Yesterday I posted this picture on Facebook
First - a little background - I have been a diabetic for the past 12 years and started taking insulin about 4-5 years ago in addition to a couple of different medications. The most effective medication was shown to have a greater risk for bladder cancer and my doctor took me off it last spring. I've tried to be careful about my diet and exercise but have never been successful. So insulin alone was not helping me control my diabetes. I did lose about 15-20 pounds last winter without doing anything specific but my health was not getting any better overall.
About this same time I visited my gastroenterologist and was diagnosed with fatty liver disease which wasn't a real surprise to me since my mother and sister both had it. I started walking 2 miles every single day but my fasting blood sugar level kept slowly increasing. At my June visit to the endocrinologist my A1C level was an unbelievable (for me anyway) 8.9 - it had never, ever been that high! By this time I had become bored with just walking and had joined an exercise class (Fit+) at Amarillo Town Club. Even after two full months of exercise, I was not seeing results I wanted.
In early June one of the blogs I read regularly had a post about a book called The Metabolism Miracle by Diane Kress. This blogger is a nurse and I felt that this wasn't just some fad diet or she wouldn't have been posting about it. You can read her post here. I purchased the book and read the first few chapters. The author wrote this book for people who have a different kind of metabolism (which she calls MetB) and have a difficult time losing weight. While doing research online, I realized that there was another book - The Diabetes Miracle - by the same author. After getting The Diabetes Miracle, I knew I had to try this plan. (I choose not to call it a diet because I am not on it to lose weight but to become healthier!) I also learned more about diabetes from this book than I learned in the past 12 years which includes two diabetes education programs at Northwest Texas Hospital and visits to two different nutritionists.
So here's the bottom line of The Metabolism/Diabetes Miracle plan -
Step One is eight weeks of eating only 5 grams of carbs at each meal and at bedtime. This gives the pancreas and liver time to rest which is exactly what I needed. It actually shrinks fat cells and that's where I can really tell the difference. Most of clothes are actually way too big. I had to buy several new capris to make it through the summer. The author encourages you not to weigh yourself during these eight weeks. Honestly I haven't lost more than 3-4 pounds since I started the plan but I have more energy and feel really, really great!
Now the very best part for me - I lowered my A1C from 8.9 to 6.4 in less than three months. This is the lowest A1C for me in many years and it has made me determined to stick with this "eating plan."
Step Two is eight or more weeks of re-introducing carbs with a low gylcemic level back in your diet. You are not supposed to go more than 5 hours without eating 11-20 grams of carbs either as a snack or part of your meal. Hopefully I will start on Step Two in about ten days. (Every time you eat more than 5 grams of carbs on Step One you are supposed to extend that step by three days - I messed up a few times so I'm on Step One for 10 weeks!) During Step Two you continue to burn fat and hopefully lose weight.
Step Three is maintenance - not going back to your old way of eating - although you can have some of your old favorites. By this time, you shouldn't crave carbs the way you did before you started on the plan.
Dieting is not easy and this plan is not any different. I have never really "followed" a diet but have tried at different times to be careful about what I eat. Believe me - this plan is HARD to follow! Five grams of carbs is not much. Most bread are 12-15 grams per slice. I did find one - "Sara Lee 45 Calories & Delightful 100% Whole Wheat with Honey" that is 7 grams per slice minus 2 grams of fiber which makes it 5 grams of countable carbs. (I've had lots of slices of bread with peanut butter during the past nine weeks!) I spend a lot of time at the grocery store reading labels looking for things that are allowable. (My favorite snack is almonds - cinnamon or cocoa flavored.) It's hard to fix a meal that has something I can eat and something Sandy can enjoy and feel like he has had a meal. It's very hard to not cheat and eat something full of carbs. It's hard to go out to eat and find something you can enjoy. I could go on about how hard it is but I don't want to discourage anyone!
Here is a link to more info on The Metabolism Miracle and a short test to see if you might have MetB type metabolism. If you are interested in getting on the plan, please visit the link for more information. This link takes you to more information about The Diabetes Miracle. From here you can listen to several videos that give more info about diabetes. I strongly encourage you to visit one or both sites.
I'm going to stop here with this post. There is lots more to this plan that you will learn if you purchase either of the books. If you can't find either book locally, they are available at Amazon. I just downloaded the Kindle version of The Diabetes Miracle to my iPad this weekend and it was actually cheaper than the print version. If there are enough people interested in learning more about how the plan works, I'll do another post about what works for me and the foods that I have found to eat during Step One. One of the most important things for me is that I joined a support group at miracle-ville.com and have found great ideas and recipes there. There is a monthly fee to join but it has been worth it. I struggled a lot in the first few weeks and I'd love to share what I've learned if it would help you. Leave me a comment if you are interested in another post about the miracle plan. Please feel free to ask any questions you might have.
