Progress

[niaz11]

So today ive had an appointment and my doctors are really impressed with me. In 2022 october when i was diagnosed i was at 120kg and today im weighing 84kg. My bmi is now normal at 25. My blood sugar scores have been phenomenal and the docotors are pretty convince i am in remission just waiting on the results of a blood test. I am so happy but the doctors have given advice to start eating more as i have been getting headaches a lot since they reckon ita because of the low carb intake. Also told to reduce the times i test my BG to 1 in the morning and before an evening meal.

Im also deciding to hit the gym soon and start getting stronger within myself they advised to eat more if i am going down that route esp carbs to give me more energy for a workout. Does anyone go the gym regularly how do they manage to get enough energy?

Im also climbing snowdon soon and was told by them to eat a bit more a few days before and after to retain enoufh energy for the climb.

So yeah any advice on the gym side of things would be appreciated

 

[KennyA]

So today ive had an appointment and my doctors are really impressed with me. In 2022 october when i was diagnosed i was at 120kg and today im weighing 84kg. My bmi is now normal at 25. My blood sugar scores have been phenomenal and the docotors are pretty convince i am in remission just waiting on the results of a blood test. I am so happy but the doctors have given advice to start eating more as i have been getting headaches a lot since they reckon ita because of the low carb intake. Also told to reduce the times i test my BG to 1 in the morning and before an evening meal.

Im also deciding to hit the gym soon and start getting stronger within myself they advised to eat more if i am going down that route esp carbs to give me more energy for a workout. Does anyone go the gym regularly how do they manage to get enough energy?

Im also climbing snowdon soon and was told by them to eat a bit more a few days before and after to retain enoufh energy for the climb.

So yeah any advice on the gym side of things would be appreciated

Hi, really well done. That's a substantial achievement.

I went back to strenuous exercise after a similar weight loss on a very low carb diet and didn't have a problem. I think this is because I am running on ketones to a greater or lesser extent, and don't fuel up on carbs at all. I have substantially increased animal protein intake (no idea by how much) to help muscle building and repair. I know another T2 who is a fell runner and he reports a similar thing - no "wall", no hunger, no need to do carb-loading before or during.

However - if you're not in ketosis this might not work for you.

Best of luck, I'd be interested to hear how you get on.

 

[niaz11]

Isnt ketosis dangerous as it makes your blood acidic or do you mean ketosis as in your body cant find carbs to burn so it burns fat for glucose?

 

[KennyA]

Isnt ketosis dangerous as it makes your blood acidic or do you mean ketosis as in your body cant find carbs to burn so it burns fat for glucose?

There's a world of difference between ketosis, which is the natural process of using stored fat for fuel, and diabetic ketoacidosis, which is a dangerous and potentially fatal condition. DKA is characterised by very high blood sugars and ketones, and usually implies no insulin, or at least no insulin activity.

Diabetic ketoacidosis - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

I've been in ketosis for most of the last 3+ years and a great many people on this forum have been in and out of ketosis for much longer.

 

[niaz11]

Thank you

 

[HSSS]

the doctors have given advice to start eating more as i have been getting headaches a lot since they reckon ita because of the low carb intake. Also told to reduce the times i test my BG to 1 in the morning and before an evening meal.

there’s no reason low carb should cause headaches, nor will they be solved by eating more carbs. I’d love for them to explain their reasoning. One issue that is fairly common with low carb is dehydration and lack of electrolytes. This is normally more so in the early weeks and is solved by more fluids and more electrolyte, not more carbs. The other would be plain old sugar withdrawal (falling blood glucose level from a high point to normal) but again that’s the first few days not this far into it.

And I’d love to know what real use to you the testing advice is. The single morning test is perhaps just as a marker for overall change. Not very useful really. The test before dinner is next to useless on its own for a type 2 and proves they don’t understand how to test in non insulin situations where you aren’t using it for dosing calculations. We test before and after meals to see how the food we eat effects us. If you test before you can see maybe how high you are and how much leeway you have in what you choose to eat for dinner. It won’t tell you anything about how good that choice was because you won’t be checking afterwards.

They just don’t like us testing and getting useful information because it shows either they don’t understand it or they know we should be provided the means and education by the nhs how to test in a productive way for type 2 non insulin way. Advice like this makes me question their knowledge full stop and diminishes trust on everything they say , maybe unjustifiably on some issue but thats the effect it has nonetheless

 

[niaz11]

I fully understand i know most of us diabetic patients feel neglected and fobbed off by the healthcare system she tried saying to me you shouldnt test 2 hours after a meal because your blood sugar will obviously go up but surely id like to know what effect a meal had on me? How these people get jobs is beside me. Regardless of what she says i can of course do what i want and stick to what i feel is right but you are 100% bang on the money from the points your making.

 

[Diablo T2]

Hi @niaz11 - I went low carb and also ramped up my exercise after diagnosis. Going low carb actually made me feel more energetic compared to prior so the extra gym/exercise was not a problem. You can get energy from fat and protein as well so it isn't necessary to have carbs per se for energy. I've not had any headaches, but I do ensure I am well hydrated.