Rebel in green

I started a juice diet about 2 weeks ago, and I am a type 1 diabetic.  I want to share my process and results with people who may be interested and find this helpful.

BACKGROUND STORY: 

I typically have a range of blood sugars ranging anywhere from 30 to the high 300's, with an average on my glucometer of around 170. And this is with close careful monitoring. I check my blood sugar usually 6 times a day and correct often. (being also a bit insulin resistant has made managing my type 1 even more challenging). 

I have never been very overweight, but recently put a few pounds on. I Leave for a bathing suit vacation in Costa Rica in 2 months, and was not feeling great about my body. 

I started a juice diet with the goal to look my best in a bathing suit by the time I leave for my trip. I didn't carefully consider the effects of diabetes (which is probably stupid). 

THE BEGINNING: 

I started during the 3 day Memorial Day weekend. I woke up that morning, went to the health store around the corner and had a few fresh squeezed veggie juices made. When I got home I announced to my boyfriend "I am just juicing for the 3 day weekend". (Being an avid health and diet nut himself), He thought it was a great idea. He suggested I do it for a week. That sounded like a lot of pressure for someone who has never been a diet, so I insisted that this would be a 3 day venture. 

The first 3 days sucked. I was hungry and CRAVING solid foods. The 3rd day, at night I cracked and cheated with a handful of vanilla wafer cookies and peanut butter. When I woke up the next morning for work, I thought... "What the hell, let's try this for another day or 2. There are juice places near my office!" By the end of day 4, I had lost all my food cravings and had more energy than I can ever remember having. (I should also note that I unwillingly gave up coffee 3 months earlier because it was making me sick to my stomach).

When I got home from work that day I had come to the conclusion that juicing was a very good thing, and that perhaps this should be a more long term process. If I feel this good, how could I stop?! I was allowing myself a nutrigrain bar or protien bar once a day. Usually I eat half of one just when I have a real hunger pange. It is enough to satisfy that. I save the other half for later or the next day.

A week and a half later, I have a brand new top-rated juicer in my kitchen (thanks to my wonderful boyfriend). 

DIABETES: 

What about my diabetes? My range of numbers from 30 - 300's has shifted to be around 50 - 170. A MAJOR change. I am taking the same basal dose of my long acting Lantis insulin. BUT my low carb diet has reduced the amount of short acting novolog I take very siginificantly. I used to take between 15-25 units of short acting insulin every day, both for food consumption and correction factors. Since juicing, I take only around 3-5 units of short acting insulin a day. Not to mention I have to inject myself much less often. I should note that I am continuing to check my blood sugar 6-7 times a day to make sure that I am maintaining optimal health. This can not be a guessing game. 

I still get some low blood sugars. Especially over night, which was an issue even before I started juicing. I have found it helps quite a bit if (I check my sugar before bed, and assuming my blood sugar is at an ideal level...) I eat a protien bar or nutrigrain bar and DO NOT take insuliln to compensate for the food. When I wake up in the morning my blood sugars range from 75-110. This means that the carbs I took in may cause a slight sugar spike, but prevent the drop I was experiencing at night. By morning everything has leveled itself off perfectly. 

MODIFYING THE DIET TO WORK FOR ME: 

So my juice diet is slightly modified and imperfect, much like me. I am allowing for some foods, but sticking to mostly liquids. And ALL VEGGIES. Fruit would change things a lot, although occasionally I add small amounts of lemon for preservation. 

I am also, if I feel very hungry allowing myself to eat small amounts of raw veggies. But only raw, and only veggies. Carrots, cucumbers, radishes and spinach mainly. This means I am taking in only the foods I would take in while juicing, but allowing myself some of the fiber. It helps when I have the urge to eat. But I don't go crazy with it, I keep it to small enough amounts that I would not need insulin. Like a handful of baby carrots or half a cucumber. 

Also an occasional handful of almonds for protein. Concerned about taking in enough protein, I occasionally add protein powder to my juices, though I don't love the taste it gives them. So the protein bars once a day make me feel better about taking in what I need. 

TAKING A BREAK: 

I am now 2 weeks in, and have decided to take a break from the juicing for the weekend. Why? That euphoric energized state I felt the 1st week is gone. My energy levels are rather depleted, and I am finding that I am REALLY missing the way I felt last week. According to my boyfriend, my body has now used up all of it's stored glycogen, which provides the body with energy. From what I can read online, lots of juicers and raw-foodies take a break once every week or 2 to restore their glycogen levels. I did not know much about glycogen before all of this, so if you need more info try the wikipedia link: 
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glycogen
I think it explains things pretty clearly. So with my much depleted energy levels, I have decided to take a break from the juicing for the weekend. I am being careful not to eat processed foods and not to binge or over eat. I am sticking with whole wheats and whole grains. Last night I had a small bowl of whole wheat pasta (mixed with some cooked carrots and raw bell pepper wedges, topped with a small amount of pesto sauce). I also have been snacking on a carrot and zuchini bread that I baked using the left over pulp from my juicer. I used whole wheat flour, honey, instead of sugar, and in smaller moderation than the recipe called for. I also added almonds for protein, of course. (This bread was a huge hit at my office).

I am looking forward to start my juicing again on Monday. But it is nice to know that I can do this and take time off from it occasionally to still eat the foods I enjoy. Now those foods are treats that I look forward to, rather than the staple of my diet. 

THE RESULT: 

In 2 weeks I fit back into the majority of my pants. They are still a little snug, but 3 weeks ago I couldn't even get some of them all the way up around my butt. Now I can put them on AND zip them up. My diabetes is MUCh more well managed. Overall, I feel the best I have ever felt. 

For me, the key is not to put too much pressure on myself. If I am super rigid and strict, I simply won't do it. If I am easy on myself and allow a (small) cheat here and there, it relieves the pressure and makes it feel less like I am torturing myself and more like I am giving myself a gift. I understand that this method may not work for everyone, and some people need to be very rigid and strict because the little cheats can turn into more and lead to not doing the diet at all. But for me this works. 

My boyfriend says he sees a difference and that I look slimmer all around. But I am not where I want to be yet. 

I do not own a scale, and don't want to. In the past when I have had a scale in my apartment I obsess about it. I check my weight twice a day and it has become unhealthy, unproductive, and just stupid. Now, I choose to focus on how I look and feel, and not think too much about or obsess over a number. I am guessing that I have lost about 7 pounds in the past 2 weeks. For a 5' tall girl that is significant. But like I said, it is an estimate and I am aiming to lose more. Next time I am around a scale I can determine for sure. 

This has also been combined with adding more excercize into my life. As a New Yorker, I am naturally more active than people not living in a city, simply because I walk all over the place. I am now trying to have some form of excercize routine 4-5 days a week. One day it may be an active yoga, another day it may be a brisk 3 mile walk around central park. I have started doing squats and hip excercizes combined with P90x Ab Ripper X 15 minute ab routine (that one is a killer) to work on the parts of my body I'd like to see trimmer in a bathing suit. 

I want to note that the most important change I have experienced in the last 2 weeks is not weight loss. It is the easier management of my type 1 diabetes, and the overall way that I feel physically (including the increased energy). If I lose no weight at all and look exactly the same, this new lifestyle is worth it for these reasons. And I am so thrilled to say this, because it is not at all the reason I started this in the first place. But my results are much more and much better than what I would have hoped for.