Meet Sandy: Former Type 2 Diabetic

Sandy Before:

I met Sandy at an outdoor boot camp that I was teaching. It was almost as if destiny brought us together because she was 30 minutes late and almost missed the whole class! I liked her right away because she had a huge smile and was laughing all the time. She started to tell me about some of her health issues she had not been able to overcome for many years. I told her I do health coaching/consultations and I could help her find an eating plan that would make her feel better and fit her lifestyle.

Sandy works as a teachers aide working long hours with special needs children. She had recently lost
55 lbs by running 1/2 marathons. Even though she had lost weight her Type 2 diabetes and high blood pressure were not improving. She also took medication to help with her concentration and a Statin drug for high cholesterol. She suffered with sciatica pain and had slow recovery from her runs. She also had trouble sleeping through the night and experienced digestive irregularity.

She had been to see a Registered Dietitian several times for advice on what to eat to manage her diabetes. They always told her to eat low-fat small meals, every two or three hours. The dietitian’s plan was not fitting her work or exercise schedule. Sandy felt the doctors and dietitians were just managing her symptoms, not offering long term solutions.

Old Diet:
Before coming to see me Sandy ate lots of low-fat foods such as egg whites, fat-free yogurt, fruit. She also had lots of complex carbs like whole wheat bread, wraps, and brown rice. She tried to eat often to control blood sugar fluctuations but it was not controlling her high fasting glucose numbers. Her post meal blood sugar numbers were also not ideal even though she ate a low fat and low calorie diet and exercised everyday.

New Diet:
My goal with Sandy was to regulate her blood sugar by reducing the her carbohydrates which were elevating her blood sugar.I aslo wanted to lower her inflammation to allow gut healing. We removed inflammatory foods like gluten and vegetable oils.

I told Sandy to eat 3 meals a day with lots of healthy fats and animal protein to increase satiety. I told her to eat lots more humane, pastured meats and good fats from coconut oil, pastured butter and ghee. She was nervous at first because she believed meat and fat were bad for her.

But she was excited because ground beef, bacon, and chicken with skin are her favorite foods. I also encouraged her to eat more wild fish and seaweed. I gave her lots of meal plans, shopping lists, and recommended books to help her. I urged her to get better sleep and try to relax more often. I also told her to eat plenty of high quality sea salt and drink lots of fresh water. I urged her to eat a sweet potato with her meals before her long runs and incorporate lots green veggies into every meal.

Big Results:

Sandy was very compliant and she did everything I told her to do. She started cooking more and finding ways to eat out to stay on her plan. She packed her lunch and thought ahead for her dinners. She lost 10 lbs in our first month of working together even! Her sciatica pain was gone and she was sleeping through the night uninterrupted. She also noticed that if she fell down or got a bruise it healed faster than before she changed her diet. Her digestion improved and she was more regular. She also felt less hungry between meals and had more energy throughout the day.

Visiting the Doctor:
We had three meetings between Nov. 2011 and Jan. 2012. In early 2012 after visiting her doctor, she was allowed to stop taking her diabetes medication because her blood sugar was now under control and in the normal range (ideal fasting blood sugar is about 85). Sandy will be going back to the doctor to get her labs re-evaluated in three months, so she is hoping she can stay off her diabetes mediation for good. She was also able to discontinue her use of the high cholesterol Statin drug because her levels were in the normal range. She also felt like she was more able to concentrate, so the doctor lowered her ADHD medication. Her blood pressure is now normal, below 120/80, so the doctor said if her weight loss trend continues she can stop that medication soon.

Her Workouts:
Also she was able to recover quickly from hard workouts and was less sore. I urged her to do more interval workouts using HITT training and do less long distance running. I encouraged her to spend more time doing weights and less time doing cardio. She is also incorporating heavier weights with less reps to be more lean and strong. Her body fat is now very low and excellent for her age range.

Excited for the Future:
Sandy is so happy that she has been able to cut back or eliminate almost all of her medications and is no longer a diabetic! She no longer has high cholesterol, high blood pressure, or problems paying attention. She is now working to get her husband and son on board so they can look and feel their best, like she does. She is willing to share her story because she knows that many other people are dealing with the same issues. Sandy is an inspiration because she took a leap of faith by bucking traditional wisdom and trusting me. Every time I see her I am amazed by her determination and zest for life.

Some great resources for more info on diabetes and healthy cholesterol:
Chriskresser.com
bloodsugar101.com

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Comments

Anna says

February 13, 2012 at 11:28 am

Amazing, thank you so much for sharing this with us. She's so lucky to have found you, and you obviously did a great job motivating her past her fears while giving her some really great direction. I can only hope to have the same success stories of my own one day 🙂
Anonymous says

February 14, 2012 at 12:16 pm

Such a great success story! -Marie 🙂
Vita Logic Vitamins says

March 2, 2012 at 12:01 am

I hope new diet goals will definitely work for her. Good Luck….