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Newcastle comes to Oldham

Day 30: FBG 5.6

Andrew
 
Day 47: FBG 6.4, breakfast+2 5.9

I am on Day 47 of 56, so theoretically have a little over a week left of the 8 week diet period. I've been on holiday for the last couple of weeks and have been chasing the wagon most of the time. Yes, I had shakes every day - but I did have a solid lunch, had way too much alcohol and sometimes cheated in the evening when we had visitors to the caravan. I feel inclined to extend the diet by a couple of weeks to try to get back to where I should have been and have to strive to follow it properly - no cheating. After that, I'll move onto the induction phase of Atkins but try and keep the calories down to a sensible level too.

I towed the caravan back from Resipole Farm (west of Fort William on Loch Sunart) yesterday -nearly 380 miles- and (mea culpa) had a burger & (some) fries at a Burger King about 1pm. I feared the worst when I checked my blood glucose at 8pm (before an evening shake) and -------- it was 4.3! Weird .........

Andrew
 
andrewk said:
Day 47: FBG 6.4, breakfast+2 5.9

I am on Day 47 of 56, so theoretically have a little over a week left of the 8 week diet period. I've been on holiday for the last couple of weeks and have been chasing the wagon most of the time. Yes, I had shakes every day - but I did have a solid lunch, had way too much alcohol and sometimes cheated in the evening when we had visitors to the caravan. I feel inclined to extend the diet by a couple of weeks to try to get back to where I should have been and have to strive to follow it properly - no cheating. After that, I'll move onto the induction phase of Atkins but try and keep the calories down to a sensible level too.

I towed the caravan back from Resipole Farm (west of Fort William on Loch Sunart) yesterday -nearly 380 miles- and (mea culpa) had a burger & (some) fries at a Burger King about 1pm. I feared the worst when I checked my blood glucose at 8pm (before an evening shake) and -------- it was 4.3! Weird .........

Andrew
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You are two days ahead of me. I am done a week on Sunday. I will finish then as I have only cheated three times in 6 1/2 weeks. I am going to go onto Atkins induction, but I have also removed all grains from my diet, so it will be a bit tighter, but it's what I want to do.

Well done with the burger, not sure if your lucky or stupid, but I'll go with lucky, as I know the reported effects of the ND and lower BG's certainly are part of the reward. :lol: Burgers are not my thing, so I wouldn't cheat with them, mine was a low carb home made almond cake, and home made low carb bread. I thought my will power would have kept me away from my baking, but my nose let me down. I had a slice of cake and slither of bread. Lovely!
 
Defren said:
Well done with the burger, not sure if your lucky or stupid, but I'll go with lucky, as I know the reported effects of the ND and lower BG's certainly are part of the reward. :lol: Burgers are not my thing, so I wouldn't cheat with them
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Burgers are not my thing either - but needed something to eat at the Gretna Green motorway services. Nothing even vaguely like a salad in the whole place. I was towing the caravan, so could have had a shake if I hadn't run out of shake mix on the previous day.

I've had an unexpectedly low BG after driving for several hours before - most odd

Andrew
 
Day 49: FBG 6.4, breakfast+2 6.2, lunch+2 5.9, dinner+2 5.2

Weight is now 98.8kg, only 1kg lower than before I went on holiday. Still, at least it came down a bit. For a BMI of 22, I have around 23kg to lose yet!!! (3 stones 8 1/2 lb in English money). Onward and downward .......... (I'm sure I've heard that before somewhere).

The post meal blood glucose readings are not bad - but I'd like the fasting reading to come down some more yet. Sub-6 for all readings would be good.

Andrew
 
Well done, into your final week. My final week starts Monday, finishes next Sunday. Can't wait to see the results in BG levels. Plus, can't wait to eat as I want, rather than x amount of meals a day and nothing else. Not long now, for us both!
 
On Tuesday this week, I decided to terminate my "Newcastle Diet" experiment and migrate onto the induction phase of Atkins a few days early. I have been finding it difficult to keep to the diet recently - Sarah's birthday party and going on holiday for a couple of weeks didn't help.

