following advise on here. But they don’t know how long I had diabetes before my first test. I think it might of been about 6 month before. What is the intermittent fasting please .

 

[bulkbiker]

Thank you for your reply, my Hba1c was 130 my last review they were down to 61. I am back in Dec for my next review hoping to be in the 40s this will be exactly a year of following advise on here. But they don’t know how long I had diabetes before my first test. I think it might of been about 6 month before. What is the intermittent fasting please .

Intermittent fasting is the reduction of the time you eat.
In my case I rarely eat before 3 pm and finish eating by 8 pm. I then don't eat (just have coffee with cream) until the next day at 3 pm. No breakfast or lunch.

 

[Mezza n]

Intermittent fasting is the reduction of the time you eat.
In my case I rarely eat before 3 pm and finish eating by 8 pm. I then don't eat (just have coffee with cream) until the next day at 3 pm. No breakfast or lunch.

Thank you.

 

[mo53]

@MrOrsom hello. You have made a brilliant start, well done. I just wondered if you knew there is a thread, ‘weekly weigh in- Friday’ where you can record your weight. I used to find that this encouraged me to weigh myself and monitor my progress.

 

[ianf0ster]

............. What is the intermittent fasting please .

There are various levels of Intermittent Fasting. Most of the time I do one slightly less restrictive than what @bulkbiker does.
I just do 2 meals a day on weekdays (skipping breakfast (black tea with no sugar) then not eating lunch before 12:30 and finishing the evening meal by 20:00. But on weekends I eat just one (larger) meal per day at around 15:30 to 16:30.
There are several benefits of IF including going for longer periods without a insulin response and being in a state of Autophagy.
I think somebody said that the minimum fasting time for Autophagy is 14hrs - so that means if you finish your evening meal by 20:00, you don't eat again until after 10:00 am.