Lifestyle Change is happening

One week into Life style Change.

It is wonderful to be eating - but not as wonderful as being 9 kilos lighter!
It is wonderful to be eating, but that enjoyment is enhanced by not eating for thirty days! My taste buds are sharper, food is different and somehow more enjoyable.

But before I talk too much about food, I want to focus on the benefits of the program I have been following. I feel better - much better in myself. I'm sleeping well, and that of itself makes a big difference.

My stomach is flatter than its been for years! Yay!

My energy levels are higher. When I sit the dust annoys me and I do something about it. Before I wasn't even noticing such things as doing anything was too hard. I have sat in a chair for an hour waiting for the energy to get up and do the next little job. Yesterday morning I did three loads of washing, made a cheese cake and cleaned up the kitchen. Then I swept and washed all the floors and was ready to go shopping by ten. This may be normal to you and used to be normal for me, but not since Diabetes took charge, and especially not since I've been on medication. It has been difficult to do the basics.

My interest level is better. Cooking is interesting, not a chore.

My sense of humor has returned, along with the energy to hold great conversations with interesting people.

Has all this happened just because I've changed what I put in my mouth? Can that be? This is a big learning. Why do we pop two little Panadol and expect a headache to go, and yet we eat slabs of sugary products and complain when we feel sluggish. We connect the medical results to what goes in our mouth, and yet don't connect our food consumption with bodily responses. So I've adopted a new guideline.

1. Does this food taste good?
2. Is this food good for my body?
3. Does this food move me toward optimum health?

If there aren't three yeses, then I am determined to reject it. 

Last night the graduates from our arm of the Diabetic Lifestyle Change met for a meal together. It was a wonderful evening. Everyone is excited and pleased. We ate a four course meal prepared by Jo Pratt. The food was prepared from fresh unprocessed food and it was scrumptious. I'm sorry I didn't think of taking photos until they served the cake. (These recipes are available on the Diabetic Health Clinic website.) I can assure you they were moist very tasty and they didn't trigger high blood sugar readings. Many of us struggled to enjoy them as such foods have caused guilt feelings for so long that we have nearly forgotten to enjoy good food!

We were all presented with certificates of Achievement. It feels good to have pushed on past the struggles and to have earned the award. That's me on the left and Steve on the right being rewarded for supporting me all the way. Peter and Jo Pratt are in the middle. It seems appropriate. I could never have made it without Peter and Jo's coaching, support and passion and Steve's quiet encouragement and confidence in me.

After such a feast last night, I felt like juice this morning and really enjoyed the freshness and simplicity. There is one important difference though. This was a meal of choice and I celebrated with a couple of tasty extras!

Weight is stable. Blood sugars are good. I'll report again next week. Thanks for your support. You have kept me honest.

One goal met and other coming tomorrow!

Day 28 & 29

One day to go! So close. Yet the closer I get the more I become aware that the battle isn't yet won. At the moment I'm desperate to grab a banana from the bowl every time I walk past, so I know my old snacking habits need a severe talking to!

Apparently it takes ninety days to make a new habit. Thirty days down and sixty to go! I'm glad there is a fixed menu for the next ten days. As I prefer more flexibility, I have never followed diets with fixed menus. This is where I get into trouble I suspect. But on this occasion I will follow it and try all the new foods I've never tasted before, like Chia seeds. I've never cooked with many of the ingredients either, so it will be an adventure. I'm hoping that my great desire for beef stew can wait a little longer!

Yesterday was a red letter day. I dropped a kilo on the scales! Yay. For the previous ten days my weight has been fiddling round, up and down, always trending down but oh, so slow. Now I can tell you that I have lost 10% of my body weight, 8.5 kilos. I was very excited to see that goal reached. I am lighter now that I have been for thirty years. Nearly time to buy cheap jeans to get me through the next month as more weight disappears.

I'm looking forward my first meal on Sunday. Intending to have pumpkin, cauliflower, asparagus, broccoli for starters. I'll report on Monday. After that I'll continue to blog twice a week to record my continuing journey.

Not my Fault, but my Responsibility

Day 12 & 13

Today, I'm pleased to be on this juicing adventure. I'm feeling good, except for aching joints, especially hips. My knee seems to be recovering well so I'm hoping the hips will feel better soon. I'm missing my early morning walks and am really looking forward to returning to my hill.

