How I Beat Type 2 Diabetes

For decades now, I had been piling on the kilos, and my weight had remained stubbornly high. A few years ago, my pre-diabetes (above normal blood sugar level) had progressed onto Type 2 Diabetes, possibly due to weight issues and also ageing issues. At the same time, Dr Michael Mosley released his first book on The Fast 800 in Australia, where he described his brush with Type 2 Diabetes and its subsequent reversal.

Dr Michael Mosley earlier trained as a medical doctor, and now he works as a science journalist. He writes books and produces documentaries on various topics of interest in recent medical and scientific research, and translates academic research into interesting plain English. He reads current research papers written by world-leading researchers in their areas of research. He also visits their research labs and interviews each individual researchers in turn.

One such researcher is Professor Roy Taylor, who is based at the University of Newcastle in the UK. Professor Roy Taylor pioneered research where he discovered that a person diagnosed with Type 2 Diabetes can reverse their diabetes by losing at least 15% of their body weight.

So, with a diagnosis of Type 2 Diabetes on my record, and several other health issues, I was now highly motivated to lose weight. I wanted to do what the researchers said was possible, to reverse Type 2 Diabetes, and without having to take any diabetic medication. I had previously tried all other conventional diets to lose weight but without any success.

Inspired by The Fast 800 book, the first element I implemented was to cut out all carbohydrates and sugar, e.g no bread, no pasta, no rice, no noodles, and no sweet fruit. Instead of fruit, I drank lemon water everyday. Instead of burning carbs and sugar for energy, I am encouraging my body to burn fat (healthy fats and body fat) for energy. The second element I implemented was 800 calories per day. 800 calories per day mimics fasting. This comes from Professor Valter Longo’s research documented in his book, The Longevity Diet. The third element I implemented was the low carb Mediterranean diet (from The Fast 800 book), which I later evolved into the Keto Mediterranean diet. I have had to tweak the Keto Mediterranean diet to find what works for me. I found that even eating 1 piece of fruit a day (e.g. an apple) was too much sugar for me. My takeaway from The Fast 800 Keto book was to eat less than 50g carbs, and more than 50g protein, per day.

The fourth element I implemented was Intermittent Fasting 16:8 or Time-Restricted Eating 16:8, where I would eat all my calories in an 8 hour window during the day, and fast 16 hours overnight.

The fifth element I implemented was Alternate Day Fasting or The Every Other Day Diet, pioneered by Dr Krista Varady, also known as Intermittent Fasting 3:4 where I fast 4 days per week (low calorie days) and eat normally 3 days per week (high calorie days). Every second day, I would eat 800 to 1000 calories per day (high calorie day). On the alternate day, I would eat 500 to 600 calories per day (low calorie day) by skipping breakfast.

This regimen is now my lifestyle choice. I must admit that I am now much more prepared for this lifestyle than I was a few years ago when I began my keto dietary and culinary journey. I have introduced a regular routine in my life, plus enough variety in my Keto Mediterranean diet to keep my eating adventure interesting. I have successfully lost more than 20kgs, reversed Type 2 Diabetes, and plan to keep my weight loss and health moving in the right direction.