No Sugar, Momma

I'm not shy about sharing my life with you.  And this was an update I wasn't quite prepared for.  I have Endometriosis and Adenomyosis which cause lots of chronic pain.  I also have Degenerative Disc Disease in my back, which causes 3 of my lower discs to bulge and herniate, again, causing a lot of pain.  Fibromyalgia.  During the years I've ridden the slippery slope of "pre-diabetic" so I knew my eating needed to take a change, but yet I really hadn't committed. 

For the past few months I had been feeling awful.  Just awful.  Chronic pain was awful, with joint pain and muscle weakness, chronic fatigue, irritable, and just plain miserable.  It was time to go see my doctor.  So I did ... I had labs drawn and waiting for my test results. 

I want to say I was prepared for anything, but I honestly thought I would be told "we don't know what's causing you to feel awful."  However the next day I received my lab results and was told I was "severely deficient in Vitamin D and B12" and the official diagnosis of Type 2 Diabetes.  Yep.  My A1c was at 6.5 and it was honestly a bit of a shock.  I was probably ready for any other diagnosis than this. 

Let's cut to the chase here .... I'm not a diet-person.  I detest the word "diet" and don't believe in them.  So there's that.  But, I realized I needed to not "diet", but rather, change my eating habits.  I'm the Amazon Prime Mom, so what did I do?  Instantly ordered two books on Type 2 Diabetes.  I have to know what I'm up against. 

First things first.  I needed to stop drinking my Dr. Pepper, Sprite and Sweet Tea.  UGH.  The sweet tea is honestly the hardest one.  I spent 15 minutes in the Soda aisle at Target reading boxes.  The diet drinks: fully of imitation sugar.  Sparkling water I just have no desire for it.  But alas, Sprite Zero - zero sugars.  Maybe it wouldn't be too bad. 

I started off cold turkey on Monday.  No sugar.  For breakfast - nothing.  (I know, bad.)  For lunch: celery with peanut butter, string cheese, (my books said it's ok!) and some low sodium almonds. 

Dinner I had to create on the fly.  I had red cabbage on hand and had planned chicken fajitas.  I couldn't eat the flour tortillas, so I used the red cabbage as a bed for my fajitas and added some halved cherry tomatoes.  So far so good.  And - as an added bonus ... I actually felt good.  Not stuffed.  Not bloated.  But pretty good.

Tuesday came and again no breakfast.  I know, I know.  Not good.  But used my fajita leftovers and added in a whole avocado.  Boom.  I felt good about this.  So far; so good. 

Dinner I had already planned pork tenderloin and mashed potatoes.  Well ... I now know the white starches, (potatoes, pasta, white rice, etc..) was the main carbs I had to cut.  So I made my family the 'normal' dinner, and for myself made a homemade coleslaw.  I did feel guilty on the coleslaw because I only had mayo-based coleslaw dressing.  So I measured 1 cup of coleslaw. 

Did you read that??  I MEASURED my food.  This was a first.  Jeez, Day 2 and look at me; already rationing.  However ... I still felt ok!  No bloating.

Wednesday - the Veggie Spiralizer arrived.  I've seen this thing do wonders on Pinterest dishes, so I was pretty confident.  However, the one veggies I had that were even able to be used was a cucumber and carrots.  So I sprialized them both!  Carrot didn't work that well, but the cucumber worked wonderfully!  I added sesame seeds and balsamic dressing.  Boom!  Lunch is served!  I felt full, and again, less bloated than I have in months. 

Wednesday night I had originally meal planned for breaded chicken over pasta.  That was no longer on my 'ok to eat' list.  So I made two dinners, the original for my family and then kept one breast not breaded and skillet grilled it with balsamic.  Still had coleslaw, so measured that, (I can't believe myself!), and added more cherry tomatoes. 

However ... it was while I was cooking dinner that I started to crash.  Irritable.  Sweaty.  Headache.  Trouble concentrating.  Fatigue.  Shaky.  Thirsty.  Nauseous.  Mind you, I've been borderline diabetic for the last few years, with Hypoglycemia and Gestational Diabetes with all three pregnancies.  I know a blood sugar crash, and this one was a BIG one. 

My husband instantly knew something was wrong and was eagerly pushing me to eat some candy, drink a Coke, eat some peanut butter, anything.  But I was stubborn.  I figured, I just needed to eat dinner.  Well, that was the shakiest cutting of a chicken breast I've ever done.  My head was pounding by this time and I just kept thinking, if I get sick, maybe I'll feel better.  I let my food settle, ate some almonds and rested.  Tonight I realize .... I only ate a cucumber for lunch!  I mean, come on ... I can't do that!  What was I thinking???  I was so upset with myself for just being ridiculous. 

Thursday came and I woke up with what felt like a hangover.  I wasn't bloated, but fatigued, headache, upset stomach, irritable and just not in a great mood.  I needed to do better.

I had been so intent on cutting all carbs and sugars totally, I wasn't rationally thinking that my body can't go cold turkey.  And I do need some carbs and sugars in the day.  I needed to do better for my body. 

I ate breakfast ... (yay!) and made whole wheat toast and grabbed an avocado.  I mashed that with a little sea salt and then topped my toast with cherry tomatoes.  It was delicious.  I love avocados so this was a breakfast I knew I could do more often. 

My results at the end of the first week:

• I need to work in some carbs; my body does need them.
• I'm continuing to read labels on EVERYTHING. 
• Sugar = sugar, honey, agave.  It's hidden and you don't eve know it. 
• Sugar detox is REAL. 
• Planning meals is a MUST.  
• Do not forget I need to keep myself from getting too low in my blood sugar.  Passing out isn't fun. 
• Fatigue is still ROUGH. 
• Bloating after meals is gone.  YAY!!!!! 
• Headaches continue, though I think I'm still detoxing from sugar and/or carb intake.  

So this new journey begins.  I will continue to read and learn more about fresh, whole foods, watch out for hidden sugars, meal plan, and will work to add in very few carbs. 

Accountability is huge for me.  In this journey especially.   So currently I'm sharing my daily eating on my Instagram and in my Instagram Stories if you want to follow daily.  Instagram:  @executivechefmom 

Prepare yourself for a new twist on my recipes as I work in more diabetes-friendly and Keto recipes.  I'm not an expert.  I'm not a nutritionist. I'm not a doctor.  Please talk to yours before doing a drastic change in your eating habits.  I found my vitamin levels needed help, so I'm on supplements daily to increase those levels.  I encourage you ... talk to your doctor.  If you don't feel right - be your own advocate and SPEAK UP.  Ask to have your lab work drawn.  If you feel anything other than normal for a long period of time; you have to check out what might be missing. 

Cheers!