My Type 1 Diabetic Journey (part two)

What they told me to eat, and what I really should be eating
It seems so confusing when we are constantly inundated with diet plan after diet plan and rapidly changing nutritional data. This has been happening for eons. The ancient egyptians for example treated diabetes with grains, honey and fruit (all things consisting of sugar and breaking down into sugar)—yikes!

The more carbohydrates you consume, the more your body elicits an insulin response. Remember I said that insulin is needed to open the cell doors to receive glucose circulating through your blood (fat cells). Any excess glucose gets stored as fat. This is actually a more complicated and delicate system than I'm letting on here, I will look for another way to explain it more in detail.

Fat does not make you fat, carbohydrates do. Why do carbohydrates make you fat? Because they promote insulin (fat storing anabolic hormone) secretion. There is a lot more to this process, but basically all carbohydrates are not created equal, and our bodies do not process them the same. So of course through my frustration, I had to start investigating exactly what I was eating, and which part of my diet, my body was rejecting. Naturally I eliminated the processed, chemically laden, toxic foods—you'd be surprised at how many chemicals and toxins are also in the organic foods (we believe are healthy). The more research I do, the more I realize there is very little that we can actually buy from a grocery store that is truly healthy for our bodies. This opens up a whole other discussion on local farming, urban farming and sustainable living, which I fully support. I already encourage friends and family to grow their own food if possible.

Ok, getting back to my nutrition—after thoroughly reading the effects of wheat (namely gluten), starches and whole grains and the many claims that our bodies are not intended to process these foods. See the "Auto Immune Epidemic"

Gluten, a complex of proteins, inspires on immune response which inflames the intestine in at least 83% of people [6], and makes the intestine permeable, allowing gut bacteria and their toxins to enter the body. [7] Gluten triggers anti-wheat antibodies in at least 30% of the population, and auto-antibodies – that is, antibodies that attack human cells – in at least 0.4% of the population. [8] These unlucky folks suffer celiac disease, which devastates the intestine, as well as autoimmune thyroiditis. [9]

I decided to eliminate these foods from my diet, and my family's as well. There have been significant studies done purporting a connection between wheat toxins, sugar, yeast and the big C [read cancer]. So in my fervor to "clean house," I decided to adopt the much raved about "Paleo Diet," simulating our ancient ancestors dietary consumption as much as I can (they didn't have to deal with the toxicity that we do today, but I suppose I would settle for that, over being eaten by a saber tooth tiger). Check out Robb Wolf (the Paleo Guru) to see exactly what I'm getting myself into.

My Type 1 Diabetic Journey (part one)

I'm motivated and obligated to share my experiences and mostly tribulations with rest of the world. When I say "tribulations," I mean that in the most positive way, despite this word's negative overtone.

Diagnosis

I was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes two short years after the birth of my youngest daughter (2005). What??? Are you kidding me? Me? This sums up my initial reaction. I got angry, then sad, then angry again—and then I said "oh well, this isn't going to get me down." I had dignified myself on being the healthiest member of my family, I exercised regularly, I ate the right foods (or so I thought) and then "bammm!" A routine physical alarmingly hailed my endocrine malfunction, my doctor calmly told me I must have type 1 diabetes, since I wasn't obese (commonly associated with Type 2). I had to quickly resolve taking insulin injections a few times a day immediately. I was initially quite stellar in my adoption of this life changing upheaval. That didn't last too long.

Adjusting

I had always loved, enjoyed and reveled in my freedom. Being able train when I wanted and how I wanted, and more importantly, eat when I wanted—re-enforced my sense of carefree independence! All of this changed. I quickly realized that I was going to have to bring myself up to speed about my "deficiency" rather fast. 

I enjoy thoroughly researching anything that interests me, and so I began...First, despite all of the efforts of well-intended doctors promoting and pushing insulin and it's life-saving qualities, I discovered that an abundance of insulin circulating through our bodies is NOT a good thing! Insulin is a fat storing hormone. Since my diagnosis I have gained somewhere between 10-12 lbs of unwanted weight. No, I'm not chalking this up to getting older, or what I eat, or my lack of exercise (I'll talk more about that later), I'm directly blaming it on the synthetic insulin coursing through my veins. When I was originally diagnosed, my doctors and diabetic team told me quite frankly that I could eat just about whatever I wanted, and that as long as I injected insulin to cover the carbs in my food I would be fine.

