Four and a half weeks on the Newcastle Diet

Friday the 13th of September

Not weighed myself since Monday, I am trying to stick to the same time and day each week to get a better picture.

I have continued with limited testing but I have done the odd spot tests mostly a couple of hours after food. The vast majority have been 5.6 to 5.8mmol/L with one 6.8mmol/L, which was a bit of a surprise and a 4.6mmol/L after swimming which again I am happy with.

A trip to the GP on Wednesday to update him on what I was doing. I half expected a rollicking. Far from it very supportive, he had heard of the Newcastle study and said it was right after being reminded of the vague details of it. Very pleased that I was having a crack at fixing myself and wishes more people would. He does have patients who have lost weight in the past and have "cured" their type 2 diabetes.

His words "I bet at the end of this you will have cured your diabetes, it will probably bite you back in 15 years or so though.".

So off I go home uplifted that I have my GP's support. I got a prescription for some more test strips ( I was about to run out and was not that bothered for a couple of weeks as my results are more than acceptable). New instructions though. Once or twice a week to test 2 hours after each meal. Not bothered about fasting results as they are now less relevant. Keep on the Metformin it won't do any harm. I have a form already for blood tests in 4 weeks and then back to see him for a review and see what's next.

Cravings, give a steak, a whole chicken, a freshly baked loaf of bread..............  I don't want to see another freaking vegetable!

Strangely for someone who in the past was a beer monster, I can't say I fancy a beer at all. My beer gut is none existent.

The end of Week Four on the Newcastle Diet

Monday the Ninth of September 

Fasting blood sugars this morning were a little higher than of late at 6.3mmol/L. I have had nothing above 6 fasting all week till this one. It seems that fasting blood glucose levels are between 5.8mmol/L and 6.00 mmol/L pretty much every day, dropping to the mid 5's a couple of hours after breakfast.

Yesterday 

Waking/Fasting 6.00mmol/L

After breakfast 5.2mmol/L

Before lunch/ 5.7mmol/L

2 hours after lunch 5.7mmol/L

Before my evening  meal 5.8mmol/L

2 hours after  5.7mmol/L

bedtime was 5.8mmol/L

I missed my morning dose of metformin on Saturday. Normally I would have just taken it with lunch but as I tested before lunch and was still 5.7mmol/L I just missed it out.

Saturday was a tad unusual as I went and did a 5km Parkrun in Huddersfield. 29 minutes and 10 seconds with no prep apart from swimming and walking so just generaly fit. Ok probably about 10 minutes slower that I would have done it 30 years ago but then I was running marathons and training for running. It was an enjoyable change from swimming but I am not sure I would make it a regular thing. Maybe........... it would be nice to knock the time down a bit.


The weigh in!

A 5lb loss this week bringing me to 11stone 5lbs and a BMI of 24.1. I have little faith in BMI as an instrument of healthy weight but at least it is uncomplicated.

So halfway there. Will my diabetes be cured by the end of it? At what point do I reduce the medication to see? How much will it cost me in new clothes?

I have been a tad surprised by a few peoples attitude of they don't want to be regarded as diabetes free as they would loose the free prescriptions.............

So the question I ask myself every time I see  a bacon butty. Is it worth it?

Yes, if I can at the end of it not have to worry quite so much about what I eat. Reduce the risk of going blind or loosing kidneys or limbs. I think I have already reduced the heart attack risk.

I am not that bothered about a long life but to be healthy enough to do the things I want to do is a better goal for me.

Newcastle Diet update

Three and a half weeks in and no real problems so far.

Not checking blood sugars much will be doing a full day profile in the next few dates. No problems with energy levels or feeling cold or constipated.

Quick blood pressure check this evening and a massive improvement.

I could murder a sarnie

3 Weeks of the Newcastle Diet finished!

Well nearly as I did have three cheating days ....


No cheating since though.

Saturday the 31st of August 

6.6mmol/L when I woke up, a little higher than I expected but I I have always had the odd one that sticks a finger up. It was 5.6mmol/L at 11.30 the night before.

Went for a swim did just over a mile in 45 minutes and it dropped down to 5.7mmol/L.

Two hours after breakfast I was down to 4.6mmol/L.

