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Ketovicuk

A journey from sickness to better health and well being. Not selling anything just telling my story. This was easier said than done.
(12)

KETO SAVED ME FROM THE DIABETIC ABYSS

ketocicuk Monday 8 June 2020

In 2011 I was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes and I was walking around at 189kg / 416lbs, in pretty bad shape. I guess you would have thought that the diagnosis would have been a wake up call, but like an idiot I buried my head in the sand and ignored my ailments. Moving forward into 2013 as my health continued to deteriorate I de

cided that I need to get a grip and try to take some control of my condition. I visited my doctor and was referred to a diabetic specialist. After a number of visits and twelve months of following diet sheets I really had made very little progress and my blood sugar was running rampant, totally out of control. Each time I visited my medical professional I dreaded the encounter because my diabetic numbers and weight were pretty much unchanged and I was sick of hearing that ‘I wasn’t trying hard enough’ and that the ‘numbers don’t lie’ especially from the diabetic nurse. The same lady who was giving me a diet sheet and telling me to eat 5 small meals a day, and over those 5 meals I should ingest 160g of carbohydrates. At this point no one had talked to me about my condition and explained exactly the way diabetes (type 2) operates in the body. I had no clue about insulin resistance or carbohydrate intolerance. My doctor (February 2014) decided that I should start using drugs and prescribed me with a statin (which I never used), metformin - 2000mg per day and the highest victosa injection allowed daily. At the end of 2015 I was still tipping the scales at 177kg / 390lbs and my most recent blood screen came back with my aba1c standing at 148 (UK) / 15.7 (USA). Heading into 2016 I was at breaking point. I was at logger heads with my medical people and had no real options except to try and do some research for myself. I posted on a couple of social media pages and a lady by the name of Laura suggested that I take a look at some ketogenic pages because she thought it maybe able to help me. Laura turned out to be the person who guided me to the light at the end of the tunnel. At first I was a little sceptical. As an athlete (International level basketball player in Europe) I had been taught about eating habits and the idea of removing things like pasta, potatoes, bread and rice from my diet and replacing it with a diet high in good fats, moderate protein and very few carbohydrates was alien to me. After three months of reading and researching I decided to take the plunge (what did I have to loose) as nothing was working that the medical establishment had offered me and the next step would have been more drugs and maybe insulin injections. October 1st, 2016 was my “D” day I suppose you could say and I removed bread, potatoes, rice and pasta from my diet immediately. It was tough but I figured I could do it for a month and if I did not see any noticeable improvements I could disregard it and move on. Going into October my daily fasting blood sugar readings were on average around 18 (UK) / 325 (USA) and these readings would be how I gauged my success. I wasn’t really looking at weight loss so much, it was all about controlling my blood sugar. Gradually I began to notice a lowering of these numbers and 10 days after starting keto my fasting blood sugar registered at 11 (UK) / 196 (USA). Now that’s still high but when you consider that it had not registered below 15 (UK) / 270 (USA) in the previous two years. This really gave me confidence to continue with the way of eating and a desire to learn more about the lifestyle. By the end of October my daily fasting blood sugar was holding at 9.4 (UK) / 170 (USA), the first time it had been under 10 in years. My next blood screen was due in January 2017 and this would be the “no turning back moment” for me. After my blood was drawn I was told to make an appointment to see the doctor the following week to discuss my results. 24 hours later I got a call from the surgery asking if I could go in that afternoon for an emergency consultation with the doctor. I went, not knowing what to expect and a little worried, after all being called into to an emergency appointment by your doctor never really leads to anything positive in my experience. The doctor asked a million and one questions and I finally said “is there a problem”, “no quite frankly she replied”, “its the opposite”. I was baffled but it turned out that most of my diabetic markers had dropped off the chart and I was now in the ‘pre-diabetic’ category rather than being a full blown type 2 diabetic. They scheduled blood screens for me every three months and results kept improving and after my blood screen in July 2017 I was able to come off both metformin and victosa. A huge bonus along with getting the diabetes under control was I lost weight, and of course that also aided my progress to better health. Since May 2018 my aba1c has held steady at 38 (UK) / 5.6 (USA). My weight loss has slowed down and I now tip the scales at 115kg / 253lbs. I have recently started to incorporate intermittent fasting into my lifestyle and have felt the benefits from this with much better sleeping patterns. I am by no mean’s the finished article and have a ways to go and much to learn but I believe I have added time onto my life expectancy which is precious. CONCLUSION

