Can’t believe it is the last day of the Review, Renew and Refocus. It’s been really helpful having this to check into and see what inspiration people are offering each day. It has certainly helped to get me motivated and really thinking about my menu anew. I’d really like to offer something exciting foodwise today, but if I’m honest, I can’t think of anything much to offer up. So, I will just offer a Chinese Proverb from my little book, The Ways of Wisdom instead:

He who deliberated fully before taking a step, will spend his entire life on one leg.

Thanks for initiating this thread Verano and good luck for the rest of the BSD journey everyone.

Love it SunnyB!!!!

Late to the party on foodie ideas, but trawling the net this evening, I happened on the attached site, which has a lot of tasty sounding fermented food ideas. Some recipes can only be accessed if you pay monthly to be a Biotic Pro, but there are still a lot you can get to as a ‘commoner’. Definitely worth a look, especially if you are interested in making some fermented veggies or krauts and there are some great ideas for using up extra kefir too.

https://www.culturedfoodlife.com/recipe

Congratulations on your great results, Verano and SunnyB! These threads have been a joy to participate in. Thanks to everyone for sharing your great ideas. I made shakshuka with some chopped fresh Anaheim peppers this weekend and it was awesome.

To close the festivities with a bang, here’s a treat that makes an appetizer worthy of serving to guests or, if you’re feeling the need for a proper indulgence, you can have a bunch of them for dinner. It was inspired by one of my favorite fast food items from my old life: jalapeno poppers. Breading and deep-frying are no longer options for me so this was my solution.

Stuffed Roasted Jalapenos

4 oz cream cheese
40 grams extra-sharp cheddar
2 tsp chili powder
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp ground cumin
s&p to taste
8 fresh jalapeno peppers, about 4 oz total

Preheat the oven to 375F (190C).

Cut the jalapenos in half lengthwise, remove the ribs and seeds. (I save them to put in turkey chili.) Mash the cheeses and spices together and stuff the mixture into the jalapeno halves. The spices can be altered to your preference, by the way. Jalapenos are very mild, so if you like more heat, add some cayenne or hot sauce.

Put the stuffed jalapenos cut side up on foil-lined baking sheet. Bake until the peppers are cooked and the cheese is bubbling and golden, about 20 minutes.

An appetizer-sized serving of four stuffed jalapeno halves totals 142 calories, 2 net grams carbs, 13 grams fat and 5 grams protein. You can see it’s very easy to have more than one serving to make a full meal out of them, and thank the low-carb deities for that because these little guys are so, so, so good. You don’t miss the breading and frying at all.

Sorry I’m so late posting computer problems and just a busy day.

Well we’ve reached the end of our 7 days of reviewing, renewing and refocusing and it has really helped me to just take control back again. Thanks for all the good ideas and recipes. Eggs have now become my new best friend especially when coupled with vegetables. I hope everyone else has benefited as well. I will certainly re-read this thread to keep me focused when necessary but for the moment it’s onwards with the next three weeks of the Spring …… challenge. Hope it’s a good challenge for us all.

Really going to miss this thread and people posting lots of great ideas. I’m sure there will be several of us checking in here for occasional inspiration and I’ll definitely be reviewing the contents when I need to get my head in the right space. Thanks for running the thread Verano, was a stroke of genius.

Yes SunnyB I’m sure we will keep popping in here. Must admit I felt a bit bereft writing my last post! Tonight we’re having stir fry so will make extra to have with my eggs tomorrow as the ginger and chilli flavours are particularly good with eggs!

Good morning

Yesterday I had my pre op assessment including my HbA1c! I am going to ring later today to get the results. I have in my head that my figures will be bad since reducing my metformin three months ago but maybe today will be the day to rejoice and throw my metformin out! Just feeling nervous at the moment.

I bought some Pukka tea , Ginger, galangal and turmeric. I have never tried these sort of teas, apart from green tea which I didn’t like and Jasmine tea which I do. So will let you know what I think of it. I just feel the need at the moment to cut down on both tea and coffee, mainly because of the milk I have with them but which I have never counted in my daily totals. I really do have to get the scales moving down again!
Hope all is well with you.

Esnecca I tried to buy some jalapeños but they were quite small, maybe 2″ long. Does that sound about right to you? The recipe sounds lovely but the peppers looked rather small to me.

