I just had an email notification from MonitorMyHealth, where I sent my blood on Monday for a new HbA1c test – they have confirmed receipt of my sample, which now means it’s just a matter of time before I get my results!
Hopefully by tomorrow I will know for sure how successful I’ve been in reaching remission for my type 2 diabetes.
A huge deal for me, it’s what I’ve been working so hard for for the last 14 weeks, and I’m really excited to see just how far I’ve come.
I’m very confident I’ll make it into the 50s (mmol/mol), and really think I’ve done enough to get towards the low 50s.
Anything under 55 mmol/mol would be a spectacular result from my last test in late December at 79mmol/mol.
But secretly in my heart of hearts I’m hoping for a truly earth-shattering result – 48 mmol/mol or less! That is right at the very edge of what is conceivable based on everything I know about how lifestyle changes can affect your blood sugar.
As you’ve seen in my blog, I took very drastic steps, not only changing my diet completely to a ketogenic and dash friendly diet, cutting out all bread, all pasta, all potatoes, all rice, not only cutting out obvious sugars but even restricting fruit intake to berries which are among the lowest sugar options.
And on top of that I have fasted regularly for 36 hours three times a week, not quite every week, I had a few gaps, but most weeks. Intermittent fasting has been proven to be one of the most effective treatments for type 2 diabetes, and alternate day fasting with 36 hour fasts is a highly aggressive and effective protocol, giving your body plenty of time to burn out all the glucose stored.
And obviously while you’re fasting your blood sugar is completely stable with no spikes whatsoever giving your system a chance to fully recover.
And finally to top that off I’ve been exercising 4 to 5 days a week, alternating swimming (1km-1.5km) with running (only walk run intervals, but still, given my body weight this is still huge).
Exercise of course will also help clear out any glucose and ensure I’m quickly switching to fat burning mode.
At the same time I’ve lost just shy of 30lbs (13.8kg), which is precisely the figure quoted by the most reputable studies of diabetics at which diabetic remission is typically seen.
Diabetic remission is generally measured in the UK as reaching 48 mmol/mol and maintaining that reading or lower for at least 6 months without medication.
As you also know I have never taken medication for my diabetes, only some for my hypertension, And as you’ve also seen, I’ve changed my body so much in the last 14 weeks that just a month ago I had to halve my meds.
All of this tells me that if anyone can possibly achieve a full remission in 14 weeks, then it should be me! 🫣
Of course, I am hoping for the best, but preparing for the worst, I know that major body changes take time, I know that even making such radical changes to habits can take a while to register.
In my mind the worst case is anything over 60 mmol/mol. But that certainly won’t deter me from continuing what I’m doing, it will just tell me that this is going to take 6 months rather than the 3 months I’d originally anticipated.
It took me over 9 months of bad habits to get from 59 mmol/mol to 79 mmol/mol, so reversing that in 6 months would still be no small achievement.
And that’s not forget, they’re even once I get to my target – and my ultimate target is 42 mmol/mol which is classed as “normal” or healthy – I will still have to maintain some elements of my lifestyle changes for the rest of my life.
Being type 2 diabetic means I have genuine insulin sensitivity issues, and those will not go away just because I get back to normal. I have demonstrated that I have a susceptibility to diabetes, and it’s something I’ll have to always be aware of.
Switching from aggressive protocols to reach my target to more moderate approaches for maintenance will be a whole new journey for me.
But unlike previous occasions when I have lost significant amounts of weight – ranging from 50 to 70 lbs – this time I have a much stronger motivation to not let myself slip back into old habits.
What started this journey was my first symptoms of diabetic neuropathy, and I have since been diagnosed with early stage diabetic retinopathy.
I am not about to risk my nerves getting any worse by letting sugar get the better of me again.
I’ve heard so many horror stories of people being literally crippled by their diabetes and that is not going to be me.
Anyway, just a little rant to while away the time while I wait for my results!! 😊
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