Don’t expect other folks to take responsibility for your well-being. You must be your own best advocate and research so when its time to make important decision about how you are going to live you can make informed decisions. Learn to listen to your own body and read signs because it will tell you what you need to do. Doctors have very little training in the area of nutrition an area that really supplies the building blocks for good health. We are all worth the investment of our own time to understand what we need and do the right thing for ourselves. Updated: Jan 22, 2021

In the midst of a horrible pandemic and the affects that Covid 19 has had on the world I still continue to lead a ketogenic lifestyle. My weight loss has held steady and my diabetes is still well under control with the diet that I eat following keto. Intermittent fasting has become a daily part of life with between 16 - 24 hours fasted daily. My exercise levels are higher than they have been in many years walking 5 days a week on average. I still continue to learn and read works by Dr. Jason Fung, Dr. Benjamin Bickman and Gary Taubes. I have embarked on a ketogenic Diet course and will complete the course curriculum by the end of February 2021 and hope to be awarded a Level 3 Diploma. I work on my health everyday and suggest that everyone makes time for this. As I have said before we are all worth self investment.

15/06/2024

Leo finished his week of nights and I was up early so we decided to head out to the Ashbridge Inn for breakfast. Rainy 🌧 morning here in Cwmbran, but mild. Have a great weekend folks 😁

13/06/2024

Not eaten to much today, just an open sandwich with 1 slice of protein bread. I spread 10g of olive oil based allioli on the bread and layered 100g pastrami and 28g red Leicester cheese on top. Drank 400ml coffee with 2 tbsp double cream in to whiten with my sandwich and then had a second mug later with 130g emmental cheese chunks. Its wet all day here in my part of Wales 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 with rain coming down since about 11am. I did a post office run just before the rain hit. Watched a rerun of the Mav's - Celtics game 🏀 from last night this afternoon, delighted with the Celtics road win. Just spending time with Leo tonight before he heads off to work. Have a great Thursday, stay safe and well whatever comes your way. 🙂

12/06/2024

Quiet Wednesday here, got up and decided to get some steps 🚶‍♂️ in and then headed to town for some groceries. Once I was home I prepped some drumsticks for the oven with a rub made from tandoori masala spice mix and garam masala spice mix. I used 1½ tsp of tandoori and ½ tsp garam spice mix with 3 tbsp avocado oil. Once I whisked the spices and oil together I massaged it into the drum sticks then placed on an oven tray on a sheet of parchment paper. Cooked in a pre heated oven at 180c / 355f for 40 minutes. I turned them once whilst cooking. They were delicious and a cheap and easy lunch plate. I drank 400ml coffee with 2 tbsp double cream in to whiten. No rain today but still colder than normal for this time of year, supposed to get better heading into next week 🤞. Hope everyone had a great day, stay safe and well. 🙂

11/06/2024

Temps have dropped into the 50's here in Wales 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 and with the wind constantly howling around the trees, today felt more like autumn than summer. Rain stayed away and we have had a dry day. Just after 3pm I felt hungry so I put together and very simple stir-fry consisting of: 148g sh*take mushrooms (maybe called oyster mushrooms in your part of the world), 119g chicken breast, 31g red bell pepper, 31g onions all stir-fryed in 36g ghee. I added 1 tsp dried tarragon leaves and ¼ tsp each of sea salt and black pepper. Was just right for the cool day and took 15 minutes from prep to table. I had a side plate (not pictured) of emmental cheese (68g) with my main plate and drank sparking water with my food. 😋 This morning I took delivery of an adjustable kettle bell. Its maximum weight is 12lbs and I have picked it up as I am going to start and do a little resistance training three times a week. I have a great space in the backyard to work in. Initially I will be working with very lite weights, between 8 - 12lbs and doing 8 different exercise, 3 sets of each with 12 reps per set. Just hoping to firm up a little and replace some of the muscle wastage in time when I have remastered the lifting techniques and I can increase to a moderate weight level. Have a great Tuesday folks, stay safe and healthy. 💪

