CARBS ARE ADDICTIVE

One last thing. Carbs are extremely addicting and it's very difficult to say goodbye to those favorite foods of the past. Many struggle in the beginning with all of this. Some describe that carb craving as being worse than trying to go clean after using street drugs. If you fall one meal, pick yourself up and keep trying. The important thing is to try and avoid them as much as possible, because every time you give in then your body will crave them even more and more. I am to the point in my journey that some of their smells now make me physically ill. Yes I do have my treats that are sweet, but don't use them in the beginning as you start this journey. Your mind and body aren't ready for that yet. At some point you can have those, I promise. But in the beginning you need to get yoru body into a healthier place than it is now.

P Mason Explanation of an A1C (clinical laboratory scientist)

 I am a retired Clinical Laboratory Scientist so this is my area of expertise. The a1c is a bit complicated to explain in lay terms but I'll try to simplify it. You've all been told it is a 3 month average of your blood glucose. That's a very general description. The reason is that in most people, red blood cells have an average life span of 3 months. Like hair growth varies from person to person, not everyone's red blood cells live exactly 3 months....that life is influenced by many things, but 3 months is a "ballpark" average. We are constantly producing new red cells, while some have peaked, some are deteriorating, some near death. They're in different stages of life at any given time. So....whereas a normal glucose test measures glucose circulating in the blood in plasma or serum...the liquid part of blood, the a1c uses a completely different methodology to measure just the glucose that attaches & sticks to only the red cells. Bear in mind, that as red cells mature & get near death, they begin to shrink, fragment & break down. They have less surface area for glucose molecules to adhere to. Younger cells, are larger, rounder, & have more surface area for glucose to adhere to so they obviously will have the highest concentrations of glucose. So, since red cells have a life cycle of approximately 3 months, the a1c is measuring the amount of glucose attached to red cells of varying age, size & shape....some have more, others have less. The thing most doctors don't tell you because they may not know, or simply don't take the time to explain, is that since the newest red cells are the biggest, they have the largest concentration of glucose. What's this all mean? Yes, it's about a 3 month average, but the cells that are 4-6 weeks old account for the majority of that average, because they carry the largest amount of glucose due to their size. Basically, since it's an average of all the cells, the newer ones carry more weight. 3 month average yes, but the largest factor of the a1c result is focused on the previous 4-6 weeks. Hope that makes sense. As a side note, people with certain irregularities of their red blood cells such as anemia, & other conditions, may have false low or highs on their a1c results, due to irregularities in number, size or shape of their red cells.

Nancy K

Are your doctors and dieticians going to support this way of eating-probably not. Doctors get no nutritional training in pre-med, residency or post medical degree. The majority of their knowledge comes from nurses, dieticians and their mother. The dieticians are trained by the ADA to eat more carbs, usually between 180 to 200 grams daily. The ADA views diabetes as a progressive disease and if your bs are high eating those carbs its' because they haven't found the right combination of medications for you yet. No I'm not going to tell you to lie to them, in fact what many tell them is that you are watching what you eat, and portion control and that makes them very happy. In time as you get control, your A1C is dropping and your labs are normal you can begin to bring up the subject of how you are doing it. There are some doctors that totally support this way of eating, as they have been reading the literature that they get monthly about diabetes and it's treatments.

Nancy K. on cholesterol

Just now

Now for fats. I know that many may be worried about heart disease and weight gain eating a lot of fats. Here's the good news the old thoughts of a low fat diet are false, it doesn't prevent heart disease-as long as it's good fats. Good fats include: coconut oil, avocado oil, olive oil, real butter, full fat cream cheese and sour cream, avocados, block cheese.

On warning: If you don't lower your carbohydrate intake to less than 50 grams daily for at least 1 week prior to increasing your good fats you are putting your long term health at risk. The combination of the two will drastically increase your triglyceride and cholesterol levels, and you can experience strokes and heart attacks.