Verano, sending heaps of good thoughts for your results, hope they’re as you want them to be xx

Verano, jalapenos are pretty small, but 2″ is small even for a jalapeno. It can still work if they’re not skinny as well as short. They have to at least be nice and plump or you won’t have any space to fill. I get mine from a farmers market and I’d say they average about 3″ long and maybe 3/4″ in diameter at the top where they’re fattest.

Good luck on your test results. I’m looking forward to throwing a goodbye to Metformin party for you in this thread. 🙂

Hi Verano – All the very best with your results – and also – I stopped milk in my tea and coffee a few days ago for the same reason as yourself. It’s actually alright. Don’t miss the sweeteners which I have stopped after 10 years of yoyoing on and off. Another beverage which you might enjoy is a slice of lemon and grate a piece of ginger into boiling water – all items to your taste. Lemon alkalises your system reducing inlammation and ginger supposedly has a blood thinning effect which reduces risk of heart attacks and strokes. Just another option for minimal cal/carb drinks.

Let us all know how you get on

Thanks everyone I’m really looking forward to that party Esnecca but it will have to wait until Monday. I rang and all my results were fine but the HbA1c result won’t be back until Monday. The others are ok so just hoping that one will be too.

The jalapeños were quite plump but I have to say my first thought was that life’s too short to stuff a pepper of that size!!! Maybe will have another look.

Dumptynomore well done on that stone lost, that’s brilliant don’t know why you think that’s a slow loss. I have a half page to the day mid year diary but I have never thought to record my progress etc in it. I think I will start writing down one thing a day that has been good for me health wise.

I don’t take sweeteners in drinks but do like full fat milk. I haven’t tried the tea yet but I do love ginger. I made a stir fry the other night with plenty ginger and kept a little back for my frittata the next day, lovely. I will definitely try the lemon and ginger combination. I wonder how it would be with sparkling water and ice if I left it to ‘steep’ for a while.

Anyway, as soon as I know if I am to be metformin free I will let you know. By the way, I was asked if I had any dietary requirements yesterday and without a thought I automatically said I don’t eat refined carbs. It must be working!!

Hey Verano – I don’t think I can wait till Monday to find out your HbA1c result – can’t imagine how you must be feeling . If your other results are good – chances are HbA1c will be too – fingers crossed anyway.

That cold fizzy lemon and ginger water sound good – i’ll try that myself. I know a stone off in 8 weeks is good – I just say it’s slow because the first time around I lost 22 pounds in the same time. Plus I am still at the start of my journey – still have about another 85 pounds to go. But I’m not as strict as I was the last time – so it all balances out. I am actually very happy and really hope I can keep it up.

About the diary – it’s really therapeutic to write down little anecdotes. I think you’ll enjoy it. For example – today I was at work and at 2pm I wrote that I forgot to eat my boiled egg during the morning – ended up having for my lunch with broccolli. Imagine me forgetting to eat! 😀
Also , I wrote a bit about how my legs were sore after workout DVD (started exercise 2 days ago), so I will have to build up gradually. I am actually quite happy with things. On the 1st July, I was at the end of my tether. I couldn’t walk, was bend double because I couldn’t carry myself. You were there to pick me up and thank you so much , because now I can walk for 30 minutes straight, probably a lot more, but that’s all I want to do for just now and an aerobic DVD.

To sum up Verano, this is actually your success, not mine! You’re doing great! Just chip away at it a bit at a time. A Merry Christmas beckons.

RUBBISH! YOU have done it Dumptynm. The success is all yours take it and run with it.

I have come to the conclusion that as I have diabetes my number one priority is to get my BG down. The weight loss is almost secondary. I have dropped 20% of my starting weight and that seems to have sorted out my BS. So now I just have to stay away from carbs to keep my blood sugars even and if I want to lose weight then that’s a separate issue.

I sometimes find the threads can be a little counterproductive because there are lots of people posting who want to lose weight but, fortunately, don’t have diabetes. The issues of weight loss and/or diabetes control are not quite the same. Diabetes control would seem to require lifelong abstinence, or almost, of refined carbs, but weight loss in itself just requires calorie control. Sometimes I think we get/give mixed messages.

I know for me to control my diabetes without drugs I have to give up bread, rice, pasta and potatoes almost entirely. Others may have different strategies.

