First, before we get started, let me begin by saying I do not have diabetes. I have not been seen for it, I have no symptoms of it, and I've never been diagnosed with it. I think I did have my blood sugar checked when I was in the hospital last, they typically do that to screen you for symptoms. As far as I know, and I don't really know, I have a typically healthy body. All that being said, I know there are literally millions of great people living every day with the knowledge that they have diabetes, and there are millions more who have it but have never been diagnosed.
DISCLAIMER: I am not a medical doctor. Anything and everything I say is for information purposes, educational purposes, and maybe even entertainment purposes, but it is not meant to be added to or to replace any good sound medical advice you could receive from a licensed physician! There, that's the legal stuff. Now, let's get on with what I'm getting on with these days.
As I get older and older I'm finding that so many of my good friends, distant family members, and those who are married to family members, are being seen for and being diagnosed with Type 2 Diabetes. The list is not exactly lengthy, but it's long enough! If there is one person on my radar I want to be able to help them, and keep them accountable if possible, and now, I've decided to live my own life through a good diet and exercise program as if I have been diagnosed with it. There are three major reasons for this decision: (1) I want all of my friends and family who have this terrible disease, to know that I am willing to stand with you to the point of eating with you and keeping you accountable. You need a buddy! (2) It really is just a healthy way of living and it cuts out so many bad foods. (3) It's so much more healthy for me to do this than to do Keto! I know that's a lame excuse, but it's true. I can't do Keto for more than 2 weeks without getting sick.
Let's face it, we all like eating. Stuffing our faces with goodness and feeling full is just too wonderful. Having the added responsibility of counting sugars, counting carbs, making sure the foods are trans-fat-free, and so forth is both daunting and not fun. This is the reason everyone in this situation (in my opinion) could use a really enthusiastic buddy who is willing to read the labels, go the distance, buy the right things, prepare the right serving sizes, and find the right spices to make up for the really good stuff. I have to be honest though, I have been eating pretty well for the past two years, so it wasn't much of a change for me. If I eat anything such as pretzels or chips these days it's really just a few anyway. Giving up the giant portions of food that you typically associate with Americans, wasn't that hard. I did that in 2020 and lost about 50 pounds.
I have about 20 more pounds that I want to lose. I think maybe by sticking to a good diet like this one will help me do just that. I am OK with waiting 6-8 months to lose that last 20. I'm not trying to impress anyone but myself. My dog really doesn't care what I look like in a bikini. Most of the time I can be found wearing my yoga leggings anyway; they stretch and contract. I went from a size 18 to a size 12 and if I make it to an 8 in the near future that will be about the "size of it" because at 5'6.75" I think it's a good overall size. My bones are literally larger than my daughters' bones and both of them weigh under what I weigh, but I can wear Laura's jeans now! I think I just need to tone and with that toning maybe lose a few more inches. This diet, and plenty of water, exercise, rest, meditation, and hot baths with essential oils will not only help, but I think it will do the job!
I went to Aldi today (not only because I can, but also because I LOVE IT) and I was able to walk the aisles without feeling pressure from shoppers. Aldi shoppers take their time, they aren't in any rush. I started with the produce section and made decisions based on what I have been researching. I can't have bananas, I can have a few grapes, cherries, berries, etc, but the sugary goodness of some fruits could eat up my entire allotment for each meal. Could be a snack with peanut butter, if the apple was small. I just have to pick and choose. BREAD was the hardest thing to find. Most processed bread has too many carbs, too many sugars, and too many calories. I ended up with an Aldi brand protein bread with 12 grains, 35 calories per slice, and less than 1 gram of sugar, and with only about 20 slices in the loaf, it nearly broke the bank! GEEZ!
Milk was interesting. I have been drinking 2% Lactaid brand milk in the blue carton for 2 years but found out today it has 12 grams of sugar per cup! WHAT? Isn't sugar the whole LACTOSE thing? So wouldn't you think a Lactose reduced or free milk would, you know, have less sugar? I'm now drinking Fairlife 2% as it has only 6 grams of sugar per cup. There's another one, Organic Valley, but Aldi didn't sell it. They did have plain Greek yogurt with only 4 grams...that and some berries! Oh, and speaking of desserts, you can totally do desserts with diabetes. I use Stevia anyway, but today I found about 10 things I could get and feel good about. We'll discuss that in another blog.
This is going to be an ongoing sort of journal for me. This way I can help others who may not have a buddy out there who is willing to be that inner friend who is saying "It's going to be OK. We can pray about this" I know we can get through it. We only have to hold on a little longer anyway. Jesus is coming back, and friend, we can eat whatever, whenever, how much we want...YES!
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