Fats will become your body fuel. Fats in a meal will keep you feeling full as the foods we now choose to eat will not keep us satisfied for long periods of time. Fats do not increase your bs like proteins and carbohydrates do.

http://articles.mercola.com/…/…/05/28/cholesterol-heart.aspx

http://thelowcarbdiabetic.blogspot.co.uk/…/dietary-intake-o…

http://www.diabetesselfmanagement.com/…/fear-of-fat-a-fre…/…

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/…/I-wrong-feasting-FAT-says-The-…

http://www.eufic.org/…/Study-no-association-dietary-satura…/

http://www.mendosa.com/blog/?p=3637

HOW TO COUNT CARBOHYDRATES USING FOOD LABELS
This is a simple guide to counting carbohydrates. All diabetics should know how to do this, as it directly impacts your blood sugar.
...

First, take a look at the nutrition information label on any food product. The three main things to look at, for our purpose, is serving size, carbohydrates, and fiber. The number of carbohydrates are listed outright. Keep in mind that this is the number per serving, not for the entire package. This means if that can of green beans says 10 grams of carbohydrates, and there are 2 servings per can, then the entire can of beans has 20 grams of carbohydrates.
The next thing is the fiber. Fiber is listed because it slows down the body's absorption of carbohydrates, delaying them from being turned into sugar. Some fiber doesn't even get absorbed at all. It's important to note that the fiber count is already included in the total carb count on US labels. For those not in the US, you may need to add fiber back to the listed "total" to get the true total carbohydrate count.
There is another value listed under carbohydrates, called sugars. This number refers to the grams of added sugars used in the product. Sometimes it will also list sugar alcohols. Despite what you may have heard, sugar alcohols can still have a significant impact on our blood sugar as diabetics. This is why we don't blow them off. They are also included in the total carb count.

ADA and food giants

 Everyone, this woe is controversial with doctors, diabetic educators, and dieticians. The reason being they were given all their information by the ADA, which is supported by big pharmaceutical companies, and food industry giants such as Post and General Mills. If you look at my other post you will see much more recent research about how this is a very safe way of eating, even with the high fat intake. But the ADA refuses to acknowledge these facts. There are cancer centers, pediatric Type 1 centers, pediatric and adult neurological centers and clinics now using this way of eating for their clients. Carbohydrates have such an adverse effect on the human body it's incredible. T1D's for the first time are now having fewer highs and lows with this woe, getting caught up with their peers in their education, cancer cells are starved of their vital nutrient-carbs, neuro patients are having improvement in neurological function as well as fewer seizures on this woe. So as youself a few questions, do your own research. If you know that your diabetic team isn't going to be supportive then make a choice to just give less details about your woe or find a new team. This is your body, please get educated, and make decisions for yourself and don't just follow the advice of others blindly.

SUCCESS STORY

Elizabeth Pfiefer

For anyone new and questioning if a low carb way of eating will work for you, take a look: I am now fully insulin dependent, on a pump because of years of trying to eat ADA, taking sulfonylureas and ignoring my condition. Since finding Dr. Bernstein's plan and groups like this, and learning to test every food that goes in my mouth, this is a typical day. My neuropathy is reversing, my retinopathy has stopped progressing, my kidney function now tests normal, and my 3-year old foot ulcer has healed.
Diabetic for over 30 years, and my doctors are amazed that reversal of complications can occur - because they, like me, took for granted the idea that the progression of side effects and complications is simply what happens.
I am so blessed to have you guys on my side.

CARBS ARE A NON-ESSENTIAL NUTRIENT

N. Kasparek Carbs are a non-essential nutrient. All the carbs your body needs can come from fibrous veggies grown above the ground. The additional carbs will keep your bs higher than a non-diabetic, increase the potential of cellular damage/death with bs over 120 mg/dl, and will slowly increase your insulin resistance. You may not notice the increases in your insulin resistance for months or years, but it's happening. Then at some point you will notice that your bs are rising, despite lowering your total carb intake even further, needing higher doses of meds and more meds to try and stabilize your bs. At that time your pancreas will begin to totally fail as well.