1. Carbs are converted to glucose
2. Glucose is used by our cells for energy
3. In order for glucose to enter our cells, insulin must be present to unlock the door

So we went through a series of trial and error equations to figure out exactly what ratio of insulin I would need to inject in order to cover my carb intake (aka, insulin to carb ratio). My ratio worked out to be 1:10 (so for every 10 grams of carbs I consume, I have to take 1 unit of insulin). Ok, that sounds easy. I start counting my carbs for every meal. It turns out I was averaging about 50-60 grams of carbs per meal, so that is 150-180 grams of carbs per day (maybe more depending on how much I ate)—ouch!

For anyone trying to reduce their weight, carbohydrate consumption cannot be ignored. Since I'm not an Ultra-marathoner  I needed to tweak the amount of carbs I was consuming (this is very important for diabetics and I will discuss that later).

Selling My Home

If someone had told me that selling a home was going to be something akin to a spiritual awakening, I would have fronted them with my signature furrowed brow, indicating they were a little "low on thinking gas." However, I now renege the furrowed brow.

Trying to sell my home has been an "experience," a term that positively expresses my disappointment, fear and soul crushing frustration – similar to a toddler temper tantrum, at having achieved less than I hoped for, and hoping for little. Upon purchasing our home five short years ago, I was both looking forward to this year, and dreading it. The five years of continuous $$$ output for renovations I perceived as stressful and rewarding. I was pleased with the tangible results from burning my candle at both ends (one end to actually earn the income, and the other end to expedite the renovations). To be continued...

The Secret to Happiness (written for Helium.com)

Happiness: a: a state of well-being and contentment; Joy b: a pleasurable or satisfying experience (Merriam-Webster)

Happiness, perhaps considered the most quintessential goal of our entire existence, thoroughly wrapped in subjectivity. Is the never-ending aspiration of happiness attainable?

If I were to do a quick poll of random people, posing the question “Do you consider yourself happy?” The answers might be surprising, most people in my opinion would spout they are indeed happy. I don’t want to misconstrue or negate the fact that if I were to pose this question to people living in war torn countries or within tragic circumstances that their answer would also be “yes” – but could they still achieve happiness. I believe so. I’ll explain. For the most part (if not the whole part), I believe it is safe to say happiness is a state of be-ing, echoed through the ages, I believe there is some fundamental truth here.

So what constitutes happiness? I asked my five-year-old daughter what her idea of happiness was. “When you have a smile on your face and feel glad,” she uttered without pause or reflection. Intrigued I pressed further “so what makes you happy?” “Crafts!” she beamed. “What about crafts makes you happy?” Ah ha, here I saw her reflect, briefly. “When I work hard to make the craft, it kinda doesn’t feel like work, its kinda like a reward after, cause I get to play with the crafts. There it was, I saw it, I was able to piece it together – happiness could be achieved in doing something meaningful, or reaping the reward of pursuing something meaningful. The meaningful or purposeful aspect is unique to each person – we don’t all do crafts for enjoyment. However, it’s in discovering this meaning or purpose that alters our state of be-ing, and induces happiness.

In revealing the ultimate secret to happiness, an accumulation of factors must be realized. Seeking those things that intrinsically give purpose and meaning to your life are paramount. Gratitude for the smallest of things (even those you deem insignificant or take for granted) is vitally important. Gratitude and appreciation are synonymous, and should be conceived effortlessly. Take a look around you right now, find in your immediate environment five things you are thankful for. I bet this was effortless!

Our reference point for happiness must be internal (our ability to perceive), although our stimulus is often “external.” I practice (I say practice because I’m also evolving) each day being cognizant of the events or circumstances I perceive as “challenging”, this highlights an opportunity to shift my perception to one of appreciation. Take a moment to embrace your surroundings, for all of its apparent misgivings, perhaps there is something uniquely obscured deserving your attention and appreciation. The secret to happiness is not elusive, it is not what we have, it is not what we do – it is the perception we hold of ourselves, our environment and the events we allow to alter our more beautiful un-refined self.

By M. Stairs-Zimmermann