LOW CARB SUCCESS STORIES

[pdmjoker]

I think I can report success.

Diagnosed T2 about 9 months ago with HbA1c of 50 so I immediately put myself onto a low-carb diet.
Three months later I was down to 43 and I'd lost a stone in weight and 2 inches round the middle.
Six months further on, down to 41, lost another half stone and another inch but the weight and waist have stablised.

When diagnosed, I got rather vague diet advice from the medics but was given a finger-prick meter and started monitoring levels while obsessively recording details of food intake. After about 6 weeks I had enough data to "do the science" and work out what was the right carb intake for me. The data was even clear enough that I could distinguish the effects of sugar from the effects of starch and set accurate limits on each. For example, I know that 30g of starch will take me from 5.1 to 7.6 after 2 hours and it will then take 4 hours to go down again.

I'm in my 70's and fairly sedentry but I'm down to the weight and trousers-size that I was in my 20's and 30's. I didn't really want to lose weight as a goal in itself, though, because I've always been thin. I'm now even thinner. My BMI has dropped below 18 which is maybe not so good from a general point of view but at least it's not as low as it used to be when I was young and this weight because I've shrunk 3" in height with old age.

While limiting carbs, I eat fat and protein ad lib to try to keep the calories up. If I feel like a snack between meals, I eat a lump of cheese. Supper consists of an unadorned piece of grilled meat. Breakfast is a carefully-weighed bowl of cereal followed by a "full English" minus the starchy bits. This diet has become a habit now, and it's not going to be difficult to keep it going indefinitely.

"Low carb worked for me"

Impressed by your analytical approach - you deserve the improvements you have seen. Well done indeed!

 

[Helen40]

Hi all, I've been low carding for 2 weeks, maximum 30grams a day, chicken/fish/eggs and above ground veggies, miminal amounts of cheese and nuts. The lows were hard at first but I'm now in a great stable range which was my primary goal - bit I've not dropped any weight at all?? Feeling very discouraged

 

[pdmjoker]

Hi all, I've been low carding for 2 weeks, maximum 30grams a day, chicken/fish/eggs and above ground veggies, miminal amounts of cheese and nuts. The lows were hard at first but I'm now in a great stable range which was my primary goal - bit I've not dropped any weight at all?? Feeling very discouraged

Well done on achieving a great stable range! Two weeks might be too soon to see many results - I think the body takes about three weeks to adapt/switch to fat- burning rather than glucose-burning mode.

 

[Helen40]

Well done on achieving a great stable range! Two weeks might be too soon to see many results - I think the body takes about three weeks to adapt/switch to fat- burning rather than glucose-burning mode.

Hey, thanks for that, I will continue with very low carb, I feel a lot better, no spikes and the lows are becoming less frequent as I'm learning to adjust. I guess 2kg down is better than 2 kgs up lol

 

[Paul_]

I started low carbing 6 weeks and 3 days ago, very soon after my T2 diabetes diagnosis.

Had an appointment with my nurse yesterday. She was delighted with my all round numbers - weight loss, blood glucose (she only begrudging looked admittedly ), and blood pressure.

On the final one, blood pressure, I've been taken off one of my 3 tablets - down to 2 per day now. Since going low carb and losing some weight, my BP has reduced by 15 points on both systolic and diastolic.

Still not on any meds for diabetes yet either.

Early days, lots more work to do, and my next round of blood tests and hba1c in November will be the true test. However, I've been on 3 BP tablets a day for 8 years now, so this felt very personally significant to have one removed.

Thank you again to everyone on this forum for your advice, support, encouragement, and general chat that's just made this period since diagnosis far easier! I really appreciate all of it, so much more than I can adequately express in words!

 

[pdmjoker]

I started low carbing 6 weeks and 3 days ago, very soon after my T2 diabetes diagnosis.

Had an appointment with my nurse yesterday. She was delighted with my all round numbers - weight loss, blood glucose (she only begrudging looked admittedly ), and blood pressure.

On the final one, blood pressure, I've been taken off one of my 3 tablets - down to 2 per day now. Since going low carb and losing some weight, my BP has reduced by 15 points on both systolic and diastolic.

Still not on any meds for diabetes yet either.

Early days, lots more work to do, and my next round of blood tests and hba1c in November will be the true test. However, I've been on 3 BP tablets a day for 8 years now, so this felt very personally significant to have one removed.

Thank you again to everyone on this forum for your advice, support, encouragement, and general chat that's just made this period since diagnosis far easier! I really appreciate all of it, so much more than I can adequately express in words!

That's superb progress and very good to hear - well done! Despite the work and inconvenience of low carb, it can enable change and thus gives hope.

 

[saky]

I started following low carb diet slowly after getting HBA1C of 5.9% in 2019. I lost weight (13.5 kg) in all and eat 80g to 100 g of carbs per day.
I do intermittent fasting also as it helps me in managing polyphagia(frequent hunger). Now my HBA1C is stable.(ranges from 5%-5.3%)