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As told by Wendy Young to Merrell Readman.
Back in 2016, I was diagnosed as a diabetic. This was after being a very healthy person, eating whole foods that I made from scratch, and riding my bike 30 miles a week. However, my father is also diabetic (I was previously unaware of my history because I was adopted as an infant). After years of just never feeling “right” and descending deeper and deeper into my illness, I finally went to the doctor and insisted they test my blood for everything because I was no longer functioning normally. I was fatigued all the time… getting back into bed at 9 in the morning and sleeping till noon, dreading riding my bike, not enjoying cooking anymore (I would shop, but then had no energy to chop the vegetables).
After being diagnosed and told I should meet with a nutritionist, I learned that I “wasn’t eating enough carbs.” Well, I know enough about nutrition and that statement boggled my mind because, as a diabetic, one is sensitive (or resistant) to carbs because it breaks down into sugar. It doesn’t matter where that sugar comes from, my body doesn’t handle it well. After 18 months of following the nutritionist’s counsel, I was still feeling awful after every meal and not losing any weight (after the initial 20 pounds). So I finally started doing my own research and that is when I found the Keto diet. In theory, it sounded good, but I was never one to follow trends or fad diets. So I had my husband look into it as well to follow the science and see if it made sense from that angle. I had to get it right because there was no way to dabble in keto, you had to jump in with both feet if it was going to work.
I started my diet gradually. Not on purpose, but because I don’t think anyone realizes just how little “under 20 carbs” actually is, but I finally got there and had a very small “keto flu” where it was mainly tiredness and an upset stomach for a couple of days. I still tend to get a migraine when I’m not drinking enough water with lo-salt in it (from mineral deficiencies), but that first week I finally experienced eating meals without feeling sick afterward. There was no movement on the scale and my body felt bloated and weird, but a chemical process takes place and there’s simply no rushing that part.
After my initial start, the results from my first blood work check of being on Keto for three months, my blood work improved drastically and I had lost 20 pounds. That year, I went on to lose 40 more pounds and my doctor told me that in the medical communities’ eyes, my diabetes is “resolved” and no longer need to be on my medication or get my blood work taken. While that all sounds good, I know the only reason my diabetes is “gone” is because the blood work is showing the numbers of a person with no carbs in their system.
My body is still diabetic. If I started eating bread tomorrow, my body would still not know what to do with the sugar. I continue to stay on Keto because it takes that job off the table and allows me to live my best life, regardless of not being able to eat the same foods as others. Sometimes one’s health is more important than being able to eat whatever one wants. I’m a mom of two active boys and I am no longer sitting on the sidelines watching them play soccer… I’m the goalie.
