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Bobbybass

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  1. Bobbybass

    Almost 2 years on.

    By Bobbybass,

    Still good..nearly 2 years after I did the Newcastle diet. I haven't put on much weight since I did the diet. Have been 'reviewed' with full tests at my local surgery..and I'm still classed as 'normal'. I don't take any drugs any more..but..because I was diabetic for some years..I do occasionally get 'hypos' that are self induced with no medication ?. The doctor doesn't know why..but I recognise the signs and have some Weetabix or similar. I feel good..and my digestive system changed completely after i did the diet. The diet was 'hell'...but was worth it.
  3. Bobbybass
    I haven't been here for ages...sorry.
    Didn't realise I had so many followers.
    As I reported..I followed the Newcastle diet to the letter and essentially starved myself. This is dangerous..as has been said..but I did it.
    So..I expect people are wondering the outcome as it will soon be heading for a year. For me..its been amazing !
    The initial results seemed good..But how did it shape up ?
    Well...the Newcastle diet did something.?
    Even though I started eating fairly normally..I didn't pile on the weight....a little..but tghen the weight gain stopped....even with some beer and chips. Its like my body has reset again to when I in my twenties?
    With other diets..I would have done...but not with this ?
    Something has definitley changed with my body caused by the diet.
    I followed the early version of the diet. This is almost a 'starve to death' version...where the weight dropped off daily. I monitored myself very carefully as there are huge dangers there...blood sugars...blood pressure...weight....general 'feelings'.
    Today..I had the results of my yearly review...tests taken over the past few weeks.
    I waited rather fearful..as I have taken to eating cakes of late !
    Blood sugars ..NORMAL !
    Cholesteral...4.5 previously 5.2 !
    They had already reduced Metformin following the diet...but now I don't need it..its been 'officially' stopped.
    I am being monitored again in 12 weeks...so will see how that goes.
     
    Now...an aside...which seems like an advert but its not.
    A friends husband was diagnosed with cancer. Large tumours including one on the liver. The surgeon said the liver was inoperable...and he had not much time left. Without knowing of my diet ..his wife put him on a similiar diet to mine. A 'ketosis' diet...where you essentially starve in an almost 'death' way. He improved. Returning to the surgeon, the surgeon could find little outward traces of the cancer, so scheduled him for a full scan. There was no sign of liver cancer. The surgeon didn't believe this and he operated to examine the liver. The tumour is gone, and the others have almost disappeared !. They are small and easily operable now. I make no claims for this..maybe mistaken diagnosis. If you want to try this or similar diet..its dangerous..and you must make up your own mind.
     
    To sum up..the diet (in its early form...starvation and rapid weight loss) did something to my body. I can eat cakes..chips...and my sugars are normal and I do not put on weight. It is like no other diet I tried.
    I will still be monitored but don't have to drag increasingly strong meds about any more. Most importantly...I FEEL GREAT...full of energy..dynamic..once again..like I was 20 again !
     
    I will put more in here in February 2014 when I'm checked again.
     
    Bob
     
  4. Bobbybass
    This is really for diabetics, or people that know someone who is.
    Please do not hijack it and start talking diets in general, thank you.
     
    Please bear in mind, when reading this, that I am not a medical person.
    If you want to follow the same diet that I have followed, then you must research it and make up your own mind. If you decide to try it out, you are on your own and I am in no way liable for illness or problems that you may encounter.I cannot recommend it in any way, rather, I will recount my own ‘path’. I may be a little bit out on figures as my memory isn’t great, but overall I am writing this with honesty to the best of my recall so please don’t knock it, thanks.
     
    I first heared about the supposed ‘miracle cure’, somewhen last summer. It was a fairly lead story on lunchtime BBC news. It went something like “scientist in the US claim that following an extreme low carbohydrate diet for only eight weeks, may cure diabetes”.
    My ears obviously pricked up on this, and I decided to do a little research ( a lot actually over six months)
     
    Now …(and don’t think I am anti-American !) I tend to take US research with a large pinch of salt !. There are always huge claims of cures coming from the US and an awful lot of false hopes and rich therapists and doctors.
     
