Hi all, I’m about to have my first big weigh in tomorrow on the dexascan machine.

My goal from the first scan was to get myself into the normal fat/muscle/bone ratio and start to reduce my metformin.

After logging everything and presenting at the four-week mark, the doctor halved the metformin and a weigh in on her dodgy surgery scales with me fully clothed indicated that I might have lost about 10kg, which seemed excessive in 4 weeks, but which was delightful and then started messing with my head with hope vs. goal vs. expectation.

On all the forums, the universal measure of success seems to be weight. It’s much easier to quantify than anything else so it is used as a measure of success. Wholly understandable.

Where I’m having problems is that as I approach tomorrow, while hoping desperately for a great result, I don’t want to be disappointed, which might derail all the effort put in so far and for the future. Dr Mosley says your head has to be right for this to work and he’s right.

I’m finding it hard to not turn my goals and hopes into expectations and to ready my heart and head to be satisfied with whatever the results, enabling me to realistically set my next goals for the end of August (next blood tests and next dexascan).

Has anyone else experienced this and got any tips for managing this?

Hugs from Crabbycams

If you are diabetic then your primary goal must be your blood sugar, I would have thought. Everything else will follow naturally at it’s own pace. Always bear in mind that the weight is not important in itself, just an external indication that something is wrong. Track measurements too, visceral fat loss doesn’t seem to affect the scales the same but fitting into clothes becomes easier, and then you need new ones. If your Dexa scan shows improvements in any of the factors that you mentioned then give yourself a great big pat on the back and keep on keeping on. The job isn’t over until it’s over.

I think MnM’s right, there are no universal measures. I started to address my blood sugar issues. To achieve this I had to do something about the level of visceral fat, so absolute weight and speed of weight loss were a useful proxy measure. So work out what is important for you, don’t try to compete or compare with others and remember this is likely to be a long game.

Yes, lots of us here are focused on losing weight, but there are also many who are eager to deal with their blood sugar levels, with an aim of improving health; to be able to avoid or eventually come off medication. I personally think that no matter why you have turned to this way of eating, whilst it makes sense to have an ultimate target, it also makes sense to set small milestones to reach along the way. This helps to keep you motivated and of course when there are set backs – as there will almost certainly be along the way – they won’t feel so huge.

The longer you use the BSD, the more likely it is that you will find yourself able to accept the ups and downs. We all of us have hope and dreams of where we want to be and sometimes it’s tough accepting we aren’t getting there as quickly as we’d like, but be assured if you stick with it, you will get there. Like JulesMaigret said it’s likely to be a long game – think of it as a marathon, not a sprint. We are all in for the long haul and need to think of this as a permanent life style change, rather than a quick fix and after which we can do what we like.

Not sure any of that actually answers your question, but hope it helps to know we all of us struggle from time to time, when our results, whether weight of blood sugar levels don’t meet our hope of expectation, but the secret is to not allow this to derail you and to just keep right on with the BSD, to eventually see the results you desire.

Best of luck for good results on you Dexascan – and going forward too.

Thanks everyone for your comments on this. Very helpful, particularly as I did not meet my goal of getting into the normal fat ratio range. Started about 3/4 of the way towards obese in that band and ended about 1/4 of the way so definitely an improvement. Total weight loss about 8.5kg. New scales weigh about 2 kg too light.

So back into the BSD eve though I have a week of holiday coming up where I will not count cals but will be mindful.

Next scan in 8 weeks. In the meantime I need to up the exercise so I don’t lose any more muscle mass and improve the leanness of what I do have. Will allow myself up to 1000 cals on the days I exercise if I need then, but will eat protein, pulses or veg to fill up. I know I can do it.

Will keep on keeping on and enjoying everyone’s posts.

Okay, well you have a positive base to build on and know what you are doing is having a positive outcome. So yes, keep on keeping on. Enjoy your holiday and if you stick to the principles of the BSD, you shouldn’t go to far wrong.
Well done and I’m sure you will have more good news at the next scan.