Oh Pootle that’s really annoying for you. I’m worried now as I keep falling off rhe wagon and thinking it doesn’t matter. Really struggling mentally to stay focused. Haven’t really put anything on but I just can’t get stuck into it.
I’m so annoyed with myself all the time.
My Dad is very poorly having lost 3 stone in 6 or so weeks.
Poitle you can up the fat and bot the carbs I guess but I must be barking up the wrong tree as I thought losing weight took you out of pre diabetic etc and that would most likely stay that way. If you don’t put weight on , that’s why they say losing weight will help so much. I was not under rhe impression that we woukd have to live that way forever eating no sugar and carbs. I thought weight was the issue mostly. I didn’t think having treats but eating mainly that way would cause such a difference.
You must feel deflated. I will be having same test inabout a month so bit worried now.
You’ve done amazing so increase rhe fat intake I guess. I am like you I didn’t think occasional treats would have such an impact. Xx

Lucy sorry to hear about your dad.

Also sorry that you got the wrong impression about diabetes and weight loss per se. I think we all assumed, at first, that if we lost weight we would go into remission and that would be that. That’s what the medics told us! Research has moved on in leaps and bounds over the last 8 years, actually nearly 9! , since I discovered BSD. Yes weight is important but it takes second place to carbs. Have you heard of TOFI’s, thin on the outside fat on the inside? Many people with T2 aren’t overweight but they store fat around their organs and that leads to diabetes.

So in a nutshell you need to control your carbs. BUT don’t lose heart it’s not all doom and gloom. Once your blood sugar is stabilised for a while. I don’t know but guessing six months or so you can start to experiment with carbs. No, you can’t go back to eating carbs willy-nilly as you did before but you will probably be able to have the odd ‘treat’, whatever your ‘poison’ is. If I never saw rice or pizza again it would be no hardship but I do love a baked or roast potato. You just have to pick and choose rather than eat it all.

We are all individual and each of use will have different reactions to different foods. I bet if you sat down and worked out how many carbs you were having on an average day , before you started low carb eating, you would get a huge shock. When you think something ‘healthy’ like an apple has around 19g of carbs, a small packet of crisps around 13g, half an average Margarita pizza around 50ish so there’s 82g and we’ve not really eaten anything! I’ve never totalled mine but I guess with cereal in the morning, sandwiches for lunch with maybe crisps, dinner with potatoes or rice and possibly a curry with naan I must have been eating an average of at least 200+++.

The most important thing to remember is that we are all “individuals”. What raises my blood sugars may not raise yours. It’s very much a case of trial and error. Another point to remember is that finger pricking, at best, is only a very rough guide and really has very little bearing on your HbA1c.

Don’t despair life can be good without loads of sugar, carbs and additives and in fact if you look back you probably feel healthier now than before BSD. It really isn’t a ‘prison sentence’ you can have almost anything in moderation but not all on the same day!

Thanks Verano. I think I have misunderstood somewhat. Like you say thats not we have been told
Can I ask something….so you eat a low carb diet below 50g pee day as I usually do.
Between 30 and 50…then I have a blow out day and consume a lot of what I’m not supposed to but then next day I go back to it…how does rhat effect pre diabetes etc.

I’m very confused by it all now , I thought losing weight was key.

Hi Lucy I eat an average of 50g a day over a week. So some days more and some around 40g. If you compare 40g to an ‘average’, ‘average’ day for an ‘average’ person it’s very low.
I think, and these are only my thoughts, with no medical or scientific background, that if you eat maybe between 40 to 70 g of carbs everyday it’s better for your blood sugars than eating 40g for 3 days, for instance, and then having a ‘blow out’ and eating 140g. I really don’t know I think it’s something you have to test out for yourself with finger prick testing to see how your body reacts. We’re all different.

My gut feeling is that the more even a keel you keep your eating at the better, but that’s just a guess. Hope that helps.

Lucy I thought I should maybe tell you a little of my story. I was diagnosed with T2 in 2011. I started taking metformin. By 2016 I was on the highest dose of metformin and the ‘nurse’ was talking about adding another medication. At the same time I had a friend with uncontrolled T2 who had a toe amputated. I found Michael Moseley who saved my life!