10/06/2024

Happy Monday folks, hope everyone had a great weekend. Mine was quiet, and I enjoyed that 😁. I ate open sandwiches on Sunday which consisted of two slices of protein bread (100g) on which I spread a layer of soft cream cheese (50g), then a layer of emmental cheese (130g). Drizzled some Frenches classic yellow mustard on top (12g) and add the last two pickled onions from my jar (16g). I had two hot drinks, one each side of my sandwiches. Drink 1 was 400ml black tea which I whitened with 2 tbsp double cream, drink 2 was 400ml black coffee whitened with 2 tbsp double cream. That was Sunday. This morning I got up at 07:30. I had some correspondence to deal with and a few house hold chores to do before heading to town to pick up fresh groceries. On my return I made a 400ml mug of tea and added to tbsp double cream to whiten and ate a 35g pack of Mr. Porky's pork strips with 50g soft cream cheese. Pleasant day here in the Principality of Wales 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 with temps in the early 60's. Clear sky's prevail which points to a little yard work later. Have a great week people, stay safe and well whatever comes your way. 🙂

07/06/2024

A while back I purchased some OX heart and put it in the freezer. I picked up 870g for about £1.85 ($2). Yesterday I took it out of the freezer and last night an hour before bed put it in the crockpot with 1½ tbsp dried fenugreek leaf, 1 tbsp freshly ground black pepper and 1 tsp sea salt. This cooked on high for an hour at which time I turned it on low and went to bed. I got up at 06:00 and checked the pot, the heart had become tender and would fall apart under the pressure from a fork. I chopped an onion and add that to the pot and ½ tsp more of sea salt and left for another 2 hours. Finally used my immersion blender to turn what was in the pot into a think soup. Doesn't look pretty but it sure tastes great. I heated 290g up for my lunch, about ⅓ of what I made and put the rest in two containers for the freezer. I added 89g red Leicester cheese and that was my lunch today. Hope everyone's Friday is going well and we all have a great weekend. 🙂

06/06/2024

Was hungry today and went with two meals. I started with open protein bread sandwiches, 2 slices with 20g olive oil based allioli spread on them. The next layer was 67g emmental cheese, 1 slice on each slice of bread with 72g mortadella, 4 slices in all on top. I drizzled 10g Frenches classic yellow mustard over the two sandwiches. I drank 400ml coffee with my plate with 2 tbsp double cream. I did a little yard work through the middle of the day and drank a second coffee, same size as the first whilst working. My second plate at 5pm was 251g pan fried loin pork chops. I melted 29g butter in a shallow frying pan with 1 tbsp avocado oil. I salt and peppered the chops before putting them in the pan. Cooked over a medium high heat for 3½ minutes on each side. I poached two eggs to go with my chops and plated when all was cooked. Really hit the spot, heading into a fasting period of now. Hope you are all having a wonderful day, stay safe and well whatever comes your way. 🙂

05/06/2024

Lovely day here in Wales 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿, a little cooler than it has been of late but dry with temperatures just getting into the 60's. I was going to have a bacon salad for lunch but when I checked the fridge when I got up this morning all the bacon I prepped yesterday had mysteriously vanished. Will be having a conversation with Leo when he gets up for work to see if he can shed some light on the missing bacon ?🙃🤣. So I went a different route and pan fried 133g chicken breast in 1½ tbsp avocado oil with a tbsp each of tarragon and coriander. I allowed the breast to cool. Whilst that was in progress I washed and chopped 127g broccoli florets and sliced 80g jarlsberg cheese into thin strips. I cut the chicken into bite sized chunks and popped everything in a mixing bowl. I added 53g avocado mayo and about ½ tsp freshly ground black pepper then tossed everything together with a spatula. Plated and that was my lunch plate. I drank 500ml coffee with 2 tbsp double cream in to whiten. After lunch I headed to the post office and to pick up some groceries at Lidl. Quiet day here, have prepared burgers for Leo's dinner, they were going to be bacon cheese burgers, but now only cheese burgers 🍔 🤣. Have a great Wednesday folks, stay safe and well whatever your day brings. 🙂

