Keto: I'm no longer diabetic!

candylilacs

My lab results are in: I have A1C of 5.4!

Triglycerides: Normal

Cholesterol: Normal

Liver function: Normal

Kidney function: Normal

I have been on it 3 *loonngg* months and I have been ridiculed and dismissed by the message board. I have lost 28 lbs.

I eat bacon, sausage, eggs, cheese, ribs, nuts, and veggies. The fruit was the one killing me. Strawberries are my favorite kind of fruit. Now that they're out of season I kind of substitute in raspberries-- which is OK, just not strawberries.

I now drink whole milk, and do stuff mushrooms and bell peppers! I have spent 20-30 carbs a day, and now I have a 30-45 carbs a day. I hope to go to 60-75 carbs a day, and my blood sugar will take it.

Rejoice in the coming new year!

MikePTY

Happy for you that you found something that allowed you to create a calorie deficit and lose weight successfully. Weight loss, not the method you accomplish it by, is the number one most affective way to combat diabetes. But I am glad you found what worked for you.

PAV8888

Congratulations on the great results!!!

As a success post there is nothing but a big congrats and well done that you would get from me and joining you in your celebration.

People "fall of the wagon" all the time (I'm a prime example). So knowing why you have success in the past is useful if you ever need to troubleshoot in the future.

You lost 28lbs in 3 months, i.e. a rapid 9+lb a month loss.

Large losses, anecdotally, seem to often improve A1C results for those who achieve them (this being true for myself and many others too).

Regardless of how the losses were achieved.

Anything that sustainably helps you achieve your correctly chosen and appropriate goals is excellent for you and your health!

*People who are IR do appear to enjoy some extra benefits from low carbing while IR. However the extra benefits pale in comparison to just plain achieving the weight loss and increasing activity which are what seems to fix IR issue for those of us who get to go in remission from being IR.

Don't dismiss keto as a potentially useful tool if you feel you can adhere to it and find it beneficial; but don't imbdue it with magical properties, or think that it is the primary agent for your remission, diminishing the other aspects of your success such as successfully limiting your total calories in.

If you ate keto but increased your weight you wouldn't have had the same beneficial results!

maureenkhilde

Congratulations! Keep up the good work! Hopefully you will be able to add some carbs back and be able to keep the A1C down nice and low.
I say this from standpoint of being a Type 2 diabetic for 20 years. And by being Low Carb, about 55 or so a day. I too have great lipid numbers. However due to length I have been a diabetic there is no turning back to normal kidney function. I am working on the A1C still though.

Be proud of your accomplishment, it truly is a great one!

candylilacs

My whole milk is Fairlife, and I do have bacon and sausage on occasion. My almond-flour and almond-milk pancakes with strawberries/raspberries fills me with such joy (my husband makes them for me once a week) that I'm making this my pancake recipe for the future.

I learned a lot about hidden sugars (maltodextrin, dextrose, sugar alcohols) and I actually made my own foods -- breads and tortillas.

maureenkhilde wrote: »

Congratulations! Keep up the good work! Hopefully you will be able to add some carbs back and be able to keep the A1C down nice and low.
I say this from standpoint of being a Type 2 diabetic for 20 years. And by being Low Carb, about 55 or so a day. I too have great lipid numbers. However due to length I have been a diabetic there is no turning back to normal kidney function. I am working on the A1C still though.

Be proud of your accomplishment, it truly is a great one!

Aww! You're making me proud. My dad had Stage 4 of kidney failure when he died. He was diabetic (he wasn't obese/overweight). My grandmother, his mother, died of diabetes (she wasn't obese/overweight). She seems to have wasted away. His side of the family got it really bad.

Keep at it!

rheddmobile

Just wanted to mention that normal a1c does not mean you are no longer diabetic, it just means you are eating few enough carbs that your glucose doesn’t remain high over long periods of time. That’s not the same as being able to eat a huge number of carbs and still have normal numbers because your pancreas is healthy and able to cope, which a non-diabetic can do.

Still a huge accomplishment!

Losing weight was the main thing which normalized my a1c. I eat about 150g net carbs per day, and my a1c is 4.9 right now. It was 11 when I was diagnosed! The trick for me to eating that many carbs was to test often and learn how my glucose relates to my exercise habits. I also know a few vegans who eat a high carb diet and have successfully gotten their glucose under control. There are many different diets which can be successful for glucose control.

candylilacs

PAV8888 wrote: »

You lost 28lbs in 3 months, i.e. a rapid 9+lb a month loss.

Large losses, anecdotally, seem to often improve A1C results for those who achieve them (this being true for myself and many others too).

Regardless of how the losses were achieved.

I lost about 20 lbs. in the first month. I lost 8 lbs in 2.5 months.

*People who are IR do appear to enjoy some extra benefits from low carbing while IR. However the extra benefits pale in comparison to just plain achieving the weight loss and increasing activity which are what seems to fix IR issue for those of us who get to go in remission from being IR.

