Dukie.bc
Sat, Jan-04-14, 15:06
Hi there,
I will be 55 yrs. old this spring, and with the help of eating low carbs, I am slowly regaining my health.
I have been dieting all my life. When I was younger, I found when I exercised like a mad fiend, I would lose weight usually down to about 180 lbs. But I have always had this incredible appetite, and as soon as I stopped working out, my weight would shoot back up again. My job involves a lot of travel and eating out in restaurants when I am out of town. When I was 30 my weight hit 280, so I went on a strict low fat, low calorie diet and lost 100 lbs. in 6 months, also working out 5 times a week. By the end of the 6 months, I looked great, and was worn out from all the exercise. But as soon as I got off the diet (which was awful for me eating 1200 calories a day) my weight started to creep back up again. I didn't want to go back on the low fat diet, as I had hated every minute of it. In 10 years, my weight was back up to 240, not as high as before, but I was still fat again.
Fast forward to when I reached 50 yrs. old and now 250. My doctor announced to me that I was now a type II diabetic. I started on meds, and got a glucose meter. Then I started analyzing the things I was eating and seeing what the results were. By far the worst thing for my blood glucose was eating bread. I would go to Subway, and get a foot long, and my glucose level was 4 times normal (I am in Canada and use SI units here, and normal here is 4-6 and a whole wheat sub gave me a blood glucose of 20 after 2 hrs)
I went to a diabetic diet class, run by dieticians from the local health authority, and they told me, limit fat, limit protein, eat grains and vegetables. (basically what I did when I was 30) I told them about my glucose experience eating grain products but they told me it wasn't grain or sugar that got me fat, it was all the meat and fat I ate.
Ok, I tried it for a year, and my weight increased 10 lbs. Maybe due to the meds, I don't know, but this approach wasn't working, and my lab results were still bad.
Well I had been reading over the years about low carbohydrate diets, like Dr. Atkins Diet Revolution, Protein Power, South Beach, Carb Addict, and it was obvious to me that this low fat diet approach to managing blood glucose levels just wasn't working. (It just made no sense to me, why I should continue to eat the things that gave me a glucose spike in my diet.) Also look up Glycemic Index if you are not familiar with that term.
What really drove low carbs home for me was a book I picked up in 2012 named Wheat Belly, by Dr. William Davis. Here was a book that explained why my appetite had always been so huge, and why I just couldn't seem to stick to low carb diets in my 40s.
So in July 2012, I eliminated all wheat products from my diet, as well as other high carb items like potatoes and corn. I went back to the doctor and had another blood test, and -boom- my results were normal again, and my doctor was shaking his head.
Unfortunately, the craving for wheat started again and I fell off the low carb wagon once more, and the next year of lab results were good and bad and my doctor told me that I would have to go on insulin, as the meds were not able to stabilize my blood glucose. That was on July 2013. I asked him to give me 6 months before we made any change to insulin.
This time I got serious about a low carb lifestyle change. I removed all refined carbs from my diet, not to lose weight, or to look better or for self confidence, I did it as a matter of life and death.
Fast forward to January 2014 and my glucose, Trig, A1c, HDL and LDL are all normal. The hardest part was the first 3 months for me, until the cravings for wheat went away. Wheat has a protein named gliadin, which increases your appetite and acts like an opiate similar to heroin, though you only crave eating wheat, without the high. (http://www.wheatbellyblog.com/category/gliadin/ )
Almost forgot, in 6 months I went from 260 lbs. to 225 where I am at today. (I have to also state, I wasn't working out, just walking.) I never felt hungry, miserable or deprived, (except for the initial wheat craving).
My diet is as low carb as I can make it. If I have to eat at a fast food, if they don't serve salads (instead of fries) its a no-go, but if I must, I eat the burger with either a lettuce bun or remove the bun as I eat it. Yes, I still have diet soda, and I am working on removing that from my diet.
If I am in a restaurant, I start with a salad, I stay away from anything breaded (deep fried) or sugary bbq, pasta, or sauces. Usually I go for roast chicken, beef, or grilled steak, chicken, or fish (if I eat ribs, its a dry rub), hold the bread, potato and corn, and give me an extra helping of green veggies. Dessert is a coffee with cream. Never be afraid to tell the waiter what changes you want them to make to your meal. A good restaurant will always be willing, and if they don't want to change your order, get up and leave. I still like a glass of wine with dinner, and I might have lost weight quicker without it, but there are some things are non negotiable.
To everyone here that is living with type 2 diabetes, do yourself a favor and read Wheat Belly and Grain Brain. Obesity, Diabetes and Heart Disease is epidemic in North America, and it is not because we are stupid and lazy, it's due to the overwhelming use of wheat and other refined carbs in our diets.
Doesn't it make sense, that your pancreas will just decide to quit after 50 years of pumping massive doses of insulin into your blood, to reduce all that blood sugar from these refined carbs you have been eating?
Everyone on this site has discovered low carbs is the answer. If you are here, you are on the right track.
