I found this interesting, because I was just recently diagnosed with type 2 diabetes.

This paragraph got my attention:

"Blood tests showed diabetes remission in 22 of the 29 surgery patients after two years.
In the standard-care group, only four of the 26 patients achieved that goal.
The patients who lost the most weight were the most likely to eliminate their diabetes."

http://www6.comcast.net/news/article...esity.Surgery/

Any opinions on this?

 

Obesity is a major risk factor for diabetes, and researchers are furiously pursuing reasons for the link as rates for both climb. What's known is that excess fat can cause the body's normal response to insulin to go haywire. .....

In the Australian study, all the patients were obese and had been diagnosed with type 2 diabetes during the past two years. ...Half the patients underwent a type of surgery called laparoscopic gastric banding, where an adjustable silicone cuff is installed around the upper stomach, limiting how much a person can eat.

Both groups lost weight over two years; the surgery patients lost 46 pounds on average, while the standard-care patients lost an average of 3 pounds.

Blood tests showed diabetes remission in 22 of the 29 surgery patients after two years. In the standard-care group, only four of the 26 patients achieved that goal. The patients who lost the most weight were the most likely to eliminate their diabetes.

Both patient groups learned about low-fat, high-fiber diets and were encouraged to exercise. Both groups could meet with a health professional every six weeks for two years......

Experts generally agree that weight-loss surgery would never be appropriate for diabetics who are not obese, and current federal guidelines restrict the surgery to obese people......

In other words, it's the weight loss that leads to the remission. The surgery is just a way for people to lose weight who, apparently, are incapable of doing it on their own even with help.

If you're not obese, there's little here for you, sorry.

But if you are obese, this has real hope for you. But obviously much better than having someone muck about with your innards is to find the regimen to lose the weight yourself. This says that if you can lose your weight, you have a 75% chance of remission. That's pretty good.

And even if it doesn't result in remission, you can only live better without a bunch of dead weight to carry around.

 

Changing what you eat, and regular exercise/weight loss can put type 2 diabetes into remission as well. My wife did it a year ago, takes no meds at all, has lower blood sugar than me and feels good.

 

If I knew that I could avoid internal modification by eating healthier and going for a walk every night, I would.

 

This is one of those things that I saw on the news and shook my head in disbelief.

It's fairly well known that obesity is linked to type 2 diabetes, and bad health in general.

It's not impossible to not eat crap all the time and work out every now and then.

The ignorance and laziness of people amaze me sometimes.

Mike

 

Well, for most people, ya, I'd agree. It's not possible that 40% of Americans have some medical condition that makes living properly impossible.

But you'd be surprised how some not-uncommon and invisible conditions just suck the life right out of people - physically and emotionally - making it practically impossible to do themselves any good. An acquaintance has hypothyroidism - low thyroid hormone level - when it drops, her metabolism plummets. 90% of every calorie gets converted to fat, she blows up like a balloon, but has zero energy to do anything about it. She carries on regular daily life, but is dragging herself through it, just barely.

And diabetes and hypothyroidism are both endocrine system disorders.

So I expect that there are two groups of people in this story - the idiots who have no real condition and could have lived well and brought this upon themselves; those with some underlying condition that made this almost inevitable.

 

Kirby's (husband) paternal grandmother (Cherokee) developed Type 2 diabetes late in life (adult onset) His father was diagnosed with Type 2 in his late 70s. Went from type 2 to type 1 early in 1995. He died from complications of chronic bronchitis and emphysema in 1999.

Kirby developed some pre diabetic symptoms sometime in the very late 70s/very early 80s but went undiagnosed until 1993. He was 53 then.

Being a swordsmith/blacksmith, he was always "hefty" but most of this was due to his work (5' 11" 245lbs) He was always a heavy "meat and potatoes" kind of eater and loved his sugary coffee cakes and such. By the late 80s, he was getting angry for no reason and his weight went up. After eating a big meal, would go to sleep and drink kool aid with alot of sugar while working at the forge. It got so I and the kids had to be careful not to get him angry. But at other times, he was fine...very much like the man I first married in 1972. Looking back, I think part of his anger was being scared as his glucose levels were "rollercoastering" his hormonal levels. Not knowing what was happening. We had a friend whose mother developed Type 1 late in life and her first indication was constant thirst and voiding as much as she was taking in.