Don't dismiss keto as a potentially useful tool if you feel you can adhere to it and find it beneficial; but don't imbdue it with magical properties, or think that it is the primary agent for your remission, diminishing the other aspects of your success such as successfully limiting your total calories in.

No. If I had white rice, bread, and pasta with a meal, I can easily see my blood glucose shoot up.

If you ate keto but increased your weight you wouldn't have had the same beneficial results!

"Keto" is a funny word. I think if you have 12 keto-ists, you had 12 brands of ketoism. My brand is dairy, meat, veggies and fruit--with occasional low-carb tortillas and lavash bread.

Katmary71

Congratulations, that's a great A1C! I love berries, try the bags of frozen berries out of the freezer for 15 minutes, they're so good like that. My A1C is 4.5 now, the biggest drop aside of weight loss was when I upped fiber. I eat more moderate carb now or my blood sugar goes too low and I'm off meds, weird to have the opposite problem! Glad you found a way of eating that works for you!

Lillymoo01

candylilacs wrote: »

PAV8888 wrote: »

You lost 28lbs in 3 months, i.e. a rapid 9+lb a month loss.

Large losses, anecdotally, seem to often improve A1C results for those who achieve them (this being true for myself and many others too).

Regardless of how the losses were achieved.

I lost about 20 lbs. in the first month. I lost 8 lbs in 2.5 months.

*People who are IR do appear to enjoy some extra benefits from low carbing while IR. However the extra benefits pale in comparison to just plain achieving the weight loss and increasing activity which are what seems to fix IR issue for those of us who get to go in remission from being IR.

Don't dismiss keto as a potentially useful tool if you feel you can adhere to it and find it beneficial; but don't imbdue it with magical properties, or think that it is the primary agent for your remission, diminishing the other aspects of your success such as successfully limiting your total calories in.

No. If I had white rice, bread, and pasta with a meal, I can easily see my blood glucose shoot up.

If you ate keto but increased your weight you wouldn't have had the same beneficial results!

"Keto" is a funny word. I think if you have 12 keto-ists, you had 12 brands of ketoism. My brand is dairy, meat, veggies and fruit--with occasional low-carb tortillas and lavash bread.

The highlighted bit means that you are still diabetic but have found a way of controlling it without the need for medication. This is an AWESOME achievement and I hope you have continued success. In saying that though I have read stories and know of people that have achieved the same result by limiting carbs to 50 grams a meal instead of keto which is that per day. The hardest part is the journey of discovery to find the way that works for you while being sustainable longterm.

Everyone is different which is kind of sucky because it means that no one rule book will work for all.

rheddmobile

If you like frozen berries and also chocolate, I love sprinkling cacao powder on frozen berries - hardly any carb, lots of flavor.

Sylphadora

That's AMAZING, Candy! 😄 Woot woot! 💃 Keto makes miracles. I went keto a couple of years ago for sugar & carb addiction and binge eating disorder. I don't crave those anymore. I went carnivore though because I still overate nuts and dairy, and honestly veggies were doing nothing for me but bloat me.
I like Rheddmobile's suggestion of sprinkling cacao powder on frozen berries. You could also mix cacao powder with coconut oil in ice cube trays, put the berries in there and refrigerate. Homemade keto chocolates
Do you practice fasting too? Keto + fasting is the bomb!

nighthawk584

that's awesome! My labs did a 180 also, by eating a balanced diet and staying within a calorie deficit. I went from pre-diabetic 6.1 to a 5.2 A1C. I restricted carbs at the very beginning but was miserable. Now I eat average 200 g or more carbs a day and have lost nearly 90 lbs.

Unknown

This content has been removed.

missysippy930

Losing weight is ALWAYS about eating less calories than your body burns. My husband (never a big sweet/carb eater) was diagnosed as pre-diabetic about 7 years ago. Lost about 30 pounds and has never been diagnosed as pre in the years since.
Great that you found “your” way OP! Hope it continues to work for you as you continue to add more carbs to your daily intake. Everyone has to find what works for themselves, and is sustainable for long term success. Well done on finding what works for you ❤️

PAV8888

banshee925 wrote: »

PAV8888 wrote: »

Congratulations on the great results!!!

As a success post there is nothing but a big congrats and well done that you would get from me and joining you in your celebration.

People "fall of the wagon" all the time (I'm a prime example). So knowing why you have success in the past is useful if you ever need to troubleshoot in the future.

You lost 28lbs in 3 months, i.e. a rapid 9+lb a month loss.

Large losses, anecdotally, seem to often improve A1C results for those who achieve them (this being true for myself and many others too).

Regardless of how the losses were achieved.

Anything that sustainably helps you achieve your correctly chosen and appropriate goals is excellent for you and your health!

*People who are IR do appear to enjoy some extra benefits from low carbing while IR. However the extra benefits pale in comparison to just plain achieving the weight loss and increasing activity which are what seems to fix IR issue for those of us who get to go in remission from being IR.

Don't dismiss keto as a potentially useful tool if you feel you can adhere to it and find it beneficial; but don't imbdue it with magical properties, or think that it is the primary agent for your remission, diminishing the other aspects of your success such as successfully limiting your total calories in.