D. Price: success story

Hi, cooking friends, just checking in and giving an update. I was diagnosed in August of last year by a doctor who did not care (not even a pamphlet, just a script for a $350 meter - as if). Anyway, my blood glucose was 278 (I didn't even know what that meant) and my A1C was 8.0. I got online, did a LOT of research every single day, read Dr. Bernstein's book, became a meter fanatic, counted calories AND carbs keeping my carbs below 25 a day and my calories below 1500, logged ...every single bite on myfitnesspal.
And I chose to not listen to all the people who tried to tell me to do differently. I followed research. I took up tai chi. I became stubborn. I became selfish. I refused to eat the "healthy" pecan pie at Thanksgiving. Just because it has "organic" everything doesn't make it healthy for me! Geesh, it was like being attacked by rabid dogs.
Went to the doctor today. I have lost 62 pounds. My A1C is now 5.3 down from 8.0. My glucose is 99. Technically, I don't qualify as a diabetic now. My glucose and A1C are within normal range without medication. I'm not going to change what I'm doing, I'm going to keep going. I'm not worried about the people who say no one can "cure" diabetes, and I'm not worried about the people who say I need to eat more carbs. No, thank you. This is a one woman show. I make my choices. I choose my life. I read about 20 books. The one that made sense for me and WORKED was Dr. Bernstein "Type 2 Diabetes". I still test about 10 times a day, because I like seeing how things are working. It's become a fun challenge. I am now into sauces. Sauces make food taste good. I'm trying to learn to make hollandase (sp?) sauce. I need some help, because no luck so far. If anyone knows how, please let me know what I'm doing wrong. I've got asparagus and eggs, and I'd love to serve them with that sauce. smile emoticon I'm off to drink my water.

c. kimball

There are some that are so focused on eating as few carbs as possible that they think cookies like the post above this one are okay. They also think all fats are equal and pay no attention to the fats that contribute to high cholesterol and high triglycerides. High triglycerides have more to do with heart disease and an unhealthy liver.

If you focus on eating carbs with lots of fiber, you will be getting the right carbs. Limiting your daily total carbs to about 100 grams will give you the opportunity to consume the 30-50 grams of fiber you need for a healthy gut.

If you focus on getting rid of any food in your diet that has the following words in the ingredients you will be good. "Hydrogenated", "partially hydrogenated" "EDTA", "TBHQ", "soybean oil, cottonseed oil, safflower oil, sunflower oil, canola oil, corn oil, or vegetable oil. All of these oils are responsible for lipid problems.

You also must avoid these words in the ingredient list. "high Fructose Corn Syrup", "Corn Syrup Solids", "Fructose", "Corn syrup". About 30% of these sugars are converted to bad cholesterol and require 50-100% more insulin to process so they raise blood sugar a lot.

If you must use sugar be sure it is organic cane sugar or raw honey or pure maple syrup. No imitations.

Aspartame is harmful to the lining of your intestines. Splenda is not stable above 200 degrees like was thought. Stevia is the safest artificial sweetener but is really a herb.

Extra virgin olive oil and organic unrefined Virgin coconut oil. Nuts, seeds, avocados, flax.

Diabetes control ultimately comes from your gut and your liver. If you don't eat to get your gut and liver healthy, LCHF eventually makes diabetes worse.

Sheila Gales After being on LCHF for 6 months my A1C went from 11.0 

c. kimball

 It will likely take a year before your doc finds the right med for you and dose. Part of that is that you will be encouraged to make lifestyle changes that will be changing your blood sugars too.

You have to become healthier. That requires that you stop eating already made foods aka processed foods. It requires that you start eating real food that does not have a bunch of words in an ingredient list. It requires you move your body aka exercise.

It will take you up to 6 months to get your diet right. You start with one meal at a time.

As a person with diabetes you do NOT process carbs well because you no longer have enough insulin and you don't have enough storage and you aren't active enough to burn what little you do process.

You have a sick gut from years of processed foods with little to no fiber and 80% of people with diabetes have some form of Fatty Liver disease from eating too much Trans Fat.

Eat better
Exercise
Cut carbs
Increase fiber
Stop eating bad fat
Eat more good Omega 3 fats.
Stop eating anything fried from any type of restaurant

c. kimball

About 30% of people with diabetes do not tolerate gluten from wheat, barley, rye or oats. 70% of people will tolerate small amounts of things like steel cut oats, oat bran, or quinoa, or Ezekiel sprouted bread that does not use any flour. By small amounts I'm talking about 1/4 cup or one slice.