    I used the internet to look into all sides of the claimed cure, and then found that the research had been repeated in the UK at Newcastle Biomedical. This added weight to the whole concept (sorry Americans …again)... The UK research team had enlisted the help of 11 volunteers, and at the end of the diet, it was claimed that 7 of them were free of diabetes. I followed this up more, and as far as I could discover, of the 11 test subjects, 3 had given up after a few weeks and one had been told the requirements and walked out straight away!. That means that it had a 100% success rate.
     
    Apart from the direct people involved in the Newcastle tests, there are others who also quote this diet. There are other reports of success including some people in India, who claim that it works but you must then go onto a ‘maintenance diet (very low carbs) ’, afterwards. Some of those claim that after another 2 years, they are cured to the point that they eat sweets (Indian delicacies) all the time with no ill effects.
     
    The basis of the USA/ Newcastle diet was that it came about due to the increased use of gastric band surgery. This is sometimes applied to extreme diabetics who are highly overweight. Doctors were curious that after the surgery there were almost instant results with hugely reduced diabetic indications. The reasons for this (like everything else in diabetes ) were argued with many opinions. The overriding opinion was that the sudden ceasing of carbohydrates (instant due to surgery) caused the body to go into some sort of ‘panic’ mode where it started depleting its own fat deposits around the liver and pancreas to form energy , and had a kind of “kick start” effect. It was this that lead doctors to wonder if the same could be achieved without the drastic path of surgery…thus…the USA and Newcastle tests.
    I found some very informative video on Youtube, that gives a sort of ‘simplified insight’ into how diabetes works likening it to the cells having to be unlocked by the insulin to allow absorption of glucose. They are worth a look.
     
    I started writing up a ‘blog’ and put this on the Canal World website (as I am a boater)…and had an inspiring reply, that someone had been driving the Newcastle test subjects and had seen that it worked. This was helpful to me.
     
    I looked closely at the requirements of the diet, and its hard…VERY HARD !
    You are consuming no more than 800 calories a day for 8 weeks. On the original test, this consisted of 3 meal replacement drinks a day (water based) which make up 600 calories. You then have about 250 grams of vegetables from a restrictive list that make up the other 200 calories. The vegetables are mainly for fibre as you will otherwise end up constipated. The meal replacement drinks are NOT the type you find in the shops. The original ‘Optifast’, is not available in the UK. I researched this carefully, and found an alternative which is called Gloucerna SR, and is made by Abbott laboratories in the UK. Abbott laboratories make diabetic test strips and have manufactured diabetic products for about 125 years, so they know what they are doing.
    I bought and paid for these myself. You need about 24 tins for the 8 weeks and they are about £11 a tin. Each drink has 52 grams of the powder and there is 400 grams in a tin.
    I dismissed the standard diet drinks as unsuitable.
    If you look at supermarket types, they contain some of the RDA of vits and minerals but not enough.You don’t want to truly starve yourself as you are already in a ‘danger position’ sticking to the official diet !.
    Slimfast is ridiculous as it has around 5 teaspoons of sugar per drink.
    I went for Glucerna, because it is made for hospital use, hence the difficulty in obtaining it. It is a proper meal replacement for those in hospital who cannot eat, and it gives them their total RDA of vits and minerals.
    Glucerna has no sugar or fat at all !
     
    You must drink A LOT of water ( or unsweeted/ unmilked hot drinks) to flush the body or ketosis may set in. This is something to be wary of on diets like ‘The Atkins’ as it can be fatal.
     
    I discovered black tea with a spoon of chilli flakes to be quite lively, but personal taste I guess ?. Hot spices lower blood sugar, as does cinnamon cassia, which I used a lot in cooking.
     
    Many people have replied to me and said they would rather go onto a long slow diet. This is recommended for diabetics, but my own ‘feelings’ (and this has no medical basis other than opinions of the researchers) are that it is the drastic “instant stop” that causes the reversal to start, like gastric surgery. The idea (speculated) is that you are basically in a ‘controlled starvation’ mode.
     
    Examining the Newcastle ‘write up’, I found that I was an ideal subject. This may exclude some people reading this as diabetes comes about in many different ways, general advancing years, genetic etc.
     
