Carol Guber's Type 2 Diabetes Life Plan

Excerpted from
Carol Guber's Type 2 Diabetes Life Plan: Take Charge, Take Care and Feel Better Than Ever
By Carol S. Guber

Real life never seems to turn out the way we had imagined or planned. Love, marriage, career, children . . . it's likely that all of these have brought you highs and lows that you never anticipated. And whether your health has been excellent or poor until now, it is likely that you didn't expect a diagnosis of this chronic disease - diabetes. I was surprised to have developed diabetes, despite having a long history of it in my family: my mother has it, as did both my grandfather and great-grandmother. My great-uncle Shaya was an amputee because of it.

Whether or not your diabetes diagnosis came as a complete surprise, you might have known it was lurking in your family background, or you have been told you are "borderline." You may be wondering what to do now. I recommend a life plan, which is the basis of this book: Real life - in this case, diabetes - provides real possibilities. The first step to take is to acknowledge that life is messy and inspirational all at the same time, and therein lies the opportunity. This book encourages you to see diabetes as a chance to assess your life and change it for the better, to take charge and take care. The very nature of living well with diabetes encourages you to look anew at the most elemental activities in life: eating, exercising, communicating, and looking after yourself. In living well from this day forward with diabetes, you can make vital alterations in your mind, body, and spirit.

My Story

I was diagnosed with diabetes in September 1998. Although I was aware of my family's history of developing this disease. I thought I had a special shield against illness because I have a master's degree in nutrition and taught for main years in the Department of Nutrition and Food Studies at New York University. There was no way it could happen to me, as I studied and taught the effects of diet on health. With this knowledge, I thought I could keep all diseases at an arms length. Well, knowledge may be power, but it wasn't enough to keep diabetes at bay. Four generations of genetics was stronger than my sense of denial.

I wasn't aware of any symptoms when I was diagnosed - it was discovered during a routine checkup. When my doctor called me with the news, I wasn't surprised and I wasn't devastated, at least at first. In fact, I felt very feisty and thought that I could take this disease head-on. It wasn't until days later that it began to dawn on me that this was a battle I was going to have to wage forever, that I might be able to control my illness but it was not going to go away. My doctor suggested taking medication to control the disease, but I wanted to wait and see if I could manage this in changing old lifestyle habits, which had likely affected my health in the first place (along with those family genes). I was able to quickly swing into action with the knowledge I had developed over my years of involvement with nutrition. I did not have to wait for an explanation of carbohydrates, proteins, and fats to understand the adjustments that were required to my diet. I was also fortunate to have the support and advice of many colleagues who have done research in food, obesity, and physiology.

By making lifestyle changes in diet and exercise, enlisting the support of friends, family, and coworkers, and re-igniting my own inner resources and determination, I look charge of the areas that diabetes responds positively to. And at the same time, I altered my point of view about my life. On the most basic level I realized that modifying my lifestyle was not about lowering my dress size, not about making cosmetic changes: this was about the very quality of the rest of my life, a stirring, fundamental shift of the mind, body, and spirit. I wanted to hold life in a more dynamic fashion that would allow greater possibilities despite and because of diabetes.

Why did I write this book? Well, you may have heard about a person who was diagnosed with a disease and how it changed her life. For some, the circumstances are so devastating that it clouds all subsequent events and that cloud is never lifted. Yet others use the disease as a wake-up call to alter their lives for the better. I hope to inspire you to use your diagnosis in that positive way. I have changed tremendously since I was first diagnosed three years ago. Looking inward, I made some life-altering decisions and moved outward from there. Now I have lost almost 47 pounds and kept it off. I also have developed a weekly exercise routine that includes boxing - yes, real boxing!

These changes have affected my life in a dramatic fashion. I was able to lose weight by formulating a program for myself - the one that I share with you in this book. Now, activities that once seemed to take enormous amounts of the limited energy I had, have now become a joyful routine. I always imagined I would have a more sedentary existence at this stage in my life. That has changed; I no longer think about sitting on the front porch and being inactive in my "golden years." I enjoy physical activity every day and look forward to learning new and fun ways of keeping fit. I'm even thinking of skiing next winter, which I had stopped doing after I split my ski pants on the slopes when I was 21!

Through the challenge of dealing with my own diabetes and doing research for this book, I realized that you can't manage an illness without paying attention to the entire person inside and out. Diabetes requires more than testing blood sugar or controlling food intake, which is why I have become increasingly interested in a more integrative approach to my health. This now includes stress management, connecting with nature in meditation, and discovering healing traditions such as yoga and massage. All have helped me to live well, and thus help me with my diabetes.

In my interactions with this disease, my self-esteem has risen. The confidence that I feel in living well with diabetes extends to other areas in my life, and it feels as if new avenues are opening up to me all the time. In this book, I take the clinical information that I have studied and turned it into something practical - paying attention to the nitty-gritty daily needs that people have. I know there is a huge chasm between just reading about something and actually applying it to the complicated world we live in, where people must balance so many aspects of life at the same time.

