OT Type 2 Diabetes (2 Viewers)

[THE HCP]

Pre diabetes. It's helped. She's already lost 40 pounds.

Love hearing that. Didn’t realize how dangerous diabetes was/is until I was diagnosed. Wish I had made better choices a long time ago.

 

[crandc]

LDL is considered bad cholesterol.
But, it is one factor and there are a lot of variables.
Every time I change doctors I have to explain again everyone in my family has asymptomatic high cholesterol. No connection to diet, weight, exercise. No one ever gets heart attacks or strokes or clogged arteries. It's just there.

 

[Chris Craig]

Please explain LDL/HDL. I could google it, but want to hear what it is from somebody dealing with this.

LDL is bad cholesterol. You want it under 100. It was at 101 my last checkup. Yesterdays came back at 127. 130 is where you have to take medicine.

NON HDL is all total bad cholesterol that causes plaque to build up in your arteries. It's what causes heart attacks and strokes. My NON HDL was in the green last year below the 130 threshold where it's suppose to be. As of yesterday it's at 142.

Basically, that puts at a near 30% of a heart attack or stroke within the next decade.

Luckily, my triglycerides are low, so plaque is piling up yet. I still have a chance to right this ship.

I really have to change my diet, and get exercise. May also have to take medicine.

I already cut a lot out and thought moderation was good enough elsewhere. I was wrong.

Going to have to go on a high fiber, low fat diet. Need to lose weight. I'm about 27-30 pounds over where I should be.

 

[Chris Craig]

LDL is considered bad cholesterol.
But, it is one factor and there are a lot of variables.
Every time I change doctors I have to explain again everyone in my family has asymptomatic high cholesterol. No connection to diet, weight, exercise. No one ever gets heart attacks or strokes or clogged arteries. It's just there.

I have a high Non - HDL too. Scares the bejeezus out of me. No heart attack or stroke history in my family.

 

[tlongII]

The key is the ratio of total cholesterol to HDL cholesterol. The optimum ratio is 3.5 to 1 or lower.

 

[Chris Craig]

The key is the ratio of total cholesterol to HDL cholesterol. The optimum ratio is 3.5 to 1 or lower.

4.16

 

[THE HCP]

LDL is bad cholesterol. You want it under 100. It was at 101 my last checkup. Yesterdays came back at 127. 130 is where you have to take medicine.

NON HDL is all total bad cholesterol that causes plaque to build up in your arteries. It's what causes heart attacks and strokes. My NON HDL was in the green last year below the 130 threshold where it's suppose to be. As of yesterday it's at 142.

Basically, that puts at a near 30% of a heart attack or stroke within the next decade.

Luckily, my triglycerides are low, so plaque is piling up yet. I still have a chance to right this ship.

I really have to change my diet, and get exercise. May also have to take medicine.

I already cut a lot out and thought moderation was good enough elsewhere. I was wrong.

Going to have to go on a high fiber, low fat diet. Need to lose weight. I'm about 27-30 pounds over where I should be.

Let’s do it @Chris Craig !!!! They told me my cholesterol was high at my first appointment but chose not to put me
In medication. Said if I started shedding lbs, my cholesterol would go down naturally. If I can do this FAMS, everyone here can, I know it!!!!

 

[Chris Craig]

Let’s do it @Chris Craig !!!! They told me my cholesterol was high at my first appointment but chose not to put me
In medication. Said if I started shedding lbs, my cholesterol would go down naturally. If I can do this FAMS, everyone here can, I know it!!!!

Let's go!!!

 

[Phatguysrule]

So if that is out of pocket, damn bro…..that has to be EXPENSIVE!!!! Hope it helps you get back to where you are wanting to get.

Not as expensive as insurance has to pay, but it's still very expensive.

Thanks!

 

[Phatguysrule]

Did the doc say you were overweight? But NOT diabetic or pre diabetic? That must have been what happened?

Yep. Exactly. Blood work came back perfect. Even blood pressure is good.

Insurance says they may cover it if I have sleep apnea as well as being overweight. So just waiting for that test...

 

[THE HCP]

Not as expensive as insurance has to pay, but it's still very expensive.

Thanks!

Keep us updated please. Would love to hear about your progress. Gotta get as much protein as possible! With me cutting back a ton, I drink protein shakes/eat protein bars/eat protein pasta, and a bunch of other protein packs snacks and foods. Tons of fruit and salads. That’s been tough for me since there aren’t too many I actually like. #ProteinBAM

 

[Chris Craig]

Keep us updated please. Would love to hear about your progress. Gotta get as much protein as possible! With me cutting back a ton, I drink protein shakes/eat protein bars/eat protein pasta, and a bunch of other protein packs snacks and foods. Tons of fruit and salads. That’s been tough for me since there aren’t too many I actually like. #ProteinBAM

Protein shakes help you lose weight?

