Keto Conclusion Update

So...3 month diabetes results are in..and....

It’s time for an update on how things have been since my last blog after seemingly developing Diabetes during a Ketosis diet in Jan/Feb. I had to wait for 3 months to pass to go back to the doctors to have another Hba1c test to see what my blood sugars have been by average over the last 3 months.

I have been religiously eating clean, no sugar, low carbs and very green and veggie diet, which I have enjoyed. Very close or pretty much the paleo diet. Nice portions of chicken, steak with mounds of vegetables. Lots of good fats. Lush. And lost 2 kilos in the last 3 months. Now sitting at about 68kgs. (Although I did partake in a chocolate egg at Easter!)

All the feelings I had during the Keto diet such as my tired eyes, permanent headache, irritability, palpitations, lethargic and anxiety, all gone and back to myself.

So, what was the results? See below -
 
18th April 2018
GLYCOSYLATED HAEMOGLOBIN Hb1Ac

Haemoglobin A1c level 5.4 % [4.0 - 5.9]
Haemoglobin A1c level - IFCC standardised 36 mmol/mol [20.0 - 41.0]

FASTED BLOOD SUGARS
Plasma fasting glucose level 4.5 mmol/L
 
The average of the last 3 months shows a low good healthy level of blood sugars? Indicating I never had developed Diabetes. And my fasted blood sugar test done by the doctor was 4.5 mmol/l! An excellent level!?

It would seem, I never had diabetes. This fasted blood sugar test was the only one done by the doctor. The other readings were all done by my own machine. Indicating a fault on the machine. No one thought to question my machine. Including me. Marios the first doctor did ask if the machine had been calibrated, as he found the results quite bizarre knowing my level of health. I checked online and it said the model of machine I had didn’t need calibration? So all fine right? WRONG!
 
So, I do feel elated. I have no diabetes. However at the same time frustrated. That I had gone through months of worry, thinking what it may be something else more serious that has triggered it, as it is very unusual in a fit and healthy person to develop this. And frustrated on the realisation that no one had thought to test my blood sugars nor had I asked them to, just trusted my results.

I also feel bad for reporting and blaming it on the Keto diet, leading you all up the garden path that Keto had done this to me. So I apologise for this to you all. And I am going to review my conclusion below. 

Although I have to say, most of the points below are still valid. See my additional comments added to my original conclusions below, written in green -
 
Conclusion

Pros - 

• Proved that a balance of saturated and unsaturated fats are good to have in your diet, and much more than most people tend to think. My skin immediately improved, my dry scalp disappeared, I got the best all clear from my hygienist and dentist during this diet too, and I know fats help in this area too. I learn't and discovered more about why some oils are better than others and have a better knowledge on more oils rather than an educated guess. 100% still agree
• I did feel less hungry. But wait...I wouldn't say I was less hungry, but more unlikely to resist temptation. I felt I simply couldn't have anything off the radar, as it would put me back to square one. A big deterrent for me. I did regularly feel hungry, but handled it better. As it was a simple 'no can do, and that's that' 100% still agree
• I finally withdrew from bad sweeteners! I had been wanting to do this for quite some time, and this gave me the reason to start, and I definitely will continue with the healthier options. Stevia in my cooking is good, you don't get the bitter taste that you get with it in tea/coffee, and Erythritol in hot drinks, just tastes like sugar. So no reason to go back. I will also use real good sugars like honey/manuka honey and Agave when I can eat simple sugars again. You can't beat the real thing. 100% still agree and am still continuing with this, however I have changed to Xylitol rather than Erythritol. You have to use a lot of Erythritol to get the sweetness required, which can cost a lot. I found on trying Xylitol, you used less, the same as sugar, and it did taste a little nicer, and was more cost effective.
• With regards to going to the loo, it did seem to help a bit...even if sporadically with my number 2's. But that I don't put down to Keto, I put down to the large quantities of fats working as a lubricant...if you know what I mean! Another reason to keep them regular...and me regular! 100% still agree
• I will never to attempt to make Vegan/Keto 'Rye' Rolls again...lol! 100% still agree!
• I've slept really well, I am always a good sleeper, and I thought the lack of carbs would have an impact, but it didn't. Probably because I was eating enough to make me rest, and not under eating too much. I still sleep well, in fact it got even better on the Paleo/Diabetic diet I have been following, with no night eating and hunger seems much easier to handle. I think this it low carbs, no sugars (so no spikes) and a consistent good balanced healthy diet. I'm eating less meals now, 4-5 a day, with slightly larger portions, which also means I'm used to larger gaps between eating. So no more night hungers.
• I finally cooked with Tofu, and it's staying in my diet as a protein supplement. As I still plan to stay away from sweeteners, that will also include all Protein powders, pre-workouts and all that jazz. So tofu will be added to shakes to bump up my proteins, along with good old fashioned egg whites. Well that didn't last long...! I actually just have a veg shake with a banana and sweetners to sweeten it up if required. I have more than enough protein in my diet, so haven't been adding extra into my veg shake. 
• Lime and Coconut Cauliflower Rice and Cauliflower Mash is the nuts! Two large cauliflower heads bought today in my shop. These recipes are keepers! 100% still agree!
• Do I look different after 4 weeks of dieting? Well yes, after all, I have been dieting for 4 weeks. Did I get better results than say carb cycling, or back loading? No, not really. No better or no worse. But did lose muscle quicker. 100% still agree!

