A Look Back at the Year

Tonight is New Year's Eve, and we've just come back from an early party at the senior citizens' group. I was lucky that there were big bowls of green salad on the buffet table, so I filled my plate. Then I topped the salad with 1/4 c. of potato salad, just to see what would happen. In addition, I had a bite-size cheesecake treat and 2 oz. of red wine at "midnight" (which was actually 9 p.m.). Two hours later, now at home, my blood glucose reads at 107. Of course, I did walk a total of three blocks to get to the party and back, so I'm sure that helped some. Now I will take 5 units of Humulin (insulin) and a 500 mg berberine capsule.

I have decided to continue the berberine (1500 mg a day) through the month of January while I ramp up my walking protocol. We'll see what happens. This weekend I am beginning reading the book, Walk With Ease, written for people with arthritis. It outlines a 6-week program to establish a lifelong walking routine, beginning with just 10 minutes a day--or once around the block--3 to 5 days a week and working up to 40 minutes. I can do this! When I have reached my time goal, then I can start thinking again about steps.

In 2015 (based on my own records), I reduced my average daily blood glucose from 147 to 118. But, obviously, average daily blood glucose based on the readings I take at various times during the day, does not equate to A1C, which is said to represent average blood sugar over a 3-month period. I figured that because, in reality, I must have had blood sugar spikes at times during the day when I did not take a reading with my blood glucose meter. The biggest disappointment is that my A1C did not go down. Not at all. It has stayed at 7.0, which is an actual average blood glucose of 154.

The best thing that happened was that I lost 22 lbs between January 4 and December 27. I went from 1800 calories a day to 1100, and I dropped from 124 grams of carbohydrates per day (which was well within ADA guideliness) down to an average of 27 grams at the lowest point, with an average of 33 grams. And that--the combination of low calories and low carbs--is the "magic" that causes weight loss, even though it did not seem to lower my blood sugar.

I stopped taking simvastatin and glipizide early last January (for reasons detailed in my earlier blog posts). I temporarily stopped metformin in November and replaced it with berberbine, and the jury is still out on that one. Eliminating metformin has greatly reduced my need for Depends whenever I leave the house.

During the year I have continued with Migrelief (a combination of magnesium, B-2, and feverfew) and added butterbur, in my ongoing attempts to reduce frequency of migraines. I added B-12 in case I'm low due to eating mostly vegetarian, and I added iron so I would still be eligible to give blood at Optiscan (a local research facility that develops instruments for diabetes). In the fall, after reading Dr. Ron Rosedale's book, The Rosedale Diet, I added alpha lipoic acid, which, interestingly, didn't seem to affect my blood sugar readings but--whether coincidence or not--I have had fewer instances of migraines since I've been taking it!

Another disappointment is that my cholesterol has gone up instead of down. However, I keep reading articles about how the total cholesterol measurement is not as crucial as the ratio of total cholesterol to HDL (the "good" kind). And that I should be more concerned about my triglycerides than cholesterol.

One surprising positive last summer, after 6 months of eating low-carb high-fat, was that my thyroid test showed that I now need a lower dosage of thyroid medicine. Both my liver and kidney functions have improved slightly. My calcium, magnesium, and potassium are all in the normal range; so I'm apparently not malnourished on a low-carb high-fat lifestyle!

I've been told that cholesterol will remain high while one is losing weight. I've also read that there are certain drugs that prevent one from losing weight, such as beta-blockers, which I'm taking for migraine prevention, and antidepressants (so I've stopped taking Paxil).

I began 2015 with the full intention of finishing reading Richard K. Bernstein's Dr. Bernstein's Diabetes Solution: The Complete Guide to Achieving Normal Blood Sugars, but got bogged down in the material about intense body-building exercise. It didn't seem as relevant to me as other lifestyle issues. I read Jimmy Moore's Cholesterol Clarity and Keto Clarity. I have downloaded numerous cookbooks and recipe books (mostly free for my Kindle) and purchased one hard copy of Jimmy Moore's The Ketogenic Cookbook. I'm now in the middle of reading Dr. Eric Westman's New Atkins for a New You: The Ultimate Diet for Shedding Weight and Feeling Great.

My intention for 2016 is to continue eating the way we have been eating: low-carb, high-fat, moderate protein. I'm pretty confident about that. My added focus (which I fully intended to get serious about after Kampmeeting last summer but didn't) is exercise. Starting with walking. I have put a new battery in my pedometer and have made a list of upbeat music to load into my iPod for my walks. If last year was the Year Without Carbs, this year will be the Year of Movement!

Two Months to Go

I still have my ups and downs. Some days I'm ecstatic to have blood glucose readings—even fasting—under 100 and to see the scales show less than 150 lbs.! Other days I'm distressed and discouraged to see blood glucose spikes too far above 140 and the scales again over 150. At the moment, I do not have a migraine; but I'm sure they will return.

I'm still continuing to adjust my insulin dosages based on my meter first thing in the morning and last thing before bedtime, and that seems to work well. I'm always delighted when the reading is low enough that I don't have to take any insulin at all. Oh, and another very recent thing is that Kaiser is now prescribing 6mm syringes, which makes the shots less unpleasant.

At beginning of October, I decided to try an experiment in a desperate attempt to eliminate or at least lessen the severity of the daily diarrhea caused by 2500mg/day of metformin. I had previously asked Dr. Chan about the timed release metformin as others had said that was giving them some relief, but said she didn't think it would make any difference. (My guess is that it's more expensive for Kaiser, so they discourage their doctors from prescribing it.) Still others claimed that increasing their fiber intake helped with that. So, quite arbitrarily, I decided to cut my metformin in half, taking one 500mg tablet with breakfast, another 500mg tablet with supper, and a 500mg tablet at bedtime, hoping against hope that it would keep my liver from spewing out too much glycogen in the night. At the same time, I began taking Metamucil fiber capsules (psyllium husk) with my morning and evening meals. It did help! Though it just lessened the severity and did not eliminate the problem completely. Not unexpectedly, my blood glucose numbers went up a little; whereupon I immediately made conscious effort to increase my fat and decrease my carbs, even at risk of triggering migraines. It seemed to me that I would have migraines anyway, regardless of what I did or did not do. And the numbers went back down to where they were before I reduced the metformin. So my new macronutrient goals are 82% fat, 8% carb, and 10% protein.

I also began taking a low dose of alpha lipoic acid (recommended by some of the diabetes doctors) and that's when I began having fasting blood glucose numbers under 100. Except for today.

The one thing I'm stressing about right now is that my weight loss seems to have plateaued. So the only thing that makes sense to me is to be more diligent about my 1200/day calorie restriction. (I can't even think about getting back on any exercise program right now! Especially with all the pain in my right hip during this past week after my one-mile walk in church shoes through the city streets of San Francisco last weekend!)

So I'm planning to be brave and stop all metformin for this month and take berberine instead, 500mg at morning and at evening, with bedtime metformin if I feel like I need it. Will continue to take the fiber capsules and alpha lipoic acid in a higher dose. We'll see how it goes....

