Six months ago today, on Friday October 13, 2006, I was diagnosed with diabetes. Since then I've lost 40 pounds and gotten my blood sugar under control, although I still need to take insulin.
I lost 30 pounds in a few months without even realizing it back in 2000, which was even more impressive. ;) Although, looking back, that was probably the diabetes starting to take hold...I simply stopped absorbing all the energy in the food I was eating, but the minimal exercise I was getting due to getting ready to move was enough to mean I burned fat rather than feeling hungry.
Well, mainly I turned my truly horrible habits into merely bad ones. The main changes were: cutting sugared sodas entirely, no longer "grazing" on snacks, generally keeping portions under control, and walking for 15-20 minutes a day. Starting insulin helped me cut my intake of food a lot without feeling weak from hunger. I never really counted calories carefully, but I think I now take in about half the calories I used to on a daily basis, and about a third the carbs I used to (cutting soda and no longer just eating from the chips bag until I feel full made a big difference on the carb count).
My mom never had to take any medication for her Type 2, but she caught it sooner than I did, and diet and exercise were enough to keep it in check. I let mine go too long, it may be a while before I can stop taking insulin, if I can ever stop. My blood sugar levels six months ago were in the mid 300s two hours after a meal, where they should be under 150, preferably under 120.
Sounds more reliable then starvation dieting, at least. I don't drink any sugared sodas, but I'm wondering if even the diet ones should go. My own paranoia's somewhat justified by my father's unusual ability to get his own blood sugar up to 500 on occasion (we have no earthly idea how he was still talking at that point...) so I'm getting concerned over my own weight.
I hope it works well for you. Hopefully, I'll be able to catch up to you, progress-wise.
Well, there's evidence that diet soda messes up the way your body interprets stuff...triggering sweet reactions when there's no sugar, that sort of thing. I haven't had a problem with it, personally, but your mileage may vary. As long as you're careful about your portions, though, and don't just eat when you feel hungry, it probably won't hurt.
I've also been chewing gum at night. It satisfies my grazing habit of chewing on something, but a stick of gum has only 2g of sugar...if I make two sticks last an hour or more, it's negligible calories in and the sugar's gone quickly enough that there's no real tooth decay issue either (sugar-free gum has fewer effective carb calories, but 2g versus 1.3g per stick isn't a difference worth the fuss).
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I hope you do as well as my uncle. He dropped fifty (though it took him two years), and then, for some reason, no longer required insulin at all.
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My mom never had to take any medication for her Type 2, but she caught it sooner than I did, and diet and exercise were enough to keep it in check. I let mine go too long, it may be a while before I can stop taking insulin, if I can ever stop. My blood sugar levels six months ago were in the mid 300s two hours after a meal, where they should be under 150, preferably under 120.
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I hope it works well for you. Hopefully, I'll be able to catch up to you, progress-wise.
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I've also been chewing gum at night. It satisfies my grazing habit of chewing on something, but a stick of gum has only 2g of sugar...if I make two sticks last an hour or more, it's negligible calories in and the sugar's gone quickly enough that there's no real tooth decay issue either (sugar-free gum has fewer effective carb calories, but 2g versus 1.3g per stick isn't a difference worth the fuss).
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