Diabetes made Me Do It!

[mista2]

Hi there, I'm a newbie to the site but I have been on the carb watching eating plan for over a year now.
Back in 2002, just after Christmas and around New Year, with my wife just about bursting with our first baby on the way I started feeling really crappy. Lethargic, drinking a lot, very tired, then my vision went fuzzy.
I'd just suddenly developed Type 2 Diabetes. My blood sugar at the point I got to the doctor was almost lethal.
for those who don't know, Type 2 Diabetes is an excess of insulin over a long period of time causes you body to stop using it, or become insulin resistant. Any carbohydrate you eat is quickly placed in your blood stream, but then the body cant use your insulin to absorb it, so it starts collecting in tissue, arteries, and other body fluids. They only way to control its effect is with diet and excercise.
That was my turning point. not wanting to loose my vision or my limbs to excess sugar in my diet, and wanting to be around for my sons 21st birthday I hit the low carb diet bookshelves.
I started out a not very fit 130+kilograms. Thanks to several books on diabetes, and especially the X-Syndrome book, and starting a regular excercise program I have manageed to get down to 93kg (Thats loosing over 81lbs for those metrically challenged), and feel much fitter. The doctors last report on me was that my long term HBC (average amount of sugar in my blood over the last three months) is completely within the normal range for someone without diabetes :)
The problem I have always had though is that insulin is a hunger hormone. When there is a lot of it in your blood, you feel very hungry, whether you need something to eat or not. Its how your body tells you it's lunch time by releasing insulin. :p
The hardest thing has been fighting the cravings for sweet sugary foods. Walking though the supermarket for me is like placing a crack addict in a tinny house, especially at the chekout with all those choc bars there to tempt the kids into nagging their mums in to buying them :agree:

Well, it's been over a year now, and I felt I needed some extra motivation to stay on my eating plan so I thought I would check out a few low carb sites and see what's going on.

Anyone else with diabetes, feel free to contact me and maybe swap war stories :)

John Howell
New Zealand.

[Janetly]

Hi and Welcome!
My mom was diagnosed with Type 2 Diabetes in March of 03, and she's been doing LC since then - though she's fallen off the "bandwagon" as of late. I'm trying to get her motivated enough to do it with me. She is my biggest inspiration for this woe. I am so happy you are trying to be healthy!
Good luck!

[Cara73]

Hello and welcome to the forum :wave:

I'm sorry to hear about all of the trouble you've had. But I'm glad to hear you're beating it!!! Congrats on that.

Best of luck to you.

[penelope]

Me too. I am type 2.
The motivation is back with me I went completely off and gained all the weight back suffer from constant hunger etc…all that work down the drain.
The key to success is variety.
I was too strict with my choices and ate the same things for two years. One day I just hit a low and a big bag of chocolate chips and ate them for a year, hence, I am back.
I am taking my blood reading more often and walking everyday. Take me to heart you don’t want to quit.
Pene

[Karen D.]

Hello John,

I'm wondering whether your search for books on diabetes turned up one called "Dr. Bernstein's Diabetes Solution." It's written by Dr. Richard K. Bernstein, who has been a type 1 diabetic for over 60 years and still practices medicine, restricting his practice to diabetes and obesity. It is, in my opinion, the best book ever written on diabetes (both type 1 and type 2), and I've read many. It gives a clear, straightforward description of what diabetes is, and Dr. Bernstein's very specific instructions about how to manage it with a low carbohydrate diet, and, for those who need it, certain medicatons (some common ones he definitely does not recommend) and/or small amounts of insulin. You can download parts of the book online at diabetes-book.com. There is also a very good diabetes forum at that site.

Karen

[mista2]

Me too. I am type 2.
The motivation is back with me I went completely off and gained all the weight back suffer from constant hunger etc…all that work down the drain.
The key to success is variety.
I was too strict with my choices and ate the same things for two years. One day I just hit a low and a big bag of chocolate chips and ate them for a year, hence, I am back.
I am taking my blood reading more often and walking everyday. Take me to heart you don’t want to quit.
Pene

Yeah, I'm more supprised than anyone that I have been able to keep it up this long. I'ts really hard sometimes, and so easy to all back into bad habbits. I found myself thinking, "Well I'm doing OK, I can splurge just a little bit" but it's a slippery slope :yum:

The excercise has been the hardest part to maintain since my son was born, just finding the time to go to the gym or take an hour for a walk is a mission. I found though that it helped to take a before and after blood sugar reading when going to the gym when I started, as it really reinforced how much sugar it scrubbed from my blood, even just a 30 minute cardio session on a treadmill did wonders. So even if I felt absolutey shagged I knew it had really done some good.
The only problem now is that as I weigh less, I actually keep having to excercise longer and with higher resistance to get the same effect :mad:

[mista2]

Me too. I am type 2.
The motivation is back with me I went completely off and gained all the weight back suffer from constant hunger etc…all that work down the drain.
The key to success is variety.
I was too strict with my choices and ate the same things for two years. One day I just hit a low and a big bag of chocolate chips and ate them for a year, hence, I am back.
I am taking my blood reading more often and walking everyday. Take me to heart you don’t want to quit.
Pene

Yeah, I'm more supprised than anyone that I have been able to keep it up this long. I'ts really hard sometimes, and so easy to all back into bad habbits. I found myself thinking, "Well I'm doing OK, I can splurge just a little bit" but it's a slippery slope :yum:

The excercise has been the hardest part to maintain since my son was born, just finding the time to go to the gym or take an hour for a walk is a mission. I found though that it helped to take a before and after blood sugar reading when going to the gym when I started, as it really reinforced how much sugar it scrubbed from my blood, even just a 30 minute cardio session on a treadmill did wonders. So even if I felt absolutey shagged I knew it had really done some good.
The only problem now is that as I weigh less, I actually keep having to excercise longer and with higher resistance to get the same effect :mad:

[jadefox26]

Hi there!!
It's lovely to have another newbie on the board - pop by my journal sometime and say hi to all the lovely people on it - there are some wonderful people with loads of inspiration on this site - it's toatally what keeps me going!

I too was dignosed with dibetes over 5 motnhs ago, but my meds and the LC way of life has seroiusly kicked my body back into a more normal range! It's revolutionary this way of life! I can't get enough of it!

You have done amazingly well!! Way to go you!! You must be so proud of yourself!!! I bet you feel so much better!!
Keep upthe amaxing work and you've come to the right place - being here is the only thing that has kept me going!!
Take care and hope to see you soon!

oh and have you thought of uploading some photos of your progress? I find it helps to keep me focussed if I have current and pre-LC photos in my gallery - it makes me realise what all the hard work is for!!
Emma xxx

[bevbme]

Low carb may be the best thing you have ever done for your health. Hope things continue t o improve for you and welcome to a great forum.

[penelope]

I am so glad you started this thread. I remember losing a steady 2 pounds a week and having to walk more to keep the two pounds loss.
I was addicted to numbers. I would be walking dreaming of contraption to be heavier like a belt with weight hanging or a backpack with the amount of weight I loss in it.
That way I would not have to walk as much. Weight lifting would increase muscle mass and do the same thing,
but I am away from a gym .
Pene