 

[crandc]

I got a call when I recently changed doctors and she requested routine blood work. Assistant calls me and says I have high cholesterol. I said something like oh yes. She didn't ask questions. She clearly had a script and immediately said "you need to exercise". Literally seconds before she called I had completed a 45 minute workout with weights after having walked five miles. I am not a professional athlete. I asked her how much exercising does she reasonable expect me to do!

 

[THE HCP]

Protein shakes help you lose weight?

Most definitely FAMS!!!!!

 

[THE HCP]

Protein shakes help you lose weight?

I believe it naturally creates GLP-1 in your system and makes you feel fuller, longer.

Please fact check me, I’m very new to all of this obviously.

 

[THE HCP]

So that is why my wife (who has lost 30 lbs during this journey with me) and I are getting as much protein into our diets as possible. Like you can’t have enough. They said you want 1 gram of protein for every pound your goal weight is. So bro, I’m trying to get like 195/200 grams a day. It’s tough.

One chicken breast is like 40g…..my shakes are 30g and my protein bars are 15…….

But for me and my diabetes, almost or even more important is simply cutting out sugar. Which is what I have done. That, and me walking the doctor says, is the main reason for my drastic weight loss.

Yes sir, there are so many protein packed foods out there. I was blown away at all the options at COSTCO!!!

 

[SlyPokerDog]

Wish I had made better choices a long time ago.

Your wife has been telling me that she wishes she had made a better choice years ago.

 

[THE HCP]

Your wife has been telling me that she wishes she had made a better choice years ago.

 

[SharpesTriumph]

Love hearing that. Didn’t realize how dangerous diabetes was/is until I was diagnosed. Wish I had made better choices a long time ago.

Yeah refined carbs are such a staple of the American diet - make people metabolically unhealthy.

 

[SharpesTriumph]

LDL is considered bad cholesterol.
But, it is one factor and there are a lot of variables.
Every time I change doctors I have to explain again everyone in my family has asymptomatic high cholesterol. No connection to diet, weight, exercise. No one ever gets heart attacks or strokes or clogged arteries. It's just there.

Yeah so much fear mongering over LDL, has people avoid super healthy eggs and eat processed oils while then mistakenly think they are being healthy.

Dietary cholesterol intake doesn't straight convert to LDL.

As you say there are a lot of factors besides LDL that determine if someone will eventually be more likely to develop heart disease.

 

[SharpesTriumph]

LDL is bad cholesterol. You want it under 100. It was at 101 my last checkup. Yesterdays came back at 127. 130 is where you have to take medicine.

NON HDL is all total bad cholesterol that causes plaque to build up in your arteries. It's what causes heart attacks and strokes. My NON HDL was in the green last year below the 130 threshold where it's suppose to be. As of yesterday it's at 142.

Basically, that puts at a near 30% of a heart attack or stroke within the next decade.

Luckily, my triglycerides are low, so plaque is piling up yet. I still have a chance to right this ship.

I really have to change my diet, and get exercise. May also have to take medicine.

I already cut a lot out and thought moderation was good enough elsewhere. I was wrong.

Going to have to go on a high fiber, low fat diet. Need to lose weight. I'm about 27-30 pounds over where I should be.

I'd be very careful of the low fat direction you mention. Fat is an essential macro nutrient. Carbs are not. If anything I might consider high fat.

I'd make sure you are getting something like fish oil and a few shots of high quality olive oil a day. If your eating bread or sugar or any refined carbs I'd suggest targeting those first. Berberine is a simple supplement that can help LDL.

Fat, non processed meat, other protein is super important for strength, muscle recovery, satiety (feeling full). Suggest not to fear eggs either - one of the most nutrient dense foods out there.

If your able to do anything to improve sleep, vo2 max, strength those are huge as well.

 

[SharpesTriumph]

I believe it naturally creates GLP-1 in your system and makes you feel fuller, longer.

Please fact check me, I’m very new to all of this obviously.

Protein and fat are essential, must get proper amount of each of those.

Protein can be a lot of effort to get enough. I make a protein smoothie with berries, fruit, milk, 100% chocolate, protein powder, nuts daily. Without that I'd be low on protein even though I eat a decent amount of eggs/meat.

 

[SharpesTriumph]

So that is why my wife (who has lost 30 lbs during this journey with me) and I are getting as much protein into our diets as possible. Like you can’t have enough. They said you want 1 gram of protein for every pound your goal weight is. So bro, I’m trying to get like 195/200 grams a day. It’s tough.

One chicken breast is like 40g…..my shakes are 30g and my protein bars are 15…….