Another Milestone

First ever "normal" FBG. This is in spite of cutting my metformin dosage in half at the beginning of this month. (I was getting tired of the daily diarrhea!) Also, I'm aiming for 80% fat and 25g carbs. I'm putting up with the resulting migraines as long as I have migraine medication (sumatriptan). For now.

Last week, I hit the first weight below 150 lbs., which I had not seen for 15+ years! That, too, was a milestone.

Think what I could do if I added 10,000 steps/day to that!

Weekend of Inspiration

My original intent for this blog was to post a minimum of once a month, at the beginning of each month, to report on my progress. After the disappointing lab test results in June, I was majorly bummed, not even wanting to post any more! I didn't post in July, mainly due to vacation, nor in September, also due to a long-weekend vacation and a lot of other stuff going on in my life. But I blogged in my personal blog about this past weekend, and I'm feeling so jazzed about it right now that I've decided to share it here, too.

Sunday, October 4, 2015

What a great weekend! Two extraordinary southern gentlemen traveled from their respective homes in West Virginia and South Carolina to California, one to Glendale and one to Berkeley, to speak to their followers who have come to know them through their published works and from their online presence.

Herb Montgomery, director of Renewed Heart Ministries, has touched the hearts and lives of countless thousands of individuals in ways that no one had ever dreamed possible. Atheists and agnostics have taken another look at the Jesus they had never been introduced to before now. Others, marginalized by ethnicity, gender, and sexual orientation, have come to feel safe in the presence of a God they never really knew. I have to admit I was skeptical when I first heard of Herb (in 2013) from someone whom I passed off as "just another religious enthusiast." And, while I respected her opinion, I knew I'd have to find out for myself. I first heard Herb speak in Atlanta in 2014. "Speak" is hardly an adequate word to describe what we all experienced at that SDA Kinship Kampmeeting. There really are no words to describe Herb's ministry. If you're curious, you'd just have to listen to his audio podcasts or view his video presentations.

At the time of this writing (as webmaster for Glendale City Church), I am anxiously awaiting upload of any audio and/or video files that the audio-visual crew was able to obtain this past weekend (October 2-3) so I can post them online. I can already tell (from Facebook posts I have seen) that the GCC audience has been forever impacted by the ministry of Herb Montgomery.

Jimmy Moore is a thorough researcher and author who has experienced what a low-carb high-fat dietary lifestyle can do for someone who was morbidly obese and now is not. And, as it was with Herb Montgomery, I admit to having had some skepticism about Jimmy, who is not a medical professional but simply a person for whom this dietary protocol has worked. But, urged by the recommendation of fellow diabetics, I ordered (for my Kindle) and read Keto Clarity and Cholesterol Clarity which he co-authored with Dr. Eric Westman of Duke University who works extensively with diabetic patients. But Jimmy doesn't expect the reader to just take his word or even just what Dr. Westman says; he includes information from scores of other healthcare experts in the chapters, arranged topically. So when Jimmy co-authored The Ketogenic Cookbook with a nutritionist who created the recipes, I was intrigued. His section on "Vegetarian Recipes" sold me on it.

Then I found out that Jimmy Moore and wife Christine were doing a cross-country tour and would be in Berkeley (17 miles from where we live) for a book signing and dinner at a new paleo restaurant, and I was excited! But by the time I decided we could fit this event into our life, the tickets were all sold out. I posted about it on Jimmy's Facebook event thread, and he encouraged me to come anyway. So we did (last night). That was my early birthday present! As we walked (well, Linda rode) the two blocks from where we had to park on the narrow Berkeley streets, there was a feeling of anticipation similar to what it was like many years ago when my kids were on Feingold and we were going to meet with other Feingold families for a Feingold picnic!

Now the thing about both Herb Montgomery and Jimmy Moore, though they are in entirely different fields, is that they are both off-the-beaten-path kind of people. What they teach defies conventional wisdom! Well, I have spent my life defying conventional wisdom, being intrigued to explore things that are totally "out of the box" to stretch my mind and broaden my horizons. So both of these men's messages are complete no-brainers for me.

Jimmy's book signing took place in the main part of the restaurant (Mission Heirloom) and was relaxed enough that I got to spend 15-20 minutes in conversation with him and Christine after he signed my copy of The Ketogenic Cookbook. At the dinner (with 50 other people) in a reserved area out on the back patio, Jimmy answered questions from the group as they ate a completely ketogenic meal made with recipes from his new cookbook. Even Barley cooperated very nicely, sleeping peacefully in his bag on Linda's chest the entire time! Unfortunately, I got so caught up in the moment that I failed to take any cell phone pictures at the event. But the sights and sounds and smells and tastes will be forever embedded in my memory.

Thank you, Jimmy Moore and Herb Montgomery, for the gifts of yourselves this weekend!

Quote from The Ketogenic Cookbook:
"The difficulty lies not so much in developing new ideas as in escaping from old ones."
—John Maynard Keynes

Over Halfway

It's been several weeks since my last blog post here, mostly because I've been on vacation, plus consumed with getting ready for vacation and then recovering from vacation once we got home! Also because things have pretty much leveled out on a plateau. A plateau that I'm not satisfied with, but have to accept nonetheless.

I had some difficulty getting my new prescription of thyroid medicine, so I'm still on my six-weeks trial of the new dosage.

I've given up any hope of getting any real success stories from the NEWSTART® Insights Facebook group, except for what the admin Ron G. says about his own experience. They have discontinued their monthly conference calls due to lack of attendance, which is not surprising given their lack of promotion for that endeavor. When I suggested that maybe "attendance would have been better if the event had been promoted extensively," Ron's campy response was, "You can lead a horse to water but you can't make them drink." To which I replied, "But I think most of the 'horses' didn't even know there was water!" I am continually amazed at the lack of technical savvy within the Weimar bunch. What does it say about an organization who cannot attract personnel who are adequately qualified to meet their need for a credible web presence?

Well, on the personal front, I have passed the seven-month point in my Year Without Carbs; so it's time to reflect and evaluate a bit. I have pretty well established a dietary daily protocol with 100g of fat, 30g of carbs, and 45g of protein. Within 1200 calories per day, that's 75% of calories in fat, 10% in carbs, and 15% in protein. While I was admittedly disappointed that my A1C has not decreased, I am more than pleased that eating low-carb high-fat has definitely positively affected my weight loss. In seven months (from January 4 to August 2), I have lost 17 lbs. I am no longer obese! According to my calculated BMI, I'm now in the top end of overweight. Another 20 lbs. to go and I'll be in the top end of normal. Woo hoo!

Some of my diabetic low-carb high-fat colleagues say that I should decrease my daily carb intake to no more than 20g per day, but I get migraines whenever I go below 30. And I have decreased my twice-daily insulin dosage to less than half, so that's something.

I still need to ramp up my exercise program. My current excuse is, "When the weather gets better." Other "excuses" include things currently happening in my personal life that are impacting all the luxurious "free" time I had the first few months of the year to spend on just taking care of myself and my diabetes.

But life must go on!

Is This Progress?