I stared the BSD in mid 2016 , at a time when it was really quite new, so I was guided by my doctor. I came off metformin slowly and by mid 2017 I was drug free and my blood sugar was ‘normal’. I have stayed ‘normal’ for the last 8 years almost.

I lost weight, put some back on but not all, and am still overweight but my blood sugars are still normal because I stay relatively low carb. My story in a nutshell but it may not be the same for everyone. As I say we are all individuals.

Hi Lucy,
I always knew that I was going to have to avoid sugary things and keep carbs lower..still avoiding the bread, potatoes, pasta and rice, but had thought that I could have a very small portion (25g) of jumbo oat porridge in the mornings, and the occasional treat when out… I was wrong. BUT I am looking through the recipe books to find low carb higher cal meals.. and weighing and counting carbs again daily. At least I was in pre not back into full blown! and I am now more aware!
I know how difficult it can be, when under stress to control things…Please don’t despair…your test will be fine I am sure, I had got very complacent.. not so any more!
I think I have to just get on with it, and keep below the 50g carb most days! (yesterday 31.15…day before 36.5… Thursday 44.13..Wed 59!) but not do prick tests…this morning I did three readings with blood from the same prick…1.5, 7.1 and 1.2..So I might as well just guess it until the next Hb1AC in 3 months time.
As Verano says, we are all individual…and, whilst I am sad that I slipped up, I am still determined to conquer diabetes and keep it ‘in the closet’! I know you can do it too!!
xxx

Hi All,
Every now and then I stop by to see what everyone is talking about and thought I would just add my thoughts!
There are really excellent reasons to limit your carbohydrate intake for the rest of your life — please go read Dr. Ben Bikman’s research (he has wonderful free podcasts if you google his name) and Dr. David Perlmutter’s “The Grain Brain” — there are many more out there but those two are the most clear and interesting to me.
The ongoing research says that the public’s current high carbohydrate intake is likely causing, or exacerbating, cancers, dementia, Alzheimers and many, many more diseases that are caused by inflammation. Carbohydrates drive your insulin levels. High levels of insulin damage our body in numerous ways.
I know I have posted over and over that the best reason for this diet is your BRAIN! This diet is the best way we know to protect your brain and as we age that is so crucially important!

Hi all, another reason to cut the carbs right down is because they are addictive. The more you have the more you want – think a slice of bread and then you want another. Especially highly processed carbs like bread or pasty, they are so moreish. Once you get used to doing without these carbs your body wont even think about them and it gets easier to say no. My treat would be allowing a bread roll with a meal out maybe once a month. Unfortunately, I have not been practicing what I preach and struggling to lose the holiday weight but that is mainly due to alcohol. Got used to having a few glasses of wine each night and now cut it down to weekends – next step is to cut it down to once a month on that meal out.

Just keep on keeping on…

Hi Lucy,
How are you doing? I am back to full swing counting carbs…and keeping a north eye on my BG. I have lost about 2lb and am now the lightest I have been for 30+ years!!
Thinking of you.
xxx

Hi everyone. Thanks Pootle and well done for your continued effort.
I haven’t been good at all as my Dad has been very poorly rhis week and unfortunately passed away yesterday evening. It’s all been a shock although a considered outcome for a while.
Glad he’s not in that awful place but miss him already.
It’s always just been the three of us and I feel so very sad
Hope everyone is OK and hopefully will be back on the straight and narrow again soon.
It’s been a long road….and I feel exhausted. Xx

Lucy deepest sympathy to you and your family.
As an only child I understand how much more difficult these times are.
Most importantly be kind to yourself.
Time really does heal but in the meantime just try to get by day by day.
Thinking of you.

My very deepest and sincere sympathy to you and your family.
Bereavement following such a stressful period is very difficult. Take it one step at a time and try to remember the good times and that he is no longer suffering.
Thinking of you.
Xx

Thank you.
It’s hard .
Verano thanks, it’s a different situ when you’re rhe only one. It’s been a really tough road.
Thanks Pootle. Keep going….you’re doing so well.
Hopefully will be back with you soon. X

So sorry to hear your news Lucy. Be kind to yourself.

