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Being that this is my last blog, i want to make it good, highlighting all the good things that have happened in the past few months and all the downfalls as well. 

- Beginning of September - This was probably the hardest time for me, trying to find where i fit in with the diabetes world, of what am i allowed to eat or not, filled with so many questions. There was so many times where i just felt stuck of not wanting to eat because i thought everything was wrong. Yet once i got into the routine of going to the gym everyday, it got easier because you’re also focused on how to have a better shape for your body. Also having to take the medication everyday can be hard, even just remembering to do it is an adjustment.

- October- I had started my sessions with my trainer, seeing him once a week yet going to the gym about 4 days a week. Taking pre-workout to make more alive when being sore or just when i wanted to give up. It was starting to be fun to be in this lifestyle of talking to my nutritionist, going to the gym, eating healthy, and just overall having a routine.

- November/December - I was continuing on this same routine, eating good for the most part, the most is i would have a cookie here and there but overall my body was simply progressing. In addition, i had a doctors appointment before thanksgiving in which my nutritionist told me how much i’ve changed in a good way. They spoke about how my scores have lowered drastically and how proud she was of me and my accomplishments, i almost cried.

As you can see these past few months have been a journey, trying to change my life around for the better with the new discovery that came into the picture. 

From this point on, i plan to stay on this journey even with all of the holidays that pass by like Christmas, being that it’s coming up and theres going to be a lot of temptations. However my mindset is to just eat good and healthy now because then i’ll be able to eat even better after. 

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Well as we know, thanksgiving just passed and that’s the day that you eat too much that you can bare. I had no intentions of keeping to my healthy lifestyle with all of the mac and cheese, rice, beans, turkey, and sweet potato being in my face. However i had to eat a proportion size of each item, just trying to not overdue on pasta or rice, to not have too much of the carbs. Yet i really did enjoy everything and getting to finally eat what i want. 

As i speak to my nutritionist, she always encourages me to do that for my weeks or especially when a holiday is coming. Plan according to it, eat healthy all week and then for that special day, cheat on what you normally eat. Not saying you should do this often but once in a while it’s never bad.

So for the next few weeks i plan to eat good and go to the gym as much as i can because i have winter break coming up. I’m going to try to work out a lot because i’m not sure if i’m going to be able to go to the closest New York Sports Club( my gym) when i’m home. It’s about like 30 min away from my house so i would have to figure out a train system to get there and back. 

Getting through the holidays it probably the worst thing, trying to hold yourself back from all the goodness.

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Seeing how i haven’t been due a blog in a few weeks, i haven’t been writing my progress down. However on Monday at 1:30, i had an appointment with my nutritionist to talk about my results of my blood tests after 3 months being on my diabetes medication. She told me how she’s been looking forward to our phone call because she had such great news to tell me. All of my scores dropped, i went from having an a1c of 9.5 when the amount you should have is below 7, well now it came out to be 6.5. As she told me the results, i had tears falling down my face, i was so happy after all the hard work i’ve put into changing my whole diet and lifestyle. 

She go into each test and their result, a lot of them dropped by almost half in size. She went on and on how proud she was of my development, she was probably more excited than i was. Yet once she told me that there was a chance of me getting rid of my diabetes, i’ve never been more happier. The thought about how when i first found out about my diabetes that my life was over to now knowing there was a chance it could be gone in a few months was amazing. 

Each time i told a new person the results, they responded by saying how proud they were of me and how they really saw a transformation from who i was before. Going into how the minute i heard the news of me being diabetic, how i started to going to the gym so regularly and switched up my diet. 

Ps. Just wanted to share this picture of me and my two friends at the gym

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I’ve been showing you how much progress i’ve been making with learning to live with diabetes however i haven’t shown you the raw parts to it all. I don’t wake up everyday wanting to eat healthy or go the gym, sometimes i wake up so lazy or just want a nice big bowl of pasta.

Granted that i actually can have pasta but not so much in one week, but sometimes it’s hard to always stick with a routine. I also forget to take my pills once in a while, having to put a reminder on my phone that never goes away. I feel like the pills can make me nauseous sometimes, I haven’t figured out if it’s because i haven’t eaten enough or just because the pills are a lot. A lot in the sense that my body isn’t used to them because sometimes i will forget. 

Late at night when i forget to eat to eat during the day, i find myself wanting to order dominos or Chinese. Both of those option contain a lot of carbs, that eventually turn into sugar. Makes me wish sometimes that the good tasting things like Chinese or pizza didn’t exist. Having to see all the food that i can’t have, makes me want it more occasionally. 

