My story

ravanf

I was diagnosed on the Wednesday before Thanksgiving as a type two diabetic. I had an A1C of 10.5 and fasting glucose of 234. It was a shock in some regards and not a surprising at all at the same time. I have had a day to get used to the idea.
I see this as a wake-up call and am thankful for the second chance. A lot of people do not get a wake-up call . They get a heart attack, stroke or amputation. As such, I am trying to approach this as a positive situation.

I spent Wednesday reading everything I could get my hands on. Although there are definitely differences of opinion among the experts. Several things stand-out as universal advice. Exercise daily, eat well, test often and lose weight.

Some experts say 30 minutes three times a day, others recommend slightly less, while some say 15 every other day would be sufficient. For me, I am going to have to work in exercise around my VERY busy schedule and the horrible winter weather for which northern New England is famous. My plan is to do at least 30 minutes of walking 5 days a week. If I can get in 6 or 7 that will be great.

Eating well is the second recommendation. Fortunately for me, I am not a junk food junkie. I like vegetables and fruit. Salad is my favorite thing. The challenge for me is going to be making better selections for dips and dressings.

The next piece of universal advice is testing frequently. This has been interesting. I test 4 times a day: first thing in the morning and two hours after every meal. Although I am getting better at it, I still have not been able to discern a particular pattern. One thing I am looking at is to see which foods spike my numbers. Those of course will become the foods to avoid.

The last thing is to lose weight. This is going to need a paradigm shift on my part. For decades, I have been obsessed on a particular number. As with no permanent results. The shift will be that I am not going to focus on a number but rather trust that healthy eating, controlled sugar levels and a more active lifestyle will work in concert and lower my weight. My goal this weekend is not to weigh. I am hoping that my 1 month check up will be the first time I weigh.

Although I am still processing the idea that I am diabetic, I am grateful for the second chance.

LTKeegan

Good luck on your journey!


You said you like salad dressings/ dips. I do too! I found that making it from scratch helped to reign in my calories. Also, bolthouse farms (organic) has some low calorie yogurt dressings that are great! They're low cal but not weirdly added with things. The blue cheese that I'm currently rocking is 35 cal for 2TBSP.


**I'm not in any way affiliated with bolthouse farms, this is just a thing that I've discovered over the past few weeks**

gabbymom2

Hi....
My very good friend is on here.....you need to friend her. She found out she was a diabetic at 35.....she is now 44 and she has learned so much over the years. I know she would love to " help". She is Hoover8it

Yanicka1

Welcome and good luck

dawnmcneil10

Congratulations on your 2nd chance!

I am not a diabetic but both sides of my family have adult onset diabetes so I decided to make the best of my life to try and avoid that and if I can't I took the time now to get my diet in order. Please be careful not to take too much of the "advice" you'll get on here, always follow your nutritionists guidelines. With that said here are a few things that I've learned over the years in general and they may very well help you.
Drink lots of water
Eat your veggies
Explore whole grain and vegetable options
Skip the salad dressing, use a little cottage cheese, plain greek yogurt or something as simple as lemon juice or flavored vinegars and mix up your veggies by using different peppers and greens, don't be afraid to add a little fruit.

If you're not one to exercise much now start slow too much too fast will mess with your sugar levels just as bad as food.

Good luck to you, you're welcome to add me as a friend if you want my diary is open and I hide nothing, food is fuel but it needs to be healthy and taste good.