Magdalena reversed her diabetes

Magdalena struggled with binge eating and a stressful job which caused her to put on a lot of weight. After a blood test, her doctor told her she had type 2 diabetes.

I have yo-yo’ed my whole life. I last about a month before I cheat. Sometimes I can pick myself up and go back at it. More often, I binge.  

My fasting blood sugar was 155. My ac1 was 6.7. The list of uh-ohs was long, and my mind blurred. I had begun a journey with diabetes. My heart was pounding, and all I could hear was, “Avoid bread.” 

Armed with nothing more than a bunch of bad news, I went to work.
Researching everything I could find. I started, of course, with the ADA (American Diabetes Association). Everything on there seemed wrong. Fruit flavored yogurt? Huh? So, I went back to the 4-hour body book I yo-yo’ed with once. Slow carbs. That might be the ticket. 

Then, in January of this year I stumbled on the Reversing Diabetes group on Facebook. I read, and read, and read. I asked a dumb question about why beans aren’t ok. I started following the advice to the letter. 

This last 6 months have been amazingly easy and satisfying. I don’t fantasize about food. I don’t crave those awful donuts in the lounge. I eat freely and on plan every single day. 

I have now lost 48 lbs (22 kg) and reduced my a1c to 5.4 with the help of just LCHF [low carb, high fat]. My doctor reduced my metformin [diabetes medication] three months ago, and as of yesterday told me to go off it. My blood pressure is normal. My headaches and sluggishness are gone. My body is healing. 

And I have reversed diabetes.

Read Magdalena's whole story here.

Inspiration: Mirna Valerio, long-distance runner

Great inspiration! I love her attitude and her example.

Here's her blog, called (wait for it...) -- "Fat Girl Running."

Inspiration: Almetria lost 177 pounds and bucked the family trend toward diabetes

From an article in Huffington Post, she describes her life before:

"I struggled with weight my entire life and tried every diet known to man. The scales would go up and down, until finally they kept going up...."

"Self-hatred and depression plagued me, and I often wondered how I could do this to myself. I was my worse critic and my worst enemy. It was at that moment in my life that I realized I was an emotional eater. Happy, sad, angry or indifferent -– no matter how I felt, I turned to food as my comfort. I knew I wanted to make a change."

Her decision point:

"In 2009, I got devastating news. The D word: Diabetes. My grandmother, her sister, as well as her mother, had had it, too. I knew it was hereditary, but I thought I was invincible... [thought] I could dodge the bullet -- but I didn’t. 

"I started my weight-loss and fitness journey in 2010. I weighed 342 pounds and wore a size 32. ..."

She shares that it was very tough at first, especially because she was alone. But not really alone:

"Oftentimes, health is the first thing to fall on the back burner and I was tired of putting me further and further down my list of things to do. This weight-loss journey was one of the loneliest periods in my life. I cried often and couldn’t find any accountability partners to take this walk with me. I was in it to win it alone, with the grace of God. I remembered listening to Bishop Walker of Mt. Zion out of Nashville on many of my daily walks. His sermons really helped get me through most days, when I felt like giving up.

"I stepped up my prayer life and pulled away from people who were negative and emotionally draining. I surrounded myself with positive affirmations, because every day isn't going to be a good day, but each day is another opportunity to get it right. Life has its derailments, but it's up to us to get back on track and trust the engineer."

Practical things that helped:

"I decided to do research on my own on how to eat and live a healthier life.... I learned how to balance my meals and used portion control. I meal prepped and planned. My palate had changed -- I was eating things I said I never would and now I enjoy preparing new dishes and creating my own recipes. Walking 2 to 3 miles a day turned into going to Zumba... and eventually, running. 

She didn't just address the physical side of things, though:

"I figured out what my trigger points were when I wanted to emotionally eat, and used exercise and other positive activities to fill the void or combat the emotion. I become more sociable and learned how to handle stress better. "

Her life now:

"I am fit and finally free to do all the things that I knew life had to offer me. I've lost the physical and emotional weight that has been like an albatross around my neck for years. I'm helping others learn how to become fit.... I'm not merely existing anymore. I am living my life like it's golden and I am worth it."

(Psst... You can too!)

Inspiration: Type 2 Diabetes - Reversed!

Is Diabetes Type 2 irreversible? That’s what Bernard Bollen’s doctor told him, and that’s what conventional wisdom says.

