Hey y'all,
I haven't been around much lately. I was grieving -- super depressed, really -- after the death of a dear friend and super stressed out about being unemployed, my weight, my uncontrolled BG's, etc. I needed some time in the Jean Cave...sigh.
Anyway, I have lurked a few times and haven't really felt like posting.
I recently started making BIG changes to my program. I watched the documentary, "Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead" and decided to go on a high-micronutrient diet for sixty days...and that's what I did.
I've been living on 70% lower-glycemic veggies, 30% moderate to lower-glycemic fruits and two+ cups per day of fresh, organic green/veggie juice (usually carrot, cucumber, kale or spinach, and beet or apple mixed with ginger or lemon or something to give it some punch.) Today is my last day of "Phase 1" -- 60 days.
Anyway, my final weigh-in for Phase 1 is tomorrow, but as of last Sunday I've lost 66-lbs. My insulin requirements have plummeted (I'm T2 on MDI of Levemir and Novolog) to about 20% of what I was injecting before I started this program. This is counter-intuitive (!!!) to all theories about low-carb eating for diabetics, as I've been subsisting on what is essentially a carb-only diet.
This adventure into very-low-fat vegan eating confirms for me that, for some T2's, there is something going on with our diabetes which is about inflammation and/or malnutrition and/or Factor X, which flies in the face of the conventional wisdom that a carb is a carb is a carb or that low-carb is always required for best control.
My experience is also counter-intuitive to the notion that there is a direct correlation between total body fat and type II diabetes, because my insulin requirements plummeted LONG before I lost very much weight -- almost immediately -- and I'm still above 325-lbs. That is, despite the fact that I'm still morbidly obese by anyone's standards, making drastic changes to the quality of my diet resulted in an immediate, huge, almost vertical drop in my total daily insulin requirements.
I'm still on a journey (aren't we all?) but I think I'm on to something.
In phase two, I'll be adding back in small quantities of protein/fat (e.g. 1/2 cup beans, a teaspoon of seeds or a teaspoon of oil or 1/4 avocado) and watching closely to see how my body responds to each change.
Anyhoozle, I just wanted to say "Hi" and let y'all know what I've been up to on my Big D Adventure.