Today I got an email from a doctor in Dr. Chan's office (who wrote to me in her absence) the following:

"I'm Dr. Douk, covering for Dr. Chan while she is out. Your thyroid test showed that your levothyroxine dose might be a little high for you now. I have reordered a new lower dose of your medicine for you and sent it to the pharmacy. We should check your thyroid level again in 6 weeks. If it is stable then, please have Dr. Chan refill your prescription with a larger quantity of pills."

That was a real surprise to me! I had thought that the lower number on my TSH lab test meant that my body was not getting enough thyroxine and that perhaps my dosage should be increased. But apparently it's just the opposite!

So now I pick up the new dosage. And wait 6 weeks.

Increasingly Disappointed with NEWSTART®

I've pretty much given up on NEWSTART® being any source of information on reversing diabetes. The admins of the NEWSTART® Insights Facebook group are totally clueless as to how to run a successful Facebook group and the members are just as ditzy. There was no mention of the supposedly scheduled conference call on the third Wednesday of June, no event created in the Facebook group, and no email as I've gotten in the past. Today I asked in the group if the conference call happened and if anyone attended, and someone answered, yes, it did, though the scheduled speaker didn't show up so "faithful Dr. Lukens filled in and answered questions."

I have totally given up on getting any success stories from any of the 194 members of the Facebook group. They are presumably mostly alumni from a NEWSTART® program, which includes the famous "Reversing Diabetes." The Weimar website promoting the reversing diabetes program claims that 50% of people who go through the program are successful in reversing diabetes and maintaining that status. Only 50%?!? Why is that? Does "applying the NEWSTART® principles" only work for 50% of the attendees? Or is the lifestyle so unsustainable that 50% of them just can't maintain it and give up? I suppose I'll never know the answer! However, I will not leave the group, though I don't have any more plans to post there—especially since the admins have changed the settings so that every new post has to be approved by an admin before it is made public!

Conversation on NEWSTART® Insights

Me: Tom, you said in a recent newsletter, "50% of type II diabetics who adopt the NEWSTART® Lifestyle are off their insulin and medications in as little as 18 days." I'm wondering about the other 50%. What challenges did they face that prevented their success, and what advice and encouragement would successful Reversing Diabetes alumni give to help them?

Tom: Jacqueline, alumni face many challenges upon departure, that is why the primary focus during the NEWSTART® Lifestyle program is setting a routine for everyday after graduation. In addition, many alumni take advantage of the ReStart program which offer discounts for returning to a portion of the program so they can focus on what need areas.

Me: Do you ever have anyone (after they go home) complain that their blood sugar goes higher (instead of lower) when they stop counting calories and carbs? If so, what advice would you give them?

Teri: We don't teach our guests to count calories or carbs, it isn't necessary. Once they've come off the SAD (Standard American Diet) and start making healthier food choices along with implementing the other Newstart principles, the body beautifully responds in turn. Anyone who does not continue with their healthy lifestyle choices will, of course, find their blood sugars creeping back up.

Me: I understand all that, Teri. My question was whether or not anyone ever complains that their blood sugars went up when they ate whole fruits, whole grains, and legumes with wild abandon. And, if the answer is no, then why are we not seeing more members of this group telling their success stories with reversing diabetes on a high-carb diet?

Ron: You've asked a very important and critical question and the answer is simple. Many people of the 50% you are asking about continue on their new life style and reverse this terrible disease. While others decide to go back to their old ways and don't want to talk about it. As far as more members not reporting success stories, they do not join groups or like we have on Facebook or other social media sights, or are just to busy.

Me: Yep, I guess they're too busy maintaining their NEWSTART® lifestyle to be bothered with sharing their successes. I suppose I would be, too, if I walked 5 miles a day. So what you're saying is that the 50% unsuccessful were not motivated to continue doing what they learned in the on-site seminar. I would think that the potential effects of out-of-control diabetes would be motivation enough!

Ron: I'm not saying that at all. Of the 50%, many continue on and are successful in reversing their diabetes, while others simply go back to their old life styles. I do agree that reversing diabetes, which I have done now for nearly 10 years, is motivation enough to keep one going.

NEWSTART® Insights Update

Three things have just happened with NEWSTART® Insights. The first was that the creator of the group and original admin, Spencer Freed, said he is getting off Facebook but he created a "fake" Spencer Freed account that he said could be used to contact him "only in this group." I'm not sure how that was supposed to work. Apparently Spencer Freed wasn't either, because his new "fake" account is not showing in the members list nor anywhere on Facebook for that matter. So I checked the admins list and only Tom Baril is listed as a group admin.

Then I noticed that the nice banner graphic Spencer had used for the group is missing. There is, instead, just a collection of random profile pics of group members (what a group header defaults to when there is no banner graphic). Very unattractive and unprofessional, in my opinion.

So I wrote a post asking what happened to the nice banner graphic, and I got an immediate message that my post had been "submitted for approval by the admin(s)." I suppose I should not have been surprised, as earlier I had suggested to Spencer that if they were concerned that someone would post something that was inappropriate they should change the settings so that all posts had to be approved by an admin. I guess someone finally figured out how to do it!

Hardly anyone is posting in the group now, possibly because the group description is very vague about the purpose of the group and what posts are acceptable and what posts are not. At least now people will know whether or not what they post is acceptable by whether or not an admin approves it!

Well, I must say I am very disappointed with the group. I initially was hoping I would find alumni who had succeeded in reversing their diabetes through this Weimar program (high-carb low-fat strict vegan diet) and were successful in maintaining this reversal over a long period of time. But out of the current 194 members, only two have come forward as having reversed diabetes through the NEWSTART® program.

Of the 3 "success stories" on the NEWSTART® website, they are all white males (one is possibly Latino), no women, no people of color. They were all extremely obese, had severe health problems and nearly at death's door, and had been eating a very unhealthy Standard American Diet (junk food, high-sugar, highly refined, etc.). No one was represented as being a more "normal" kind of diabetic, like the majority of Adventist Vegetarian Diabetics group members, who were trying to eat a reasonably healthy diet but just needed some tweaking!


Update [June 10,2015]: It looks like the header graphic is back. And a "new member" named Spencer Jonathan has been added and made an admin. In my opinion, they should have figured this out before they started making public changes to the group! Guess I can't expect Weimar people to be all that tech-savvy. *sigh*

Insulin Resistance and Weight Loss

Here's another thing that bugs me. When people are giving advice on how to improve your diabetes, one of the items is, "Lose weight." That makes about as much sense to me as some thoughtless person telling a mom to "make your kids behave"! As a mother, I learned early on there is no way on God's green earth that you can "make" your kids do anything that they do not do willingly, on their own accord. That is, unless you physically strap them down, tie them to a stationary object, or imprison them in a container. As a young mother, I was greatly disturbed by any "Sister White" quotes that said, "You must not allow your children to [you fill in the blanks]." How does she expect parents to "not allow" children to make a lot of noise, run in church, refuse to eat, etc. without physically restraining them? And then it's only for that moment. Until someone pointed out to me that what she meant was "you cannot give your children permission to..." whatever. And that made complete sense! If the child does "whatever" he/she is doing it without your permission, and then you deal with it.

But I digress.