If you ate keto but increased your weight you wouldn't have had the same beneficial results!

I have to disagree, I lost 50lbs and was diagnosed pre diabetic, I did everything by the book to reverse this including calories and was still diagnosed type 2 four years later, it was only when I did keto my bloods came back normal after 3 months and I no longer needed medication 👍

You can control your insulin response by limiting the fuel that triggers the response.

This doesn't mean your body would react normally to the fuel.

Reversing or putting the disease in remission means your body will react normally for a while when confronted with the fuel in question.

Not taking in the fuel means you're controlling the situation without medication and by diet alone. Which is great!!!!

Also not everyone gets to go on remission nor does it always happen immediately or forever

But definitely it pays to control the dang thing!

rheddmobile

banshee925 wrote: »

PAV8888 wrote: »

Congratulations on the great results!!!

As a success post there is nothing but a big congrats and well done that you would get from me and joining you in your celebration.

People "fall of the wagon" all the time (I'm a prime example). So knowing why you have success in the past is useful if you ever need to troubleshoot in the future.

You lost 28lbs in 3 months, i.e. a rapid 9+lb a month loss.

Large losses, anecdotally, seem to often improve A1C results for those who achieve them (this being true for myself and many others too).

Regardless of how the losses were achieved.

Anything that sustainably helps you achieve your correctly chosen and appropriate goals is excellent for you and your health!

*People who are IR do appear to enjoy some extra benefits from low carbing while IR. However the extra benefits pale in comparison to just plain achieving the weight loss and increasing activity which are what seems to fix IR issue for those of us who get to go in remission from being IR.

Don't dismiss keto as a potentially useful tool if you feel you can adhere to it and find it beneficial; but don't imbdue it with magical properties, or think that it is the primary agent for your remission, diminishing the other aspects of your success such as successfully limiting your total calories in.

If you ate keto but increased your weight you wouldn't have had the same beneficial results!

I have to disagree, I lost 50lbs and was diagnosed pre diabetic, I did everything by the book to reverse this including calories and was still diagnosed type 2 four years later, it was only when I did keto my bloods came back normal after 3 months and I no longer needed medication 👍

Every case of diabetes is different. I can eat a large amount of fruit or potatoes without it raising my sugars; however, even a tiny amount of rice or white flour tortillas spike me. I have a friend who can’t eat fruits at all without spikes. Not even tomatoes.

Although many people see a great improvement in their insulin resistance when they lose weight, I didn’t. I control my glucose primarily through exercising after meals. And about 1/4 of people don’t see much improvement at all. This may be because there are several different ways in which insulin regulation can fail. Or maybe some people have the early stages of lada- late onset type 1 diabetes, caused by immune problems.

I’m glad you found a way of eating which worked for you!

candylilacs

I was around "pre-diabetic". My A1C was 5.8 last year, only during a bout of pneumonia with septic shock in March-April my glucose shot up 9.0. I was taking steroids to get kidneys to function, and I explained it all to my doctor.

Doctor: Diabetes! Diabetes!
Me: I'm really not.
Doctor: The patient is non-compliant. (I'm joking)

This was the same thing as my stroke. I got up 8.1 four years ago. But I got it down to 5.6 four years ago. May-August I was trying to reduce my blood glucose and I tried keto.

If your body's in trouble, blood glucose goes sky-high.

rheddmobile

candylilacs wrote: »

I was around "pre-diabetic". My A1C was 5.8 last year, only during a bout of pneumonia with septic shock in March-April my glucose shot up 9.0. I was taking steroids to get kidneys to function, and I explained it all to my doctor.

Doctor: Diabetes! Diabetes!
Me: I'm really not.
Doctor: The patient is non-compliant. (I'm joking)

This was the same thing as my stroke. I got up 8.1 four years ago. But I got it down to 5.6 four years ago. May-August I was trying to reduce my blood glucose and I tried keto.

If your body's in trouble, blood glucose goes sky-high.

Your doctor should really know that steroids raise glucose levels! It’s very common for even well controlled diabetics to see levels in the 300 range for several days following a single steroid shot. Diabetics who are controlled through diet may temporarily need insulin when taking steroids.

High cortisol levels also block insulin and raise levels. I once got into an argument with my mom and saw levels fifty points higher than expected.

whitpauly

Great news!

IAmGainingHealth

Impressive.

Please share your strategies.

callsitlikeiseeit

keto is a low carb diet so its not surprising that your numbers have improved.

candylilacs

Breakfast: 1 eggs, 2 egg whites scrambled with spinach with 1/4 cheddar & jack cheese, chai tea with 1/2 cup of 2% milk

Lunch: Asian chicken salad for (1/2 baked chicken breast with romaine, cilantro, green onions, and peanut sauce)

Dinner: Protein (Beef, salmon or lamb) and spicy broccoli/cauliflower/zucchini

You really can't go wrong -- like tremendously overeating. Like 5 oz of protein (like a fist) or salad (an entire hand). A larger portion of meat or an entire bowl of salad still will get you to where you want to go, it'll just take you longer.