Hi All,
If you are wrestling with an A1C, remember this is kind of a report card for the last 3 months. It measures the plaque on your red blood cells to get your average glucose level and gives you a sense of how much you are in control.
If you are here, you are taking the right steps to getting there. The disease doesn't need to rule your life but it is always with you and as was mentioned a plate of pasta away. The key is to keep it in check by really changing your diet.
I have managed my diabetes for years; decades. I first got diagnosed following my service in Desert Storm when I exited the Army so as you can imagine I was in top physical condition. By blood sugar was off the charts during my final physical and I was told I was pre-diabetic. It would be 7 more years before a doctor actually said the "D" word.
Fast forward 20 years later and I was taking a combination of drugs that stimulated insulin production, made insulin work better (Metformin - The most proscribed drug for our disease) and also a drug that regulated the absorbtion of sugars into my system (a pepcid blocker - Januvia) All of this did a pretty good job helping me keep my A1C in the low 6s despite not really losing the weight I needed to nor having the level of daily activity I really needed to be healthy (ie too much time sitting at a desk) Oh and I also took statin drugs for high blood pressure and elevated Triglycerides.
Long story short, I was overweight, (I quit smoking and gained weight....) not as active as I should be and all of a sudden something happened; my A1C shot up to 8.2. I hadn't changed what I was doing. I would occasionally eat fast food but I wasn't eating sweets. I wasn't gaining weitht but I didn't really lose weight... Oh... I got older
The drug I had relied on to stimulate insulin production wasn't working anymore, my pancreas was not acting as efficiently as it should and I'm betting I had built up more insulin resistance that necessary (I believe you can manage this)
The doctor told it it was time to go on Lantus Insulin just like that commercial on TV. Something snapped with me.. I just wasn't ready to go there. He and I talked and against his better judgment, I was going to give this another shot and see him again in 3 months.
I changed my diet shooting for more plant-based eating; green leafy. Eat the salad first. I didn't give up meat but made the portions smaller. I got a Fitbit and established a daily walking goal - 5000 steps to start. I gave myself an achievable goal. I swore off fast food and haven't touched it since. This scared me a lot and I just wan't ready to take the next step to insulin.
Typical Breakfast: Whole Oatmeal with fruit
Lunch: Big green salad ( spinach not iceberg lettuce) maybe some chicken Careful with the dressing
Dinner: Fish or Meat but a smaller portion Veggies Big Portion Very limited potatoes; white carbs...rice etc.
I track what I eat but don't calorie count.. I shoot for nutrient rich food and I eat until I am full. No starving allowed. (Psst I prefer My Fitness Pal to the Fitbit App and it syncs with the Fitbit App)
My next A1C was 5.2
I've lost 55 pounds. I lose 1-2 pounds a week. Once I got more fit, I added a gym membership and have made that a regular thing I ALWAYS make my step goal but don't sweat it if I can't make the gym on a given day.
Best part - I'm on metformin and a small dose of statin to protect my kidneys. That's it! My doctor and I have weaned me off the other drugs. My doctor visits are now every 6 months.
Diabetes will always be there but I believe you can put yourself in remission and reduce your insulin resistence. Also lowering your BMI will simply make the disease easier to manage. Easy? No but you're worth it. Start by adding in the good. Add a walk. Sub a salard for those fries. Start to make changes. Before you know it, you'll find you prefer things that way. You can do this.
