Author: Joy Kiddie, MSc, RD

It’s been 7 months since I’ve been seriously adhering to a low carb high heathy fat (LCHF) lifestyle, but like anybody else it’s easy for me to get frustrated when I don’t reach goals as quickly as I would like. I have to stop and remind myself that I didn’t become obese and Diabetic overnight and it’s going to take time to reverse these symptoms. These updates help me take stock of my progress, because after all it’s about progress, not perfection.

At my highest weight, my Body Mass Index (BMI) put me well into the Class 2 Obesity category. I felt terrible, looked terrible and was desperately unhealthy.  Losing weight seemed impossible – or if not impossible, too difficult.

This is what I looked like 2 1/2 years ago, when I first heard about following a low carb high healthy fat lifestyle from a retired physician-friend. At this point, I had already lost about 25 pounds by cutting portion sizes and exercising, but my weight was always fluctuating by 10 or 12 pounds and with it, my blood sugar, cholesterol and blood pressure. I was in denial about how very unwell I had become.

The sudden death of two girlfriends my own age was certainly a ‘wake up call’, but it was my blood pressure that had become dangerously high that was the final impetus for me to change. I knew that if I did nothing, I was at very high risk of having a stroke or heart attack. My choice was (1) to go on medication for high blood sugar, high cholesterol and high blood pressure or (b) change the way I ate. It was, as they say, a “no brainer”.

March 5, 2017 was the day I made the decision to change and there has been no looking back.

Change only happens when the pain of staying the same is greater than the pain of changing.

This is what I looked like when I started.  Based on my BMI, I was well into the Class I Obesity category.

My blood pressure ranged between Stage 2 Hypertension and Stage 1 Hypertension – dangerously high.

My morning fasting blood sugar was averaging ± 12 mmol/L (216 mg/dl) and my HbA1C was likely ~ 9.5%.

My triglycerides were high and my LDL cholesterol (“bad cholesterol”) was well above what it should have been for someone who was Type 2 Diabetic and had family risk factors.

I was determined to reverse the symptoms of Diabetes, high triglycerides and high blood pressure by changing how I ate.

Progress, not perfection

Blood Glucose

When I began this journey at the beginning of March, my fasting blood glucose was averaging 12 mmol/L . My HbA1C was likely ~9.5%. Four months into eating low carb high fat, my fasting blood sugar was averaging 8.5 mmol/L and my HbA1C was 7.5% – still above the â‰¤ 7.0% therapeutic target for those with Type 2 Diabetes.

This week, 3 months later, my HbA1C reached the ≤7.0% therapeutic target for those with Type 2 Diabetes, but that is still not good enough. My goal is to get it at or below 6.0 % – below the Diabetic cutoff range. My challenge remains that my blood sugar is frequently high in the morning  when I am fasted, yet is significantly lower in the late afternoon when I have been intermittent fasting for the same length of time. I continue to suspect that cortisol remains a factor as cortisol production naturally begins to climb around midnight and reaches and is highest level between 6 am to 8 am.  

This higher blood sugar in the morning is something called “Dawn Phenomenon” which I had for a good 5 years before becoming Type 2 Diabetic. When I track my blood sugar from 10 pm until 8 am, it starts going up in the wee hours of the morning and keep rising until 6:30 or 7 am so it’s evident that my fasting blood sugar is rising with the daily fluctuations in cortisol. When I am intermittent fasting for the same amount of time during the day, my fasting blood glucose is always < 5.0 mmol/L and many times less than 4.0 mmol/L – which is usually my signal to eat something. Under the effect of cortisol combined with my liver still being insulin resistant, the glucose has no where to go and just sits in my blood.

I am going to try to get back to incorporating some form of daily activity to lower stress, which kind of fell off the radar and add some short duration, high-strength / high muscle-use exercise such as squats which can help move blood glucose into the muscle.

Blood Pressure

I continue on my low very low dose of Ramipril (Altace) and my blood pressure is averaging 127/74 mmHg. When I stop the meds for a day or two to measure my blood pressure, it is still averaging 145/82 mmHg which is still too high to discontinue the medication, but it is far better than the 160/90 mmHg that it was 3 months ago.

Weight and Body Measurements

I’ve lost 20 lbs so far but its the change in my body and face shape that is most noticible!

In terms of “inches”, I’ve lost;

• 1″ off my upper arms
• 2.5″ off my neck (which really shows!)
•  1″ off my thighs
• 4 1/2″ off my waist (which feels amazing!)

Facial lines are more visible, but when I look in the mirror I actually recognize the face looking back.

I am now below the high end of the overweight category based on BMI and am continuing to lose weight steadily.

At the beginning of this journey, I planned to lose ~30 lbs, but I realize that to attain an ideal waist circumference that is 1/2 my height, I likely have another 30 pounds to lose now which means I am not quite half-way there, but I am making progress!

…and that is the goal; progress, not perfection.

you can follow me at:

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Note: I am a “sample-set of 1” – meaning that my results may or may not be like any others who follow a similar lifestyle. If you are considering eating “low carb” and are taking medication to control your blood sugar or blood pressure, please discuss it with your doctor, first.

I am not one for popular remedies for health issues.  I don’t believe in “cleanses” and I don’t “eat clean” – or do I? If not eating any dairy is “clean” then I eat “dirty” because I use cream in my coffee, but if not eating gluten or grains is “clean”, then my eating is pristine.

