Viv’s type 2 diabetes didn’t concern him very much – until his nurse told him that he’d have to start taking insulin. It hit him that he would have to do something, started researching at home and came across low-carb.
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IT CAN BE DONE!
I was first diagnosed with type 2 diabetes in 2011, at that time a male 63 at that time. I knew very little about it and I wasn’t that worried that I was prescribed tablets and I wrongfully assumed nothing more to worry about.
At the time I was 238 lbs (108 kg) and I realized I needed to do something about my weight so I made a few half-hearted attempts to diet but life just went on as usual.
As the years went by there was more being said about diabetes and the amputation and blindness and I was starting to become alarmed. In April 2015 I was 240 lbs (109 kg) and my BMI was 33.5 which = obese. After my annual check up, the diabetic nurse was concerned about my blood sugar, at 19 mmol/L (342 mg/dl). They had already increased my metformin to 4 a day and they had to start me on insulin which hit me like a hammer! The fear of losing a limb or going blind became real, and as I live alone in an upstairs flat, if any of that happened I would lose my flat and my independence. The thought of that horrified me.
So on the way home I decided I would have to make a real effort into understanding the disease and if it wasn’t too late to do what I could to control it, well I started doing research on the internet and soon found diabetes.co.uk and https://www.dietdoctor.com/ which had so much information it was wonderful, so after reading the forums and seeing so many people like me and the encouragement I was getting reading about people’s successes and especially the weight loss people were achieving, and being able to control their blood sugar levels, I decided it was time to act.
So I went on a low-carb high-fat diet and using MyFitnessPal to work out my carbs etc. and to my delight it has worked! In November 2016, at age 68, I now weigh 161 lbs (73 kg), my BMI is 23.7 = a healthy weight. My blood sugar is now normal although I am still taking my meds. I am hoping the doctor will take me off them eventually. If you’re reading this there is hope.
Viv
Comments
Congratulations Viv, to your great success on low carb!
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