Then later we went for a walk about 3.5 miles over rough ground, I should have eaten first as I did get a bit dizzy when I stood up too quick. I was reet after a bite of my daughters sandwich though ( I did knock half a shake of later to compensate).

Sunday 1st of September

I only tested two hours after eating breakfast today and it was 5.7mmol/L

A cut back on the exercise today. A 2.5 mile walk.

I felt terribly cold after the walk and at first i though it was just me. It had been cold and windy up on the moors. I looked around and realised the rest of the household was wrapped up not just me. Someone on facebook even said they had put the heating on... way too early in the year for that :)

I have to say that I did feel hungry all day .

Monday 2nd of September

The weigh in 11 stone 10lbs, A full stone lost. 

Waking blood glucose was 6.0 mmol/L

Today is a mostly exercise free day. I was tempted to go and swim this morning and then walk on to work but I do try and keep Mondays exercise free to give my body a recovery. 

Back to the Newcastle Diet

Well last weekend I fell of the wagon... A couple of cooked breakfasts and a KFC so it was almost back to the drawing board on Tuesday.

A couple of bits of good news in that though. No weight gain and even after that my fasting blood glucose was 6.3mmol/L

So back to a bit of testing.

Thursday the 29th

Fasting was 5.8, up to 6.6 after exercise and down to 4.9mmol/L two hours after breakfast.

Today, Friday the 30th of August

Fasting was 5.9 down to 5.5mmol/L two hours after eating.

5.3mmol/L before my evening meal.


No feeling cold or any other problems really

Weigh in on Monday which should be interesting. I started at 12st 10lb and know i have already dipped under 12stone.

Newcastle Diet Day 10

Wednesday 21st of August

A good swim this morning with an extra 50m thrown in, still within 30 minutes so it would appear the energy levels are still fine. Having said that I had a very lazy day otherwise. Mostly consisting of keeping out of the way and not listening to the crazy furniture moving plans.

I will wait till version 8 at least before I move anything.


Blood glucose, I am still trying to be good and not test too often. I am even considering having a few days of testing. I am not on any medication that will make me go hypoglycaemic and the highest in the last 7 days was a one off 7.2mmol.

6.2mmo/L on rising and a 4.6mmol/L two hours after breakfast.

4.6mmol/L not seen one of those since I was diagnosed.

Newcastle Diet day 9

Tuesday 20th of August

Not a lot to report really.

Apart from really bad wind for the last day. Still no constipation or feeling cold. No weakness or unusual things happening at all.

Food wise pretty much the same.

Blood glucose level was 5.6mmol/L in the morning and was pretty much all day.

Still plenty of energy for swimming.

Grumbles hhm a certain lack of support about being two thin. Great I try to get sorted then a kick in the bollocks and yah wonder why i was ratty last night.

Day 8 the weigh in!

Monday the 19th of August

The eighth day of this Newcastle Diet and time to hit the scales.

8lb in a week, I think maybe I need to add a few calories my lass thought I would have lost more as she says the weight loss is very obvious. 

I used the SD code free meter today rather than the Accu Check Aviva. I find the SD reads high compared with the Aviva so probably under 6 on the Aviva

6.6mmol/L on rising and 6.4mmol/L two hours after breakfast even though I didn't take my Metformin until after lunch today.

6.6mmol/L this evening 

Still no problems with coldness, constipation or tiredness and the hunger was much less today.

Exercise today was zero. Mondays is generally exercise free as I like at least one day a week to let my body recover.

Food wise I decided to make a curry this evening. Mushrooms, cauliflower, peppers, celery spring onions  and spices. Very tasty despite not having any added fat to carry the flavours.

Newcastle Diet Day 7

Sunday 18th of August

Still taking the two Metformin a day at this point.

I did well only testing twice today

6.3mmol/L on rising and 5.5mmol/L at bedtime

I still feel fine, no constipation, no unusual tiredness and decidedly not feeling cold at all.

Exercise wise a couple of hilly miles walking and a lazy swim about 40 minutes worth then a mile or so walking with the dogs.

Weight check tomorrow, I think I may be disappearing.

Our lass reckons my mood is fine with it as well and I have been less drowsy.

Newcastle diet day 6

Saturday 17th of August

Still no real problems apart from feeling hungry in the evening.

No headaches no feeling hungry and no constipation. No real problems with tiredness apart from disturbed sleep getting up three or four times a night with  my son.

