Lower Carb than I'd ever thought I needed

[Auto E]

This post is just kind of an observation I'd like to jot down.

When I first was diagnosed with prediabetes (Jan 2018), I reduced my carb intake significantly, but kept it moderate (50-100g).
**This level made the weight drop off (I lost 15 pounds right away, then gradually have KEPT losing for the past 2 years). BMI now 21.5
**My blood pressure dropped so much that now I have to be careful to get enough salt in my diet!
**My joints stopped hurting and I love to run now!
**My postprandial glucose levels don't spike if I eat this way. Lovely numbers.

However, my fasting blood glucoses wouldn't budge (in fact, they even got worse after quitting alcohol last April).

So. I think with the encouragement of this forum and the wake-up call of my CGM, I finally pushed over into what I'd now call very low carb eating. I'm down to less than 20g carb a day - but no side effects because I have been gradually evolving to this point, lol. And my fasting levels are FINALLY inching downward. They are actually peeking into the upper range of normal some mornings.

I post this because it has been surprising to me to find that my particular (healthy weight) body really needs a very low carbohydrate intake at this point, either due to long-standing genetic predisposition, damage to my metabolism over the years, or a combo of those.

I would love to discover that I can "heal" my metabolism and allow greater flexibility into my diet. But for the time being, I'm going to stick with what is working.

 

[bulkbiker]

How has your chronic kidney disease reacted to dietary changes?

 

[Lamont D]

Hi, yes and isn't it enlightening?
After over a decade of healthy eating, I was still gaining weight, feeling awful, ill, and I believe that I wouldn't be here now.
Only after diagnosis and going very low carb did my health change.
I had all sorts wrong with me, I call it my hypo hell period.

Since discovering what certain foods do to me, and totally avoiding them, my life has changed, the weight dropped off, my brain started working again and the most incredible feeling of energy coursing through my body.
Over the next few months, my life and health improved so much, my doctors were so surprised, I was doing so much more, I got my life back!
I could work full time again!

It's all down to my balance of foods, I only eat what is healthy for me!
I only eat fresh food and it agrees with me, every test results are normal or better than normal! I am an oap, but I have the energy of a twenty year old, I never stop!
I'm never hungry or tired and my sleep patterns have improved so much since.

There are only positives, no negatives!

Once you have realised that you feel really good, you don't want or need to go back!

Well done!

 

[Auto E]

How has your chronic kidney disease reacted to dietary changes?

Great question, thanks for asking. My kidney numbers haven't changed since my initial CKD diagnosis (also Jan 2018). My nephrologist says he expects a 1-2 % drop in function each year - I'm hoping to prove him wrong when I go back - I think in March. I haven't had a kidney function test since last summer. Wouldn't it be amazing if I could improve kidney function? Many docs say that can't happen - but Dr. Bernstein improved his kidney function, and also - remember how T2D used to be always told that it's a "chronic, progressive, irreversible" disease? So many on these forums have proved that wrong!

 

[bulkbiker]

Great question, thanks for asking. My kidney numbers haven't changed since my initial CKD diagnosis (also Jan 2018). My nephrologist says he expects a 1-2 % drop in function each year - I'm hoping to prove him wrong when I go back - I think in March. I haven't had a kidney function test since last summer. Wouldn't it be amazing if I could improve kidney function? Many docs say that can't happen - but Dr. Bernstein improved his kidney function, and also - remember how T2D used to be always told that it's a "chronic, progressive, irreversible" disease? So many on these forums have proved that wrong!

Good luck.. I hear from other sources that improvements have been seen with very low carb/keto/carni eating ..