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Very Low Cal Diet 800 cals ?

W

wellwell1212

Well-Known Member
Messages
133
Location
Swindon Wiltshire
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Tablets (oral)
Dislikes
Liars and cheats
I've been reading the site's front page tonight and saw this ...... "An extreme low-calorie diet (usually based on diet drinks and non-starchy vegetables) reportedly prompts the body to expel fat clogging the pancreas, helping people with type 2 diabetes to ‘wake up’ their insulin producing cells."

I was wondering if any one on here had given it a go. I am game for it, although 8 weeks :shock: Oh well needs must and all that :wink: What are the drinks and low cal vegies, any one know ?
 
Cheers Grazer ... I can see the benefit but, the will power to stick to this number of Calories for 8 wks is daunting :shock:
 
You do have to have motivation to go down this route,however not as much as you might suppose.

If you read the blurb on the Newcastle Diet to reverse type 2 diabetes you will find it states that after the first few days the body learns to access body fat.

In practice the first two days and nights are horrible,but after that every time you start to exercise any feeling of hunger goes away as fat is broken down to provide energy.Obviously in the background weight is dropping off you as fat is consumed.Every time I felt the need for food I just went swimming or walked the dog to kickstart the process.

I lost 10 kgs in 7 weeks and found that I had reached my bottom weight at that point.From then on every time I exercised I ran out of energy so during the eighth week I gradually increased the quantity of food I consumed and got my body used to a more normal diet.

That was back in November and I still weigh exactly the same,and yes my blood sugars are still normal,and I am still off all meds.
 

Do you eat a normal diet, or do you still have to watch everything you eat? Excellent work btw!!!!
 
Yes, I would like to know that. For example, if you ate a choc bar wouldn't your sugar go up?

Helena
 
I'm now three weeks into this diet, have lost 9 kilos and my blood sugars are in the "normal" range without medication. My consultant and dietician have told me that in theory, post the 8 week period I will be able to resume a normal healthy diet. It is tough, but fortunately with the three meal replacement shakes I don't feel hungry, though I do miss "eating" if you see what I mean. Of course, I'm hoping for me a complete reversal of Diabetic symptoms post the 8 week period, but at the very least my cheekbones will be fabulous!
 
Excellent work Kward, keep us updated
 
Since coming off the diet I have made no effort to stick to what might be called diabetic food.I have established that my body stopped losing weight at 12 stones exactly and since then I have done my best to calorie count and keep my daily calorie intake at 1800 calories,at which for someone of my height and weight calorific intake should balance calorie expenditure,hence no weight loss or gain.It is an inexact science as it is difficult to establish the calorific value of many foods,or how much you are using during exercise.My only general rule is wherever possible cook it yourself from scratch,no supermarket prepared foods.

I have done a lot of testing which seems to indicate that my sensitivity to my own insulin is much improved or normal.Although I prefer healthy foods (most of which are medium or low GI) if I take part of my calories as a high GI food my blood sugars seems to go up and then down quickly as the insulin works.I seem to have developed a taste for wholemeal/granary bread,fruit, and oddly mixed unsalted nuts and raisins the last of which I did not touch before my diet.

Today I have walked the dog for 45 minutes,later I swam 30 lengths at the local swimming pool but missed out on the third bit of exercise for the day due to family duties.
 
kward69 said:
My consultant and dietician have told me that in theory, post the 8 week period I will be able to resume a normal healthy diet.
Click to expand...

Sorry to be the bearer of bad news kward but your consultant and dietician are clearly not up to speed with the truth on this diet, but that doesnt surprise me at all as few doctors seem aware that A1c's in the 5%'s are even achievable :lol: .

And that truth is that 85% of slimfast/ultra low callorie/shake type diets put the weight straight back on plus a bit more which was my experience when I tried, but who knows, look on the positive side, you may be in the 15%

Source of statistics http://www.saga.co.uk/saga-magazine/nov ... betes.aspx

The sad truth is, as I keep saying, is these diets do not work in fact 21% of the test subjects in the Newcastle Study failed to keep to the diet at all which is pretty much what we have seen here since July last year.
 

