I have been struggling with type 2 diabetes my entire adult life. Every now and then, I would go on a diet to try and get healthier.
Dieting offered a glimpse into what my life could be like. But I never cared enough to stick to it.
I would go back to my snacking habits time and time again.
It took pain, loss, and healing to understand my condition and learn to manage it correctly.
And today, I want to share what I’ve learned with you.
Suppose you are not entirely familiar with type 2 diabetes. It happens when the body can’t produce enough insulin or the insulin doesn’t work correctly.
Even though I knew I had this issue, I was always a snacker. It was my way of making myself feel better after a tough day. And it worked – indulging in sweet treats and savory snacks did honestly make me feel better.
Briefly, at least.
My husband at the time was the same, although he had much more room to fit it all in!
His job involved a lot of manual labor, so big hearty meals were a necessity. I was happy to spend time in the kitchen making them since I was only working part-time.
We would often eat our dinner and then continue to snack into the late hours of the evening.
I didn’t overthink it. We had fun with our ice cream, laughing at our favorite TV shows. It was our way of spending time together.
I knew all this food wouldn’t be great for my diabetes, but I had never really had any noticeable side effects that caused me any concern.
I knew my husband loved me, and my diabetes had caused me little bother. At least it didn’t then…
Last year, my husband started becoming noticeably weaker. At first, he brushed it off onto getting older. Yet, his health and strength kept declining.
It wasn’t in his nature to admit that something was wrong, so he just kept working. One day though, I received a call from a worried colleague, saying that I should come to pick him up.
I ran to my car and drove over there, my mind racing. I found my husband slouched against the wall, shaking, all color drained from his face.
This incident finally helped me talk him into seeing a doctor, but it was too late.
I don’t want to go into specific details, but my husband passed away in his hospital bed only three weeks after our initial appointment.
This hit me harder than anything I could have ever imagined.
One day, we lounged around on the sofa, and the next day… he was gone. Just like that.
I lost my husband, the person who always knew how to comfort me. He was my personal comedian and the only person I wanted to see after a long day.
I laid there on the sofa, almost feeling his warmth.
I watched TV, hoping it would distract me from the loss.
And I kept clinging to the thing we did together for so many years – snacking.
My comfort eating was the only thing helping my grief.
I started getting up at night to use the bathroom…
It was difficult to get out of bed in the mornings. My brain was getting cloudy.
I knew these were the warning signs of my diabetes, but it was hard to stop.
Until one day, I weighed myself.
290 lbs.
My symptoms gradually got worse and I was starting to get scared. The loss of my husband just reminded me how temporary everything is.
I didn’t want to be controlled by my condition, so I had to do something about it.
My doctor told me that my weight was putting me at risk. He didn’t need to elaborate, I knew what he meant.
And while I miss my husband every day, I wasn’t ready to join him just yet.
I owed it to him. Hell, I owed it to myself to get better.
One evening, I started looking into diets that could help me combat my disease, and, to my disbelief, stumbled across some articles showing a reversal in type 2 diabetes.
I read studies and personal stories of how people were managing their condition without medication or mainstream diets.
And I discovered that when it comes to diabetes management, how much you eat is important, but what you’re eating is perhaps even more impactful.
All my research led to the ketogenic diet.
Keto sounded scary, trust me.
It’s a high-fat, very low-carb diet. It is scientifically proven to help increase insulin sensitivity, something we diabetic folk struggle with. Not just that, but it helps with speedy weight loss.
According to my doctor, both of these things are related to more effective type 2 diabetes management.
The next thing on my mind was:
Now I’ll just be really honest with you. The keto diet can be very confusing to get into.
There’s too much detail, too much science, and it’s super hard to know what to eat to enter ketosis and lose weight fast.
Furthermore, I found out that most people follow the general keto information they find online.
The problem is that this “one-size-fits-all” approach can create nutritional imbalances, which cause cravings and irritability. That’s the last thing I needed when emotions were still running high.
All I wanted was to lose weight, be healthier, and manage my disease so that I could make my husband proud.
And I found a way. It was… personalization.
This means a keto diet with meals that were crafted just for me by a nutritional expert.
It was supposed to balance my blood sugar levels and help me lose weight without hunger, confusion, watching carbs, and counting calories.
I was immediately skeptical. A personalized keto meal plan must cost hundreds, right?
Well, no. I was wrong.
Call it dumb luck, but I stumbled upon a program called Keto Cycle that does that for a few pennies a day.
Frankly, it has been a total game-changer for me. I attribute almost my entire transformation to following Keto Cycle’s plan.
After some time on the diet, my blood sugar normalized.
I also have more energy, so I spend less time on the sofa and more talking to my neighbors and friends, which also helped me with grief.
Actually, the plan came with a community of like-minded people, who also supported me through the highs and lows.
And you know what… I don’t need food to help me with my emotions anymore, though I can still snack on things that I know are good for me.
Not to mention that I’ve lost more weight than I ever could on my own — 42 pounds!
Don’t get me wrong, I’m not a thin fashion model or anything, but I look and feel very different. I cherish every moment of my life in my new body.
It’s all thanks to Keto Cycle. Best of all, getting started is very simple. You just tell them about yourself in their free quiz.
What you like, your age, your medical conditions, and most importantly, your goal weight.
Then everything’s done for you. No more confusion. No more overthinking or having to be overly rigid around the foods you like.
Complete the free quiz below to get the same Keto meal plan that I used, only tailored to you.
I got my diabetes on the backfoot. My health is better than it had been for years.
I feel good.
And even though my husband isn’t here to celebrate with me, I feel as though he is looking down at me, beaming with pride.
The quiz is free to take, and there is no obligation after that. It’s down to you.
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