I feel the same way, Verano. It’s a miracle I didn’t have full-blown diabetes already, but my insulin resistance was only leading in one direction. Besides I spent the past 2 decades feel like complete and utter crap. Listless, depressed, constantly uncomfortable, often in pain, afflicted with a million little illnesses that glued me to my couch or bed like some hypochondriacal old lady in a Jane Austen novel bitching about her nerves. Even when I was a healthy weight as a child and young adult I never felt this good. Now I know why. Carbs and I are simply incompatible.

About the jalapenos, don’t think of them as stuffed the way bell peppers are stuffed. Like I said, they were inspired by jalapeno poppers, which are eaten in two bites. There’s zero effort involved in stuffing them. You just spread the cheese mixture into the boat with a knife and move on to the next one. More like my mom’s fantastic stuffed celery sticks, another of her Thanksgiving classics, than a stuffed bell pepper.

Verano, I agree with your post. While there is some discussion of BGLs on here, it does not mirror the primary purpose of this way of eating which is for those with elevated blood glucose, pre or fully type 2 diabetes, is to get our levels down. While weight loss has a role, the purpose of 800 calories and lower carbs is to rest and reset our pancreases and livers. Let’s celebrate that when it happens, which is often quite early in the way of eating.

Jenni you are right the resetting of our pancreas and liver does seem to happen early on with this way of eating. I know that my BS level had dropped within 3 months, when I had a scheduled blood test, but it may have been sooner. Also it happened before I had lost 10% of my body weight. It has continued to fall but that is with using metformin. I’m hoping now that with 3 months with just half a dose, and no carbs, my BS is still ‘normal’. For me it would be wonderful if I could control my diabetes with diet alone.

Ok Esnecca now that you have introduced stuffed celery sticks the least you can do is let us all have the recipe! You say how much better you feel now without carbs despite not having full blown diabetes. I just wonder if the problem is not with the carbs themselves but just with the sheer amount of refined carbs we consumed before. It may be possible that eating just a small amount of either bread or potatoes etc. wouldn’t have too detrimental an effect. I guess it depends whether or not you suffered from ‘carb flu’. I never did so I possibly am not ‘addicted’. Anyway, I’m not going to put that theory to the test!!!

I had spent many years avoiding refined carbs, as per doctor’s advice, until I eventually gave up because whether I ate whole wheat, pulses and honey instead of white bread and sugar did nothing to stop my ever-increasing weight gain and the worsening of my other PCOS symptoms. My blood sugar was still technically in the normal range but only just barely. I think I managed to dodge diabetes out of sheer dumb luck and a love for cooking good food. The carbs were bad, but unlike a lot of people in my position, I had the luxury, ability and desire to make lots of healthy veg, grass-fed animal products, etc.

I may, a long ways from now, get a BG testing kit and do an experiment or two to see if I have a BSR to some of my favorite foods like beets and strawberries, but I’m not even in that headspace at this point. I have new habits to forge into a permanent lifestyle and that takes time. For the foreseeable future, I’m sticking with Stalin’s directive to the Red Army. Not one step backwards.

I’ll get my mom’s exact stuffed celery recipe today. I make an imprecise replica. Its greatness deserves accuracy. I don’t even like celery, but I will eat it with delight when it is stuffed with my mom’s cream cheese concoction.

THE RESULTS ARE IN!

The news is good …. my HbA1c is 34 with just half of my normal dose of metformin! That is such a small rise from 33 with 2000mg a day so I am over the moon. I guess when I speak to my diabetes nurse on Monday I will be drug free!!

So a very brief history:
May 2016 46 with 2000mg metformin and carbs and the possibility of more medication
Oct 2016 37 with 2000mg metformin and BSD
Feb 2017 38 ” ” ” ”
May 2017 33 ” ” ” ”
Aug 2017 34 with 1000mg metformin and BSD

The future ???? hopefully no more metformin but even more strict adherence to the no carb mantra. No reliance on drugs from Monday, hopefully, to keep my diabetes in remission. So, I’ve reached my goal of being drug free, I’m ‘normal’, it feels wonderful.

Esnecca I’m not sure about testing kits because the results are quite random, and unless you are insulin dependent, I think you could drive yourself nuts!

Congratulations, Verano! That is such wonderful news! To get such great results even when there were a few blips in the 12-week testing window means that you can certainly keep your diabetes in remission with diet and exercise alone. It’s like getting parole from a life sentence. You must be floating on air.