My stomach has stopped its constant whinging for real food. It is only in last couple of days that I've been free of the demand. Last night I made Mexican dinner for nine and it was much easier than last week, I spent a fair while browning mince and chicken with out feeling as though I must have some. This morning as I thought about it, I realized Peter Pratt is right. I can't remember how Mexican food tastes. But I can remember what cheese tastes like. I asked someone else to grate it to stop the temptation to pop a sliver in my mouth!

According to my scales I have lost 5 kilos! 7.9% of my body weight has disappeared. Some of the group have lost 10% and more. My aim is to lose 20% eventually. I'm really looking forward to new clothes. I do have one pair of fabulous pants in the cupboard. I picked them up on sale six months ago and put them away until I lost a couple of kilos! They fit now, which is both fabulous and disastrous. I probably won't get a lot of wear out of them!

The biggest realisation in the last few days is how difficult it is to keep blood sugar stable when you are a diabetic. I've been blaming myself for years for sugar levels. As it is a lifestyle disease, I felt I caused it. Therefore it's my fault when my readings go up and my fault cause I haven't lost more weight. ( I have lost over twenty kilos since first diagnosed.)

My reading last night was 5.2 . Awesome! this is an all time low.This morning when I got up it was 8. I hadn't eaten between tests. It wasn't my fault. Two hours after breakfast it was 6.4. By the time I got to have my lunch juice, it was back to 7.1. There is no logic at all. I am looking forward to it stabilizing, but meanwhile I have released myself from guilt.

A few weeks back, at the Diabetic Health Clinic, we saw a movie of a doctor speaking. He said weight could be the consequence of the disease, rather what has always been assumed - the disease being caused by the weight. the problem is a consequence of our national diet. Some get diabetes...some don't. Many who have been diagnosed aren't overweight.

So I no longer own the blame, but I do own the fight! There is a way to stop the rot, literally, and regain health. I am on the path and I must choose to stay on it. At the end of this adventure, there will be a new way of eating in this household. Steve is already starting to embrace it. We are excited.

Solving the riddle of yuk juices!

Day 10 & 11

Today has been a good day.

Yesterday was a tough day. It should've been great as we attended our weekly meeting with the Diabetic Health Clinic and listened to all the amazing results achieved by the group. Many are looking healthier in the face, some have lost unbelievable amounts of weigh, many well over ten kilos. Most are off all medication, even those who have been injecting insulin. It was great to celebrate our achievements together.

So why was it a tough day? I guess I was a little jealous of some of the weight losses. I have lost 3.7 kilos, but it seems small in the face of many. But the real reason it was a tough day was the juice. It didn't matter what I put in the machine, it tasted awful. Last night I finally got it!

Carrots!

I have had carrot in every juice. I like them and when I first started I bought a 20kg bag of the biggest, juiciest carrots you have even seen. Last week, when they ran out, I went to buy another bag. As they were much cheaper than the first bag, I assumed they were juicing carrots. I dragged them home crowing over my savings. Last night I grabbed a carrot out of the big bag in my pantry and my finger sunk into it. Yuk! I threw it in the bid and went to investigate. In the middle of the bag was this fermenting, bubbling, foaming, revolting mess.

Being a little slow to catch on, I carefully selected sound carrots from the edge and made my favourite tomato juice, determined to drink a juice I enjoyed. I added a little olive oil, salt and pepper and warmed it in the microwave in a soup mug. With my feet up, I settled down to enjoy it. Wrong! It too was foul. Finally I understood! I've been juicing old, off carrots. I emptied the glass down the sink, drank 80 mls of orange juice and went to bed.

So the offending vegetables are in the bin. I've had two lots of juice today without carrot and they've been a great improvement. This episode forced me to make my first 'Green Delight' juice, following a recipe.  Not having enough silver beet, I added some cabbage, straight from our vegetable garden. This was the first juice I've enjoyed in days.

I guess I'm still learning to be selective about what I put in my mouth!

Good news! Blood sugar readings have been in the normal range for last two days. How wonderful! I know I'm on the road to better health.

PS. This is the ninth blog in a series. The others can be read by clicking on the links at the left.

Pushing toward change.

Day 8

To see full story, read blog on the left, 'The Adventure Begins.'

I'm losing weight. Yay! I'm 3.4 kilos lighter! The scales have been very slow to encourage me, but this morning they were kinder. I wonder what tomorrow will bring?

