Bad Advice

[Penny 12]

I was 13 the first time anyone suggested I had Diabetes...the doctor's advice to me and my parents ..."Watch the sugar". Other than my mother telling me to not eat too much candy, that was the sum total of my diet changes. At 20, I was pregnant and told I had Diabetes and given a kind of diet, really with no limits that I remember, and then the same thing when I had my second child. That was in the late 60's. I can't remember exactly, but I got my first meter and my first diet plan in the late 70's or early 80's. The diet was what I consider now high carb, low fat, and I tried to follow it until I had a heart attack in the mid 90's. I seldom had any control until I found this forum and started counting carbs. Considering I am 64, I have lived with Diabetes without medication or diet for most of 50 years. I think each of us needs to find what works for us, to maybe try the advice we get here, from our doctors, and other people, but in the end, use what works for you. Linda's mother was right, we can listen and consider the other person's point of view with kindness. Sometimes we all make statements that do not sound the way we mean them to.

[samorgan 10]

I, for one constantly and consistently acknowledge that there are multiple ways of addressing diabetes. Diabetes is some combination of:

 

1) Muscle insulin resistance

2) Liver insulin resistance

3) Fat insulin resistance

4) Insulin insufficiency

 

And can be addressed with some combination of:

 

1) Reducing percentage of carbs and proteins in the diet (which by definition means increasing fats)

2) Exercise (won't help produce any more insulin, but counteracts and possibly circumvents #1 above)

3) Oral meds

4) Insulin

 

Each can pick their own combination based on their underlying condition and their personal preferences.

 

Again, I always, always acknowledge all of this, but I do NOT hide the fact that I personally am only interested in a med-free basically diet-only approach to managing diabetes. I am convinced that this is completely feasible for a large majority of T2s if and when there is a will.

 

I am eager to share information with others pursuing the same ends, but have no problem with the fact that some chose other route. Since this particular route is grievously under-represented in advice from all "official" sources, it is all the more important that it be expounded on forums such as this as it might not be available to those who need/want it otherwise.

 

With regard to Don, I'm afraid you have it backwards. I'm pretty sure everyone on this list knows that eating like the general population and injecting insulin will solve the BG problem. Personally, I'm wary of a potential "excess insulin" problem but there is no conclusive evidence on that as of yet, so that is just my personal reason for not choosing that route, along with an intense desire to be "free" of needles, pills and travel kits!

 

He is actually the one displaying disdain for other approaches and intolerance of views he doesn't agree with. It's fine, I've dealt with him for a long time and at his age and with what he's been through he has every right to speak his mind and even to be "cranky" - but let's just call a spade a spade here!

[Todd G. 1,107]

The problem for me is that the advice tends to be "go LC/HF now what was the question?" rather than finding out what the person wants to do, how they want to manage the disease, how big change can they cope with and maintain, and many others...

 

I'm guilty of doing this. For me, knowing the possible consequences of diabetes, I wanted to address my BG issues immediately, effectively, and BEFORE any of the consequences started affecting me personally. I'm not trying to tell other people what to do, but for me I coldn't imagine "wading" into treatment for something so serious. I saw it as a question of life or death, and I chose life, with the intent of living long and well and healthy. Other approaches may work for some, but to go on eating carbs in quantity as a diabetic is equilavent to taking some sub-leathal dose of poison every day. I don't get it. However, the results of going LC/HF for a diabetic are likely to bring rapid results across the whole range of ills which accompany diabetes, and the emotional aspect of the diesease caan be addressed later after the BG is brought into line.

[Todd G. 1,107]

Imagine you were a seasoned diabetic of 30+ years, diagnosed in the 70's, a time when diabetes was managed much differently than today, no in home meters and not a lot in the way of s/f beverages and not nearly as many meds available.