    In my own case, I was (at one point) nearly 17 stone. I would like to point out that this was not my weight prior to the diet, as I had made efforts to get myself down to 13 stone and below. I am 6 feet tall, but have a very thin build, small ribcage and thin legs. Thus 17 stone was even more overweight for me. Some people carry that weight and are more proportional. If you look online at the NHS BMI calculator (body mass index) I was surprised I was classed as very overweight even at 13 stone.
    My BMI was about 26.2 when I started ( as I recall ?)
    I was ideal (candidate) in that : my diabetes was due to huge unhealthy lifestyle due to bad diet. Extreme alcohol consumption, and stress of suddenly losing a loved one.
    I was also within 4 years of diagnosis, and so still relatively ‘new’ to diabetes.
    I am also ‘bloody stubborn’ and capable of seeing things through.
     
    I was also ‘inspired’ (in a sad way) by seeing the results of unchecked diabetes.
    A colleague was diagnosed some years back and is now blind due to poor control.
    I spend some of the year in Spain. If you do this, then take a look at the many ex-pats in cafes and bars who have no legs. It’s a fact that in many cases this is due to them being controlled diabetics in the UK, but when they go to live abroad they feel they are on holiday all the time. They set into the sweet lager and carbs and then eventually lose feet and legs etc. I pull no punches in writing this here, because it’s the truth. Stick to the medical advice and meds and you should be OK, but don’t abandon it.
    Please…do not abandon it.
     
    I started this diet a month before Christmas, as I would be leaving this area in March and didn’t want to be ‘out of reach’ of my regular medical practice. I underwent my yearly diabetic screening before that, and it had once again come back that I was slightly ‘raised’ above previous years.
    Diabetes is a ‘progressive’ illness and this is the path it takes. I had been taking metformin in gradually increased doses over the previous years, this was now being stepped up to a stronger diabetic drug.
     
    I ‘ran’ the Newcastle diet idea past my diabetic nurse and doctor before commencing. They advised against it and said to just continue on my current path. I have no criticism of them for this, as these days you cannot just advise patients to leap into radical changes until it’s been thoroughly tested. The problem for me was that it would take about 5 years or more to test , and then I would be too far advanced.
     
    I started the diet, and like any diet, it was ‘all enthusiasm’.
    The weight began to crash off me. My clothes became lose in no time and Primark became my new best friend. Their jeans sales shot up during this period. I also tried to do a little jogging and stair climbing.
     
    During week 2, it became harder. The food started to become boring.
    I thought..’how will I ever complete this’..but I kept going.
     
    The food list is limited, and spice bottles become popular.
    For example, you are not allowed ANY meat., fish or poultry.
    No dairy, no milk even skimmed, no potatoes, rice pulses.
    Just a very very limited list of veg.
     
    I tried adding curry powder to my sprouts. I would not advise this !
     
    I immersed myself into some new projects, this is a good thing to do.
    It was so good, that I even missed a diet drink from time to time which put me only only 600 calories (but this isn’t to be advised..but its my life so what the heck !).
    I drank loads of water.
     
    In summer, I live for about 6 months on my canal boat.
    I don’t feel that I could have handled this while on my boat as I would have been in close proximity to my wife who (bless her) did her best to be supportive, but I could not have coped with watching her eat normally while I starved.
     
    I found myself becoming ‘sharper’ in my mind and more adventurous and positive with ideas. I am a creative person in both music and art , and it was very beneficial.
    Over the 8 weeks, I wrote and recorded a new album of 10 songs !.
    As I’m not on my boat for winter (I’m in my flat ) I took on stand-in jobs playing bass on some shows. This is very intensive ‘sight reading’ and this took my mind off things.
    Although hungry, I started to feel better than I had done for years.
     
    Monitoring my blood sugar several times a day, it started to fall drastically ( as it would with hardly any carbs to make sugar)
    I stopped taking all diabetic drugs so as not to induce a hypo, and found myself settling into low 4’s (in fact high 3’s some mornings but only in the initial weeks) and generally 4-5 before bed. This was without any drugs.
    My blood pressure also fell and looked very healthy.
     
