Jennifer's Story
Here's my story... Those that have heard it before can go out for a low carb snack ; )
Now you should know, I am a decorated veteran of the diet wars... until age 36 when I decided never to diet again. Last year, at 40, when I was dx'd with DM. I was petrified... I just knew I would walk into the doctors office and they'd take one look and say, "Well, just lose weight". And I would try and I would fail. As I had on every diet known to man since the beginning of time. But this time failure would mean blindness, amputation and other horrible complications, not just a bigger dress.
I had to find something that would focus on my blood glucose, not my weight. Reading all I could about the disease it seemed completely logical to me to use a low carb eating plan to control my blood glucose. I decided, even before setting foot into the doctors office, the RD's office or the RDE's office, that I would use my BG meter as my measure of success, not the scale. It seemed to me that if carbs raised my BG, then I should limit carbs. But how could it be that simple?
And why didn't everyone do this? That I couldn't figure out... but I knew that's what I was going to try. So I did. And it worked from day one.
Amazingly. My blood glucose levels began to drop dramatically.
They began dropping right away... The first one, one month after dx was 8.5... then three months later a 6.3... then 5.1... and now 4.3. I use lower carb eating, some (but not enough) exercise and 500mg of Glucophage 3x a day.
I don't follow any one specific plan, but I limit my carbs, and eat any that I do eat in the form of veggies. I'm not a fanatic, I will slip a bite or two of dessert in at a restaurant...
First... remember, I don't worry about losing weight, I don't worry about ketosis, I only care what my blood glucose monitor says. Well... let's take yesterday (I can't remember much farther back than that ; ). A very busy day. I ate out all three meals. I started at a breakfast meeting ...
A cheese/onion omelet, with a side of bacon, coffee with cream. BG ... at 1hr pp 110... at 2hr pp 100.
Lunch: A giant salad (lettuces, half a carrot, celery, cucumber, radish, green pepper) with two giant scoops of chicken salad (mayo and all) on top, a half a bagel chip (sort of a thin crunchy bagel thing). BG: at 1hr pp 109 at 2hr pp 95
Dinner: Ceasar salad (ate a few of the croutons) steak, spinach sauteed with mushrooms, a forkful of mashed potatoes, two bites (literally) of my friends apple pie. BG at 1 hr pp 118 at 2 hr pp 107.
Snacks: A handful (probably a 1/4 c or so) of roasted peanuts... three string cheese sticks (at different times)... Some fresh green beans with ranch dressing.
Now, I would say most mornings, I drive through McD's on the way to work ...
I get a breakfast sandwich (any kind with an english muffin) and toss off the top bun. If I'm very hungry I'll get two... but my 1hr pp is usually in the low 120's when I do that, but I do eat two at least once a week.
I order double bacon cheeseburgers in restaurants without the bun... I order big triple decker sandwiches at delis and toss off the bread. I always get a salad or a veggie to go with my protein. I have gazpacho with dollops of sour cream and avocado... I get chicken wings... I've even gone to pasta places. One place had a great sounding Seafood over pasta... Shrimp, calamari, mussels, etc. in a red sauce. They also had sauteed spinach. I asked them to put the Seafood over the spinach instead of pasta. It tasted GREAT... A few others in the restaurant actually ordered it that way after seeing mine arrive at my table.
I also believe with all my heart that I've had a carbohydrate disorder my entire life. I never understood why I could eat a large bowl of pasta (with fat free sauce of course) for dinner and find myself in the kitchen an hour later needing to eat something, anything. The intense draw to eat was mind boggling. I of course, looked for all the psychological reasons...
"I must have low self esteem" "I'm pushing down my feelings with food"... Although, besides being fat, there was no reason to believe they were true.
I have a wonderful life, with no other hint of a self esteem problem... But it's what I was told... it's what I read in every magazine.
Since LC, I have not had one of those insane hunger episodes.
All in all, I'm healthier now, with low carb and diabetes then I was a year and a half ago eating low fat/high carbs.
So that's my story.
Eating this way has completely fit into my life. I eat out or order in at least 15 meals a week and it's been beyond easy, FOR ME. I don't mean to sound like anyone should be able to do this, and of course I understand when people have problems adjusting. I count myself very very very very very lucky that I was easily able to adapt. And since this is a progressive disease, I don't know what other changes I'll need to make down the road, but I'll be ready to make them.
Jennifer
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