 

I remember my Type I girlfriend in the early eighties, and the giant drops of blood she needed to test with, the giant lances that hurt like crazy, the poor control she had with the (IIRC) 3 types of insulin available to her at the time. I remember that she cried the first time I took home some Diet Coke when it first came out. I remember rushing her to the hospital when she was in DKA and being told she wouldn't survive the night(she did BTW). I remember pulling her out of the bathtub or picking her up off the floor and forcing juice into her when she had hypos. I remember getting almost violent when a co-worker told her that with prayer, she could give up her meds, including insulin, which resulted in the above mentioned trip to the hospital. I remember getting lost on the way to the hospital that night with Come On Eileen(Dexies Midnight Runners) playing on the radio and having her kind of murmer that she was going to die with that song in her head. Funny how you remember how some stuff happened.

 

That's what I was thinking about when I started diong LC/HF, and why it seemed like a no brainer to me.

 

PS- Since I've been dealing with this myself, I looked up the girlfriend mentioned, fully expecting her to be dead or suffering severe problems. Much to my relief, she is healthy and happy, and has been on a pump for about 10 years. Other than reproductive issues, she has weathered the 30 years well.

[princesslinda 2,839]

I remember when my mom was diagnosed in the 70's (I was around 10 years old). She'd seen her dad have his leg amputated from a non-healing sore, she'd seen her mom die at age 57 of renal failure. I remember her sitting on the porch crying and when I asked what was wrong, she said "I have sugar and will probably lose my leg and die young, just like grandaddy." I was devastated, though I didn't know at the time it would be a self fulfilling prophecy. My mom died at age 54 of renal failure after having an amputation, being legally blind from retinopathy and suffering a heart attack. One of the last things she said to me was "you'll be the one of my kids to get diabetes, just like I did." Needless to say, I was more than a little freaked out when I was diagnosed at 42. Had I not found the forums and been given compassion, encouragement and hope, I might have followed in mom's footsteps.

 

It's always good to hear of someone like your girlfriend who is still going strong even after years of problems. Mom was T2, and she checked her glucose levels using the urine method, urine put in a test tube along with some sort of reagent, it would get hot and bubble, and she'd check it against a color chart to get a number. I remember the "Estee" brand sugar free cookies...the box probably had more flavor, and about the only choices in our area at the tie for drinks were Tab and Diet Rite. Diet was the exchange method, probably very high carb. It was quite easy for a T2 to ignore things then, probably still is to a big extent, unless they are fortunate enough to find places such as this.

 

I think its nothing short of amazing that so many (T1 and T2) did so well with so little help and information back then. I often wonder if my mom had been diagnosed today, would her outcome have been better.

[Jan B 54]

Soon after I was diagnosed, I asked my first internal medicine doctor why I should eat fruit and/or especially drink orange juice. Even back then it didn't make sense to have something that I knew would raise my blood glucose level. He told me that even as a diabetic, I still needed a well rounded diet like all people do, and that it was better to keep eating fruit and find the right insulin amount to go with it. So, my point is, what the doctor said remains true for a lot of people & I still question that philosophy. I've never been positive that anything I was doing regarding diet, was right. Plus, we all know that we can find research to support whatever it is that we believe or want to believe. At least we are free to learn and experiment on ourselves. It would be a lot easier if there was one right and perfect answer that we didn't have to question.

[NickP 32]

Many of the posters state that members should chose their path after listening to their doctors.

 

I, for you, am telling you that your health is too important to blindly follow your Doctor.

 

Why would I say that?.....please read the book:

 

"Genocide! How your Doctor's Dietary Ignorance will Kill you!!!!" by Dr James Carlson

 

The one positive note about my experience with Diabetes is that it forced me to take control and be responsible for my own health. By all means, please see and talk with your Doctor, but realize that you decide how to manage this disease and what path you are going to take. Take the time to educate yourself and learn more.

 

Keep reading and understanding what is in your body....I have taken that journey, and I am now a believer in LC/HF as a cure to many of today's ailments.

