What's in a Name?

What’s in a Name? - part 1


People often assume I am on a “Keto diet”. As much as they assume knowing what all that entails.
Well, I am not on a diet, and do not follow the “Keto” rules, but at the same time I’ve learned that the easiest way to prevent a lengthy conversation is to simply nod “yeah” on the “you’re doing Keto, right?” remark and be over with it. Because in case someone is really interested, a whole series of questions will follow. And then you get me started because it’s worth the talking when ears are open wide.

So what do I do? I follow the pillars of the Dutch “Reverse Diabetes 2 Now” program:
·      *   Nutrition
·      *  Exercise
·      * Sleep
·      * Relaxation
·      * Medication decrease
It is this cocktail that has brought me where I am today, and which I will be teaching. Not just a diet, as nutrition is only one part of the process and what we do is supposed to be a lifestyle. Let that sink in: a lifelong commitment. For the rest of your life, eat differently from what you’ve taken so far, and perhaps different from what your family and/or friends are eating (not to mention their opinions).
Do you know anyone getting sober or quitting smoking? Some will take the drastic step of going cold turkey and dive right in, where others prefer weaning off during a process of weeks, months or even longer. Take heart, you will have both options as well for your adaptation to this new lifestyle. You may ease into this “for the rest of your life” habit and take all the time you need. Isn’t that comforting?

Evelien                       

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Turning my Mess into a Message

Image
 In August 2017, in the middle of the night at the Mount Sinaï Hospital in NYC, the doctor finally came in with the results: “the good news is that it wasn’t a heart attack, but the not so good news is that we found a few other things; (…) you need to drastically change your life”, adding that as a first step I should earnestly exercise for an hour a day. I already had been diagnosed with Diabetes 2 for 8 years and injecting insulin for 5 years, gradually adding cardiovascular medication to my growing list of medications. Since this confronting conversation, I started a difficult and often confusing process to change from the always-tired grumpy old woman I had been for so long, into the energetic feeling-10-years-younger I am today, no longer using insulin while reducing all other medication. I count myself very fortunate and privileged to have been given this chance, and having received so much support from both my husband as...
Read more

What's in a name - part 2

Image
What’s in a Name – part 2 And the name of the program: “Healing Diabetes”? Even though that I no longer am insulin dependent, I am not truly healed from my Diabetes 2, however I no longer need medical intervention. Think of it as an allergy: if you are allergic to, say, Polar Bears, you can manage that allergy by moving to the Tropics: no Polar Bears, thus no allergic reaction, and no more allergy medication – but to consider yourself “healed” from your Polar Bear allergy would be too far-fetched. Get it? If you treat your Diabetes 2 as an allergy to certain food groups, you can live a very healthy life just like non-Diabetics by relocating from “What-Everyone-Is-Eating”-land to “What-Allows-Me-To-Live-Without-Medication”-land. And similar to the move from the Arctic to the Tropics, this will introduce you to new types of food, a different way of physically moving through life, sleep and relaxation. Exciting!   Hence, rather than suggesting this program will be heali...
Read more

What Insulin do you use?

Image
  What Insulin do you use? On a Sunday morning, two years ago, staying home to stay off the street. A WhatsApp message from our son, staying at a friend’s house:     “Which insulin do you use?”               Me: “Levemir and Novorapid”               He: “Apparently, the MD pharmacy has some”      Me: “thanks, but I have quite a stock already”      He: “I’m bombarded with help here for if you need insulin”.      (..)        He: “B.Supermarket carries it also quite often, but at $70 per pen –                       they tell me here that that’s   very expensive”. Oh, those sweet friends and parents of friends, sending messages from here to there, pointing each other to where insulin can be found, which pharmacy is functioning, what other places have started suppl...
Read more