The BG readings for the last few days on ND are:

Day 50: FBG 6.1, break+2 7.0
Day 51: FBG 7.1, break+2 7.4
Day 52: FBG 6.2, break+2 7.7

The first few days of Atkins induction phase are:

Day 53 (Wed 13 Jun 12) FBG 6.4, break+2 5.8
Day 54 (Thur 14 Jun 12) FBG 6.4, break+2 5.6, lunch+2 5.9, bedtime 5.0

I've ordered a couple of tubs of Atkins Advantage shake mix to use occasionally as a meal substitute as the mood takes me - or to use as a "snack" if necessary. Although I'll not post daily updates to this thread, I will post the occasional one - probably weekly.

Overall, I think that (despite the cheating), the diet has been a success. My breakfast+2 readings for the last two days are the lowest I have EVER measured - lower even than when I was still on the full quota of medication prior to Aug 2011 (4x500mg metformin, 6mg glimepiride, sitagliptin). The current results definitely suggest that I can maintain reasonable blood glucose levels using (some) exercise and diet (Atkins) alone - which was always a major objective for me. I'm planning on having my bloods tested again in about 3 weeks time. I'll be disappointed if the HBA1C is any higher than last time (6.8) and ecstatic if it is as low as 6.0 (unlikely). Hopefully, it'll be somewhere in between.

Andrew
 
You did 7+ weeks of the ND and even with the odd cheat, you deserve a huge pat on the back. Your figures are showing a real positive, and that is what we all aim for.

I look forward to seeing your updates, as this will give a picture as to you pancreatic health.

Really well done and good luck with your HbA1c.
 
My BGs seem to be improving a little ......

Day 54 (Fri 15 Jun 12) FBG 6.3, break+2 5.8, lunch+2 5.3, bedtime 4.8
Day 55 (Sat 16 Jun 12) FBG 6.1, break+2 6.2, , bedtime 4.9

Andrew
 
Day 57 (Sun 17 Jun 12) FBG 6.4, break+2 5.0, lunch+2 5.1

I was up late today, so the FBG reading was taken at 9.15am. I didn't have breakfast until 10.30am (fried eggs and Black Farmer low carb sausages!!) - so the break+2 reading was at 12.30pm.

Today's break+2 reading is my lowest post-meal reading ever. This Atkins stuff works, doesn't it? I would like to get the fasting reading below 6. It'll happen in time. :-)

Andrew
 
Great job Andrew. Your figures are looking really great.

My first day post diet and it's great. I have felt stuffed all day, but it's so nice to be able to eat freely again.

Keep us updated with your figures.
 
Day 58 (Mon) FBG 5.9, break+2 6.1
Day 59 (Tue) FBG 5.9, break+2 5.7
Day 60 (Wed) FBG 5.8, break+2 5.2

The trend is still downwards, which is good. Out of interest, I also checked BG at 1 hour after breakfast this morning - 5.9 - which, for me, is outstandingly good. I really am beginning to wonder whether I might get near to an HBA1C of 6.0 next time.

So far, I am very pleased with the progress on Atkins induction. It's a LOT easier to stick to than the Newcastle diet - no cheating so far (i.e. no high carb stuff!!).

Andrew
 
Really pleased for you. After a dreadful time with Metformin pre diet, I am thrilled to say I am eating like a horse, and my BG figures are also brilliant. I am really pleased. I am doing Atkins, more maintenance than anything else, but I don't eat wheat or any other grains. Lots of dairy, meat, poultry, veggies and salad, with some berry's most days. I am also eating a lot of fish (smoked salmon for lunch today). The ND DOES work, I have no doubt. Is my weight loss going to stall? Hmm, it may well do, just because of the amount I am eating. My BMR is 1, 340 and I am eating that each day, so will have to keep a close eye. Feeling great though.

I will post my figures on my thread weekly or bi weekly, but so far, I am thrilled, and I am also thrilled for you! Well done.
 