 

The book above is a very easy read (unlike Good Calories Bad Calories by Gary Taubes (Great Book, but tough to read)). This book will certainly enlighten how you think about your Doctor.

[notme 2,915]

I totally agree with just about everything everyone has written on this thread that could have turned quite nasty. Thumbs up to everyone who participated and kept it civil and non confrontational. The way the thread was started was a recipe for disaster however, the people here have managed to keep it on the right track.

 

While I totally believe that the medical community has gotten it wrong for years, they are only doing what we have done for years and that is believe what we are told and what we read. However, nothing stays the same. As we grow and learn, we realize that we have made mistakes and have to re-adjust. Not talking or listening to your doctor is a big mistake in my view. Now I do believe that we should educate ourselves and ask the right questions. Heck yes! When I don't get the answers to my questions, I find the answers for myself and if this happens enough times, you find a new doctor. You need a medical team on your side. We aren't doctors. We are a group of smart people who are free thinking and believe that there are answers out there to help us. Finding a doctor that will listen patiently and take what you say in to account when it comes to medications or diet is essential. You can confirm you belief with blood tests and good results.

 

When newly diagnosed people come here they are a bit scared, confused about what to eat and what not to eat. They are people who are looking for answers. When we come on strong and tell them the doctors have it all wrong and we have it all right here, we will scare them away. You can't force new radical changes down someones throat and expect them to just take in what you have to say, hook line and sinker. They want to know who you are, how you know these things and what proof you have that their doctor or educator has it all wrong. You spoon feed a baby. You can't feed them with a shovel.

[dturney 10]

:eek:Newbee you finaly got some good advice......it can happen on this fourm ...I will end my stay saying this ...NO DOCTOR can control your diabetes only you can do that...how you do it is up to you...and a good balanced diet is the best...WAY TO GO!!! CU take care all.

[notme 2,915]

Good advice can happen on any forum when you have kind people ready to try and help. People help people by example and kindness and consideration. Posting to start dialog and then not contributing anything but sarcasm really isn't too helpful.

[Tribbles 163]

When newly diagnosed people come here they are a bit scared, confused about what to eat and what not to eat. They are people who are looking for answers. When we come on strong and tell them the doctors have it all wrong and we have it all right here, we will scare them away.

I agree with this entirely. People have just been told that they have a life threatening disease and are in a state of shock so being told that their world as they know it has ended isn't always wildly helpful.

 

This has to be managed in baby steps so the first one should not be moving directly to an LC/HF diet but rather to a healthy balanced diet since that is something they can understand and have probably been meaning to do for a long time - well now they have the incentive and will probably do it.

 

The main thing is to bring down levels, and to be honest in most cases simply lowering your carbs to something in the 100's and taking metformin will do that. Once you are there you can think calmly about how you want to proceed. Type 2 is here for the long haul and progresses slowly running a bit high for a couple of months while you reach the right conclusions really will have no impact on your condition.

 

Once you are stable then you can make informed decisions in the cold light of day. What is being embarked on has to be sustained indefinitely rather than the traditional pattern of dieting for a limited time. There are a whole series of decisions to be made;

• meds or not
  
• how radically can I re-engineer my lifestyle
  
• low carb or not
  
• should I lose weight
  
• what level of exercise will I commit to
  
• what level of risk (A1c) can I live with
  

There are others but those are the ones I can think of offhand. The decisions you reach then are much more likely to be considered and ones you can actually sustain. For the curious my answers are: meds, minimally, no, definitely not!, no change (I always exercised), minimal risk so A1c below 6.7.

[NickP 32]

I agree with this entirely. People have just been told that they have a life threatening disease and are in a state of shock so being told that their world as they know it has ended isn't always wildly helpful.

 

This has to be managed in baby steps so the first one should not be moving directly to an LC/HF diet but rather to a healthy balanced diet since that is something they can understand and have probably been meaning to do for a long time - well now they have the incentive and will probably do it.

