At 35, reality really sets in.
If we’ve been friends online for any amount of time, you know wellness is super important to me. I love sharing it, learning about it and living a healthy lifestyle. Over the last three years, I’ve shared by struggles and successes when it comes to my wellness journey. You all know I’m not a big fan of the scale but I’m a big fan of measuring my health by how I feel and how my clothes fit. But earlier this year, I was triggered to change my daily routine, change what I consume and change how I challenge my body.
Every year, for the last ten years, I’ve gone to get my annual physical. My weight is taken, my blood is drawn and the doctor asks if I have any concerns. For the last five years, I have been proactively seeking healthier choices. I eat balanced meals, I don’t eat junk food or processed food daily, I exercise 3-4 times a week – sometimes more (I do resistance training). But I had been stuck at the same weight and my A1C remained the same or increased. An A1C test a simple blood test that measures your average blood sugar levels over the past 3 months. This test is commonly used to diagnose prediabetes and diabetes.
My blood told me each time, I was prediabetic at 6.0.
So this past year, I went into my annual visit with my doctor and asked what I could do better to improve my A1C and lack of weight loss. His next two statements triggered me to make some wellness changes.
“You’re doing everything right. Keep doing what you are doing. Let’s also put you on diabetes medicine and a weight loss pill.”
Wait, what? That just didn’t sit well with me.
I rejected both. I did not ask for medicine. I asked the doctor if I could do something better in my daily habits. He again told me I was doing everything correctly and again offered me prescription drugs for weight loss.
I walked out of his office feeling like a failure. The only hope I had was that two months prior to this visit, I had completely cut carbs and sugar from my diet. It was a last ditch effort on my part to feel better and lose weight. It was a test for myself to see if cutting carbs was what my body needed me to do.
It seriously was a last ditch effort. Who wants to cut carbs? Who wants to cut sugar? Those are all the yummy foods! But I hadn’t done it before, so I gave it a try.
A day later, my AC1 blood test results came back. My A1C went from a 6.0 to a 5.4! Previously, my doctor had told me to have 30 grams of carbohydrates at each meal – since I was nearing prediabetes, that was the recommended amount they wanted me to consume. I did the opposite, and my blood work showed my body does not do well with carbs.
This was a major reality check for me. I had to take my wellness into a new direction.
Going Low Carb, Sugar Free
If you’ve been following along on my Instagram, you’ve seen me posting cleaner alternative and low carbs recipes. Going low carb was fairly easy since I have been gluten free for almost five years now. It was eliminating sugar that was tough for me. I love sweets! I’ll take sweet over savory any day. But let me tell you, it gets easier! Once you start eliminating carbs and sugar, you stop craving them. Trust me, I was a skeptic of that last statement too. But, it is true. It’s like magic.
I found great alternatives and really yummy recipes. I have a full blog all about going low carb, sugar free that I’m working on. Can’t wait to share it!
Technically, I went keto for those two months as a reset. Now, I’m just super low carb and focusing more on proteins, rather than fat. I’m also eliminating unnecessary chemicals and gravitating toward clean foods and ingredients. Am I perfect? NOPE. But that’s okay. Perfect would not be sustainable for me.
What’s Next?
Needless to say, I won’t be going back to that doctor. But I will be monitoring my blood work to make sure I’m staying on track. Have I lost weight, a few pounds. But I’m also lifting weights. And, I’m not getting on the scale anymore. My pants fit me loose and jackets that didn’t zip before, are now a little loose. So, yeah, I’m losing body fat.
As part of my journey, I’ve started to wake up earlier. Get my workout in. Go for more walks. And… wait for it…. I’ve been secretly incorporating cold showers into my mornings. I know that sounds like I’ve gone crazy. The girl who is ALWAYS cold, is taking cold showers? YUP! I am. And I love them! The energy and mood boost I get each time is incredible. It’s still not easy, but I’m hooked. So much so, that I plan to start adding cold plunges to my routine.
So much to look forward to and to share with you all. But honestly, listen to your body. I am beyond glad I did not just take the pills my doctor wanted me to take. I stuck to my gut and I’ve never felt better.
Have questions? Ask away! I love sharing about wellness.
XO, Marissa
