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NHS low calorie diet

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Ames37

Active Member
Messages
27
Hi, I have recently started the NHS low calorie diet, it’s total diet replacement with shakes and soups. It’s making me feel awful, I’ve had diarrhoea (sorry), I’m really weak and lightheaded. But the strange thing is is that my blood sugars aren’t reducing. I’ve been on it for 4 days now and I thought I’d see them go down but they haven’t. Does anyone have any experience with this? And know why it might be happening. I’m on literally 800 calories a day in liquid form, it’s hard going.
 
Hello, @Ames37
Are you taking Metformin, or any other medication? If so talk to the doctor or health professional or whoever should be supporting you with this method of weight loss / diabetes control.

I have used total food replacement way back in the distant past, before the NHS took it up. After the first couple of days I felt really well, no problems with bowels or anything else. In fact I felt quite well because after a couple of days, due to the meal replacements being low carb, ketosis set in. Which meant I was using my stored fat for energy.

Your diarrhoea could be due to whatever is in the meal replacement product not agreeing with you, any medication you take , or even withdrawal symptoms if you previously had a high carb intake. If the diet is not suiting you then it is your choice whether or not to continue. I would always tell anyone contempating this method that they need support from HCPs. Are you getting that, or have you been passed on to an outsourced provider, who provides only online, remote support? It seems to be more common for GPs to do the latter, but it is not satisfactory to leave a patient with no means of having any queries or worries addressed, particularly in the early days.
 
Yes it’s outsourced, we have a meeting every week.
I do suffer from IBS so it could be messing with that.
Why the high blood sugar though? That’s what I don’t understand
 
Ames37 said:
Yes it’s outsourced, we have a meeting every week.
I do suffer from IBS so it could be messing with that.
Why the high blood sugar though? That’s what I don’t understand
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What sort of blood glucose readings?
Maybe 4 days is not enough to deplete the stores of blood glucose accumulated.
Is your ‘meeting’ online, and have you not been given info on how to contact with concerns between meetings?
 
I will be asking that on Thursday
My highest today was 12.8 which isn’t unusual for me normally as it wasn’t well controlled
I think I need to give it more time but I feel rubbish
 
Ames37 said:
Why the high blood sugar though? That’s what I don’t understand
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It's not just food that can affect blood sugar levels, an illness or stress of some kind can raise levels.
Your diarrhoea could easily be caused by a bug of some sort, not just simply a change in diet. And I would have thought that the stress of having diarrhoea could also explain the rise.
 
Are you feeling any better? I've been referred for this, would love to hear more on how it works/your experience please x
 
Hello, I was offered the NHS programme by the diabetic nurse, but she did not seem aware where the local weekly sessions took place or timing. So after my blood sugars went up to 11.1 mmol post Christmas I have signed up for 12 weeks with Lighter Life. So far, 4 weeks on the programme and lost over one stone and my blood sugars have reduced to 6.3 mmol.
 
Ames37 said:
Yes it’s outsourced, we have a meeting every week.
I do suffer from IBS so it could be messing with that.
Why the high blood sugar though? That’s what I don’t understand
Click to expand...
I get IBS. Very unpleasant. Do you know your triggers? Mine are lactose, garlic, too many tomatoes (GERD and IBS), very spicy food and stress can sometimes bring on the dreaded IBS. Maybe the IBS is a stress response to your change in diet?
 
Melgar said:
I get IBS. Very unpleasant. Do you know your triggers? Mine are lactose, garlic, too many tomatoes (GERD and IBS), very spicy food and stress can sometimes bring on the dreaded IBS. Maybe the IBS is a stress response to your change in diet?
Click to expand...
My IBS has totally gone since low carbing. I used to think lactose set me off, but I think it was wheat/cereals. Stress was a trigger, but even though I still get stressed I don't get IBS.
A daily tablespoon of milled seeds seemed to sort out the too loose/constipation conundrum. Now nicely neutral, all the time
Low carb all the way for me.
 
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