Hi All,
I have been Type 20 for more than 20 years.. Not on insulin yet; Metformin and Januvia. I have had very decent sugar control but recently A1cs creeping up in the 7s - a sign my pancreas is producing less insulin or I am becoming more resistant or both...
I have done a ton of reading over the years and experimented with a variety of things. My weight has been a constant struggle my whole life. I have been from overweight, to very overweight, to tip top physical condition (During my time in the military and usually somewhere in-between) At no time when I was in top shape was it easy. It required constant exercise and and my eating nearly nothing to stay in shape (I was probably eating the wrong things at the time) By the way, none of us are dealt the same hand. I had a roomate in college that ate whatever he wanted and never gained any weight. (I still hate him)
Here's a few things I have learned:
Exercise trumps dieting - Even if it is a few extra steps a day; walking; parking farther away from where you would normally park, taking a minute to walk around a block - It makes a difference. It doesn't have to be an event, just get started, listen to some music. The fitbit helps setting a goal and tracking it.
Focusing on adding in good foods vs. not eating bad foods is the key. Instead of obsessing about what not to eat, I made sure to add in good foods. I like spinach so I have big spinach salads daily. This isn't a hardship because I like them. They fill me up and I am less apt to eat something else 🙂 I eat the salad first.
I'm very focused now on looking for foods high in nutriants and not filled with empty calories; no high fructose corn syrup, MSG, trans fats, bleached, hydroginated. I'm also limiting meat and dairy (Dairy is actually full of sugar - lactose) I like almond milk and use that. It sounds like a big change but you can get here gradually.
I am a fan of Dr.Joel Furhman and some of the work he has done (Eat to Live, The End of Diabetes, etc.) One of his tips that my wife and I have used is making a big batch of healthy soup or stew. We vacuum pack this and freeze it then just thaw out some when we come home from work. it helps with the challenge of trying to prepare something decent every night.
I'm in a pitched battle now to stay off insulin. I'm just not ready to go there yet. I want to see if I can increase my activity further, lose a few more pounds and stay off a few years longer or all together. Wish me luck and best to all of you. We have a crappy disease but you don't have to give into it. Fight it!
By the way, I was diagnosed while serving in the US Army. During my exit physical my sugars were elevated and revealed I was "pre-diabetetic," a term I wish the medical community would abolish and I wish I knew then what I know now. Anyway, I was in the shape of my life and very active so while activity level and BMI are factors with type II diabetes so is family history and genetics. My point is none of us deserve this. Sometimes, I think the general public has an interesting view of diabetics but maybe that's just me. 🙂
