Turning My Life Around

Dear Readers,

It will soon be Thanksgiving Holiday and I have major reasons to be thankful this year! At first, I didn't want to write about my health problems but I think sharing about it could perhaps benefit somebody.

Blurry vision, numb hands, excessive thirst, high blood pressure, extreme fatigue.  All the signs were there.  My doctor has ordered a bunch of blood tests and she told me that I was showing pre-diabetic  symptoms.  I felt stupid for not taking care of my health better. That was a wake-up call for me.   I am now working on a better eating plan and a better schedule so I can have a daily time to do physical exercise.     

I cut down on my sugar intake.  Less sweets for me and that includes not only chocolate and candies, but also sugar from fruits and from carbs like pasta, bread, rice, etc.  It is a difficult change and I am been having sugar withdrawal symptoms for weeks now but it had to be done because I am at risk of having a stroke or losing my vision, or losing my limbs.   It's not that serious yet but it will be if I don't change drastically how I eat and live.

I have been cooking everyday now and I am actually enjoying it.  Having control over what you eat is a very powerful feeling.  I buy more vegetables than usual so I  stop by the grocery store every two days on my way back from the office.  It's actually better this way because I can eat produce that are more fresh and it makes a big difference!

So now you know why I said I was feeling grateful.  If it wasn't for those warning signs, I would have never known that I was so sick.  It's better to react now than to have no clue and then die suddenly from a stroke.  This is why I had been blogging very little during the Dalicious Photo Contest.  I was feeling too ill at the start and then by the end I was busy cooking, working out and planning the next menu!  It is a huge change in my life but it's a good change.


Way too much bread!!!

I used to go the office without eating any breakfast, eat a huge lunch, then a huge dinner.  I was so starved up before each meal that I would eat twice more than what my body needed.  If you follow my Instagram, you know I blog about eating out quite often.  That's very bad because restaurants often gives you ginormous portions loaded with salt and fat.

A breakfast for two... or three persons.

The key is now to reduce my calorie intake but to eat more often so I don't feel starved and lose control when mealtime comes.  Instead of having two enormous meals a day, I changed to having three small meals and two healthy snacks per day:

1. breakfast
2. veggie snack 1
3. lunch
4. veggie snack 2
5. dinner

It's not rocket science but it's also important to choose the right food.  Not all vegetables are actually good because some do contain a lot of sugar or starch.  Fruits are often high in sugar too.  I didn't want sugar completely though.  During the weekends, I allow myself to eat one meal that is off menu like a small bowl of pasta or a sandwich.  Moderation is key.

I planned my new meals based on the Diabetic diet from the American Diabetes Association which has a fantastic website full of information. 

  

I hope my experience will maybe convince you of changing your lifestyle too if needed!  It's never a bad thing to see your doctor to check up on your health by the way.   

Hopefully my next blood tests will show some improvements in my condition but I think I am already feeling better now that I have started to implement changes to my lifestyle :)

A mountain of problems!