In the Beginning

My name is Richard and I'm a diabetic. It seems almost like an admission of guilt, based upon the way some people talk about, and write about, type 2 diabetes. Many people think that all people who have type 2 diabetes caused it themselves by overeating. Perhaps there's a modicum of truth in that but it wouldn't account for the thin type 2 diabetics or the fat non-diabetics. Anyway, I'm not one to judge. What I am is someone who doesn't enjoy being diabetic.

Now, a lot of people, including some very clever people who are much more knowledgeable about the condition than I am, say type 2 diabetes (let's call it T2DM for short) cannot be cured. They may well be right but that doesn't stop me from looking for a way to cure, reverse, put into remission or just remove the complications associated with my T2DM. Let's put it this way: when I've tried everything and I still can't eat a pavlova or drink a Red Bull without soaring blood glucose levels, then I'll admit they are right and I'll give up.

So, I booked a two week holiday from work and decided to use the time doing some work around the house and performing an experiment with my own body. I decided that for the next two weeks, and perhaps longer, I will attempt to live on 600 calories per day. Why 600 calories? Well, that's the number that the people on a small scale study in the UK were given. They normalised their blood glucose levels in a week and a reasonable number of them became diabetes-free after eight weeks. Will it work for me? Will I be able to keep it up? Who knows, but there's one way to find out.

I start tomorrow, wish me luck!