Frequently, you'll see the advice, "exercise and lose weight," as being the answer to improving diabetes. Yes, I understand exercise, but "losing weight" is a result of doing something, not something you do. Unless you "lose weight" by having bariatric surgery. It would make more sense to say, "exercise, cut calories, and do whatever works for you to lose weight." You can't just lose weight by wishing it to be gone!

The same holds true for the advice to "decrease insulin resistance" (or "increase insulin sensitivity"). You can't just turn it down like turning the heat down on the stove. But when you try to find out how to decrease insulin resistance, there are as many ideas out there as there are people who write articles about it.

That being said, I will concede that the most frequent advice on how to decrease insulin resistance is exercise. And within that advice to "exercise" there's a wide spectrum, ranging from a leisure 30-minute walk 3 times a week to aggressive aerobic exercise, strength training, and muscle building on a daily basis. Until I have proof to the contrary, I will still maintain that the ideal goal—and mandatory for a diabetic—is the conventional 10,000 steps/day (aka 5 miles of walking).

The next piece of advice on how to decrease insulin resistance is—wait for it—to "lose weight." So we've come full circle to giving nebulous advice as the way to reach a nebulous goal.

The bottom line is that every person who wants to lose weight has to figure out what works forthem and their body. When I was a young woman, all I had to do was go on a diet of Sego or Slim-fast for a couple weeks and I'd lose 5 or 10 lbs. easily. Needless to say, that doesn't work for me any more! But it worked then on the same principle as what has always worked for me, and that is calorie-reduction. Only now it's calorie-reduction in combination with LCHF (low-carb high-fat). Less carb = fewer calories.

In short, my fantasy goal is to achieve an acceptable A1C level (which is for another post). My objectives for doing that are to (a) decrease insulin resistance and (b) lose weight (both nebulous without action steps). The action steps are to (a) walk daily toward a fantasy goal of 5 miles a day and (b) stick religiously to a 1200-calorie diet which is low in carbs and high in fat (well, as high as you can be under 1200 calories!).

And it's not just a diet but a way of life—a lifestyle. In other words, I don't stop walking 5 miles a day and eating 1200 calories or less when I reach my weight loss goal and A1C goal. The lifestyle will continue as long as I'm alive. That is, if I want to stay alive!

And that's my pea-brain thoughts for today.

Unfounded Fears?

You know what my current fear is? That if I don't take the recommended meds (statins, in this case), that the Dr. will refuse to order any more blood tests! Silly, I know, but it was just a thought that crossed my mind.

I'm afraid if I take time to walk 5 miles a day, I'll never have time to do anything else. Of course, if I don't walk that much, maybe I won't even live long enough to do anything else! My mother walked five miles a day during the last several years of her life, and she still died before she was 70. I'll be 70 in another 15 months.

There. I'm being honest.

I'm feeling suddenly slapped in the face with reality, just like when I was first officially diagnosed, 15 years ago. Only this time it's not just a gentle suggestion that I should take a leisurely stroll of 30 minutes 3 times a week, but a mandate that I walk a minimum of 5 miles (aka 10,000 steps) a day, every day, 7 days a week, if I don't want to die! And not just that I keep a bottle of water handy in case I get thirsty, but that I force myself to chug down 4 or 5 bottles (500 mL), total of 2 liters minimum.

Well, I can't do it in June or July. My life was already pre-planned to be consumed. But in August I can step it up a notch or two. Or a bunch of notches. That will be the crucial transition time, from 1500 steps/day to 10,000. A seemingly impossible feat!

Then I'll have a break over a long Labor Day weekend, not a break from walking or water, but a disconnect from phone, internet, and electricity. Paper only for 6 days. And walking. Always walking, the only device allowed being a pedometer.

End of May

Today ends five (5) months on a serious low-carb high-fat lifestyle. My weight continues to flucuate up and down, but the overall trend is still down. I'm not going to set new goals for next month. It seems that every time I set a new low for carb intake, I have a rash of migraines—10 to 17 consecutive days—until my body adjust to the new carb goal. So I'm keeping my calories and macronutrients the same as last month: 1200 calories, fat 100 g, carbs 30 g, protein 45 g, and fiber 20 g. My average blood glucose did not decrease significantly, staying at about 125. What I need to focus on in June—and probably for the rest of the summer—is exercise. I'm doing better! Taking Barley out for walks more and making an effort to ride my trike. It's just so discouraging lately with all the cold, overcast weather we've been having!

I had a diabetic retinal screening last week, and received this standard-answer report the following day: We are pleased to inform you that review of the screening images taken in the Diabetic Screening Clinic did not demonstrate any diabetic eye disease. We recommend that you continue to work with your primary care physician to obtain optimal blood sugar, cholesterol and blood pressure control. Please remember that optimizing blood sugar, cholesterol and blood pressure will help you minimize the chance of losing vision from diabetic retinopathy. I recommend repeating the diabetic retinopathy screening photos in two years.

I should be going in for bloodwork in a couple of weeks. Last week I got an email message from my Kaiser practitioner (a Pharm.D. who my primary care physician assigned to me several years ago when my blood glucose was running high). I'd like to include our entire conversation:

Dr. P: It looks like you are due to get some nonfasting blood test. Please get them done at your earliest convenience. Also, are you still taking your cholesterol medication, simvastatin? It looks like you last refilled 9/2014. Did you have any problem with it? Do we need to switch to another better cholesterol medication for you?

Me: Yes, it has been over a year since I had an A1C. I also need to have a fasting complete lipid panel, thyroid test, and kidney and liver function tests. I have not had a fructosamine test since 2011, and tests for calcium, magnesium, and potassium since 2009 (when I was hospitalized 5 days for kidney failure). I stopped taking simvastatin a few months ago when I realized that I have not had a high cholesterol test since 2001. I'm more concerned about triglycerides, though, and am still taking Slo-Niacin as prescribed for that. I would like to get the blood work done during the second week in June as I have a very heavy workload during the first week. Please let me know if I can get all these tests at that time.

Dr. P: Thank you for your update. Your doctor has already ordered all your blood tests below except calcium and magnesium. Unfortunately, I am not authorized to order these two items. Please follow up with Dr. Chan to add that to your blood test. I would encourage you to resume simvastatin as recommended. Studies have shown that simvastatin can prevent heart attacks and strokes even if your bad cholesterol (LDL) looks good. We are putting all patients on statins now. Do I need to order that for you? Please let me know.

Me: Thank you for the update regarding the order for my blood tests. I will contact Dr. Chan for the ones you are not authorized to order. I do not wish to resume statins at this time. My main concern is that it will make my diabetes worse and is not good for my liver and kidneys.

Dr. P: Your blood sugars were good being on simvastatin. I doubt simvastatin will increase your blood sugars. However, I am more concern of putting yourself at higher risk of heart attack and strokes. Slo-niacin may affect your liver as well but it does not protect your heart. I highly recommend you reconsider resuming simvastatin or switch to atorvastatin that can protect your heart and lower your triglycerides.

