Newcastle comes to Oldham

5.8 at bedtime last night, 5.3 fasting this morning and 6.1 2hrs after breakfast. If it stays like that I'll be happy enough. I must try a higher carb meal to see what the effect is - but I think I'll leave that until after I have the next blood test.

I've lost just 1lb this week (assuming my scales are accurate).

Andrew

Up late this morning ....... 5.8 before bed last night, 6.4 fasting today and 5.5 2hrs after breakfast.

Still going OK, but I obviously haven't yet conquered the Dawn Phenomenon problem. Average fasting since I came off the Newcastle diet is 6.1 - and 5.9 2hrs after breakfast.

Andrew

I'm going to pop into the health centre this morning to book in for my annual diabetic review - so I've been having a quick look at my BG figures over the last month or two. During the period when I was trying the Newcastle diet, my BGs two hours after meals averaged 6.8 - not especially impressive. For the last month, I have been on Atkins and my two hours after meals BGs have averaged 5.9 - much better.

I couldn't guess what my HBA1C is going to be with any hope of accuracy, but I do think it's going to be better than last time (which was 6.8 ). Last time I had been on 4x500mg metformins per day but dropped those completely on April Fool's Day - so really the BG figures this quarter are quite a significant improvement.

I'd really hate it if my HBA1C was higher than last time (actually, I'd hate it if it wasn't under 6.5) - keeping my fingers crossed.

Andrew

Dunno yet, the appointment is on Friday morning. Watch this space ........

Andrew

Defren said:

If you average out at 6.8 your HbA1c would be 5.6 however average out at 5.9 it would be 5.1

Click to expand...

It doesn't seem to work out quite like that for me. I usually take a fasting reading (often the highest of the day), then 2hrs after breakfast, then either 2hrs after lunch or dinner - and a reading at bedtime. Last time, those readings averaged 6.15 over the four weeks prior to the blood test - and my HBA1C was 6.8. This time, the average is 5.8. The big improvement for me is in the readings 2hrs after meals. For the period before my last blood test, the average breakfast+2 reading was 7.1 mmol/l. For the last month, it has averaged just over 5.9.

My guess is that my HBA1C will be somewhere between 6 and 6.5. We'll see .........

Andrew

It's just about 12 months since I saw the doc and he's amazed both at my weight loss and the fact that I can reasonably maintain on-target blood glucose levels using diet alone. As I thought, my HBA1C is not quite as low as I wanted it to be - 6.6 compared with 6.8 3 months ago - but at least it is lower. It seems oddly high to me, as my average over all blood glucose reading for the last month was under 6.0 at the time of the blood test. Ho hum ....

My triglycerides were down a bit to 0.9, which is OK I think. HDL was up a bit to 1.4, which is also OK - but LDL was up a bit which isn't (too much cheese, maybe). The diabetic nurse also said that my ALT (whatever that is) has fallen a LOT in the last quarter. Apparently, my ALT reading has been rising steadily for years and reached the heady heights of 120 in February 2012. This time it is 16 (sixteen) which is a staggering fall. I'm rather hoping that someone can tell me some more about the significance of ALT.

According to Wikipedia: "ALT level and body fat
Alanine aminotransferase is used as a surrogate marker for nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), which is frequently observed among obese subjects. ALT concentrations have a strong association with visceral fat accumulation. "

Maybe I am misunderstanding, but it sounds like this means that my liver has been defatized to some tune - presumably by my (somewhat feeble) attempt at the Newcastle diet.

From here on, I think it's just a matter of getting back on the diet wagon, actually losing some weight, getting some exercise and keeping my blood glucose under control by keeping the carbs down. I'm going to kickstart the process, starting on Monday next week, with a full week of nothing but Atkins Advantage shakes. At least, when I go on holiday the following Monday, I should have lost a pound or two and maybe have fasting BGs in the low 5's. Sooner or later, I'll get that HBA1C down into the 5's. At least now OFFICIALLY I'm off all diabetes medication.

Andrew

I did re-start the diet on Monday with just Atkins Advantage shakes (+200g of green veg) - and in two days, I seem to have lost 4 lb. I'm going on holiday in Cornwall/Devon starting next Tuesday for the best part of a month - but I'll restart on Atkins shakes when I get back. I'm determined that sooner or later I'm going to get my HBA1C down under 6 - without medication.

Andrew

Fasting this morning is 4.9. Breakfast+2 - 5.9

These Atkins shakes are definitely the business!

Andrew