04/06/2024

After doing the bacon prep earlier I decided to go in a totally different direction for food today and order an Indian for myself and Leo. I had chicken tikka, chicken breast meat covered in mild spice rub and yogurt before being cooked at high temperature in a tandoori oven. With the chicken I had a side dish of saag paneer which is spinach cooked down in ghee with a little onion and indian cheese. A bit of a treat this early in the week but really hit the spot. Been an overcast day here in Wales 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 with intermittent showers through the day. Hope everyone is having a good week so far, stay safe and well. 😁

04/06/2024

Just in case you are on your travels he's a list of the word bacon translated. No seasoned traveller should be without it 😁😋🥓

04/06/2024

Bacon prep for later today 😋🐽

03/06/2024

Movie marathon yesterday with a 2 for 1 afternoon / evening. Leo and I headed off to the cinema for a 6:50pm show of Furiosa (part of the Mad Max franchise). Decided to stay at the cinema after the first show finished and picked up the late show of the latest Planet of the Apes offering 'Kingdom of the planet of the Apes'. Enjoyed both show's and enjoyed an evening in town with my boy. Hope everyone is having a great start to the week and I will catch you later with food related stuff. Stay safe and well. 😁

02/06/2024

Friday's menu was open sandwiches, I used two slices of protein bread and loaded them up with tuna and radish salad and a few pickles, drank coffee with my sandwiches 😋. On Saturday I fasted as I headed to the southwest of England to join in the 40th anniversary celebrations of one of clubs I coached many years ago, the Plymouth Raiders 🏀. It was a great day out and I got to reconnect with players past and present as well as some old friends some of whom I had not seen in 20 years. Had a really great day out. Plymouth is a city on the sea and has one of Britain's largest naval ⚓️ bases and ship building complexes at Devonport. Had 65f weather and clear sky's heading down the M5 motorway through beautiful natural scenery that can only be found in this area of England 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿. Hope everyone enjoyed their Saturday as much as I enjoyed mine. 😁

30/05/2024

Happy Thursday folks, yesterday's lunch (Wednesday) was a bacon salad which consisted of: 125g grilled smoked back bacon, 110g Gorgonzola cheese, 84g ruby red romaine lettuce, 2 hard boiled eggs, 37g baby plum tomatoes and 24g pecan nuts. Made a dressing for the salad with 2 tbsp EVOO and 2 tbsp red wine vinegar. Plated up and freshly ground black pepper was the final addition for my meal. After lunch I headed to Newport and the Royal Gwent hospital for an appointment with a new rheumatologist. I was with her staff for about two hours having a thorough physical exam, x-rays and blood drawn. She (rheumatologist) believes that there is evidence of osteoarthritis and is expecting the bloods and x-rays to confirm this. I feel that this has been the situation since 2021 but the previous rheumatologist would not entertain this idea. I now wait for a follow up letter with a synopsis of the findings and an appointment date to discuss a plan to move forward with. Stiff this morning (Thursday), I guess only to be expected after yesterday. I put together a small plate for lunch which had 117g Cambozola cheese, 63g smoked back bacon and 42g blackberries. 500ml coffee with 2 tbsp double cream accompanied my meal. Will head out for groceries in a short while before the school pick ups start, then a relaxing afternoon with a book. Stay safe and well whatever your day brings. 🙂

27/05/2024

Sunday was a fishy day with a mackerel salad for lunch. The salad was comprised of: 2 hard boiled eggs, 102g ruby red Romaine lettuce heart, 88g mackerel, 39g radishes, 32g onion, and 15g pickled cucumber. I made a dressing for the salad with: 37g olive oil (the mackerel was packed in the olive oil), 2 tbsp red wine vinegar and ½ tsp dijon mustard. All the ingredients for the salad went into a bowl except for the eggs. I added the dressing and tossed with a spatula. This was plated. I then added the halved eggs and dusted with paprika. A shake of everything but the bagel seasoning was next and a drizzle of avocado garlic mayo completeted the eggs on my plate. Monday I tried something a bit different with a protein bread I have not had before. The bread is a product of a German company and is not 100% clean. The protein in the bread is plant based protein and it does have a small amount of rye flour in its make up. Each slice is listed at 3.5 carbs. So my lunch was a ham and cheese sandwich: 2 slices of the protein bread, 61g smoked Bavarian ham, 50g Emmental cheese, 30g baby plum tomatoes and 23g avocado mayo. I checked my blood sugar 1½ hours after I ate and it popped up at 5.8 so that shows little effect from the bread in that area. Will see if there is any signs of inflammation (from the rye flour) tomorrow and Wednesday. Hope everyone has had a good holiday weekend (🇬🇧 & 🇺🇲), stay safe and healthy and have a great week.