The problem with popular beliefs around food and eating and word-of-mouth remedies is there is no standardized means to define them or evaluate their effectiveness.

Folk Remedies

Folk remedies, on the other hand, are in a different category. These practices, on which many nutraceuticals and even pharmaceuticals are based have GRAS standing (“Generally Recognized As Safe”) and have been used by cultures around the world for hundreds, if not thousands of years.

Here’s are two examples of folk-remedies in this category;

Swallow’s Nest

The Chinese have made soup out of the nest of a particular swallow which builds its home on high cliffs. This “bird’s nest soup” is highly prized and very expensive to make, but considered to have restorative properties for those with breathing difficulties.  As it turns out, this particular swallow’s nest is high in theophilline, a compound that has come to be used in Western medicine as therapy for respiratory diseases such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and asthma. Bird’s nest from this swallow has a GRAS standing and can legally be purchased in traditional Chinese medicine stores. One can take medication or food containing the same active substance, and in both cases one’s symptoms improve.

Bitter Melon

Bitter melon or bitter gourd / karela is widely grown in Asia, Africa and the Caribbean – both for food (prized for its bitter taste) and for its medicinal properties. In both Ayurveda, the traditional medicine (Hindu) of India and in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) different parts of the bitter melon plant are brewed as a beverage and taken as a treatment for Diabetes. As it turns out, bitter melon, which has GRAS standing, contains polypeptide-p which is an insulin analogue.

Apple Cider Vinegar

I’ve been hearing about the use of apple cider vinegar (ACV) since I first started reading about low carb high fat diets in early 2015, from Dr. Jason Fung, a nephrologist (kidney specialist) from Toronto. He recommended that 1 Tbsp. of unpasteurized ACV be taken in a glass of water prior to meals and that it be add it to broths, soups and marinades. He’d said that it inactivates the production of digestive enzymes and slows down the rate of digestion, stabilizing blood sugar levels. Since the recommendation to use ACV at the time did not come with any scientific evidence, I summarily dismissed the idea of using it.

Persistently High Fasting Blood Glucose

For those who have been following my own progress following a Low Carb High Fat style of eating over the past 6 months (posted on the tab “A Dietitian’s Journey”) you know that despite losing weight, significantly lowering both my triglycerides and LDL cholesterol and my overall blood sugar levels coming down significantly, I had two ongoing problems;

(1) my morning fasting blood glucose (FBG) remained high, and

(2) my blood glucose would only drop into the 5-point-something mmol/ L range (~94 mg/dl) or to the 4-point-something mmol/ L range (76 mg/dl) range after an entire day of intermittent fasting.

Since there are physiological risks associated with high blood glucose, I was very motivated to find out why they were high in the morning and to do something about them.

I decided to keep detailed food records for 3 weeks to see if there was a patter, and ruled out diet. 

Then, I decided to take my blood sugar several times each night, from midnight until 8 am, over several days, to see when it rose. As it turned out, it would drop nicely after supper (as it would after eating at any other time of the day), to 7-point-something mmol/l (~130 mg/dl) after an hour or so, and then to 6-point-something mmol/L (121 mg/dl) around midnight, and then it would gradually begin to rise from ~2 am, reaching its highest point around 8 am, following the circadian rhythm of cortisol.

Since it seemed that my high morning blood sugar was due to cortisol rising after went to bed until 8 am, and since cortisol can be affected by many things including stress, I took up going for a walk after supper. It did help!  My morning blood sugars were in the mid-6-point-something mmol/L (~117 mg/dl), which was a far-cry from the 8.0 mmol/L (144 mg/dl) level it had been!

The evening walks, however, were short lived due to a shift in the winds and the raging forest fires in and around the Lower Mainland which caused the skies to fill with Fine Particulate Matter, know as PM2.5 (as the are 2.5 micrometers or less, in size).  Since these can enter the lungs and the blood stream resulting in ill-effects, my walks stopped. In fact, if I did have to go out, it was with a vented N-95 mask. The smoke briefly cleared being replaced by stifling heat in the mid- to high-30 Celsius (100 F) for 10 days, followed by more smoke, so I began to look for something- anything that might lower my morning blood sugars, which at this point were hovering in the 7.6 mmol/L mmol/L (137 mg/dl) range!

At first I tried doing a short workout on my Nordic-track or using my “step” before bed, but it didn’t do much for my blood sugars and made me far too awake to fall asleep.

Having some unpasteurized, unfiltered ACV in the house, I decided to try it.  It tasted terrible!! I tried adding it to water and it was still awful! I couldn’t bring myself to drink it!!

From Masking the Taste to Food as Medicine

A few years ago, in an effort to drink more water each day, I began drinking Club Soda / Selzer and then purchased a Sodastream machine, to carbonate my own (filtered) water.

I usually drink it plain, but have been known to put a twist of fresh lemon or lime in it.

I tried adding 1 Tbsp of unpasteurized ACV to 1 litre (quart) of carbonated water but I still couldn’t drink it! All I tasted was sour!

Needing to mask the taste, I decided to grate a bit of fresh ginger root into it and “ACV Gingeraid” was born!

The first time, I drank a litre (~ quart) of “ACV Gingeraid” mid-morning, and my blood sugar dropped from 7.3 mmol/L  (132 mg/dl) to 6.6 mmol/L (119 mg/dl) in an hour. I thought to myself that maybe it would have dropped the same amount if I had done nothing.

