Ajalah, 47

Symptoms

By 2020, I was tired all the time. I was extremely thirsty and almost foaming at the mouth. I couldn’t be more than 5 minutes away from a restroom. I felt awful. But that wasn’t the worst of it. That was to come.

Diagnosis

My doctor did blood tests and my Hemoglobin A1C was 15%, which is very high. I was devastated when my doctor told me that meant I had type 2 diabetes and that there was no cure and I would have to learn to manage it. To start,  she put me on five medications. I was a referred to a nutritionist who recommended overnight oats and apples with peanut butter. A specialist showed me how to inject insulin three times a day. I did everything they told me to do but my weight kept climbing, up to 296 pounds, and my blood sugar was still very high. Eventually I was even referred to a surgeon to discuss bariatric surgery.

What did you do? 

Fortunately, I did not have the surgery, but I did try to follow all the advice. I made sure to take my medications every day. But I just got worse and worse. My eyesight began to fail. I had massive migraines and brain fog that made me so forgetful. My asthma worsened and I was using my puffer multiple times a day. I couldn’t climb the stairs. I couldn’t walk to the end of the street due to swelling in my feet. I had to use a cane. Excruciating nerve pain also made it hard to walk, and to sleep. My five medications soon became 15. I was injecting insulin up to five times a day. But none of it helped. My hope for managing the diabetes soon turned to despair and my despair turned to deep depression that meant I no longer left my house. I no longer left my bed. I essentially gave up. It was not only impacting my health, but also the health of my children. In my depression, I beat myself up for  being a bad role model to my kids, for not being able to do this. I used to exercise, to play tennis, to dance. How did I become like this?

What happened next?

I finally got a referral to endocrinologist Dr. Mariela Glandt, a type 2 diabetes specialist who founded the OWNAHealth app and who treats type 2 diabetes with a ketogenic diet. I hobbled to her office using my cane. After hearing my story, the first thing she said to me was, “It is not your fault” and “I can help you.” It makes me cry just thinking about it. It was the first acceptance and understanding I had received and I knew she would be different.  She described what insulin resistance was to me, how I had been likely very insulin resistant for years. And she described how when insulin is chronically high it locks fat inside cells and we can't burn it or lose weight. She said we had to focus on solving my insulin resistance. On the first visit she took away all my medications. And I was scared. I thought I needed them to stay alive. But she gave me a new food list of things I would be eating. She said that food would be my medicine now. Dr. Glandt’s warm positive encouragement was the first glimpse of hope that I’d had in years.

What did you change?

I cut out refined and starchy carbohydrates and all sugar. I focused on eating meat, poultry, eggs, dairy, above ground vegetables, and low sugar berries. I felt better almost right away.  In a mere few days, I was up and out of bed. In a few short weeks, I ditched the cane. In a couple of months, I had dropped 40 pounds — without ever once counting calories or feeling hungry. In a short time, my type 2 diabetes went into remission. My A1C went from 15% to 5.2% and it has stayed there. Changing the way I eat changed my life. And it continues. I am getting better and better every day.

What was a typical day of eating before and what is it now?

When I was at my sickest, I would eat oatmeal for breakfast with nuts, raisins and berries, no sugar. Lunch was a salad with maybe brown rice. I didn’t eat much meat because I thought it was bad for me. Dinner before was typically a piece of chicken breast with a bowl of rice and vegetables. For dessert would be a big bowl of fruit. I  was eating from all four food groups and I thought I was eating healthy, but the carbs and fruit were raising my blood sugar very high and therefore keeping my insulin high. Even though this was the way I was told to eat by previous health professionals, it was contributing to my sickness. So now for breakfast I start with eggs, maybe a bit of spinach, and a bit of meat like a slice of ham or piece of bacon. When I eat that for breakfast I am often not hungry all day so I can skip lunch. But, if I do eat anything midday it will be some chicken or another piece of  meat. I cook it the night before and walk around with a little baggie of cooked chicken or meat and that is what I snack on if I am hungry. Dinner would be chicken or a piece of meat with broccoli or another above ground vegetable. If I have dessert, it will be blueberries and strawberries with some cream. I love that.

What do you want others to know?

I am no longer counting calories. I am eating more than I ever used to eat and I am losing weight without hunger. It's crazy how my love of food got me into this situation, and it's the love of food that is going to get me out. After being on 15 medications, I now don’t take a single pill. My medicine is delicious food! I have the energy now to go to the gym. I am building muscle. I am playing tennis  and dancing again. I have so much energy and my brain is clear again so I am energized to pursue my dreams of becoming an entrepreneur. I will say that this journey to health has shown me that getting healthy depends on getting the right advice. Because of Dr. Mariela Glandt, I got it, but I was one of the lucky ones. I believe that everyone needs to get this advice.

Top Tips

Some people say they can’t afford to do this lifestyle, but the fact is this lifestyle is possible for everyone. If you are sick and low energy and getting sicker, you can’t afford NOT to do this. Buy meat, fish, and poultry on sale, portion it up, and freeze it. Buy frozen vegetables and berries and just use what you need – it won’t spoil. Eggs are cheap and fantastic. Not being hungry, not eating junk food, and not being sick saves a lot of money. My other tip is to talk to everyone about it and get them in on your side. They will support you. They want to see you get healthy. There are 13 fast food outlets in my block alone, and they all know I am doing this. When they see me coming they will give me a burger on lettuce or another special low carb order. They won’t allow me to have it on a bun with fries. They want me to see me succeed just as much as I do.

 Listen to Ajalah's inspiring story in discussion with her physician, Dr. Mariela Glandt and Dr. Charles Helm. You will find it on the December 12, 2024 episode of the "At the Helm" podcast here.