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.