25/05/2024

I have been asked a number of times about food choices on my cruise so here is a snap shot of some of my dishes whilst on board. Description are with the pics. 😁⛴️

24/05/2024

Thursday was a two meal day and started with a cold plate with milano salami, gorgonzola cheese spring onions and radishes. I ate this at about 1pm, but broke my fast a little earlier with coffee and double cream. Later in the day, a little before 6pm I had a lamb and chicken kebab with hot chilli sauce and avocado garlic mayo drizzled over it. Drank more coffee with this meal and also some bubbly water. It was a pretty quiet day here in Cwmbran and other than a little house work I was able to source and set up my car insurance with a new dealer at a cheaper rate than my last policy and schedule a visit with a new rheumatologist for next Wednesday. Did go to town to pick up a parcel and some toiletries from the store.

22/05/2024

I guess some days you just got to sleep 😴. I went to bed by about 11 last night, was down loading pictures from my trip prior to dropping off, then for some reason was wide awake at 3:30am. Was up for an hour just poching about in the bedroom tidying up and putting stuff away. Went back to bed and vaguely remember hearing Leo come in from work at 6am then nothing until I woke up at 11am. Just totally out of it 🤣. I got up and showered and headed to town for groceries. Rain and overcast conditions were what greeted me when I stepped outside my front door and it was nice 🌧. For the 25 days I was away I never saw a drop of rain. It was really overcast in Galveston and very windy but no rain. Anyway, once I got home I put together a really simple lunch plate with 150g roast chicken breast, 68g Colliers mature cheddar cheese, 43g silverskin pickled onions and 32g baby plum tomatoes. I am currently on my third coffee of the day, each was 500ml in size with 2 tbsp double cream in the whiten. Not much planned for the rest of the day, cook Leo's dinner before he goes to work and chill out. I hope everyone is having a good week, stay safe and healthy whatever comes your way 🙂

21/05/2024

Glorious day here in Cwmbran. Still getting back into the swing of things on dry land and my sleeping hours are a bit messed up. I was asleep by 10pm last night and awake at 4:30am this morning. I got up eventually at 5:30am and messed around folding laundry and putting things away after my trip. I broke my fast with a salad 🥗 at lunch time, made with: 110g smoked turkey sausage, 2 hard boiled eggs, 108g green beans, 29g spring onions and 27g baby plum tomatoes. I dressed the salad with 44g avocado mayo, 15g dill mustard and a good grind of black pepper. I boiled the bean until cooked and did the same with the eggs. Once the eggs cooled I peeled them and chopped them up adding to a mixing bowl with the veggies and sausage. Added the mayo, mustard and pepper, then tossed the salad with a spatula. Plated and served. I drank 500ml tea with my meal with 2 tbsp double cream in to whiten. I have also had two large coffees, each 500ml with 2 tbsp double cream in. More chores this afternoon with the front yard first on the agenda. Hope you folks are having a good week, stay safe and well whatever you are up to. 🙂

20/05/2024

My view this morning from my window, from my own bed. All I have today is coffee and water. Taken electrolytes with my water. Will not eat until tomorrow morning. Was in town early to drop stuff off at the post office and restock the fridge and lada. Been a great day weather wise with temps in the 60's. Hope you are all having a great Monday 🙂

17/05/2024

And now for the Barca pics. Yes that's me in the lego shop getting a surprise for Leo stood next to a lego model of the Goudi.

17/05/2024

Quick snap shot on the tour bus around Barcelona 🇪🇸

17/05/2024

The Gaudi, one of Barcelona's biggest attractions. Construction began in March 1882 and believe it or not the scheduled completion date is sometime in 2026. This Catholic Basilica is the Sagrada families lifes work and its spires depict the 12 apostles, 4 evangelists, the Virgin Mary and Jesus. UNESCO has deemed the building and ground's a 'world heritage site. Antoni Gaudi was the architect tasked with the design.and initial build of this Catholic place of worship and on his death was afforded a spot in the grounds to be buried by his lifes work.