    Christmas day, was killer.
    I had some cauliflower with home made tomato sauce and onions.
    The TV was all adverts for turkey, chicken and roast potatoes. It was miserable.
    I nearly..’crashed and burned’ over those few days.
     
    I ;’think’ that I noticed the most changes in the last 10 days of the diet.
    That was when I consistently found that after eating, my blood sugar rose and then rapidly sank on its own accord. I think, I felt some definite changes happening during that period. I’m glad that I didn’t abandon things after week 6, and say ‘that’s enough’.
    It would have been easy to have convinced myself that if things were going to happen, 6 weeks would have been enough, but I’m glad I kept going.
     
    And so…I completed the diet as per (and slightly better than ) the Newcastle tests.
    During the past week, at the end of it all, I started to pick up on my eating.
    I am having some lean meat, lots of veg, but no spuds, white rice etc.
    I will introduce small amounts of brown rice and a few slices of spud as I go along.
     
    I treated myself to a curry ( I love them)..but had shashlik..no sauce…no rice..salad and nan bread. My readings raised..and fell back to 5 under their own steam in an hour.
     
    I have finished with ALL alcohol.
    I bought an espresso maker (thank you Ebay) and coffee is now my ‘new booze’.
     
    I visited my doctor and told him that my BMI is now around 20.6
    My weight is 10 stone 10 pounds (but I am well within the healthy region of the NHS BMI chart including the new version just published)
    I look like, I have just been liberated from a POW camp, and don’t recognise myself in the mirror.
     
    I gave him (the doc) the chart of my sugar levels.
    Without hardly a thought he said ‘if you drop below BMI of 21 then diabetes will often disappear’.
     
    Now..I wondered….why didn’t he tell me that to start with and pass it onto other patients ?. It seems silly to stuff me with drugs if there is a remote possibility for me and others that this can happen ?..(although I know this may not apply to all)
    So he ordered a HBA1C test…and I returned this morning to find the results.
     
    Now, I know that some will criticise me here, as I do not know the actual figures from it as I was so excited !.
    My eyes just went sort of ‘bleary’.
     
    He had a graph on screen with the ‘plot’ over the recent period.
    He pointed out, some troughs, some small spikes and said ‘ This is a typical plot that I would see from someone without diabetes. It would appear that you no longer have any diabetic signs, and it has reversed ??! ..Well done !’
     
    Now, this is short term, I am aware of that.
    I have only been doing this for 2 months and the readings may be ‘slewed’ ?.
     
    I now do not have to take any meds at all.
    I will still monitor during the day in case it fails.
    The doctor has also scheduled summer HBA1C tests as well as my normal October ‘overhaul’ to chart my progress.
     
    I have NO intention of resuming my unhealthy lifestyle as I feel ‘bloody great !’
    I am going onto a maintenance diet for at least a couple of years. That involves me, in the short term, resuming eating some carbs and finding a point where my weight loss ceases and I put on a couple of pounds. A sort of ‘ideal weight’ that I maintain at all costs. I want to maintain a BMI around the ‘21’ mark.
    Such is my determination to carry this out, that I will never let up on it.
     
    If you undertake this diet, you need to be totally devoted to it. As I ‘see it’ (only my opinion) you have to carry it out 100% as per plan or there is little point.
    As I have said, I ‘think’ that the real things started to happen in the last 10 days.
     
    I must admit, I am amazed (at myself) , that also brings positive thoughts and I’m sure, better health.
     
    I will see what my next review brings in case it all fails and slides back, then I will post my progress and hope that it may be of a help to others.
     
    Thank you for reading.
     
    Good luck !
     
