Linking Diabetics Coast 2 Coast
Back to the Blog - Cleansing? Me?
It has been a few years now since I posted anything. Mainly because as my son got older I became less involved in his diabetes management. He is now 18 and feeling very independent. His diabetes management could still use some work, but I think he will be okay in the long run.
The reason I am starting this up again is because I am starting a dietary cleanse that I thought might be of interest to somebody out there. It is something my chiropractor recommended to me, and I tried it a few months ago and had incredible results.
Let me back up though and tell you why somebody like me would do something called a cleanse.
I was in a car accident 6 years ago. I was a passenger. We spun out on the freeway at 65 mph and hit the inside divider. I was thrown against the seat belt, which broke 2 of my ribs on the left side. For 2 months I was unable to lie flat, and had to sleep in my reclining chair.
I went through months and months of physical therapy and chiropractic treatment. My back has never been the same. Just over a year ago, my back suddenly got worse. I had pain shooting down my leg whenever I would stand up. I was unable to continue my job as an electrician. I went on disability and started getting to know a lot of doctors. I was referred to a surgeon, who ordered an MRI. It showed that the 3 lower disks in my spine were herniated and at least one of them was pinching the sciatic nerve in my left leg. He recommended a 3-disk replacement with these new titanium disks they have.
Not wanting to volunteer for a major surgery, unless it is a last resort, I started researching the problem. I got a second, third, fourth, and fifth opinion. I have talked to well over 10 doctors about what to do, and they all say something different. However, none of them, except the surgeon, thought a 3-disk replacement was a good idea.
So I went to physical therapy. Then I went to more physical therapy. Then I was told my insurance would not cover any more physical therapy, but they started covering chiropractic. I found a chiropractor who did this procedure called spinal decompression. He had me lay on a machine that would stretch out my spine and relax. Stretch and relax. It seemed to be helping, at least for the short term.
He also had me working out with his exercise therapist. I had put on quite a bit of weight, and my general physician told me my blood sugar was a little high. Being involved in the diabetes world has taught me that I need to do something about this as soon as possible. If he is showing it is 110, then I still have time to do something about it.
He then recommended that I try this cleanse. It is through a group called The Metabolic Edge. I am very skeptical about things like cleanses, but I am also the kind of person who has to try something before I can have an opinion on it. They told me I would probably lose weight, and lower my blood pressure.
Not knowing much about what a cleanse was, I jumped into it. It was not cheap, and I am on a tight budget. In fact, I am not even able to pay all of my bills every month. But I reached the point where I am willing to try just about anything that might get me back to work.
I think the fact that I had to sacrifice so much money was part of what kept me going through the 28-day program. Any time I felt like straying from it, I would think about how much I was paying to do this, and how stupid it would be to not follow it 100%.
The 28-days was rough. The first week was the worst. I had not realized how attached I was to food. All I could think about was eating pizza on day 29! I didn't feel very good the first week, and I was constantly hungry. I called in to ask about this, and they had me increase my fat intake to get rid of the hunger.
I had cut out all soy, wheat, dairy, caffeine, alcohol, and most of the salt from my diet. I ate a lot of veggies and some meat. I was allowed a minimal amount of brown rice and fruit. Everything I ate was organic. It is a very low-carb program, so if you have diabetes, you probably want to consult with your doctor and educator about temporarily changing your insulin dose or other meds before trying something like this.
Wheat and soy were the hardest for me to drop. Wheat based products include: bread, pasta, tortillas, and everything I love to eat. Soy is in almost everything that comes in a package. Many people were surprised to hear that soy was not allowed, because we have been told that soy is good for you. Turns out that soy is okay if you only eat a little, but when they put it in everything, it is not so good. It can cause bloating, mood swings, and a bunch of other problems. Who knew?
I lost 12 pounds the first week. It was mostly water weight. They say you can only lose 2 pounds of fat per week. Any more is either water or muscle mass. My first week was a constant battle with food. I never realized how much junk I ate. Every time I got in the car I was having an internal battle in my brain about whether or not I should go through a drive-thru and grab a cheeseburger. Or should I get a sandwich. I new I shouldn't, but the habit was deep. Somehow I managed to pass on everything.
The cleanse also involved a lot of protein shakes. These turned out to be better than I thought. They offered chocolate and vanilla flavored. I love the chocolate shakes, and I still haven't tried the vanilla. Also a detox tea, and a few other things that can be used to help you make it through the difficult cravings.
I ended up losing 26 pounds over the 28 weeks, which was great! I went down a couple of sizes on my pants. But I was also able to go off of my blood pressure medication. I have been on blood pressure medication for 13 years, and during this cleanse my blood pressure dropped so low that I almost passed out during and exercise session. I stopped taking the meds and my doctor told me my blood pressure was fine. This lasted through the rest of the cleanse, but when I went back to eating normally my blood pressure shot back up and I started taking the meds again.
I also had high cholesterol. At the end of the cleanse I had my blood tested, and my cholesterol was back down to a safe level. I felt incredible. I no longer craved food. I could have 2 or 3 protein shakes a day and not feel like I needed to eat anything.
Since I finished the cleanse, I have gradually been going back to my old ways. I have put on 6 pounds and I am back to eating all of the foods that I shouldn't be eating. So I decided I am going to try it again. This time a bunch of my friends are doing it with me, because they saw what it did for me.
