Has the 8 week Blood Glucose Diet worked for you ?

SooJones
SooJones Posts: 3 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
About a year ago I was diagnosed as Pre-diabetic and I was livid (I know, not the best first reaction ! ) My second reaction, for reasons I won't go into here, was to eat, eat, eat and eat really badly at that. Consequently a few months ago I was diagnosed as Diabetic. I had a completely different reaction and decided I would not take the offered medication but would get rid of Diabetes completely by losing weight, taking more exercise and eating healthily as advised by my GP 12 months earlier. I have since lost 29 lbs. The problem is that my Blood sugars have not really decreased. I watched a programme on TV where 8 individuals ate 800 calories a day for 8 weeks on the Blood Glucose Diet. The results for them were excellent with not only considerable weight loss but also a reduction in their Blood sugars, in most cases returning their blood sugars to normal or close to normal. I could not understand why I also have lost weight and yet have not had the same result, I figured out that it was not just the weight loss but also the speed at which they lost weight and also their diet. They were eating what is known as the Mediteranean Diet. I decided that I would try the diet and see if I could see similar improvements.

I am almost one week into the Blood Glucose Diet. I am eating very differently and on 800 calories a day. I don't feel particularly hungry but my blood sugars have not fallen yet. I am using My Fitness Pal to record calories etc. I wonder if anyone else had tried this diet and can offer support and advice and an answer as to why My blood sugars are not reducing.

Replies

  • nutmegoreo
    nutmegoreo Posts: 15,532 Member
    How much weight have you lost? Weight loss and increasing activity will be two of the biggest things you can do to change.
  • nvmomketo
    nvmomketo Posts: 12,019 Member
    edited July 2018
    mmapags wrote: »
    nvmomketo wrote: »
    I have found that my BG correlates much more closely to how many carbs I eat, if I exercise after eating, and then how much I eat. My weight has the least affect on my BG. Ymmv.

    800 kcal is pretty low. Probably too low. Most adults need 60-100 g of protein a day so that could be up to half of your calories at this time (1g protein = 4 kcal). You probably need more fuel - mainly fat since that does not affect BG. If you BG is not coming down yet, you need lower carbs. Carbs are nonessential so most can take them to zero and not have any negative health issues. I keep my carbs below 20-30 g, and even if I eat 2000 kcal a day, my BG is fine.

    Have you looked at work by Dr Richard Berstein? He is a T1D who invented self testing and better BG control with a low carb diet, and then became a medical doctor so he could share his knowledge. He has a great book, Dr Bernstein's Diabetes Solution, that can help you lower you BG and insulin. He has a lit of YouTube videos out there too, although they are pretty dry to watch.

    Do you have a blood glucose metre? The best way to discover what diet and foods will work for you is to test 1 and 2 hours after eating. If you are eating too many carbs (or carbs with not enough fibre) your glucose metre will show you that with high readings. I now keep my carb intake very low and rarely eat any refined and processed carbs ( baked goods, noodle, cereals, any flours or sugars) or whole grains (corn, oats, rice) because they raise my BG by quite a bit. Many fruits do the same. Ymmv

    Sarah Halberg is a good one to look up too. She's done a lot of work and research in T2D.
    Good luck.

    https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s13300-018-0373-9

    https://denversdietdoctor.com/dr-sarah-hallberg-ketogenic-diet-for-type-2-diabetes/

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=da1vvigy5tQ
    .

    For you BG and carbs may correlate. I lower my BG Nd A1c from prediabetic to healthy normal without changing carb intake at all. I just lost weight/ body fat and increased vigorous exercise.

    Exercise does affect me too, although BG seems to go up in the short term if it's strenuous exercise. That and low carbs seem to have an immediate effect - lower BG immediately or within days. I'm guessing that because I developed prediabetes when I was still a normal BMI, that weight was not a large factor in my situation.

    I believe that BG and carb intake correlates for everybody. Those with IR just have a more extreme BG reaction than that of apparently healthy people. I'm not saying carbs are the only factor that raise BG, just a reliable one.

    Compared to a steak dinner with a side Caesar salad (no croutons), I am confident that a higher carb equal calorie meal, where the steak is reduced and the salad is replaced by roasted carrots, potatoes and a fresh bun, would result in a higher BG reading an hour or two later for most people.

    ETA
    This was an interesting small experiment using a continuous BG monitor.
    http://journals.plos.org/plosbiology/article?id=10.1371/journal.pbio.2005143
    And an article summarizing it:
    https://med.stanford.edu/news/all-news/2018/07/diabetic-level-glucose-spikes-seen-in-healthy-people.html

    Carbs affect BG in most people.
  • TavistockToad
    TavistockToad Posts: 35,719 Member
    I watched that programme, they ate 600- 800 calories of shakes and were monitored by doctors. I don't remember any mention of the Mediterranean diet?

    And they were very newly diagnosed as diabetic.

    Are you doing this under the care of your doctor?
  • WholeFoods4Lyfe
    WholeFoods4Lyfe Posts: 1,518 Member
    I would strongly recommend against following such a low calorie diet if you aren't under the care of a medical provider.

    Personally, I follow a Ketogenic Diet and went from pre-diabetic, so my Fasting Blood Glucose last week being 66.
  • SooJones
    SooJones Posts: 3 Member
    I just want to reassure everyone who has so kindly responded that I am under the care of a Doctor. My GP knows the diet I am on and believes I can be successful. I am very determined to get rid of the Diabetes.

    The Mediteranean diet I am on is a restricted version but once the 8 weeks are completed I will move onto the more generally accepted version of the Med diet. Apparently it is the combination of 800 calories which results in speedy weight loss and the removal of most simple carbs from the diet that has the best results. Anyway, I got weighed today and lost 7 lbs in the last week and I'm delighted. I am eating well e.g. scrambled eggs and smoked salmon for breakfast, grilled portobello mushrooms, baked beans and feta for lunch and a Haddock, Leek and Cheddar Chowder for dinner (cauliflower florets instead of potato in the chowder). I think maybe there are not too many people out there yet who have tried this diet but I am grateful for any input.
  • Unknown
    Unknown
    edited July 2018
    This content has been removed.
  • katnadreau
    katnadreau Posts: 149 Member
    My mom is a type 2 diabetic, healthy weight, and honestly it's not the calories that mess with her glucose levels, but carbs. She could eat 2000+ calories a day with little carbs and be just fine, but 800 calories with more carbs and she's all out of whack. Might be a good idea to meet with a registered dietician (NOT nutritionist), who can meet with you regularly for a few weeks and help you determine when, and how many carbs you should eat during the day.

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