(Note: This is not medical advice. Talk to your doctor if you are on a diet or exercise).
They say fear is a powerful motive. It creates a strong urge to move from that state of fear towards our “comfort zone.”
I was diagnosed with prediabetes (then diabetes) eight years ago. During that time, I met at least three different doctors. Above all, they advised me to eat carbohydrates (rice, bread, pasta, etc.) slowly and exercise regularly. I was relatively young at the time and had no shortage of excuses. I was satisfied with my thirst and triggered it.
Cause of fear
Since 2014, I have been taking metformin, the first-line drug for type 2 diabetes. I thought I would just coast, hoping that I would get sick.
My parents were diabetic. The illness did not go away. Both died of “comorbidity” associated with the disease (father in 2015, mother in 2021).
Statistically, my siblings (I have 3 and I am the 3rd child) and I face a 50% risk of inheriting the gene. Our eldest son, Chris, is currently taking injections to control hyperglycemia.
We all saw parents experiencing a lot of pain and discomfort due to diabetic complications, apart from the difficulties of old age.
Overweight: Doctor’s advice was ignored
There is always the idea of falling down with similar pain. So I took (or took) my medicine religiously.
For most of my adulthood, I was at least 10kg overweight. Doctors advised on “lifestyle changes,” that is, weight loss, reduced carbohydrates, and increased vegetables. Reduce sweets and increase exercise.
I rejected it all and regarded myself as an exception to the rule. Exceptionalism is now worn out. I was lethargic, moody, unable to lose weight, and began to feel a thirst for sugar, ruptured skin, and even a mist in my brain.
In the face of imminent anger, my attitude changed from a sense of invincibility to a sense of mercy. Potentially from the same illness that beat my parents.
“Diabetes corner” in the house
As an Asian, I grew up eating everything with rice: chocolate and rice, chips and rice, meat / fish and rice, coconut and rice. Rice and rice.
“Sumanlehiya” -a local Filipino delicacy made from sticky coconut milk sprinkled with glutinous rice, sugar and vanilla glass (pandan) extract-is our home (usually an additional table) on special occasions. It is the equipment of. It was my mother’s favorite dish.
For eight years after taking a blood sugar-lowering drug, I didn’t think much about weight problems or do anything radically different than before.
I’m standing 168 cm — the ideal average weight is 63.5 kg. I always weighed over 75kg. There was a self-talk saying “I think this weight is okay”.
Couple power
How did you decide to lose weight? The journey from a high carb anything lifestyle to a low carb intermittent fasting therapy has forced me in some way.
One important trigger: health insurance. My wife went to buy medical insurance last year. Most agents rejected me immediately after I declared the “existing” state.
The episode made me feel like an exiled, dirty, social responsibility. Finally, a man provided “global coverage”. This is what I thought was a huge premium, worth $ 2,000 a year.
After giving birth to her third child, his wife’s tweet tilted the scale at 90 kg (although her ideal weight should be 65 kg or less). Since 2018, she has been prescribed four “maintenance” medicines (300 tablets each) after a close examination at a local hospital. Nothing seemed to work.
Image Credit: Facebook | Tweet Hirotin
Given the rejection of insurance companies, the fear of getting sick, and the fact that I still have young children, I think it’s time to face music. In a desperate era, desperate measures are needed.
Coaching
After giving birth to her third child, his wife’s tweet tilted the scale at 90 kg (although her ideal weight should be 65 kg or less). Since 2018, she has been prescribed four “maintenance” medicines (300 tablets each) after a close examination at a local hospital. Nothing seemed to work.
This led me to look for low carb coaching. I found Dr. Josephine Chua Rojo and Dr. Resell Gananshal, a mentor of intermittent fasting. We first tracked their live sessions on social media, paid a fee (a total of about $ 100), and then signed up for one-on-one online coaching.
Earlier this year, my wife also signed up for online coaching on a low-carb diet. This monitoring sheet has had to be filled out constantly for the last 30 days. I have found that embracing this lifestyle is the most difficult part, especially when no one is watching or checking.
Part of breaking an unhealthy diet is to carefully monitor our food intake and daily fingertips for at least 30 days. It’s not easy. I have found that eating habits is one of the most difficult habits of all.
It unfolded like a slow-motion movie until it became routine. They say it takes at least 21 days of daily practice for something to become a habit.
21/90 rule
■ One of the common ways to develop a habit is what behavioral scholars call the “21/90 rule”.
■ The rules are simple. Commit to personal or professional goals for 21 consecutive days.