 

The main thing is to bring down levels, and to be honest in most cases simply lowering your carbs to something in the 100's and taking metformin will do that. Once you are there you can think calmly about how you want to proceed. Type 2 is here for the long haul and progresses slowly running a bit high for a couple of months while you reach the right conclusions really will have no impact on your condition.

 

Once you are stable then you can make informed decisions in the cold light of day. What is being embarked on has to be sustained indefinitely rather than the traditional pattern of dieting for a limited time. There are a whole series of decisions to be made;

• meds or not
  
• how radically can I re-engineer my lifestyle
  
• low carb or not
  
• should I lose weight
  
• what level of exercise will I commit to
  
• what level of risk (A1c) can I live with
  

There are others but those are the ones I can think of offhand. The decisions you reach then are much more likely to be considered and ones you can actually sustain. For the curious my answers are: meds, minimally, no, definitely not!, no change (I always exercised), minimal risk so A1c below 6.7.

 

Tribbles....nice post, but I still say that when you have a disease you should tackle it "hard and head on." Again, I understand what you are saying and your gradual approach may work better for some.

 

This disease we have is a "carb intolerance" - so removing as many carbs from the diet allows the body to function as closely to normal as possible (for each individual). So, reducing carbs is key to achieving better BG control (we agree upon that....).

 

To answer your question:

 

1. No Meds for me

2. No radical engineering to lifestyle (but make smart choices on eating & drinking socials)

3. Low Carb for me!

4. I lost about 60 pounds....would like to lose 5 more!

5. I will exercise to the level necessary to keep my BG "normal"

6. I want my A1C to be at 5.5 or less.

 

Those are good questions. When newbies come to the board, they haven't even started thinking about those items.

 

I will say this......many of us on the forum talk LOUDLY about Low Carb because many newly DX PWD are not getting good advice about how they can control their D. I am not saying that every new DX should be forced onto a low carb diet, but I do think that the low carb diet should be explained as an option to help control their disease.

 

It is a shame that people have to go to the internet to learn this information. This information should be presented by their Doctor and Diabetes Educator.

 

I think we all can agree that this would be "good advice......"

[Tribbles 163]

Tribbles....nice post, but I still say that when you have a disease you should tackle it "hard and head on." Again, I understand what you are saying and your gradual approach may work better for some.

The hard and head on approach works for some and not for others. The problem is that the hard and fast approach scares off the others whereas the hard and fast group will probably adopt that approach anyway if confronted with a slower approach. So adopting a slow approach will scare off the least people (IMHO )

 

This disease we have is a "carb intolerance" - so removing as many carbs from the diet allows the body to function as closely to normal as possible (for each individual). So, reducing carbs is key to achieving better BG control (we agree upon that....).

Up to a point Lord Copper :T

 

I am not intolerant of carbs, I just can't process them properly because I don't have enough insulin. It's a deficiency, not an intolerance. I agree reducing carbs is important because people may be eating hundreds of grams of carbs. I suspect we may differ on a good target figure though!

 

2. No radical engineering to lifestyle (but make smart choices on eating & drinking socials)

I suspect one man's "make smart choices about eating" is another man's radical lifestyle change.

 

Those are good questions. When newbies come to the board, they haven't even started thinking about those items.

I agree entirely. Nor do I think they should deal with them immediately. These are big decisions and need to be taken once the initial shock has passed. My job is politely called risk management but really is crisis management - the one thing we have beaten into us is never to make strategic decisions in the middle of a crisis. Stop the bleeding and only then address the root cause because you lack the necessary perspective during the crisis itself.

 

I have no argument with telling people about different approaches and diets but if they are bombarded with information they will overload and simply switch off because they are in a state of shock. With everything that is happening they are likely to become overwhelmed and just give up.

[A1C 12]

For those advocating a high fat, low carb diet, could you explain how I was able to control diabetes naturally on a low fat, high carb, by some peoples standards, diet for 4 years?

