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'Newcastle diet' advice

paulins said:
6 st 7 lbs lost now! Do 5k every day. BS this morning 3.9. Wonder if this means I have reversed diabetes? Recent liver scan and no fat in liver. Was gong time ask them to have quick look at my pancreas while they were at it but didn't in the end.
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Excellent, paulins, and good to have you posting again.
 
In our society we eat too much and burn too little!

It would appear that there is a direct link between obesity and type 2 which is also known as insulin resistance. I say appear because there are thin people with type 2 too.

This resistance is either due to the insulin not getting out of the pancreas due to visceral fat in the pancreas or due to fat cells preventing the insulin from being absorbed by the tissues!

One way to improve the blood sugar situation is to lose the fat.

The Newcastle diet was an experiment with 11 people to see if aggressively losing the weight would have a positive effect on blood glucose ie reducing the insulin resistance. The results were that in 7 of the 11 test subjects it worked and the bg normalised within 8 weeks.

However it was and is a very aggressive form of losing weight.
800 kcal a day and a meal substitute shake is bordering on a hunger strike.

One can achieve the same results simply reducing the intake and doing more exercise but it will take longer.

I reduced my calorie intake to 2100 kcal a day (that's the metabolic rate for a guy my size) (metabolic is the rate a person needs to consume if one does no activity ie just stayed in bed) my active rate is around 3200-3400 kcal a day.

At the same time I took up cycling and running.

I have lost 20kg close to 3 stone and my fasting bg is around 5.5 to 6.5. Down from 19 in April.

So what am I saying.
Lose the weight by whatever means! Newcastle is good but aggressive other options may be slower but more of a lifestyle change and possibly better over the long term ie the lifestyle change means one may keep the weight off for good.

Take up exercise not only will this burn calories and reduce fat, but it will force the blood to circulate better through the tissues getting that insulin through the pancreas and to the cells where it is needed.

For me it's early days yet, but I am off the meds and am hoping to stay that way! Need to lose another 10kgs and am going to do it by cycling 1000miles in 2 weeks time over the alps (some may view this as aggressive )
 
Ps meant to congratulate all those that are doing the dieting and getting their bgs under 7.
 
Thanks folks. I am struggling with those last few pounds but am determined to get to 10st. Have been trying to slowly add foods to see what they do to my BS levels and OK so far. I think for me the real thing is the exercise. After surgery I couldn't do much for a week or so each time and I really felt it was making a difference. Keep posting and let me se how you are all doing.
 
paulins said:
6 st 7 lbs lost now! Do 5k every day. BS this morning 3.9. Wonder if this means I have reversed diabetes? Recent liver scan and no fat in liver. Was gong time ask them to have quick look at my pancreas while they were at it but didn't in the end.
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It sounds really promising @paulins.
I don't know where you get your willpower from, but it has been phenomenal, and you deserve to have succeeded .
Well done.
 

You are to be congratulated too. I am glad you have found a method to control your blood glucose that suits you. We each need to find a way best for our own needs.

As you rightly point out, the original Newcastle study was small. That is why there is ongoing research to evaluate the methodology, and to see if the success can be replicated. It certainly will not be for everyone. However, I do not agree that the Newcastle diet method is 'aggressive' To me that suggests it is damaging, painful even. It has been quite the opposite for me. I have tried all sorts of other methods to control diabetes. (Including reducing calorie intake and increasing exercise). Unsuccessfully. With the Newcastle method I had non-diabetic blood glucose levels within days of starting. This was after having T2 for six years. I have now had non-diabetic blood glucose for 3 years. I originally lost 42kg. Have regained 15kg, though have been immobile due to having major surgery, and eating some not too helpful foods.

I took a gamble with Newcastle dieting, as I felt it offered a chance to sort diabetes. As I had been diabetic for so long, and I am getting older, I did not want to wait for several years for what I regarded as a last chance, to be evaluated. By then I would probably have had diabetic complications, which I seem to have avoided. I am glad I took that chance, as the alternative, bariatric surgery, could be better described as an aggressive treatment. The Newcastle method does advocate lifestyle change too. Anyone regarding it as a quick fix is deluded. I think we all know there is no such thing. But if you are intending to persuade people not to try the Newcastle method I would have to disagree. I would suggest to anyone considering it that they should be well informed by reading the academic papers, get their GP involved, and make an informed decision. The whole point of Newcastle diet is to mimic the physiological response of bariatric surgery, by food restriction, which can enable the pancreas to recover and reverse the diabetes. The weight loss, is a secondary effect. The weight loss is of course necessary for continued blood glucose control, but it is the calorie intake restriction that starts the process.

