I don't have many blog entries and you will notice this is the first one in a LONG time. Over the winter I wasn't as focused as I was in the summer and fall. But as I near the one year anniversary of beginning this journey to being healthier, it is important for me to visit the "where I was" and where I am now.
May 16, 2011:
- Weighed in at 298 pounds.
- A1C: 8.5 (should be 6.0 or less) - a measurement of diabetes control - mine at 8.5 was NOT controlled)
- Insulin: 200 units per day via an insulin pump
- Symelin Pen before meal
- Additional insulin shots inbetween meals
- Metformin: 3 pills per day for to treat insulin resistance (something being over weight caused)
- Prilosec - for stomach issues
- Blood pressure: 120/70 (with occasional spikes with stress but not bad)
- Cholesterol: 165 - with perfect ratios
September 5, 2011 (3 months and 2 weeks later)
- Weighed in at 253 pounds -- 45 pounds lost
- A1C: 5.8 -- total success!!
- Insulin and pump and extra shots -- GONE no longer needed. I still check my levels every day to make certain the levels are good. My average is 90 - perfect!!
- Metformin: Cut down to 2 pills per day
- Prilosec: no longer needed!!
- Blood pressure: 100/70 -- now having issues with it dipping too low - but working on keeping up my salt intake and water intake - which helps dramatically.
- Cholesterol: 115 - with perfect ratios
When I'm below 200 I will slowly add more LOW glycemic carbs to my diet while still losing weight.
When I reach my goal (which is around 150) I will add more LOW glycemic carbs until I'm maintaining my weight without gaining or losing.
I'm going to share some medical history just to prove the point that "anyone" can do this!
In 1997 I was diagnosed with Graves Disease of the thyroid (an autonomic malfunction). It was causing thyroid storms which were potentially deadly. It was treated by killing off part of the thyroid with radioactive iodine and am now on thyroid replacement.
In 2008, I contracted a virus that attacked my heart and I had to have emergency heart surgery to drain the very rapidly building fluid from around my heart. (My family doctor nearly killed me as he thought I had congestive heart failure - he was fired - I took myself to the ER at MVH and those doctors saved my life as the fluid was building so fast my heart didn't have room to beat.)
In 2009, I was diagnosed with yet another autonomic malfunction, P. O. T. S. brought on by the trauma of the heart virus. POTS is easiest described as my body forgets what to do with gravity - so when I stand up, my veins forget to contract, blood pools quickly, and my blood pressure drops dramatically for several seconds until it "rights itself" and responds. I will say this has improved with weight loss; but, it is still an issue.
NOW -- because of all these issues I have several specialists I see on a regular basis. 1. Family Doc 2. Cardiologist 3. Endocrinologist 4. Gastroenterologist and a team of specialists at the Cleveland Clinic because there are NO doctors in the Dayton, Cincy or Columbus area that treat people with POTS (my cardiologist tries but he follows what the CC tells him).
OKAY -- so all these specialists were pushing me to have gastric bypass surgery saying it was the only way to lose weight and get my health under control. I went to all the weight loss meetings, went to all the clinics, and started going through the nutrition training. They were going to reroute my insides and put me in a place of malnutrition so that I could lose weight. Let me tell you what... when I learned that once you have surgery you can NEVER eat sugar or breads again -- something clicked in my head.
It was like God thwacked me hard. It wasn't the surgery that was working - it was the diet! (I'm sure the surgery helps; but, they kept cautioning that if you ate sugar and bread that you would gain the weight back. It wasn't a life-long instant cure.
So I made the decision right then and there to stop eating sugar and carbs. I researched low carb diets and saw that Atkins had been redesigned. It was lean meat, LOTS of green veggies and high good fats.
On May 23 I began the journey.
After six weeks on the diet, I was getting really LOW blood sugar readings... so I had to start cutting back on the shots, then I had to back off the insulin pump. Then I began to question the pump all together. I went to the doctor. At that point I had lost 25 pounds and he took me off the pump because:
NOW My average blood sugar reading was 80.
My A1C was 6.5
In just six weeks the diabetes was under control and I no longer needed the insulin. He said, keep doing what you're doing and come back in 4 months.
So I did... I continued eating the same diet: eggs and bacon for breakfast; salads for lunch; lean meats & veggies for dinner. TONS of water. I soon realized that the 3 metformins per day were too much. So I stopped taking the one in the middle of the day.
I went back to the doctor September.
My average blood sugar reading was 90 - perfect.
My A1C was 5.8 - perfect
Blood pressure was 100/70 -- a little low for me as all my life it's been 120/80 -- more about that another day.
Triglycerides were 75
Total cholesterol was 115
AND I weighed in at 247 -- 53 pounds gone in five months!
My doctor was shocked. He said, please don't tell me you're eating bacon and eggs every morning... I said.. Yes I have and they're covered in olive oil and real butter. He said, "Amanda, I don't like what you're proving but do not change a thing... I'll see you back in a year." A YEAR!! WooHoo
NOW -- I still take Metformin morning and evening because until I can lose enough weight I will still be insulin resistant. But once I can lose enough weight I may not need the metformin anymore.
I do NOT take any insulin, wear a pump or have shots anymore and I no longer take the prilosec for my stomach. AND the doctor reduced the amount of thyroid replacement due to my weight loss.
I try to eat under 20 carbs per day -- 15 of those come from low glycemic veggies and the rest come from cheese and heavy whipping cream. I do not use SWEETENERS of ANY kind as anything sweet tasting tricks my body into thinking it had sugar and I get high blood sugar readings... this happens in some people... I'm one of them.
