I've also been told I'm T2, and for the past (lots of) years have been yo-yoing up and down as I try this and that.
My blood glucose control over that time has been mainly very poor, and I'm lucky not to have suffered from complications or a catastrophophic event before now.
I'm on medication, and still had bad results during my latest review at the start of the year.
I decided in May this year to do something and have been flirting with a low carb diet since. I've done low carbing before, lost about 5 stone (about six years ago) and got my BG levels right down.
Then as usual, it all piled on again as I thought I had it sorted, but shamefully went back to eating the sugary, carby stuff that got me into this mess.
This time, I've been working at it for two months, and have got it down to a pattern that I intend to stick to for the foreseeable future....during the week, I only have water, tea or coffee during the day, then have a meal at night.
This meal is usually something like smoked mackerel, scrambled egg with spinach and olives, or salmon with salad and beetroot. I'll also have raw nuts (walnuts and almonds), and usually some berries (blackberries are best).
A few times a week I'll have natural yoghurt (not low fat) and mix in some berries or nuts, sometimes some peanut butter with ground cinnamon.
At weekends, I'll allow myself a cooked breakfast one morning, and then have a light lunch of whatever I can find and very little at night.
Of course, this has been sabotaged with me having birthdays, Fathers Day, a stag weekend, a christening and a wedding, but remarkably, I've managed to lose two stones in weight in the two months, my BMI is down to 33, my blood pressure is down to normal and my blood glucose numbers are almost normal (just slightly into the pre-diabetic range).
My only exercise is walking - I try to do 5000-10000 steps a day using a fitbit thingy, but it's not always possible. I don't get annoyed by it though, as I know this counts very little towards weight loss - it's more beneficial to my blood pressure and BG numbers really.
What am I saying here?
Low carbing works. Fats (not all) are good for you! Low carbing for weight loss works best if you combine it with calorie restriction. I've found that keeping my calorie intake to around 800 per day is resulting in a 3-4lb loss in a week.
Those weeks where I've had too much or the wrong food and/or been at the pub, well the losses are down to a pound or two at best.
Of course, this calorie restriction is not sustainable, and my intake will increase as I get closer to my target (around Christmas time!!!), but for now it is improving my losses and my overall health.
Read the 8-week blood sugar diet by Michael Mosely for a good idea of what is involved to go down this route.
