“Mine is an ongoing story that I am eager to share”

Before and after

Margaret suffered from type 2 diabetes, burn out, depression and a stubborn weight that wouldn’t budge. After discovering that her blood sugar was exceptionally high in the morning, she started researching and came across Dr. Jason Fung.

As a nurse, she was initially skeptical towards the unconventional advice that people within the low-carb sphere were giving, but after doing more research she decided to jump right in:

The E-mail

Mine is an ongoing story that I am eager to share because of the changes in my life and health in only two and a half months. I did not have a weight problem until 1978 when I went back to school and began to eat a lot of fast food. I gained 35 lbs (16 kg) that one year, a lot more since then, and no diet plan has ever gotten me back down to my original weight.

In 2007 it was first noticed I was having high blood sugars, but my HbA1cs were normal until about 2012. They were stress-related until I was officially diagnosed with T2D [type 2 diabetes]. I am a missionary in Africa and last year (2015) realized I was suffering from burnout. I went back to the US for treatment and evaluation of related medical issues. But in taking a sabbatical, I was traveling a lot and staying with friends and relatives, unable to control my diet, as I needed to. With that and ongoing stress and depression, my blood sugars were running in the 200 mg/dl (11.1 mmol/L), up to about 350 mg/dl (19.4 mmol/L) at times! And of course, I was hearing all the stories of people like me who had to go on insulin – and gained more weight! So I was getting scared.

But in September I was staying for three weeks in an environment where I was able to cook for myself. I had also become aware that I had the dawn phenomenon, so my morning fasting blood sugars were exceptionally high. So I began to research on line for info on that, having not understood about it before. That’s when I discovered Dr. Jason Fung…

Since I am a registered nurse, I am very skeptical about things like fad diets, so I read many articles by Dr. Fung, Dr. Westman, Diet Doctor, and others. After 3 days of heavy reading, I was convinced that the LCHF eating plan was not only legitimate, but was a return to our original traditional American eating style, pre-high carb, pre-low fat diet.

I had been on both Metformin and Glipizide at different times and found they did not bring me back to normal blood sugars, and in June my HbA1c was 7.5. In mid-September I started the 2-week introductory LCHF program through Diet Doctor. I quit my Metformin the same day. My blood sugars (except for the dawn phenomenon) dropped back into normal range almost immediately, my depression vanished by the second day!

Now by mid-November my HbA1c has dropped down to 5.4, and as of now, late December, I have lost 23 pounds (10 kg). I have more energy, and I have quit my blood-pressure meds as well without any rebound of hypertension.

As of late October I returned to my life in Africa where diet can be a bit more challenging. The traditional diet is starches and root vegetables. I have to drive 50 miles to a city where I can buy salad vegetables at the larger markets. Cheese is horrifically expensive. I do not have an oven to cook many of the yummy recipes I was learning from the Diet Doctor site. So avoiding dietary boredom is a bit more challenging now. I do have access to fresh milk and cream so am learning to make my own yogurt, and am planning on starting my own vegetable (salads!) garden. But with my weight loss and normal blood sugars, I am starting to experiment with local foods and even the wonderful tropical fruits, and am finding that while I must be careful, my tolerance for these foods is growing, especially when I eat them in moderation.

So I know that as I continue to eat healthy and lose weight, I will one day no longer have to monitor blood sugars and be much healthier than I was. Thank you all of you guys for your research and for your push to get us all back into healthier eating and lifestyle! I’m sure most of us will live longer as a direct result. Keep up the good work!

Margaret

Comments

Congratulations, Margaret, to your success – and wish you the best of luck with your ongoing story!

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