■ Three weeks later, pursuing that goal would have become a habit.
Overall approach
It’s important to understand. Proponents of this lifestyle promote a “holistic approach” focused on physical and mental health and health. Several low-carb sessions devoted themselves to cell biology and biochemistry, touching on the basics of hormonal function, metabolism, enzymes, toxicity, glycogenolysis, and glycogenolysis.
These terms were once completely foreign to me. As a result of further reading, I arrived at Science Direct. ScienceDirect has published a 2018 study suggesting that even so-called “digestible carbohydrates” are more toxic than lipids (fats).
Carbon toxicity
■ Overdriving carbohydrates can cause blood sugar levels to drain from the roof. This causes the body to produce more insulin. It is a hormone produced by the pancreas that controls the amount of glucose in the bloodstream.
■ Carbohydrates range from digestible polysaccharides to refined sugars, which collectively have a detrimental effect on human health. This is a phenomenon known as “carbohydrate toxicity”.
■ This condition tells the cells to store excess glucose as fat. Over time, this can become unhealthy. Especially if you have already tilted your scale beyond your ideal weight, it can lead to diabetes and other related health problems.
What’s behind someone’s thirst for food? I have discovered that hormonal imbalances such as leptin and serotonin can lead to such downward enthusiasm with craving.
Why does fasting work when combined with low carbs?
I found that low carbs are easier to fast. They are a kind of support for each other. It’s a virtuous cycle rather than a vicious cycle. It promotes fat adaptation. This is done by upregulating fat-burning mitochondria, spurring the creation of new mitochondria, and reducing dependence on sugar.
Glycogenolysis
■ Glycogenolysis occurs when the body, which prefers glucose as an energy source, needs energy.
■ Glycogen previously stored in the liver is broken down into glucose and dispersed throughout the body.
The low-carb community has presented a list of food “safety,” “caution,” and “danger.”
We start with a 12 hour fast daily, 14 hours, 16 hours, 18 hours fast, drink only liquids (water, unsweetened tea, unsweetened coffee) during the fasting period, then “safe” and low I stuck to the food. Carbohydrate foods during meal times.
The testimony of those who did it in front of us was also spectacular.
Image Credit: Seyyed dela Llata | Source: Josephine Chua Rojo
Glico Neogenesis
■ Gluconeogenesis is the synthesis of glycogen using substances such as proteins and fats, without the use of glucose or other carbohydrates.
■ Example: Conversion of lactic acid to glycogen in the liver. Therefore, glucose is so important that the body produces glucose even without carbohydrates and sweets in our diet.
What a doctor in the United Arab Emirates said
Interviews with doctors in the United Arab Emirates practicing low-carbohydrate, intermittent fasting further strengthened this.
When I was young, I had the false idea of reducing the negative effects of sugar, mixing bitter and sweet chocolates with fruit concentrates and dessert suckers.
In the United Arab Emirates, where I lived for 20 years, the wide availability and affordability of fruits — watermelons in Iran, rock melons in Honduras, kiwis in New Zealand, mangoes in Pakistan / India, local dates, different regions. Food of all kinds of Earth — was too convincing.
Then I noticed: there is a reason why fasting works. For centuries and thousands of years, humans have survived droughts and food shortages for days, if not months. However, they adapted their body and mind throughout this cycle. It’s counterintuitive, but fasting sharpens your mind. This is a key physiological condition for primitive human survival (where to find the next food).
There are drawbacks to being overkill. Thanks to transcontinental flights and ocean-going supertankers, it is a modern phenomenon that food, especially carbohydrates, is generally readily available.
Now some people (including colleagues at work and my grandma’s 93-year-old sister) scream and express concern (or fear) why I lost “so much”.
Part of breaking unhealthy eating habits is to closely monitor food intake, control carbohydrates, finger stings (at least 30 days), and perform intermittent fasts.
Image Credit: Jay Hilotin | Gulf News
But I never felt better. Now I can sleep well. Stomach upset, bloating and constipation, craving for sugar, and ruptured skin are gone. Now my blood sugar is slowly returning to normal without taking any medications. I’m not there yet, but I’m sure it will be in time. (I will update you here when I do).
The low-carb, intermittent fasting lifestyle was the farthest from my heart. The despair that led me to it. And fear. Probably love.
Even with coaching and tracking, our journey was not a perfect straight line. We allow ourselves to “fail”, but not every day.
And it’s never too late to choose a healthier low-carb, intermittent fasting, and purpose-driven lifestyle.
