I was looking through old photos today and found one from a camping trip from several years ago. I look miserable! I was miserable! I was so obese that I barely fit into my camp chair. My legs and feet were swollen, and the skin on my legs was dark brown, red, and even purple in patches. The skin on my lower legs was painful to touch, and I worried constantly that I would develop ulcers that would not heal. My feet were constantly calloused and would crack and bleed no matter what I tried.
My blood sugars back then were considered “well controlled” as a type one diabetic, and my A1cs were around 6.5 to 7, which is considered good. My doctors were pleased and told me to keep doing what I was doing: “keep aiming for blood glucose of 140 – 160 mg/dl!” They did suggest losing some weight — eating less fat and walking more! There was never any mention of reducing carbohydrates, and I was still following the dietitian’s recommendation of 40 carbs per meal.
I was having daily blood glucose highs around 200-300 mg/dl and frequent, sudden lows around 40 mg/dl. I was drinking 4 to 6 juice boxes per week to treat hypos. Digesting food was a struggle — I could never seem to get my digestive timing right. Doctors told me that I would never improve. It was just something I would have to deal with. I had serious concerns about the future and worried that I would suffer the fate of so many other diabetics who had lost toes, feet, and even legs. It was a hopeless feeling.
Now, I look at different photo of me taken in 2019 after a year and a half on a ketogenic “Keto” diet. I had lost 128 lbs (58 kg) at this point, and I am feeling great, with my blood sugars stable and within the normal range (70-100 mg/dl) for more than 90% of the day.
But the thing that I notice most in the second photo is the skin on my legs! My skin has improved tremendously. Changing my diet by eliminating carbs and vegetable oils, and reducing my insulin requirements, is actually helping my body heal from the damage caused by all those prior years of higher A1c’s and blood glucose excursions.
Feeding my body the right kinds of food, eliminating most carbohydrates, and reintroducing healthy fats has changed everything. It feels amazing to look down and know that my body is healing from the inside out, and that now I have a much better chance of living out the rest of my life with all my toes and my feet.