I will be 55 yrs. old this spring, and with the help of eating low carbs, I am slowly regaining my health.
I have been dieting all my life. When I was younger, I found when I exercised like a mad fiend, I would lose weight usually down to about 180 lbs. But I have always had this incredible appetite, and as soon as I stopped working out, my weight would shoot back up again. My job involves a lot of travel and eating out in restaurants when I am out of town. When I was 30 my weight hit 280, so I went on a strict low fat, low calorie diet and lost 100 lbs. in 6 months, also working out 5 times a week. By the end of the 6 months, I looked great, and was worn out from all the exercise. But as soon as I got off the diet (which was awful for me eating 1200 calories a day) my weight started to creep back up again. I didn't want to go back on the low fat diet, as I had hated every minute of it. In 10 years, my weight was back up to 240, not as high as before, but I was still fat again.
Fast forward to when I reached 50 yrs. old and now 250. My doctor announced to me that I was now a type II diabetic. I started on meds, and got a glucose meter. Then I started analyzing the things I was eating and seeing what the results were. By far the worst thing for my blood glucose was eating bread. I would go to Subway, and get a foot long, and my glucose level was 4 times normal (I am in Canada and use SI units here, and normal here is 4-6 and a whole wheat sub gave me a blood glucose of 20 after 2 hrs)
I went to a diabetic diet class, run by dieticians from the local health authority, and they told me, limit fat, limit protein, eat grains and vegetables. (basically what I did when I was 30) I told them about my glucose experience eating grain products but they told me it wasn't grain or sugar that got me fat, it was all the meat and fat I ate.
Ok, I tried it for a year, and my weight increased 10 lbs. Maybe due to the meds, I don't know, but this approach wasn't working, and my lab results were still bad.
Well I had been reading over the years about low carbohydrate diets, like Dr. Atkins Diet Revolution, Protein Power, South Beach, Carb Addict, and it was obvious to me that this low fat diet approach to managing blood glucose levels just wasn't working. (It just made no sense to me, why I should continue to eat the things that gave me a glucose spike in my diet.) Also look up Glycemic Index if you are not familiar with that term.
What really drove low carbs home for me was a book I picked up in 2012 named Wheat Belly, by Dr. William Davis. Here was a book that explained why my appetite had always been so huge, and why I just couldn't seem to stick to low carb diets in my 40s.
So in July 2012, I eliminated all wheat products from my diet, as well as other high carb items like potatoes and corn. I went back to the doctor and had another blood test, and -boom- my results were normal again, and my doctor was shaking his head.
Unfortunately, the craving for wheat started again and I fell off the low carb wagon once more, and the next year of lab results were good and bad and my doctor told me that I would have to go on insulin, as the meds were not able to stabilize my blood glucose. That was on July 2013. I asked him to give me 6 months before we made any change to insulin.
This time I got serious about a low carb lifestyle change. I removed all refined carbs from my diet, not to lose weight, or to look better or for self confidence, I did it as a matter of life and death.
Fast forward to January 2014 and my glucose, Trig, A1c, HDL and LDL are all normal. The hardest part was the first 3 months for me, until the cravings for wheat went away. Wheat has a protein named gliadin, which increases your appetite and acts like an opiate similar to heroin, though you only crave eating wheat, without the high. (http://www.wheatbellyblog.com/category/gliadin/ )
Almost forgot, in 6 months I went from 260 lbs. to 225 where I am at today. (I have to also state, I wasn't working out, just walking.) I never felt hungry, miserable or deprived, (except for the initial wheat craving).
My diet is as low carb as I can make it. If I have to eat at a fast food, if they don't serve salads (instead of fries) its a no-go, but if I must, I eat the burger with either a lettuce bun or remove the bun as I eat it. Yes, I still have diet soda, and I am working on removing that from my diet.
If I am in a restaurant, I start with a salad, I stay away from anything breaded (deep fried) or sugary bbq, pasta, or sauces. Usually I go for roast chicken, beef, or grilled steak, chicken, or fish (if I eat ribs, its a dry rub), hold the bread, potato and corn, and give me an extra helping of green veggies. Dessert is a coffee with cream. Never be afraid to tell the waiter what changes you want them to make to your meal. A good restaurant will always be willing, and if they don't want to change your order, get up and leave. I still like a glass of wine with dinner, and I might have lost weight quicker without it, but there are some things are non negotiable.
To everyone here that is living with type 2 diabetes, do yourself a favor and read Wheat Belly and Grain Brain. Obesity, Diabetes and Heart Disease is epidemic in North America, and it is not because we are stupid and lazy, it's due to the overwhelming use of wheat and other refined carbs in our diets.
Doesn't it make sense, that your pancreas will just decide to quit after 50 years of pumping massive doses of insulin into your blood, to reduce all that blood sugar from these refined carbs you have been eating?
Everyone on this site has discovered low carbs is the answer. If you are here, you are on the right track.