The New Normal

If you have been receiving and reading my blog posts, you may remember that the last one was about paying attention to what your body is telling you.
If you know me, you also know that I can be a bit stubborn and while I recommended to y'all to pay attention, I was not paying attention. I took a long time to visit with a physician when clearly there was something amiss. I was not sleeping. I was exhausted and weak. I had headaches. I was starving all the time. Sometimes I would be unbelievably thirsty. I had to pee all the time.
When I finally went to the doctor, I got the shocking news that I have Type 1 diabetes and that my pancreas was not producing any insulin. To further the shock, I learned that for the rest of my life, I would be insulin dependent (with needles). Every time I eat a meal I have to give myself a dose of insulin. Every time I exercise, I have to eat something. Every meal needs to measured out and I need to figure out how many carbohydrate grams I am eating, so that I know how much insulin to take.
It has been about 6 weeks now and I am just starting to get a handle on this. Fortunately, I am a certified nutritionist so I was already head of the curve in knowing what foods are good for me and which ones are off the list. I have also learned how to exercise so that my blood glucose levels don't go crazy. I will be honest, I am not happy with this and it really sucks, but for me, it is the new normal and if I want to live, I have to obey the rules.
I have also learned that while the doctors and dieticians are helpful and knowledgeable, they don't know me and they don't know how my body reacts to food and exercise. I have been running my own little experiment with myself as the test subject and have discovered some patterns that work for me. I have also learned that every person is different and that there is no diet that "fits all".
As I continue down this diabetic road, I am eager to learn more and would love to work with others in the same boat to develop a eating and exercise regimen that fits their personal needs.