My name is Mike P. I am 45 years old. I have been a diabetic for over 10 years. I have had problems keeping my sugar levels balanced at an acceptable range according to medical standards. My sugars have been as high as 624 at times to the low 60s. Crazy! I am 5’8 about 209lbs currently. I was 250lbs about 4 years ago. I was brought into the emergency room for pneumonia, dehydration, and my glucose level was at 624. I spent about one week in the CCU, healing and getting my sugars under control. After that, I began to change my diet because the doctors told me I needed to lose weight and maintain my sugar level range between 70-110, all of which I knew. So I stopped drinking soda, started walking, changed what I ate, lost some weight, and felt a little better. My doctor then changed my medications. I was still eating lean meats, walking, and exercising, however, the weight loss came to a halt. My glucose levels were still in the 200 range while on metformin. I was irritated and frustrated because I was eating lean, exercising, taking my medications, but not losing any more weight. My endocrinologist told me he was changing my meds again. He accused me of eating too much. I shared with him my meals that I kept in my journal of what I was consuming, and the portions I was having, but he didn’t believe me. Instead, he prescribed me two daily injections. One was in the morning for appetite control, called Victoza, and another was in the evening, called Toujeo, for a long-lasting insulin. I was on these medications for 2 months and I gained 21 lbs. I shared this with my physician, and told him something was wrong. He said I was eating too much. Not true. My wife had watched me throw up regularly not eating anything and being constantly nauseated, feeling weak, dehydrated, with my sugar levels still climbing into the 250-300 range. I couldn’t believe what I was putting my body through. I work in healthcare. So I checked with pharmacists, other physicians, and fellow coworkers, and all of them were baffled of the side effects that were taking place. I stopped all injections and told my physician my body was not accepting them. So he wanted to continue the medication and I said enough. I felt better after I stopped, but my glucose numbers were still high. I went for an eye exam and the doctor said there was major bleeding in my eye, possibly a detaching of the retina. Great. All I needed to hear. Another problem in my life. I have severe allergies, asthma, swelling of my legs, diabetes and now had an eye vision problem due to diabetes. What else can go wrong? Lord take me now. I shared my issues with my friend Tyson and he shared with me about changing my diet to a fat-adapted diet, or keto. He shared of his research about fats and protein and that the lean stuff was not what it’s all made up to be. I listened and said why not try it. I started about 7 months ago, eating just meat, including steak, organic beef, eggs, and bacon. I was not consistent with this diet, but for the most part, I was really watching what I ate. I tried staying away from carbs and sugar. Sometimes I failed. It wasn’t easy. I kept thinking this isn’t right. Society says if you eat this stuff (meat, eggs, butter, fat), that you’ll have a heart attack. At first, I gained like 8 pounds. Tyson said, be patient and let your body adapt. And granted, I wasn’t fully perfect on my diet. I may have cheated here and there, but for the most part, I was eating as he said to. By the end of the first month, I had lost that weight I gained initially when I first started. I also felt more energized, and more alive! Not sluggish, but ready to do more things. I went down a pant size. I was feeling pretty good. But more impressively, in the first 6 months, my eye sight had returned to normal again. No more bleeding vessels. No more risk of detached retina. My sugars had balanced out to being around in the 120’s, at the highest. And again, that is not even being fully committed to the fat-adapted diet. My optometrist was so impressed, he asked me what I had been doing to control my diabetes so well that my eyes were healing. He said to keep it up, whatever I was doing. My eye X-rays showed the progress from what it looked like to what it currently looks like, a normal looking eye-ball. Wow. I have just recently begun to be fully committed to the fat-adapted lifestyle. I’m meal prepping now and can already see my belly fat decreasing. I continue to feel stronger daily. All I can say is, Thank you to Tyson for sharing your knowledge and changing my life.