 

The reason I was no longer able to control T2 naturally is because I couldn't exercise regularly, due to a sleep disorder which resulted in weight gain. Also, I think cardio is boring except for heavy bag work and martial arts. Hill sprints are a new passion I fell in love with recently until this continuous blizzard threw a monkey wrench in my program.

 

Blame samorgan for this as it was in the follow on to a rebuttal article they cited (The China Study: My Response to Campbell « Raw Food SOS: Troubleshooting on the Raw Food Diet). Talking about some responses she got to the original article critiquing the China Study:

Although the vast majority of the feedback I’ve received (both positive and negative) has been intelligent, respectful, and ultimately constructive, I’ve received a few very fiery emails that have made me realize what a deep nerve diet debates can strike. For those whose lives have been profoundly affected—for better or for worse—by food and nutrition, diet can become a personal issue inextricably bound with identity. And as someone who’s already run through a gamut of eating styles due to allergies, ethical goals, and the pursuit of vibrant health, I know how this goes. I’ve been there. In many ways, I’m still there. For this reason, I can wholly empathize with the emotional response my critique triggered in some readers, and I understand why a backlash is apt to occur.

 

Just made me think of this conversation. :T

:topic: Denise Rocks! I knew her from other diet forums before she rocked the vegan world and she's smokin' hot! Check out her abs.

[MrsMia 1,608]

For those advocating a high fat, low carb diet, could you explain how I was able to control diabetes naturally on a low fat, high carb, by some peoples standards, diet for 4 years?

 

I don't think you can know for sure if it was the diet you were following that eventually turned the tables on your control of your diabetes or the lack of exercise. I haven't been able to exercise for over a year now but I haven't lost the control I had previous to my period of higher fat/low carb die plus exerciset. (I don't believe I follow a high fat diet but it is "higher" in fat). So for me, I was able to see what my control was prior to losing my ability to exercise and I believe my particular diet is what has/is keeping control of my diabetes. And I didn't gain weight because I couldn't exercise. Actually, I kept losing it until I reached my present weight. But as I said, I don't know if you can know for sure. Everyone's diabetes is unique to them so I think everyone needs to tinker around with different approaches and see what works for them.

[A1C 12]

I don't think you can know for sure if it was the diet you were following that eventually turned the tables on your control of your diabetes or the lack of exercise. I haven't been able to exercise for over a year now but I haven't lost the control I had previous to my period of higher fat/low carb die plus exerciset. (I don't believe I follow a high fat diet but it is "higher" in fat). So for me, I was able to see what my control was prior to losing my ability to exercise and I believe my particular diet is what has/is keeping control of my diabetes. And I didn't gain weight because I couldn't exercise. Actually, I kept losing it until I reached my present weight. But as I said, I don't know if you can know for sure. Everyone's diabetes is unique to them so I think everyone needs to tinker around with different approaches and see what works for them.

When I could not exercise for 3-4 months due to a knee injury, my A1C and bodyweight dropped to 5.1% and 150lbs. My diet was the same before and after the injury.

[dturney 10]

Good advice can happen on any forum when you have kind people ready to try and help. People help people by example and kindness and consideration. Posting to start dialog and then not contributing anything but sarcasm really isn't too helpful.

 

To ignore the facts does not change the facts...

[MrsMia 1,608]

When I could not exercise for 3-4 months due to a knee injury, my A1C and bodyweight dropped to 5.1% and 150lbs. My diet was the same before and after the injury.

 

I guess I'm getting confused. I thought the lack of exercise was one of the reasons you said contributed to losing control of your diabetes. If it wasn't your diet, then how did you gain weight? It sounds that putting on extra weight was a contributing factor in not having the previous control you had. Do you think diet may have played a major part in the weight gain?

[JoMac53 10]

When newly diagnosed people come here they are a bit scared, confused about what to eat and what not to eat. They are people who are looking for answers.