    Bob.
  5. Bobbybass
    Christmas...was a nightmare. The thought..of what I could have been eating....and instead..I had the 3 meal shakes...and a plate of cauliflower with home made tomato sauce !!. Also...the reviews of success or failure of the diet are mixed..and when you get that hungry you start to see the failures as bigger than the success. My own feeling..is that people aren't following it totally as per the original..?
    There is a lot of adaptation...where they are using supermarket and Slimfast shakes...that contain a lot of sugar.Also..not all like to stick to the 3 shakes routine...so maybe they are not getting the full benefit..?.
    There was something strange happened on Xmas day..that I made a mistake using supermarket brand chopped tomatoes and not checking the label (Essential for diabetics !!).
    I used a can where the portion contained about 3 teaspoons of sugar !.
    Over the next hour..my 'levels' shot to nearly 8.8...but then went rapidly back down. 30 minutes later..8.0..30 minutes..7.2...then over the next hour ..back to 5.3..
    This is similar to my non-diabetic wife..?...
    Maybe the diet is doing something..?
    I wouldn't have done that before..?..but I have 5 weeks to go.
    I now weigh....11 stone 13.
    Last night..I had to play a stand-in at a show in Hayling Island...and my white shirt and black trouser looked like I borrowed them from my dad.If the belt had given out..there would have been a major incident...
     
    Week 4 starts today.....
  6. Bobbybass
    Here is my 2 week update...so I am now a quarter of the way through the 8 week...800 calorie a day diet.
     
    Its become more difficult...as Christmas approaches..and everything is bloody food !
    I have been strong though. My wife and I went to an Xmas get together..and the host kindly gave me fizzy water..with ice and lemon...which looked like a G&T so nobody questioned it. The food trays passed around...were distracting though. I'm OK...as long as people don't start questioning.
     
    It is harder now...as the food you can eat..is becoming boring. The spice jars are my biggest friends...although I have stopped putting curry powder in my sprouts !
    Tonight...was mushroom soup..I prepared it as per the 'Newcastle diet ' menu..and all of my meals have been exactly as per specified. I have not strayed once....and will not..but it is bloody hard..and getting harder.
     
    Health wise..I feel very good...and better than for many years.
    I am noticing that I have started to lose energy....
    This was more noticable this week as I have been quite active. Monday...was Oxfam shop..so I was on my feet all day.
     
    Tuesday...I went metal detecting with a friend and detected for 5 hours and dug ring-pulls out of ooddles of deep holes...(by Christ..you can detect a coke can from several feet down !!)
     
    Wednesday..I was up and down a ladder painting someones flat..and today was Oxfam shop again.
    Exercise is an important component of the diet procedure...so I guess the energy loss is part of it.
     
    Sugar levels :...mornings are now consistently in the low 4's. After the diet shakes...I rise to about 6...and then fall back to 4's in about 2 hours. After 3 shakes a day...and my evening meal (Newcastle specified)...before bed I down in low 4's again.
    The first week..I was down in the 3's in the morning..but this seems to have sorted itself out. I can only assume..that this is the diet working...and the liver/pancreas stabilising.
    I contacted the local diabetic nurse..but she just said to stop..start eating..and take my metformin !!. Very helpful !!
     
    Blood pressure has been around the 119/76 in the last week.
     
    Weight has stabilised at 12 stone 3 and seems to be neither rising or dropping . According to the official BMI charts...I am around 23.(just above)..and could drop to below 10 stone before being classed as 'underweight'..but I don't really want to go that thin. I would have to buy more jeans...!
     
    As has been said in the various reports about this diet..most of the 4 out of 11 people who weren't cured or partially reversed...were people who gave in.
     
    This diet is BLOODY hard....!!
     
    Is anyone following this..or should I keep it to myself ?
     
    I always tell my friends to tell me if I'm getting boring !
     
    Bob
  7. Bobbybass
    This is really for diabetics...as I was fearful that my original thread was going to be hijacked by dieters.
    I won't wax lyrical on this blog..and paint wordy pictures about the sun moon and stars...
    If you're reading this..its because you have your own problem and are interested...so I'll cut the crap.
     
    Todays weigh in was 12 stone 3. That's quite a drop...but as I have said on my thread..I have a skinny build. Many men look right at 16 stone which is about where I was when diagnosed..but I didn't. The official guideline for me...is that I start to be classed as underweight below 10 stone...so I am a long way off.
    Having said that..I'm am a little concerned at the suddenness of the weight drop...so I will keep an eye on it. Maybe..I'll add some more vegetables to my evening meal...but I don't want to go off the original plan too much.
    My blood sugar reading was 4.3 at wake up.
    In the inital stages of the diet..(first week)...my readings were dropping down to 3.7'ish in the morning..which was concerning...but this seemed to be just that first week. I now seem to be low 4's....so the diet is having some effect.
    As I am steady..I can only surmise that I am starting to use up my own stored energy reserves...which is what is supposed to happen.
     