I did not respond to Dr. P's last message, but I did email Dr. Chan with: Dr. Poon recently contacted me that I am due for bloodwork. I responded to her: "Yes, it has been over a year since I had an A1C. I also need to have a fasting complete lipid panel, thyroid test, and kidney and liver function tests. I have not had a fructosamine test since 2011, and tests for calcium, magnesium, and potassium since 2009 (when I was hospitalized 5 days for kidney failure)." She responded back to me: "Your doctor has already ordered all your blood tests except calcium and magnesium. Unfortunately, I am not authorized to order these two items. Please follow up with Dr. Chan to add that to your blood test." So I am contacting you to verify which blood tests have been ordered for me. If possible, I would like A1C, complete fasting lipid panel, thyroid tests, liver and kidney function, Fructosamine, Calcium, Magnesium, and Potassium. I would like to get the blood work done during the second week in June. Please let me know if I can get all these tests at that time.

I did not mention Dr. P's insistence on statins. I shall wait to hear from Dr. Chan this coming week.

May Conference Call

What follows are notes that I took in real time during the NEWSTART® conference call today. I'm presenting my notes pretty much as I took them, except for making two observations: First, it is totally erroneous to describe low-carb approach as "low-carb, high-fat, high-protein." Dr. Atkins may have been high-protein in the beginning, but a true LCHF (low-carb, high-fat) recommends moderate protein. The second thing is that Dr. Bivens lumps saturated fat and trans fat together--again, a serious error! LCHF are just as against trans fats and hydrogenated fats as NEWSTART®, but recommend butter (especially grass-fed) and coconut oil, as well as olive oil. NEWSTART® prohibits all processed oils, allowing only avocados, olives, and nuts.

Real-time NOTES:

This is the third conference call that NEWSTART® Insights has initiated. I don't know if it would have happened if I had not urged Spencer and Tom and Ron to promote it more. Ron even gave me permission to create an event in the discussion group. It's 5 o'clock and the call is beginning.

Dr. Bivens is talking about a "success story" from a current NEWSTART® program. A 64-year-old who has spent two and a half weeks in the program. Said if you get your cholesterol under 150, you are at 0 risk for heart attack. His blood glucose is 101.

Now he's going to give a half-hour lecture on "Carb Fraud." Starting with Dr. Robert Atkins, describing it as low-carb, high-fat, high-protein. Talking about paleo diet (2002), the "caveman" diet. Said Dr. Atkins died of a heart attack. Not true! He died from a fall on an icy street in New York.

No diet works. Diets are counter-productive. Must be a lifestyle. Relating a study that examined a low-carb diet vs. plant-based diet (does not call it "vegan"). Claims low-carb diet "will kill you."

Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes are two separate diseases. Type 1 diabetics have a pancreas that does not product insulin.

Now he's explaining how blood glucose gets into the cells. In Type 1, there is not enough insulin to assist the blood glucose in getting into the cells. Type 2 diabetics have high insulin. But the insulin does not work well to let blood glucose into the cell. Called insulin resistance. Claims that when fat, especially trans fat, is reduced, patients will become hypoglycemic if they are taking blood-lowering medications. Recommends 8-20 servings of fruit a day.

Emphasizing that a low-carb "diet" is a fraud and will kill you. T. Colin Campbell authored a book called The Low-Carb Fraud. Claims low-carb allows only 30% of calories as carbs. Not true. Very low-carb is 30 grams carbs/day, not 30%. Claims low-carb diet mandates too much protein. Again, not true! He says vegans do not need to worry about getting enough protein.

How much protein is needed? He said 26-45 grams/day. Says meat analogs are not much better than flesh foods. Says many contain trans fat.

Talking about trans fats and saturated fats as if they are the same thing. Talking about coconut oil being a saturated fat. Says saturated fats are made by adding hydrogen to unsaturated fats. Does say that partially hydrogenated oils are trans fats. That part is true.

Goal is to get fat down to 20% to be low-fat. Dr. Bivens' definition of low-fat diet is 10%. Recommends 70% of diet be what he calls "complex carbohydrates."

Talking about their summit in June. One guest is Neal Barnard (another high-carb no-fat proponent).

Now it's Q&A time:

Rachel: Could you talk about gall bladder disease and fat?

Dr. B: Strong genetic component. Gall bladder stores bile, 97% cholesterol. Bile used to digest mainly fats. Gall bladder disease caused by diet high in fat, stimulates liver to make more bile. Gall stones made of cholesterol. When gall bladder is taken out, you don't have enough bile to digest fat. Thus must eat a low-fat diet.

Cherline: I'm on Dr. Esselstyn's diet. I eat 1 T. of ground flaxseed a day. How much fat am I getting? Is it too much oil?

Dr. B: You are doing the right thing. That much flax should not be detrimental. Walnuts are cardiac-protective, most heart-healthy.

Brenda: What about celiac?

Dr. B: There truly is an actual gluten sensitivity. Gluten makes them really sick, but that's a very small portion of the population. Farmers hit fields with Round-Up before harvesting. People who claim gluten sensitivity have been taken off gluten for 3 months then re-introduced to organic non-GMO wheat and have no problem. True celiacs will not respond this way.

Cherline: Would Ezekiel bread be safe? Is it organic?

Dr. B: I don't know the answer, because we make all our bread ourselves. I don't think Ezekiel bread is organic, but I don't know.

Carla: What if you are deficient in everything--vitamin B-12, vitamin D, iron, magnesium, etc.?

Dr. B: John McDougall says he can't identify any reason why anyone should take vitamin B/D? If you are eating organic whole foods, there's not much reason to worry. Especially if eating right, getting enough sunshine, etc.

Ron: What about someone who is deficient in iron?

Dr. B: Uterine fibroids cause a lot of blood loss. Have uterus out! Also, girls start menses at age 13.2, whereas a century ago it was age 17. This all would not happen if children were vegans.

Unnamed: Said she took blackstrap molasses and was able to drop iron supplement.

Next month third Wednesday will be the next conference call.

Keto Flu

I felt really yukky on Sunday. I did not want to eat or drink. I had to force myself to get out and take a walk before it got too dark. My blood sugar was elevated in the late afternoon and evening in spite of eating almost nothing. And I couldn't stay out of the bathroom. I felt better on Monday and even better today. Now that I look back, I'm wondering if I had "keto flu." I haven't yet used the Ketostix so I have no idea if I'm in ketosis or not, except that I'm experiencing a lot of what the others say it's like. I have no desire for sweets or starches any more. Not even the dark chocolate that's been in my desk drawer for a couple of months. I have more energy and feel more upbeat in general. I'm sleeping better, and I haven't had a migraine for four and half days. Yea, me!

Migraine Returns

After 19 consecutive days without a head-splitting migraine requiring medication, I had a migraine in the middle of the night (about 4 a.m., I think). Well, that was 19 days that were gifts. Fortunately, I've had enough time to accrue another month's supply of sumatriptan.

The only thing I ate yesterday that was unusual (for me) was tuna in olive oil, mixed with full-fat mayonnaise and dill pickle relish. Oh, also I had only 10 grams of carbs yesterday but I was "within budget" for fats and protein. Could have had more fiber, maybe, which would have added carbs. And I ended up, amazingly, with under 1100 calories. But I was never hungry. I ate until I was full, and I ate what I loved (including zucchini and a buttered almond bun).

