Diabetes & low carb - my progress so far
robertspaul308
Posts: 2 Member
Hi All,
I was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes 5 years ago and within 12 months I had started taking Metformin, my glucose level plateaued but then started to increase and as a result my Metformin dosage was also increased.
Fast forward to August 2019 with my glucose levels increasing again, my diabetes practitioner gave me a couple of options, either start taking additional medication or diet.
She suggested a low carb diet and I have to say I haven’t looked back since. Yes, it was difficult to get used to, I had to pretty much plan every meal and eating out or just grabbing a quick lunch proved to be a challenge at times. Today I had a routine practitioner appointment and over the last 5 months I’ve lost 22 pounds, my glucose HbA1c has dropped from 8.5 to 6.7% and we agreed to reduce my metformin dosage by half.
My experience of Low Carb has been really positive, I don’t feel I’m on a diet anymore, it’s just my way of eating.
For those of you out there with type 2 diabetes, it’s working for me!
Paul
I was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes 5 years ago and within 12 months I had started taking Metformin, my glucose level plateaued but then started to increase and as a result my Metformin dosage was also increased.
Fast forward to August 2019 with my glucose levels increasing again, my diabetes practitioner gave me a couple of options, either start taking additional medication or diet.
She suggested a low carb diet and I have to say I haven’t looked back since. Yes, it was difficult to get used to, I had to pretty much plan every meal and eating out or just grabbing a quick lunch proved to be a challenge at times. Today I had a routine practitioner appointment and over the last 5 months I’ve lost 22 pounds, my glucose HbA1c has dropped from 8.5 to 6.7% and we agreed to reduce my metformin dosage by half.
My experience of Low Carb has been really positive, I don’t feel I’m on a diet anymore, it’s just my way of eating.
For those of you out there with type 2 diabetes, it’s working for me!
Paul
68
Replies
-
Love stories like this. Kudos!2
-
That's fantastic!4
-
That's wonderful! I bought a meter to track as I'm teetering on the edge of pre-diabetes.2
-
Good for you! So happy for you!2
-
Low Carb/Keto has been amazing for me in terms of the glucose level management. I went off metformin completely and the last 3 A1C's have all been in the mid 5's.19
-
I recently went to the doctor and was told I was in the pre diabetes range. Needless to say I was and still am in shock but I knew I needed to address this immediately. I went to see the nutritionist at my clinic and was told to start eating a low carb diet. I am grateful for My Fitness pal to help me count carbs but I am realizing it gets overwhelming at times to watch every bite that goes in your mouth. There are moments when I think I can't do this for the rest of my life and moments when I feel good about it. My hardest challenge is balancing carbs, protein, and fats. Any suggestions will be greatly appreciated.10
-
Fantastic job robertspaul308!!
fatblues - in the beginning it is trial and error to see what works for you. Did your nutritionist give you any guide as to where to start with your balancing act? The boards here are great help. I keep my carbs at 20g net. You may not want to go that low--that's fine (traditionally more of a Keto level). If you cook, there are tons of recipes online. If not, search the boards here and look at other's diaries. Feel free to add me, I am here for support and ideas. I have brought my A1C down from 8.8 to 5.3 in the first 3 months of low carb. Still on Metformin but dosage has been reduced.8 -
I know first hand that low carb can make a huge difference for Diabetes. I have been a Type 2 diabetic for over 20 years. And metformin never really helped me, I now am on insulin. However I have been reducing the amounts. And when I stay on low carb I have awesome blood results.
I brought my A1C down from over 12 to 6.7 in 2019. All blood lipids are normal as well. Working to bring lower. Losing 80 lbs has helped as well. Still on weight loss quest.
For me Total carbs right around 55 Monday through Friday, and will admit on one day of weekend will go up to 65. I look at most things from a weekly viewpoint. That has helped me stay on point.
For the macros I dropped sugar, as I am staying way below that number. As I have given up processed foods. So I track fiber which is important. But also will view reports so can see carbs, and then fiber and really see what the net carbs are running.
I agree much will be trial and error to figure what is the right number/percentage of carbs, protein and fat within a calorie goal that works for you.