Today it has been easier to handle food. I have a house full of unexpected guests. They arrived on day 2. I informed them I wasn't cooking but they we're welcome to help themselves, which they have. This morning I made grilled cheese on toast for them. The little pieces of cheese I'd usually pop in my mouth were the greatest problem, but I resisted.  I don't feel as hungry, so that helps.

My food triggers are becoming obvious. Every time I come home I want to eat. When I go to bed at night I start looking for something. A banana or apple would be so nice. Or even a whole tomato or two! Social interaction begins coffee cravings, but it is more a normalcy than a driving force. Somehow the lemon grass tea which I had this afternoon just doesn't seem the same!

Yesterday, my friend was tasting some of my juices and pronounced them revolting.

"I thought I'd try it, but how can you drink it?"

"I have a big WHY."

I'll explain my answer by sharing with you the formula for change.

"D x V + FS > R"

Let me expand this truth. Dissatisfaction x Vision plus taking the First Step to change lifestyle must be greater than all resistance to change.  I have had a lot of resistance to diet change because of my friendship with the Carb Monster. However Diabetes has caused me much dissatisfaction. Peter Pratt from the Diabetes Health Clinic has built such a vision of a better alternative that it has been easy to push aside the resistance as I've taken the first steps this last week.

I'm excited about the possibility of my health continuing to improve and will give this adventure all I've got.

Day three closes

    Three days I've survived without carbs, without meat, without chewing.
It's not easy, especially when someone cooks toast and the smell wafts through the house, or when I can hear Steve chewing nuts, or when I walk past the fruit bowl and see a banana!
 
    However today was easier than yesterday, and this afternoon I've been encouraged as our group met for our weekly Lifestyle Change Program and listened to others who are on the same journey. Some have lost a lot of weight, others have seen dramatic drops in blood sugar levels. Some have been savagely attacked by the Carb Monster, but all are surviving and doing well. Peter Pratt, from Diabetic Health Clinic has told us many stories of people who have been successful in normalising blood sugar levels and regaining ten years of energy. We are inspired!

     Today's juices tasted better. Is that because I'm getting better at blending flavours, or is it that I'm adjusting. As I write I'm sipping a warm tomato juice (with added red onion, capsicum, parsley, celery, capsicum, lime, olive oil sat and pepper). Yum. Tonight I even made soup for the family.

    My blood sugar reading before my juice tonight was 6.5. That is the first reading in the 'normal' range that I have ever seen on my monitor in over ten years. Looking forward to tomorrow.

The Adventure Begins

     "My name is Jo Wanmer and I'm addicted to....Carbohydrates."
     It started when, as a little girl, I sat at a farmhouse table and ate piles of white bread, smothered with Mum's homemade jams.
     Most of my life I've battled with this monster, without knowing its name. It hid under all sorts of names, such as overweight, chubby, hungry and so on. I fought it with various diets, eating patterns and will power, with some success as times, but it has never been defeated.
     About ten years ago the monster bought a friend to stay. Diabetes marched in without permission and sprawled through out my body. All my efforts to evict this demon, or to ignore it failed. It has been taking a toll on my body, but there was no way to boot out this unwelcome guest....until now.
    Seven weeks ago, after observing big changes in a friend's life, I joined the Diabetic Health Clinic. (http://www.diabetichealthclinic.org/)  I've learned a lot about how the body works, how medication effects my body and the sickness  forced upon us by processed foods.
     Most importantly, I found a way to break my addiction to carbohydrates. I have listened to many, who have lost a lot of weight, no longer crave carbs and enjoy plenty of food. All great achievements, but the most exciting thing is they now have normal sugar levels and are off all medication. I have listened with growing hope and a new understanding.
     Enter my new best friend, my juicer. From today, for an extended period, I will be having a diet of juice, mostly vegetables with a little fruit . I'm expecting this to break the addiction to carbs, re-set my taste buds and lower my sugar levels to normal.
    I have done the preparation. All now required is 'Just Do It'!
    Day 1. I'm just finishing my second lot of juice for the day. My stomach is growling, telling me it is not enough. But I know it is lying as 750 mls is plenty. It fills the stomach but isn't satisfying the carbohydrate addiction. Well that is too bad. I'm going to starve the monster
to death. In a few days it will have no more hold on me.
I have been told sugar is as addictive as cocaine. It has been suggested we ask for support to help in the struggle. So I'm making myself accountable to you!  If you'd like to follow this adventure, you can do so at the left of the page. I will be reporting everyday.
I will not surrender. These squatters have been at my house too long. They must go.