It was just one of those days.

May Day

April was a hard month in many ways. I started out on Easter Sunday with a horrific cold that lasted a week. I had 11 days of migraines for the first 15 days of the month. I felt under increasing pressure to get the tax returns done in time. And of course I had all the usual web client work, including three email newsletters that I had to get out during the week that I was so sick! Then Linda had her oral surgery on the 15th and I needed to be available for her as needed.

My daily average glucose readings fluctuated a lot but did not essentially change from the first of the month to the last. My fasting blood glucose also remained pretty much the same. I stayed within my goals for calories, carbs, fat, protein, and fiber. My macronutrient percentages held steady. I've been able to increase my daily walking time for the last two months. The only thing that has changed significantly is that I've lost 5 lbs. over the past four weeks! And I'm really jazzed about that.
Still, I'm adjusting my goals for May to 1200 calories a day, 100 grams of fat, 30 grams of carbs, 45 grams of protein, and 20 grams of fiber, for fat-carb-protein ratio of 75%-10%-15%. Sounds reasonable to me.

Another significant occurrence was that, after some suggestion and research, I began taking herb capsules of butterbur on April 16 and, to date (16 days later) have been migraine-pain-free. Keeping my fingers crossed.

I've done a lot of thinking and reading and researching this past month and more work on my Adventist Vegetarian Diabetics blog, to supplement the Adventist Vegetarian Diabetics Facebook group. I'll go into more details about that on said blog.

I've also kept up with the other Facebook groups: NEWSTART Insights, Reversing Diabetes, The Vegetarian Low Carb Diabetic Healthy Diet Society, The Vegan Diabetic, and a few others which I check infrequently.

Last but not least, I've become better friends with Judie Lee Fizer who I "met" in the NEWSTART Insights group in February. And this is all part of my diabetes journey, my Year Without Carbs.

Easter Sunday

Last week I began my fourth month of serious low-carb high-fat lifestyle. During March, I lowered my average blood glucose from 139 to 127, and my fasting blood glucose from 138 to 128. I lowered my average daily calorie intake from 1470 to 1375. My average daily carb intake went from 49 to 36 grams. My weight decreased from 171.2 lbs. to 168.8 lbs. Not great but every little bit is encouraging.

Based on these numbers, I have set new goals for April of calories 1400, fat 117g, carbohydrates 35g, protein 53g (maximum), and fiber 30g. Percentage goals are 75% fat, 10% carbohydrates, and 15% protein.

I still have frozen shoulder. I still get migraines approximately 15 days out of every 30.

My biggest challenge is still exercise. I only averaged 21 min. daily, where it should be a minimum of 30 minutes. Now that the days are longer, I really have no excuse! Except today when it is raining.

In mid-March, I "attended" a conference call put on by Weimar NEWSTART with the topic of exercise. The presenter confirmed Weimar's belief that 10,000 steps (or 5 miles of walking) daily is required for optimal health. I asked what would be the equivalent of bike/trike riding in either distance or time, and I was told that was not an appropriate question for me to ask. I think because no one really knows for sure! My internet searches on this question have brought me answers just as nebulous. So, if/when I can remember to attach my pedometer on my next trike ride, I'll note how many "steps" get recorded on my usual trip of two times around the mobilehome park. I already know that my typical walk with Barley around 4 blocks is only about 1500 steps and takes 15 minutes. Sure, I know I should double that to get in 30 minutes, but my feet just won't go any farther! My highest steps day was 2888 steps on a Tuesday when we went to Farmers' Market and then shopping at the mall.

Today I'm recovering from a 12-hour migraine which has morphed into a scratchy throat, sneezing, and runny nose. Getting ready for a holiday visit with the kids this afternoon!

Stress

Evidence that stress has a direct effect on blood sugar: I checked BG 90 min. after dinner and it was 113. Then I had 4 hrs of a VERY stressful evening (related to work--I work at home) and bedtime BG was 174! YIKES!! Took an extra metformin even though it's above the maximum daily dosage. *Sigh!*

Update: It is now morning (March 18). Up again to work (after 3 hrs sleep) and BG is 76. Go figure! Just ate 1 oz. almonds to see if that will prevent a liver dump.

Another update: After eating the above almonds and then working for two hours, I checked my BG and it was 124. I went back to bed, slept for two hours, just now got up (for real) and checked again. It was 108. One thing, I don't think I'll ever die from blood sugar being too low! Obviously, my liver is working. Just. Fine.

Time Marches On

Another month has passed. I have met my goals for February in keeping daily carbs under 75 grams and calories under 1800. My average blood glucose readings have not dropped much (from 146 to 140), but my fasting blood glucose average has dropped from 160 to 138.

I have recorded my water intake and averaged 1.74 cups per day--a long way from the 8-cup minimum, but halfway toward my intermediate goal of 4 cups. I have recorded minutes of daily exercise and have averaged 16 minutes a day. I need to step it up a bit! Literally.

I think I'll reset my maximum HumulinN dosage to 30, both morning and bedtime and see how that works out.

More About NEWSTART®

Last week the admin of NEWSTART® Insights said he sent out an email to NEWSTART® program alumni, inviting them to join this Facebook group. He must have succeeded, because the group jumped from 30-something to way over 100 members.

Well, a couple of weeks ago I asked about coconut oil and got this response:

"Sorry, Jacqueline, for a therapeutic diet, to reverse disease, no added oil, only what's found in whole foods like, olives, avocados, and nuts and these items should be in the appropriate serving sizes. Coconut oil has been refined because it's been removed from the coconut as an oil. Hope this helps."

That was very disappointing for me. Then, today, I got this response from someone else in the group, someone named Judie Lee Fizer:

"Jacqueline, on oils. There are two types of NEWSTART®: there is therapeutic, for those needing cures for lifestyle-related sickness. And there is just lifestyle NEWSTART®. For therapeutic, they withhold free oils and use avocado, nuts, etc. for oils. For lifestyle you should add in coconut, olive, avocado, walnut, etc. oils. We need these oils, but for obesity wait until you've lost most of the excess."

And yet another response from one of the Weimar doctors:

"Free oils or excess fats are not part of the NS plan." I asked what they considered "excess fats" and got this response from Judie Lee:

"Excess depends upon the individual. Coconut oil has many benefits as you know and avocado as well, but I think your body will tell you. I'd not combine fat and carbs, though, fat and veggies, yes, non-starchy non-carb veggies, like greens. The fats help the body utilize the nutrients in the greens, etc."

Finally! Someone at NEWSTART® is beginning to make sense! She also said in another post, "Some people need more fat and without it lose their energy. Others don't do well with grains, so it's an individual thing, as you probably know."

Quite unlike the doctor, whom I'm guessing is quite old-school, who wrote, "Eliminating all fat in your diet would be good and for sure the pounds will melt away, triglycerides will drop overnight, and cholesterol will also come down." And this was after I had already told him that my cholesterol had been normal since 2001!