I am low carb, but I use quite a few Keto main meal recipes as well as for dessert recipes. As I do cooking at home.11 -
Awesome Paul!!! I had a similar experience where I’ve taken my A1c from 10.2 this past June to 5.3 in October and should be even lower next month. Keto diet has been super helpful in managing blood glucose and losing nearly 70 lbs is a nice side effect.10
-
Thank you Paul. Very inspiring. Reading these posts I see I have lots to learn. I had my macros calculated and came up with 100g CHO. I guess I need to move that lower. Currently 35% Cho and Protein and 30% Fat. Any suggestions, gratefully appreciated. Best, Bev1
-
That's great! I had prediabetes (major genetic loading; both parents, both grandmothers, two aunts and sister all have/had it) and reversed it with low carb. That was about 8 years ago and my A1C these days is 5.0.8
-
When it got in the 5's, my doctor reduced it. After another three months, my A1C was still mid 5's and he took me off. Since then I have been on a 6 month schedule for the A1C, and they have all been mid 5's.
I have moved and will start with a new doctor sometime soon.6 -
I want to jump in and ask a question for all you A1c testers out there. My endocrinologist just recently had my hemoglobin a1c checked along with my thyroid panel. Why would my doctor want to check this if I’m not diabetic or even pre diabetic. She didn’t mention it to me 6 months ago. I do remember in the past year she had checked my sugars/glucos as well as cortisol and determined my levels are good in those areas. Is there thing else the a1c test might be good for besides determining diabetes. Forgive my ignorance.
Edited to add info:
In January 2019 while testing my sugar she also did test my a1c and it was 5.4% before any diet/lifestyle changes. 5.4 is within normal range. Is it just standard to test yearly for non diabetics 🤷🏼♀️ I have an appointment next week and I can talk to her about the reasons then. Thanks for info you can share with me.1 -
Who Should Get an A1C Test, and When?
Testing for diabetes or prediabetes:
Get a baseline A1C test if you’re an adult over age 45—or if you’re under 45, are overweight, and have one or more risk factors for prediabetes or type 2 diabetes:
https://www.cdc.gov/diabetes/managing/managing-blood-sugar/a1c.html
herblovinmom-found this on the CDC website. Definitely ask your doctor at the next visit though!2 -
Agree- it’s often checked as part of a routine check up if you have any risk factors for T2, even age 😊1
-
@nrs101364 and @bacpath
I believe my only risk factor is that I’m over weight. I didn’t see thyroid disorder as a risk factor but I do have an autoimmune disease. 🤷🏼♀️ I guess I’ll find out next week. Thanks guys.2 -
I got my lab results back in my health portal. My a1c is 5.5% with eAg of 111. That percentage is up .1% despite being low carb and losing at least 20 pounds. I know it’s just an average but I kinda thought with diet and lifestyle changes that it would go down not up. I’m not in the pre diabetes range yet but it’s not far😞 I thought I was making progress towards healthy living and preventing disease.
I’m disheartened...3 -
herblovinmom wrote: »I got my lab results back in my health portal. My a1c is 5.5% with eAg of 111. That percentage is up .1% despite being low carb and losing at least 20 pounds. I know it’s just an average but I kinda thought with diet and lifestyle changes that it would go down not up. I’m not in the pre diabetes range yet but it’s not far😞 I thought I was making progress towards healthy living and preventing disease.
I’m disheartened...
You might have actually been lower. I am not sure of the specifics with this, but there is some standard deviation associated with this test and a 5.5 really means there is a 95% chance that the real a1c is between two numbers. I was discouraged once with something like this, and the doctor told me the two numbers were effectively the same. We want the test to be more precise than it really is.
If you are doing the right things and have lost some weight, that is all good. The numbers will come around. Don't be discouraged. Just dropping some weight is going to be good for you in a variety of ways.2 -
herblovinmom wrote: »I got my lab results back in my health portal. My a1c is 5.5% with eAg of 111. That percentage is up .1% despite being low carb and losing at least 20 pounds. I know it’s just an average but I kinda thought with diet and lifestyle changes that it would go down not up. I’m not in the pre diabetes range yet but it’s not far😞 I thought I was making progress towards healthy living and preventing disease.
I’m disheartened...
Agree-also there are differences between the different labs that run the tests. Keep doing what you're doing you're going in the right direction!!
I spent months on tests for my blood platelets only to finally have a doc determine it was because of the labs doing my blood. He ran the tests several different times over many months and got different numbers than my primary doc got.
2
