Progress update #8
Welcome to the eighth instalment of my regular update series where I review what does and doesn't work on the journey to type 2 diabetes remission.
Million step challenge
I've finally managed a week without injury so have been blasting the steps. Last week's daily average was 14,983 steps which is good as I still managed that with a couple of rest days. I'm currently at 488,000 steps so really chuffed to be nearing the half-way point already. I'll probably hit the 500k tomorrow 😁
I've found that a lot of local horses are very friendly and they come up to me, hoping for pats and probably hoping it's feeding time. I'm going to start naming them to keep up with who's who. I'm calling this week's new pal Steven...
BDNF boosting failures and successes
My BDNF plan hasn't really gone well but it's been a good learning experience. My first mistake was trying to get too much food in to try and include all the necessary nutrients too quickly. Eating too much pushed my 7-day average blood glucose up from a 5.9 to the dreaded 6.2 mmol/L. That's the point I start getting frustrated with myself and have to take slightly drastic action to get things back on track. This week's approach was a 34 hour water fast where I didn't eat all day on Wednesday (herbal tea and black coffee allowed). That worked well and got my level back down to 6.0 mmol/L the next morning.
My intermittent fasting routine went well. I was aiming for at least a 14:10 fasting routine where the general target was eating breakfast after 9am and nothing after 7pm. There were only two days where I didn't manage at least 15 hours.
The second, and more major problem I gave myself was trying to do too much at once. Setting too many goals made for a stressful week and trying to keep track of everything has been overwhelming. That's led to me drinking too much alcohol this week. My target was no more than 35 units and having given up on that, I ended up at 67. I've set a more achievable limit of 50 for next week (I know that's still way too high but I'm coming down from a lot more). The alcohol and resulting salted peanut snacking at night has also impacted my sleep pattern as well.
Food-wise, I've done well. I went foraging for blackberries which have just started ripening up nicely. I've managed to include those and blueberries with my new yoghurt and natto routines. I managed the 3 meals including tuna and I'm still trying to find some algae oil to supplement my lacklustre fatty fish appetite. Adding more dark chocolate definitely hasn't been a problem. I've also managed to increase pumpkin and chia seeds with my natto routine.
Other than the alcohol, my drinks have been good. I've been drinking plenty of water and managed a daily dose of my BDNF-boosting tea. I even tried a cowslip tea which was quite pleasant - it has a sweet and grassy flavour. It's also a good way to boost vitamin C.
My gym routine has been going well and I've managed to include the three lots of 20 minutes of cardio after my weight training. Going three times a week seems to be working well for me as it adds some variety to my walking routine. Some days I really do not feel in the mood for it, but I always feel better after going. I noticed a new interesting phenomenon - I felt dizzy and generally not right during a period of hyperglycemia (high blood glucose). Usually, I don't feel any different when I'm hyper, so I think this is a good sign that my body is getting used to normal glucose levels and doesn't feel comfortable at diabetic levels any more.
Blood glucose going in the wrong direction
My 7-day average has gone back up to 6.0 mmol/L again which is extremely frustrating as I was hoping to finally crack the 5.7 lower limit I've had so far. Not going to stress about it too much as I feel like I've got a good idea of how to make progress in the next few weeks.
My average daily net carbs has gone up from 72g to 80g this week. Again, the wine and salted peanut snacks are looking like the main culprits, given the morning patterns. I need to be more determined to keep this under 60g and ideally around 50g per day.
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