Going Paleo....

In December of 1996 I was diagnosed with Diabetes.  Not really a huge shock for me since it runs in my family, but I was only 18 and I was the only kid out of eight to get this fabulous news.  So, over the past 16 years (wow, has it really been that long?), I've been all over the map with how good I've taken care of myself . I've gone from tight control with A1c's of 6.5 while pregnant to really bad control (groan!) with A1c's of 11.3.  That is an incredibly embarrassing number for me to admit.

A quick primer for the general public on what an A1c actually is, it's a blood test that shows your average blood sugar over the past 2 - 3 months.  A 6.5 translates to an average blood sugar of about 154 (excellent) and 11.3 to about 329 (very poor).  Yeah, you can see I'm really good to myself.  I've had to come to terms with the fact that this isn't going away.  And it's definitely not getting any better while pretending that pft, no, I don't have diabetes, what are you talking about?  Bottom line, I have 3 beautiful children that want a fully functioning mommy for as long as I can be around.  At least, that's how they feel today.  :)

This brings us to the beginning of a journey.  Since this year began (2012) I've been doing research.  Tons and tons of research.  So much research that I think my husband is tired of hearing, "Honey, you have to hear this!"  I have just felt all along that there is a way to take care of myself that will negate the need for medication.  I don't feel good on insulin, never have and I'm fairly certain that I never will.  You see, I'm not just diabetic, I have insulin resistance.  In a nutshell, my body still makes insulin, just not enough (diabetes) and to add insult to injury, my body doesn't even use what it makes effectively (insulin resistance).  So, when I'm on insulin, I'm just pumping my body full of more of the hormone that my body already can't use, so when I've been put on insulin, I take a lot.  That just doesn't seem effective to me... at. all.  And I really don't want to take insulin even less when I feel like crap on it.  Thank goodness oral medications work for me!  But even then, I only want to take them if I have to.

So, this is why all the research.  I know my body better than the doctor or any researcher out there.  No, I'm not saying I'm smarter than them and I certainly don't have all the answers.  But if I listen closely, it tells me what it needs, so I've decided to go ahead and listen and see where we end up.  

The first thing I ran across was a study that was done way way way back in the early 1900's involving a Starvation Diet for a very short period of time (12 weeks) and how it had reset some Diabetic pancreas' and turned the clock back for them.  Basically, by doing this they were giving their overworked pancreas a break and allowing itself to reset.  This sounded great!  But honestly, who can live on 800 calories?  Especially when I have a hungry crew to feed and shop for.  Yeah, I went ahead and tried this, brave sole that I am.  I did great for 6 weeks... dang, I only made it half way through!  I mean come on, I'd made it through the hardest part, how dare I give up at that point?  Sigh... 

I then moved to books.  The first book I read was The Leptin Diet: How Fit Is Your Fat? by Byron J. Richards.  There was a lot in this book that clicked for me, maybe not everything, but a lot of it made sense and it started the wheels rolling for how I needed to treat my body.  Next I moved on to Wheat Belly by William Davis, MD.  This book pulled more pieces of my puzzle together and I was starting to get really excited.  Once again, there were a lot of things that I just knew would work for me.  Last, I read The Blood Sugar Solution by Dr. Mark Hyman and voila, everything clicked into place and a plan jelled together for me.

Basically, my goal is to eat lots and lots of non-starchy vegetables with some meat.  I don't eat sugar, dairy, grains, legumes, nuts, etc. and I've even limited fruits to 1/2 cup of berries per day and man, I feel great!  Well, this is great for me and it very well may not be the best answer for everyone and that's okay.  You have to find the right solutions for you. 

I started thinking about my own growing family and decided I better keep researching to find something that will work for them and that's when I found the Paleo diet.  And bam!  We have a winner!  This keeps my family off of the wheat and sugar and processed foods that I just don't feel good about feeding them and it adds in fruits, nuts and some other vegetables that are healthy that they can eat, but my blood sugar just doesn't seem to like.  This is something the whole family can do and it's a littler more well rounded than my personal diabetic diet is requiring.

This is all just starting, so I wanted to start recording how this goes for us from the beginning.  I did one solid week last week and my blood sugars were perfect, I felt great, my belly started shrinking and I felt really good about the changes.  This next week, my family will be going full Paleo and the work will really begin.  We'll do measurements on Sunday and take pics... ones that will only get posted as "before's" when I'm able to post the "after's" as well cause really, who likes to see their "before's" knowing that's how they look to the general public?!  Okay, so maybe I'm just being a little vain... instead, I've posted our most recent family picture below!  :)

Here's to a new chapter of "Health Happens!"