My last response to him was, "My total cholesterol at my last test was 129 and LDL was 37. HDL was 43, so it's almost up to normal. Yes, I'm technically obese, with a BMI of 31.1, having gained 15+ lbs. when I went on insulin. Triglycerides vary in proportion to my A1C, so it seems to have more to do with blood sugar than with fat." I can hardly wait to see what he says next. Probably nothing relevant.

Facebook Drama

I have been following NEWSTART® Insights on Facebook for a couple a weeks now. I am careful not to express my own opinions but rather just to ask questions, to try to start (or add to) conversations. There was this person, Terri Gleadell Wallace, who posted, said she had never attended a NEWSTART® session but had put together a syllabus, she called it, on each of the eight facets of the lifestyle. And she wanted to share it.

It was a very complex, organized listing of links primarily to videos that were on the newstart.org website, and some to a place called Amazing Health, and some to a YouTube site on finances. I commented that she looked very organized. Since she called it a syllabus, I assumed she was a dietitian or nutritionist. Nope, she just wrote this for herself. Before I found that out, however, I made the mistake of asking her how she might modify this for a diabetic. Her answer was very cold and clinical, stating that I should ask my doctor about that. Whereupon I shot back that most doctors don't know very much about nutrition.

Well, I kept asking questions and that apparently made her very uncomfortable and defensive. Her answers were brief and terse. Finally, she had had it with me and told me she thought this discussion group was a place to share and not to ask questions. Not to ask questions! Instinctively, I shot back, "Well, it's not like I'm questioning the doctrines of the church!" She became livid and totally removed her long and involved initial post, along with the long and involved thread that had followed it. I then posted a comment below the moderator's pinned post that said, "Are we allowed to ask questions here?" In a few minutes after that, I saw that she had left the group!

It occurred to me immediately how very much like The Church that Terri Gleadell Wallace was being: wanting to "share" what she had compiled but not wanting to be asked questions about it. I wondered if this was a harbinger of things to come on NEWSTART® Insights.

From January to February

So...I've completed four full weeks of a food journal, with grams and percentages of carbohydrates, fat, and protein, and continuing with recording blood glucose readings and insulin dosages. I'm feeling more than a little depressed right now because I've gained weight instead of losing, even though my blood glucose numbers are coming down a bit. I've averaged 1548 calories per day and 62 grams of carb, so I think I'll set my February goals for 1500 calories (down from 1800) and 68 grams of carb (down from 100). I can do this!

However, I also need to really focus on the exercise. My goal was 30 minutes a day and I averaged only 16. I have to get serious about this. I also need to be more mindful of water and intentionally drink at least 32 oz. a day. Besides coffee. My right frozen shoulder also need deliberate attention. I bought a new heating pad and a 4-ft. dowel to use with shoulder exercises. It's getter worse, not better, so I want to work on fixing it, if I can.

I have taken my last simvastatin today. It's sort of scary; but I've had way below 239 for total cholesterol for several years—regardless of what I ate. So I'm going to be brave now. On the flip side, I've started taking my 500mg of metformin at bedtime again. I feel that's a better option than the glipizide.

I'm going back to MyFitnessPal for my food journal now that I've had a month with CalorieKing. I'm disappointed that my CalorieKing software does not reflect the most up-to-date food information as found on the CalorieKing site. I like the software because it gives a nice pie chart of the macronutrient percentages, but I'll just have to imagine it in my head with MyFitnessPal. I've also signed up for a free account with GlucoseBuddy, now that it's available for android (as well as iPhone) which is supposed to track glucose and insulin and has graphs.

I've been adjusting my insulin to my numbers, so I'm not actually still on 40 units in the morning and 50 units at bedtime. During January, I averaged 38 in the morning and 32 at night. Meaning, of course, that I'm nowhere near reducing the Dawn Phenomemon. Frustrating. But everyone says that it's the last to go. With Glucose Buddy, I should be able to better see an average of my blood glucose readings.

I'm pleased that a few new members have joined Adventist Vegetarian Diabetics, and I'm spending more time on The Vegetarian Low Carb Diabetic Healthy Diet Society, although I do enjoy reading all the success stories on Reversing Diabetes. I'm also taking mental note of what I read on NEWSTART Insights. It's totally vegan, of course, and very strict about no (processed) oils or sugar. They prohibit even extra virgin olive oil and unrefined organic coconut oil, yet they advocate generous amounts of legumes, whole grains, and fruits. I haven't yet found any members who have shared their "success stories" of reversing diabetes on a strict vegan diet. Even with walking five miles a day.

NEWSTART® Insights

I need to just start this day completely over! Woke up with a migraine, could not get into computer for an hour and half, and then discovered that my trusty Joomla editor was not working and the rest of the day was consumed with that! The first re-broadcast of City Church Online failed, and the only respite I had was listening to Dr. Richard Bernstein's webcast for an hour. However, just before giving up for the night, I checked Facebook one more time, and there was an invitation to join a newly created group, NEWSTART® Insights! The admin, apparently who is the face of the Newstart Lifestyle Program Page, took me seriously when I posted on their page earlier this month and suggested they should have a discussion group for alumni. Well, let's see what this brings....

https://www.facebook.com/groups/1541563009464167/

Stopped Glipizide

I have been uneasy about glipizide for some time, since glipizide stimulates the release of insulin from the pancreas. I have come to view glipizide as something that is forcing my pancreas to produce more insulin when my problem is insulin resistance. Over the past several months, I have gradually decreased my dosage from 15mg/day to 10mg and now 5mg and have not noticed any perceptible change in my numbers. On this day, I decreased my dosage to 0mg.

January Health Status

I am an obese Type 2 diabetic. I am hearing-challenged and sight-challenged. I'm also a chronic migraineur. Like many diabetics, I have also been diagnosed with and am on prescription medication for high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and high triglycerides. I have nasal allergies. I also have frozen shoulder (right side) due to an injury I sustained in a fall last November.

I am on 8 prescription medications, including metformin and glipizide, and 13 drugstore medicines and supplements, 7 of which were ordered by my doctor but I can't get them by prescription because they are now available over the counter.

My goals for the next four weeks are to:

• Keep a full food journal, including macronutrient percentages
• Stay below 100g carb/day for this month
• Exercise (walk or ride) 30 min./day 6 days a week

A Short History

My Type 2 Diagnosis

I was diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes in September of 2000, just before going on a weekend campout with a group of women. I remember that when I told Dr. John Duge, our pastor, I bemoaned that I would never be able to have Almond Roca again, and he laughed, thinking that I was very funny. I was working in San Francisco at Degenkolb Engineers then, and I walked around the city streets during my lunch hour on a route that I carved out for myself, and then I came back to the office and ate lunch at my desk, being very careful to pack lunches that met the ADA dietary guidelines of 150 grams of carbohydrates per day. On breaks, I drank Diet Dr. Pepper. For the first few years, I was able to manage to keep my A1C under 7.0 with just diet and exercise.

I haven't dug through my old logs yet to see when exactly I went astray, but at some point I was put on Glucophage (metformin) and, later, Glucotrol (glipizide), with increasing dosages until I was taking the maximum of each. And, later still, I was put on insulin, starting with 5 units once a day until it got to be where I am now, at 40 units in the morning and 50 units at bedtime. It was a wake-up call to me when a Pharm.D. suggested I might want to order larger syringes that would hold more than 50 units!