Hi Lucy, just touching base so you know we haven’t forgotten about you.

You have been in my thoughts and prayers. Look after yourself and look forward to the new grandchild!

XXX

Hi Pootle, thanks for the message.
Very up and down, can’t believe he’s gone. Have had to wait all this time for death certificate. So going to register death and collect that this morning. Was due to go on holiday tonortow to Spain but have had to cancel . My mum has little other support and I couldn’t have gone away and had ro come back to funeral.
Diet wise I’m fine for a few days and then I go off the rails, I can’t seem to sustain it. But my weight is holding around rhe same so that’s something.
Hopefully when things settle down I can get my head in gear , I don’t know why I can’t at the moment. It upsets me but I’m still 2 and half stone lighter. …so that’s what I keep in my head x

Hi Lucy I’m not normally on this thread but noticed your post in the Latest Posts section and just wanted to send my sympathies to you at this very difficult time. I’m an only child too and have now lost both my parents and I know how hard it is. Just be kind to yourself : you will have a lot to do and also there is a lot going on emotionally, some of which you won’t even be aware of. So look after yourself and once things start to settle I’m sure you’ll feel able to address the weight loss again. Sending you love and hugs X

Dreamscometrue…..that is so sweet. Thank you so much. It’s a really hard job being rhe only one, hard even if you have help but doing this alone is hard especially with a very insular mum who has never paid a bill, turned on a computer or sent a message it’s really tough.
Been doing admin all day and went ro registrar with mum to register his death. Wrote a little speech for the funeral….doubt I will even be able to say it. Everytime I start I end up in tears.
My diet veers between good period of days….then the wheels come off for a day or 2.
So tired all the time and gutted we were supposed to be getting on a plane tomorrow morning!
Sorry for going on.
Again thanks for your kind words. And sorry about your parents too. X

Hi Lucy,

It is not surprising that you have periods of good days… then the wheels come off. Dealing with grief and still having to cope with day to day life, on top of paperwork etc is incredibly stressful! I think you should congratulate yourself on the 2 1/2 stone you have lost, and on being able to have some ‘tidy diet days’!!
I lost both my parents less than a year apart, followed quickly by my only brother. Neither of us have children so I am the only one left. I am lucky that I have an understanding husband, who was helpful when it came to dealing with all the bureaucratic stuff. BUT to this day, it still affects me. The loneliness can, at times, be overwhelming. In the past, the temptation to comfort eat has taken over. I now have various strategies to avoid this, but I think you should give yourself time to grieve and keep as sane as possible. The diet is there when you can cope with it. Be kind to yourself.
xxx

Oh Pootle, that’s so awful and hard for you.
Must have been so difficult.
You’ve done so well to sort all that and take stick of your health etc with such amazing results.
It’s so odd….so many people say oh I’ve lost weight, I’m stressed, having a difficult time etc….I’m the opposite, I eat more when I’m stressed. I’ve had some tough times in my life and this has been gruelling but nothing has ever put me off eating!! It’s actually comedic value in our family. Apparently, no joke….when my mum had me they used to give the mum a break and feed the babies back then….I had a note on my cot to always be fed first or I would cry hysterically! That’s the truth!
X

Like you, I put weight on when I am stressed! When I got married the dress had to be let out before the day…I had put weight on because I was comfort eating…lots of sweet things! Now on top of that impulse (most of the time). Today I have 1/2 a tiramisu left in the fridge from visitors who can for supper last night. I am having to be SOOOO strong, just hope husband will eat it quickly!
xxx

Hi Lucy,
I just cannot believe we are very nearly half way through 2025!
I hope you, your Mum and your family are coping with the grief. I slipped yesterday..a chocolate brownie got the better of me! 🙄
Only hope it hasn’t disrupted my bloods too much!
It has made it even more difficult to resist eating sweet chocolate treats husband has in the house!
Have broken 2 bones in my right hand.. so finding everything difficult at the moment! That makes me want to eat… trying very hard to resist and be strong!
Thinking of you.