The Fat Man

The Fat Man Shocketh

Wednesday, November 25th 2020 was the day my outlook on life changed, mostly in a positive way as it turns out.

Disclaimer

Before I go into more detail as to how and why, I want to ensure that you're aware I'm not a medical professional. All of my experiences are purely personal and subjective. This blog is not intended to impart advice but to tell a story. Should you relate to any of what I'm about to write and need further advice, always make sure to consult a medical professional.

With that being said, here's what I'd like to share...

Where Did It All Begin?

I'm currently quite a big guy, though not in the Greek Adonis kind of way. As a software engineer, working for a company that involves over a two-hour commute (pre-Covid19) each day, coupled with a sedentary job, I was not the fittest of people. I'd always put my job before my health and, as I progressed up the engineering grades, time for lunchtime walks grew harder to find. I was normally so tired upon arriving home that my motivation for anything approaching the requisite level of exercise in the evenings simply dissipated. I had essentially gone from a gym-bunny in my youth to a (substantially) overweight, middle-aged man.

For a couple of months prior to that day in late-November I had experienced a minor, though uncomfortable, medical issue that was slightly too embarrassing to consult a doctor about. Some basic, online research seemed to suggest that one of the causes might be an elevated blood-glucose level so, as my mother has type-2 diabetes and owns a blood glucose meter, the next day, November 25th, I took the opportunity to check mine. The shocking result of 19.9 mmol/L  turned out to be the catalyst to begin mending my ways (the recommended range 90 minutes after eating should be under 7.8 for non-diabetics. Source).

The following day I arranged a telephone conversation with a doctor from my local surgery. I'd been taking copious readings of my blood sugar and offered this information to the doctor who decided that I needed to go to our local hospital for a blood test. This was primarily to check the average sugar content of my blood over the previous few months (which I would later come to find out is referred to as a 'HbA1c' level), but also to check for other indicators, such as liver function, etc. Now, as I'd previously consumed more alcohol than what would be inline with Government advice, I was particularly worried that I had damaged my liver and that this might be even more serious than I'd first anticipated. Needless to say, I didn't eat anything at all for the rest of the day, nor sleep much for that matter.

Test Day

I arrived at the hospital's Pathology clinic very early the next day, just after they'd opened their doors. I wasn't waiting long before I was shown to a private room for my first ever blood test. Never having had a test before I was completely unaware that you could OVER fast, being informed by the nurse that the results might be unusable as my liver would have been releasing glucose into my blood after such a long period (approximately 16 hours). Despite possibly having to return again to repeat the test, she drew some blood. Might as well see how things work out I guess. I left with a feeling of anxiety at what the results might show, not expecting to hear from my doctor until the middle of the following week.

Wondering Where Veganism Fits In?

One of my cousins has been a Vegan for a LONG time now and had previously gifted my mother a book called, "How Not to Die" by Dr. Michael Gregor. For those of you unfamiliar with the book the title can be a little vague. In it, Dr. Gregor looks at the 15 leading causes of death in the United States and examines how dietary and lifestyle choices can sometimes be an effective treatment for them all. I'd read the book soon after my mother had finished with it and remembered there was some information in it about diabetes. I promptly bought another copy and read it again. 

The scientific studies, some stretching back to the 1940's, were extremely compelling; it might actually be possible to force my diabetes into remission. I'd also discovered the work of Professor Roy Taylor, a Physician and diabetologist who is currently the Director of Newcastle Magnetic Resonance Centre and highly encourage anyone with type-2 diabetes to visit their website. In addition to extremely useful information the site also contains links to articles about people who have reversed their type-2 diabetes through lifestyle and dietary adjustments.

Since reading Dr. Gregor's book and some of the scientific studies, I determined to eat a better diet and get more exercise, something I should have already been doing but now this was critical to managing my sugar levels. I immediately switched to a completely plant-based diet. I changed milk for soya, oat or almond milk. I ate only vegetables, pulses and switched bread for crackers. (I realise that most basic bread is vegan but during my regular self-testing I discovered that even a single slice of bread would spike my blood sugar so decided that I needed to go cold-turkey). My goal was also to reduce my calorie-intake to 700 each day for a total period of three weeks. This would hopefully allow me to make a rapid reduction in the fat stored within my liver and pancreas and lead me to remission.

The Results

Monday rolled around and I got a call from my doctor earlier than expected (always a worrying sign). Unfortunately the results of the HbA1c test would only be available later in the week so he would have to phone me back about that. However, he mentioned that only my liver function looked 'slightly' (whatever that meant - I should have asked I guess) abnormal but didn't seemed at all concerned by that so I got the impression that it wasn't as serious as I'd feared. We discussed the changes I'd made to my diet and exercise levels and whether I wanted to regulate my blood sugar through medication. This is something I'd obviously given a lot of thought but have decided against it. My viewpoint is that I'd be 'feeding the tablets' and wouldn't be able to lose the weight necessary to achieve remission. The tablets would force me to eat to ensure that my levels didn't drop too low. I know that the dosage can be adjusted but that would take time and I desperately want to kick this disease in the butt as soon as possible. He accepted that and we ended the call with him saying that he'd phone back on Friday with the HbA1c results.

Friday arrived...

100 mmol/mol!

Normally, for a person to be considered non-diabetic their levels should be 47/48 or under. Mine was slightly more that that, wasn't it?!

The Intention

I don't want this post to be overly-long so will stop here. Consider this some background information to 'set the scene'. My goal is to lose 15Kg and force my diabetes into remission.

I've never been so determined about anything in my life before!

This blog will help me record how I change my lifestyle, my vegan choices and how easy/hard they are to live with and keep a record of what progress I make towards beating type-2. I hope it also helps someone else out there so please let me know your thoughts if you can.