a raw veggie burrito made with: sprouted tortilla, homemade zucchini hummus, carrots, avocado, bubbies sauerkraut, red peppers (this was one nighttime snack that actually filled me up!)
jay and i have been eating a mostly plant-based diet for months now. what that means is no meat, no dairy. it's also supposed to mean no sugar and refined carbs, but that's the area where we always indulged a little. we were eating so well the majority of the day: green smoothies in the morning, salad for lunch, something low carb with lots of veggies for dinner, that we felt like we could indulge in the sweets department at night. (if you want to know more about plant-based diets, watch the documentary forks over knives and read the beauty detox solution.)
the frozen custard treat would fill me up at night and keep my belly satisfied until morning. but something odd started happening a month or so ago. i've always had pretty severe low blood sugar (hypoglycemia). and while i was pregnant with both kids i had gestational diabetes (which is typically the opposite of low blood sugar). so i've had both and i know what each one feels like. the symptoms are different. lately i've been feeling those same symptoms of diabetes again. the nightly ice cream treat started affecting me in not so pleasant ways and i began to recognize something was wrong.
i still haven't been diagnosed with anything. i don't really enjoy doctor's offices or hospitals, but for once i want to know what's going on. in the mean time, i've been eating as if i were diabetic...watching my carb and sugar intake. i've cut sugar out of my diet probably 98%. the benefit of course is that my levels stay more even and i've lost a considerable amount of weight. i'm almost back to the weight i was when i got married, which i haven't seen since i got married almost 13 years ago!
the hardest part has been finding a nighttime snack that replaces the heaviness of the ice cream. with my sugar levels wreaking havoc, it's hard to go through the night without a snack and feel ok in the morning. i've almost passed out every morning for the last week and have started stashing cheerios in my bathroom to eat when i first wake up! it's just like when i was pregnant all over again when jay used to wake up in the middle of the night to find me munching on nuts like a squirrel! it's a pain, but it's life. if i want to keep my toes and my eyes and not die of a heart attack when i'm 40, then i know what i have to do. it seems worth it to me, but most people don't feel that way, which is why medicine is so popular.
i'll get off my soap box now, but if you'd like to learn more about type 2 diabetes and the unbelievable and unnecessary toll it's taken on our world, read sugar nation.
...go Sarah!...awesome...
...and this looks soooooo yuummy?...
Posted by: lucyrose | October 11, 2012 at 07:40 PM