Teresa, 60
Who
Teresa, 60, Vancouver BC
Age diagnosed with type 2 diabetes
58
Number of years in remission
2
Life before diagnosis
My husband died in 2012 and with the grief and the change in my life, I found it very hard to eat healthily on my own. I steadily gained weight and my blood sugar was steadily rising. In 2019, I was diagnosed with endometrial cancer and I had hysterectomy. Then the weight really piled on.
Symptoms
In 2019 I went for a 4-month trip home to the Philippines, and there was so much rice and sweet food. On that trip my blood pressure was recorded as 200 systolic, which is dangerously high! My A1C was over 7% and my fasting blood glucose 9 mmol/L. My weight was 72 kilos. I did not feel good.
Diagnosis
In the Philippines I was told I had type 2 diabetes, high insulin resistance, high blood pressure, and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). I was put on metformin.
Why did you try remission?
I really wanted to try lifestyle changes. I did not want to be on medications or sick. When I came home to Canada I joined the medical practice of Dr. Iris Radev, in North Vancouver, who specializes in lifestyle medicine for chronic disease, specifically a low carb or keto diet.
What did you do?
I adopted a low carb diet with intermittent fasting. I started off doing a 16:8 fasting/eating schedule. That means I didn’t eat anything for 16 hours, such as from 7 pm the night before to 11 am the next day. All my meals and snacks were in an 8-hour window, and they were low carb.
What happened?
In six months of this low carb intermittent fasting “LCIF" program I put my diabetes into remission and restored my blood glucose to healthy ranges (A1C 5.2 %). I no longer have fatty liver and my blood pressure is normal. I lost almost almost 30 kg and I am now 44 kg, which I find easy to maintain. I now work out regularly with a personal trainer.
What are you doing now?
I find I am often not hungry so I fast for 18 hours and eat just two meals and a small snack in a 6-hour window. My first meal of the day would be usually two eggs, some cherry tomatoes, sliced cucumber, leafy greens. A snack mid afternoon would be a handful of roasted almonds. My second meal, dinner, is usually a protein like chicken, fish, shrimp with lots of vegetables.
What do you want others to know?
This is a way of life now. I find this very satisfying, easy, and simple to do. I no longer have any hunger or cravings, and I have great energy. I can’t believe I feel better at 60 than I did for the last 10 years. I am even becoming a role model in the Filipino community. My friends can’t believe what I have done.
Top tips?
If I can do it, you can do it, too!