I did my usual morning swim. Not physically that hard but can be a tad boring some days.  A couple of miles walking as well so not exactly drained. 

The fluid intake is difficult it would be easy with beer.

Less testing today 6.5 mmol/L on rising this morning.  5.7mmol/L one hour after my evening meal.

Not the lowest figures of the week but on the whole quite good.

I think it helps to be slightly obsessive if you're going to try this diet. I haven't been tempted by chocolate or even Magnums. The smell of fresh bread was tempting though.

I think the weight loss will be interesting.

Newcastle Diet Day 5

Friday the 15th of August 

Waking blood Glucose was 5.7mmol/L I never normally get this low of a reading in the morning.

After my usual swim (1km breaststroke in 30mins) it was 5.5mmol/L

I tested again two hours after lunch and it was 5.4mmol/L

I tested for the 4th and last time of the day a hour after supper and it was 5.7mmol/L

I have continued with my normal medication regime of 500mg of Metformin after breakfast and also after my evening meal.

No headaches, no feeling cold and no constipation.

I did feel very hungry this evening, going to get my sons take away probably didn't help

The first day I have found it hard really but with these results so far I am going to keep at it.

The diet continues

Day 4, 15th of August.

Everything seems to be going quite well really, no major problems with feeling hungry or unwell from the diet.

So some figures

Waking Blood glucose was 6.5 mmol/L very rare for me

2 hours after breakfast and 500 mg of Metformin it was 5.7 mmol/L

2 hours post lunch was 6.0 mmol/L

After swimming (1 km breaststroke 30 mins) it was 5.1 mmol/L this was before my evening dose of Metformin.

No more testing today. I wasn't going to test as much as I did but the figures grabbed my attention.

I don't normally get figures as low as these all day

I'm impressed so far and improving figures like these are a good motivation to keep at it.

No problems with feeling cold or constipated as others have reported so far but it is early days.

I have to say that the prospect of dropping nearly two stone is a bit daunting, there can't be two stome of fat on me can there?

Days 1 to 3 of the Newcastle Diet

The original study was done using three Optifast meal replacement shakes and 250g of vegetables a day totaling 800 calories a day. After a lot of reading I realised that this was more than likely to give an easier way to control the calorie intake for the study and to ensure that the participants had adequate intakes of vitamins and minerals.

There was no way I would succeed this way so I have worked a diet out giving me 800 calories a day that I can live with. Mostly vegetables. I also can't live without a bit of semi skimmed milk in my brew.

The fun part is drinking 2 to 3 liters of water a day when you really don't drink the stuff.

I am doing some blood glucose measuring but not before and after each meal. I am going to try and do a day each week with plenty of measuring

Day 1 Monday the 12th of August 2013

Weight is 12' 10lb giving a BMI of around 27.

Blood glucose 8.5mmol/L waking

An hour later after 1km breaststroke in 30 minutes was 9.mmol/L

Breakfast was around 200 kcal  (500mg Metformin)

Prior to my 200 kcal lunch it was 5.7mmol/L

Prior to my evening meal it was 5.9 mmol/L

Evening meal for around 200 kcal (500mg Metformin)

Two hours later 7.0 mmol/L

200 kcal supper

Two hours later (bedtime) 6.7mmol/L

A little hungry going to bed but not enough to stop me sleeping

Day 2 Tuesday the 13th of August

Waking blood glucose 7.2mmol/L

No swim and little exercise today

Same meal  and medication routine as the day before

Pre lunch blood glucose was 5.8mmol

Pre evening meal blood glucose was 7.4 mmol. Metformin taken after evening meal

Blood glucose at Bedtime 6.9mmol

A stressful day not due to the diet but not too hungry and for those who want to know the bowels are fine ;)


Day Three Wednesday the 14th of August

Blood glucose 7.7mmol/L on rising

An hour later after 1km breaststroke in 30 minutes was 8.0 mmol/L

Before evening meal my blood glucose was 6.5 mmol/L

Feeling fine and exercise was no more of a challenge than normal

Not feeling hungry or tired and thanks for asking the bowels are fine :)

The Newcastle Diet

The Newcastle Diet

I was very very sceptical when I first read about the Newcastle Diet. A crash diet did not seem to be the way forward but the results grabbed my attention. It seemed drastic and the chances of sticking with it seemed slim.

