Type I Diabetic - When to End

[Clenkowski]

Hello,

 

I recently completed my Whole 30 on Sunday, and apart from a glass of wine that evening have stayed clean. 

 

I had some great results including losing 9 lbs without exercise, and my blood sugars (I am Type I diabetic) have been great.

 

However, I never really got the amazing energy that all the email speak about (and I actually got some zits for the first time in 10 years really that are still coming)--I know they said it can take longer for people with medical conditions but I'm wondering if there is anything I can do to help along the process? I don't want to be doing this for the next 15-30 days as I'd like to add some things back in my diet (I also have a wine event this Saturday that has been planned for a long time, people coming into town, etc). SO, with that being said, here are some things I didn't do and I'm wondering if they will make a huge difference?

 

-Sleep. On average, I am probably sleeping 6.5-7.5 hours a night, and naturally my body will allow me to sleep for 9-10 if I let it. I also have a real issue with the snooze button--I usually go for an hour--and I do much better when I wake up and just get up, but that rarely happens. 

 

-Exercise. Other than walking my dog a few times a week, I don't work out very often. See above on the sleep thing--I'd love to get up and go on the treadmill on work days before work but I cannot get myself up... oh, and I work in PR so a naturally stressed out person in general.

 

Oh, and just for fun I had to go to the dermatologist today because of large patches of itchy, dry skin that have erupted on my back. I thought this was the opposite of what was supposed to be happening?

 

Any thoughts would be appreciated on what I can be doing to make this the best experience I can, within reason, I completely dedicated myself to the diet for 30 days and again, saw improvements, but now everything I was hoping for.

 

Thanks!

[Tom Denham]

I never experienced what is often described as tiger blood. For me, the change was that I had even levels of energy through the day and did not suffer an energy slump in the afternoon or after a big meal. So, you might never experience so called tiger blood.

 

You probably would benefit from more sleep - 8 to 9 hours. You probably would benefit from a little more exercise. But the real benefit would come from continuing to eat clean for the rest of your life. If you reintroduce much of the foods that make you less healthy, you will give back some of the progress that you have made. Wine is really not your friend and there is nothing you can do that will counterbalance the weight of eating unhealthy foods. You don't have to eat Whole30-perfect all the time, but eating Whole30-compliant 95 percent of the time really is doable for me and probably for you too. 

[Vian]

Type 1 diabetes is an autoimmune disease. If you have one autoimmune disease, you are more likely to get others. Are the patches that erupted on your back psoriasis? I would keep that in mind as you work with your dermatologist. Paleo can make certain autoimmune diseases worse because it's not enough. When people go paleo, they eliminate lots of foods, but they start eating a lot more of others to fill the gap, specifically nuts, eggs, and sometimes more nightshades and spices than before, which can all exacerbate autoimmune diseases. I have psoriasis and it's gotten exponentially worse in the last 4 months since my diet has gotten cleaner (sticking with whole30 guidelines more closely) so I have started the autoimmune protocol which is like whole30 + no nuts or seeds, no nightshades, and no eggs. I also never experienced tiger blood and my sleep is still hit and miss and I don't have a lot of energy most of the time either. I'm hoping the AIP will help.