I hadn’t had anything to eat or drink (except a coffee with only cream in the morning) but presumably under the effect of cortisol and my body’s own making of glucose from fat stores, my blood sugar continued to rise from 6.6 mmol/L (119 mg/dl) at 5:30 AM, to 7.7 mmol/L (139 mg/dl) just before 10 AM.

That was just too high – and I hadn’t eaten! 

So, I made and drank a second bottle of ACV Ginger-aid and in 1.5 hrs, my blood sugar had dropped to 6.3 mmol/L (114 mg/dl). Then by 4:00 PM, and drinking no additional ACV Ginger-aid, it was 4.8 mmol/L (86 mg/dl).

I would previously only get to those kinds of numbers just before dinner, when I was on an intermittent fast day.  This was 2-2.5 hours earlier.

That couldn’t be, I thought…

Several days in a row, the same thing would happen, with only slightly different numbers, some of them lower.

My blood sugar would be around 7.3 mmol/L (137 mg/dl) 2 hours after dinner and I would drink most of a bottle of ACV Ginger-aid before bed, and in the morning my FBG would be in the 6’s mmol/L (~119 mg/dl). Could it be because of the drink?

One day, quite by chance, I had some fresh turmeric root in the house (because I use it in cooking and because I like the taste). As well, is a potent antioxidant and the curcumin (the active compound in turmeric) has been demonstrated to have anti-carcinogenic properties).

I decided to add a little bit of grated turmeric root because I thought the turmeric would taste good with the ginger (it did!).

I also added a bit of freshly ground black pepper to the Turmeric-ACV Ginger-aid, because I had read that black pepper makes the curcumin in the fresh turmeric root 2000 times more bio-available.

The drink tasted delicious!

But what happened to my blood sugars was quite surprising.

It became evident that for me, using “food as medicine” has had some very impressive results!

Just 3 days earlier, I was impressed because by 4:00 PM my blood glucose was 4.8 mmol/L (86 mg/dl) – which was a good 2.5 hours earlier than usual.

Since adding the turmeric to the ACV Ginger-aid, I was getting numbers in the mid-4 mmol/L (i.e. 4.6 mmol/L / 84 mg/dl) by 2:30 in the afternoon!

By drinking the Turmeric-ACV Ginger-aid  before bed, my morning FBG is consistently in the low 6’s mmol/L (~110 mg/dl) and on a few occasions, ”ve been getting numbers in the high-5s mmol/L (103 mg/dl). I was considering Metformin to get these kinds of results!

This is by consuming ordinary food found in my kitchen!

I continue to eat LCHF and I usually intermittent fast breakfast, as I’ve never been much of a “breakfast person”. I occasionally don’t eat until mid-day as that is when I usually first feel hungry.

My blood sugars are the best they’ve been since I started measuring them.

Now, 2 hours after meals my blood sugar is usually in the low 6’s mmol/l (~110 mg/dl) and the ONLY change has been adding this beverage before bed and occasionally one plain ACV Ginger-aid through the day.

Just to be a ‘good scientist’, last night I deliberately ate 1/2 a dark chocolate bar (72% cocoa) and drank 3/4 of a bottle of plain AVC Ginger-aid (no turmeric) and tested my blood glucose this morning. It was 6.6 mmol/L (119 mg/dl).  That’s crazy! I was expecting 10 or 11 mmol/L.  That’s what it used to be just a few weeks ago, when I’d eat a little bit of dark chocolate!

NOTE:  I wanted to see what would happen if I ate the same way but discontinued the beverage. My blood sugar went up to 8.8 mmol/L the first morning after not having any the previous day and was 8.6 mmol/L the following morning. The third day, I drank only one bottle in the afternoon and on at night before bed and the following morning, my fbg was 7.2 mmol/L (still way too high, but much lower). I anticipate it will continue to drop as I have 2-3 bottles of the mixture per day.

Even thought I am NOT exercising (first because of the smokey conditions outside and because I fell back into old “bad-habits” of getting up early and working at my desk with my coffee), my blood glucose is what I would have anticipated would have occurred if I had taken Metformin.

Keep in mind, I am “a sample-set of one”. There’s no saying that others will have the same, or even similar results. In addition, I do NOT encourage people to make any changes in the amount of medication that a doctor prescribed without being told by that doctor.  This drink is NOT a substitute for medication that has been prescribed!  That being said, for those who are not taking medication but have persistently high blood sugar readings does it not make good sense to consider trying such food as medicine?

NOTE: I decided to find out if there was any scientific evidence for the anti-glycemic properties of ACV and did find a 2015 study, suggesting that it increases insulin-stimulated glucose uptake in those with Type 2 Diabetes (T2D), which I have. I then decided to look and see if ginger had anti-glycemic properties and found a 2015 study that reported that ginger significantly reduced FBG as well as HbA1c, along with Apo B, Apo B/Apo A-I, MDA and increased the level of Apo A-I in T2D patients. Naturally, I looked to see if turmeric was known to have anti-glycemic properties and sure enough, it did!  I found a 2013 publication that indicated it is well-known that turmeric has a stimulatory action on pancreatic β-cells, and that this may be the mechanism by which it lowers blood sugar in those with T2D. Whether these substances used together have a far greater effect on blood sugar than any of them used separately would certainly make for an interesting study!