Sid, you're not the bearer of bad news but in my opinion, you're totally missing the point. This diet is NOT purely about weight loss. Without labouring this point, it is aimed at losing pancreatic/liver fat that can only be achieved through such a low calorific approach. I do understand that most diets without a change of lifestyle will not sustain their affects, statistics from Saga Magazine are not really required. My point, and that of my consultant and dietician, is that post diet, with a calorie and portion controlled diet weight loss can be maintained - this re-education is either something you get or don't. When I initially approached the consultant, he was very sceptical about the diet, feedback which I then exchanged in emails with the Professor who performed the original study in Newcastle. His quote, "it often takes a while for conventional medical thinking to catch up". I have often mooted that it is not in the interests of the medical profession to "cure" diabetes but simply to aim at maintenance, it what is clearly a multi million pound business. So the summary is what do I have to lose - 14 pills a day for 8 weeks abstinence and a normal diet afterwards. Worth a go in my opinion. Just my two cents.

Cheers

Ken
 
Ken

Give it your best shot. This forum is full of people who followed the standard advice given to diabetics, and they now know it was not best advice. One of the biggest killers of diabetics is apathy, you are doing your best to control your condition. A man who never tried never won. Good luck. :thumbup:
 
kward69 said:
it is aimed at losing pancreatic/liver fat that can only be achieved through such a low calorific approach.
Click to expand...

Thats funny then because when I lost 4 stone in weight most of it visceral fat I was able to come off insulin so to say that the only way is an Optifast diet is simply not true, if you loose the fat around your middle it automatically reduces your insulin resistance as the weight drops. Unfortunately many T2 diabetics will have sustained some loss of pancreatic function this can happen even before diagnosis, in fact the majority of diabetics will have suffered some form of diabetic complication prior to diagnosis, it may not be noticeable but its there non the less, now if some of your beta cells have died then no amount of dieting is ever going to bring them back, sorry but thats just the nature of this awful disease. It was for this reason that the Newcastle study only selected diabetics diagnosed within four years so there would be some chance of getting near normal bg levels, but make no mistake you are never going to be able to go back to your old diet, if you do and 85% of Optifast dieters do then your insulin resistance will return and you will be back taking meds again.

I admire your positivity but do please be aware that the odds are heavily stacked against you unless you finish the diet without cheating - and most dont - and change your eating habits for the rest of your life after finishing the diet. As I have said over and over again the best way to loose weight and keep it off is to do it slowly and change your lifestyle totally, its tough but it can be done. The first six months will see you loose most of the weight that you want to and is the hardest part, a bit like quitting smoking, then it gets easier and easier by the month and when you have re educated yourself to your new lifestyle then after a year or two you dont even think about it. Lifestyle, thats the key, not a quick fix promise based on a study of 14 people.
 

Sid clearly a man of experience, and I am grateful (borderline patronised!) that you are willing to share. Positivity and attitude is the key here, and clearly you had some substantial lifestyle changes to make having let yourself get 4 stone over weight. I admire your finally taking back of control, which is what I am aiming to do here - with a helpful kick start. I guess the key for me, in the control of my condition and also in life in general, is to be open to new ideas and experiences - this is what enables us to move forward and grow. I've read the study and the scientific data supporting it in detail and at length. I'm not most people, I like to think I'm an individual and I'm fully committed to this programme. Perhaps I'll let you know how I get on, thanks for your support!
 
To those considering this diet I would make two points.Firstly I believe that it is the suddeness with which calories are withheld which shocks the body into consuming the fat deposited within various body organs,and that slow and steady does not have the same effect.Secondly nobody seems to be considering the exercise element.Traditional diets fail due to the "yo-yo" effect as the body consumes muscle tissue while leaving fat deposits undisturbed.On finishing the diet the muscle returns and so does the weight.The way to prevent muscle loss is exercise.Even if you are unfit you should consider for example walking for 45minutes or so after each meal.I lost 10 kgs in 8 weeks and have not put back an ounce since.

The benefits of the Newcastle diet are not confined to diabetes.I read that heart patients put on a similar diet removed fat from around their hearts,reduced the amount of arterial plaque,and lowered their blood pressure.Cholestorol levels also reduced.I rang my surgery and guess what?After the conclusion of my diet my cholestorol was down from my normal 5.5 to 4.0.Blood pressure on initial diagnosis was 152/85 some years ago but is now 120/60.
 
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