Pre-diabetes

{What I am about to write does not apply to those with an underlying medical or hormonal condition. I advise anyone embarking on a weight loss and fitness plan to have a thorough medical evaluation. You want to be sure that you are physically able to exercise and you don’t have any underlying medical conditions.}

Generally speaking pre-diabetes is a warning sign of a problem with carbohydrate metabolism and a potential precursor to diabetes.   Clinically defined, it is when a fasting blood sugar reading is between 100 and 126.  It is a condition in which their is a potential that either not enough insulin is produced by the body, or the body’s tissues are resistant to insulin’s effects.  Insulin is responsible for the metabolism of glucose.  Glucose is the catabolic end product of all dietary, starchy carbohydrates; not matter how simple or how complex, starchy,  dietary carbs are broken down into glucose

I am not going to get into a nuanced posting of metabolism, physiology, absorption, insulin resistance, etc..   For the science and studies you can read Gary Taube’s book or check out Jimmy Moore’s Livin La Vida Low Carb Blog.

What motivated today’s posting was an event that happened about a month ago.  I had friend stop by the office and tell me he had just diagnosed with pre-diabetes.  He is a driven person, very successful, owning several business, and probably one of the most intelligent people I know.   However, when it comes to taking care of himself, he is grossly negligent.   He is overweight to the point of boarding on obesity and doesn’t exercise at all.  I have been on his case for the better part of a year to get on my program, but, he has always had every excuse under the sun.

Last month the bell went off.  He came into my office and said to me, “Well, you were right, I am slowly killing myself.”   He went on to tell me his diagnosis and flatly stated, “I’m ready.”

He then showed me the diet he had been following for the last four weeks.  It was the one his medical doctor prescribed for him — it was the standard, limited calorie, low-fat, high carb diet that would only continue him on his path to diabetes.  I asked him how he was doing on it.  He said he had lost only a few pound and was having difficulty staying on track.  He asked me if I could make any recommendations.   I told him I could —  I ran it through my shredder.   He had a hardy laugh.

Before starting, I made sure he understood that weight loss is not part of my practice.  What I do is completely motivational.  I was not going to be treating his condition.   He said, he understood, then he barked “Just help me get this dam weight off!”

I sold him a copy of my book, for three times the price, as penalty for waiting so long.  He handed me cash with no argument.  Then, he paid double my fee for an initial meeting and six months of support up front.

We just did our weekly check in.  He has been very consistent and dedicated to both his new eating and exercise routines.  He is down 23 pounds and 2 pants sizes.  He is not only looking better, but stated he is feeling much better.  And, by the way, his fasting blood sugar is now under 100.  His medical doctor is very pleased and actually called me for more information on my program.

I will never understand why the medical community can be so dismissive of all the research showing the benefits of a low carbohydrate life-style.  However, as I have recently learned, some are willing to change their attitude.