Week Two Results

This just keeps getting better and better! Following week two, Michael has lost a total of 10 pounds and 6.5 inches!!! Michael felt like he hadn’t followed his diet and exercise plan as closely as he would have liked, but kept on top of the Dub Nutritional Supplements and as you can see he is still seeing great results. I did marginally well with the diet and exercise plan that was outlined for us and I can somewhat happily report that I’m still maintaining my weight and have lost another 1 ½ inches (from the weight lifting). I am still struggling with giving up soda and this week was a bad week for sugar cravings!! I’m pushing hard this week to eat better and make sure that I get to the gym, even when I’m tired and have a million things left on my to-do list. I definitely have to work a lot harder than Michael to see the results I want, but I’d like to push past this plateau and see at least another 2 lbs off me by the end of the week. Given the results of the past two weeks, that will be a cakewalk for Michael and he will likely double that number.

On the way into the office this morning, I kept noticing that Michael was repeatedly flicking his wrist to move his watch back into place. I pointed this out to him and asked if his watch was fitting too loosely. Sure enough, after just two weeks we already need to take a link out of his watch. His workout shirts that were fitted are hanging loosely off of him, his brand new jeans are extra baggy, and essentially everything in his wardrobe is fitting differently. Fortunately for my pocketbook, Michael likes his clothes loose (that Bronx upbringing I’m guessing) so I’ve got a few weeks I think before we have to go shopping. But this is money I’d happily spend because I know it’s an outward sign that… health is happening!

Week One Results....

I have been itching to share the results of week one with Michael on the Dub Nutritional supplements. He has lost 7 lbs and 3.75 inches!! Yes, in one week!! Now, for me, I actually started on this journey about 5 months ago. Although in the first week of tracking our results as a family I was “only” able to maintain my weight and lose ½ an inch, during the past 5 months I have lost 16 lbs and 2.5 inches. For both comparative and monetary reasons, only Michael has been in the supplements, but after one week I’m already trying to figure out what I don’t need to be buying in order to do the supplements as well… we don’t really need to buy food right? Oh wait, yeah, food is fuel and therefore important (as long as it’s the right fuel).

The products I have been using over the past 5 months have been fabulous and I obviously have seen some great results. But, I’d also love to see the kinds of results Michael is seeing so I’ll probably add or replace something I’m already doing with the supplements; I will for sure write an update when that awesome day comes.

With the kids… well I spoke too soon in my last post about them not even asking for McDonald’s. Literally the day after I posted that, they begged for me to take them and given that it was the end of a hectic week, I gave in… I did get them the apple slices and made a compromise with chocolate milk. My giving in wasn’t necessarily born of laziness following a hectic week however; I did actually put thought into this decision and what I came up with is that I want them to know there is moderation in all things. They can have the unhealthy as long as it is only every once in a while and you balance it out. I’ve heard the stories of children who grow up to overindulge or go to their friends houses to eat crap and end up eating too much of it simply because they can’t get it at home. I want my children to grow up with a healthy relationship with food and activity. I want them to have as much fun with this as I am!

A little about me...

I come from a large family; the 6th of 8 kids to be exact. I was the first girl following 5 boys which means I spent my formative years watching teenage boys eat and was pretty sure I needed to eat that much too (I know... that thought scares me now too). It only made matters worse that I didn’t have an “off” switch to signal when I was full. As a young girl, that was a seriously unfortunate set of circumstances.

The summer I got a bike was apparently the summer I worked off the “girly roundness" <insert heavy sarcasm> one gets when trying to eat like someone twice her age with a totally different metabolism. As I got older, I loved soccer and ballet and being active. What I didn’t love is that I never looked like my friends. I look back at pictures now and realize that I looked like a normal girl and I just had the unfortunate luck to have two exceptionally tiny friends. But, between being constantly reminded that “girls don’t eat like that”, “you’ve probably had enough” and constantly comparing myself to my two tiny best friends, I developed a serious complex that I have carried with me for as long as I can remember.

In high school, I started to gradually gain weight and considering how busy I was both academically and socially I would get up at 4:45 a.m. to work-out and was watching everything I ate; I also found my “off” switch or at the very least learned to read the signals that told me that I’d had enough. As any girl knows, image is already a big deal at that age. You want the boy to notice you, like you… date you and I was slowly gaining weight despite all my efforts. I was so discouraged! It was the Christmas of my freshman year in college that I found out why. I had Type II diabetes. I probably actually had insulin resistance to begin with, which would explain the unwanted weight gain during high school; but not only did I not know to watch for the signs; it wasn’t something that was diagnosed as prevalently as it is now.

I began studying nutrition and declared my major in Community Health Education with an emphasis on Health Promotion. My desire and motivation was that I wanted help others, specifically those that been through the struggle with weight. My career ended up in Human Resources with Corporate Wellness programs being one of many job functions.

In the years since college, I have become a wife and mother and have continued to grow professionally. Unfortunately, this also put me in the rut that many women find themselves in… my life became about other people. Although I have the knowledge and background, my health has taken a back seat for the past 10 years… that is, until now. It isn't easy for me to be so open about my past struggles and I venture to guess that there will be more ups and downs in my future, many of which I will probably struggle to want to share. That being said, I have learned the hard way that being open and honest is very freeing and even more importantly this blog isn't really about me. It's about you! Let my experiences be the ones to help and motivate you. Join me on my journey to Health Happening!