Newcastle Diet day 1 !!

Hi everyone, diagnosed as type 2 a week ago and been doing a lot of reading. I feel as though the Newcastle diet will suit me and have gone down the option of Tesco Slim meal replacement shakes and 3 to 4 portions of the vegetables suggested. I just had a few questions. The ND booklet PDF says to use “semi skimmed” milk whereas I’ve also read to use “skimmed” milk. Any others used it and what did you go for? Today I’ve had 1 of the shakes made up with water and wasn’t as sickly tasting, would it be ok to use water as I don’t particularly like milk? Also, the carbs/sugar seem high on these shakes, is that ok as long as you stick to the plan? Had a salad at lunch and a basic vegetarian curry in the evening and feeling full.

Outlier said:

I think you'll find real food a lot easier, and easier to maintain for life, as we diabetics, in remission or not, have to. Read through our recipes and other posts and see how easy and healthy it can be. We will support you all the way: we are real people with real experience. Welcome.

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Thanks for the reply. I do like to cook from scratch too, so that's appealing too. Appreciate the support.

Really appreciate all the encouraging replies, thank you. I’m just trying to follow the ND to the letter for a few weeks (8 if I can) and then will steadily introduce more of the balanced meals I’m making now. Reading the research, the very low calorie diet is ‘meant’ to give the pancreas a kick start and I’m in the weight bracket where I do need to lose 15kg.

Unfortunately, that’s the amount I’ve put back on through lockdown and the discipline of following the plan will hopefully suit me and my lifestyle.

Made the tomato soup recipe from the Hairy Bikers Diabetes book today with leek, onion, celery, fennel, butternut squash, red pepper, carrot and possibly added a bit too much chilli ️, it’s got a bit of a kick and will go in the freezer along with a few portions of veg curry for future quick meals.

Thank you again everyone, I really do appreciate the encouragement.

Diablo T2 said:

Good luck with the ND. I read a book by Professor Taylor where the results of the research behind the ND are described and it does seem on average it will really get you on your way, i.e. kick start you primarily because of the initial weight loss.

Since you like cooking from scratch too anyway, I think it'll not be too difficult to then devise a sustainable diet that continues your progress for the long term. Like many on here I cut out carbs and substituted foods that contained fat or protein. I wasn't one who used to cook from scratch so had to develop that skill In the end I did enjoy being able to do it. One of the revelations for me was how I never felt too hungry when primarily eating fats and proteins compared to when the majority of my calories came from carbs.

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I’m only on day 2 but not feeling hungry so far which I thought would be the biggest obstacle……very very early days though.

Quick stir fry today with a shake of 5 spice and soy sauce

Thanks for the post, I’ve found the book so will give that a read too

Oldvatr said:

If you look at the original ND trials, they used Exante and Optifast diet shakes, mixed with water. The follow on diet plan uses Cambridge Plan shakes with water. So to repeat the conditions of the trials then this is what you should follow.

Taylor has since surmised that whatever you use is ok so long as it is reduced calorie, but that statement is his opinion and not backed up by the trial evidence.

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That’s good to know. Thank you for posting.

Resurgam said:

I find that anything spicy can become incredibly enhanced by freezing - I always freeze the basic stuff without any spice or pepper and only add it after defrosting.

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Thank you. I’ll let you know once I’ve tried some today

Day 3 nearly done. @Resurgam you were correct about the chili in the frozen soup - it was very spicy but still nice. Last nights stir fry was tasty. The ND diet allows 'soy sauce' but I noticed a big difference in carbs across the brands, eg. Asda own label 30g per 100ml, right down to 3.2g per 100ml for some of the more pricey 'traditional' brands. Kale, Spinach, Watercress, Rocket and Leek soup tonight to complement the shakes. One thing I've realised already is how cost effective it is to eat like this (even without the shakes!).

AndBreathe said:

Glad it's going OK for you.

I think sometimes when it comes to stuff like sauces and seasonings it makes sense to consider how much we might actually be consuming. In my world, 100ml of soy sauce would be a lot of soy sauce.

If you are looking at a spice or condiment that will make a real difference to how something turns out, it can be worth accepting the nutritional cost/benefit analysis. It is also having a very eagle eye on how some things are expressed ml v gr v "portion".

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Thank you. Yes, definitely agree with you. I guess every little helps, so the one I went for was 3.2g/100ml. As you say, I only used about 10ml so hardly worth it.

First week of Newcastle diet and 9kg down after my GP diagnosis mid December. I started the ND on 27th December after trying to conventionally diet for the first 2 weeks and doing as much research into type 2 reversal as I could.

Got an appointment with the diabetic nurse on Monday and concerned that they will prescribe statins and metformin although hopefully my weight loss and my BP falling to normal levels will help me persuade them to try to continue on this path.

ajbod said:

Hi Keith, i don't know what your numbers are, but well done for a brilliant start. If they recommend Statins and Metformin you are perfectly entitled to decline the offer, and state you wish to give diet etc a chance first. Nobody can make you take anything you don't want to. as far as Metformin goes if your body can tolerate it, it would be a help, and is much more beneficial if no side effects. my view on Statins are that they are the biggest con ever pulled, and the medical profession need to stop falling for the marketing guff spewed out by big Pharma.

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Thanks for the reply @ajbod, much appreciated. It really helps a lot sharing progress and the encouragement and support given. I totally understand that the ND approach isn't for everyone but I've got to give it my best shot. My BP on diagnosis on 13th December was 183/100 and HbA1c levels were at 98. My BP is now regular below the normal range of 120/80 and my resting pulse has dropped by around 10. I guess another blood test is unlikely to show lower levels for several weeks? I don't have a finger prick or Libre type monitor but wonder if I should be using one now - I'll ask on Monday!

The reason I went to the GPs was I was getting up once through the night to go to the toilet and that is unusual for me. I was also feeling increasingly tired but put that down to very long and stressful hours at work. Getting up through the night, had been happening for about 2 weeks before I made the appointment. I'm free of that symptom now.

I'm definitely not against the medication and understand I may have to go down that route but just hope they give me some support through the diet route first. Statins/Metformin was mentioned at my consultation but they wanted to check with the doctor before giving out the prescription, so hopefully, that's given me a couple of weeks grace to try and do something about it.