 

I can only speak for myself, of course, but as a newbie on another board the most helpful advice I got was to immediately eliminate most carbs from my diet, even before I got a meter...in fact, especially before I had a meter. That advice allowed me to be proactive to reduce the immediate threat to my health, which in turn allowed me to take my time to research, question, learn, think and make informed decisions. I will always be grateful to Salim and Alan S. for that.

[MrsMia 1,608]

I agree with this entirely. People have just been told that they have a life threatening disease and are in a state of shock so being told that their world as they know it has ended isn't always wildly helpful.

 

This has to be managed in baby steps so the first one should not be moving directly to an LC/HF diet but rather to a healthy balanced diet since that is something they can understand and have probably been meaning to do for a long time - well now they have the incentive and will probably do it.

 

I think this statement above about a "healthy balanced diet", and one that Dturney also advocates gives me the most trouble to understand. What is a healthy balanced diet? And who decided what that is? Is it 6 to 10 servings of grains a day? Plus 8 servings of fruits and vegetables? What happens when somebody has grain allergies or dairy allergies and cannot have those food groups? Are they no longer eating a healthy balanced diet? Or if someone has 2 servings of grains instead of 6-10 and maybe 4 total servings of vegetables but no fruit? Are these people also missing the mark of a healthy "balanced" diet? I guess I just don't see any value to saying a "healthy balanced diet" if it means incorporating all food groups and certain amounts of them to qualify for the balanced diet. And why would we consider them healthy and balanced to begin with? I think eating to our meters and checking our lab tests give us a more definitive answer to the diet lifestyle we should be eating.

 

I'm not trying to be argumentative or advocate one diet over another. I just don't buy into the "healthy balanced diet" reasoning without a definitive/authoritative definition. But I believe you are spot on with all your other observations.

[princesslinda 2,839]

I agree that "healthy diet" can be a vague statement; however, speaking from my own experience, my pre-D diet was so bad when I was diagnosed, that pretty much anything I did that was different from what I had been doing was an improvement. The constant hunger that often accompanies uncontrolled high blood sugars kept me ravenous all the time, and I made poor choices to appease that hunger. Metformin helped me minimize the insulin resistance, as my blood sugars normalized, my hunger dissipated to a great extent.

 

When I first came to the forum and heard about carbs, I was taught to avoid "white stuff" and eat to my meter rather than being told to eat a lot of fat or oil. Had I been told I had to eat fatty meat, tons of butter and heavy cream and drink coconut oil mixed in my foods as well as testing 10 times a day, I probably would have turned tail and ran. Just pricking my finger was a big deal to me those first few weeks.

[dturney 10]

I was diagnosed with type II diabetes June 2, 1970 I was placed on insulin June 2, 1970. I have lived 42 years with this disease. I have eaten a balanced diet of all the food groups during this period. I have taken approx 91,980 injection of insulin during this period. I do not ,let me repeat, "DO NOT" have any complications from diabetes....You need to check the longevity with diabetes of the HF/NC group. The old cloche of "The proof is in the pudding" applies. I don't know how much more positive you can get. My advice to the new folks is, be very careful what you apply from this forum in regards to the care of your diabetes...

[MrsMia 1,608]

I agree that "healthy diet" can be a vague statement; however, speaking from my own experience, my pre-D diet was so bad when I was diagnosed, that pretty much anything I did that was different from what I had been doing was an improvement. The constant hunger that often accompanies uncontrolled high blood sugars kept me ravenous all the time, and I made poor choices to appease that hunger. Metformin helped me minimize the insulin resistance, as my blood sugars normalized, my hunger dissipated to a great extent.

 

You are right. I was ravenous all the time too. It wasn't until I ended up in DKA and diagnosed with diabetes that I knew the reason why. The problem I had was that I did eat the proverbial "healthy balanced diet" even before being diagnosed. Except I ate high fat along with the high carbs of the usual suspects (potatoes, rice, pastas). Those two (fat and high carbs/starchy carbs) definitely are not compatible.