Verano – I can’t even begin to tell you how happy I am for you. So well done! The good thing is that now you know you can have a litttle of what you fancy and it makes very little difference to your Hba1c. There will always be occasions, etc , where you can join in the celebration without fear of those dreaded metformin. Absolutely amazing to go from 2000mgs to hopefully none.

Just reading back your earlier post. I’m grateful I’m not diabetic, but I really should be , given my age, my family history, my obesity and a couple of other risk factors. So, I am actually approaching this whole thing as a ‘diabetic.’ My way of eating and exercising and eating is not going to change, even if I am lucky enough to lose all my excess weight.

Onwards and upwards Verano, to lose the rest of your weight, with a clear head and a light heart!

P.S – Wish I COULD run! 😀

Thank you both. Yes it does feel a little like being ‘set free’. It’s made me quite tearful just as it did when I was first diagnosed but these are tears of happiness!

Dumptynm I must admit I don’t really fancy refined carbs anymore. When I have had a square inch of bread it’s been dipped in olive oil and balsamic. My blips haven’t been too serious, although compared to you Esnecca, I am full of sin.

Also, although I shouldn’t advertise this, and nor do I advocate it, but I live a very sedentary life with no exercise to speak of because of my mobility. I suppose what I am saying really is that if you are determined enough to go, and stay, low carb, you can reverse diabetes with diet alone but it takes probably takes longer. I’ll let you know if I manage to maintain this in the future. I am determined to but I will have to try even harder to stay low carb without drugs.

Hi just popped in to say congrats to Verano, I am still keeping up to date with your progress. Good luck for Monday. Dont ask about me, I have been sooooooo bad. See you all on Tuesday on one of the threads????

Verano – what a fantastic achievement. I am so happy for you. How wonderful that you have reversed diabetes. It is even more awesome because of your mobility issues.

You have done really well Verano. Congratulations.

I know Verano – isn’t it brilliant to be able to turn our nose up at refined carbs – I actually walked into Gregg’s a few days ago – just to test myself. Nothing! No drooling, no craving, no desperation! And sauntered back out , emptyhanded. Long may it last!

Wow! Just caught up with your news Verano and have to say HUGE congratulations to you. What a fabulous result. Well done you, you should be so proud of yourself – you have put in the effort and reaped the reward. Really happy for you.

As far as carbs are concerned, I had a couple of pieces of delicious, hand made focaccia this evening. It was a conscious decision, eaten mindfully and thoroughly enjoyed. But, oh boy, within half an hour I felt so bloated and uncomfortable that I really can’t see me having bread again any time soon! Good bread was always my “turn to” carb, but I really no longer miss it. This WOE really does re-educate our bodies to eat what we actually need, not what we think we want!

Thank you all, without your help and support I wouldn’t be reporting here today.

Krysia your journey has been especially helpful because you started from a point of such ill health and look at you now! Also, having maintainers along makes it all seem possible with perseverance. Theodora I just love all your trial and error with ‘food from our other life’ at least we can learn from you.

Fairyface where are you up to on your journey now? It’s sometimes difficult to keep track of everyone.

And s-g, did you really expect to be angelic? As long as overall we keep to low carb that’s sufficient. So, enjoy and re-think your plan next Tuesday. Why don’t you ease yourself back in with the last two weeks of the Spring … challenge.

So this morning I have woken up feeling refreshed and renewed and certainly refocused. Where to now? Well I guess I now have to tackle the weight and just keep on keeping on low carb. There is certainly no anti-climax at having reached this goal and for now it’s just onwards….

Hi Verano- happy to offer my support – no problem!

Verano – I would like to clear something up. I wasn’t going to mention it , but it has been on my mind, so I feel I have to. You said in your post 17/08/2017 – 21.08) that overweight people need only consider calories whereas diabetics may have to abstain lifelong from refined carbs. I can’t agree with that. As a non diabetic overweight person I have tried calorie restriction time and time again. When you don’t lose weight after sticking to it perfectly for 6 weeks, there is something wrong. I have to go to low carbs to lose weight.

