Results of the Newcastle Diet

[Flashtash2014]

Sorry it's been a while since my last confession

So after starting the Newcastle Diet on the 1st of jan this year with much enthusiasm and trepidation and finishing on the 1st of March things have gone from strength to strength.

Firstly I have now come off all diabetic medication by the DN

I have had my dose for ramipril for high blood pressure reduced from taking a pill everyday to one every other day with a view to stop it altogether in the near future.

People might think this a bit strange but I'm glad I was diagnosed type 2 last year as this gave me the kick up the backside I needed.

I have not had a drink since New Year's Eve was only meant to be for 2 months to coincide with the ND but have carried on

I also gave up smoking and it seems to have been easier this time don't know why.

Lost 3 stone since diagnosis last October but have put a stone back on since stopping the diet but that's only to be expected so am not beating myself up about that. Have reintroduced carbs back into my diet but no potatoes and pasta wholemeal bread yes. Have given up on crisps, sweets and chocolate but I do enjoy 90% dark chocolate and with my morning runs and walking everywhere I can pretty much eat what I like.

I only test my BG first thing in the morning and last thing at night but if I know I'm having a carb heavy meal I do test before and after and 9 times out of 10 the levels are within acceptability eg under 7.8 after.

So all in all things are going great ️️️

 

[Pipp]

Sorry it's been a while since my last confession

So after starting the Newcastle Diet on the 1st of jan this year with much enthusiasm and trepidation and finishing on the 1st of March things have gone from strength to strength.

Firstly I have now come off all diabetic medication by the DN

I have had my dose for ramipril for high blood pressure reduced from taking a pill everyday to one every other day with a view to stop it altogether in the near future.

People might think this a bit strange but I'm glad I was diagnosed type 2 last year as this gave me the kick up the backside I needed.

I have not had a drink since New Year's Eve was only meant to be for 2 months to coincide with the ND but have carried on

I also gave up smoking and it seems to have been easier this time don't know why.

Lost 3 stone since diagnosis last October but have put a stone back on since stopping the diet but that's only to be expected so am not beating myself up about that. Have reintroduced carbs back into my diet but no potatoes and pasta wholemeal bread yes. Have given up on crisps, sweets and chocolate but I do enjoy 90% dark chocolate and with my morning runs and walking everywhere I can pretty much eat what I like.

I only test my BG first thing in the morning and last thing at night but if I know I'm having a carb heavy meal I do test before and after and 9 times out of 10 the levels are within acceptability eg under 7.8 after.

So all in all things are going great ️️️

Have you had HbA1c or OGTT, @Flashtash2014?

You have done very well with weightloss, but please remember the difficult part starts after you reintroduce food. Don't want to detract from what you have achieved, but if you have regained a stone then your diet needs tweaking to stop further gain. Suggest LCHF, and testing after all meals for a few weeks at very leadt. That way you can 'eat to your meter' and get full picture of which foods are likely to be a problem to be avoided.

Congratulations on giving up smoking and not having booze. You have done much to improve your health.

 

[brettsza]

Hi @Pipp

How easy is it to get a doc to do an ogtt, I have my appointment on thursday and finish my diet tomorrow so I will ask them but point is will they do it, my doc and DN have been very reluctant is doing any tests at all till now.

 

[AndBreathe]

Hi @Pipp

How easy is it to get a doc to do an ogtt, I have my appointment on thursday and finish my diet tomorrow so I will ask them but point is will they do it, my doc and DN have been very reluctant is doing any tests at all till now.

Brettsza - I'm not answering for Pipp, but my GP doesn't "do" OGTT testing any more, allegedly, although did say to me I could do one for myself, if I really wanted to. It's not hard, and well documented on t'internet.

To be honest, I don't really fancy it. You have to eat 130gr carb a day, for three days, in preparation; so that your body is sort of "used to" that level of carb. Then, you do the fasting glucose test, and test half hourly for two or three hours (or continue until your levels come back down again). Again, the parameters for success are well documented on the web.

If you choose to do it, good luck with it.

 

[Pipp]

Hi @Pipp

How easy is it to get a doc to do an ogtt, I have my appointment on thursday and finish my diet tomorrow so I will ask them but point is will they do it, my doc and DN have been very reluctant is doing any tests at all till now.

My doc just relies on HbA1c, which gives average BG over 3 months.

OGTT tends to be used less, but you can do a DIY version with Lucozade. Not something I would choose to do because it usually makes me vomit, rendering the test useless.

 

[brettsza]

Thanks @Pipp and @AndBreathe
OGTT is gone then
I have a1c next week hopefully as that will be 3 months since my last one done
I can definitely not have 130g carbs a day for 3 days just to do an ogtt I think the stress of having to eat that many carbs in a day will shoot my bg up
Will report on the a1c once it is done.
Thanks again.

 

[Pipp]

Thanks @Pipp and @AndBreathe
OGTT is gone then
I have a1c next week hopefully as that will be 3 months since my last one done
I can definitely not have 130g carbs a day for 3 days just to do an ogtt I think the stress of having to eat that many carbs in a day will shoot my bg up
Will report on the a1c once it is done.
Thanks again.

Good plan to rely on HbA1c.

 

[Flashtash2014]

Have you had HbA1c or OGTT, @Flashtash2014?

You have done very well with weightloss, but please remember the difficult part starts after you reintroduce food. Don't want to detract from what you have achieved, but if you have regained a stone then your diet needs tweaking to stop further gain. Suggest LCHF, and testing after all meals for a few weeks at very leadt. That way you can 'eat to your meter' and get full picture of which foods are likely to be a problem to be avoided.

Congratulations on giving up smoking and not having booze. You have done much to improve your health.

Hi Pipp just had my bloods taken this morning so will find out in due course I don't really want to push myself too far by overloading on carbs but all is good but the best thing is no more meds

 

[mekalu2k4]

My doc just relies on HbA1c, which gives average BG over 3 months.

OGTT tends to be used less, but you can do a DIY version with Lucozade. Not something I would choose to do because it usually makes me vomit, rendering the test useless.

Yes. I cannot stand OGTT either. My GP at work is very wicked, she only using OGTT to me [free of charge of course], as I do not want to be on high carbs for 3 or 4 days and then on the day of test we need to down free sugar again. I also feel like vomiting. I just do hba1c outside once in 6 months and submit to the office, I do not mind spending money on my own for this.

 

[Pipp]

Hi Pipp just had my bloods taken this morning so will find out in due course I don't really want to push myself too far by overloading on carbs but all is good but the best thing is no more meds

Hope the blood tests confirm you have achieved your goal.

Not sure what you mean by not wanting to overload on carbs. I suggested reduced carbs to prevent a return of higher BG levels and to stop any more weight gain.

I learnt from experience that once the Newcastle diet of calorie restriction is over, it is important not to return to previous eating regime. You have to develop a strategy that includes regular checking of weight and BG levels and taking action before they become raised again. The follow on period when finishing ND is crucial in the development of a lifetime dietary plan. For this you need to be using your BG meter to test which foods are likely to cause raised BG (the carb foods) and the bathroom scales to keep check on weight to avoid going beyond personal fat threshold. Post ND the first few months are more difficult than the initial VLCD diet phase.

Sorry if this is a nag, I got caught out on the weight gain thing when I stopped VLCD. Don't want anyone else to do. The same.