Making a Switch

Today I'm going to write just a little about eating healthy. Three months ago, after talking to my doctor, doing several fasting blood sugar tests, and finding out I had the beginning signs of insulin resistance, I got scared enough into eating healthy and exercising regularly. Diabetes runs rampant on my paternal side of the family, along with obesity, and I wasn't about to get sucked into the expectation that I should inherit those disease as well. Besides, I absolutely hate needles and the thought of having to inject myself several times daily with insulin, if I should happen to develop diabetes, was a frightening thought. I decided cutting out certain foods, while not my ideal way to live, was much better than poking myself full of hole tattoes.

I found it rather challenging at first. Because I tend to take things very literally and adhere to rules and regulations almost fanatically, I immediately dropped anything that had the slightest hint of sugar or oil from my diet, and cut out all things high glycemic. Somehow I was worried that if I didn't make this change, I would develop diabetes instantaneously (not exactly sure how, since my body had managed to survive on an unhealthy diet thus far!). This left me with very few things to eat, which frustrated me. I had a chart from my doctor, and there were 3 columns, one of "things okay to eat" which included greens and citrus fruit and rye bread, one of "things that may be okay" which included wholewheat pasta, berries, and nuts, and one of "probably will cause a problem" which of course was oils, sugar, bread, dried fruits, bananas, and other such things. I was determined to stick with the appropriate diet, so I ate only the things from the "okay to eat" with very few items from the "may be okay". After about three days I was discouraged.

When I went to see my doctor again, she cheerfully asked how I was doing. My downcast face must have spoken more than I was comfortable sharing, but I finally said, "I'm not doing so well. I don't know what to eat! Can I eat peanut butter and honey? What about bread? And fruit?" We had a very helpful discussion about what kinds of foods to eat, she handed me a book called "The 30-Days Diabetes Miracle" and off I went to try to figure out how to eat healthily and sustain it long-term.

I was raised vegetarian and ate a pretty healthy diet, I think. In Africa we had ground grains for breakfast, cooked into a sort of porridge. In Egypt we ate a lot of wholewheat baladi (like pita bread) and fruits and vegetables. In Lebanon we enjoyed olives and cucumbers and labneh (like cream cheese). Then we came to America, where our diet became vegan out of necessity. I still ate cheese and eggs whenever I had the chance, but usually that was limited to eating out. Unfortunately, once I started buying my own food, I began to stock up on high carb/high sugar/high fat/highly processed things. I started trying to eat healthier a couple of years ago, but was never faced with the reality that I had to make some serious changes until three months ago.

At first I thought it was impossible to cook with no sugar or oil. I absolutely love the smell of frying onions, and when I first steamed onions in a bit of water instead, it was absolutely not interesting. I started to look for recipes and came across Neal Barnard's books. I went online to my local library, put all three of his books on hold, and proceeded to try making foods that were healthy and still tasted good. My whole family came on board and has been graciously eating oil-free lunches, enduring experiments and enjoying the things that work.

I'm pleased to say that I'm finally starting to figure things out. I'm trying out new recipes, reading up on how to eat healthy, and learning a lot about how the body works. The more I read, the more I am amazed at how our bodies handle all the stuff that goes into them, sifting through to find the nutrients, and creating energy and red blood cells and all the other bits and pieces we need to function. We have amazing bodies and an amazing Creator!