Eating Right for Life

I am super excited! Yesterday I had my blood glucose checked and I am now officially out of the pre-diabetes danger zone! Three months ago, my fasting blood glucose was 104 and my 2-hour after eating breakfast blood glucose was 114. Yesterday my fasting blood glucose was 97 and my 2-hour after eating breakfast was 96!!! My doctor told me that the thing she was most concerned was the 2nd reading, because if it gradually went up, that would indicate increasing insulin resistance. To see a drop of 18 points is pretty amazing to me.

People ask me, "How do you do it?" I smile and reply, "Exercise, no oil, no sugar." They don't realize, of course, the royal battle I've had with myself, my stubborn tastebuds, and resistant brain cells to this change that had to happen. They haven't gotten up every single day (except Sabbaths) for the past three months, regardless of whether they got 6 hours or 7 hours of sleep the night before, regardless of the rain relentlessly pounding down (thankfully we've only had 3 of those days so far!) to get out there and walk an hour at a brisk pace. They haven't struggled to find recipes to create dishes that would be palatable, trying to find substitutes for the substitutes (tofu mayonnaise doesn't have the same taste as Vegenaise), and slogging in to town every three or four days to stock up on more fresh produce. They haven't felt hungry at 11 am, 4 pm, and 9 pm, frustrated because they didn't want to snack but upset because their stomach was hollower than a tree stump. They haven't sat and wondered if it really was worth it, when the blood glucose readings stayed the same, the number on the scales stayed the same, the bland food tasted the same, and nothing seemed to be working.

They haven't, but I have. I have seen 15 pounds disappear, inches walk off, and numbers come down! My stomach doesn't hurt because I ate too much for lunch, and I'm not reaching mindlessly for something to chew on as much anymore. I'm learning to substitute because I've spent a lifetime substituting, for a brother who couldn't eat nuts or dairy or eggs, substituting vegan ingredients for vegetarian, and now, oil & sugar free (for the most part!).

I will be the first to admit that this journey hasn't been easy and I haven't been perfect. I still have my one cheat meal, on Fridays when I go out to eat with friends. I am still figuring out how to do that and not mess up my plan to live healthier without having to frequent raw food cafes. I've found ethnic foods are a lifesaver, as their focus is on grains and vegetables rather than processed carbs and deep fried anything. Of course restaurants still use too much oil and salt, but I haven't reached the point yet where I'm ready to give this up.

Today we went to Olive Garden. I went online beforehand, read up on nutrition facts, and then wrote down what looked like a healthier menu option for me. I had a whole bowl of salad to myself (and those things are huge!), 1 breadstick, and 6 ravioli with sauce. I learned today to:

• Eat slowly, enjoy and savour your food along with the company
• Center your food around the lowest-calorie item, and treat the other parts of your dish as condiments
• Portion your food before you eat (split in half or two-thirds) and ask for a to-go bag
• Ask for dressing on the side (if you're eating with someone else) and lemon wedges to dress up the salad, along with a sprinkle of salt

The last time we went to my favourite Indian restaurant I admit I went a little nuts. I love their tamarind chutney, all their sauces and curries were not as spicy that day as they were before, they had plenty of fried puffed bread, and of course I had to have 4 balls of gulab jamun. (Please don't tell me how many calories are in one of those! I dread to look!). I didn't plan my meal carefully, so it consisted of oil, oil, and deep-fried oil.

I do plan on going back to an Indian restaurant, but this time rice will feature more prominently on my plate. I will have little bits of sauces & curries to accompany the rice, and then perhaps one gulab jamun. Because I still haven't reached the point where I want to give those up either!

I've been a little frustrated lately because the weight hasn't been dropping as fast as at the beginning. I'm realizing, though, that while I've changed about 90% of my diet, the other 10% (eating out) is still pretty consistently what I used to eat before. So I'm guessing that while I work on the things I mentioned above, I will also be working on figuring out how to eat out anywhere and leave the restaurant as healthy and happy as when I entered it.

But for now, I'm happy. I'm no longer pre-diabetic!