As someone who has controlled her blood sugars with diet and medications for over twenty years, type 2 diabetes remains a mystery to me.
Although there are times when I know my sugars will be high (say after this summer’s total pig-out on rocky road fudge), and times when I know they will go low (too much exercise, too little fuel), there remain puzzles that I can’t solve. Case in point is my recent A1c reading of 5.8 following a summer when I consciously broke every no- and low-carb rule that I had followed for eons. While I’m happy for the results, I don’t have a clue on why the A1C reading was so low.
My escape from very low carb eating was prompted by total boredom. I’d eliminated fruit, bread and pasta from my diet, and one day early this summer I stared at a peach with such longing that I began to question why I was denying myself such a treat. I’d had good sugars for months and months, and when I gave into temptation and took a bite, my sugars remained reasonable. After that, I rediscovered blueberries, watermelon and oranges. Rye bread and wheat pasta were not far behind. I didn’t go crazy (except for that one fudge day) and measured my portions. And while I expected to feel sluggish and my sugars to rise, neither occurred. If anything, I had more energy, felt more awake during the day and more satisfied with my food intake. The most prominent emotion — if anything — was guilt at breaking with my low-carb regimen. But even that vanished in the bounty of my newly balanced diet.
So what’s the take away here? I really don’t know. I can’t recommend this for anyone else because I still haven’t figured out why my body isn’t responding differently to my change in diet. My exercise remained the same throughout — two or three exercise classes a week and hour bike rides on the other days. My meds — Byetta, Amryl and Glucophage — have also remained unchanged. Has my body taken a temporary vacation? Has it learned to counter carbs? Am I under some witches’ spell?Has this happened to anyone else??
Same here! Mainly a chicken, veggie burger & veggies but I do have a yogurt w/granola sprinkled on top or 2-3 cookie – without a prob BG # wise. Do keep the exercising up too, bike riding/commuting around town instead of driving.
Now we’ll see if I can pass the captcha test, think its nb24 but I’ve been fooled many times now.
Ilene, I hear you. I’m also T2, on oral meds. The past 6 months have been similar for me. I enjoy measured amounts of ice cream, a really good cookie, some fries off my son’s order . . . and it isn’t showing up on the monitor. When I have a few carb portions before bed, I’m waking up w/ reasonable numbers. Last A1C: 6.1Admittedly, my exercise level remains consistent & most of my meals are very sensible/lo-carb. But I am definitely getting away with some “cheating.” Lately I have been wondering if I eliminated the little carby treats, might I… Read more »