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My Good News

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stuartalan

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Hi I have had some great news come through I went to the Doctors on Monday with the view of moving onto Insulin, I am currently taking tablets for Type 2 Diabetes. My sugars glucose levels in Jan were close to 17 and I was 22 1/2 stone.

My surprise yesterday was that my levels have dropped to 8.8 and my weight has dropped to 17stone also informed by the specialist that have I reduced my risk of heart, eye and feet problems by 35%-40%.

The weight loss has been achieved by diet and doing 3 -4 1hr sessions of Zumba a week, I have tried circuit trg, boxercise, step, pilates etc but the Zumba is the only form of exercise which has really helped me lose so much weight and I have now set myself a goal of reducing my weight to 14 1/2 stone in the next 3-4months. (originally I was looking at 15 stone)

Anyone who wants to loose weight a strict diet helps, but Zumba is so much fun and a great workout, you are practicually using every part of the body for the full hour when I started I was the only male in the class among 40 females, but its a hour of fun and as my weight has been coming down the instructor and the ladies in the class have been very supportive as they noticed my weight has been dropping and they have noticed a change in me I am more confident and feel and look better. They keep telling me they love the effort I am putting in and are really encouraging. It certainly has helped me control my diabetes in a big way.
 
Hi Stuartalan and welcome to the forum :) You are certainly doing very well with Zumba in getting your levels and weight down :) Maybe this information will also help you - it is given to new members by the Forum Monitors. It contains information on several topics which might interest you. Ask as many questions as you like about this or anything else - we will all be pleased to help you.

Here is the advice that Ken and I, as Forum Monitors, usually give to newly diagnosed Diabetics. We hope that these few ideas gained through experience help you to gain control and give you some understanding of Diabetes. This forum doesn't always follow the recommended dietary advice, you have to work out what works for you as we are all different.

It's not just 'sugars' you need to avoid, diabetes is an inability to process glucose properly. Carbohydrate converts, in the body, to glucose. So it makes sense to reduce the amount of carbohydrate that you eat which includes sugars.

For more information on CARBOHYDRATE see here:

viewtopic.php?f=3&t=20306

This is NOT a low carb diet suggestion, just a reduction in your intake of carbohydrate. You have to decide yourself how much of a reduction will keep your blood glucose levels in control.

The main carbs to avoid OR reduce are the complex or starchy carbohydrates such as bread, potatoes, pasta, rice, starchy root veg and also any flour based products. The starchy carbs all convert 100% to glucose in the body and raise the blood sugar levels significantly.

If you are on Insulin you may find that reducing the carb intake also means that you can reduce your dose of insulin. This can help you to keep weight gain down as Insulin tends to make you put on weight and eventually cause insulin resistance. This should be done slowly so as not to cause hypos.

The way to find out how different foods affect you is to do regular daily testing and keep a food diary for a couple of weeks. If you test just before eating, then two hours after eating, you will see the effect of certain foods on your blood glucose levels. Some foods, which are slow acting carbohydrates, are absorbed more slowly so you may need to test three or even four hours later to see the effect that these have on your blood glucose levels.

Buy yourself a carb counter book (you can get these on-line) and you will be able to work out how much carbs you are eating, when you test, the reading two hours after should be roughly the same as the before eating reading, if it is then that meal was fine, if it isn’t then you need to check what you have eaten and think about reducing the portion size of carbs.

When you are buying products check the total carbohydrate content, this includes the sugar content. Do not just go by the amount of sugar on the packaging as this is misleading to a diabetic.


As for a tester, try asking the nurse/doctor and explain that you want to be proactive in managing your own diabetes and therefore need to test so that you can see just how foods affect your blood sugar levels. Hopefully this will work ! Sometimes they are not keen to give Type 2’s the strips on prescription, (in the UK) but you can but try!!

For TIPS FOR STRIPS see here:

viewtopic.php?f=20&t=19002#p173253

If you are an Insulin user in theory you should have no problem getting test strips.

The latest 2011 NICE guidelines for Bg levels are as follows:
Fasting (waking and before meals).......between 4 - 7 mmol/l...(Type 1 & 2)
2 hrs after meals........................no more than 8.5 mmol/l.....( Type 2)

2hrs after meals......................... no more than 9 mmol/l ......(Type 1)

If you are able to keep the post meal numbers lower, so much the better.

It also helps if you can do at least 30 minutes moderate exercise a day, it can be split into 10 min sessions to start with. It doesn't have to be strenuous.

The above is just general advice and it is recommended that you discuss with your HCP before making any changes. You can also ask questions on the forum on anything that is not clear.

Finally a few QUESTIONS TO ASK AT DIABETES CLINIC.

viewtopic.php?f=20&t=17091



Sue/Ken.
Click to expand...
 
Hi Daisy

Thanks for the response information is very useful thank you, what I have found with the Zumba is that I have not had to go home and eat tonnes of carbs after the class (unlike all the other classes I have tried) I can go home and have a fish or chicken salad without any cravings.
 
Hi again stuartalan :) I must say that Zumba sounds very interesting although I have not heard of it before. If you are reducing carbs that will also reduce your appetite on non-Zumba days.
 
Hi Daisy

Basically Zumba is awesome for weight loss, its The Zumba exercises include music with fast and slow rhythms and resistance training for fitness and losing weight. [4] The music comes from the following dance styles: Cumbia, Salsa, Merengue, Mambo, Flamenco, Chachacha, Reggaeton, Samba, Belly dancing, Bhangra, Hip hop music, Axé music and Tango.

What I have found is that its non competitive like a party atmosphere and as you feel good when you come out your body just does not want to eat tons off carbs or go home and crash out on the sofa. Also I have found that I always look forward to the next session and its not a chore to make the effort. (Also any age can do it)

Hope this helps
 
Fabulous news, and well done on braving the zumba class full of ladies. I've heard a lot of good reports of zumba classes being a lot of fun, wish I had a sense of rhythm and memory for steps and routines, I just fall over at things like that :lol:
 
Dear Primmers

Just go for it, when I started I was 22 1/2 stone and was totally uncoordinated, sluggish etc but as the weight has dropped off, I have managed to work harder in the class and my coordination has picked up. Zumba is great for anyone its fun dont worry about coordination just go for it. It will come and it really has helped with my type 2 diabetes and reducing the long term health risks considerably
 
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