Weimar Reversing Diabetes Retreat

In the fall of 2004, I attended a 3-day Reversing Diabetes retreat, conducted by Weimar Institute. I was familiar with the Weimar Diet from 20 years before when I had my kids on the Feingold Diet, which eliminates artificial colors, flavors, and preservatives, plus testing for salicylate intolerance. We were living in North Dakota at the time and were not able to find any bread that was suitable so I learned to make whole-grain bread with dates and avocados since Weimar prohibited all processed sugars and oils. But the Weimar Diet was vegan and we still ate eggs and dairy products. (We were not quite ready for translation.) After attending the Reversing Diabetes seminar, I was certain I could follow it if (1) I had all day to spending cooking and (2) I had enough time to walk five miles a day, seven days a week. So "Reversing Diabetes" was something I put on the back burner for when I retired, which I thought would be sometime after age 70.

Looking for Weimar on Facebook

But life has a way of interrupting one's plans. I lost my job when I was just 5 months past age 65, and my whole world turned upside down. We had to move to a less expensive place. I was hysterical, thinking I would now have to do grocery shopping at WalMart instead of the snooty Nob Hill. I found myself on Medicare and Social Security. It took more than a year for me to "get over" this total life devastation (and I'm not sure I'm really "over it" yet), but at some point I had to accept that this is the way it is and is going to be from now on and just deal with it. I had to realize that this is the retirement life I had fantasized about but it just didn't happen on my own terms. Nor with sufficient financial support. But what I lacked in money I now had in time. Time to spend all day cooking, planning what to cook, and cleaning up after cooking. Time to go for a daily five-mile walk along the bay front, on level asphalt, two-and-a-half miles from my new home to the marina and back.

In the spring of 2013 I decided to look for a Facebook support group, should it exist, of people who had attended a Weimar Reversing Diabetes program. None existed, only a Facebook Page promoting the NEWSTART® Lifestyle Program, and I signed up to subscribe to their email newsletter. But, in searching the term "Reversing Diabetes" on Facebook, I found some discussion groups that I could join. I also searched "Reversing Diabetes" on Amazon and found a number of books that looked promising that I downloaded to my Kindle. And so my journey began.

Finding a Different Kind of Reversing Diabetes

In the beginning, I read a lot and I "listened" a lot in the groups. I began to get the sense that the real key to diabetes control--and maybe even reversal--was carbohydrate control: greatly reducing carb intake. That made sense to me. What was harder to wrap my head around was the idea of high-fat along with low-carb. I learned that if you lower your carb intake enough, your body will start to burn fat for energy. Now that made sense to me, because excess glucose (from carbs--sugars and starches) had been stored as fat anyway for whenever you didn't have enough glucose for energy. I settled on two Facebook groups that made the most sense to me: Reversing Diabetes and The Vegetarian Low Carb Diabetic Healthy Diet Society, both closed groups. Over time, I discovered that the Reversing Diabetes group had a single focus: that of low-carb high-fat and the recipes containing meat were all kinds of meat, clean and unclean. It was just easier to say I was a vegetarian than to try to explain why I ate beef and chicken and salmon but not pork and shrimp and catfish. The Vegetarian Low Carb Diabetic Healthy Diet Society was pretty esoteric, with a lot of ethnic foods using ingredients that I do not normally stock in my kitchen.

Creating an Adventist Diabetic Community

Then I got an idea to start my own Facebook group and call it Adventist Vegetarian Diabetics, which would include diabetics who understood the Seventh-day Adventist position on vegetarianism and "clean meats." I was hoping against hope that I might find someone who had gone through the Weimar Reversing Diabetes program and could share their success with the group. So, in June 2013, I added a dozen or so of my Facebook friends who I knew were current or former Adventists and were diabetic and put out invitations for anyone interested to join the group.

Experimenting with Low-carb High-fat

In the fall of 2013 I decided to give this LCHF (low-carb high-fat) idea a try, though I was sure I would never be able to get as low as 20-30 grams of carbs a day as the most successful ones in the groups seemed to be doing. I figured if I could get my carb intake down to <100 grams/day, that would be a first step. So in the first several months I watched my A1C go down from 7.5 to 7.1 to 6.8. At that point, that was "good enough" for my doctor, so she stopped having me get the A1C test every 3 months. I convinced her, though, that I needed to test at least three times a day and that I needed a prescription for 300 test strips every three months, and she complied with my request.

Year of Recipe Testing

In the summer and fall of 2014, our vegetarian daughter moved in with us in order to go to a local college, and so I put the low-carb approach on hold temporarily and focused on the vegetarian aspect. We stopped the Hebrew National® beef franks and ate more baked potatoes and Bob's Red Mill ten-grain hot cereal and bean thread with our bok choy tofu stir-fry. But we did have a lot of okra and raspberries and a green salad almost every day that she ate with us. I still cooked "from scratch" and used a lot of coconut oil and olive oil, but I didn't have time to keep a food journal.

I spent most of 2014 experimenting, trying new recipes, trying low-carb foods, trying high-carb foods, and testing to see how things affected my blood sugar. As with Feingold, I seemed to have to make the same mistakes over and over before I could become truly convinced of cause and effect. I asked a lot of questions and posted a lot of opinions on Adventist Vegetarian Diabetics and got very little response, and that was discouraging. I began to wonder if anyone was reading what I was posting. At one point I was so discouraged I fleetingly thought of just deleting the Facebook group, but when I even hinted toward that in a post, I got enough responses of encouragement to keep going with it. However, since it seemed that what people want most was information--especially recipes--and really did not want to have group conversations, I made the group Public: anyone on Facebook could see the posts and the member list, but only members ccould post. After a short time--and a member poll--I changed it back to a Closed Group.

Re-evaluating Goals

Now, as 2015 begins, it's time to re-evaluate not only my personal goals but the goals and purpose of this online community (even if the "community" feels a bit one-sided!). Perhaps my poll questions should not be for the purpose of gaining statistical data about the members, since such a very small percentage of the members even respond to the polls. Perhaps the purpose of a question--whether responded to or not--should simply be for the purpose of getting the members to think about a particular aspect of managing their diabetes. So I will be diligent in presenting a new question weekly and will not be concerned at all how--or if--it is responded to!

Today I'm beginning the food journal, again with a goal of <100 grams carbs per day and 70% of calories from fat. Thus begins my new diabetes journey.

Present Truth

Wikipedia defines "present truth" (in Adventist theology) as "a belief in truth as appropriate to any given time." But it is the dietary approach to diabetes management that especially needs application of present truth as I continue to research and sort through the plethora of conflicting ideas. Eden diet? Clean meat? Vegetarian? Vegan? Weimar/NEWSTART® diet? Atkins diet? Paleo/primal? Grain-free, gluten-free, corn-free, dairy-free, sugar-free? Low-carb, low-fat, low-calorie? Organic? Non-GMO? ADA, Dr. Mercola, Dr. Barnard, Dr. Bernstein?

"Prove all things; hold fast that which is good." It begins tomorrow!