About a month ago, the strangest thing happened. I forgot to eat—like, the entire day. The last time that happened was the twelfth of never. Even more bizarre? It was damn near 8 p.m. before I noticed the tiniest bit of rumbling in my stomach. That particular day I had been busy from the minute I got up. The only sustenance I had, and I use that term loosely—involved slamming a Flat White from Starbucks mid-morning between meetings.
Keep in mind”you’re talking to a boy who wondered what he was going to eat for dinner while he was eating lunch. The old me (read that: a walking insulin commercial) was always wolfing down food filled with starches and sugars”which kept me “full” for exactly 22-24 minutes before I was feeling hungry again. To go without a meal was unheard of. Hell, to go without snacks was damn near impossible. (True story: to this day I still miss Flaming Hot Cheetos. Hey, the heart wants what the heart wants.)
Somewhere over the course of my no sugar/no sweeteners/no starches/no gluten diet this year, my body required less and less intake. It was so subtle, I didn’t even notice it was happening. Veggies, good fats and heavy-duty proteins started keeping me both full and energized. Cravings went kaput. I can’t remember the last time I had the dreaded 3 p.m. slump—you know, the one that requires a Coke and Snickers bar in order to rally.
We’re ten months into this dietary experiment and let me tell you, it’s no longer a constant struggle to avoid/resist cheating. Old me was forever lethargic and starving—except I was always putting in the wrong kind of fuel. The new me now only eats when I’m hungry which—shocking!—borders on infrequently. As a proud fat kid, that’s sort of a revolutionary concept.
When I was across the pond in England for a couple weeks recently, I had to make a concerted effort to avoid sugar. Everything in Britain is one giant starch-tastic, gluten-laden bomb. I stuck to my guns and continued on my meat, cheese, veggie (lather, rinse, repeat) brigade. (Several times though I had to cross the street to avoid any whiff of Greggs Bakeries which are on every $%*@!* street corner in the U.K. They are my siren smell, er, song.)
The last time I wrote an update about my year-long diet was a bit over the six-month mark and I was still on the strugglebus. Now, it would appear victory is in my crosshairs. And if my mind/body/spirit isn’t ravenous 24/7 anymore—well, that’s just one less thing I have to worry about, yes?
This is great to hear! Kudos for getting past the ravenous struggle. My question is this…When you decided to make this dietary change, did you seek any information from your Physician? Did you have any type of labs done? If yes, have you had the labs checked again at any point during this journey? My 23 y/o Daughter found out 3 weeks before her birthday in August that she was type 2 diabetic, and sadly it wasn’t surprising for many reasons. 18 months prior, her big brother found out 5 days before his 25th birthday he too was type 2 diabetic. Now, first and foremost they were doomed from the beginning b/c of genetics. Next, my Son’s diagnosis was a shock because he was not the unhealthy eater out of the two, and he did not drink anything sugary. His test results were horrendous! He’s since gotten his numbers down with meds, and is doing well, even lost 20 pounds or so in the process. I had worried constantly that one or both would at some point get the dreaded diagnosis. In the past 5 years, I’ve lost close to 130 pounds, by eyeballing portions. I had what I call my aha moment, and the lightbulb finally came on! My Husband has fluctuated but after his final enlistment in the Navy, he dropped a bit more weight and has maintained. So the kids were naturally going to be big people, as they come from both sides being big people. When Sister was diagnosed, (Miss unhealthy eater and soda pop drinker) her numbers were very much lower than his. (Shocked is putting it lightly) She has done very good with cutting out sugary drinks, and is no longer a bottomless pit. Before the diagnosis, it was all I could do to hear “I’m so full” and the sweet girl is a rather big girl. She is 5’10” and wears a size 11 women’s shoe, we won’t discuss weight, except to say that she has lost about 15 pounds (YAY!) since being diagnosed. Brother is 6’4″ size 17 mens shoe and of course he wouldn’t be bothered by his weight being put out there, he’s at a solid 265. I’m anxious to hear if you have had labs done, and if so what has changed. I must see what I can do to go back and catch up on your blog history. I personally hit a plateau, went back to drinking soda pop, and have maintained, but have about 60 pounds left I want to lose. That will still keep me “overweight” according to “them” and their charts. But I know I’m healthy at a specific weight, and I’m also happy. That is also important, in my opinion. Thank You for sharing your journey! You are absolutely a hoot! I really enjoy listening to KMBZ when you are subbing!