“I’ll introduce myself as an ex-diabetic from now on”

When Ian went in for his routine medical exam he got a type 2 diabetes diagnosis! And he needed to start treatment right away.

Here’s what happened when he searched for science, found the Diet Doctor website and chose not to follow his dietitian’s crappy low-fat advice. It includes 16 kilos (35 pounds) lost in eight weeks, but that’s just the beginning:

The Email

Dear Diet Doctor Team,

I have been prompted by my wife to share my short story on this forum, so here goes:

I’m a 52 year old male who has never paid any attention to my health but I’ve had no health problem to be concerned about either. In June this year I had to complete an annual medical exam for the company I work for. I assumed I would just pass it like all the previous medicals I have done. I was only hoping they didn’t give me the Queen’s College Step Test again because nowadays I have one knee that is not too flash.

After the medical all was good except the blood test showed high blood glucose. So they booked me in to do more tests. The doctor reviewing the results of these extra tests told me that he was very sorry but I was a Type 2 diabetic and I would have to start treatment for it. He prescribed me Metformin and sent me to a dietitian to get a diet plan. The diet plan I received included eating at regular intervals, bread at every meal, uncooked veggies, no fats or oils, low salt, and no more than 200 grams of lean meat per day.

After 3 days of starving and feeling nauseous from the tablets I started looking for an alternative science. This is when is when I found the Diet Doctor website and started re-educating myself. Before the first week of being diagnosed was over, I had stopped taking the tablets and the diet and started eating low-carb food instead.

That is now 8 weeks ago.

In the interim between today and when I started, my wife and I did a two-week long motorcycle trip through very hot and dry Bulgaria and Romania. The temptation of ice-cold beer and new foods that I hadn’t experienced before got the better of me and I strayed from the LCHF diet for most of the trip. I am back on it now but the 8 weeks period needs to be considered as 6–7 weeks to be fair in reviewing the results of my progress. I returned to the doctor yesterday for the 2 months follow up examination. Here’s a summary of the results from both tests:

I don’t have much of an idea what most of the results mean but I did research about the ones listed above. Unless I’m getting the wrong info, it appears that pretty much everything is better in the second test when compared to the first.

I asked the doctor if I was still a diabetic. He laughed and said it was too early to tell. He did say that I was losing too much weight and I should slow down. I asked what indication was there that my weight loss was too rapid, he carefully compared the two lists of results again but in the end couldn’t find anything to support his recommendation. I asked what indicators in the results showed him that I was still a diabetic and again he couldn’t show or explain why to me.

Despite this lack of acceptance, I have decided to introduce myself as an Ex-Diabetic from now on anyway. Might even get a T shirt made.

Today I feel really, really good. Even though I didn’t have any complaints two months ago I still feel better somehow. Maybe just not carrying a 15 kg (33 lbs) dead weight with me everywhere I go is part of that.

Going forward, I will keep to the LCHF food to get rid of more excess baggage down to whatever weight that I end up being, naturally. I have no target weight to hit and I don’t care if my end weight is correct or not according to the BMI index.
I will still drink the local beers and eat the local foods in any far flung places that I may visit and most importantly I will probably now live longer to visit more of those interesting places.

Initially everyone who I told I was a diabetic all said how sorry they were, ‘what bad news’ and similar such statements. But in reality it has been the best thing that has happened to me in years. I am truly blessed. Had I not had access to the resources that Diet Doctor and other similar groups have provided it would have been a very different outcome. I would have been stuck on the medical merry-go-round getting fatter and more diseased.

So thank you from the bottom of my heart and all power to you guys for doing what you do.

Ian

P.S. I want to share a drink recipe that I recently invented. I think it tastes better than the original.

Comment

Sounds like a great start, Ian! Congratulations and keep going!

A low-carb high-fat diet is a great way to reverse early type 2 diabetes.

Try It Yourself

Do you want to try a low-carb diet yourself? Here’s our guide:

Earlier Success Stories

Share your story

Do you have a success story you want to share? Send your information, plus before and after photos, to success@dietdoctor.com. It would also be greatly appreciated if you shared what you eat in a typical day, whether you fast etc. More information:

Share your story!