- Messages
- 83
- Type of diabetes
- Type 2
- Treatment type
- Tablets (oral)
- Dislikes
- All of the other things
Hi all - I've spent a few hours reading many forum posts and responses today and decided to join up and share my story so far - in case it's of any help to anyone else.
I've been obese or morbidly obese most of my life and was never particularly bothered by it - all the women on my mum's side of the family have been the same. I still had friends and relationships, had a successful career, didn't hate myself when I looked in the mirror, was able to get about and look after myself pretty easily, didn't have any weight related health problems, liked myself in most of my clothes and... well.... tolerated the look of myself nekkid lol.
Then 2020 arrived and I got an abscess..... in a place where you'd really rather not get an abscess. I went to my GP, got sent straight to hospital that day and had to have emergency surgery the following day under general anaesthetic. Following that, 4 weeks... yes, twenty eight days! of daily trips to the surgery or hospital for incredibly painful dressing changes.
After recovering from that and carrying on with life for a month or so, another abscess... not bad enough to need surgery, just antibiotics. Then another... and another and so on. By May, I was losing the plot and had a bit of a breakdown to the GP, who, despite Covid lockdown, got me in for a blood test. On May 11th I found out the reason for the abscesses - Type 2 diabetes (68) and the GP gave me a prescription for Metformin.
So, May 11th is when I decided to change my life around. It was the reality check I needed that your body can't cope with being that overweight for that long. So, I went through my cupboards, fridge and freezer and got rid of everything that was unhealthy or carby. For now, at least, no more crisps (ohhhh crisps, how I miss you!), rice, pasta, potatoes, bread, biscuits or cakes (not that I ate the latter 2 with any frequency). I put myself on a healthy eating plan (with an emphasis on low GI foods to decrease my carb intake) and am tracking my calories and macros (fat, protein and carbs) every day on a nerdy spreadsheet. I eat foods which have been processed as little as possible, almost entirely fresh produce, eating 3 meals and at least 2 snacks a day. I'm never hungry, eat between 6 and 10 portions of veg and drink 6 litres of water a day.... and two squares of dark chocolate
I also started walking every day, without fail - whether I wanted to or not, whether it was raining or not. In the first weeks, I could only walk about half a mile without my knee or hip hurting. Now, nearly 4 months on, I am walking around 7 miles a day, sometimes hiking off road, up and down hills, climbing steps and even jogging for almost 2 miles straight, with no pain, massively improved cardiovascular health and a list of new goals on my bucket list. I've lost 4 stone and half a pound (yes, that half a pound is important!!! lol) in under 4 months and, whilst I still have a long way to go (I'm still over 18 stone), I am confident that when I go for my first follow-up blood test on Tuesday next week, my numbers will be drastically improved - hopefully I'll be back in the normal range and able to come off the tablets, but we'll see. In any event, the healthy eating isn't changing until I'm at my goal size, maybe in Spring next year.
Please understand that I'm not posting this because I want any pats on the back or anything - I just felt it important to say that each one of us is in control of our own lives and we absolutely can get control over T2D, if we really want to. It's not rocket science - just move as much as you can and as often as you can, eat less carbs (and only the good kind) and stick to fresh produce wherever possible.
I wish you all health, happiness and lower numbers
I've been obese or morbidly obese most of my life and was never particularly bothered by it - all the women on my mum's side of the family have been the same. I still had friends and relationships, had a successful career, didn't hate myself when I looked in the mirror, was able to get about and look after myself pretty easily, didn't have any weight related health problems, liked myself in most of my clothes and... well.... tolerated the look of myself nekkid lol.
Then 2020 arrived and I got an abscess..... in a place where you'd really rather not get an abscess. I went to my GP, got sent straight to hospital that day and had to have emergency surgery the following day under general anaesthetic. Following that, 4 weeks... yes, twenty eight days! of daily trips to the surgery or hospital for incredibly painful dressing changes.
After recovering from that and carrying on with life for a month or so, another abscess... not bad enough to need surgery, just antibiotics. Then another... and another and so on. By May, I was losing the plot and had a bit of a breakdown to the GP, who, despite Covid lockdown, got me in for a blood test. On May 11th I found out the reason for the abscesses - Type 2 diabetes (68) and the GP gave me a prescription for Metformin.
So, May 11th is when I decided to change my life around. It was the reality check I needed that your body can't cope with being that overweight for that long. So, I went through my cupboards, fridge and freezer and got rid of everything that was unhealthy or carby. For now, at least, no more crisps (ohhhh crisps, how I miss you!), rice, pasta, potatoes, bread, biscuits or cakes (not that I ate the latter 2 with any frequency). I put myself on a healthy eating plan (with an emphasis on low GI foods to decrease my carb intake) and am tracking my calories and macros (fat, protein and carbs) every day on a nerdy spreadsheet. I eat foods which have been processed as little as possible, almost entirely fresh produce, eating 3 meals and at least 2 snacks a day. I'm never hungry, eat between 6 and 10 portions of veg and drink 6 litres of water a day.... and two squares of dark chocolate
I also started walking every day, without fail - whether I wanted to or not, whether it was raining or not. In the first weeks, I could only walk about half a mile without my knee or hip hurting. Now, nearly 4 months on, I am walking around 7 miles a day, sometimes hiking off road, up and down hills, climbing steps and even jogging for almost 2 miles straight, with no pain, massively improved cardiovascular health and a list of new goals on my bucket list. I've lost 4 stone and half a pound (yes, that half a pound is important!!! lol) in under 4 months and, whilst I still have a long way to go (I'm still over 18 stone), I am confident that when I go for my first follow-up blood test on Tuesday next week, my numbers will be drastically improved - hopefully I'll be back in the normal range and able to come off the tablets, but we'll see. In any event, the healthy eating isn't changing until I'm at my goal size, maybe in Spring next year.Please understand that I'm not posting this because I want any pats on the back or anything - I just felt it important to say that each one of us is in control of our own lives and we absolutely can get control over T2D, if we really want to. It's not rocket science - just move as much as you can and as often as you can, eat less carbs (and only the good kind) and stick to fresh produce wherever possible.
I wish you all health, happiness and lower numbers
