My low carb journey - Week 10 reflections

[TheSecretCarbAddict]

This is Week 10 of my low carb journey and I finally had a chance to sit down to look at my data and reflect on my journey to date. While it is still early days, I've already seen some major successes and wanted to share these with the community in case this can serve as an inspiration for others.

I'm a bit late to the party. I've been diagnosed with type 2 diabetes for over 15 years, for most of that time the condition has been out of control despite maxing out on all different oral medication (and I've been compliant). The fact that I've been obese since my early childhood and until recently didn't pay much attention to what I eat did not help. It took me over 40 years to recognise that I have a very unhealthy relationship with food in the form of carb addiction. But I'm here now, with the most insight I've ever had and it can only get better.

Last 10 weeks have been a bit of a rollercoaster with things progressing very fast. My CGM tells me that my blood glucose levels are in a healthy range. My scales say that I've hit a healthy BMI for the first time ever. I'm down from six medications to just two with much reduced dosage and now monitoring the impact for a few weeks to decide if the last two can be stopped as well. Words like 'remission' have never been part of my diabetes vocabulary, but now it feels well within reach. I do have to say that I'm really lucky to have a very supportive GP, who is very forward thinking and really passionate about treating long-term conditions through lifestyle changes rather than throwing more medications at them.

So what's my secret? No secrets, just hard work! But here are some things that have helped. I think the turning point for me was accepting that I need to own my health, that it is not something that is done to me by medical profession. Took me a long while for me to get here. The next step was for me to take some time out to figure out my initial game plan - pull together my thoughts about how I was going to proceed, what I'm going to tackle first, think about what information and support I needed and put in place some of those foundations. My initial focus has been on nutrition - eating LCHF diet and tackling my carb addiction - as I feel this has the most impact for me. There are plenty more things to consider once this are has been addressed. One critical success factor in this journey has been my support network - yes, you, my forumites!

Oh, and I like to geek out with my gadgets and collect all sorts of biofeedback. I've made a commitment to myself to stay curious, try out different approaches, listen to the feedback from my body and stick with what works for me. And when I say geek out, this is the type of thing I'm talking about:

As I said, still early days, but I'm really encouraged by the progress so far. The main thing on my mind right now is how I maintain the momentum right now and then on an ongoing basis. In other words, how do I ensure that this is sustainable.

I've been meaning to blog about my journey, but didn't get too far with this. I have however had a few brain-dumps in case these are useful to anyone:

https://thesecretcarbaddict.uk/reading-list/
https://thesecretcarbaddict.uk/2024/05/my-metabolic-health-principles-1.0/
https://thesecretcarbaddict.uk/2024/05/quantified-self-toolbox/

Happy to share further details of my day to day approach, just ask.

 

[Rachox]

Very well done @TheSecretCarbAddict such amazing progress. I love a good chart, I have my life since diagnosis recorded on a spreadsheet! Keep up the good work, I’m sure you will now.
BTW your screen name is no longer correct, your liking for carbs is no longer secret nor an addiction!

 

[TheSecretCarbAddict]

Very well done @TheSecretCarbAddict BTW your screen name is no longer correct, your liking for carbs is no longer secret nor an addiction!

I think that is more of a reference to how ready I am to put my real face / name to this information in public. Not quite there yet, but one day!

 

[LeafyArts]

You have done so well and it just goes to prove that many of us can make a huge difference to our own health. Your medical team are going to be absolutely delighted with your progress, as I can imagine, you are.

I do love a good spreadsheet and keep a record of mine, but now I realise it needs a few more stats added to be half as good as yours.

Keep up the good work!

 

[becca59]

Well done @TheSecretCarbAddict Success comes through hard work and you have obviously applied yourself. The secret to this though was accepting that you are in charge of your own health and that you had to be prepared to work at it. Which you have indeed done. Too many people believe the medical profession without question, and readily take drugs prescribed without thinking or researching them.

 

[TheSecretCarbAddict]

Well done @TheSecretCarbAddict Success comes through hard work and you have obviously applied yourself. The secret to this though was accepting that you are in charge of your own health and that you had to be prepared to work at it. Which you have indeed done. Too many people believe the medical profession without question, and readily take drugs prescribed without thinking or researching them.

I think that is spot on, @becca59. These days I think of medical profession as important partners in my journey, but ultimately I own my health and have the final say. It was also about accepting that no one will do the hard work for me and that I will need to own it. I'm kicking myself that it took me 15 years to get to this point, but upon reflection I also realise it is a complex mix of factors that are at play here and each of us will have our unique journeys. For me it was mix of denial, will power (or lack of it), learning and growth mindset (or lack of it), knowledge about my conditions, skills to make effective personal changes and establish good habits, food addiction, and the list goes on. I saw a message on X yesterday that pretty much described my journey over time - I went from believing the nature doesn't apply to me (denial) to preferring to be supervised/managed (doctors know best, lack of will power alongside food addiction meant it was easier to think of all this as someone else's problem) to taking personal responsibility for my health (where I'm heading now).

 

[Chris24Main]

Nice work, @TheSecretCarbAddict - and I like the mind map... and I can definitely see the similarities in our stories.. Powerful, life changing steps you've taken though.. and really excellent to hear that you're having a positive, supportive experience with your GP.. that makes such a difference.

 

[JoKalsbeek]

Excellent work, and aaw, a reading list....!!!! I do love a good list with books! ("When in doubt, go to the library, right?)".

Be proud, you've moved mountains and continue to do so.