So for about 2 years now my body has been a walking science experiment. Every three months I go in for bloodwork and on the basis of the results I adjust the drugs and vitamins I ingest and tinker with my exercise regimen. The goal is to get as close to normal HbA1c numbers, which are a measure of the average amount of Plasma Blood Glucose coursing through my veins. An average healthy person is generally around a 4.6 (glucose of 86). When I was initially diagnosed I was at a 7.4 (glucose of 186). The American Diabetes Association advises one to keep it under 6.2 (glucose of 143), and more progressive physicians will admit that the lower that number the better – even the ADA is hinting that they will be lowering their recommended numbers. For the second time I hit 4.9 (glucose of 97) on my numbers, and this time I did it without any prescription drugs. I seem to have experimented my way into a solution to my condition that makes me almost human normal, without the use of pharmacueticals. I’m actually immensely proud of this, hence this post. Even better though, while going over my numbers with me my doctor told me that I was the number 1 diabetic in the Intermed health system which services southern maine, in terms of my numbers and approach to managing my disease. He went on to talk me out of going back on statins to handle my cholesterol situation, on the basis that from his perspective I’m basically kicking ass and should stick with what I’m doing now – it’s working.

So. Yee fuckin ha! 😉 I can’t cure myself but I can manage it in a manner that makes me basically normal. I’ve concluded that they key contributing factors are:
Diet: low carb and low fat, lots of soy proteins, TONS of green vegetables. I generally eat less than 10g of carbohydrate per meal, with the exception that I don’t count the carbs in ‘safe’ green veggies like brocolli. Since low-carb and low fat means very hungry, I eat some fats, but mostly ‘smart’ healthy fats like those found in nuts (I possibly eat more nuts than any other human being – I calculated recently that I eat about $3.50 worth of almonds alone every day, and I eat walnuts and pecans as well).
Physical activity: I exercise 6 days a week. The most important piece of this is weight lifting – I do 30 minutes of fairly intense weight lifting 3 times a week.

That’s basically it. It took me almost 2 years to figure this out. A couple of folks have asked me to post more in depth examples of the kinds of things I eat, which I’ll do over the coming weeks. But one more thing I’ll add – another key thing I’ve learned – there’s no magic pill. This is not a disease the doctors can cure for you by giving you a few pills and sending you on your way. You need to get off your ass and work. There’s just no exception to this. Weight lifting is more important than cardio-vascular stuff, building muscle mass is what eats the sugars out of the system, but the cardio is important too for the longterm situation so it shouldn’t be neglected either.