    I'm not feeling that hungry now..although surrounded by all the Christmas pictures of turkeys...roast beef..mince pies..and pudding..(bastards !!).
    Everywhere you look is food...shops..posters...TV.
    Its not bothering me too much though...as I'm resigned to doing this. We had friends around yesterday..and they tucked into sausage rolls while I had my shake. Christmas day will be the same.
    I will only do this once..so it has to be good !.
     
    General health,blood pressure is good for me..about 118/76 and pulse rate is steady. I have been a little headachey in the mornings..which was one of the effects found by the test subjects. This may be caused by the years of the body being used to high sugar levels and slowly dropping. I soon get over this though when I wake up. I am drinking a lot of water (as specified)..but I seem to be thirsty in the mornings..and the re-hyrdate rids me of the headache.
     
    One thing very noticable...I am drinking a fair bit of water at night...but not getting up at all..in fact..not even feeling 'urgent' when I do get up.
    This diet is specified to drink a great deal of water...so it must be required in the 'cleansing' process. Its nice to be have to get up umpteen times a night.
     
    Someone asked me again ..about the meal replacement product.
    Its Glucerna SR made by Abbott laboratories. They have 125 years diabetic experience..so they must know what its about !
    The original Optifast drinks...are only available in the UK by prescription...and even Abbott are a bit cagey to supply to the public.
     
    Happy Monday...anyone who's reading this.
  8. Bobbybass
    I'm not going to post my daily blood levels...suffice is to say I still have some...
    It would get a bit boring ..and '"lets discuss medicals"!!
     
    I had a PM asking what I was actually consuming on the Newcastle diet and where I sourced it.
     
    I have followed the regime quite closely. The main constituent of the original diet...was a product called 'Optifast'. This is not from the UK and can be imported but at huge cost. I sourced a product called 'Glucerna'..from UK Abbott laboratories...(they make the test strips we use) .. It costs about £11/tin..and to complete the 8 weeks you will need about 25 tins !!!
    The Glucerna..is a special meal replacement...and is sometimes used in hospitals for 'tube' feeding. I don't do this..although putting a glass under the bed and drinking it through a hose may add variation.It's packed with vitamins..nutrients and minerals.
     
    Each day..I have 3 of these shakes (getting bored with vanilla already !)
    You then add about 240 grams of vegetables for fibre.
    These can be from list:Cabbage,Celery,carrots,peppers,brussels,tomatoes,cucumber,lettuce,bean sprouts,onions,leaks,radish...and a few others.
     
    You must NOT have : poultry,meat,fish,bread,pasta,dairy (of any sort..even skimmed ) spuds,turnip,pulses,fruits,booze !
     
    This diet is a real 'killer'..but so is diabetes.
     
    My best friends...are the spice bottles....so it's curried sprouts..cinnamon leaks..tumeric celery...
     
    You MUST drink a large quantity of water each day...and are allowed unsweetened/unmilked coffee and tea.
     
    If I have no long term benefits after the 8 weeks..I will personally find the person who thought it up..and throttle them !!
     
    I didn't go for a run today.The wind is beating in and its bitter cold in chill factor. Looking out of the window, the sea is huge, washing away the beach that the council just spent a fortune on shoring up.
     
    I am waiting for a new phone to be delivered from Orange. They told me..'don't worry you can go out..you will receive a text message giving a 2 hour time slot when it will arrive'..so I went out...missed the delivery...and at 1.55 received a text saying it would be delivered between 10am and 12 !!!
     
    Now..my blood pressure has gone up !!
  9. Bobbybass
    I'm not going to update this every day...but I'm 7 days into the 800 calories/day diet now.
     
    It's not true that I just suddenly stopped eating...as I 'wound' into this over several weeks.
    I am not currently on my boat, being in a flat..on the seafront in Seaford, Sussex. I'm not sure..I could have handled this if I was on the boat?. Firstly...and most importantly..I am almost opposite my normal medical centre...where I can usually get an appointment within an hour..in an emergency (although I take pot luck with the doctor).
     