You have to test your blood sugar to see how you tolerate it. The things like " whole wheat" means nothing. Quick or instant oatmeal is just empty calories. You can look for double fiber breads that may or may not work for you. 2 servings of whole grains is max per day. A serving is one slice of whole grain bread or 1/4 to 1/2 cup of steel cut oats or oat bran or quinoa (which is really a seed but acts like a grain). Avoid corn unless you know it is organic. That includes chips and tortillas and corn on cob and corn bread. All cornbread or baking mixes are full of Trans fats and those will only serve to make you
More insulin resistant

C. Kimball

Start one meal at a time. Rome wasn't built in a day and you are not going to magically transform your diet overnight either.

You've been hearing for a long time to eat more vegetables and less beef. Eat more fish.

Diabetes means that you do not have the ability to store excess carbs nor do you have the insulin to be able to use carbohydrates in anything but tiny amounts. Your body just can't do it.

We have learned so much in the last 2 years about diabetes. We know that it is NOT just about your Beta Cells, but is also about the health of your gut and the health of your liver. So, the bottom line is that you have not eaten good nutritious food for a while and it is now important that you start thinking about what goes into your body. Empty calories are not something you can afford any more.

You must do some type of exercise, even if all you can do at first is 5 minutes a day until you build up to 1 hour a day.

Eat more nutritious food
Eat food that has a lot of fiber
Eat good lean protein from meat, bird, fish, pork, eggs
Eat whole dairy preferably organic to avoid antibiotics and bovine growth hormone
Enjoy Extra Virgin Olive Oil, Virgin unrefined Coconut Oil
Eat more nuts like walnuts, almonds, pecans, pistachios
Eat more avocados and berries

Avoid any food that has "hydrogenated" or "partially hydrogenated" in the ingredient list as this is one of the reasons your liver is sick
Avoid any food with "high fructose corn syrup", corn syrup, fructose, or corn syrup solids in the ingredient list
Avoid any food with MSG, monosodium glutamate in the ingredients
Avoid any food that has soybean, cottonseed, canola, safflower, sunflower, corn, or vegetable oil in it
Avoid Crisco
Avoid any food that has "enriched" anywhere
Avoid all foods that are fried at any type of restaurant.

If you do this, you will be eating so much better and you will start to heal your body and make your body less inflamed and more insulin sensitive.

rhonda s.

Rhonda Sstand this. As type 2's we spent 10 to 15 years developing up our insulin resistance until we became diagnosed. Type 2's also have a heredity issue, but when and if that heredity kicks in, depends on your diet. As we eat certain carbs, our insulin resistance increases. Most type 2's make plenty of insulin in their own pancreas, but our cells become resistant and will not let the insulin do it's job. Insulin's job is to convey the sugars and starches, once broken down, to your cells to be used for your energy. Insulin is also our fat storage hormone. Every time we eat any carb, our pancreas will make more Insulin, through our Beta Cells. The body just keeps telling the pancreas to make more and more insulin, trying to clear the bloodstream of all the sugars. This happens over and over until our bloodstream is full and all this sugar makes us feel sluggish, destroys our nerve endings, causes inflammation in the whole body and more. When our blood sugars get high enough, doctors also order more Insulin in hopes of not overworking our Pancreas and hoping that massive doses of Insulin will finally push the sugar out of bloodstream and into cells. What also happens with all that massive amount of insulin is weight gain, because Insulin needs to desperately clear the bloodstream and finally does so by storing the sugar into fat cells. Remember it is also the fat storage hormone. If you eat very low carb, you will not have the pancreas being stimulated to push out insulin all the time. Your Pancreas will rest and not burn out all those valuable beta cells, that you have a lifetime limit of. You will not have the sugars building up in your bloodstream and also your insulin resistance will start going down and you will lose weight. Losing weight will be faster when you convert your whole body over to fat burning instead of carb burning. This is called Ketosis or a Ketogenic diet, once you get down to around 20 Net Carbs, and the body will use the fats you eat and the fats stored on your body, for all of it's body processes and energy needs. Carbohydrates are not essential to human body and is why we say only to get carbs found in non starchy fibrous veggies, because the fiber helps with digestion. Remember protein is essential, but more than the body can use, will get converted and burned just like sugar. Increasing fats will give you needed calories and fuel, once you stop eating carbs and will keep you satisfied and will get rid of the cravings. You must be very low carb to increase your fats. Low Carb, high fat is good, but carbs and fats together, are bad.. The whole goal to eating as a type 2 Diabetic is to understand what Insulin Resistance is. 

