Over the years I've attempted several shifts in my diet to see what effect it would have on my daily life.
I've been gluten free for over three and a half years now. When I started the change in my diet it didn't have a huge effect on my daily life right away, though I noticed I was no longer tired after eating.
In the back of my mind I always sort of hoped I would be able to eat all those delicious products once again. I would even indulge anyways every once in a while. It only hindered me at social events and family events otherwise it wasn't that big of a deal. The condolence for me was that at least I could eat rice and rice products.
Now that I have blood sugar levels I have to deal with on an hourly basis I have begun to avoid a lot of my favorite things in life. For a while there would be days where I could eat only a large bowl of sticky rice and some toppings (tamari, olive/coconut oil/etc). Now that would surely send my blood sugar skyrocketing.
What is another little change in the diet? Once again as life has thrown me through a loop I have to look to my diet to see what I can do to help my health. I have been off insulin for 2 months now. The thing that keeps me off it at this point is managing what I eat.
I know what turns in to sugar immediately in the blood stream. I need other fuels. I have begun experimenting with a low-carb diet. I don't know exactly how many carbs I get a day, but I do know that all my carbs are coming from vegetables. I am grain-free. I am fruit-free. This makes so many delicious things really difficult. Even after becoming gluten free I still had a lot of options. Most of those options are gone now. No more rice. Believe me, I lament the loss of rice.. and rice noodles... and so many awesome rice products that make meals easy.
At least I can have pizza. Yes, pizza. When I was growing up we had pizza just about every week. I have continued this tradition though the methods over the years have become rather untraditional. From wheat crust to gluten free whatever crust now to cauliflower crust... I still have pizza, and I celebrate this. It has to be pesto pizza because tomatoes are a fruit.
I have a high-fat diet with some complex carbohydrates in the form of vegetables, and a good amount of proteins. In order to eat a real meal I need to eat a salad at every meal. It keeps my blood sugars low. There's more I can do and I know I could use the solid guidance of a physician that is holistic. I guess I'm on the look out for this physician. Perhaps even next year I'll have insurance to seek out this physician if our country can decide it wants to be up the standard of the rest of the first world nations.
I take a handful of supplements several times a day. I drink a not-so-pleasant tincture in a glass of water. My blood sugar levels are even. They aren't perfect. A non-diabetic will run blood sugars steadily from 70-90 mg/dL. I am typically from high 80s to low 100s. I struggle to remain positive every day. It is a struggle every day. I don't always succeed.
Food is a struggle though its the one thing I can control about my life when so many other things seem so out of balance and impossible to navigate.
Ugh. — feeling exhausted.