More Health: Living With Diabetes and My Journey

It's been about four months since my journey toward better health and beating diabetes began. So where am I now?

At the end of October, three months since I took the A1C test which diagnosed me diabetic, I retook the test. This time it was a simple finger prick and a small amount of blood. I was lucky that the lab in my doctor's office had a machine which didn't require them to send out the sample. The phlebotomist was nice and told me I would get the results in a few minutes.

In all honesty, before I took the test, I told myself there was a chance my results might even be higher than 6.4% despite all the things I had been doing to get it down. The problem with diabetes is if someone in your family has the disease, the chances of getting it goes up, and someone in my biological background had diabetes (side note: I was adopted as a baby but my mom told me my biological grandmother had diabetes). Of course, this is not an excuse why I have diabetes. I know my lifestyle of not eating well, no exercise and weight gain contributed to why I have it now.

Drumroll.... my results were 5.7%! Holy moly! I was so ecstatic! I mean I was hoping I'd get it down but for it to be that much was amazing!!! The result puts me in the pre-diabetic stage. If I had gotten it down to 5.6%, it would have been normal. But I would take being pre-diabetic at this point as opposed to being diabetic.

What did I do to get there in just three months? I wish I could say it magically happened and I did nothing at all but that wouldn't be true. I worked hard and this is what I did:

1. I studied about diabetes. I didn't know much about it and in order to tackle it, I needed to learn as much as I could. Educate yourself and don't be ignorant. If you ignore the disease, it could lead to complications down the road you really don't want to deal with. Go look it up on the Internet...it isn't pretty.
2. I worked with my family doctor to come up with a plan. Chances are you found out you had diabetes when you visited your doctor and he/she had you tested. Depending upon the results, you can work with your doctor to figure out what is the best course of action. I was lucky that my glucose numbers were not super high and my A1C was really the lowest for being diagnosed as diabetic. My doctor offered to put me on medication (pills) which would help lower my glucose but I did not want to take any medication or go on insulin. Instead, I asked her if I could work for three months and see how I did. She agreed but I think mainly because I had already made changes since finding out my diagnosis.
3. I saw a diabetes educator. My doctor referred me to a diabetes educator who was also a dietician. My insurance covered the visit because I was diagnosed with diabetes. The educator can get you started and answer any questions you might have. In my case, I was not able to get an appointment until a month after my referral so educating myself was important (see point 1) because I couldn't just wait to see her. In addition, my educator was also a trained dietician, so she also helped me with my diet.
4. I changed my diet! This is a no brainer. I knew that if I was going to make a change, I couldn't eat the same way especially when I have diabetes. This was hard. If you and your body is used to you eating a certain way and to have to change it somewhat drastically will take you a good 1-2 weeks to adjust. I ate more lean means (poultry and fish) and reduced my intake of red meat. I also upped my intake of vegetables and good fats. I discovered good snacks that fit within my diet. For diabetics, it takes a good combination of carbohydrates, fats and proteins to keep your body working. Also, what works for one person might not work for another, so you need to figure out what your body needs as fuel. I also kept track of what I ate using the App, MyFitnessPal. There are a lot of different apps out there, so find out that works for you. You'd be surprise what you learn when you keep track of your food.
5. I had an attitude adjustment! What does this mean? I decided I need to "Eat to Live. Not Live to Eat." Food became fuel to me rather than enjoying without abandonment. I ate what my body needed and not what I wanted whenever I wanted. Don't misunderstand. Diabetics can eat whatever they want as long as it fits within their dietary guidelines. Enjoy a piece of cake or pie but eat a reasonable amount.
6. I started slowly. When I started on this journey, I didn't exercise for the first month or so, and even when I incorporated exercise, I did it only 1-2 times a week. You don't have to do everything at once. Get comfortable changing your diet and when that works, you can add in other pieces.

I didn't specifically mention some things such as exercise. I do exercise. The minimal exercise recommended is 30 minutes a day, 5x a week. I would say on the great weeks, I get that much but I try to get in 3-4 days a week. My attitude it doing something is better than nothing.

After four months, I have lost about 45 pounds. It seems insane to say it but that's what the scale tells me. I don't know where I will end up but my goal is not to be diabetic. I know my journey is lifelong and in the end, I want to live a long life for my husband and for my children.

* I am not a medical professional and none of this constitutes as medical advice. Please seek out a trained medical professional before embarking on any kind of weight loss or exercise plan. All opinions are my own, and I was not paid or compensated for any of this information.