It's my goal to make you feel that there are others out there, having similar experiences. That is why I include my own story, my mother's, and those of people I have interacted with.

How to Use This Book

In Carol Guber's Type 2 Diabetes Life Plan you have a practical resource of useful information about type 2 diabetes coupled with inspiration that you can live life in a whole new, constructive manner by making changes in diet and exercise, exhibiting a passion for the moment, and deciding to have many adventurous experiences. Let yourself have this of life. Use your living with diabetes as a chance to make some inroads in areas that you are unsatisfied with or maybe just have never considered. Let's face it, either you make the shift toward a healthier you now or, down the road, the severe medical complications you can develop in ignoring your diabetes will force you to alter your life. In making the healthy changes suggested in this book now, you can have the experience of feeling powerful in your light against diabetes.

The information for this book comes from several sources: nutritional information that I have taught in my classes, experiences from the support groups I have run for NYU's faculty and staff with type 2 diabetes, stories from individuals I have counseled, and, of course, my own experiences and those of my mother. In addition, I have consulted and interviewed prominent authorities on diabetes. Their input, as well as input from other experts in nutrition, health, and exercise physiology, has been invaluable. Staff at the American Diabetes Association, as well as their volumes of material, have been a great resource. I have developed this book to be straightforward in manner. Here you will not read a distant clinical observation. This book was developed out of living with diabetes. I know what it feels like to worry about your blood sugar, obsess about weight, and wonder where the energy will come from to go to the gym.

During my yearly checkup, my primary care physician, a truly caring individual, was bemoaning the lack of time he has to spend with each patient. The economics of health maintenance organizations have swept away the time required to get all the care we need from our doctors. From where can we get the information? This book is set up to give you much information and direct you to other sources where you can develop strategies for yourself.

Joanne came to see me for counseling. She had recently been diagnosed and was panicked. Other family members had diabetes and she was frightened of complications. Equally upsetting was her doctor's demand that she lose 30 pounds. Joanne had every reason not to do it. The New York Knicks should have hired her, because she had the best defense I have ever witnessed. Every suggestion was blocked with excuses that she needed to do things for other people and couldn't take time for herself. Finally, after allowing her to try every move possible, I asked her, "When is it going to be your time?"

Like so many of us, we have learned to put ourselves as a low priority. Sometimes it takes a diagnosis to have us stop and question the way we've structured our surroundings. Joanne started by enlisting the support of her family. She found that instead of driving her children to all their activities on Saturday, she could go to the gym and they could go with their friends in a car pool. This was the family's way of rallying for her. Three months and 10 pounds lighter, Joanne was feeling very sassy and the whole family survived the change in their routine quite nicely:

Now she has reached her 30-pound goal. Through the process of looking inside herself and making some changes in her priorities she developed a new rich, inner confidence that is reflected in her face.

It is my goal to have others feel so inspired, because I have seen firsthand what kind of devastating damage can result from diabetes. My mother was diagnosed with the disease 20 years ago. Today, at 80, her eyesight is greatly impaired because of the complications from diabetes, and she recently suffered a heart attack. I want to stay vigilant and not let that happen to others or to me. To that end I have written this book to be used as a companion to your interactions with your physician and diabetes educator.

Part 1 provides information on type 2 diabetes, including the nature of the disease and the complications that can result. The section concludes with information on how diabetes affects different populations: different ethnicities, genders, and ages. Consider this part of the book as a place where you can learn more about the disease and how it affects your body. Without possessing the knowledge of how this disease operates, it will be difficult for you to function well with diabetes. If you are a person who needs the background and facts before you start on anything, this is where you should start.

If you are anxious to begin changing your life for the better today, go to part 2, which covers practical ways to live with diabetes that you can start applying to your daily life. You will find all the information you need on moving forward with your life alter you've been diagnosed, from learning what to eat and what changes to make in your diet, to finding an exercise plan you can live with, to enlisting support from your friends and family. I've included sections on working well with your doctor and information on the medical tests that you will be given. I've also included in individual chapters moments for you to reflect and look inward - a welcome opportunity, and sometimes a necessity, when one is going through life-altering times. What should a person with diabetes eat and why, what kind of exercises can I do, how can I get comfortable testing my blood glucose levels, and how can I keep healthy are all questions that will be explored in part 2. Read this and it will give you a program to work from. You'll learn how to enjoy meals outside of your home and still maintain your goals. There is a chapter on the importance of maintaining a group of caring individuals around you in all parts of your life. Alternative therapies are reviewed as an integrative approach to care. Chapter 11, "Pampering as Medicine," will inspire you to be good to yourself.

Dive in, get the information you need and use it to make your life even better than it was before you were diagnosed. The worst that can happen to you is that you will achieve some portion of the goals you have set. This book provides you with many ways of feeling like you are "winning" at diabetes. Even if it means just thinking about things you've never thought of before, or once in a while having a little bit of humor over the condition we find ourselves in, I hope that you will find this book has contributed to your living well with diabetes.