Evaluation week 2

No problems sticking to the plan this week. Although I've had some very different days. I felt totally exhausted on Wednesday all day but Thursday and Friday I felt really well and full of energy. My blood glucose is coming back under control nicely (I lost control over Easter weekend by eating what my family and friends would consider to be a "normal" diet) so I'm pleased with this weeks progress.

On Thursday I printed out the whole thread by carefix and read it again thouroughly. I've also just been reading Dr Atkins vita-nutrient solution - your complete guide to natural health (I picked it up in Woolworths for £1). What a surprise! I didn't know Dr Atkins was a 'champion of complementary medicine'. The book basically corroborates the arguments by carfeix concerning hydrogenated and vegetable oils in the diet. The book is full of information about the role of vitamins, minerals, amino acids, antioxidants and herbs and how they can be used to
help alleviate many conditions including diabetes. Dr Atkins mentions several vitamins and minerals beneficial for diabetics which I think I already have covered with the supplements I take. One thing I might start to include is Lipoic Acid. I've seen it mentioned on the forum and according to Dr Atkins it is a proven diabetic treatment.

On the food front I'm on a mission to find the nicest wholemeal pitta bread - so far Sainsburys is in front with a softer texture and breadier taste than Tescos cardboard like pittas. I stick em in the toaster, spread with a bit of butter and call me odd but I think they're quite delicious! I'll have to try Marks next though.

My local health food shop stock some unusual breads like sprouted grain sunflower bread. Very good ingredients - just sprouted sunflower seeds, linseed oil and water. I bought one to try but have to say I didn't like it much. Must be an 'acquired taste' I think.

I've also been checking the ingredients on other breads, some of them contain palm oil (apparently a saturated fat) which carefix doesn't make mention of, so I'm erring on the side of caution and not touching it. So far I haven't been able to find anything in the supermarket (other than pitta bread) that I think would be uncontaminated with trans isomer fats.

Time to start baking perhaps? Googling for oil free bread I found some great sites with loads of fat/oil free recipes including all manner of breads (yippee!) I've put the links on the blog for anyone who might want a look. They are vegetarian/vegan but don't let that put you off! I also found some good sources for hemp & flax seed oil. Incidentally I buy my hemp seed oil from a medical herbalist who also told me that all oils must be kept refrigerated once opened.

I got my HBA1c and cholesterol results on Friday which were quite good considering my transgressions over Easter. HBA1c was 6.8 and cholesterol was 4.5. My aim is to maintain this control and maybe even improve it through continuing to eat well, avoiding all white refined carbohydrates (which I did anyway) and processed food containing hydrogenated or vegetable oil.

Weight hasn't moved yet but I think this may change in the coming weeks.

I won't be able to post on the the blog next bank holiday weekend as I will be away. I have to say I'm a little concerned about managing my diet away from home but I'm determined to do it. At least I'm not going abroad.

Thanks for reading this weeks post, have a lovely bank holiday. I'll let you know how I got on away from home in a fortnight.

Carol

Evaluation week 1

Very pleased with progress this week. In terms of fats I have only consumed cold pressed hemp oil and a little goats butter since Monday, as well as my evening primrose oil supplement.

I can already see an impact on blood glucose particularly on the pre-breakfast readings which is very good. However, I think this is mainly due to the reduction in carbohydrate consumed at dinner time as I have cut out one of my mainstays - bread. I used to eat very heavy stonebaked or seeded varietes but I discovered today that pitta bread does not contain oil of any kind. Excellent news as rice cakes and cripbread just don't cut the mustard when it comes to making a decent sandwich or something to dip in your soup! You can see my blood glucose data at http://spreadsheets.google.com/pub?key=p5cT8HERT5YBzejCfv2_BUw

I had a full blood test done on Wednesday, despite my current dispute with the local health centre (see the thread NHS cuts on the soapbox forum at www.diabetes.co.uk), So I will be able to update the spreadsheet after I see the diabetic nurse in a weeks time.

I suppose I should also let my GP know what I'm up to, but I don't think it warrants a visit just yet. I may just write and tell her and let her decide if she wants to see me.

My weight has stayed constant as has my waist circumference which I'm pleased with. I've also decided it might be a good idea to publish some sample menus so people can see what I'm actually eating. Click on http://docs.google.com/Doc?id=dc4fbcgs_2j88d9z to see what I ate on Monday this week along with estimated calorie intake. I haven't been counting calories, as it's not easy to estimate the calorific content of home cooked food, but I haven't been cutting back in any way. I eat to satisfy my appetite - this is difficult enough without trying to restrict calorie intake!

During the week I eat the same things every day for breakfast, snacks and lunch (athough the salad ingredients and fruit vary). At the weekend I eat the same breakfast but might have pasta or a rice dish for lunch. For emergencies I always carry dried fruit - dates and apricots being my favourites and if I want to eat something which doesn't impact on my BG too much I'll go for some mixed unsalted nuts.

I am proceeding with caution regarding any changes to my insulin. Whilst I feel confident in managing my medication it's still easy to get caught out unexpectedly as I found out this week. I wouldn't recommend trying this unless you're happy you can manage changing requirements for medication unsupervised.

In conclusion a good week, I'm feeling highly motivated and I don't expect to see any significant changes, if they happen, for some time yet. I am fully aware that this is going to be a long term project.


Good Health to you all....
Carol

The first step

I am hoping that by making these changes to my diet I will make a significant reduction in the amount of medication I need to take to control my type 2 diabetes over the next 12 months.

I will record my numbers (daily blood glucose levels, HBA1c, weight, etc etc) on a google spreadsheet. You can view my spreadhsheet at http://spreadsheets.google.com/pub?key=p5cT8HERT5YBdA1hElsl1Tg I will try to make the data as comprehensive as I can, I don't normally measure blood glucose at lunchtime but I've put a column on the spreadsheet as I will try to start including it.

Over the next week or so I will be reducing the amount of trans isomer fats I consume by using up stuff in my store cupboard like my favourite seeds of change curry sauces and shop bought humous. I am also going to substitute rice cakes for bread and hopefully come up with some more alternatives.

Basically I don't have to change what I eat for breakfast and lunch as they already fit in with the plan. It's just evening meals and snacks that need work. I am going to be gathering and collecting recipes, including raw food recipes.

I intend to update this blog once a week. I've already done a lot of research about food and nutrition and have saved a lot of web pages into my favourites, I will put the links the blog as they may be of interest to others. Please feel free to email me or post a comment either on here or on the www.diabetes.co.uk forum.

Thanks for reading my blog.