Imagine if you will, Spartacus fighting a war on Diabetes rather than a war for freedom against the Roman army. Maybe the last line of “Blood and Sand” would have been a bit different .
Spartacus: I have forsaken processed food because it is just. Food demands minimal processing. We have lived and lost at the whims of the Standard American Diet for too long. I would not have it so. I would not see the passing of a brother, for the purpose of conventional wisdom. I would not see another heart ripped from a chest, or breath forfeit for no cause. I know not all of you wish this, yet it is done. It is done. Your lives are your own. Forge your own path, or join with us, and together we shall see diabetes tremble.
There is a war waged upon Type 2 Diabetes. This war is not fought with sword and shield, rather lancets and test strips. The blood we let is our own, a droplet is needed each time we test. When we test often, we see highs and lows, we compare our readings to our food intake and it gives us the knowledge that there are certain things we should reconsider putting in our bodies.
Batiatus: What would you do to lift your grandchildren again, to feel good upon waking, to move without pain, would you eat real food?
Spartacus: Whatever stood between us.
Batiatus: Would you give up sugar and starches? Testing your blood sugar often?
Spartacus: I would give up them all.
Batiatus: Then do it at the dinner table. Fight for your body, and the honor of your health. Prove yourself, climb to the pinnacle, gain your freedom from the complications of diabetes, and regain that active life you’ve lost.
Spartacus: I did not lose it. My active life was taken from me.
Batiatus: A man must accept his fate, or be destroyed by it.
Spartacus: Why would I place my fate in the hands of another Diabetic?
Batiatus: Because of what they hold. Your candy bar? Pass the final test by tossing it in the trash, call it poison, and it will help you be stronger in your war against Diabetes. The choice is yours.
In 2007, I was diagnosed with Type 2 Diabetes. For nearly 4 years, I allowed my body to be destroyed by it. I did not know how to fight it, I let it control me. I let all things moderation excuse my consumption of things that worked against me because moderation was the only limit.
I was morbidly obese, straining to pick up our small grandchildren. I couldn’t go to football games with my husband because the walk from the parking lot to the bleachers was just too much. I missed out on a lot of things that could have been had I not been sick and tired.
What if I told you that even if you have accepted the fate of Type 2 Diabetes, that you don’t have to be destroyed by it?
What if I told you that if you could only not think about what conventional wisdom dictates via the Standard American Diet that you could lose weight as a side effect of controlling your blood sugar?
What if I told you that by just giving up sugar, starches, and processed foods was the price of good health, would you try it for a week? A month? A lifetime?
What if I told you to get a notebook, list everything you eat, e-ver-y-thing… Test your blood sugar at bedtime, upon waking, prior to a meal or snack, one and two hours after meals and snacks. Talk to your doctor about turning in your journal each week for his/her review and start convincing him/her that you are serious.
I’ve told you before that Diabetes is a life sentence. I’ve also told you that it doesn’t have to be a death sentence. You do not have to succomb to the complications of diabetes. You can decide in this moment to live. You can start cooking and eating real whole foods like meat, fish, eggs, and vegetables today (Low glycemic fruits like strawberries, blueberries, blackberries, raspberries are ok too). There is nothing stopping you.
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