Disclaimer - I'm definitely not a professional on this topic, but we wanted to share our story with the hope of helping others going through similar situations.
Diabetes is kind of a taboo topic for many. To be honest, up until last year, I knew very little about it and I'm still learning. For more info on either type, check out
webmd. Last March/April (2014), Bryce started experiencing weird symptoms. I was in complete denial when Bryce told me that he thought he had diabetes.When we saw a Doctor, Bryce took a bunch of blood tests and they diagnosed him with diabetes then and there. His blood sugar numbers were a couple hundred higher than normal and we also found out that his A1C (average blood sugar over 3 months) was way higher than the 7% norm. That was really scary. He was given medication to help his body use insulin and we immediately changed our habits. I'm so excited to say that his numbers are normal now. Here are some of our progress pictures if you're interested in seeing the before. ;)
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Our "before" was a combination of genetics and mostly a war with our bad habits. We had been wanting to change, but we had no idea where to start. Before, we ate almost anything that we wanted to. We always had a lot of soda and other sugary drinks in our fridge. We would eat a lot of candy, we had no thought of portioning our meals, and many more little things that added up to a big problem. We really didn't try to control what we ate and we struggled with exercise. Let's be honest, we didn't exercise much at all. I'm not going to sugar-coat it, we had problems. Haha see what I did there. Anyway. Change is hard! We started walking, running, dancing, and Bryce played a lot of hockey. It wasn't easy to go from a sedentary lifestyle to an active one. If you're thinking of starting an exercise routine, it's going to be hard, but don't give up after a day. Keep going, it will get better!! (Says the slowest runner ever.) Hey, every effort counts... and just 30 minutes a day of exercise will change your life.
We're not the crash diet type, we like food too much. To make our new habits ones that we could follow through with, we had to allow foods we enjoy. The trick is to portion! Instead of eating 3 pieces of cheesecake in one sitting... you eat one piece every once in a while. You get to enjoy the food you like longer! There are tons of diets out there that say don't eat carbs and what not. I love pasta too much to quit it, so instead of quitting stuff like that, we just eat less of certain types of foods. It helps to see your plate as a way to portion. Here's an example...
We cut out a lot of sugar and started buying sugar-free alternatives (which take time to get used to). Something that really helps is tracking what we eat and the exercise we do during the day. It helps you see what you're putting into your body! (There are apps for that... we like MyFitnessPal.) An order of pasta at Olive Garden is around 1,100 calories. That doesn't include the drink, delicious buttery breadsticks, salad, or the dressing! (The average woman needs about 1,200 calories per day and the average man needs about 1,800 a day.) It's pretty crazy what you find out when you're keeping track of what you eat. Calories smalories, but it really does help to know what you're eating. Making changes really starts with your decision to either do something or stop doing something. Before, we were not the type to "count calories" or even the type to care. If you are hoping to make changes, you can do anything you put your mind to. In our case, we let pride and struggles get in the way of a healthy lifestyle. We learned that everyone deserves to be healthy! It's one of the best ways to show yourself self-love. There's no need for you to change to please anyone else or to fit a certain mold. I like this quote...
After Bryce was diagnosed with diabetes, we knew that things had to change and we wanted to change so much so that the diabetes wouldn't be welcome anymore. (As you lose weight, managing diabetes becomes easier. So... liveabetes!) As you can see from the pictures, Bryce not only lost a few pounds to make his diabetes manageable, he has gotten rid of 62 lbs and is continuing to work harder to reach his goals. He is one of the most dedicated people I know. I'm so proud of him and so grateful that he has helped me to make healthy changes as well. We both still have a ways to go, but we are happy to say that we have made changes that we are sticking with. If you made it this far in the post, thanks for reading! :) I just wanted to add that we wouldn't be where we are today without the help of a loving Heavenly Father. I know that He has helped us every step of the way and is helping us change for the better. We're grateful for the support of family and Bryce's coworkers/friends as well! Thank you so much!
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| My hero... I want to be like Bryce when I grow up ;) |
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| So proud of you, Bryce!! |
♥
