New host!

For all my wordpress.com subscribers(not email subscribers, but people who are hosted and have a blog on wordpress.com). Since there is no way to export your contact information to my new host please visit my site http://www.myt1dlife.com/  and please “subscribe via email ” to follow me and stay current on my blog!

I will try to update this mirror site for the next blog post so that you receive notification, but the email links will not work so please update your subscription on my newly hosted site.

 

Thank you!

I’m Back!

Did you miss me? I know I did! I have truly wanted to be more dedicated to this blog but the past couple months have been a little rough for me. (I know, not a good enough excuse!) In one of my previous posts I let everyone know that I was going to try nutritional ketosis, by which my body would effectively use fat as it’s primary fuel.

Let me tell you as a Type 1 diabetic this is not easy to do! I was inspired to do it by others seeking its health benefits, however these people are not necessarily Type 1s. Truthfully I haven’t been blogging because I have been very disappointed with my attempt and the results. Unfortunately, I could not control my numbers good enough to get my body into nutritional ketosis. In fact, I had some horrible numbers! Or at least much higher than I want to be in the high 100s. Now I know some diabetics think this is OK, however, it is my opinion that it is NOT OK. Although it is harder to control, I know that having consistently high blood sugars is not good for the body, and with work and diligence it is possible to get them closer to normal. Not to mention these high numbers didn’t work for me because you can’t possibly get your body in nutritional ketosis if your body is running off of sugar. I haven’t read anything that confirms some sort of cutoff but I am thinking that if you are consistently over 120, your body is NOT running off of fat and you cannot get into nutritional ketosis. Since I couldn’t keep my numbers low enough, this wasn’t happening.

But why couldn’t I? I felt like I had enough knowledge and gumption to do it but why were my numbers always so high? Let’s review. It is my own conclusion that digestion plays a large role in a diabetics life as well. First of all if you are eating high fat, which is required to get your body into nutritional ketosis, your digestion will be much slower. This is something I had not considered previously.

Also, I had read that if you eat pure fat then your blood sugar should not rise. Yet, unless your drinking cups of olive oil or eating sticks of butter for dinner (both gross and strange!) then you are going to see a rise in blood sugar when you eat. Even if you eat no carbs, if you are eating something high in fat but also containing protein (salmon, beef) then most surely you will see a rise in blood sugar due to gluconeogenesis. For a non-diabetic it may not be pronounced because their immune system and pancreas is functioning properly, but in a Type 1 pretty much everything you put in your mouth with very few exceptions causes blood sugar to rise and I stick by that.

I also believe I had a problem because I feel we diabetics have an overeating problem. This I believe for several reasons, some biological and some psychological. Looking back, my portions have been too large. I am fairly petite but I have been puttin’ it away so to speak. Conceptually I was thinking to myself, “eat more fat! OK I’ll eat MORE FAT!” It is not necessarily about MORE than it is about ratio. I mean it is just not realistic to be eating hamburger meat ALL DAY LONG!

Lastly, I feel I failed because I have not yet moved past the indoctrination of “eat three square meals a day” or “eat frequently throughout the day.” Really now. If I have eaten something high fat and protein in the morning I am usually not ready to eat by noon. When I stop and listen to my body I end up eating lunch as part of the routine instead of being hungry.

Am I said it didn’t work out? A bit yes. But if we do not experiment we will never know. I am the scientist of my own body. I am sure I will try again. For the moment I am going to take a little step back and refocus on keeping my blood sugar in check before anything else. Then I can move forward again with another round of experimentation, which I am already planning. Next time around I am going to use a different strategy. To share, I am going to start recording my actual data. As much as I can help myself, if there is no one out there recording their experiments for others to analyze then how can we help each other? Look out for upcoming posts that will fill you in on when I start this, what I will do and what my objectives will be!

Rome Wasn’t Built In A Day

I’ve been MIA for a few weeks switching web hosts and working on my website.   But now I’m up and running again.  I plan to blog more consistently now.  I’m going to try and hold myself to that!

In my blogging “downtime” I’ve also been working on my website http://www.modernprimalexchange.com.  My initial vision for this website came after I realized there was no central resource for the paleo/ancestral/primal community (you can call it whatever you like).  My goal is for it to become a comprehensive list of all things primal: doctors, co-ops, dietitians, restaurants, books, links and more.  Some may think this is an ambitious undertaking but my reason for doing it anyway is three-fold.

One, as with all other “fad diets” (I don’t consider eating primal a diet, rather a lifestyle), I feel the focus ends up on marketing and making money.  This is not to say there isn’t money to be made off of this up and coming health market but it is very different.  It is not a get rich and get out kind of deal.  There are a lot of real people out there starting to take notice of the health benefits paleo affords and these people want true and quality products and services with the intention of receiving this long term.  Also, There are some great things happening in the paleo community but I as a mother of two small children cant participate in a paleo based event that lasts for three days and costs me just under $1000 just for registration.  That to me just isn’t realistic.  Connecting with those who make the same lifestyle choices as me should be much easier and much cheaper.  My fear is that by doing this, the paleo/primal movement will pigeon-hole itself and become just another trendy/fad weight-loss scheme.  We all know it is much more than that.  We should be setting it up for success.

Reason number two.  After being told I was Type 1 diabetic I thought about a lot of things.  I could continue to eat the was I was eating and allow diabetes complications to slowly kill me over time or I could choose to be proactive.  I chose the latter.  As any diabetic knows, it is not just a disease cured by taking insulin.  It is a daily battle with my own body.  Having two tiny innocent children I had to stop and think about what my actions will teach my children, from a health perspective as well as regarding character.  I would never wish diabetes on my children and if there is anything I can do to prevent my children from going through what I go through everyday then I will do it! Nuff said.  Thus, I am vocal.  Creating http://www.modernprimalexchange.com is part of my voice.  Who knows if anyone is listening.  But who am I if I choose to stay quiet?

Three. As I mentioned above, my children get a sense of my character not just by what I say but by what I do in conjunction with those words.  It is my duty to my children to lead by example.

With that said, http://www.modernprimalexchange.com is my passion.  It may be rather empty now but I am patient.  It will come together one day at a time and grow into something wonderful and useful.  Obviously the title of this post applies here.

If you know of any great low-carb doctors, or awesome CSAs in your community, or would really love to share an amazing book others should read, please let me know and I will gladly put it up on the site.  Here is your chance to get involved and participate in this growing health movement!