A minor victory

drmwc · June 2019

Three months ago, I had tests with discouraging results:

Cholesterol was 5.3 with a 5 to 1 bad to good ratio
Blood pressure was 140 over 90
1CA was 50 - there seem to different units to measure this; this one starts at with pre-diabetes at 42 and diabetes at 48

My BMI was around 28; I decided to diet aggressively, eliminate processed sugar, and move around a lot more. (I already moved quite a lot).

I've lost around 28 pounds. Now my BMI is 23. My test results today were:

Cholesterol was 3.2
Blood pressure was 117 over 75
1CA was 38

So, in so far as these measurements go, job's a good'un. However, with all things in life, I think it's important to focus on the negatives. So this is one step in a journey, and I need to keep up what I've started. I accept that I will one day shuffle off this mortal coil, but even with the gloomy caveats in mind, today was still not a bad day.

The focus on the negative is a key idea in Stoicism, as summarised here: https://amazon.co.uk/Stand-Firm-Resisting-Self-Improvement-Craze/dp/1509514252

doxielvr13 · June 2019

I would not call that a minor victory! you have done great...

lauragreenbaum · June 2019

That's amazing and by no means minor!! Way to go

drmwc · April 2020

Minor update: I should get my stats re-checked. It will be easier to achieve once Covid restrictions are removed. However, I think it is still going well.

I am now over a year into my diet.
Blood pressure: 110 over 65. I was on medication, but I came off it recently. God knows how low it was whilst on the pills. Although I have a self monitoring tool, I am inefficient at remembering to use it.

BMI: Just under 21.
A1c, cholesterol: unknown.

My GP unregistered me at around the time of the initial (bad) readings in February 2019. All the blood work I had done was privately, not through the NHS.

I didn't know de-registering patients was a thing - I guess I maybe should have used them at least once. I had been registered 15 years, and not used them over that period.

I subscribe to New Scientist, which had a synopsis of diabetes remission research done by the University of Tyneside. 50% of subjects who went on a 1,200 calorie a day diet for a month or two achieved remission. It struck me as a plan I could do myself, without a GP involved.

I was lucky - it appears to have worked do far.

A minor victory

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