I know I have talked about the occasional sweet, some fruit and fish and chips once a week. I’m not sure if that’s the ‘mixed messages ‘ you are are talking about in your post. If it is – I would like to clarify that this is only during my transition to 800 calories and apologies if this mislead you or anybody else. I will definitely have to cut all that out fairly soon. The majority of my days I am only about 20carbs. So , in that respect, I , personally, am in the same boat as you. I have the same challenges. It is not any easier for me than it is for anybody else. If it was that easy , I would have done it years ago. I read somewhere that 80% of overweight people are insulin resistant,. That would seem to back up my personal experience. I can’t speak for anybody else.
It’s good that you don’t fancy refined carbs anymore – but one day you might. In that situation, it is reassuring to know you’re HbA1c will not be affected.
Also , this diet is for overweight people as well as diabetics – it says so under Blood sugar diet’ This, to me, means all discussions should be relevant to everybody, not just diabetics – (in reply to your comment in that same post)

I hope you don’t mind me clarifying things
Wishing you a continuing successful journey. Take care.

Further to this discussion re diabetes requiring a strict approach to carbs, having achieved a satisfactory HbA1c we cannot then afford to go back to carbs and not affect our HbA1cs. Many of us had lost weight previously without achieving good BGLs. The difference with the BSD is that we go into remission when our current weights have not given us that b4.
This doesn’t mean that those seeking only to lose weight shouldn’t post. What Verano said was that often the emphasis on here can seem to only be about weight loss not the BGL victories.

WOW Dumptynomore!!!!

Sorry my post has upset you so much, there was certainly no intention of that. Nor was my post aimed at anybody in particular and I’m sorry you’ve taken it as a criticism of yourself. It certainly wasn’t meant like that at all.

My point was really, that for most people who don’t have diabetes, when they reached their desired weight they can reintroduce carbs, if desired, without any detrimental affects to their health. Unfortunately, if you do have diabetes, then reintroducing refined carbs will just lead down the path to ill health and medication again and also the risks of all the nasties that come with diabetes. There is no evidence yet, in the long term, to prove that diabetes can be cured. It would seem at the moment that it can go into remission but maybe no more than that. Time will tell.

I know only too well how difficult it can be to lose weight and I wasn’t suggesting it was easier for those without diabetes. Nor in fact was I suggesting that LCHF couldn’t help everyone who wants to lose weight for whatever reason. I think my ideas of ‘mixed messages’ come when people talk of eating refined carbs but still losing weight. This isn’t an option for anyone wanting their diabetes to go into remission. I just think for new people to the forums, especially those with blood sugar issues, it may be a little confusing, hence ‘mixed messages’.

Maybe my post wasn’t very clear but please be assured I would never want to offend or belittle the efforts of anybody else on these forums. I can only apologise if I’ve caused you any offence. It was unintentional.

Thanks Jenni you have just summed up my thoughts very concisely!

Hi Verano – Oh no, I’m not at all upset – would take a lot more to upst me – I’m very thick skinned 😀 I suppose I justed wanted to clarify that people with weight problems can probably be taken as diabetic due to most having a insulin resistance problem anyway. Esnecca would be a good example of that. You’re right – some non diabetics do revert to occasional refined carbs without worrying about Hba1c – but I think diabetics can too. My husband and my mother (both diabetics) very definitely like a piece of my lemon drizzle cake with good diabetic control. Sadly, I no longer make it.
Also, the accepted Hba1c in the UK is 48-58 for good control – and you’re way under that. So thumbs up for that. Also weight control and good diabetes control are very closely linked, so please don’t be tempted to put weight on the back burner. To be fair if you are planning to keep your carbs low , you will lose weight anyway.
I know, for myself, I probably can never return to refined carbs. That’s a shame, because I am a sugaraholic. Everybody is different. I think we all need to get to where we want to be and then try the occasional refined carb (if we desire it) and see where that takes us. If we are lucky , we will get away with it. If not then that is the cross we have to bear, diabetics and non diabetics alike. But it is too soon to be worrying about that now. We have enough to worry about right now!

Please be reassured Verano, I am not upset at all. I love ‘talking’ to you. You are a very important part of these forums. I guess I just wanted to speak up for non diabetics, people with alcohol issues, and any other issues for that matter. Everybody have their challenges. All we can do is be there for each other.

https://www.diabetes.org.uk/Guide-to-diabetes/Managing-your-diabetes/Testing/ This UK link says people with T 2 diabetes should aim for less than 48 for their HbA1c and of course those of us doing BSD to aim for remission want a much lower level, below 42.

