In June of this year I received a diagnosis of Diabetic. As of yesterday, just 3 months later, my blood glucose is officially in normal range. In thinking about all the changes I have made and how carefully I have monitored things I realized that there have already been people asking me what I have done or am doing and there there will be more people asking.
The reason I expect the questions is because in that same 3 month period I have dropped 45 lbs. That is a lot of weight in a short period of time. I am frustrated because my clothes no longer fit and I am thankful to be working from home since March so I don’t have to think about it too much in the mornings. I’m also thankful for leggings. Even when you lose weight leggings will mostly still fit. Leggings are wonderful. LOL
So to know the process let’s back track to 2009. I had been married to my husband for about 6 months and I had my annual physical. My doctor refused to let me leave the scale until I looked at the number…. 300 even. Ouch! After that wake up call I did work hard to lose weight. I exercised more, I counted calories, I tracked everything. I got down to about 250 lbs.
In 2012 I worked even harder to lose weight because I was trying even harder to have a baby and getting desperate with my goal. This is when I discovered the South Beach Diet. Using that as a guide I went down to 209 lbs and finally conceived. My baby girl was born in 2014. Since then I have stayed back in the range of 230 to 250 lbs for the last 6 1/2 years.
Since June I have pulled out all my old tips, tricks, diet plans, recipes and swaps determined to clean those up even more and get my blood sugar down. So here is my plan. I know it is fluid and not everything is set in stone. Really, if it was set in stone I would never stick to it. We all need a bit of wiggle room sometimes.
First thing in the morning I check my fasting blood sugar with a glucose monitor. I also check it 2 hours after lunch, 2 hours after dinner and often before bed. This is the diabetic part. I need to be sure that my numbers aren’t spiking but this isn’t a bad thing even if you aren’t diabetic. Knowing how your body works when you eat certain things can be very eye opening. Don’t knock it…. and you can get an inexpensive monitor for $20 and you can get the test strips cheap too if you use a pharmacy store brand.
Intermittent Fasting has become a big part of my life. I do a 14:10 plan right now. That means for 14 hours I don’t eat anything at all and for 10 hours I am allowed to eat. I was doing 16:8 but there were days I felt peckish and no one wants to feel like sick when they don’t have to do so. My “eating hours” are 10am to 8pm… though if I can make it until noon I often only eat from 12pm to 8pm.
I allow myself a cup of coffee in the morning. I use Jordan’s Skinny Syrups or Torani Sugar Free Syrups for a bit of flavor and sweetness. I use fat free half and half for some creaminess. Just a touch of each makes a big difference if you are not into black coffee. I know technically this breaks my fast before 10am but no one wants to deal with me when there is no coffee. Seriously. No One Wants To Deal With Me Without Coffee. Just one cup makes a world of difference.
When 10am comes around I let myself consider what to eat if I am hungry. Often I have a small snack of a pear, Slim Jim, string cheese or even a piece of chocolate or an ounce of something crunchy. Whatever it is I keep it to a single serving. Just enough that I can make it until my noon goal. Occasionally I’ll wait until 11 and just eat my lunch early if I am hungry enough for that as well.
My lunch, afternoon snacking and dinner are pretty up in the air. Whatever I really crave I eat but I keep a strict watch on my calories. Most days I have a total of 1200 to 1500 calories a day. I do allow myself up to 1800 because sometimes there are things that will be higher and I am not going to beat myself up over those things. My carbohydrates are equally both strict and lenient. I aim for an average of 100 to 120 carbohydrates in a day. I have had as low as 80 and I have had as high as 160. But a goal of averaging about 100 seems fair. It is enough of a low carb to keep me from having too many things that spike my blood sugar numbers while a high enough number that I don’t have to feel like cheating when I have a pretzel as my snack.
My food scale is my best friend. Everything I do includes my food scale. Every time I think I have the correct serving size and then I measure it I find I am wrong. I constantly give myself too much. This is everything from shredded cheese to crackers to condiments. The only way I can be sure I am sticking to a single serving is to weigh it out. Even when my family makes pasta I weigh the entire batch of cooked noodles before anyone else is served. Then I calculate a serving size and have exactly that much.
I have learned that while serving sizes are often small there are great ways to bulk them up without going off course. When we have spaghetti I will dish up a single serving and then I’ll add an entire spiralized zucchini that I sauté for just a minute. Then I’ll add 2 or 3 frozen reheated meatballs. The protein and extra vegetable doesn’t add a ton of calories or carbohydrates. However, they fill me up so much that I don’t want another serving.
I use a free app called MyFitnessPal in order to track everything. I love that it is free while allowing me to build my own recipes, have a database of food available and tracks all the stats for me. There is a note section where I can write any information I need to add…. thoughts & feelings, blood sugar, that is was a party day, etc.
The biggest thing I have done that allows me some freedom is having just once a month (though now that things are more under control I may up it to twice a month) of having a meal of whatever I really want. Go out for Italian and eat the pasta, bread, appetizer & gelato. Meet up with a friend and have tortilla chips and burritos. Have a girls night and eat that piece of cake. For me I need that to look forward to and an outlet. I find, for me, I can stick to everything else when I know I have an escape valve. It might be just for a couple hours once a month but sometimes I will look at something I really want and that I know will never fit fully into my plan without “healthifying” it but if I can just hold off a week then I can get it. Often by the time that week comes I don’t want that anymore but something else entirely.
Don’t be afraid of swaps or making something healthier for yourself. If you want chorizo fries then make them…. just maybe lessen the amount of chorizo and make your fries out of turnips. And don’t be afraid to have what you really crave either but maybe keep that portion control in mind. Make a mug cake instead of a whole cake.
My last thing is when I have a simple carb. This is something that is while flour or real sugar or something that will turn to sugar faster in my body. When I have these things for a little treat I tend to pair it with a protein, fat or dairy. I have the pretzel with some cream cheese. I have the cookie with a piece of jerky. I have the bread with a little butter or peanut butter. It seems to slow that spike in my blood sugar even if it makes for higher calories. Also, it keeps me fuller so I am not grabbing for more.
It seems like a lot and this is not what would work for everyone. This is just my personal plan and my personal journey. I am counting calories while following about 75% South Beach and allowing about 25% of what I want within reason. Plus I am still having a once a month meal of anything and everything I really desire at the time. Find what works for you. I have confidence all of us that have these struggles can do better but don’t be so hard on yourself if you fall. I originally started 11 years ago and I still haven’t broken below 200 lbs yet. I am so close! 206 and counting!!! Small steps to bigger steps to seeing changes you didn’t even know to look for.
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