A1C before and after!
Three months on our new plan I’ve been through highs and lows on the Forks Over Knives / Engine 2 plan / Plant-based eating plan. Some days I am discouraged that I haven’t lost more weight, others I am disappointed when trying to eat around others. A couple of days ago, I changed my outlook.
I am a late onset, type 1 diabetic. Over the last 7 years, my sugars run the gauntlet from controlled, to okay, to wildly out of control. Three months ago, my A1C was at 9.5. A1C represents a three-month average of your blood sugar level. The target for diabetics is below 7. She wrote the 9.5 and the big blue line. My Endo was a bit disappointed, talked to me about control and if I wanted to start on a pump. I mentioned starting an Engine 2 style of eating but she didn’t seem too interested. I left a bit down but still determined to see how well the ForksOverKnives and Engine 2 eating plan would work.
My next appointment included my yearly full blood work up including cholesterol and a bunch of other things that my wife can pronounce but I cannot. My doc walked in and seemed a bit more excited. She noticed I lost 20lbs over the last three months. She started talking to me about my blood sugar control and I mentioned having a number of lows over the last three months. Too low, feel faint She started typing away, frowning a bit, and asked me about the pump again. She then started going over my blood work. She started nodding and said that, “everything looked pretty good.” I reduced my LDL from 111 to 64, my cholesterol risk ratio was very good at 2.8, and my overall cholesterol was 118. All good. For some reason she seemed stoic about the whole list. She called her assistant in and asked her to do an A1C on me. A few minutes later, we received the results. I noticed that she perked up a bit and looked at me with a smile. She said, “Your A1C is 5.7.” I was floored, from 9.5 to 5.7 in three months?
My A1C was in the range of non-diabetics? YES! She said that in her years of practice she had never seen an established diabetic drop their A1C that much in three months. We went on to talk about the details of my eating plan. I mentioned that we use recipes from the Engine 2 site and kicked off our new plan by watching the Forks Over Knives movie. I spoke about other research we’ve done to make sure the whole family is okay on the plan. She started getting more into our discussion, mentioning that current studies show that a low-fat vegetable and fruit-based diet shows no drawbacks for children. She then asked how extreme I became with my eating.
I mentioned that if you asked me three months ago, very extreme. Now that I taste the food I used to eat, see the benefits, and notice our kids loving the fruits and vegetables, I don’t believe I am extreme. I went on to mention that I cut out both refined and artificial sweeteners, try to live without sodium, and do not use oil. She seemed surprised but given the results, I should tell others about the changes we made. I’ve called my dad (who said he is now convinced), spoke with my mom, spread the story around our church, and surprised a few others with my story. Most people want to know more and ask for the Engine 2 site and the name of the Forks Over Knives movie. Our shopping lists and dining out places look different, but given the results, I believe our plan continues to move us in the right direction.
Congratulations Jonathon!
Be sure to leave some plant-strong encouragement in the comments for Jonathon!