Hi Jenny – thanks for your input. Please note I said ‘accepted’ and I also said to Verano – ‘thumbs up for being way under.’ The NHS don’t always want you to aim for low levels. This is because there is a section of the community who are at risk of hypos, e.g. the elderly, people with complicated pathologies. When people are given a reading to aim for , sometimes they bend over backwards, go against what is desirable for them and then end up with hypos. Or simply not being able to meet those low figures and giving up altogether, or ending up with depression and anxiety because they feel a failure for not being able to get thet low number. As I said 48-58 is an ACCEPTABLE NHS figure(not my figure) for a general guideline. Each person should be assessed individually. Of course aiming for less than 48, for those whose personal medical history allows it is good and desirable, I didn’t say it wasn’t. In fact I congratulated Verano for her low number.

By the way, Jenny, is this the same website that advocated (and may still be advocating) that carbs should form a large part of the daily macros. Hope that helps.

I think it wise to quote the medically researched desirable HbA1c levels agreed upon in the Western world (probably world wide). It’s terrific that the Diabetes Uk have given a large research grant to Professor Taylor’s Dept to continue research on the BSD line of reversing diabetes.

Hi again Jenny. You’re not wrong. And the NHS also takes guidance form diabetes uk. But nevertheless, for the reasons stated above, the NHS ACCEPTED Hba1c is 48-58. Again , that is not my idea. It’s worthwhile noting that NHS guidelines may differ from area to area as all boards have their own local guidelines. It is possible that your area has different targets from mine – in which case both our points are correct 😀
BTW -You didn’t say what you thought of that websites recommendations for a diabetic diet (might be changed now). Would love to know. I guess since this website is set up and Professor Taylor’s grant from them, they might well already have changed – it’s all progress

And this all stemmed from a very minor point which I did not make in the first place. I’m not sure why discussion is continuing. I’m not disagreeing with you – I never ever said you shouldn’t aim for less than 48. Anyway – have a good night – and best wishes for your health aims – I mean that very sincerely

On the subject of dnm and Verano’s conversation above, I have seen some scientific theory that what is happening is a ‘spectrum’ of effects for susceptible people. T2D is just one part of that spectrum, insulin resistance and simply obesity caused by hyperinsulinemia are just earlier stages of the same problem. Interestingly dementia is regarded by some as being on that same spectrum as well. Even though for me it never went further than the hyperinsulinemia fuelled obesity (at least that I know of, I haven’t visited a doctor for about 11 years) I regard myself as being lucky to escape far worse results, and had I remained obese much longer would have expected something major to happen with what I know now. I am reintroducing much of the bad stuff, but in far lower and more controlled quantities than I would have before, and observing the effects on myself to try to plot ‘boundaries’. Since I have found many things that I no longer enjoy as I did this has been made easier, but I am getting a new list of BSD friendly things to avoid having around in large quantities, spicy dried beans, seeds and nuts being one of my more recent discoveries. Small packs only and infrequently now! It does mean that we are all in the same boat in a way, the process of actual remission from T2D will just take some longer as there is more damage to repair, as Krysia found with her dessert trial some months ago.

I couldn’t agree more with everything you say MnM (love that shortening of your name btw). You and I seem to have the same health history. It’s been very difficult to have been overweight all my life and I really feel for people who have diabetes over and above that. I am so very lucky and so grateful that I haven’t got anything else and I really don’t want to go near doctor’s surgeries – I fear dementia- hence I really need to crack this. You have done so well – it’s bloody murder to lose weight, too easy to put on. Wish this site could post pictures – would be great to see all the success stories and take encouragement from them.

That’s a brilliant theory you have put put forward – essentially it links us all together – and we just have to support the diabetics because they have a bit more than us to go. I stick to my theory that I am sure they won’t have to abstain 100% from refined carbs – there’s a lot of truth in ‘Moderation in everything.’ Wonder if alcohol issues could be included – I read somewhere that it is an alternative form of sugar addiction. It really is a very complex subject. And there is no right or wrong way for people to deal with it. We can only do what can do at a pace that we know will be effective. As Verano once said to me – it’s not a race. And it’s not . Everybody has a different make up and will proceed at different rates with slight variations that suit us.BSD provides us with the tools to succeed.