WARNING: Given the possibility of these ordinary foods resulting in a dramatic drop in blood sugar, if you have Type 2 Diabetes or pre-diabetes, first discuss incorporating these foods into your diet with your doctor. As well, be sure to monitor your high blood sugar often if you drink these.

ACV Gingeraid Recipe

Click on the link under “Recipes” for ACV Gingeraid with Variations – food as medicine. Enjoy!

you can follow me at:

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References

Mitrou P, Petsiou E, Papakonstantinou E, et al. Vinegar Consumption Increases Insulin-Stimulated Glucose Uptake by the Forearm Muscle in Humans with Type 2 Diabetes. Journal of Diabetes Research. 2015;2015:175204. doi:10.1155/2015/175204.

Khandouzi N, Shidfar F, Rajab A, Rahideh T, Hosseini P, Mir Taheri M. The Effects of Ginger on Fasting Blood Sugar, Hemoglobin A1c, Apolipoprotein B, Apolipoprotein A-I and Malondialdehyde in Type 2 Diabetic Patients. Iranian Journal of Pharmaceutical Research”¯: IJPR. 2015;14(1):131-140.

Zhang D, Fu M, Gao S-H, Liu J-L. Curcumin and Diabetes: A Systematic Review. Evidence-based Complementary and Alternative Medicine”¯: eCAM. 2013;2013:636053. doi:10.1155/2013/636053.

 https://twitter.com/joykiddieRD

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Note: Everyone's results following a LCHF lifestyle will differ as there is no one-size-fits-all approach and everybody's nutritional needs and health status is different. If you want to adopt this kind of lifestyle, please discuss it with your doctor, first.

Finally!  Like anyone else who’s been working long and hard towards achieving their health goals, I’m so excited that I’ve finally made a significant ‘breakthrough’! I didn’t think it would take this long, but when I think that it has taken me close to 20 years to become this insulin resistant, it only makes sense that it is going to take some time to become insulin sensitive again!

Last night, for the first time since I was diagnosed with Type 2 Diabetes (T2D) ten years ago, my 2 hour post-prandial blood glucose (i.e. two hours after a meal) was 5.8 mmol/L (105 mg/dl).

To put that in context for someone without Diabetes, blood glucose taken two hours after meals should be less than 7.8 mmol/L (140 mg/dl) – so my blood sugar after supper was not only in the non-Diabetic range, it was much better than that!

This means that the delaying the time between meals that I have been doing each weekday is starting to have its effect.

‘Hearing’ for the first time

When insulin was released after I ate dinner last night, my cells responded to insulin’s signal and took up the glucose from my blood, into my cells! This is what is supposed to happen, but from years and years of eating a diet that had far to many carbs (mostly as “healthy” fruit and milk), my cells had become non-responsive to insulin’s signal. The glucose (the blood sugar produced after food is digested) would stay at high levels in my blood because even though sufficient insulin was being produced and released by the βeta-cells of my pancreas, my cells had become insensitive to its signal. My cells had become insulin resistant – they were ‘deaf’ to insulin’s signal.

Last night, for the first time that I’ve observed, my cells responded to insulin properly!  Like a hearing-impaired person hearing for the first time, my cells could ‘hear’!

Still “hearing-impaired”

My cells aren’t yet ‘healed’. They and my liver are still insulin resistant which is evidenced by the fact that even though I haven’t eaten anything since dinner last night, my blood glucose is high.

As it is supposed to do in response to both a low-carb diet and intermittent fasting, my body is breaking down my fat stores for energy (lipolysis) and the free fatty acids that are released are being used to produce glucose for my blood (in a process called gluconeogenesis) and ketones for my other organs, including my brain.

My blood glucose should increase from the gluconeogenesis, but it shouldn’t stay high! 

In a perfect world, my blood glucose should be maintained around 4.0 mmol/L (72 mg/dl) when I am intermittent fasting, but it is much higher than that.  The VERY good news is, it is falling to these ideal levels earlier and earlier each day, as I continue to intermittently fast Monday to Friday.

Intermittent Fasting – the missing ‘key’

It used to be late in the afternoon before my blood glucose would finally fall to 3.9 – 4.2 mmol/L, but over the six days it has been falling to these levels earlier and earlier each day.

Last Thursday, while checking my blood glucose every 2 hours, it dropped to 3.2 mmol/L at 1:55 PM and I immediately ate some carb-containing food, but the next day, late in the afternoon it only reached 4.8 mmol/L at 4:00 PM, despite me delaying the time between meals, both days. As someone with Type 2 Diabetes, I have to monitor my blood sugars every few hours when I am delaying meals, to be sure my blood sugar is being maintained by my body breaking down fat.

Monday, my blood glucose was 3.7 mmol/L (67 mg/dl) at 4:00 PM and yes, I ate something immediately.

Tuesday it was 4.6 mmol/L (83 mg/dl) at 2:30 PM

Today (Wednesday) it was 4.5 mmol/L (81 mg/dl) at noon!

Best of all was that last night, 2 hours after eating, my blood glucose was only 5.8 mmol/L (105 mg/dl) – not just ‘normal’, but well below the non-Diabetic cutoffs! This is what I have been waiting for!

Tracking Ketosis

Ketones (also called ‘ketone bodies’) are naturally occurring molecules (acetoacetate, βeta-hydroxybutyrate, and their spontaneous breakdown product, acetone) that are produced for energy while people are sleeping, or when they haven’t eaten for a while. Ketone production is natural and normal and occurs to everyone – otherwise we would need to get up at night to eat!