But for me and my diabetes, almost or even more important is simply cutting out sugar. Which is what I have done. That, and me walking the doctor says, is the main reason for my drastic weight loss.

Yes sir, there are so many protein packed foods out there. I was blown away at all the options at COSTCO!!!

You nailed it here +protein -sugar

 

[THE HCP]

Protein and fat are essential, must get proper amount of each of those.

Protein can be a lot of effort to get enough. I make a protein smoothie with berries, fruit, milk, 100% chocolate, protein powder, nuts daily. Without that I'd be low on protein even though I eat a decent amount of eggs/meat.

I was reading that healthy adult males should get like 60 grams of protein a day. But man if you are trying to lose weight I’m aiming at triple that. It’s tough to get that much to be honest.

 

[TheGoldRanger]

I randomly stumbled upon this thread and after reading some of the initial posts and then the more recent posts, I just want to say im proud of you @THE HCP. I feel like I relate to you a lot. Also, thank you for your service. I always knew I would be diabetic because my Mom is and I ate a lot of carbs growing up. I always was a bigger guy though. In HS, I hovered around 330 pounds at 6'3".

Halfway through my senior year of HS (2004), I decided to lose weight and ended up losing over 100 pounds and was down to 180 pounds in just under a year. I did a low carb diet (Atkins/South Beach diet) and worked my ass off. Got to a point where I ran 12 miles a day, lifted weights an hour a day, and played basketball at least 2 hours a day. But things changed after I got a serious GF (now my wife).

I ended up gaining most of my weight back. Every few years id get back into working out and lose a good amount of weight but not close to the 100 pounds I lost early on. From my experience, low carb diets were not sustainable because id always hit a brick wall where my body just HAD to have carbs.

After my first son was born in 2020, and several years of not working out or watching my diet, I was officially diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes. I refused medication so I busted my ass off and lost significant weight again by mostly running/jogging and doing a low carb diet. After a few months of getting healthy again, I got my blood sugar levels out of the Diabetes range. Then after my 2nd son was born in 2022, we moved out of Portland to Eastern WA and I completely lost my mojo again.

Fast forward to 2025, I was essentially forced to quit my federal job of 18 years, and found myself becoming more lethargic. I only blamed age instead of myself. I picked up a part time flex position at an Amazon warehouse and almost had a stroke/heart attack during a shift. Ambulance/EMT came and I remember texting my wife, "sorry for not listening to you and taking better care of myself" with the feeling that it could have been my last text. I was disgnosed again with T2 diabetes and high blood pressure. This time, I decided it was time to take the prescribed medications for both.

Currently, im down to around 240 pounds (from 290 back in October 2025) with a goal of 220-230 pounds. I feel like this time around im more focused on sustainability, making sure I do this for life and not making the weight loss another fling. Instead of running or jogging like ive done in the past, I now do 1 hour walks on a treadmill with a little incline or an hour on a crosstrainer/elliptical. I try to do the cardio for 5-6 days a week. For my diet, I do try to watch my carbs and eat as few carbs as people. When I do eat carbs I try to eat things with high fiber.

I actually got down to 230 pounds at the beginning of this year but some things happened that really stressed me out so I ended up working out less and got a little off track with my diet. I find that intermittent fasting helps as well. Im not extreme with IF as others but what ill do is make sure there is a gap of at least 14 hours between my dinner and breakfast. I try to eat only one big meal a day and then a smaller meal/snack 1-2 times during the remainder of the day.

Also, if your joints get sore after workouts, specifically in your legs, or if youve had issues with circulation, one item that has really benefited me is a vibration plate. It sounds gimmicky but it really works for me. Ill stand on it for 15 minutes in the morning and then another 15 minutes at night before bed. I bought one for my Mom and she uses it every day and says her circulation and sleep is much better.

Didnt mean to rant on so long but again, keep it up man! You got this!

Out of curiosity for any of you on the weight loss / kicking diabetes' ass path, what are some snacks you guys eat?

 

[crandc]

We sure don't need refined sugar but we do need carbs. We evolved eating fruit, roots, nuts. Before humans had settled communities they were pounding seeds into meal for porridge.
Development of agriculture substituted grain base diet, often just one, for varied diet. With attendant problems.
Obesity isn't from eating legumes and whole grains..

 

[THE HCP]

I randomly stumbled upon this thread and after reading some of the initial posts and then the more recent posts, I just want to say im proud of you @THE HCP. I feel like I relate to you a lot. Also, thank you for your service. I always knew I would be diabetic because my Mom is and I ate a lot of carbs growing up. I always a big guy though. In HS, I always hovered around 330 pounds at 6'3".

