4-5 weeks ago I started testing my fasting blood glucose first thing in the morning. I have risk factors for type 2 and had monitor left over from when I had gestational diabetes.

My fasting glucose on finger picks was coming up average of 6.6, which is pre diabetic according to everything I read online. I rang my gp surgery (could only speak to receptionist) told them I was worried and wanted to bring forward my annual HbA1c test.

Receptionist rang back saying gp was ‘happy’ with those results, that it was normal range and to just wait until blood test was due in Dec. (this confused me…. Surely 6.6 fasting isn’t normal for a non diabetic?)

So took it on myself to start the 8 week BSD. 4 weeks on, 10lb weight loss, average fasting glucose down from 6.6 to 5.8.

Finally got bloods done at clinic, been told they’re in normal range. Surely if HbA1c reflects 2-3 months then just 4 weeks of slightly lower glucose (still above the magic 5.5 for fasting) wouldn’t make up for what was previously a bad situation where my fasting finger prick was consistently above 6.5, sometimes above 7.

Or does this show that during the day my body copes well with carbs and my sugars weren’t ever too high for too long, just my fasting levels tell a different story.

I’ve another 3 and a bit stone to lose to get onto healthy BMI and if I’m honest I was hoping for a bad HbA1c result to give me the motivation, now I just feel flat and miserable (which is not going to help my eating!)

Any advice greatly received.

R202, if you want motivation to carry on with low carb eating and following the diet plan to also lose weight. Think of your latest HbA1c that you have dodged a bullet. It could have been much worse. Although there is a problem with the finger prick results in that they are not totally accurate. I tend to be around 5.0 to 5.5 but my HbA1c is regularly around 6.0 to 6.5. I am disappointed each time but my doctor is fine with it. I am diabetic and I am on insulin so keeping to 6.0 to 6.5 is a great result for me apparently. You ask if 4 weeks of eating this way could make such a difference, well yes it can. My BG went from 10.25 to 8.1 in the space of less than a week and then down to 7.0 over the next 2 weeks. Now if this had been HbA1c it might have shown a smaller improvement but some.

Thanks sunshine-girl, I think you are right, need to see it as the good thing it is rather than be annoyed, suppose I’m just annoyed with gp refusing to test me just 4 weeks early so don’t have a baseline to compare to. But if I use my own finger prick fasting tests then I can see there has been a big improvement, and assume this has pulled my HbA1c back into normal range so Dr doesn’t know how bad things were.

My next concern is I’m only keeping around the 5.5 normal be eating very low/no carbs (which I don’t believe is sustainable) so will reintroducing carbs just send me over again…. Or will weight lost in the meantime ‘fix’ the problem and mean that I will cope better with the carbs when I go back to them (that’s the theory of the bsd if I’ve understood correctly, not to remain low carb forever but to ‘reverse’ or ‘fix’ the insulin resistance)?

I thought you still had a long way to go to lose the weight you need to and re-introducing carbs will slow that loss down besides the good blood results you are starting to see. So I think it is a bit early for you to be doing the ‘fix’. That is up to you but just one word. I hardly ever although I cant say never, eat carbs. To me I maybe have a small bread roll with a restaurant meal and as I havent been out to eat since September and then February before that – that is 2 small bread rolls all year. Yesterday I bought a baguette (I live in France) it was the real deal with no preservatives just flour, oil and salt. I bought it to make some fresh breadcrumbs after it has gone rock hard as they do but I decided I couldnt resist a piece and made myself a small chicken salad roll. First of all I could have gone back and eaten the whole thing and secondly, I was starving an hour later. Lesson, carbs can be addictive and make you want more and more and carbs only fill you for a short time and your body will start craving a top up. If you can handle this and only have a very limited amount then do it. But do write down what you eat and how you feel and log how your BG’s are etc etc. As you have only been low carbing for a few weeks I personally think you should continue and give it more time. I have been low carbing for over 4 years and it hasnt done me any harm and it keeps my BG down.

Just an afterthought. When I gave up smoking (one of the times) I convinced myself that after a few weeks I had it cracked and would be able to go back and only have the odd one now and then. It only took a few days before I was hooked again. I finally give up on 12th March 1993 and never touched another cigarette.

