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I recently had some blood work done. On September 11th, my doctor told me my blood sugar, cholesterol and triglycerides were high. I do NOT want diabetes, heart disease or any of the other health problems associated with high blood sugar, so this is my call to action. I’ve done a lot of reading on the causes of high blood sugar, high cholesterol and high triglycerides, so I’m putting a certain theory to the test. The theory is that the cause of these problems is excess consumption of carbohydrates, not fat.
On September 12th, I drastically cut down on starchy and sugary foods and sweetened drinks. I still allow myself crackers, juice, oatmeal and both fresh and dried fruit, but mostly I eat meat, seafood, vegetables, avocados, eggs, poultry and cottage cheese. Eating as much of these foods as I want, I never go hungry, but this isn’t easy for me. I’ve been addicted to sugar since childhood. Fortunately, after cutting sugar out of my diet cold turkey a few times in my life, I’ve gotten better at it. This time I’m very relieved that cutting sweets and starches is going the most smoothly yet, with the fewest cravings ever. I’m relieved because I think I’ve pushed my body as far as it can safely go with all the sugary and starchy food I’ve eaten my whole life. At the age of 48, it’s time to make a permanent change.
So I committed to this cleaner way of eating and experienced a big energy dip for a few days, but that’s one of the side effects of a drastic reduction in carbohydrate consumption. Within a week I felt better. Today, on the 22nd, I’m doing very well. I’m eating better and improving my health with no hunger at all. Well, if this theory about starches and sugars is correct, then I’m good. If not, I guess I’ll find out because I’m going to keep this up. My doctor said she’ll run blood work again in December and we’ll see how this experiment ends…
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