15/05/2024

Up date........

17/12/2023

Slow start to our Sunday but got out to the garage to fuel up the car by midday and then headed to Cheshire Oaks shopping mall to pick up a few last minute items and lunch at 5 GUYS. Another really mild day here in the northwest of England 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 and my home town of Ellesmere Port. Quiet night in anticipated with a movie. Tomorrow will head south for Cwmbran and home. Enjoy your Sunday folks, stay safe and well whatever your plans. 🎅🌲☃️❄️

16/12/2023

Day in Liverpool with Leo and my sister. Did a bit of shopping and had lunch at Bon Pan Asian. Beautiful day to with temps hitting 50. Enjoy your weekend folks, stay safe and well whatever your doing 🎅🌲☃️❄️

15/12/2023

Chicken dish at the 'Purple Olive'

15/12/2023

Made the trip to the northwest of England today to visit with my sister for a few days for the festive period. Was a good journey up, about 3 hours and then lots of coffee and a catch up. This evening we visited the 'Purple Olive' an Indian restaurant in Little Sutton. We saw the local 'Round Table' slay out collecting money for kids charities. Anyway's back to the 'Purple Olive' and I chose a chicken schaslik plate which was lightly spiced chicken breast pieces with onion and green bell pepper. Nice evening spent with Leo and my sister. Tomorrow we are off to Liverpool for a day wondering around the Christmas market and lunch. Have a great Friday folks, stay safe and healthy. 🎅🌲☃️

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Quick snap shot on the tour bus around Barcelona 🇪🇸

Up date........

View from deck 4 looking out on to the Mediterranean sea with the coast of Spain 🇪🇸 in the back ground. Heading towards Valencia.

Couple people have asked me "is it easy to stay keto on the cruise"? For me I would have to definitely say yes. There are LOTS of temptations the only reason though why you can't be keto are the choices that you make ! Heres a quick spin around the breakfast service. Of course the sausages may not be as clean as we'd like but bacon, eggs, smoked salmon, tuna fish are all solid breakfast choices, salami's and cheese's to. Lots of coffee to go around as well as iced water.

View from the deck ⛴️

Did a bit of shopping this morning and found a great pair of trainers (sneakers) at Marshall's in Galveston. Went for lunch at a great restaurant called Millers right across the road from the beech. Seafood platers were the order of the day and the a stroll along the water. Still waiting for a sunny day to happen 🤣 but it was 79f so I can live with that. Just posting a video of the view along the water.

Quick update......

Been struggling with posts the last few days as it seems no one has been able to view the daily food posts I put up since last Tuesday. Can you give me a thumbs up if you see this please !

Just a quick up date 😁

Yesterday drove from Cwmbran in South Wales 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 to Ellesmere Port on the Wirral , Northwest England 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 via the Brecon Beacons in mid Wales. We took the scenic route and encountered some of the residents on top of the mountain. 😁🐑

Day out to the home of the Beatles with a trip on the ferry from Seacombe on the Wirral to the port of Liverpool, then a bus tour around the city. My friend from the USA 🇺🇸 had a great time as did my sister who joined us for the ride. 😁

Just a quick up date.....

The last two days have been spent in England's 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 second city, Birmingham at the Aston hoops 🏀 camp. Was great to get reacquainted with some old friends and colleagues and meet some new you coaches. The kids were awesome, very enthusiastic and coachable full of raw talent. A good camp was had my all.

Hoopscamp footwork 👇

Hoops camp wsrm ups 👇

Update......

Shortcuts

Keto saved me from the diabetic abyss.

