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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Grateful" data-source="post: 1707080" data-attributes="member: 438800">Thank you. Of note for [USER=469353]@CV36Steve[/USER] is that I do not use a meter. I do think using a meter is a good idea and do not want to discourage it, but my example shows that for some people it can be done without a meter. When I was diagnosed, I did not know about this forum and my doctor put me on a low-carb diet but said nothing about meters which is why I did not obtain one. By the time I had found this forum, my HbA1c was already at non-diabetic levels solely through diet (and stepped-up exercise) and with no daily monitoring by meter.Anyone considering *not* using a meter should know about the disadvantages. (1) Simply put, it may not work! Without the meter, you are to a great extent "navigating blind." (2) Even if you are doing the right thing diet-wise, you won't find out whether it is "working" until the three-month interval when the A1c test is done. (3) Without a meter, you cannot do "fine tuning" for your own individual body and find out which particular foods "spike" your blood glucose more than others; instead you have to rely on general lists of low-carb foods. (4) Even if your A1c test is good every few months, this will probably mask some major swings in blood glucose on a daily basis. Whether or not this "matters" in the long run does not seem to be fully settled by medical research, but if you want to be cautious, you should use a meter so that you are aware of these daily swings and can work to reduce them.Having said all of the above, the "meter-less" method is working very well for me. I started out "very low carb" (fewer than 30 grams per day). When this quickly yielded great results, I stuck with it for quite a long time. More recently, I relaxed the regime, first to 50 grams, and then to 70 grams. It is still working fine, but going "meter-less" is an individual choice and for that matter, if ever things do "go wrong" for me (i.e. if BG levels start rising inexorably) then I will definitely be considering adding a meter to my my anti-diabetes arsenal.We are all different and our bodies react differently. I consider myself to have been very lucky. Diabetes is a frightening diagnosis but getting it under control with diet-only (and no meter!) was a huge surprise for me, almost a bigger shock than the initial diagnosis. That is why I chose the user name "Grateful" on this forum and I do realise that many are not as fortunate as I have been.</blockquote>

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