By 1991-92, Kirby had ballooned to just shy of 300lbs and was looking very shallow...nearly yellow. A doctor (O.D.) friend kept telling him to drop his weight and change his diet. But Kirby refused thinking "rabbit food" was not good enough to keep him going at the forge. By early 1993, his heavily sugared koolaid was going through him like a hose. He finally went to the doctor for a glucose test.....over 300! Scared the crap out of him.

A distant cousin worked at the local hospital and sat him down. She had lived with diabetes since a little girl and told him what he needed to do. What to expect if he did not. Our son and daughter were 11 and 8 at this time and he loved them dearly. They loved him back as much ....although it was hard living with his unexpected temperments at times. So Kirby learned to eat rabbit food, to watch his caloric intake, to cut the sugar out (hard at first) and to remember to eat several smaller meals throughout the day instead of just two or three BIG ones. And not to miss breakfast! Within that first year, he dropped from 300lbs to 245lbs....but also dropped several pant sizes as this was body fat. Scales do not tell you the whole story.
But clothes will.

After 15 years, he has stayed about the same weight...AND his diabetes has been kept in remission. He religiously checks his glucose levels several times a day. Though maybe not eating so much "rabbit food" as before...at least keeping the rest of the diet pretty sane. No processed sugars (occasional fruit is fine) and cut out the heavy stuff. His exercise is largely what he has always done....working at the forge. Early in his treatment, though, he did ride a bicycle for the cardio.

Kirby is 67 now and slowing down some. But if he did not make that change back in 1993.....the way he was going, he would have been dead within a year or two.


I have always had a weight problem but diabetes does not run in my family. But being obese for so long has had it's toll on my lower back and any work related osteo I have . Finally had enough of yo yo diets and staying between 245-260lbs (depending on the time of year) I did not eat that much and ate improperly when I did. At my highest (265), I did think of having surgery done (this would have been similar to the article's description) but decided against it. Glad I did. As after a year's worth of lifting (2001-2002) at a local community college and changing my eating habits, eventually dropped to 165lbs. Have stayed that weight for over five years now.

While working out one semester, there was a group of women who did have gastric bypass surgery. The lifting was part of their after surgery therapy. It was not a matter of willpower...it's more complicated than that. The surgery was the only way these women could get some kind of health back. But they all said, if you can successfully drop the fat through proper diet and exercise....then go for it!

There were a couple of women who lifted to help control their Type 2 diabetes too through the exercise. They worked during the day and this was the only exercise they adopted. But any good exercise program will help.

So, dropping the fat will help pull the disease back into remission. At least help keep the glucose levels stable.

 

Yes, it really isn't that hard to change to eating healthier foods and cut out unhealthy things.

It all depends on how motivated you are.

Like somebody held up a half loaf of old bread and asked me if it was still good to eat, I said; "That depends on how hungry you are."

I couldn't stand coffee without sugar and now don't take any sugar in anything.

After doing my own research into various diets that I'd heard people talking about, I found the core principals of the ones that supposedly 'work' are based on "Glycemic Index" and "Glycemic Load". I've since changed my diet to incorporate 'good carb foods, and cut out bad carb foods. There's a lot of info out there regarding glycemic index and load. I almost jumped for joy when I found out that cabbage and broccoli are "free foods", cause I love them both.

I was never diagnosed with anything but I suspected I could be borderline just by the way I felt before, between and after high carb meals.

I haven't been on a scale in about a year because a scale tells you nothing about your body's composition, unless used in conjunction with displacement volume. If you're trying to lose fat and build muscle at the same time, a scale alone is a terrible way to measure progress because you may actually gain weight from building muscle.

A full length mirror and the way my pants fit are all I need to tell me if I'm fat or not... but a cloth tape measure is the best way to measure progress.

 

Here's the perspective from someone who has been called "skinny" all his life. I graduated HS at 6'0" and about 145 lbs. Now, 15+ years later, add 30 lbs to that. At one point about 7-8 years ago, I put on 20 lbs in about a year. I could tell when I worked on exterior paint jobs--the up and down ladders was killing me. Since then, I have cut out almost all soda (I still occasionally have one as a "treat", but don't keep it around the house much), as well as drastically cut back on processed foods and foods with refined sugars. I've also gotten more into fruits and vegetables (much of the year I will drink a shake for breakfast made with lots of healthy stuff, blended in a VitaMix). I'll confess that I haven't done so well over the holidays, but I will get back on track here soon. Why? Because even though I am overall healthy, I could be better. I can tell when I am and am not eating healthy. When I eat more fruits and veggies, I feel much, much better and have far more energy throughout the day. If you eat good, healthy food most of the time, occasional "treats" aren't a problem.

