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Blood sugar patterns to master as a type 2 diabetic

diabetic.fyi

31–40 of 68 posts

Re: Blood sugar patterns to master as a type 2 diabetic

#31
post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yes, it changes your relationship into a disordered one. HN, the website where willingly starving yourself for days on end is not an eating disorder

I'm no fan of fad diets, but a lot of Westerners have a real problem with simply not knowing what hunger feels like . A lot of people are so habituated to large portions and frequent snacking that they're never meaningfully hungry, just somewhere on the spectrum between "reasonably sated" and "physically incapable of ingesting another morsel". Their eating habits have fundamentally broken the connection between food…

For overweight and obese people it probably makes sense, but for the rest?

I can't comprehend what benefit it should have "to know real hunger" if you're a perfectly healty human specimen.

Re: Blood sugar patterns to master as a type 2 diabetic

#32
post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I read it once and the part of what causing Type 2 Diabetes seems reasonable to me, however his advocate for extended fasting (namely, 36h+) sounds too aggressive.

More Western people should do multi day fasts. It really changes your relationship with food. Plus a million other positive things.

You do realize that, compared to eating too little, eating too much is really not that bad? Yes, starving yourself does change your relationship with food (in that it makes you hungry and miserable). And, for many people it can start a cycle of food related anxiety (an eating disorder). Perhaps some benefits do exist, but it’s wrong to advocate for fasting without fully addressing the serious health risks.

Re: Blood sugar patterns to master as a type 2 diabetic

#33
post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yes, it changes your relationship into a disordered one. HN, the website where willingly starving yourself for days on end is not an eating disorder

I'm no fan of fad diets, but a lot of Westerners have a real problem with simply not knowing what hunger feels like . A lot of people are so habituated to large portions and frequent snacking that they're never meaningfully hungry, just somewhere on the spectrum between "reasonably sated" and "physically incapable of ingesting another morsel". Their eating habits have fundamentally broken the connection between food…

For me, paying closer attention to how I’m feeling has helped me better identify when I’m hungry. I think starving yourself is a really extreme step to take that probably isn’t necessary

Re: Blood sugar patterns to master as a type 2 diabetic

#34
post #15

I’ve heard that cutting out nearly all carbohydrates from the diet basically causes permanent remission of type 2 diabetes. Is this true?

If you don‘t eat carbohydrates, you don‘t need insulin, so it is no disadvantage that you cannot produce it. Calling that a remission is far fetched though.

>If you don‘t eat carbohydrates, you don‘t need insulin, so it is no disadvantage that you cannot produce it.

That doesn't sound right at all. Protein produces both a blood sugar and an insulin response.

Re: Blood sugar patterns to master as a type 2 diabetic

#35

This is interesting, what tools are available to measure one's blood sugar and chart it throughout the day? I find it's pretty inconvenient to measure and report it accurately enough to get these trend lines with my regular meter.

You need a continuous glucose monitor, like Freestyle Libre or Dexcom. Here's a writeup of somebody that goes into detail about what's involved:

https://medium.com/@justin_d_lawler/continuous-glucose-monit...

The sensors aren't cheap. Last time I looked, you wore them for 1 week at a time and they were $80 a pop.

Re: Blood sugar patterns to master as a type 2 diabetic

#36
post #14
post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

More Western people should do multi day fasts. It really changes your relationship with food. Plus a million other positive things.

Yes, it changes your relationship into a disordered one. HN, the website where willingly starving yourself for days on end is not an eating disorder

I’ve long believed that intermittent fasting is just anorexia rebranded for tech bros.

Think about it:

1. Creating arbitrary rules to restrict what is eaten and when.

2. Obsession with “bad” foods.

3. Unrealistic and unattainable “goal”: often life extension or some ideal of health/productivity.

Re: Blood sugar patterns to master as a type 2 diabetic

#37

I have a question in case there are any experts here. What is the mechanism of this: >On the other hand, high-intensity, short-duration exercise (like weightlifting, sprinting, and rock climbing) will spike your blood sugar temporarily, but keep your blood sugar lower overall for a period of time afterward: What exactly happens here, in as much detail as someone could reply. (For the first part, "spike your blood sug…

There are two types of exercise aerobic and anaerobic.

Aerobic is easy exercise (walking, jogging, etc...) where the body can supply enough oxygen to oxidize glucose to convert to energy.

During Anaerobic or high intensity exercise the body can not supply enough oxygen, so a bunch of things happen including: 1.) the body begins needing to rely on lactic acid for energy instead of oxygen/glucose, and 2.) while the lactic acid is being used for energy the glucose (blood sugar) builds up (lactic acid also builds up which is why intense exercise can not be sustained for long periods).

Re: Blood sugar patterns to master as a type 2 diabetic

#38
post #15

I’ve heard that cutting out nearly all carbohydrates from the diet basically causes permanent remission of type 2 diabetes. Is this true?

Type II diabetic here.

I think "permanent remission" is a misleading phrase. I think a better phrasing would be along the lines of "...cutting out nearly all carbohydrates ... allows the diabetic to have 'normal' results for standard blood tests such as fasting glucose and hemoglobin A1c."

My doctor said to me my last check-up, "These numbers are great! If a doctor were to see these, they wouldn't be able to tell you were a type II diabetic."

Me: "I'm cured?"

She looked at me: "Make no mistake: you CANNOT afford to gain ten pounds or to go back to your old way of eating. Those days are gone. If you go back, your symptoms will return in full bloom."

My insulin response is permanently broken, diet notwithstanding. As long as I don't slam my body with too much glucose, my impaired system can manage.

Re: Blood sugar patterns to master as a type 2 diabetic

#39
post #14
post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

More Western people should do multi day fasts. It really changes your relationship with food. Plus a million other positive things.

Yes, it changes your relationship into a disordered one. HN, the website where willingly starving yourself for days on end is not an eating disorder

Plenty of religious rituals involve fasting yet nobody considers those practitioners to have an eating disorder.

Re: Blood sugar patterns to master as a type 2 diabetic

#40
post #6

Watch YouTube videos by Dr Jason Fung. He cures type 2 diabetes with diet.

I read it once and the part of what causing Type 2 Diabetes seems reasonable to me, however his advocate for extended fasting (namely, 36h+) sounds too aggressive.

Type II diabetic here.

I can personally attest that fasting is not necessary to control type II diabetes without medication.

I'm strict about my diet, but I never fast. My numbers? My A1c was 8.7 when I was diagnosed, and now, seven years later, it hovers around 5.8 - 6.0 (high normal).

I find fasting difficult, and I suspect that fasting comes more easy to some than to others. If it works for you, great, but if it doesn't, don't push it. I suspect that part of the difficulty is that I'm thin, so I don't have much in the way of reserves when I stop eating.

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