Diabetic IE

[Guest guest]

Hi everyone!

I haven't posted in a long, long time, like many months. I was recently, (in

October) diagnosed with diabetes, and I want to share my experience, in case

it's helpful to anyone.

I started practicing IE in the fall of 2006. I got pregnant very quickly after

that, and gained a lot of weight, like 50 pounds of body weight during my

pregnancy. I was very disappointed with this, and started trying to manipulate

and tinker in my eating after my son was born. I ended up only gaining more

weight before finally seeing the light. I gave up on manipulating my eating

forever, in May of 2009. My weight has been remarkably stable since then. I

actually have no idea what my weight is, since I stopped weighing at that time.

(I turn my back as my doctor's office weighs me). At that time I put my focus

on my self-esteem issues, my body perfectionism, and body acceptance (with a

bigger focus on a step further into body adoration). My life has changed

dramatically since then. I have grown so much in my love of self and in my

spiritual life since then. When I took my focus off superficial judgments, I

could finally see.

After I stopped nursing my son (I nursed him 2 years), I became more and more

averse to carbs. I should give a little more history here. I had gestational

diabetes in my first pregnancy, and was quite thin. I had it again in my second

pregnancy, while doing IE and had a VERY different experience. In my first

pregnancy I craved carbs constantly and was always hungry. In my second

pregnancy I can count on 1 hand the number of times I had something sweet my

entire pregnancy. The thought of even having a sandwich (the bread) made me

sick at my stomach. Doing IE made me much more aware of my cravings.

My comittment to total peace and freedom with eating and food has been great,

but there has been a downside. I was so averse to the idea of any control of my

food, I didn't want to face the obvious signs of blood sugar metabolism

problems. I had become extremely averse to carbs (except right at the end when

I finally got diagnosed, I was wicked craving carbs, which my doc says is normal

once your blood sugar hits a certain threshold). I was urinating all the time

to the point I had big problems with incontinence which has since vanished. I

was dizzy after eating. I didn't feel well or satisfied after I ate, no matter

what I ate.

So finally I decided to face facts and got tested. My blood sugar was crazy

high by this time, like 250-350. It has taken a couple months and some meds to

square me, (actos plus met, and basal insulin once a day), but my blood sugar

has been really great the past couple of weeks.

If anyone has, or suspects they have blood sugar metabolism problems, I cannot

highly enough recommend the book BLOOD SUGAR 101. It explains how important it

is to get diagnosed as early as possible, as high blood sugars actually destroy

the cells in your pancreas that produce insulin, making your problem way worse

than it could have been.

One important lesson I've learned in the book is that there is plenty of

evidence that high blood sugars cause weight gain, rather than the reverse.

Researchers studied and compared thin people with and without family members

with diabetes. The thin people with diabetic family members already had insulin

resistance. As your cells become insulin resistance, your fat cells aren't

nearly as resistance as your muscle cells. This is particularly true of

visceral (belly) fat cells. So your muscle cells become resistant, there's

extra glucose floating around, your fat cells suck it up, and lo and behold, you

gain weight, particularly belly weight.

This made me wonder about the correlation between dieting history and diabetes.

Dieting history is correlated to higher weights, particularly belly fat, right?

Is insulin resistance the mechanism by which our bodies achieve weight gain

extra weight after the " famine " of dieting? Do the ancestors of those of us

with a high genetic history of diabetes hail from areas where famine was

frequent, and where higher weights during times of feast, protected them from

times of famine?

I diverge. The point is, diabetes is very, very highly genetic with

environmental factors, such as pollution and dieting history, and stress playing

a significant role. But being fat does not cause diabetes. The book makes this

case in a number of different and persuasive ways.

And back to my eating. When I was diagnosed with such huge sugar numbers it

really freaked me. I committed to getting my sugar down first, and then seeing

where I was at with IE, etc. I was still dedicated to not going hungry no

matter what. It was really hard initially, but my sugar/carb cravings quickly

disappeared again. When I went on insulin, I finally enjoyed eating again. I

hadn't really enjoyed eating since I stopped nursing my son. I finally felt

satisfied with my food, and my appetite went way down. I think my body could

finally use the few carbs I was eating with the help of the extra insulin. So I

feel grateful with each daily injection I give.

Now I must say, I'm very happy with the food I eat. Happier than before I was

diagnosed. I feel very satisfied. I have much more energy and strength, and I

just feel so much healthier. And when I need to eat something off plan, I give

myself permission. I know I'd end up binging on it eventually, if I didn't.

I'm considering asking my doctor for a fast-acting insulin for those moments

when I go off plan, just to really square my health long-term. But I'm mostly

happy and very satisfied with a diet of 15-20 grams of carbs per meal.

If you're diabetic, or if you're close to anyone who's diabetic, I can't highly

enough recommend Dana Carpender's cook books. I've got her 15 minute low carb

cookbook, the 500 recipe low carb cookbook, and the low carb smoothie book.

These recipes are a big part of the reason I don't feel like I'm missing out on

anything by eating low carb.

As far as weight, still holding steady. I actually think my weight has

redistributed a bit, since bringing my sugar under control. My butt feels a

tiny bit bigger, and my stomach feels a bit smaller. My doc says my weight has

been more or less the same for the last 5 months. Remarkable considering I've

added so many medications that are supposed to add weight (particularly

insulin). I think doing IE,and naturally responding to decreasing appetite with

decreased eating has been the key.

Will I ever lose weight. I don't know. Maybe now that my body is metabolizing

carbs more normally, and now that my blood sugars are normalized, maybe I will.

And maybe I won't. I've accepted that. And I've realized that it makes

absolutely no difference to the quality of my lovely life. I still have down

days of judgment, but I now realize that these moments have nothing to do with

my weight, only with my love and acceptance of self. (I would also highly

recommend, When Women Stop Hating Their Bodies).

Good luck,

Sara