FATS AND CARBS DO NOT MIX WELL...Rhonda S.

Rhonda S. Hope everyone remembers that you must be on a very low carb strict diet to be drinking the bullet proof coffee and consuming lots of fats. Sure fats are filling without having carbs and will not usually raise blood sugars, and thats why we use them in a LCHF diet, but you must also be burning all those fats for your energy. If you eat carbohydrates and fat, it's a bad combination, as the fat will get stored while your body is burning the carbohydrates and you will gain weight. Your body will only burn all those fats when your carb levels get and stay low enough that your body switches from carb burning to a fat burning one. Usually to keep your body burning fats instead of carbs, you must be below 50 grams of carbs a day and preferably down around 20 per day.

NANCY K. PERSONAL RECOMMENDATIONS FOR DIABETICS

Nancy K.  personal recommendations for all, diabetic or not: 1. REsearch your disease(s). Not just from one source, but from many. No single research or body of literature is going to have all the information, or place the same emphasis on specific aspects. 2. Research all the medications you take. that means all the prescribed and over the counter medications. Again that means from reliable soruces such as webmd.com

or drugs.com.

 Both of the sites have consistently proven to give reliable information about supplements, prescribed medications, and over the counter medications. 3. Research any nutritional plan that you are on, or are considering. Look at the actual research done on it, looking for the most current available. Just realize that most research is about 5 years old before it is even published. 4. Look at alternative nutritional plans that fit within your lifestyle, your diseases, your medications that will promote you becoming healthier, reducing some of the medications you take, have a solid background of current research to support them, don't ask for money to learn the whole gamut of information about it. In some countries it can be challenging to maintain a specific nutritional plan due to economics, available foods, religious beliefs, etc. 5. Become your own personal expert on your body. By that I mean how you react to specific foods, medications, illness. 6. Begin to be more attentive to what your body is telling you. The subtle signs that your bs or blood pressure are too high or low, that your PCOS is beginning to flare up, that you may not be as hydrated as you should be, 6. Be willing to talk openly and empower yourself to tell your doctor or NP that you don't feel comfortable with not having all the knowledge and rationale for a medication, treatment, etc. and that until there is further discussion it goes no further. Just remember they are human, so doing so with aggression or a "bad attitude" will probably get you shut down and any relationship you have will be gone. This requires you use finesse, maturity, and a calm approach. Take your research articles with you, allow the doctor to have a copy to read so that they might be able to understand where you are coming from. A decent doctor is not threatened by having a well informed patient, but a poor one is.

SUCCESS STORY BY BLANCA ROBLES-LEANOS

Another success story!!**
On 12/4/15, I was diagnosed with T2D. My A1C that day was 11.9. The world came crumbling down on me. I lived in a complete blackout for weeks. I never felt so depressed in my life. I had frequent panic attacks and felt like my spirit had left my body already. I felt I was walking around in my shell. During that time, concluded that I could either fight this or let it knock me out cold. Having two small boys, the latter wasn't even an option.... I geared up and decided to fight! Having that intention, I searched for a support group that could give me some hope. I searched on FB and this group was the first to come up and I immediately joined. I was encouraged to do LCHF. Honestly, I never heard of this woe before. I did my research and was convinced this would be my ammunition against diabetes. I immediately started LCHF woe and never, ever cheated. Not even once! I ate with my meter all day long. Testing myself 4-6 times per day.