Ketones are picked up the body’s tissues and converted into something called ‘acetyl-CoA’ which then enters the citric acid cycle and is burned in the cell’s mitochondria (the ‘powerhouse’ of each cell) for energy. When we are sleeping, or are eating low-carb high health fat or simply not eating for a while, this is what our body uses as fuel instead of glucose. When eating low carb over an extended period of time, the body makes the little bit of glucose it needs for our brain and blood from fat and uses ketones for the rest.

Ketones can be easily  and inexpensively detected in urine using a test strip, such as Ketostix®.

When people are at a low level of ketosis, they produce both acetoacetate and βeta-hydroxybutyrate in approximately equal quantities. These ketones are used by the muscle cells for energy. Ketostix® only measures the amount of acetoacetate in the urine.

For those that choose to eat very low carb and remain in ketosis for a while, their body’s will take the acetoacetate and convert it to βeta-hydroxybutyrate. Since Ketostix® only measures acetoacetate, the strips may become lighter and lighter because there is less acetoacetate in then urine. This is when blood ketone strips becomes helpful.

Abbott Laboratories® produce a small serum monitoring system that can test either blood glucose levels or serum β-ketone levels, using different test strips. The glucose strips cost about the same as glucose test strips used with other glucometers, but the β-ketone test strips are quite costly, costing between $3-$5 each, depending on where they are purchased.  I don’t use them very often – only to make sure I don’t let my ketones get too high.

Note: I take a rather conservative approach to low carb eating and don't see any need to lower carbs to such a point as people are producing large amounts of ketones. I encourage insulin-resistant clients who are eating low carb to monitor both their blood sugar and ketone production often and to discuss their results with their doctors.

The β-ketone test strips measure the amount of βeta-hydroxybutyrate in the blood.

This morning, about an hour after I measured my fasting blood glucose at 7.8 mmol/L, I measured my fasting β-ketones (which measures the amount of βeta-hyroxybuterate in my blood) at 1.6 mmol/L.

A low level of serum βeta-hyroxybuterate is considered 0.34 mmol/L and a mid-range level of serum βeta-hyroxybuterate  is considered 2.36 mmol/L, so I was in the low-mid range level, which is the highest level that I go. I am also monitoring my blood sugar every two hours to make sure that my blood sugar level is being maintained adequately.

Note: as they say on TV “don’t try this at home”.  Be sure to discuss following a low carb diet with your doctor first and also discuss whether there are any health reasons to avoid remaining in mild ketosis for any period of time.

At these levels, my body is happily breaking down my own fat stores for energy and the free fatty acids that are being released are being used to produce glucose for my blood (via gluconeogenesis). This is evident by my blood glucose being 7.8 mmol/L around 9:30 AM today.

My body produces ketones (as evident by my βeta-hyroxybuterate being 1.6 mmol/L) an hour later and these ketones are being picked up my body’s tissues and are being converted into acetyl-CoA, which is being burned by my cells mitochondria for energy.  These ketones not only fuel my brain, so I can work, they also fuel my body so I can exercise.

Yes! I aim to do some kind of exercise for 30-45 minutes most days.

This is the BIG difference between “starving” and “fasting”. I’m fat-adapted and I have plenty of fat stores to burn, so my body is really quite happy burning my own fat stores for energy while maintaining my blood sugar using the carbs in my diet and the glucose synthesized from my fat.

‘Getting moving’ and occasionally ‘breaking a sweat’

When I speak of ‘exercise’, it’s not crazy intense, but it is my getting my body ‘moving’.

All my morning walks (with and without Nordic poles) – from the very first one 5 1/2 months ago, have been done fasting.

Yesterday I did 15 minutes of aerobic exercise and 30 minutes of lower body resistance training – not in a gym, but at home. I was fasting…and continued to fast until late in the afternoon. Remember, my body is breaking down my fat stores for energy and I have plenty of those!

I’m not a member of a gym.

I have a corner of one room set up with my Nordic Track ski-machine, a few free-weights (2#, 5#, 10# and for the future 20#), a floor mat, 3 levels of resistance bands, and a “step”.

If I use my Nordic Track, I listen to music while I work out, and have a water bottle with homemade club soda (seltzer) close at hand. I have a Sodastream® machine, so I always have a steady supply.

I am using the “step” or doing aerobics of some kind, I use some videos I found on You-Tube of a TV show I used to exercise to years ago. I always liked them because they gave lots of instructions so that only one muscle group at a time is being worked.  That way, only one part of my body needs to recover, and I can work other parts the following day.

If I am doing my free weights, I follow the routine I learned from a kinesiologist friend, when I took off the first part of the weight 5 years ago.

I keep it simple and simply make part of every day doing something that requires me to ‘get moving’ and 3 times a week I aim to make that activity something that ‘breaks a sweat’.

I don’t exercise to ‘lose weight’ – I’m active because it’s part of a healthy lifestyle.  It’s good for my heart, for reducing stress and to increase muscle tone – and it makes me feel terrific.

Sure, I still have a long way to go but a each week and each month passes, I am closer to my goal that I was the week or month before.  I am certainly closer than had I never started!