Defren said:
The ND DOES work, I have no doubt. Is my weight loss going to stall?
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I have been on Atkins induction previously - but even when I was still taking diabetes medication, my BGs weren't this good - so, yes, I agree with you that ND has a very positive effect. I am wondering, if my BGs start to rise again as I consume some more carbs, whether to give my pancreas another kick by going back on the ND for say a week every 3 months or so. Even I can manage a week without cheating (probably). I do have a couple of full tins of Atkins Advantage shake mix in the cupboard - it would be a shame for them to go to waste.

Even though I am bothered about losing weight - 15st 7lb is still way too heavy - at the moment, it is way less of a concern than trying to get and keep my BGs in the normal range without having to take medication and without having to keep carbs down below 20g per day. I am feeling more positive than I have for ages. I'm actually quite looking forward to seeing my GP in July. :-)

Andrew
 
On the ND my FBG were always in the 4's. When I came off the diet I had a couple of low 5's but am now back in the 4's again. My +2 readings are also back to a nice steady level in the low 5's. So, for me, my figures are remaining tight, but after weighing myself yesterday, my weight is not. I have added pounds already. However, it is natural to gain a few pounds when coming off a diet, until things settle again. I am not too concerned at the moment, but if in two weeks time I am still reporting weight gain, then I will be. For me, so far so good. My HbA1c is due next Wednesday, once I have had that done, I am going to try to up my carbs a bit and see what happens. At the moment I am usually well under 25g a day, I want to know if I can do better than that, pre diet I certainly couldn't.
 
Defren said:
My HbA1c is due next Wednesday
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I feel that I should wish you the best of luck with that - but I don't actually think you'll need it.

Andrew
 
Readings for the last few days are:

Day 61 Thu FBG 5.8, break+2 5.5
Day 62 Fri FBG 6.2, break+2 5.7
Day 63 Sat FBG 6.1, break+2 5.3
Day 64 Sun FBG 6.3, break+2 5.2
Day 65 Mon FBG 6.3

Other post-meal readings are generally in the 5's - often low 5's. I've taken the odd reading one hour after meals, which should be near the peak and they are in the 5's too. I'm generally happy with these, but I still have a bit of the Dawn Phenomenon problem, which is why the fasting readings are often in the low 6's.

I weighed myself this morning too. I know that others have often gained weight after coming off a Newcastle style diet. In the 12 days since I started on Atkins induction, I have lost 3lb which is very pleasing. I'm not having any problems on Atkins induction and will probably just continue as I am for the time being.

Andrew
 
andrewk said:
Readings for the last few days are:

Day 61 Thu FBG 5.8, break+2 5.5
Day 62 Fri FBG 6.2, break+2 5.7
Day 63 Sat FBG 6.1, break+2 5.3
Day 64 Sun FBG 6.3, break+2 5.2
Day 65 Mon FBG 6.3

Other post-meal readings are generally in the 5's - often low 5's. I've taken the odd reading one hour after meals, which should be near the peak and they are in the 5's too. I'm generally happy with these, but I still have a bit of the Dawn Phenomenon problem, which is why the fasting readings are often in the low 6's.

I weighed myself this morning too. I know that others have often gained weight after coming off a Newcastle style diet. In the 12 days since I started on Atkins induction, I have lost 3lb which is very pleasing. I'm not having any problems on Atkins induction and will probably just continue as I am for the time being.

Andrew
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Brilliant job Andrew, well done!

Yes, I have gained 2 pounds this week, first full week post diet. I expected that, hoped it wouldn't happen, but I can live with 2lb easily. I just hope the scales go back to heading downwards next week.

Joanna.
 
After a few days of rising BGs, I have reduced my cheese consumption substantially -- just a little cambozola yesterday, now run out. For several days, I will eat little or no cheese and see what happens. My bedtime reading last night was 4.7 (probably affected by a scotch) and 5.2 this morning, which is fine.

Andrew
 
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