Fast forward, three months later. Today I received my new A1C report from the bloodwork done on 3/7/16. My result is 5.0!!!!! WHAT!!!!!????!!!!! I immediately started crying. I can't believe it! I asked them to double check and make sure they are looking at MY results! They chuckled and said "they are YOUR results!". I made it to the 5% club everyone!!! I feel like I'm being born again!
I feel extremely blessed to have found this group and all the admins who have time and time again repeated themselves on LCHF. THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH! Thank you for sharing your wisdom! It goes a long way for some of us who listen and apply to the advice given! THANK YOU!!!
LCHF is without a doubt the way to go!

from type 2 diabetes support group global network

POST REGARDING FATS BY RHONDA L.

 There are fats in meats, nuts, eggs, avocados. You can use things like cheese, cream cheese, heavy whipping cream, coconut oils, butter etc. Natural fats in anything. Fat will keep you full and take away all your cravings for carbohydrates. Out of the 3 nutrients, (Fats, carbs and proteins) only fats and proteins are essential for the body. Carbohydrates are not needed for fuel as your body can use fats for fuel and will, if you keep your Carb levels low enough. Many of us stay at 20 or below in Net carbs to keep our bodies in a fat burning state. The carbs you do consume should come from non- starchy vegetables that contain lots of fiber to help you with bathroom task. Eat leafy green veggies daily.

NANCY K

This is a great post written by Nancy Kasperek, Type 2 Diabetes Weight loss Support Group
For those here trying to lose weight, and who isn't? If your dietician or doctor recommended 30-45 grams of carbohydrates per meal and 10-20 grams for 1-2 snacks daily you will never lose weight. Those recommendations come from the ADA, who has no desire for you to have steady bs in a normal range of 70-99. Why? Because their primary sources of funding come from big pharmaceutical companies. So why bite the hand that feeds you? Companies such as General Mills, Post, etc. do nothing as well. They have influenced every sector of the government, and those bodies which determine the food pyramid and what food types should have the greatest emphasis based on research that THEY have paid for. Your doctors get no education in nutrition during their training. PA's, nurses, and dieticians get education based upon the ADA recommendations period. But as a T2D you have insulin resistance. How you acquired insulin resistance is of no matter, it's the fact that you have insulin resistance. Exposing your body to too may carbohydrates will gradually increase your insulin resistance, prohibit you from losing weight, and increase the likelihood that your medication doses will have to be increased over time, and add additional medications to try and control your bs levels. Those many carbohydrates are stressing your pancreas as well, and eventually with a lot of stress it will begin to fail. Complex carbohydrates, such as grains and cereals, can cause your bs spike to be prolonged as much as 6 hours. So if you claim that they don't spike you, do you test every hour past the 2 hour mark to ensure that? So what is a T2D to do? Smile when you get counseling that says to have that many carbohydrates daily and significantly lower your carbohydrate intake to much less than 50 grams total per day, and even lower if you possibly can. But to lose weight you must also add another component that many of us don't want to hear, or talk about-exercise. Exercise is important for many reasons. 1. It will temporarily lower your insulin resistance and make your circulating bs more available for the muscles to use, until those stores in the liver are depleted. At that point if you have increased your good fat consumption your body will begin to utilize those for energy. 2. It increases your heart rate, which helps with your overall cardiovascular health. 3. It will help you build muscle and burn some of your extra fat. 4. First you will notice a body shape change, and a change in your measurements long BEFORE you will see a change in your weight. But exercise and lowering your carbohydrate intake will not be enough if you allow spikes above 140, or 20 points higher than your premeal levels at 2 hours. So essentially you have two choices: follow the ADA woe because you choose to consume the carbohydrates that insulin resistance will make you crave. Thus increasing the likelihood of more meds, and all the complications of diabetes. 2. Choose a much lower carbohydrate way of life. thus stabilizing and normalizing your bs, slowing the rate of any complications to a snail's pace. Having a healthier body, plenty of energy, losing weight, and normalizing your lab results. It's your personal choice. But honestly, I for one, choose number 2 for the entire family and myself. I am losing weight, I have plenty of very wonderful tasting foods to choose from. I have expanded the palate of the entire family into new foods that they woud have never tried before this. We are making better choices in foods, as well as exercising together, which for me increases family bonding and quality time together.