Everyone that is good with their fitness whether it’s what they eat or how often they go to the gym , you’re going to have these days. The days where you’re tempted to go back on everything really do test you and should overall motivate you to do better. If you ever give in to those temptations, i’ve learned that it’s normal and you’ll just have to go to the gym a little harder that week. I just have to think about what the goals are and only allow myself to a treat once a week. 

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This week I’m going to bring you into the life of talking to a nutritionist and how weird that can be. For one, you guys get personal real quick, in the sense that you guys are completely honest with one another. So she knew i go out sometimes and what would be the most healthiest way to go about that. 

The picture i have above is the first page of the menu my nutritionist emailed me after we spoke on the phone. As the email goes on, it shows what are good substitutes for each meal such as breakfast, lunch and dinner. It explains how much of it as well, just so you know your limits. We talked about trying to see everything going on as a change but not dramatically. She told me that she didn’t want me to think my life is over, or really change much. If i wanted to have pasta, that i should but work around it all week. So if i know i’m going to have the pasta, i’ll get a lot of vegetables and protein, or salads, something that’s going according to my new diet. 

It was cool to just speak to someone that understands how the change can feel to be a lot and that your whole life is shifting. She was also so proud that i started to go to the gym as much as i do now. Overall hearing the things she had to say made me feel way more content with having diabetes, i’ve even shared this menu with my friends and family. My mom wanted to follow the same diet as i was, being her being diabetic as well. My friend has been trying to watch his weight and go to the gym, so he wanted a good diet. I loved being able to share that with others and not having to feel like it was weird what i was eating, like sugar free foods. 

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As my blogs go you know that i’m always talking about my progress with my diabetes and how i’m learning to do my new normal. Well as i stated before, I was trying out having a trainer for the gym and I have to say that I absolutely love it. Each day that i go to the gym, which is about 4/5 days a week, I am given a list of things I need to do and it’s been a lot. It’s usually like a set of things that i need to do and each time, my trainer goes over what each of them are. I included a picture of just one of the many programs i’m given, also I only get given one of these on the days that I don’t meet with him since I only see him once a week. 

The confidence that I have gained from having this trainer is amazing, the whole reason I did this was to make a change to have a healthier lifestyle. But I never expected to see so much progress, I’ve been seeing my stomach get flatter and my butt get bigger to be honest. I’ve been taking progress pictures to see the difference and I really do, plus my friends have been telling me they see a difference as well. 

With this change in my lifestyle, each week i go and buy groceries which includes a lot of vegetables, sugar free snacks, and just some easy meals that i can whip up. I admit, I don’t make food really because I’m lazy and just don’t really have time to do it with working, school, and gym. Usually i go to the cafeteria at my school but usually i’ll get a healthy wrap or something that isn’t terrible. 

However each day i feel healthier and more confident so I’m starting to like this new normal honestly. 

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[living-with-diabetes-so-young]

Imagine living your everyday life of eating not unhealthy but just normal food like burgers, pasta, rice, and many more similar foods and then having to stop cold turkey. About 3 weeks ago i found out i was diabetic and had to stop eating everything i was having and had to switch to eating a healthier lifestyle. I’m not a big person, pretty small actually, so it’s not that i need to lose weight however i now have to take pills after breakfast and dinner to lower my sugar. In addition, i have to go to the gym regularly which i don’t mind as much, it’s giving me a reason to not be as lazy. Switching your eating habits around isn’t an easy task, i’ve had to buy all my little snacks sugar free which they don’t have in every grocery store. And eating at college is even worse because everything is fried or even if i were to get a salad, you’re still left hungry. 

The crazy part to it all is that I just received these news and i’m only the age of 21. Almost everyone in my family was diagnosed with diabetes so I knew eventually I would receive the news however i though it would be when i was in my 40s or 50s. Then going to all these doctors, you learn about the two different types of diabetes and Im in the middle between the two. Type 1 is when a person is born with diabetes and having to have something attached to you. Yet with type 2, my mom and others got it when they were in their 40s and 50s and they take pills. For me though, I take pills to lower my sugar yet Im still so young. 

I was so scared when i heard these news, thinking my life was ending and thinking I never want to eat again but now I’m learning to live with it and figured out that i was being completely dramatic. It’s not a diet or anything, it’s just a change to new lifestyle which is to just be healthy on the inside and outside.