That would be a dream come true for me if I could lose my sweet tooth, so thanks for sharing some insight from the sunny side. I hope it will like that for me too. I have drastically reduced most carbs and plugging away to be 20g daily. You have hit the nail on the head – reintroduce ‘bad carbs’ – in small quantities and see how that affects you and take it from there. Good that you have found healthy snacks that you prefer.

Thank you for your thoughts. I will take heart from them. It’s good to hear from maintainers – gives us hope.

Good morning Jenny from the block – I’m so sorry – I only just saw your post from 19th at 11.33.
I am sorry to have to disagree with your comments Your Hba1c is an average of the levels of sugar in your blood over the previous 2-3 months – GP’s typically use the 3 month figure. If you have a slice of wedding cake or a slice of birthday cake on occasion, that is not going to make a blind bit of difference to your Hba1c. And it is your HbA1c that determines level of contol – good , moderate or otherwise.
As for your finger prick test – that is whole set of different numbers and it is quite useless as a marker of diabetes control.It really only tells you how a food affects your glucose level at that moment in time. If you have a carby food , of course that reading will be high – it should settle down in a couple of hours. That glucometer test is really only used to allow patients to make wise food choices.

So essentially, in the long term – of course diabetics can’t go back to consuming refined carbs on a frequent basis. But neither can overweight people who have lost weight. Diabetics would have poor control and overweight people would gain weight. Which goes back to my original observation that we are all equally in the same boat, with marginally more work to be done by diabetics as very wisely pointed out by Mixnmatch.

As far as the emphasis being more on the overweight people- could that because their are more overweight than diabetics? And may even be posting more often?

Jenny on the block – you seem to be picking up minor bits of info from my words and making ‘something out of nothing’, I’m not sure why you would be doing that. I don’t recall ever having occasion to ‘converse’ with you and I can be 100% certain that I definitely have not ‘dissed’ you in any way. Although, I will say, the written word does not always come across as intended. And I believe I have never been other than polite and understanding in my all my previous posts. My conversation with Verano was definitely not me being upset – it was highlighting an issue which I felt other overweight people including myself might want discussed. As I’ve said already , being overweight is bloody hard.
Anyhoo, you take care! Always good to have discussions – and wishing you all success as always.

OOps should have said – re finger prick testing -( oh no – I hear you groan – I know -I do go on a bit! – Apologies) – not only is it a useful tool to help people make wise food choices, but if readings remain consistently elevated after 2 hours then it is time for medical review. It is also used by insulin dependants routinely and and also to detect hypos. But the benchmark for assessing diabetic control is HbA1c, with finger prick testing a snapshot in time – completely different figures for each – it would be dangerous and inaccurate to use one set of parameters to assess the other.

Just wanted to clarify that – thanks

Good point about the spectrum, MnM. I’ll add that the many, many, MANY doctors I’ve seen, generalists and specialists alike, offered diabetes treatment, namely Metformin, to address my insulin resistance. That was the only trick in their bag of tricks as regards any blood sugar irregularities. The dietary advice was terrible, focusing on high (albeit complex) carb foods.

The connection between PCOS and blood sugar processing is a very poorly researched field, and medical professionals often lump all us blood sugar-challenged folks together in a one-size-fits-none category. The irony is that when I switched to a very strict version of the BSD, so eating like I am diabetic, it set off a chain reaction of weight loss and symptom reduction that basically fixed what ailed me, something the diabetes medication didn’t even come close to achieving.

Sorry for being late to the party, but can I add my hearty congratulations to you, Verano, a worthy reward for your focus and dedication.

All the best.

Thanks JM.
I can’t quite believe it. I bought into the ‘chronic disease for life’ mantra but now I know differently. This can be controlled without drugs. Hope all is well with you.

Verano, I’m so very pleased for you and, yes, proud of you for the wonderful results. Great reward for effort. And along the way your help for others, myself included, has been wonderful. 👏👏🎉

Thanks Marsie. I’ve just posted on my ‘journey’ thread …. I’m also now drug free!!!

Verano, absolutely over the moon for you. What an achievement.. Congratulations and very well done xxxxxxx

Thank you pod. I’m still finding it difficult to comprehend, probably because the nurse sounded soooo shocked. But hey, we know it’s possible, we just have to believe and take control of our own health. Now I just have to shock her again, in a good way, in 3 months time after my next HbA1c!!!