POST FROM NANCY K.

, diabetes can not be cured and it will not just go away with medication. To control diabetes so that you can come off meds (as long as you continue this way of life is honestly your only option. No diet is going to cure it, only control it. You have several options-some of which are not going to be healthy for you in the long term. 1. Follow the ADA nutritional ideas with too many carbs per meal, take your meds, get your med doses increased, add more meds to your day, experience many complications from diabetes. 2. Follow a much lower carb intake daily, watch your bs carefully to keep them in the 100-70 range, watch your bs fall to normal range, watch your doctor reduce your med doses or stop them, slow the potential of complications to a snails pace and live a much less complicated life.

GEO ZAUN'S STORY

This coming may will be my 12th year as a diagnosed diabetic and I diagnosed myself, I don't think my doc would have caught it if I had not asked for the tests to be run as I was always very healthy. So at my diagnosis my HBA1C was around 13 don't rightly remember. I was send home knowing I would try to bring it down according to the dietitians advice. Well I was able for 5 more year to keep it the HBA1C right around 6.0 and was then placed on metformin becazuse my HBA1C had risen above 6.3. So now I was on metformin 500mg a day, and over the next 3 years that rose to 2000mg metformin and then onto Lantus (insulin) because my HBA1C was rising above 7.2. Initially it was 5 units a day, however it didn't take but 2 years to be at 40 units a day. (This was as late as 21 months ago). Now in May 2 years ago we went to Germany, knowing that we were going to walk a ton every day. There were days when I walked at least 11 miles a day, and probably no day where I walked less tha 7 miles a day....Now this was on a continual basis for 6 weeks. During that time period, not changing eating habits I was only able to decrease my Insulin injections from 40 units a day to 20 units a day....this decrease happened within the 1st 14 days, and then leveld off. This taught me 2 things. A.....that my dietician was full of proverbial crap and B.......exercise alone had only a minimal impact on my blood sugars. Then in August of 2014 I dicovered this group and with the help of a lot of people here and LCHF I was off of all meds by Nov. 25th of 2014. Now keep in mind, I was exercising like a energy bunny, 3-4 hours every day. I was determined to get off of the meds. My doc allowed me to gradually remove the meds as my daily numbers fell. Insulin reductions happened almost weekly by 5 units, and metformin was withdrawn in 250mg lots. Well now that brings us to Nov 25th of 2014. Fast forward to February 2015. By this time I had no more residual metformin in my system, my HBA1C remained at 6.1 and I changed my exercise routine to 1 hour a day. At this point my daytime numbers were always in very good range as were my nightite numbers however my morning numbers after I got up left a lot to be desired. I'd get up checked my sugars which ran anywhere from 65 to 90 which is excellent. Now 15 minutes after I got before breakfast I would get readings of 160-170-180, that's double of my waking numbers. At this point I experimented but nothing I would do would work. Lets say the phrase I'll use for this is called Delayed Dawn Phenom, as my liver did it's dumping not before I got up but afterwards. Now by Nov. 2015 my HBA1C was on the rise again to 6.3 and I was ready to ask my doc to put me back on Metformin. Knowing that I was gonna have my HBA1C checked again for a specialist in 2 month time, we delayed the metformin restart. During this time period with the help of Pat and Martin we tried different things, which in the end did put me on the right track. On February 12th of this year my HBA1C was back down to 5.8 and falling. Since the 12th my morning numbers have stayed in range and today they have not risen above 90 since waking. Slowly but surely I've been able to work on resistance at the same time that I've been able to reset the timing of my liver. The conundrum that threw me off of the rails in the first place is the fact that I was during this time period always ketogenic according to my blood keto count. Looking back on that, I have to thank my daily exercises. I posted this to let you all know that for me to work out all of the kinks of my particular diabetes took almost 2 years and has not been an easy task. I encourage all of you with doubts to stick with LCHF My blood panels other than my HBA1C roller coasting have been perfect since Nov.2014.