Diabetes reversed in 3 months with diet alone

tkgraham

In September, I was 243 pounds and diagnosed with Type II diabetes, a1c of 7.8. On January 4, my a1c was 5.6 and I am no longer diabetic. I did it with a primal diet, keeping carbs under 60 per day. I've lost 41 pounds, so far. My journey is far from over but honestly, this has been the best thing for me as it was my wake up call. I chose not to take any medications when I was diagnosed. I hope others will see that it's possible and do it too!

BigG59

That's an excellent result, well done. A word of caution, once a diabetic always diabetic.

I too was at 5.7 last month, no meds, weight loss and exercise. This meant I reduced the insulin resistance.

I was told the diabetes is controlled not cured.

CRody44

Congratulations. You are fortunate that you acted to correct your diet so soon after diagnosis and, hopefully, have avoided some of the problems that long term uncontrolled blood glucose can bring. After about 10 years (dx in 2003), a loss of 65 lbs., two years of healthy eating, and about 8 months on Primal, I have been taken off 2 diabetes meds and insulin, and am now trying to control my diabetes through diet.

I agree with BigG, I am still a diabetic and will return to needing medication if I don’t control my diabetes by limiting my carb intake.

paigecasper1

what kind of diet did u do? i have been dieting and this morning it was 265. i am taking 2000mg of Metformin.

bobbiesinger6971

That's an excellent result, well done. A word of caution, once a diabetic always diabetic.

I too was at 5.7 last month, no meds, weight loss and exercise. This meant I reduced the insulin resistance.

I was told the diabetes is controlled not cured.

I agree. I was also told there is no cure for diabetes. With that said I am so happy for you that you took control early and are having great success.

travisseger

Congratulations on your progress and on taking control of your diabetes. But a word of caution: you are still diabetic. I say that not to discourage you, but so that you realize that you always have to be mindful of this disease. You can keep it under control with diet and exercise alone, but it's always there and will sneak back up on you if you do not remain committed to the things that have brought you under control. It sucks, but that's the way it is.

Bettyeditor

In September, I was 243 pounds and diagnosed with Type II diabetes, a1c of 7.8. On January 4, my a1c was 5.6 and I am no longer diabetic. I did it with a primal diet, keeping carbs under 60 per day. I've lost 41 pounds, so far. My journey is far from over but honestly, this has been the best thing for me as it was my wake up call. I chose not to take any medications when I was diagnosed. I hope others will see that it's possible and do it too!

Tk, that is awesome! I'm close to achieving similar results and I'm encouraged by your story. I was diagnosed on Aug. 31, 2012 with bg of 509 and A1C of 9.6. In 4.5 months, I lost 50 pounds, brought my A1C down to 5.4, and my bg never varies from 80-118 range. I also brought my triglycerides down from a high of 260 to 154. And I had elevated liver/kidney enzymes that are now normal. I used to take 2000mg of metformin every day. Now I'm almost entirely off medication (at next follow-up appt. I'm sure).

Like you, as soon as I was diagnosed I made a RADICAL change in my diet. I eliminated carbs *entirely* for two weeks. Nothing but meats and vegetables. And I still couldn't get my bg down from the 300s and had to up my medication. BUT just a small word of caution..... as soon as I started working with a nutritionist, she immediately got me back on a MINIMUM of 130 NET carbs per day. I learned that carbs were super-important -- the key to regulating my bg. At one point I was having some weakness and dizziness and hypoglycemia symptoms even though I never got below 70 bg... my nutritionist discovered that it was from eating too few carbs. She warned me that if I ate less than 130 grams of NET carbs per day, I would not have enough for healthy brain and body function and would start to get lethargic and spacy. Now of course, I'm sure that number is based on things like my age and height and weight, so that's not necessarily true for you or anyone else. BUT....60 carbs per day does seem dangerously low. I would recommend checking with your nutritionist about that. Nothing to lose by checking!

I am very grateful for my nutritionist. I could not have made this progress without her help. We would often exchange long emails once a week or more. She helped me understand about net carbs, and about how to use carbs to regulate my bg. I eat six times a day every day: 3 meals and 3 snacks, 30-45 net carbs for breakfast, 45-60 net carbs for lunch/dinner, and 15 net carbs for snacks. I have alarms on my phone and I follow the schedule religiously. I used to test my bg about 5-6 times a day too, so I could really see how the carbs I ate directly influenced my bg from hour to hour. It got to where I could predict with a great deal of accuracy what my bg would be based on what I ate, how many carbs, and how long ago.

Another big insight for me was how stress influenced my bg. That is the one non-carb thing that could drive up my bg readings.

When I was first diagnosed, I felt so powerless. Especially when I was eating NO CARBS at all and my bg stayed in the 300s. But as my body started to heal and my bg started to regulate and I started to see how the carbs I ate directly affected my bg levels, I felt very empowered and energized. And now another wonderful thing is happening: my body is one again becoming immune to the effects of carbs. But instead of eating no carbs and still being in the 300s, now even if I have a spike in carbs, my numbers don't budge from the 85-100 range. Even when I had extra carbs for Christmas and New Year's, and forgot my medication, my bg was still normal.

But I haven't slacked off on my routine of eating six times a day and keeping my carbs in the ranges I described for each meal/snack. I am a firm believer that if we have a consistently healthy lifestyle, then our body can handle some small variations from the routine. But the routine is critical. We are not a product of our excesses, but of our habits.

mistressfaye

Congrats on the weight loss!! My goal is to get where I can control it with diet and meds

I will say I am really happy to see so many people correcting the use of "reversed". I was diagnosed over 4 years ago and I can tell you that one of my BIGGEST pet peeves is seeing claims of "diabetes" being cured.