At the end of October, Elisabeth marked six months since she received her type 2 diabetes diagnosis and adopted changes to her diet to successfully put her diabetes into remission.
“I am so grateful for how life-affirming this journey has been,” said Elisabeth. “In recent months, I have met other people with type 2 diabetes and I tell them that I have put mine into remission. They look at me with disbelief. More people need to know it is possible!”
Elisabeth's diabetes has now been in remission for five months. Her blood glucose is now consistently in healthy, non-diabetic ranges and she has lost a total of 15 pounds, which she has been able to maintain without weight gain despite a busy summer and fall.
Her weight has stabilized at 158 pounds for the past three months.
“I would like to lose 8 more pounds and get down to 150. I hope with more exercise, especially building more muscle, I may be able to do that.”
Movement is enjoyable once more
Elisabeth now has lots of energy and recently has been able to up her daily walking to an average 7,500 steps. That’s largely because she received an injection of Durolane, a hyaluronic acid treatment, into her osteoarthritic knee. The treatment, which lasts six months or more on one injection, has relieved crippling knee pain and made walking and movement enjoyable again.
“I am able to be more active. My knee is feeling so much better so I am able to do more consistent exercise. I am using resistance bands to build muscle, walking a lot, working in my garden, going to the pool. I am planning in December to go back to a community gym and get some training for using weights so I can build more muscle. I am motivated to get more toned.”
Among her improved health measurements, her waist size is down, too. She has lost a full 3 inches from her waist, from 37 inches when she started to 34 inches now.
“I am fully out of the red zone in my tape measure,” said Elisabeth, referring to the Heart and Stroke Society tape measure she has had for years that shows that waists measuring greater than 35 inches (88 cm) for women and 40 inches (102 cm) for men substantially increases the risk for cardiovascular disease and other metabolic health issues.
Periodic use of CGM keeps her on track
Elisabeth now uses the continuous glucose monitor (CGM) sporadically. She will wear it for a two-week stretch to ensure she is on track, then go without it for two to four weeks.
“My readings are now always within range and I have learned what to expect from certain foods, activities, or stress levels so I don’t feel I need it as much. But if I am anticipating a couple of challenging weeks, it is a great device to keep me accountable. It lets you know if you are straying and keeps you on track like a task master!”
One of the most interesting learnings for Elisabeth the past few months is how much stress would impact her glucose readings, making them spike up past 9 mmol/L, whether that was from knee pain or the stress of dealing with realtors, lawyers, and mortgage brokers for a house she was buying in Courtenay.
Another surprise is that she has discovered that she has likely had a sensitivity to wheat. She cut it out for a time on her low carb diet and, during that time, eczema on her legs cleared up.
“I thought, this is really interesting. I wonder if wheat is a trigger for me? So in October I started having a little piece of bread every day, and sure enough, the eczema came back. And weirdly, my ears get itchy, too. So, no wheat for me. And not being itchy is a real bonus. ”
Meals are simple, satisfying, and sustainable
Finally, Elisabeth is finding the way of eating enjoyable and relatively easy to maintain, focusing on salads, vegetables, and protein. She has even found that she can have a small amount of potatoes without raising her blood sugar.
"This all feels very sustainable, as if I can eat this way easily for the rest of my life."
Congratulations Elisabeth on a fabulous six months!
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