In 2011 I was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes and I was walking around at 189kg / 416lbs, in pretty bad shape. I guess you would have thought that the diagnosis would have been a wake up call, but like an idiot I buried my head in the sand and ignored my ailments. Moving forward into 2013 as my health continued to deteriorate I decided that I need to get a grip and try to take some control of my condition, this was easier said than done. I visited my doctor and was referred to a diabetic specialist. After a number of visits and twelve months of following diet sheets I really had made very little progress and my blood sugar was running rampant, totally out of control. Each time I visited my medical professional I dreaded the encounter because my diabetic numbers and weight were pretty much unchanged and I was sick of hearing that ‘I wasn’t trying hard enough’ and that the ‘numbers don’t lie’ especially from the diabetic nurse. The same lady who was giving me a diet sheet and telling me to eat 5 small meals a day, and over those 5 meals I should ingest 160g of carbohydrates. At this point no one had talked to me about my condition and explained exactly the way diabetes (type 2) operates in the body. I had no clue about insulin resistance or carbohydrate intolerance. My doctor (February 2014) decided that I should start using drugs and prescribed me with a statin (which I never used), metformin - 2000mg per day and the highest victosa injection allowed daily. At the end of 2015 I was still tipping the scales at 177kg / 390lbs and my most recent blood screen came back with my aba1c standing at 148 (UK) / 15.7 (USA). Heading into 2016 I was at breaking point. I was at logger heads with the medical people and had no real options except to try and research for myself. I posted on a couple of social media pages and a lady by the name of Laura suggested that I take a look at some ketogenic pages because she thought it maybe able to help me. Laura turned out to be the person who guided me to the light at the end of the tunnel. At first I was a little skeptical, as an athlete (International level basketball player in Europe) I had been taught about eating habits and the idea of removing things like pasta, potatoes, bread and rice from my diet and replacing it with a diet high in good fats, moderate protein and very few carbohydrates was alien to me. After three months of reading and researching I decided to take the plunge (what did I have to loose) as nothing was working that the medical establishment had offered me and the next step would have been more drugs and maybe insulin injections. October 1st, 2016 was my “D” day I suppose you could say and I removed bread, potatoes, rice and pasta from my diet immediately. It was tough but I figured I could do it for a month and if I did not see any noticeable improvements I could disregard it and move on. Going into October my daily fasting blood sugar readings were on average around 18 (UK) / 325 (USA) and these readings would be how I gauged my success. I wasn’t really looking at weight loss so much, it was all about controlling my blood sugar. Gradually I began to notice a lowering of these numbers and 10 days after starting keto my fasting blood sugar registered at 11 (UK) / 196 (USA). Now that’s still high but when you consider that it had not registered below 15 (UK) / 270 (USA) in the previous two years. This really gave me confidence to continue with the way of eating and a desire to learn more about the lifestyle. By the end of October my daily fasting blood sugar was holding at 9.4 (UK) / 170 (USA), the first time it had been under 10 in years. My next blood screen was due in January 2017 and this would be the “no turning back moment” for me. After my blood was drawn I was told to make an appointment to see the doctor the following week to discuss my results. 24 hours later I got a call from the surgery asking if I could go in that afternoon for an emergency consultation with the doctor. I went, in my mind not knowing what to expect, after all being called into to an emergency appointment by your doctor never really leads to anything positive in my experience. The doctor asked a million and one questions and I finally said “is there a problem”, “no quite frankly she replied”, “its the opposite”. I was baffled but it turned out that most of my diabetic markers had dropped off the chart and I was now in the ‘pre-diabetic’ category rather than being a full blown type 2 diabetic. They scheduled blood screens for me every three months and results kept improving and after my blood screen in July 2017 I was able to come off both metformin and victosa. A huge bonus along getting the diabetes under control was I lost weight, and of course that also aided my progress to better. Since May 2018 my aba1c has held steady at 38 (UK) / 5.6 (USA). My weight loss has slowed down and I now tip the scales at 115kg / 253lbs. I have recently started to incorporate intermittent fasting into my lifestyle and have felt the benefits from this with much better sleeping patterns. I am by no mean’s the finished article and have a ways to go and much to learn but I believe I have added time onto my life expectancy which is precious.

CONCLUSION

Don’t expect other folks to take responsibility for your well-being. You must be your own best advocate and research so when its time to make important decision about how you are going to live you can make informed decisions. Learn to listen to your own body and read signs because it will tell you what you need to do. Doctors have very little training in the area of nutrition an area that really supplies the building blocks for good health. We are all worth the investment of our own time to understand what we need and do the right thing for ourselves.