But it was there nagging away at me. 11 people in what looked like a well planned study had started the diet a few had dropped out before the eight weeks. The flip side 7 people had completed the study and were medication free and their blood glucose levels were within the none diabetic range.

The challenge is pretty formidable, loose about a 1/6 of your body weight in 8 weeks and live for this 8 weeks on 800 kcal a day. For a man who is reasonably active I would expect to maintain my weight on 2500 kcal a day. A big ask for anyone. I like food!

If you want to know more about the Newcastle diet please Click Here

So where am I at?

I get lots of exercise. I swim 1 km breaststroke in 30 mins most days. I eat healthily most of the time and do a fair bit of walking  and although I haven't done the three peaks yet I have had a wander up Ben Nevis the first time after a 30 year break.

I am no a statin which seems to suit me and the Metformin 500mg twice daily. Although I am happy that my blood glucose levels are at present not doing me too much damage the future can potentially have me going blind, my toes dropping off etc. If I look after myself the risks are reduced but still higher that I would like.

That Newcastle diet keeps nagging at me and Richard Doughetys article in the Guardian gave me a final push. This was someone who had tried it who was not on the study and he had normal blood glucose range after only 11 days and a year on was still in the winners seat. You can read his article Here

Nothing too loose but a lot of weight and potentially the gain of not having to take the pills or at least not so many. At least a move away from the situation 3 years ago when my GP put it quite simply its not if you will have an heart attack its only when. It took some time to make a difference but it has.

Part three will be the tale of the first three days, not very interesting for those not interested in trying this but possibly for those who will give it a crack.

Diabetes the story so far...

Just over 12 months ago I was diagnosed with Type 2 Diabetes.

I had symptoms for quite some time, peeing every 5 minutes day and night. A raging thirst, I must have been drinking about 2 pints an hour, mostly the wrong things coke, tea or coffee with two sugars. Iced water as well to try and quell the thirst, it didn't work. I was getting cuts and infections that were not healing as quickly as they should. The final straw was the blurred vision. There was another symptom that I didn't twig at the time, unexpected weight loss.

There was a particular reason why I hadn't spotted this even though I had lost 3 1/2 stone. I was on a diet and getting plenty of exercise. I was planning to do the national three peaks.

6 months before I was 16 1/2 stone and at 5' 8" that gave me a BMI of about 35, otherwise know as obese. Anyway at that point I was smoking like a chimney and out of breath on even the slightest incline when someone suggested doing the national three peaks. The highest in Scotland, England and Wales in 24 hours. It appealed so of I went to get my lard gone. After a few months I decided to bin the smoking as well. Off to the stop smoking course, Champix and a bit of will power and on the 23 of April 2013 I quit smoking.


The before picture

The After Picture (Ta Andy Blakey)

Time to go and see the GP........

I had been on Simvastatin for raised Cholesterol until about six months before when I decided to ditch it because of the side effects (muscle pain and weakness, not what you want doing the three peaks).

I had lost weight (down to 13 stone giving a BMI of about 27.5) and stopped smoking so I went to my GP to confess to stopping taking and to see if I needed to consider taking another type of statin.

We had a long chat and during our conversation I dropped the other symptoms on the table. So it was pretty obvious to me before the Dr. said anything what was going to be happening and what the likely outcome was going to be. So off with a handful of forms for blood tests and pee pot.

So on the Monday I walked down to the hospital for the vampire attack. Then walk to work a total walk of 7.5 miles.

At 6.30 that evening I got the phone call "Your cholesterol isn't too bad but your diabetic big time", not too much of a shock but still. There was a prescription waiting at reception and I had an appointment to see her in a fortnight. So I started on 500mg of Metformin and to increase to 1000mg in a week if I didn't have too many problems with them.

So there we were Hbac1 of 14.9% the normal none diabetic range is between 4% and 5.9%.

I had a couple of appointments with my regular GP plus the podiatrist, dietitian (WASTE OF SKIN in my opinion) and the optician for various other checks all of which were ok.  I was then passed on to another GP in the practice who specialised in diabetes.

Another set of blood and urine tests and after 3 months I had a Hbac1 of 6.9% well on its way to being right.

After 11 months I was at 5.9%, the top end of the none diabetic range.

This brings us to today and what to do next