Again, I'm not a doctor - I'm sharing what I've learned worked for me, and what I know has worked for others. My doctors have supported me all the way.
Here's what I did and continue to do:
1. Stop eating sugar:
a. do not eat fruit NONE period end of story for at least two months -- NO juices either!! You can work them back in later... but not now.
b. do not use fake/natural sweeteners at all for at least two months - no diet drinks, no sweet treats... you can work them back in later... but not now.
2. Stop eating ALL wheat and grains. *includes rice and soy* Period, end of story, HUMANS are not to eat these things EVER!
3. Stop eating starchy high glycemic vegetables - these can be worked back in later -- but not for a long time and you may realize this is true forever.
Watch:
1. Fat Head (it's a 2.5 hour documentary and well worth every minute) here's the link: http://www.hulu.com/watch/196879/fat-head
READ:
1. Wheat Belly
2. Atkins website/book: www.atkins.com
LEARN:
1. Learn the glycemic index of foods and only eat foods that are LOW on the list (remembering to exclude those items listed above)
QUICK HELP:
1. Fat is your friend... our brains are made up of fat, our body converts fat into energy.
2. Calories are not the enemy.
3. Carbs ARE the enemy... stay low (start at 20 per day for at least six weeks - then increase by 5 additional carbs week by week until you: 1: stop losing or 2: start gaining or 3: have higher blood sugar readings) For example: when I eat 30 carbs per day, I stop losing weight. To keep losing weight I have to have less than 20.
4. Exercise -- even a short walk is better than none.
5. Drink water... lots of it. Did you know Americans are chronically dehydrated? Our bodies think they're hungry when really we're thirsty. When you don't get enough water, your body doesn't know what to do with all the junk floating in it and it holds onto everything because it's thirsty. Drinking water tells your body it can flush your system, and you'll start losing weight and the blood sugar readings will reduce. Did you know when your sugar is high that your blood turns into syrup? Water that syrup down!!!
SCIENCE:
Our body needs carbs to have energy.
Our body converts fat stores into carbs for us.
When we eat too many carbs, our body never has a chance to use it's fat stores.
When we eat too many carbs, any carbs not burned become stored as fat.
SO -- you eat too many carbs, it's stored... then you keep on eating carbs that are stored... then you eat more carbs and those are stored... before long... you have excess fat and your body keeps storing it because you keep eating carbs.
SOOOOOOOOO when you eat very low carbs your body says, "Oh hey! We need something for energy, Hey! look, we have lots of stored energy (fat) and we need that, lets grab some" and BOOM you start losing weight.
THEN our bodies crave fat because it needs fat -- that's why butter is so stinking good!!! hahaha
When we eat lots of GOOD fats (olive oil, avocados, olives, butter, etc.) our body says, "Oh! Look, we're being fed the fats we're craving, let's start using more of the fats we stored!" Then you start losing more weight, your brain function improves, and your body starts working like a finely tuned machine.
I know this is a lot to take in... but it's well worth it. If you really want to know... I'm laying it all out there!
You've no doubt seen all the gluten free foods... HUMANS were not meant to eat wheat!!!! Period. In the 1970s wheat consumption increased dramatically because of the FALSE food pyramid the GOVERNMENT CREATED to support the farmers. Now here we are a generation later with an epidemic of people are are allergic to wheat products!! (watch Fat Head referenced above)
ANYWAY -- something that happened also for us - we only eat whole foods. We do not consume anything from a box anymore. I cook everything fresh or frozen. The only thing "pre made" would be spices and dairy. We now do what is called a Paleo Low Carb diet... if a caveman couldn't eat it, then we shouldn't either.
You might think it is silly to stay away from fruits because they are "so good for you" and they are in SMALL quantities but they have sugar... when you're diabetic sugar in ALL forms is toxic and like poison. Did you know that VEGGIES have all the same properties of fruit and most of them have MORE antioxidants than fruit?!?! There is no reason to eat fruit in any form until you have lost all your weight AND/OR your sugar numbers are back to normal.
Once you've lost enough weight and/or your sugar numbers are back to normal THEN and ONLY then can you begin to eat SERVING size of LOW glycemic fruit. Not before then! And not huge amounts. Test, test, test after eating fruit. If you're sugar jumps too much or is still high after 90 minutes... the next time you eat it, eat less. If the numbers still jump, then don't eat it again... or move it to the very rare "treat" category.
I'm sure you'll have a dozen questions -- so ask away and I'll respond as quickly as I can -- but I suggest starting with ATKINS and I suggest you do NOT tell people you are doing ATKINS -- tell them you're stopping eating wheat and sugar. When you say Atkins people flip out because they don't realize how infused it is with veggies... it's a very balanced diet.
I do PHASE 1 and 2 of Atkins all the time. I won't switch to Phase 3 until I'm near my goal weight.
I haven't lost anymore past the 60 pounds because I stopped exercising and eating things I shouldn't over the winter... However, I have NOT gained but a couple pounds then it comes back off. I'm certain once I start exercising again, I'll break the 240 mark.
There is no doubt I feel the best I have felt in my entire life. It really is amazing!!!
So do the reading, do the research... go to www.atkins.com and find the "what to eat" for Phase 1. It says to do it for two weeks; but, with all the research I did, I learned for a diabetic, you really need to do Phase 1 for at LEAST six weeks. My endocrine specialist said that it takes six weeks for the body's clock and functions to reset themselves.
I'm not a doctor - you should always check with your own doctor before starting any diet or exercise routine.
Ask away... good luck!!!! You can do this!!!
Amanda
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