My metabolic health principles 1.0

Nutrition, Exercise, Sleep

I’ve now seen several people online showcasing their healthy living mantras. These are simple rules of thumb that serve as a useful daily reminders for how you want to treat different aspects of your health. This made me think about my current journey and how I would summarise my approach on a card I could carry with me in my wallet. I’ve been building my mental list of these rules for a few weeks now, but if you don’t write them down, do they really exist? Now they do!

Before I get to my principles, it is important to emphasise that my personal context is years of out-of-control type 2 diabetes fuelled by carb addiction. The management of type 2 diabetes has many dimensions and ultimately needs a holistic approach, but nutrition - what you eat and when you eat - has the most immediate impact on easing insulin resistance and stabilising blood glucose levels. Managing your food addiction is also largely about what you eat (or rather, don’t eat).

Given all the above, my current focus is on my diet, but I’m also exploring the impact of exercise and sleep. I have already implemented many of the principles below, am experimenting with some right now and have picked one or two aspirational ones.

The most important principles

  • I own my health - It is up to me to choose the future I want out of all the futures. I can and should learn about my medical conditions and drive my health goals. Medical profession are my partners, but I have the final say. It took me a while to get here. To realise that managing my long-term conditions is not something that is done to me.
  • I stay curious - Apart from the most important principles, nothing is set in stone. Our bodies change over time and what works today might not work tomorrow. I ask questions; I track my metrics; I listen to my body and adjust my approach as needed. Echoing the previous principle, I choose what’s right for me right now.

Nutrition - What I eat

  • I follow a low-carb, high-fat (LCHF) diet - I rarely consider calories and mainly focus on my daily intake of macronutrients. Usually I aim for less than 25g carbohydrates, between 85-130g protein (1-1.5g of per kg of my body weight) and the rest of my daily calories in healthy fats. I’m tracking the impact of the protein intake on my blood glucose levels and might look at reducing the amount of protein I eat.
  • I cut out refined carbs and limit naturally carb-rich foods - Carbs are my nemesis and fuel my food addiction. The only way to curb my cravings is to avoid carbs. Foods with up to 5g carbs per 100g are on my safe list, up to 10g per 100g on my use sparingly list, and above 10g per 100g on my avoid list.
  • I choose real food - I prefer to cook from scratch and choose real, unrefined foods where I can. Anything with over five ingredients or ingredients that you would not normally find in your kitchen is most likely ultra-processed. I avoid seed oils and fats.
  • I stick to natural beverages - I drink water (still and sparkling), coffee, tea, infusions, homemade bone broth, an occasional glass of red wine with a meal. No added sugar or artificial sweeteners.
  • I check nutrition labels before eating food - This is so that I can apply my principles above. It’s surprising how often I’ve mistakenly assumed a food or drink was low carb, only to experience a significant increase in my blood glucose levels after consuming it.

Nutrition - When I eat

  • I combine intermittent fasting (IF) with Alternate-day Fasting (ADF) - I fast for 42 hours every other day. On the days I eat, I skip breakfast and aim to have my food between 12:00 and 18:00 (18:6 intermittent fasting pattern). I normally have two meals, but would only eat if I’m hungry. Midday meal is the main meal of the day and I keep the evening meal light. I try not to snack between meals, but have low-carb options readily available, if I have to.

Exercise

  • Exercise is important, but I keep it easy - Taking my dog to the local park gives me at least a couple of brisk walks and over 10k steps each day. I’m exploring resistance training using exercise bands so that I can do it anywhere and easily incorporate into my daily schedule.

Sleep

  • I follow a consistent sleep pattern - I need my 7 - 8 hours of sleep to function well. I try to stick to the same sleeping schedule daily - 22:00 - 06:00.