Oh don’t get me wrong, I did mean when I’ve reached goal weight, which is a healthy BMI then perhaps could reintroduce carbs and hopefully the weight loss will have resulted in better insulin sensitivity. I find it harder work to cook low carb for the family that’s all, can’t imagine wanting to be shopping, thinking and cooking so differently forever. Maybe I’m niave, maybe I will still develip type two regardless in which case of course this new way will have to be permenant but I was hoping it wouldn’t be, I know it may be 6-12 months to lose the weight, my calorie intake is not as low as it should be, so I probably won’t achieve the ‘rapid’ loss. Again this is due to having 2 young kids and an underacfive thyroid so I struggle with energy levels anyway so am having to snaffle a handful of nuts to keep me going through the after school hours.

Thanks for your encouragement.

Sorry I misunderstood. Hopefully you can go back to re-introducing carbs but I can bet that after several months (6-12 you think) of low carb you wont really be interested in them although I do have twinges now and then when I fancy something. I understand how hard it is with kids as my daughter is also following this plan even though she has no health problems to cure (she has underactive thyroid controlled with meds) and 2 kids and now with her new partner she can have 5 kids at any one time. I dont expect her to low carb forever. I have always said to her that if it wasnt for my diabetes I would be lower carbs than I used to be i.e. smaller portions and less often, rather than never having any bread or jacket potato. They are probably what I miss and I certainly dont miss rice or pasta and my husband has recently said he only used to eat those to mop up the sauce in a curry or whatever and doesnt want them any more and he isnt even on this diet. When you are ready you will find your own level of tolerance to carbs. Nuts are a good snack.

Yes hopefully after a long while of low carbs I won’t miss them. I didn’t for the first 3 weeks but now with Christmas treats on the agenda the cravings are becoming stronger. I don’t think I’ve got it in me to resist completely when Christmas day comes but I have to be confident in myself that I do have the willpower to get back on plan immediately afterwards.

Thanks again, you sounds so sorted and like a real pro at this, congratulations.

R2020
Hi, just wanted to tell you my experience with finger pricks. I was taking metformin when I first started eating this way but am now drug free. My experience is the opposite of sunshine-girls. My average finger prick test in the early morning is usually between 6 & 7 but my HbA1c has been between 4.9 and 5.3 ish for the last four years. I use the finger pricks as a very rough guide only as they don’t really bear any relationship to an HbA1c.
The one thing I have found is that simple, processed carbs do push my blood sugar up. It might be a good test to see what you finger pricks show 2hours after you’ve eaten some carbs ….. bread, rice, mince pies, pasta, Christmas cake, potatoes …. it might really shock you!
Keep low carb, it works, and don’t get hung up on finger pricking. Good luck on you journey.

Thank you Verano,

This is interesting stuff and I still have so much to learn. I wondered if my gp would be at all bothered by high early morning finger picks given my HbA1c is normal. I thought it perhaps suggested my after meal status is reasonably good (non diabetic). I’m not really ready to go for a carb meal to test that as want to stick with bsd and kick the habit but it will be interesting in the future when/if I reintroduce….. I will have to look up what the normal range is supposed to be for non diabetic 2 hours post meal.

Thanks for your reply.

R2020 my guess is that if your HbA1c is within the normal range your GP he won’t be at all interested in you finger prick test results and you know, nor should you be! The way to go, for anybody who may be concerned about their blood sugars being high, is low carb.
Even without blood sugar problems this way of eating is really so healthy. Sometimes people say ‘you can’t live without carbs’ but we don’t. There are carbs in so many ‘healthy’ foods so we really don’t need bread etc. to get our daily dose.
One of the most telling things for me is the ‘afternoon slump’ or lack off. Don’t know if you ever suffered from that ‘after lunch nap syndrome’. Since starting a low carb way of eating I have never had that ‘afternoon slump’. Way to go!

Hey, absolutely I feel better on this way of eating….. But I do miss the sweet stuff, while I don’t get hungry (no big swings in blood sugar anymore) I’m clearly not over the emotional addiction just yet!! Haven’t succumbed yet and truly hope I won’t. But I have been am emotional sugar addict all my life so its not as easy as reading a book and just doing it. I’m getting there though.