My Doctor and my wife had been telling me for a few years to
lose a few kilos, but of course I did nothing. The thought of my weight was so
depressing, I’d have a few chocolate bars a day and six sugar laden cappuccinos
to cheer me up.
It’s not like I hadn’t been told. Junk food has always been
my comfort and my curse. I’m 55 with a sedentary job as a journalist, living on
my nerves and deadlines. I’m also 183cm and 132 kg.
I wound up at the doctors with an ingrown toenail.
Admittedly, it’s a pretty gross way to find out you have the most common
disease of Australians over 40. The podiatrists looked at my belly, then my
feet and then checked with a needle to see if I had lost any sensation. MY GP
then organised a glucose test; the numbers were off the chart. In my case the
results were twice as normal. Scary.
Diabetes is an insidious disease. As you can still function
normally when your body is falling apart. You don’t really notice it. Terrifyingly,
you can have it for decades with barely any symptoms. Common signs are thirst,
tiredness and frequent urination – the kind of things that can be passed off as
the by-products of a normally stressfully life
.
Accordingly to the 2005-05 Australian National Health Survey
582,800 people reported having type 2 diabetes, while Diabetes Australia
estimates that there are at least that many going undiagnosed. However as mild
as the symptoms can be, if it really takes hold the consequences are grace –
gangrene and the loss of limbs., renal (kidney) failure and blindness. I’m
suddenly wishing I had listened to my wife when she told me to cut down on the
chocolate.
Six months later....................
In the months after my initial diagnosis I’ve lost 10 kilos
and my energy levels have doubled. I no longer need afternoon naps and my breathing
is more regular.
For me the combination of reducing my blood sugar through
diet, medication, and exercise resulted in enormous boosts of energy. I am no
longer fighting fatigue and it feels great. I also went to a gym and go a basic
program to do a few times a week – 30 minutes on the walking machine and the
same on weights. I’ve cut down on alcohol and have a maximum of 2 drinks per
week. I’ve learnt to love fruit that is in season, and lettuce is now my
friend.
Amazingly I found my appetite dropped after adding regular
exercise to my routine. Strangely I feel better living with diabetes than without
it. Fresh food and exercise do wonders for your well being. I have some mild,
permanent nerve damage in my feet, but thankfully everything else is working
really well.
Diet is critical. The good news is that I found cravings eventually
dropped naturally. My new slogan is: “Never eat anything that a caveman wouldn’t
recognise as food.” Nowadays my staples are fresh fruit, vegetables, pulses and
anything else high in fibre. I now favour apples, watermelon, celery, lettuce
and tomatoes over hot chips.
It’s no surprise that diabetes has increased in the
community alongside an increase in convenience meals from the supermarket. Most things can be part of your diet as long
as they are in moderation and balanced by a healthy varied diet.
Some people, like my health obsessed wife, scan the
nutritional information on every packet, but frankly, I know I am never going
to. So I just stay away. If you are anything like me you will need broad
guidelines. Go fresh and crunchy; choose
food from as close to the soil and as lean as possible. Don’t use a lot of fat
or oil in cooking. Simple.
Before I’d be the first one to grab a doughnut. However
today, I have taken sugar almost completely out of my diet, and have taken up
fruit and lean, grilled protein. I have medication I take before my meals, but
otherwise I am not impaired in any way., which is fantastic. I am a size
Smaller, which my wife is ecstatic about. Afternoon naps have been eradicated
and my energy levels have tripled.
I have never felt better, So in one sense, amazingly,
getting diabetes has actually improved my life.
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