Here’s some more proof…

These three photos were taken on this date (August 23) in 2015, shortly after I had heard about low carb high fat eating from a retired physician-friend, last year in 2016 and today 2017. While there isn’t a huge difference weight-wise between last year and this year (14 pounds), the difference one can’t see is becoming evident.

Yes, the progress it is painfully slow and it would be easy to get discouraged except that I have read the studies and seen the results that other clinicians have obtained with their patients. It’s twenty-five weeks since I started – just about 1/2 a year, but my hard work and determination to ‘stick with it’ is paying off.  Last night, for the first time since I was diagnosed as having Type 2 Diabetes, my cells provided evidence that they are beginning to respond to the signals from insulin the way they are supposed to.

This afternoon, they did it all again!  

This was my blood glucose 3 hours after lunch (which I decided to eat today, because I felt hungry). As mentioned above, 4.5 mmol/L (81 mg/dl) is well below the ‘normal’, non-Diabetic post prandial glucose level of 7.8 mmol/L (140 mg/dl)

This was even better than after dinner, yesterday!

It took longer than I expect, but it’s happening!

So, one day at a time, one week at time, the weeks add up to months and the months to half a year and in half a year, I have measurable progress!

Oh, did I forget to mention that my weight is down again?  I am seeing “numbers” I haven’t seen since I gave birth to my children!

Slow, yes – but very sure.

Now let’s see what I’ll accomplish in the second half of this year!

Have questions?

Want to know how I can help you accomplish your health goals? Why not send me a note using the “Contact Us” form above.

To our good health!

Joy

you can follow me at:

 https://twitter.com/lchfRD

  https://www.facebook.com/lchfRD/

Note: I am a “sample-set of 1” – meaning that my results may or may not be like any others who follow a similar lifestyle. If you are considering eating “low carb” and are taking medication to control your blood sugar or blood pressure, please discuss it with your doctor, first.

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For the last 2 weeks, the Lower Mainland has been covered in smoke due to hundreds of wildfires in the area.  The very poor air quality had made going for a walk impossible.

Everywhere I went, I needed to wear an N95 mask to filter out the particulate matter and with the excessive heat and reddish-yellow skies, I had no desire to be out any longer than I needed to.

Over the weekend, cool marine finally air arrived and the air cleared for the first time in weeks. Finally it didn’t look like I was living on Tatooine.

When I woke up yesterday, the first thing I wanted to do was go for a morning walk. I walked 3 km around the local track and today I went again and decided to make a short video. When I went to upload it, I noticed how very different my face looked than from my first walk, 5 months ago (March 16 2017).

I’ve only lost 13 pounds in the last 5 months since I began eating Low Carb High Healthy Fat, but the difference in how I look and how I feel is quite evident.  As I’ve covered in previous “A Dietitian’s Journey” blogs, my blood work has certainly reflected the change.

I don’t really do any exercise outside of walking and even then, I only started doing it regularly 7 weeks ago (June 22, 2017) and not for the last 2 weeks (due to the air quality advisory). Five weeks of walking has helped me tone my muscles a bit and lower my overall blood sugar, but not had any significant impact my weight loss. While for the last 8 weeks, I’ve delayed the start of my first meal (intermittent fasting) which has impacted my fasting blood sugar, it hasn’t really impacted my weight, as I consume the same amount of protein, fat and carbs per day, just over a shorter period.

My weight loss has really only been accomplished by doing what I have been teaching my professional clients to do over the last 2 years;  eating low carb and high healthy fat. I was tired of being the “fat Dietitian”! Now I’m now “practicing what I preach”.

Is it hard?  Not at all! This has to be the easiest way to eat and requires little, if no culinary skill. Sure, one can get pretty creative making all kinds of exciting ethnic foods if they know how to cook, but it is certainly not required!

The difference in how I feel is truly all the motivation to keep doing it! Losing weight is a bonus.

Want to know how I can help you achieve your own health and nutrition goals? Why not send me a note using the “Contact Us” form above.

To our good health!

Joy

you can follow me at:

 https://twitter.com/lchfRD

  https://www.facebook.com/lchfRD/

Here is the short video that I made today:

Note: I am a "sample-set of 1" - meaning that my results may or may not be like any others who follow a similar lifestyle. If you are considering eating "low carb" and are taking medication to control your blood sugar or blood pressure, please discuss it with your doctor, first.

For the last two weeks, I have been living on Tatooine.  Not really, but it certainly has felt like that – with smoky, red sunrises and sunsets, inhospitable heat and high levels of ground-level ozone.  British Columbia, where I live, remains under a state of emergency as 148 wildfires continue to burn across the province, with this being BC’s worst fire season in almost sixty years. As a result, the air quality in many communities, including mine, has deteriorated to dangerous levels.

This is what the sunrise has looked like from my backyard the last two weeks:

There have been high concentrations of fine particulate matter known as PM2.5  in the air, which are solid or liquid droplets with a diameter of ≤2.5µm (micrometres). Due to their small size, these particles easily penetrate indoors, even when windows are closed and are small enough to pass from the lungs into the bloodstream – putting people with lung or heart disease, Diabetes or asthma at risk.

In addition to the smoky air, temperatures each day have been in the low- to mid-thirties Celcius (90-95 degrees Fahrenheit) which is highly unusual. Here in the Greater Vancouver area, we’ll get a few days in a row like that once or twice each summer, but not for two weeks solid!  Thankfully I have air conditioning, but it has been brutal to be outdoors.