America also needs to get away from the concept of a "diet" and get on with the idea of "healthy lifestyle". A crash diet to lose 20 lbs does noone any good. Activity is important along with eating good foods.

Oh, and now, my body has adapted to my weight. Rather than all of it being in my belly, my legs, arms and shoulders are stronger and more muscular, and my waistline has receded slightly, but I have narrow hips, so I could stand to get my belly to migrate upward a bit into the chest area.

Jason

 

Call me I can tell you a ton!

 

VikingBabe, So Kirby's glucose test, back in 1993 was 300?
I don't know much about glucose readings, but my doctor took my test, with
one of those hand held meters, just about two weeks ago, and it was 150.

He wants me to take a special blood test to confirm it. Hmmmm!

Interestingly, my cousin's husband had his checked last year, and it was 400.

Thanks for your input and well as thanks to everyone with their input.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

FTE Tim as quoted, "Call me I can tell you a ton!"
Feel free to PM me, if you want/can, with anything on this subject.

 

An ethnic group (American Indian) with diabetes rates higher than all other groups (in the U.S.)...

I'm glad what you guys, and what HE did is working out.

 

To Sierraben.....Kirby just told me that 300 reading was done two weeks AFTER he cut out sugar. So there is no telling what his actual blood sugar count was prior to this. But I am sure it was a heck of a lot higher.

Kirby's blood sugar readings averages anywhere from 80 to 170. Depending on several conditions. He always takes one right after getting up and before each meal. Occasionally, he does take an amaryl tablet if needed.

But sometimes a reading will go up to 200.

He has used different handheld glucometers from different makers over the years. Nor are all the strips from the same sources. None of them give a real reliable reading even from from finger to finger. The same meter can give three different readings. This has been his greatest frustration with them. Kirby does all the proper things to make sure his hands are extremely clean to get a true reading. Takes the blood from the sides of his fingers and rotates each time.

Our friend, Dr. Scott, has since passed away and Kirby has a different, younger one now. He told tried to tell this one about the meter various readings. Showed him his daily log and even took a couple of tests while in office. The guy nearly fell out of his chair. Basically, if he gets two different readings he will write down both but takes the lower one or averages between the two.

Type 2 Diabetes is a big problem on the Colorado Indian Reservation (CRIT) nearby. Mostly Mohaves, Pimas, Chemeuvhe and Navaho, but some some Hopi too live there. The CRIT has had a ongoing Diabetes program to educate and fight it for a very long time. Especially among the Mohave and Pimas. We have a Hopi friend has some sisters, brothers and cousins suffer from this. He doesn't, fortunately.

Kirby's father was not necessarily obese but his eating habits was a lot of fried foods, starches and not alot of vegetables. He lived a hard rural life (master mechanic/weilder) and did not keep a good watch over his eating habits after his wife died several years earlier. What she cooked were more balanced meals.

Yeah, coffee without sugar....had to learn to drink it without the latter. Tea too. Used to drink 44 oz Big Glups of Coke or Mountain Dew all the time. Shortly after lifting , I began visiting the Bodybuilding.com forums to re educate myself. Like you say, it is not a big secret or "magic bullet". You have to get motivated and stick with it. Most of my fat was in my shoulders, back and stomach. Was never "hippy" or had big thighs or butt. So I wore men's jeans instead (also did not like the women's "pegged leg" look) I still have a leather belt that I used to wear with my size 48s. As I lost the inches, just poked holes backwards to wear with my smaller sized one.

As a reminder of where I had been and how far.

 

Might take an A1C test every once in a while to see how your overall blood glucose is running, Ben. Is that the name of the special test?

As for the original article, it falls into the 'well, duh' obvious category, especially in light of the typical type 2 patient. Very few folks with type 2 fall into the skinny category.

 

I called a nurse friend of mine, and she left me a message saying that it's called an HGBIC test, or something like that.

Something about it being a long term diabetes test, and something about the blood recycling itself every thirty days.

I'll have to call her back as ask again.