A New Me ... A Better Me

4 units of insulin for breakfast

A bit over a week ago I decided to change my lifestyle and start eating a plant based high-carb low-fat diet (HCLF) The reason you may ask? Well about a month ago things really went downhill with my diabetes care. I sort of gave up and just let my blood sugars run super high several hours at a time. A month of highs completely ruined my fitness level and had me feeling awful pretty much all day with very little energy. However, just like all strong people do after falling down is get back on their feet and push through and that is when I decided to change things around.

First times trying lentil soup
with beans inside

It was really important for me to start taking control of my diabetes so I can have control over my future and more importantly start building up my fitness level again. I have seen a friend and several people on Instagram following a HCLF diet with great success. It always had me inspired but as a picky eater I was scared to try it out...but after a rough month of blood sugars that is exactly what I needed to get me back on track.

320 grams of carbs for the day!

Before committing I started out by tasting quite a lot of foods...really pushing myself out of my comfort zone. I tried a variety of foods for the first time like pineapple, corn, lentils, blueberries, kiwis...and the list goes on. After building a colourful pallet I was really ready to give things a try. Cutting out dairy, eggs, cheese and meats were not a problem at all. I was committed and motivated to get back on track and start seeing numbers in a better target range. 


A week later and I am so excited to keep going after seeing results. My blood sugars are in target range 85% of the time. My blood sugar has rarely gone above 15 mmol/l (282 mg/dl). My insulin requirements have been cut in half ... after taking about 80u a day I now require anywhere between 40-50u a day! Instead of needing 1u of insulin for every 5 grams I now need 1u for every 12 grams. The last time I remember having a ratio like that was in the honeymoon stage (a period of time after diagnosis where the pancreas still produces small amounts of insulin). Most importantly I am eating a ton of carbohydrates (250-350 grams a day, ones that I know are healing my body and making me stronger. I no longer feel guilty for exceeding 100 grams of carbs a day. 

Eating the rainbow for breakfast!