Note: I am not a doctor, and all of the information in this post is my own personal journey and experience. Always consult a real doctor before making serious changes.
Ever since my diagnosis of Type 2 Diabetes I have been looking at ways, not to cure the disease because I don’t believe that is possible, but to live with it. One of the biggest tips that kept popping up in my research was the impact of weight loss on insulin resistance. One of the biggest factors of insulin resistance seems to be related to weight.
Being “overweight” (BMI of 25-29.9), or affected by obesity (BMI of 30-39.9) or severe obesity (BMI of 40 or greater), greatly increases your risk of developing type 2 diabetes. The more excess weight you have, the more resistant your muscle and tissue cells become to your own insulin hormone.
Understanding Obesity and Type 2 Diabetes – Obesity Action Coalition
Before my diagnosis, at my largest weight, I was around 320 pounds when I moved to Florida. Before the move I was very sedentary. Between work and probably a high blood sugar level I was tired regularly and didn’t really want to do anything after work. The environment in Florida really helped me when it came to being more active. I took up paddleboarding as well as snorkeling especially in some of the amazing spring waters around Central Florida.
Changing Habits
I was already looking to be healthier before my diagnosis. It really just kicked everything into overdrive for me. I knew that I had a terrible habit of drinking sugary sodas and energy drinks. This was the first habit that I focused on changing. I’m not going to lie, it’s difficult. If your used to drinking soda it becomes a behavior. Going out to eat, waking up on a trip, family gatherings, and anytime I went anywhere pretty much meant drinking at least a bottle of soda.
For me, there was a few things that made it easier. I still have a soda every once in a while, but I switched to diet. There are some good “Zero” options like Dr. Pepper Zero and Mountain Dew Zero that I do really like and don’t miss regular sodas. It is still good to limit diet drinks as they still usually use artificial sweeteners that still impact insulin resistance as well as linked to other problems. Caffeinated drinks also are good to limit as caffeine also affects blood glucose levels.
Another drink that I do like to have around in the fridge is Liquid Death. These carbonated water drinks do have a little bit of sugar (usually around 3g). The low level of sugar usually does not affect my blood sugar too much especially if I have walked that day. They have some good flavor like berry, mango, and lime that still give me that carbonated kick that pop does with little to no negative affect.
Exercise
There is no way around it. One of the easiest ways to lose weight is to get on some soft of activity plan. And it doesn’t take long to start seeing an effect on blood glucose levels. According to the CDC:
Losing weight doesn’t have to mean losing a lot of weight. Taking off just 5% to 10%—that’s 10 to 20 pounds for a 200-pound person—can improve your health and well-being. If you have diabetes, you may find your blood sugar levels are easier to manage and that you need less diabetes medicine after you lose weight. Many people who lose weight notice that they have more energy and sleep better too.
Healthy Weight | Diabetes | CDC
For me it started off very slow. When the insulin helped reduce my blood sugar levels I started to have a lot more energy and was able to sleep through the night. This meant I was able to wake up a little bit earlier and fit in a walk before work. I started doing 30 minutes in the morning. Then I moved to 30 minutes in the morning and 30 minutes at lunch. After that became more comfortable after a week or so I started doing 30 minutes 3 times a day which meant I was well over the recommended 10,000 steps per day.
After 3 times a day of walking was comfortable, I looked into starting a jogging program. The maker of my fitness watch, Garmin, offers coaching plans for people that are looking to start running. I started a 5k coaching plan that started off with a very easy 5 minutes of walking, 5 minutes of jogging, and 5 minutes of walking to cool down. I’m only a couple of weeks into the program and I am already seeing a significant improvement in my health. My blood sugar is almost in the Hypo (low) readings and my overall strength is improving.
I hate running, always have, even when doing sports in High School it was my least favorite activity. If I can do it, anyone can. I found that getting outside when it’s nice, seeing the wildlife, and looking for trails at state parks has really kept things interesting. I don’t think I can transition to a treadmill, but that may be necessary when traveling or in unfamiliar territories. Buying a cool fitness watch and doing some research on headphones also helped me. I’m a tech guy, cool gadgets and tech gets me excited. Find little ways to make it interesting for you. Running may not be the answer, there are other options like weight training, yoga, kayaking, and other things that can give you the same rush that running does for others.
Diet
I despise diet culture. When you try to look up recipes or look for information on dieting there is a million different opinions out there. All of them suck and most of them lead to food that tastes like crap. Watching what you eat and eating healthier does not have to be a terrible process that leads to unsatisfying meals. Unfortunately, that is the norm out there when people are just trying to educate themselves.
I try to stick to a couple of basic principles. A lot of the information out there about diabetic diets tell you to eat a lot of carbs. This is unfortunate because carbs eventually break down into sugars. I haven’t gotten rid of carbs all together, but I have cut back significantly. I switched to whole wheat options and brown basmati rice when I do reach for carbs and lowered the portion size significantly.
I also am cooking a lot more at home with whole foods. Things that I can look at and go yep, that is ground turkey. Yep, that is an onion or those are almonds. Cooking with fresh food can be a pain to get to the store, or have delivered regularly from services like instacart, but it makes a huge difference in the number of calories that you intake. Florida has a lot of amazing farmers markets with fresh produce and good unprocessed meat that elevate the taste of a dish. You’d be surprised at the calories that are cut even in a large breakfast scramble that you make at home compared to getting something out. I still go out to eat and enjoy a lot of different kinds of food. I just try to keep to the simpler options when I do go out.
Motivation
In order to be successful in all of these categories it boils down to motivation. For me something that really helped was tracking my diet and exercise. As I mentioned I love tech and gadgets so getting a fitness watch and posting my progress on social media and in this blog keeps me honest and something to look forward to.
When it comes to dieting my motivation comes from my recent diagnosis. However, another thing that has helped me is keeping track of my calorie and nutrition intake. MyFitnessPal is a common application that has hooks into every major exercise app that you can easily add food. I can make smart decisions at home and while I’m out by searching the HUGE database of food that is already available for data entry. It also allows you to create foods, meals, and recipes that you use often to make it easier to enter things quickly.
As I said, I’m not a doctor. I’m just a guy that was recently diagnosed with Diabetes and I’m learning every day. A health journey is just that, a journey. It’s going to have ups and downs, bumps in the road, and misguided choices. I hope I’m making the right ones and I hope that this post may help you in yours. I look forward to continuing my chronicles in my health journey and don’t mind if you stay a while and listen.