Then Bernard tried the Paleo diet, a way of eating that emphasizes healthy fats and proteins, vegetables (and lots of them!), and limits or excludes processed foods, especially grains. Here’s his story:

I am 59 years old and have eaten a nutrition-sparse diet most of my life, high in sugars and refined carbohydrates. When I was first diagnosed with diabetes 6 years ago, my doctor told me that diabetes was a progressive disease that would require management, but that it was ultimately incurable. My feet were beginning to go numb, a sure sign of nerve damage in the extremities.... I was resigned to what I saw as the inevitable, a limb amputation, blindness, a stroke or a heart attack. 

Then, one year ago... I became aware of the Paleo diet. Its underlying nutritional philosophy just made sense to me. I... threw myself into the Paleo program. Over the next few months I certainly began to lose weight, but more, my whole relation to food... changed.... 

One month ago I saw my doctor.... who one year ago appeared to be skeptical of the benefits of the Paleo diet (so was I for that matter). Today he calls me his ‘poster boy patient’. Nearly all of the medications that I took a year ago have been dispatched to the [trash] bin. My life has been transformed in many ways. 

After six months on the Paleo diet I had already lost 15 kg (33 lbs) and felt that I had made a health breakthrough.... So I enrolled in a gym and regularly engaged in aerobic and resistance exercises. Now, 12 months later I have lost 30 kg (66 lbs) and I look and feel so much better.... 

Today I am cured of diabetes.

Was it the Paleo diet specifically that reversed his condition, or merely getting the processed foods out of his diet and/or reducing carbs? I suspect either would have made a radical difference.

Even if you're not ready to go full-on Paleo or Whole30, I believe -- from my own experience and from what I've seen in others -- that just eliminating sugar and processed foods can make a huge difference in your health -- not just your weight; your overall health!

Diabetes Type 2 increases your risk for multiple, serious health issues:

• Heart and blood vessel disease. Diabetes doubles your chance of heart attack or stroke, and dramatically increases your risk of other cardiovascular problems, including CAD, atherosclerosis, and high blood pressure.
• Nerve damage (neuropathy). Poorly controlled blood sugar can eventually cause you to lose all sense of feeling in the affected limbs. 
• Digestion problems. Damage to the nerves that control digestion can cause problems with nausea, vomiting, diarrhea or constipation. 
• Kidney damage. Diabetes can damage the delicate filtering system of your kidneys. Severe damage can lead to effects which require dialysis or a kidney transplant.
• Eye damage. Diabetes can damage the blood vessels of the retina, potentially leading to cataracts, glaucoma, and even blindness.
• Foot damage. Nerve damage in the feet or poor blood flow to the feet increases the risk of various foot complications. 
• Skin conditions. Diabetes may leave you more susceptible to skin problems, including bacterial and fungal infections.
• Alzheimer's disease. Type 2 diabetes may increase the risk of Alzheimer's disease. The poorer your blood sugar control, the greater the risk appears to be.

Learn more about diabetes' effect on your health:

• About the Diabetes-Alzheimer's link; Alzheimer's Association
• The connection between diabetes, heart disease, and stroke; U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services
• Type 2 Diabetes complications; The Mayo Clinic

Read some Whole30 success stories. (Whole30 is a 30-day elimination diet based on Paleo principles.)

Bernard's story is edited from an original article, here.
More success stories from the same site, here.

What is that sweet drink costing you?

In this video by CBS News, a researcher explains how many pieces of bread and crackers equal the calories in one average-sized sweetened drink: Calories - not all created equal

To see the video, go to: https://youtu.be/lRlocHYc3kE

Here's the most jarring news:

In just two weeks of drinking sugar- or high-fructose-corn-syrup-sweetened drinks (for 25% of their calories), researchers began to see elevated risks for cardiovascular disease -- even in slim subjects as young as 18.

A simple explanation of Type 1 and Type 2 Diabetes

Here is a 7-minute video that does a great job of explaining in very simple terms how insulin and glucose work together to control your blood sugar/glucose and get your cells what they need, and also explains the difference between Type 1 and Type 2 Diabetes:

What happens to blood sugar levels after you eat

You've probably heard the term "blood sugar" and heard people talk about whether theirs is high or low. "Hyperglycemia" just means high blood sugar; hypoglycemia means low blood sugar. Your body works best when your blood sugar levels stay within a certain range. Too low, and your energy and ability to think clearly will crash; too high, and all kinds of things start to go out of whack. Long-term high levels -- which happens when you have diabetes -- can do permanent damage in your smaller blood vessels: feet, hands, and eyes.

Here's a 9-minute video from Khan Academy which explains -- in a very simplified manner - what happens to your glucose (blood sugar) levels after you eat. And how the blood sugar levels in a diabetic differ from those in a healthy individual.



image source: girl eating sweet