Hi everyone, if you have read my posts on a few of the threads, you will realise, I have been around over ten years and have advised many others about control of their blood glucose levels! How you do that, is by an individual who explores their body's for his or her nutritious needs.
The problem with classic diets or weight loss plans and even the lchf diet, is that it doesn't apply to everyone, or even some of us. It is to broad, if I advise to 10g of carbs in a single portion of might be enough for you but too much for me (it is!)
It all depends on where you are in the journey of treatment, a newbie or an old hand. And your intolerance to carbs and sugars. It all depends on how bad the insulin resistance or circulating insulin, or your hba1c plus more factors of the imbalance in your hormonal response to how your T2 developed.
It is so individual that the eat well diet may work for some prediabetics, but it will be worse for someone with T2!
Treatment especially dietary control should be tailored made for every one!
You have to bear in mind where you live, culture, ethnic, religious, environmental, affordibility, availability and the usual, vegan, carnivore.
What works for one, probably won't work for you!
The best way to lose weight initially is to lower your carb intake, exercise more, reduce your food intake and portion size! And stay away from factory and junk food. There are so many hidden carbs and sugars in them.
Keeping a food diary, and getting a glucometer or a CGM, to monitor your blood glucose levels to see what food does to cause higher spikes that are keeping your hyperglycaemia up higher than they should be. And get your blood glucose levels in control as close to normal as possible.
A diet will only work when you know how intolerant you are!
And it's carbs, not calories!
For me, I'm almost totally carb intolerant! So I avoid them, because I'm carb intolerant, the intolerance dictates my health. And my health is a lot better when I avoid the carbs. I have been lactose intolerant since young, and I was told to avoid dairy. So if I'm carb intolerant, why is NHS advice to maintain a level of carbs that makes me unhealthy? It is not logical!
I was nineteen stone nearly before I was diagnosed, I was told by my specialist endocrinologist to stop eating high GI carbs, then because of my monitor I found that even the low GI carbs were spiking too high. Even a bowl of porridge, no milk, no sugar. (One of the so called super foods) was spiking me very high from near normal levels. (Which is not good!)
After a month or two(ish) I had lost six stone. Then it slowed, then stalled, then fluctuated, plateaued, then dropped a bit more, and I found my ideal weight. I maintain this by keeping to my diet, I repeat my diet! No magic, just eating to my meter and not being aware of what I'm eating, only fresh food!
As a T2 gets better control of their blood glucose levels, he may be able to eat more carbs, be less strict to their restrictions of food. And the intolerance will abate with less insulin resistance, less circulating insulin!
Fasting could be an important part of any diet, some can, some can't, again it's an individual thing! The number of meals you have, the less insulin you need, with insulin resistance, the less insulin you need, is not taking a strain on your pancreas, along with the rest of your hormones. The imbalance improves!
Yes, it's not easy, but it can be done.
I have been on a zero carb diet for over a decade (with a few hiccups) and it works for me.
If it hadn't worked, and I hadn't used this diet, I wouldn't be here!
I am approaching my seventies, and other than the list below, I'm as fit as I can be. In control and I want to be around for my great grandkids!
Find your own diets, control with monitor, find your intolerance levels, keep a food diary. Vary with better intolerance and choices when hba1c dictates.
Get healthy!
My best wishes on your journey.