Cons - 

• The Ketogenic Diet made me (temporarily I hope) diabetic. And with all the diabetic symptoms. What more can I say. How can it be good for you? This living without carbs? And feeling this rough? WRONG! No it didn't make me diabetic, just a faulty machine. So the feeling rough was the Keto diet itself. As I did feel better quite quickly within a week of being off it. 
• It's so restrictive. Life is mean't to be enjoyed. Why punish yourself but cutting out all the things you enjoy? A little bit of what you fancy, is definitely the order of the day. I love fruit, a large variation of veg, my baileys at Christmas, my cider in the sun, chocolate hobnobs and coffee with my Mum and my occasional flap jack at the gym. These simple sugars make me happy. 100% still agree! And thank goodness these can all be back on the list again.
• Did I lose any extra body fat after 4 weeks of dieting, as is claimed on the Keto diet? Not any more than any other diet I have done. I did consistently lose muscle each week. More so than body fat. This is not great for a bodybuilder. I have in the past seen bodybuilders do this diet as prep and visually lose a shed load of muscle as well as fat. I suspected over dieting, but it looks like this diet assisted in the muscle loss too. And it has confirmed my opinion that the Keto diet isn't a full prep diet. Some people use it as a last minute fix when fat isn't shifting..but I don't see fat moving any more faster that say carb cycling or back loading diets. Patience is a virtue. Doing a long enough diet to lose all the fat is the better option. 100% still agree. 
• Cutting back so dramatically on carbs, and eating very low proteins is essentially purposefully stopping your pancreas from producing the hormone insulin. Insulin basically opens up the doors for glucose, Creatine and amino acids produced from the carbs/proteins you eat, carrying it through fibers to enter your muscles. So the production of insulin is an extremely important for your body. So, why would you want a diet that stops this? That actually encourages your pancreas to stop producing this hormone? Is fat burning that much more important...that you try and shut down the job of one of your body's organs? The focus on the Keto diet has always been fat burning. How if the brain is fueled on Ketone's, then it is forced to live off of fat stores. But in exchange, it stops insulin being produced. But it would seem that that bit isn't so important, as the words 'fat burning' sells a diet. Another need for insulin is, when it delivers the Amino acids to the muscle cells, it instigates an increase in protein synthesis, which is the building of muscle out of the amino acids that are entering the muscle cells. So as well as delivering the fuel to the muscle, insulin also decreases muscle breakdown, which further enhances muscle growth. So why on earth would any bodybuilder want to do the Keto diet? Or anyone, in my humble opinion? 100% still agree. Apart from the the last line. I do know a few bodybuilders who do think the keto is good for burning body fat. It may well be that it works better for some than others. But it does dramatically reduce insulin production. Which is key for results in muscle growth and maintenance. So it may work well for some with fat loss, but do you want to lose lots of all that hard earned muscle too? 
• So all the feelings I had during the Keto diet such as my tired eyes, permanent headache, irritability, palpitations, lethargic and anxiety, were due to the diet. So I was glad to stop to get to back to feeling myself again. 
  
• Another thing I found was I rapidly gained fat the first 3 weeks coming out of the keto diet, even on my very healthy post-diet. I went from 22% to 27% very quickly, and it's been tough shifting it. The weight is coming down slowly and the fat is slow to go. I think the change from living off ketones for a period of time to back to glycogen made my body grab hold and store fat as a retaliation. But I think it has now normalised. 3 months later!

 So, there we have it. Again I am sorry for reporting I had developed diabetes during Keto, this was a genuine mistake. A mistake I am actually happy about, as I am free from the diabetes cloud, but not happy that I had assumed it to be the keto. Apologies again to all.

I have enjoyed this blog and following the process, and it's been great for me for introducing me to new foods and recipes. I made a fabulous Butternut Squash Dhansak for my vegetarian Step Sister Nikki last night, which was a corker. I will be adding this soon as I'll take some pictures next time I make it.

I hope you are all keeping well, and training hard and eating clean. 

All the best, catch up soon!

Terri