Doctor recommends a Paleo diet

[jcfedei]

Where do I start?

 

I am a Certified Health & Wellness Coach as well as a Nurse. I make my living helping others develop healthy, sustainable eating habits. It has been my passion in life to encourage others. However, when it comes to my own diet, I must confess that I don't always play by the rules. I know that I have been putting on weight, but admit that I have been in denial for awhile. It's easy to do. Prior to becoming a Coach, I worked on a Medical Surgical unit and noticed that it was not uncommon to see overweight nurses and doctors working in the healthcare system. Sometimes we do make the worst patients, and while we are advocating that our patients lead a healthy lifestyle, we don't always practice what we preach. Thinking about it right now, it's actually very shameful that we professionals don't model the lifestyle that we teach to our clients. 

 

OK, enough of the self-loathing and on with my reason for being here...

 

I just received results back that tell me I am a Type 2 Diabetic.  While my sugars are not off the charts, they are not within normal ranges either. In chatting with my doctor, he recommended that I switch to a Paleo diet to help lower my numbers. With age comes the realization that the body becomes very unforgiving if we don't treat it well.  I did some research and came across the Whole 30. Am I correct in saying that it is basically a Paleo diet?  It doesn't seem to focus on that, yet the eating protocol seems to fall in line with the parameters of eating caveman style.  If that's the case, then this is exactly what I am looking for.  I am also curious to know if others have had good success in reversing out their diabetes following a Whole30 approach?

 

Right now, I have both the book and cookbook on order and I'm Googling for websites that support this way of eating, so I was also hoping to reach out within the community and find some good recommendations that help support a Paleo diet/Whole30 way of eating.  The results came yesterday so I am starting today with 2 eggs scrambled with peppers, onion and mushrooms for breakfast (in olive oil), salmon and veggies for lunch, and a taco salad for dinner (no beans), plus a couple of pieces of fruit for snacks.  No dairy, grains, processed foods or sugars. After I get through today, I'll try to figure out what I can eat tomorrow, so suggestions are welcome and appreciated.  

 

Also are there any recommended threads on this forum that anyone thinks would be useful to follow? Especially in the way of support groups and challenges - recipes too - I love to cook! 

 

So I'm off to begin day 1!  

 

Cheers,

Jenny

[LadyM]

Welcome, Jenny! You have certainly come to the right place. Congrats for jumping right in! I'm delighted you have purchased the books--though when you reference "the cookbook"  do you mean the Whole 30 book in addition to It Starts with Food? They're both excellent resources. You can also find everything you need on the website, and the forum (where we are right now) can help answer your questions and help you troubleshoot. I recommend spending some time looking around here for recipes and support from others who are going through the same thing. You may want to google type 2 diabetes Whole 30 for some threads that may have already been started or address this particular issue.

 

And yes, Whole30 is paleo-based, though you won't see or hear much talk about cavemen or self-righteousness about the way our ancestors ate. We're more about eating real, nutrient-dense foods in type and amount that is individualized and intuitive that ultimately leads to food freedom and happiness.

 

One of the best things to do is simply follow the template, which it seems you've come across based on the meals you've described. I also highly recommend subscribing to the daily emails for encouragement, tips, and support. Given your motivation and background in health and nutrition, I think you're going to do great!

[Emma]

Hey Jenny - Whole30 has certainly been good for me.  You'll find lots of people who have benefitted from it.  Sticking to it, and sticking to eating clean nutrient dense meals has been trickier, but I keep coming back.  When I was eating Whole30 and eating clean, my asthma became so much more manageable.  It was a bit of an eye opener.  I think my body is just constantly inflamed and I eat foods that make it worse (Which I've been doing more and more in recent months!)  It's always so much easier to know what's the best thing to do, than to actually do it!  

 

We really liked the Well Fed cookbooks, but also Practical Paleo which we've used a lot.

Enjoy today and welcome to the forum!!  It's fun having folks to talk with.

[jcfedei]

Hey thanks for the great suggestions!  I'll definitely give them a try.  So far, day 1 hasn't been too bad other than I started craving sweets just awhile ago. I grabbed an apple instead and it took the edge off.  So far, so good!

[SugarcubeOD]

Hey thanks for the great suggestions!  I'll definitely give them a try.  So far, day 1 hasn't been too bad other than I started craving sweets just awhile ago. I grabbed an apple instead and it took the edge off.  So far, so good!

Giving yourself fruits, dried fruits or nut butters when you are craving sweets is setting yourself up to continue to crave sweets. If you are not hungry enough to eat bland fish and broccoli, then you are not hungry enough to eat. If you would happily scarf down something super bland like that then go ahead and eat, but not fruit on it's own.. fat and protein, fat and vegetables or protein and fat... or all three ideally.