This is day 1 of my second go at it.
I will try to keep you posted!
The reason I am starting this up again is because I am starting a dietary cleanse that I thought might be of interest to somebody out there. It is something my chiropractor recommended to me, and I tried it a few months ago and had incredible results.
Let me back up though and tell you why somebody like me would do something called a cleanse.
I was in a car accident 6 years ago. I was a passenger. We spun out on the freeway at 65 mph and hit the inside divider. I was thrown against the seat belt, which broke 2 of my ribs on the left side. For 2 months I was unable to lie flat, and had to sleep in my reclining chair.
I went through months and months of physical therapy and chiropractic treatment. My back has never been the same. Just over a year ago, my back suddenly got worse. I had pain shooting down my leg whenever I would stand up. I was unable to continue my job as an electrician. I went on disability and started getting to know a lot of doctors. I was referred to a surgeon, who ordered an MRI. It showed that the 3 lower disks in my spine were herniated and at least one of them was pinching the sciatic nerve in my left leg. He recommended a 3-disk replacement with these new titanium disks they have.
Not wanting to volunteer for a major surgery, unless it is a last resort, I started researching the problem. I got a second, third, fourth, and fifth opinion. I have talked to well over 10 doctors about what to do, and they all say something different. However, none of them, except the surgeon, thought a 3-disk replacement was a good idea.
So I went to physical therapy. Then I went to more physical therapy. Then I was told my insurance would not cover any more physical therapy, but they started covering chiropractic. I found a chiropractor who did this procedure called spinal decompression. He had me lay on a machine that would stretch out my spine and relax. Stretch and relax. It seemed to be helping, at least for the short term.
He also had me working out with his exercise therapist. I had put on quite a bit of weight, and my general physician told me my blood sugar was a little high. Being involved in the diabetes world has taught me that I need to do something about this as soon as possible. If he is showing it is 110, then I still have time to do something about it.
He then recommended that I try this cleanse. It is through a group called The Metabolic Edge. I am very skeptical about things like cleanses, but I am also the kind of person who has to try something before I can have an opinion on it. They told me I would probably lose weight, and lower my blood pressure.
Not knowing much about what a cleanse was, I jumped into it. It was not cheap, and I am on a tight budget. In fact, I am not even able to pay all of my bills every month. But I reached the point where I am willing to try just about anything that might get me back to work.
I think the fact that I had to sacrifice so much money was part of what kept me going through the 28-day program. Any time I felt like straying from it, I would think about how much I was paying to do this, and how stupid it would be to not follow it 100%.
The 28-days was rough. The first week was the worst. I had not realized how attached I was to food. All I could think about was eating pizza on day 29! I didn't feel very good the first week, and I was constantly hungry. I called in to ask about this, and they had me increase my fat intake to get rid of the hunger.
I had cut out all soy, wheat, dairy, caffeine, alcohol, and most of the salt from my diet. I ate a lot of veggies and some meat. I was allowed a minimal amount of brown rice and fruit. Everything I ate was organic. It is a very low-carb program, so if you have diabetes, you probably want to consult with your doctor and educator about temporarily changing your insulin dose or other meds before trying something like this.
Wheat and soy were the hardest for me to drop. Wheat based products include: bread, pasta, tortillas, and everything I love to eat. Soy is in almost everything that comes in a package. Many people were surprised to hear that soy was not allowed, because we have been told that soy is good for you. Turns out that soy is okay if you only eat a little, but when they put it in everything, it is not so good. It can cause bloating, mood swings, and a bunch of other problems. Who knew?
I lost 12 pounds the first week. It was mostly water weight. They say you can only lose 2 pounds of fat per week. Any more is either water or muscle mass. My first week was a constant battle with food. I never realized how much junk I ate. Every time I got in the car I was having an internal battle in my brain about whether or not I should go through a drive-thru and grab a cheeseburger. Or should I get a sandwich. I new I shouldn't, but the habit was deep. Somehow I managed to pass on everything.
The cleanse also involved a lot of protein shakes. These turned out to be better than I thought. They offered chocolate and vanilla flavored. I love the chocolate shakes, and I still haven't tried the vanilla. Also a detox tea, and a few other things that can be used to help you make it through the difficult cravings.
I ended up losing 26 pounds over the 28 weeks, which was great! I went down a couple of sizes on my pants. But I was also able to go off of my blood pressure medication. I have been on blood pressure medication for 13 years, and during this cleanse my blood pressure dropped so low that I almost passed out during and exercise session. I stopped taking the meds and my doctor told me my blood pressure was fine. This lasted through the rest of the cleanse, but when I went back to eating normally my blood pressure shot back up and I started taking the meds again.
I also had high cholesterol. At the end of the cleanse I had my blood tested, and my cholesterol was back down to a safe level. I felt incredible. I no longer craved food. I could have 2 or 3 protein shakes a day and not feel like I needed to eat anything.
Since I finished the cleanse, I have gradually been going back to my old ways. I have put on 6 pounds and I am back to eating all of the foods that I shouldn't be eating. So I decided I am going to try it again. This time a bunch of my friends are doing it with me, because they saw what it did for me.
This is day 1 of my second go at it.
I will try to keep you posted!
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