Concentrations of ground-level ozone have reached and stayed at advisory levels.  This is formed when pollutants given off by the forest fires and compounds from the solvents used to put out the fires react in the air, in the presence of sunlight.

Even wearing an N95 mask outside which is designed to filter out the small smoke particles, I have found my breathing very laboured.

Needless to say, my morning and after-dinner walks have been impossible. I tried exercising indoors, but my lungs were simply too irritated from the small smoke particles.

I have continued with delaying the time between meals (referred to as “intermittent fasting”)but for shorter periods of time as my body is under physiological stress and I continue to eat a low carb high fat diet. My weight has dropped another pound over these last two weeks, despite no exercise at all. My blood sugar on the other hand is considerably higher without the walks.

An air quality analyst with Metro Vancouver has reported that the weather is expected to shift this coming weekend, allowing some of the smoke to begin to dissipate. Until then, part of taking care of my health is not to exercise. 

Reporting from Tatooine, British Columbia, I’m Joy Kiddie, practicing what I preach.

you can follow me at:

 https://twitter.com/lchfRD

  https://www.facebook.com/lchfRD/

Note: I am a “sample-set of 1” – meaning that my results may or may not be like any others who follow a similar lifestyle. If you are considering eating “low carb” and are taking medication to control your blood sugar or blood pressure, please discuss it with your doctor, first.

It’s been 5 months since I began my own weight-loss journey, following a low carb high healthy fat diet and here is a short update.

Fasting Blood Glucose

When I began this journey at the beginning of March, my fasting blood glucose was averaging 12 mmol/L. Four months into eating low carb high fat, my fasting blood sugar was averaging 8.5 mmol/L.

July 25th, it was measured at the lab and on my home glucometer as 8.0 mmol/L – still way above the cutoffs for those with Type 2 Diabetes of 6.0 mmol/L, and way above the normal levels of 4.5-5.5 mmol/L.

It is highest is in the morning, I believe due to cortisol’s effect (see 4 month update, for details).

2 hour Post-Prandial Blood Glucose

I’ve been tracking my blood glucose regularly since I started implementing the dietary and lifestyle changes 5 months ago, and my 2 hr post prandial (after a meal) glucose had been averaging ~7.2 mmol/L, which is much better than the 7.7 – 8.6 mmol/L which is what it was at the beginning of March, but still no where good enough!

…but I noticed that after I go for my brisk 3-4 km each morning, it is 5.4 mmol/L. This gave me an idea (see below).

Blood Glucose through the night – effects of Cortisol

For about a week, I measured my blood glucose at 1 AM and 4 AM and 6 AM (in the interest of science, of course!) with a brand new glucometer that I standardized at the lab, when I had my fasting blood glucose and fasting insulin done on July 25th. My morning fasting blood glucose would rise to ~6.6 – 6.8 mmol/L (119 – 123 mg/dl) from the 5.4 mmol/L it was when I went to bed, even though I hadn’t eating or had anything to drink.  This had to be the effect of cortisol!

Fasting Cortisol

I had my fasting cortisol assessed the same day that I had my fasting blood glucose assessed (July 25 2017) and it was, as I suspected, high: 421 (125-536) nmol/L

…and this is with walking 4 km / day and sleeping 8 hours (restful sleep).

I need to come up with some additional strategies for lowering stress.

Fasting Insulin & Calculating Insulin Resistance

I also had my fasting insulin assessed the same day that I had my fasting blood glucose and fasting cortisol assessed (July 25 2017).

Based on the July 25th lab work, I calculated my Insulin Resistance using both Matthews (1985) Equations (HOMA1-IR), as well as using Oxford University Center for Diabetes, Endocrinology and Metabolism  homeostasis model assessment (HOMA2-IR)  calculator (2013).

From when my fasting insulin and fasting blood glucose was last tested 2 years ago in August 10, 2015, my insulin resistance  calculated by HOMA2-IR had gone down from 3.06 to 2.77, but it’s still too high because my fasting blood glucose remains high.

Average Insulin Resistance – in the normal population

One study reported that the average HOMA2-IR in the general (non-Diabetic) population is 2.1 +/- 2.2 (Diabetes Care, Volume 24, Number 3, March 2001), so I am guessing that a HOMA2-IR of 1.00 would be a healthy target – one that will likely take me a year to approximate.

Whether that will be possible with diet and lifestyle change alone, has yet to be seen.

That is my goal.

High Morning Glucose – assessing the problem

I believe the reason that my blood glucose remains high in the morning is due to a combination of residual hepatic (liver) insulin resistance (from years of eating way too many carbs) and high cortisol that is stimulating an overproduction of waking glucose.

Effect of Walking

The last 5 months, my fasting blood glucose has been consistently high at 8.0 – 8.5 mmol/L (144 – 153 mg/dl) and my 2 hour postprandial is fine for a Type 2 Diabetic at ~7.2 mmol/L – but a far cry from the non-Diabetic range I am seeking.

…but I noticed that after I go for my brisk 3-4 km walk each morning, my fasting blood glucose is 5.4 mmol/L (yes, I go fasting).

The effect of moderate exercise seems substantial, so I decided to see what effect there would be on my early morning fasting blood glucose levels if if I took a short walk after dinner.

The results were dramatic!

For the last week and a half, my blood glucose drops to ~5.2 – 5.4 mmol/L (94-97 mg/dl) after a very leisurely 15-20 minute walk around my neighbourhood.