 

When I first came to the forum and heard about carbs, I was taught to avoid "white stuff" and eat to my meter rather than being told to eat a lot of fat or oil. Had I been told I had to eat fatty meat, tons of butter and heavy cream and drink coconut oil mixed in my foods as well as testing 10 times a day, I probably would have turned tail and ran. Just pricking my finger was a big deal to me those first few weeks.

 

I guess I didn't have the same reaction because all those things I was already eating. Except for the coconut oil. I still haven't worked up the enthusiasm to try it since I'm not a huge fan of cocunut. My mistake wasn't eating the fat before diagnosis. Mine was pairing it with a lot of starchy and refined carbs. High fat and high carbs. Perhaps maybe it was because I already had a taste for "fat":) that I didn't find cutting out most of the carbs too much of a problem. Oh, and I don't test more than 3 or 4 times per day and sometimes only 2 times. I don't think my fingers could handle 10 times a day. But if testing a lot is what helps a diabetic stay within their bg goals then that's cool.

[MrsMia 1,608]

I was diagnosed with type II diabetes June 2, 1970 I was placed on insulin June 2, 1970. I have lived 42 years with this disease. I have eaten a balanced diet of all the food groups during this period. I have taken approx 91,980 injection of insulin during this period. I do not ,let me repeat, "DO NOT" have any complications from diabetes....You need to check the longevity with diabetes of the HF/NC group. The old cloche of "The proof is in the pudding" applies. I don't know how much more positive you can get.

 

But why would I need to check about the longevity of diabetics on a HF/NC group? I've never advocated a HF/zero carb diet. Actually, I don't think anybody here has either. So that really is a strawman. What my specific questions are were listed above in a different message. You may need to scroll back to check them again. You talk about a balanced diet. Please provide a definition of a "balanced" healthy diet. That's all I ask. Somehow, I don't think 6-10 servings of grains a day is anywhere near "balanced" or healthy. What is it balanced against? What makes it healthy? I just don't think it is helpful to beat the "healthy and balanced" diet drum if there is no definitive definition.

[A1C 12]

I guess I'm getting confused. I thought the lack of exercise was one of the reasons you said contributed to losing control of your diabetes. If it wasn't your diet, then how did you gain weight? It sounds that putting on extra weight was a contributing factor in not having the previous control you had. Do you think diet may have played a major part in the weight gain?

I think I need to give some of my history to help clarify. Prior to being diagnosed T2 (Terminator 2 The Movie) in January 2005, I had already started slowly transitioning my diet from omni to vegan by slowly weening myself off of meat b/t October 2004 and December 2004. My omni diet consisted of lots o' chicken thighs, lots o' cheddar cheese, lots o' oatmeal, and lots o' skim milk. My weight was hovering b/t 205 to 210lbs for much of 2004.

 

By the time I was diagnosed in January 2005, I had already lost 10lbs. I went from 205lbs down to 195lbs. After I was diagnosed, I lost 45lbs in 8-9 months because I started keeping a food log and was exercising regularly; recreational weightlifting 3-4 days a week and going to martial arts class initially 3 days/week to eventually 6 days/week until I injured my knee. I continued to lose weight after the injury because apparently exercising kick started my metabolic rate.

 

In March of 2006, I started real strength training (I finally knew what I was doing) and put on 30lbs of muscle in 8-9 months and my bodyweight went from 150lbs to 180lbs. My calories on a vegan diet was approximately 50% from carbs, 20-25% from fat, and 25-30% from protein. I was aiming for 50/20/30 C:F:P ratio.

 

To answer your questions, I gained weight because I did not exercise regularly due to a sleep disorder and I was consuming approximately the same amount of calories and C:F:P ratio, however I was not burning as many calories. My body weight went from 180lbs to 203-205lbs. Second, I got older and for many people it becomes more difficult to lose body fat and maintain a lean physique as we age.