Arthur Eats Healthy

Last December of 2010, I had to go in for a yearly check up from my doctor that was about three years past due. After seeing the doctor, I was called back for some additional tests. My doctor called me in a week later to tell me that I had type 2 diabetes. I knew this was a possibility but to hear the words, the reality of the matter started to sink in. I was hit with the news and was in utter shock. I wasn’t even really sure what diabetes was, even though my mother had been type 1 before she passed away. My doctor tried to explain to me in a very simple manner of how my body was reacting to insulin. I was immediately started on metformin to help my body adjust. He also said that losing weight and exercise would help in the process.

The American Diabetes Association defines diabetes as:

“Diabetes mellitus (MEL-ih-tus), or simply, diabetes, is a group of diseases characterized by high blood glucose levels that result from defects in the body's ability to produce and/or use insulin” “In type 2 diabetes, either the body does not produce enough insulin or the cells ignore the insulin. Insulin is necessary for the body to be able to use glucose for energy. When you eat food, the body breaks down all of the sugars and starches into glucose, which is the basic fuel for the cells in the body. Insulin takes the sugar from the blood into the cells. When glucose builds up in the blood instead of going into cells, it can lead to diabetes complications.”

For several days after I found out, I felt very confused and had a deep feeling of sorrow and guilt about the news that I had just received. I knew that I had to find out more and started reading everything I could online. I found articles, prayed and learned from others that had gone through similar situations. I felt guilt and wondered if I had done this to myself. The more I read about it, I realized that genetics plays a large role in whether or not you will get it. Now, of course you can have certain factors that will increase your risk and several things you can do to delay the onset. Having a family history of this was already a strike against me but as I came to terms with it, the guilt went away. The more I read and learned about this new challenge in my life, the more I started feeling better about it. I knew that having a plan to lose weight was going to be a key in managing my glucose levels.

My weight at the doctor was 223 pounds and that was several pounds down from a few years ago. I knew it was time to change my eating habits, and I needed to find out how different foods were affecting me. The easiest way to do this was with the glucose meter that my doctor gave me. My first few readings were very high, but I started changing my diet and found that this number started to drop.

Being active in any form, I found out is key. I work in an office all day and sitting down and not moving is not a good recipe for a healthy life style. I started taking short walking breaks during the day to keep my body moving and active. The parking spot at the end of the parking lot is one that I now look for as every step is a step that keeps me active and going. Get up and get moving. Even on a weekend, I try to get out and take a short walk. This will not only make you feel better but it gets you going and helps your body all around.

Diet, here’s where I can only share what worked for me. I am in no way an expert and would advise someone to always first consult their doctor before trying something new. Here was my simple plan, remove as much sugar from my diet as possible. This on the surface my sound easy, but as I learned even a cup of skim milk has as much as 12 grams of sugar. That’s enough to push my (glucose)numbers up and I didn’t want that to happen. My first trip to the grocery store, took me over 2 hours, pouring over nutrition labels and find that most of the food that I thought was good for me really wasn’t. I had an enemy and that was called by two names, carbs and sugar. Carbs will turn into sugar and that would affect my glucose levels. I wouldn’t use the word diet; this became more of a life style change and an adjustment of what I was already eating.

Let me walk you through a day of what I was eating versus what I’m eating now. You’ll see a series of small adjustments, but it was effective enough.

Breakfast

So, my typical breakfast used to be a bowl of cereal and milk. As I mentioned earlier just a cup of milk has 12 grams or more of sugar. So, let’s say a typical bowl of cereal with a ½ cup of milk would be at least 20 grams of sugar and 45 grams of crabs.

The substitution:

Milk: I switched to sugar free almond milk. I found this not at a high end grocer but at my local big box store. The vanilla flavored “milk” has zero sugar and tastes great Cereal: I now have ¾ cup of old fashioned oatmeal. This is a great source of fiber and is enough to keep you full during the morning. I’ll also add a small packet of artificial sweetener, cinnamon and almonds.

Snacks:

Yes, you must not fear this word. Try the word healthy snacks. It is better to keep your glucose level constant during the day and eating smaller snacks between meals is a good way to keep everything in balance. About mid morning, and mid afternoon I have one piece of string cheese. This not only maintains my glucose levels but it helps hold me over till lunch. I sometimes replace this with roasted peanuts or almonds. If you keep your body fueled then you won’t have hunger pains that lead to unhealthy urges to grab a bag of chips or candy bar.

Lunch:

Lunch, this is where I thought I was doing ok. I used to bring a sandwich on white bread, chips and a coke. Just two slices of white bread would amount to 30 grams of carbs, 4 grams of sugar and 2 grams of fat.

The substitution:

I now have found a low carb, whole wheat wrap that only contains 10 carbs and zero sugar. I top this off with a little cheese, meat, mustard and I’ve got a healthy lunch that keeps me full until my afternoon snack. This along with a diet beverage to satisfy my sweet urges helps round out the noon hour.

Dinner:

My wife and I typically make two meals a week and have leftovers for two nights. Our typical first two nights would be chicken, corn and potatoes. This sounds like a good thing. As I learned, potatoes and corn are full of starch and carbs. We would also make a batch of spaghetti and sauce. As you can imagine regular spaghetti is full of carbs and most prepackaged sauces contains sugar. For example a typical jar of sauce would contain 11 grams of sugar and 19 total carbs and that’s before you add the noodles. So, this had to change.

The substitution:

I’ve now switched to green beans, squash, and even sweet potatoes. Yes sweet potatoes, in small amounts seem to not affect my glucose levels. Steaming the other veggies helps bring out their natural flavors to make a filling meal.

Portions, for every meal this is very important. I used to eat really fast and eat as much as I could. I could really put away food at the buffets. The more you eat the harder your body has to work to break it down and in my case the more glucose in my system. An easy approach is something called the plate method. This is a simple way to break down your plate. Divide your 9”plate in half, the take one side and divide it again. The largest half of the plate is now ready to be filled with fruits and non starchy veggies. The other ¼ is for meat of protein and the last ¼ is for grains or starches. Now I took this a step farther and cut out the ¼ of carbs and starches and replaced that with a small salad. As, I mentioned before, sometimes you have to test out certain foods to find out how they affect you.

For the spaghetti, I now use whole wheat pasta and make the sauce using all natural tomato sauce in a can. This new sauce only contains, 2 grams of sugar, and 4 total carbs. I add garlic, onions and other seasonings to add to the flavor. This new sauce tastes great and after a few tries you can spice it up to meet your needs.

Finding out that I had diabetes in some ways was a blessing. It’s given me the motivation to change my eating habits and to work to lose weight. The change is a daily battle, but every day it gets easier. A box of donuts at work used to be an easy snack and I wouldn’t stop at one. I even made joke that, that box of donuts was “killing me”. Well in a basic sense, with diabetes it was. I now can look that box of donuts in the eye and say “not today my old friend, not today”.

I would hope that this in some way might help someone out there either lose weight or to help them get motivated. Several weeks after this all started, I had a friend of mine pass away. He was type 1 diabetic who had heart surgery, but had complications afterwards. It was a reminder to keep on track with my plan and keep up the motivation. I also, could not have done this without the support of my wife, who learned as much as she could about what I was going through and what foods I could and couldn’t eat. Her support along with many prayers, my great friends and putting my trust in God brought me from guilt and sorrow to a peace with what I was dealing with.

I’m down now almost 30 pounds and am still losing weight. We are all given daily challenges but it’s how we react to them that makes the difference. Taking a line from Star Wars, “Your focus determines your reality”, so decide on what you are going to focus on makes all the difference.