High Morning Glucose – assessing the solution

Based on my high fasting blood glucose of 8.0 mmol/L on July 25th, my physician’s colleague naturally recommended that I go on Metformin, but I have decided to hold off on introducing it for 3 months provided that;

(1) I continue the dietary and lifestyle changes I have been doing for the last 5 months and…

(2) I add a 20-minute walk after dinner.

Plan to Reassess in Three Months

I am requesting that my physician provide me with a requisition to have my fasting insulin and FBG re-run in October, when I update my HbA1c, so I can recalculate my HOMA2-IR again and see how much less insulin resistant I am by then.

I want to know the magnitude of the insulin levels dropping, not just the fasting blood glucose, which I expect, will drop…after all, the goal is to lower the very high levels of insulin. High blood glucose is a symptom – the cause is too much insulin being released, due to insulin resistance.

Blood Pressure

As mentioned previously, I asked to be started on a very low dose of Ramipril (Altace) about 6 weeks ago, as my blood pressure had begun to creep up again. When I saw 160/90 mmHg two days in a row, I went to see my doctor.

10% of the time I am â‰¤ 119 / 79 mmHg, considered normal blood pressure

64% of the time I am â‰¤ 120/80 mmHg, categorized as “Prehypertension”.

…and 26% of the time, measured before I take my medication, I am â‰¤ 138/90 mmHg, categorized as “Stage 1 Hypertension”.

I will continue to take the blood pressure medication as a temporary measure to offer some protection against heart attack, stroke and kidney damage until I lose some more weight, and my blood pressure stays down on its own.

Weight

Overall, in the last 5 months, I have lost 12 pounds and ~3 inches off my waist. I’ve lost about the same number of inches off my neck circumference  (3 inches) which has had a dramatic effect on how I look.  I have a neck and ONE chin.

I’ve lost overall about an inch off my mid-arm, an inch off on my thighs (gaining muscle and losing fat, at the same time) and lost around an inch off my chest.

Lowering Stress, Lowering Insulin

I need to get my cortisol levels down, as these are driving my high morning fasting blood glucose levels. Walking in the morning has been good, adding the short evening walk even better. Now I am adding (on alternate days from my 3-4 km walks) a workout with 5 and 10 pound weights and other forms of resistance training. I am even jumping rope (which has gotten much harder since when I last did it at around age 16!).

The goal is to get my insulin levels down, and I am already doing everything that needs to happen for that; eating only the carbs necessary to have a nutritious diet, with no excess protein and extending the time between meals (intermittent fasting) a few days per week.

It is going to take time…

Over the next 3-6 months, I expect fasting insulin will keep falling.

My goal over the next year is to reach a ‘normal’ 2 hour postprandial peak of 60 mIU/L (430.5 pmol/L) as determined by Dr. Kraft’s Insulin Response curves, which should be an Insulin Resistance (HOMA2-IR) of between 1.0 and 2.0.

Over time, the fat in my liver (“hepatic adiposity”) will continue to decrease, and the derangement which took time to develop will resolve.

While the rate of resolution to for me to achieve normal insulin metabolism is unknown, I know if I keep doing what I am doing, it should happen. It doesn’t always occur, but I won’t know if I don’t try.

Have questions?

Want to know how I can help you achieve your health and weight goals? Why not send me a note using the “Contact Us” form, above.

To our good health!

Joy

you can follow me at:

 https://twitter.com/lchfRD

  https://www.facebook.com/lchfRD/

Note: I am a “sample-set of 1” – meaning that my results may or may not be like any others who follow a similar lifestyle. If you are considering eating “low carb” and are taking medication to control your blood sugar or blood pressure, please discuss it with your doctor, first.

As I’ve made it a habit to do each weekday, this morning I went out for my walk, using Nordic poles.  I had an appointment to keep, so I kept it to 3 km at a brisk pace, around that beautiful lake that I’ve previously posted a video update from.

Despite eating quite low carb and delaying the amount of time between meals each weekday, my fasting blood sugars remain high.  I’ve noticed that after I walk in the morning, they come down significantly, so I’ve decided to integrate a short walk around my neighbourhood after dinner, to see if my fasting blood glucose lowers.  It should, which leaves me to determine how long a walk is ideal. I don’t want to make it a “workout”, as that can interfere with sleep, but I also don’t want to make it so short that it doesn’t have any effect.  Today I started with a 15 minute walk at a comfortably brisk pace.  Tomorrow, I’ll try longer, to see if it changes the results in the morning, and if so by how much.

As I began my walk, I realized that I’ve lived in this neighbourhood for several years, yet never walk around it.  I guess it’s time I get to take in the beauty that is all around me.

Practicing what I preach!

Joy

UPDATE

It turns out, that a leisurely 20 minute walk after dinner results in my blood glucose dropping to ~5.2 – 5.4 mmol/L  (94-97 mg/dl) and staying that way through the night (measured at 1 AM and 4 AM and 6 AM in the interest of science, of course!).

This is now part of my routine!

you can follow me at:

 https://twitter.com/lchfRD

  https://www.facebook.com/lchfRD/

Note: Everyone’s results following a LCHF lifestyle will differ as there is no one-size-fits-all approach and everybody’s nutritional needs and health status is different. If you want to adopt this kind of lifestyle, please discuss it with your doctor, first.