Low carb didn't work for me.

zand said:

@douglas99 you followed a GI diet, I follow LCHF. I don't believe we are so very different. Both LCHF and GI reduce carbs. The thing that put me off the GI diet was that things like carrots were higher GI than I would have thought. So that's why I never bothered adapting it to suit me by introducing calorie counting alongside it. I believe that just as 'not all calories are equal', not all GI counts are equal either. It's down to how your own body reacts to the food, not what some laboratory test says. Same applies with LCHF, some people seem to have problems with any root veg. I have tested after eating both raw and cooked carrots, decent portions and I don't have a problem with them at all. Potatoes are a different matter! So I agree with you in that you have to follow the diet that suits you best and then adapt it to suit you even more.

What really interested me about your post though was the bit about exercising the pancreas. This is something that I have wondered about privately, but didn't like to say because I have seen no studies about it and thought it may be only me thinking it. I have only ever expressed this thought to one other person before! Personally I still have a lot of weight to lose and my BG's are not under good control right now either as I have lapsed for a while. However when they are good, I too experiment with a higher carb level - not in the same way as you, I tend to eat more fruit, adding grapes and bananas, peaches etc. to the usual mixture of berries. So mine is more a nutrition based slightly higher carb intake for the moment at least. I'm not sure my pancreas will ever cope with the amount of carbs you have and I'm a bit jealous of you! I have been wondering how to cope with long daytrips out in the Winter when family will be eating junk. Before I was diabetic, I used to take sandwiches made with seeded wholemeal bread and I may revert to this after reading this thread, but first I need to get back on track with my BG's. Most of these trips would also involve a couple of brisk walks of 1-2miles each.

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I started by eating to my meter. Carrots turned out to be something I had to avoid at first.
I can tolerate them now though, but I don't really like them anymore.
That's odd, as I used to. I think it comes down to the major change I made to my lifestyle, it was a complete re-education on what I ate, and carrots got left behind. I think that's why I don't get the carb munchies other people seem to get sometimes on here. I have a list of foods in my head, I know how much I should eat, I enjoy that, then I know I need to stop.
Or maybe I simply eat enough carbs to keep the cravings at bay.

That was a one off for the Chinese though, that was more than my normal amount of calories for a meal, let alone it being pastry, batter, potatoes, and the rest.

As to the pancreas, I've seen others on here advise going back onto carbs before glucose tests, so I would assume most people are the same, not just us

It is possible to take low carb snacks out, and the walking certainly would help.
I just don't have the opportunity to prepare, or don't have such a predicable day.
But I don't want a predicable day yet, I got a lot of things I want to do, and I've just started doing them.

AndBreathe said:

Douglas - You are a provocative poster; you always have been, in the time I have been here. In lots of ways I quite like that. It can initiate decent debate and flush out contra opinions. This forum (and all similar places) need a variety of posters, taking a variety of approaches. That, I believe, is critical for newly diagnosed folks who want to garner mixed options, which will allow them to formulate their own plans. It's not healthy to have one single message on a forum like this. If one approach suited everyone, this forum wouldn't exist. We would just read the leaflets we're given at diagnosis and skip happily off into the sunset.

But, moving forward, I also believe in exercising my pancreas (and allowing my liver to look after me), although maybe not quite as vigorously as you and @Andrew Colvin do, on a regular basis. Once my numbers came into rein, my brain kept butting into my thought processes screeching "use it or lose it", when I considered carb consumption.

I thought I had stabilised my weight, but this morning I've lost again; bringing myself under 50kg. Being a shorty, my BMI is 19.1, so still in the healthy range, but I'm getting to be too boney. I would like to nudge up to just over the 50kg mark, and think I am going to use mainly carbs to do that - just up everything a bit for a while. I'm not expecting any detrimental impact on my bloods.

I've often referred to my relationship with diabetes as being like living with a pesky little brother. You know; someone who irritates the heck out of me, who has different interests, but is going to be with me for the rest of my life. Right now, after my last bloods, that pesky little brother is taking up too much head space, but he'll be back in his rightful place before long.

I'm also interested in your journey to living your dream. From memory, you're getting your metaphoric ducks into rows, so that your work life balance can swing well away from work?

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I didn't set out to be provocative, and certainly this thread is just my story so far, and how I decided to find what works best for me, in the balance with everything else in my life.
I've never worried about my liver, I don't eat, it does what it does. It doesn’t seem to push me up, so if it's dumping, it's being it discreetly.

I've got my levels down to where I like them, I eat a good mixture of food, still much the same as the diet I originally posted, I just want to keep the ability to deal with food like the chinese I tried, if I need to. (I wouldn't be eating that much again though).
I'll always eat to my meter, and have been testing more when I've been posting here, and missing meals, or eating what I've described over the last few weeks.
It's all been ok, so I can't see the problem.

