getting the hang of it!

[lell1]

Hey there awfultoad! (and others but I can't remember your names!)

thanx for your help the other week, I now have a gist of carbs and ones to avoid! This week I plan working on calories too. I can't do more than one thing at once cos too much to remember and understand! Looking at calories and then counting them looks as though I'm gonna need a calculator in the kitchen, as well as scales! Once I understood the science behind carbs, it was easier to see why they need controlling and not vice versa! Tried to eat some crisps the other day...and really didn't enjoy so left them!

Once again, thanx for your help getting me started!

[TheAwfulToad]

Sorry, only just saw this ... so pleased you're making progress! It's funny isn't it - once you start cutting out carbs, they simply cease to be enjoyable. I occasionally give in to a craving for pizza or pie or something, and halfway through I realise I don't actually want it after all.

I wouldn't overcomplicate this by calculating calories and whatnot - once you get the carbs under control (and it sounds like you're pretty much sorted there?) the calories will take care of themselves. The even simpler version is to just make sure you're not eating sugar, flour, rice, or potatoes. And remember to get your fats in there to replace the energy from "missing" carbs.

Dieticians like to make things more complicated than they really are because, if they didn't, they'd be out of a job ...

Are you due for another diabetes checkup at some point? It would be great to hear what your blood results are. Low-carb diets usually have a very rapid effect - depending on where you started from, you should see you HbA1c drop to more-or-less normal within 3-6 months.

[lell1 in reply to TheAwfulToad]

Had a couple of nawty days this week! N ur rite, in thinking bout calories I've over done the carbs! So, sod the calories! Ur probably rite about the dieticians too! All I've been told is that I'm only 'just' a diabetic!! So, am I or aren't I? Either way I do nd to lose weight too.

[TheAwfulToad in reply to lell1]

if you're "only just" diabetic you're in a very good position. You have every chance of being basically "cured" within a few months as long if you can stick to the plan. As a bonus you'll probably lose a lot of weight.

Type 2 diabetes isn't an either-or thing: it's a spectrum, with "normal" insulin function at one end and complete insulin resistance at the other. You would generally be defined as incurably diabetic once your pancreas starts to fail, but that only happens when doctors prescribe drugs that push your body beyond its normal abilities.

You can take this for what its worth, but I have theory that type 2 diabetes isn't even a disease. It's the endpoint of a normal adaptive process. Insulin resistance is a protective mechanism: if cells were not able to "refuse" glucose, they would be flooded with the stuff, and you'd die. The symptoms associated with extreme insulin resistance (eg., obesity) is your body's last-ditch attempt to tell you: "stop doing this to me". It's only because doctors insist that we all have to keep cramming down our carbs, despite the warning signs, that it progresses beyond that point to a life-threatening disease. Under normal circumstances, your natural gut instinct would be to listen to your body.

[lell1 in reply to TheAwfulToad]

Thanx again awfultoad! U make things so clear, nt like those professionals who say u must eat this and not that otherwise >}\!?+¥€[ will happen n then u die!!