    Secondly...there is the matter of my wife.
    I think the attitude of wives and partners could have a big effect on the outcome for people....especially if living in the confines of a boat.
    Luckily..my wife has secured an Xmas job..which takes her out of the house all day long...(not that I want to get rid of her...I'm quite fond of her)
    I think..that if she was about..there would be problems of finding things to do.. that don't remind you of food.
    You turn on the TV...and there's food...and chefs..and sausage rolls..and mince pies...and..and...
    I also..want my wife to eat properly..and not feel guilty..
    My wife has always had a 'motherly instinct'..to look after me and make sure I eat enough..
    This could be a problem..when one of you is tucking to 3 special shakes a day...and a fist full of cauliflower or cabbage !. 8 weeks is along time.
     
    I am making sure I do a little exercise..in the form of a jog/walk on the prom here. If you think its cold where you are..you should be out at 7am running against the wind blasting you from the sea !
    My wife sometimes tries it..but I find myself jogging around her in circles..and she doesn't like that.
     
    I had already lost weight...before kicking into the diet. I started (last Friday)..around the 13 stone 4 mark..(I used to be near 17 stone ..and although 6 feet tall..have a thin build...my sister said that from the side I looked like a knobbly knee..)
    In 7 days the weight is dropping off me !
    I guess this is what it's supposed to do....and the special drinks ( huge cost!!)..provide everything you need...but only 200 calories.. The idea..is to starve your body of fats...and force the liver and pancreas to start clearing themselves..along with the individual cells in the body.
     
    As I'm on such a low input of carbs...my sugar readings have gone from the 14 mark...down to 3.7 (lowest...when I get up..) without meds. I am monitoring carefully...and topping up before bed time should I look as if I will go too low.
     
    Having said that..the losing weight...and exercise..has made me feel better (brilliant actually) ..than I have for years...hungry..but happy..
    During the day..my readings wander into the low 5's after a shake..but fall soon back into the 4's.
    This looks good because it means that my insulin must be working to some extent.
     
    So...where am I 'at' after 7 days..?
     
    My weight this morning was 12 stone 7 !!
    That is a huge loss in 7 days...and I guess to be expected. I am still well within my 'normal' BMI reading though...for my age/build. My blood pressure readings were 116/76..much lower than they used to be.
     
    There is a danger..of not supplying the heart muscle with enough energy...hence...it important to monitor pressure carefully...
    Starving of carbs...ultimately starves the cells of nutrients in the form of glucose...so I have to watch that...however..this is the whole point of the severe diet. To force the cells ..to release stored fats...and to clear the liver and pancreas of stored fat.
    Overall..I feel pretty good. Because I had prepared for this..I have not suffered faintness...headaches...etc..that others sometimes report.
     
    Low blood sugar readings...don't really mean much during the diet. As you are so low on carbs...its to be expected.
     
    At the end of the 8 weeks...the real proof will be in whether I can eat a LITTLE of something that used to be taboo...and see my sugar level recover as a normal person.
     
    I can see myself..being a sensible eater after this...as its a struggle. I don't wish to be silly...and go back as I was. This diet..is a huge committment.
    As people have said on the websites..and on YouTube...you have to really want this.
     
    Me..?...I have always set myself to something and seen it through...so see it through I will !
     
    Christmas day...will be three diet shakes...and a pile of Brussel sprouts!...
  10. Bobbybass

    12 December update...

    By Bobbybass,

    Today..(as suggested)..I have started a 'Blog'.
     
    The entry today..is just a repeat of what I have written under 'forums'..but I will update it every few days so that anyone interested can see if there are results.
     
    I orginally stared to ponder this ..when reading up about studies in the USA...and then around mid-this year...there was George Alageia ( ?? sorry George)...on BBC news reading out that the they had 'found a cure' for diabetes. It was then that I found out that the USA results were being trialed in the UK with some remarkable results.
     
    I don't kid myself it can work for all...or can be a complete cure...but it looks like there is a good chance of..at least some improvements.
     
