'Newcastle diet' advice

paulins said:

So, back on treadmill today after two weeks break following my eye surgery. Half an hour. Completely knackered now, but hopefully the exercise will push down BS levels. And kick start weight loss! SO hard to keep going when weight loss seems to have stopped, and BS levels still a bit erratic. Will keep at it and update!

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Good for you, Paulins. Not easy after a break and your surgery.
Best wishes
Pipp

Andrew Colvin said:

@paulins are you still on the low calorie diet or have you increased it now? If you increased it what did you eat extra to provide extra calories? If you are still on low calorie then I don;t have any idea how I will stay ahead of you so it will become you <--- me <---pipp However, I read a post of someone else this week who is so far ahead of us in the process. Just wish I could remember who it was. There is one more that we should be in awe of and that is @AndBreathe as she is just so far ahead of us and there is no way I will ever be at her levels. She will have to become your next target.

@Pipp My nurse said that at my surgery they monitor the gastric band people for 3 years before they take them off the register. I am not sure she had come across anyone doing what we have before.

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Confused now. Andrew, do you mean they don't know of others who have been 3 years in non-diabetic b g readings who haven't had bariatric surgery? What about Prof Taylor et al at Newcastle?

paulins said:

Wonder what she is doing to achieve these fab levels! My lowest fasting was 3.4, but that was only once and it ranges mainly between 4.8-5.4.

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Andrew and Paulins

I am so grateful to you both for your encouragement and sharing info.
I maybe need to be a bit more open about myself. I find it difficult to share personal info but I am prepared to risk it. If it is boring you please feel free to ignore.
I was diagnosed T2 aged 50. I weighed 144kg. Prescribed metformin 500mg 3 times a day. Also blood glucose monitor, fasting reading in morning varied between 8.4 and 11.6. Referred to weight management clinic and started exercising in water once a week, on low fat diet. Later increased exercise to 2 or 3 times a week. After 3 years of this I still weighed 137kg and was offered bariatric surgery. I refused this and queried why if patients having this surgery had normal blood glucose readings within days, could I not just follow their diet without the surgery. I was told I would not be able to, as I would be hungry all the time. Searching for any evidence that it could be done I came across Prof Taylor's research. It was in the early stages, and there was not as much info available as now. Six years after my T2diagnosis I persuaded my GP to let me try it. I was to scared to do it alone. He agreed, as long as I was monitored by the surgery or pharmacist. I was not aware that the first Newcastle trial participants had supplemented the diet with vegetables, and was using Lipotrim, which gave approx 600 calories a day. So that was what I did, just the Lipotrim products as prescribed, and lots of water.

I began Newcastle regime in September 2011. I stayed on Lipotrim for 9 weeks to start. Within days I was having fasting BG readings around 4.8, and even the post prandial readings were normal. BG levels have remained stable within non-diabetic range since. After the initial 9 weeks I repeated the diet for another 6 weeks. This was more to lose weight than to control BG, although I was worried that as I was still obese the better BG might be temporary.

My lowest weight recently has been in May 2012, when I was 95 kg. 49kg less than when I was first diagnosed. Since then, although I have been ill, had two major operations with complications, and gained some weight, (was112kg a few weeks ago) BG has stayed below diabetic levels. I want to stay that way, which is why I have started Newcastling again. Alarmed by a slightly raised recent HbA1c of 41 recently. I must emphasise my surgery was not diabetes related, it was to repair damage due to previous surgery years ago.

I would be interested to know if there is anyone else who has maintained non-diabetic BG for a significant length of time, following Newcastle diet, despite still being obese.

My original motivation was the sheer terror of having complications of diabetes. My motivation now is a worry that having perhaps removed some of the risks, through gaining weight I am inviting those risks back into my life.
Thanking you both, and striving to achieve sensible weightloss to the level you have.
Pipp