Halfway through my senior year of HS (2004), I decided to lose weight and ended up losing over 100 pounds and was down to 180 pounds in just under a year. I did a low carb diet (Atkins/South Beach diet) and worked my ass off. Got to a point where I ran 12 miles a day, lifted weights an hour a day, and played basketball at least 2 hours a day. But things changed after I got a serious GF (now my wife).

I ended up gaining most of my weight back. Every few years id get back into working out and lose sla good amount of weight but not anything close to the 100 pounds I lost early on. From my experience, low carb diets were not sustainable because id always a brick wall where my body just HAS to have carbs.

After my first son was born in 2020, and several years of not working out or watching my diet, I was officially diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes. I refused medication so I busted my ass off and lost significant weight again by mostly running/jogging and doing a low carb diet. After a few months of getting healthy again, I got my blood sugar levels out of the Diabetes range. Then after my 2nd son was born in 2022, we moved out of Portland to Eastern WA and I completely lost my mojo again.

Fast forward to 2025, I was essentially forced to quit my federal job of 18 years, and found myself becoming more lethargic. I only blamed age instead of myself. I picked up a part time flex position at an Amazon warehouse and almost had a stroke/heart attack during a shift. Ambulance/EMT came and I remember texting my wife, "sorry for not listening to you and taking better care of myself" with the feeling that it could have been my last text. I was disgnosed again with T2 diabetes and high blood pressure. This time, I decided it was time to take the prescribed medications for both.

Currently, im down to around 240 pounds with a goal of 220-230 pounds. I feel like this time around im more focused on sustainability, making sure I do this for life and not making the weight loss another fling. Instead of running or jogging like ive done in the past, I now do 1 hour walks on a treadmill with a little incline or an hour on a crosstrainer/elliptical. I try to do the cardio for 5-6 days a week. For my diet, I do try to watch my carbs but I do try to minimize my carbs as much as possible and if anything, eat things with fiber if I do eat carbs.

I got down to 230 pounds at the beginning of this year but some things happened that really stressed me out so I ended up working out less and got a little off track with my diet. I find that intermittent fasting helps as well. Im not extreme with IF as others but what ill do is make sure there is a gap of at least 14 hours between my dinner and breakfast. I try to eat only one big meal a day and then a smaller meal/snack 1-2 times during the remainder of the day.

Also, if your joints get sore after workouts, specifically in your legs, or if youve had issues with circulation, one item that has really benefited me is a vibration plate. It sounds gimmicky but it really works for me. Ill stand on it for 15 minutes in the morning and then another 15 minutes at night before bed. I bought one for my Mom and she uses it every day and says her circulation and sleep is much better.

Didnt mean to rant on so long but again, keep it up man! You got this!

Out of curiosity for any of you on the weight loss / kicking diabetes' ass path, what are some snacks you guys eat?

Thank you so much for sharing. Means a lot to hear of others journeys.
I have been told by many to not go crazy running and working out. That this is such a shock to the system, you need to ease in. Light strength training and walking. I am at the point now where I need to really figure out which workouts are best fo me. I went from nothing to something, but it’s time to step it up in this offseason.

And yes on the not eating carbs……. I have shared on here that I don’t feel I will ever be a kale and cauliflower rice guy (EVEN THOUGH I JUST HAD IT FOR THE FIRST TIME THE OTHER NIGHT)

I think i will always be a portions person. Just limiting the AMOUNT of food I intake, not completely cutting things out. Although I have cold turkey shut out soda and fast food.

Sounds like your health scare at work really woke you up and that’s a good thing right? My friends passing away was definitely one for me. Unfortunately it took something like that to do it. But in a way deep down, I’m doing this for them as well.

 

[THE HCP]

Out of curiosity for any of you on the weight loss / kicking diabetes' ass path, what are some snacks you guys eat?

BareBelle protein bars.
Bananas and apples.
Recently after craving cookies and candy because I hadn’t had any at all in 5.5 months found sugar free Oreos and sugar free Reases peanut butter cups. That actually aren’t bad and got some positive reviews. One every now and then they said were fine.

There is a chips company called SIETE.

They have some really good chips I’ll have too.

I have pretty much stopped snacking. It was actually easier the first 3 months than it has been this past 3.

 

[BoBoBREWSKI]

Thank you so much for sharing. Means a lot to hear of others journeys.
I have been told by many to not go crazy running and working out. That this is such a shock to the system, you need to ease in. Light strength training and walking. I am at the point now where I need to really figure out which workouts are best fo me. I went from nothing to something, but it’s time to step it up in this offseason.

Get a Peloton bike. I love mine. and there are a ton of other workouts on it that you don't do on the bike. But I pretty much only do the ride workouts.

 

[BoBoBREWSKI]

Tillamook no sugar beef jerky from Costco is my favorite snack.