    Today...after several of the special (bloody expensive!!) meal replacement shakes.....I am reading 3.7 ??!!
    Now in theory..I should be dead with that ...but actually feel pretty good..
    I can't stay at that level...so I have some pretty nice sprouts...and a stack of cabbage steaming away...Yum !!
     
    If I stay there too long..I may have a half Weetabix in hot water..to take the carbs up a little...and the readings up a little...
     
    Will it have long term benefits though ??
  11. Bobbybass
    This is a repeated section from what I have listed in the forums. I will update it every few days to let anyone interested know how its going.
     
    I know a lot of boaters have various diabetic problems...and so I thought I would put this on here as it may be of interest.
    I am commmitted to changing my current path...and thought I would put my progress on here.
    Please don't criticise...as what I am doing is extremely hard.
    I am not affiliated with any diet product 'sales' either...
     
    I have been diagnosed..type 2 for about 3 years...although I may have had it longer.
    Initially...I was diet controlled for the first year...with the 'lose weight...exercise' advice. Second year I went onto low Metformin...last year ..increase a little..1000mg a day.
    This year..from January...(as is the way diabetes works)..it was progressive...slight raise in levels...yet again.
    Progress to Glicide and more regular testing.I was told...I had to test every 2 hours if driving as otherwise I wouldn't be insured.
     
    The first year....and following year..my eye scans..etc...brought the letter..'You have some damage...and may develop etc etc...and we must monitor you yearly.'
     
    I started off at ...nearly 17 stone at 6 foot tall (I'm still the same height !!.. )
     
    During summer months...I started a morning pill regime...that I had read about from USA and..coupled this with cutting calories and losing a bit of weight..
    I took/take : Multivit..1000mg Omega 3, 1300mg Primrose oil( didn't make my boobs bigger) ..150mg asprin...500mg Kelp...600mg vitimin D...
     
    Diabetic eye scan ...29th October reads..' I am writing to inform you..that your retinal eye scan appeared normal. This means you are very little risk of sight threatening retinopathy'. This is after 2 years of them finding damage !
     
    Encouraged by this I decided to start the Newcastle diet (look up on diabetes UK)
    Its extreme...600-800 calories a day for at least 8 weeks. It cost me a lot...as I had to source a supply of special meal replacement drinks...as the ones they used on the plan were not available in the UK... (NOT SLIMFAST ..about 5 spoons of sugar per shake !!)
    My doctor/nurse were extremely unhelpful about this ( see comments on Diabetes UK)..and just wanted me to live ..(with 65% increased risk of heart attack/blindness...no legs..) ..on rising levels of pills every year. Its not their fault...and I am NOT knocking the medical profession..Its just that these things have to be tested out for years...and that would be too long for me.
     
    I actually started to kick into the diet slowly..which I have found better...so over weeks..I cut to 1300 calorise each day....1200 calorise each day...etc..
    Last Friday..I hit the 800 calories...and although it all feels strange...I am feeling well. ..in fact ..better than I have for a long long time.
     
    2 weeks ago..my sugar level were way below those required for any diabetes medication...and I am monitor many times a day to check this...
    I also have to take blood pressure several times a day...extremely good readings.
    I now read in the 4's in the morning...and I'm not seeing 6 on the meter which is amazing as I was in the teens..!
     
    Many of the Newcastle Diet test subjects ..found a partial reversal of diabetes...and were able to resume a fairly normal..although not stupid eat/drink life..without meds..
    I am cautiously optimistic....
     
    If people are interested..I will keep up to date here with my progress..
    I think weight loss is a huge key...and I am now 12 stone 10 !!
     
    I have been spurred on in this enterprise..because of the previous problems I listed..
    I also stay in Spain for some months in winter....
    If you go there...look at the number of ex-pats in wheelchairs...swigging lager in cafes....mainly men.
    Many have no legs..and you chat..and it was abandoning the diabetic eating regime...when they went to Spain.
     
    I'll write more..as I go..if people are interested.
    Of course..the long term effects will not be seen..until I finish the 8 weeks diet...as low sugar readings on a daily basis are to be expected if cutting carbs.
     
    Bob...
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