I've always planned to retire at 50, right from when I started working, diabetes made me realise I shouldn't put it off, just in case I wasn't able to do what I wanted to do later, but mostly it's the loss of weight that turned everything around, so I'm taking advantage now.
The houses are an investment, as well as a source of income, I already have one buy to let, which I renovated from the ground up a few years ago. (Before the diabetes hit)
Then I got all the tiredness, which was my biggest symptom, but fortunately that's in the past, then this new house came along at just the right time.
We also own my mother in laws house, who sadly passed away last year, that needs some work, so I have that one pencilled in for October onwards, then we'll let that out.

I'm self-employed, so I can juggle all the work around, and hopefully when the houses are eventually finished I can keep work done to the odd day here and there when I've nothing better to do, rather than because I need to.

All in all everything is going ok, and I can honestly say that being diagnosed was on balance a good thing, rather than a bad thing, as I wouldn't have made the changes.
I'd still be overweight, I may still have managed to retire, but I’d simply have sat around eating and watching tv.

Which is the point of this thread really.

Diabetes isn’t the end, it can be the start.
If you can deal with it in a way that puts you in control, and still have a good quality of life, it can be a positive factor in altering your life, not a negative one.

I'm home at the moment, but just about to go back to the house to finish more of the kitchen, and sort out the heating.

Andy12345 said:

you choose to live life to the full and not let numbers in the 11`s ruin your fun, life is for living, gotcha! its taken me this long to realise the wisdom in your post, ive been so miserable for so long, i have often wept into my steak, im going to eat sugar (or carbs) and be happy again, what was i thinking? eating sugar (or carbs) is a perfectly reasonable choice as a way of controlling diabetes and i respect anyone doing this, why would we reduce sugar? it makes life boring and inconvienient, why was i told to avoid eating sugar? (or carbs) when i joined? theres no need, sugar (or carbs) is good! yay! ok theres the odd long term health risk , but hey i may have got them anyway! at least i got to leave the house 5 minutes earlier and not have the bother of planning my nutriitous meals when i could be popping yummy pot noodles, yessir, your chosen path sounds great! and! best of all! i wont have to carry the heavy sack of potatoes around the shop, i can pop them in my basket on the front of my mobility scooter, thankyou everyone for showing me the light, and much respect to you for choosing low fat or whichever diet works for you and sharing/promoting it as a good way, i would hate folks to think that cutting out sugar (or carbs) was the only sensible way to go

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Yes, I'm not going to let one experiment that gave me a figure in the 11's ruin my life.

It seems worth repeating, as it may have been missed, on my diet, which I adhere to normally-

I’m mainly between 5 and 6 in the morning and a good steady 5.3 to 5.4 HBA1c for the past year.
Tested every three months, as my meds have been gradually reduced to one 500mg Metformin and one 50mg Sitagliptin as my control improved. and we're considering dropping the Sitagliptin at the next three month review.
I'll probably consider upping the Metformin again before I go shopping on the scooter.

I took to testing myself about 30 mins and again 2 hours after food, and I’m normally a maximum of 8 after most ‘bad’ foods, although I did hit a ten after a (very) sweet and sour soup, and a caramel fudge cornetto. Normally lower though.

(Lower than the 8, as I don't eat bad foods normally, but I'm not going to gloss over the 'human' side)


So, after two weeks holiday, and tested the Monday after I got back,


BMI 25
HbA1c 35

I eat carbs, I avoid sugar, it's too sweet now.
As to the steak, that does sound a good idea, so I may have to nip out to Asda, but the decision is whether to have onions and garlic, or peppercorn sauce with it.? Obviously not garlic butter, and maybe with a nice low fat salad.

If I was diving though, it would be harder to get the frying pan out, balanced on the side of an inflatable rib.

Not going to comment on anyone else.
Me, as it says in the sig.

Anyway, back on track.

Finally got through horriffic traffic, (don't you just love Fridays), and back for a weekend getting the radiators back on, refilled, and seeing if the heating comes on.
@Ruth B, I'll definately be looking for that!

While driving, I was reflecting on my chinese, and my results.
To me, it was just a quick and dirty test to see what I could eat, but I've now realised I should have done it better.
My fasting level is in the 'Impaired glucose tolerance' range now, and even after three plates of something of about 30% carbs, I peaked at 11.3, after 2 1/2 hours, then was back down 3 hours after that. So very slightly into the diabetic range, but only by a few tenths.
And that was a lot of food.
That's well down from when I started.

So, the plan is to get off the Sitagliptin, and the three month review after that being ok, I'll try a scientific Glucose Tolerance Test (at home), and report back.
I should have lost a bit more weight by then, I might have given the Newcastle Diet a shot for a month, so, I'll see if any more changes happen.

zand said:

Douglas - Can I ask why you want to do the Newcastle diet?

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In all honesty, simply because it can't do any harm.
Maybe it's my own version of 'The Whale'
A lot of success has been claimed for it, some explanations have been offered, such as loss of fat from internal organs, I know I have lost a lot of weight and it's helped me, but not helped quite enough.
So I owe it to myself to try it, if I don't I'll be wondering 'what if?' forever.
If it doesn't work, at least I can enjoy eating more food at christmas!