Magill
Well-Known Member
- Messages
- 62
- Location
- East of Scotland
- Dislikes
- Some of the "candidates" in the Apprentice - I would never have employed some of the nasty individuals that pop up as potential employees in this show. If they are the best on offer then heaven help us!
I've been quiet for a while as I concentrated on getting my readings in order. I've had a few tests since June and I've made a lot of progress.
Back in May/June 2010 I was pretty much down in the dumps, BG readings were all over the place and the Doctor was on the verge of referring me back to the hospital to look at putting a very reluctant patient onto Victoza or Byetta. You may recall I then had that very weird reaction and had to come off all Meds until they worked out what was going on.
That was the point the Doc decided to try me on the South Beach Diet. Must admit my first reaction was "this is another dumb bikini diet" but oh how wrong I was. My first 4 weeks I "sort of" followed the South Beach way of eating which gave me a chance to get used to it. In that 4 week period my HbA1c dropped from 9.6 to 9.1 and I was not taking meds during that period. After that I decided to get serious about the South Beach way of eating.
The first 2 weeks on Phase 1 are the most restrictive but I stuck it out, dropped 13 lbs in weight and noticed my own BG tests were dropping rapidly. Despite being restrictive in the first 2 weeks you still eat a heck of a lot of food. After 2 weeks you enter Phase 2 where you start to get good low GI carbs back gradually and also fruit. The reintroduction is very gradual and the aim now is to keep the BGs stable and lose 1 or max 2 lbs per week.
Early on in Phase 2 I had a 2 week period where I was testing about 6 times a day (fortunately my GP will prescribe strips especially when he knew I was doing it to see the effect of different foods as they were reintroduced). I learnt a lot during that 2 week period about the effects of different foods on my readings. I have now completed 10 weeks on Phase 2.
I saw the Doctor this week and he is really impressed with the results. 16 weeks ago Hba1c was 9.6 - the track with the HbA1c was 9.6 to 9.1 to 7.9 to currently 6.7. Blood pressure is 120/70. Cholesterol 4.7 (LDL 1.7 HDL 3.0) - Can't remember the Trigs but they were OK too. Weight - I've now lost 21 lbs and still slowly dropping. I still go to the gym and aqua classes but despite the spinal injury, I have now started attending a Zumba class once a week. It's hard work as I have to adapt some moves and really concentrate to keep my balance but my balance is slowly improving.
The Doctor did say he expected me to improve but he didn't expected anything like the turnaround I had achieved over the 12 week period. Then I told him something he didn't know - I was only taking half the dosage of meds I had previously been on as I wasn't sure I wanted to increase to previous levels. He agreed with me that there was no need to increase and he has now changed my prescription to the lower level! Even better I don't have to visit "Nurse Dracula" again until the end of November and they will review the meds situation again then once they see where I have got to. This is the first time no one has said to me "This is a progressive disease" because it doesn't have to be!
There are things I will never be able to eat but my taste has changed totally. I do have a fairly wide choice but avoid anything with white refined flour, potatoes, white rice/pasta i.e the starchy refined carbs. I've eaten out a few times now and have only struggled once to find something "Beach Friendly" on the menu. Now I can look at a menu/recipe and I know how to adjust it to suit this new way of life. As a side effect, hubbie has been eating the same food (although I give him extra carbs) and he is down to 10st 10lbs - he's never been that weight since his 20's!!
Now I'm not saying this will work for everyone but it has certainly worked for me. I have also now accepted this is not a diet - it is a life change.
Doctor's last piece of advice to me this week was "Just keep doing what you are doing and it will be positive all the way".
Back in May/June 2010 I was pretty much down in the dumps, BG readings were all over the place and the Doctor was on the verge of referring me back to the hospital to look at putting a very reluctant patient onto Victoza or Byetta. You may recall I then had that very weird reaction and had to come off all Meds until they worked out what was going on.
That was the point the Doc decided to try me on the South Beach Diet. Must admit my first reaction was "this is another dumb bikini diet" but oh how wrong I was. My first 4 weeks I "sort of" followed the South Beach way of eating which gave me a chance to get used to it. In that 4 week period my HbA1c dropped from 9.6 to 9.1 and I was not taking meds during that period. After that I decided to get serious about the South Beach way of eating.
The first 2 weeks on Phase 1 are the most restrictive but I stuck it out, dropped 13 lbs in weight and noticed my own BG tests were dropping rapidly. Despite being restrictive in the first 2 weeks you still eat a heck of a lot of food. After 2 weeks you enter Phase 2 where you start to get good low GI carbs back gradually and also fruit. The reintroduction is very gradual and the aim now is to keep the BGs stable and lose 1 or max 2 lbs per week.
Early on in Phase 2 I had a 2 week period where I was testing about 6 times a day (fortunately my GP will prescribe strips especially when he knew I was doing it to see the effect of different foods as they were reintroduced). I learnt a lot during that 2 week period about the effects of different foods on my readings. I have now completed 10 weeks on Phase 2.
I saw the Doctor this week and he is really impressed with the results. 16 weeks ago Hba1c was 9.6 - the track with the HbA1c was 9.6 to 9.1 to 7.9 to currently 6.7. Blood pressure is 120/70. Cholesterol 4.7 (LDL 1.7 HDL 3.0) - Can't remember the Trigs but they were OK too. Weight - I've now lost 21 lbs and still slowly dropping. I still go to the gym and aqua classes but despite the spinal injury, I have now started attending a Zumba class once a week. It's hard work as I have to adapt some moves and really concentrate to keep my balance but my balance is slowly improving.
The Doctor did say he expected me to improve but he didn't expected anything like the turnaround I had achieved over the 12 week period. Then I told him something he didn't know - I was only taking half the dosage of meds I had previously been on as I wasn't sure I wanted to increase to previous levels. He agreed with me that there was no need to increase and he has now changed my prescription to the lower level! Even better I don't have to visit "Nurse Dracula" again until the end of November and they will review the meds situation again then once they see where I have got to. This is the first time no one has said to me "This is a progressive disease" because it doesn't have to be!
There are things I will never be able to eat but my taste has changed totally. I do have a fairly wide choice but avoid anything with white refined flour, potatoes, white rice/pasta i.e the starchy refined carbs. I've eaten out a few times now and have only struggled once to find something "Beach Friendly" on the menu. Now I can look at a menu/recipe and I know how to adjust it to suit this new way of life. As a side effect, hubbie has been eating the same food (although I give him extra carbs) and he is down to 10st 10lbs - he's never been that weight since his 20's!!
Now I'm not saying this will work for everyone but it has certainly worked for me. I have also now accepted this is not a diet - it is a life change.
Doctor's last piece of advice to me this week was "Just keep doing what you are doing and it will be positive all the way".