Good luck with the cycling. Hope you get good weather.
 
I am in the bizarre position, after 7 months of dieting, that I am being advised to eat more now, yet I think my stomach must have shrunk so much that I'm struggling to do this! My taste buds have also changed as I simply don't want high carb food, or sugar or anything sweet. 3lbs to go before I have lost 7 stones! I have been advised that I should not go under 10st 7lbs for my height (5'7''). On occasion, I really fancy something like crisps, or chilli-coated nuts, which I used to love, but that's about it, and I won't do it as I am anxious that I might push my BS levels up again. I would so hate to undo all this hard work. Need to find some way to stabilise, and learn to eat properly without doing damage.
Any advice welcomed.
 
I would say try it.
If you do, your BS will go up.
I don't eat sugary food.
I completely changed my taste from sugar to spice.
Chilli's I can eat by the handful now.

But, if you LC, you lose the ability to deal with carbs, and it needs to be re-introduced.
I would suggest you try some, as you need to increase your calorie intake.
I would suggest a small amount, if you self test, you may see a rise in BS, but hopefully, you will rise less and less, and can increase the carbs a bit more.
If not, try a different food.
I did that, and can handle a reasonable amount of carbs now.
No matter what you do, with the willpower you have shown, you know you can always go back.
 

What are you actually eating these days Paulins? I only ask so that I might be able to make a selection that may fit with what you are eating already.
 
I am eating lots of vegetables, salads, lean chicken, several eggs a week, lots of soup. My husband has been great and has made me fabulous stir forts, curries, and other such things. Really quite limited still as I was so determined to lose all the weight and reverse the diabetes.
But I know I can't keep this up!
 

When I really wanted to stop losing, I did a couple of things initially.

Firstly, I just upped my portions a bit. It wasn't anything conscious like 20% or anything! just if we were having a steak, I had a larger steak. Not massive, just bigger. Similarly at each meal. At the same time, I started eating crackling from roasts, chicken skin etc.

Then, still losing, I added a portion of nuts to my lunch. I love peanuts, but I could eat too many, and if I do eat too many, there are unfortunate consequences. I added them as I have enforced portion control, and felt I could give them up easily if I had to.

If you eat dairy, you could have cream in soups. Cheese grated over veg? Butter added to cabbage?

I found it tricky embracing more fat, but it's an easy way to up the carbs and the food group likely to make least upward shift in your bloods.

I also always ate carbs, so, they were increased when I increased portion size. But. And it's a big but; my bloods didn't deteriorate. They got better. Have got rid of the insulin resistance, my body coped just fine. So, maybe have a little more carb? Perhaps you could focus on the veggy carbs, just to widen that portfolio.

It'll take a little while until you understand your thresholds, but you'll get there. Changing from losing weight to careful eating isn't easy. I've had a few false dawns where I think I've cracked it, then it go and lose another pound or two.
 
That's really helpful! Thank you so much. I think the problem for me is that I went straight onto the Newcastle diet when I was diagnosed in January and have not learned yet how to eat as a diabetic (hopefully a reversed one.) I will try the things you suggest and let you know. So pleased to hear that you have achieved and maintained such good levels.
 
@AndBreathe - what levels do you look for fasting, and one and two hours after food? What would you consider 'normal'?
 

How about having some cheese, nuts, and introducing a small amount of carb, like sweet potato, gradually. I would put a small amount of sweet potato, parsnip, or lentils in the soup to start, and test BG regularly to see what if any effect they had.
 
Great minds think alike as I was going to suggest adding lentils to the soup or split peas.
You can make a lovely cauliflower and cheese soup with leeks and a parsnip to thicken or as suggested, add swirl,of cream to likes of tomato and basil or mushroom soup. Crustless quiche is lovely and if you use a bit of cream in it would up the calories - I make mine with ham base and then lots of mushrooms and tomatoes. Add olive oil dressing to your salads and butter to griddled asparagus.
Another option is to have a second course at mealtimes- garlic mushrooms in cream or stuffed with pate and bake with cheese topping, griddled veg with herby butter, a small portion of soup- or a desert such as berries and thick yogurt or cream. Or a low carb dessert like the chocolate microwave mug cake, or cheese and celery and a low carb crispbread.
 

That's very LCHF though, and if @paulins has improved her insulin resistance, or reversed the diabetes, that would mask it, and artificially lessen the ability to absorb glucose.
 
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