The 14-Day No Sugar Diet(2)

But that scary stuff doesn’t happen overnight, or even next month, which, for some people, makes doing anything about their high blood sugar seem less urgent. But while kidney failure may not be in your near future, consider something that your high blood sugar could be doing to you right now: storing belly fat. The carbohydrates that you eat, especially those simple sugars like high fructose corn syrup and others that are added to processed foods to make them taste sweet, are not benign; they impact your body in significant ways.

See, sugar causes your body to release the hormone insulin. And when insulin is present in your bloodstream, you don’t burn body fat, you store it, typically in your abdomen and thighs. So, if you’re looking for an urgent reason to pay attention to your blood sugar levels, and even if you aren’t worried about your health five years from now, think about the upcoming beach season.

My hope, however, is that you’ll be more concerned about the health impact of a continuous overload of sugar bombarding your body than just fitting into a swimsuit. Here’s what’s happening inside you that you can’t see when you have high blood sugar: When you eat something high in carbohydrates and get a sugar level spike or the sugar stays in your bloodstream too long, the insulin that has been deployed to clear it from your bloodstream can’t work fast enough. The excess glucose (sugar) stays there and it becomes corrosive to your veins and tissues. To protect your tissues, your body has a backup plan; it converts and stores the sugar as fat. If your blood sugar spikes again and again and again from a regular diet of high-carbohydrate meals and sugary drinks, more and more insulin is needed to do the same job that a little did before. This is insulin resistance or what’s commonly known as prediabetes. If nothing is done to reverse prediabetes, eventually your pancreas will stop producing insulin and you become diabetic. This is type 2 diabetes. You may need to take medication to help your body clear sugar from your bloodstream. If lifestyle changes and prescription pills do not manage the disease, you may need to inject synthetic insulin.

Losing just 7 percent of your body weight can cut your risk of developing diabetes by 60 percent.

Now you can understand why I was so concerned about my prediabetes diagnosis. I have a family. I want to be as healthy as possible for as long as possible. Fortunately, I have a proactive doctor and a lot of research material at my disposal. I took my diagnosis very seriously and started schooling myself on things that I could do to reverse my prediabetes. The first and easiest step is something you can begin doing today: Spot the added sugars in your foods and start avoiding them.

As I mentioned earlier, the good news for me and you is that there is so much we can do on our own to bring our blood sugar under control. It starts with knowledge, says Michael Pinone, MD, MPH, who is a member of the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force that recently recommended screening for high blood glucose in all overweight adults 40 to 70 years of age. “If we can identify people at risk and help them make lifestyle changes, we may decrease their risk of progressing to diabetes and prevent the serious complications associated with this illness,” he says.

By following my doctor’s advice and using the strategies in this book, I’ve reduced my HbA1c enough that I’m no longer prediabetic. Plus, I’ve lost 10 pounds of fat while adding 6 pounds of muscle. And I feel great. Now, I want you to enjoy the same health-altering results that I did by sharing these simple strategies with you.

Prediabetes and Type 2 diabetes are serious health issues. If you suspect you have high blood sugar, ask your doctor to test you. If you’re like I was and feel that you’re in the clear, answer the self-check questions on page 18. Your results may give you the extra nudge you need to schedule a visit to your doctor to be properly evaluated. If you are already prediabetic or diabetic, carefully follow your doctor’s treatment plan. It’s critical that people who are taking insulin for diabetes do not stop therapy unless directed to do so by their physician. This book is not a substitute for medication or a doctor’s treatment.

But you can use this book as additional firepower to build a fitter, healthier body right now and prevent this dangerous disease from ever giving you trouble. Build a plan using this book. Be realistic. You’re not going to lower a high A1C overnight. It takes time. However, following the 14-Day No Sugar Diet plan will put you on the fast-track to eating healthier for life, gaining control over your blood sugar, and losing pounds. I can’t stress enough how important it is to lose weight. It’s the best thing you can do to improve your health and prevent type 2 diabetes, and the benefits start occurring very quickly. Scientists at the American Diabetes Association cite studies proving that losing just 7 percent of your body weight can cut your risk of developing the disease by 60 percent.

Think about that for a sec. If you weigh 160 pounds, that’s about 11 pounds. You can lose that in two or three weeks. If you weigh 280 pounds, 7 percent is about 20 pounds. So, you can see how much you can personally impact your health without resorting to drugs. In just two weeks, you can build the foundation of a lifestyle to prevent a disease that targets just about everyone.





CHAPTER


1


Lose Weight, Live Longer

The benefits of the 14-Day No Sugar Diet

HERE’S THE wonderful news about starting a plan to reduce the amount of added sugars in your daily diet: It will have a snowball effect on your entire life. Everything you do to prevent the progression of prediabetes will help you look and feel better and perform at your best. Eating healthier will encourage you to be more active. You’ll handle stress better, improve your sleep habits, and feel more optimistic about life. Everybody wants those things and everyone can have them by making some simple daily changes that you’ll find in this book. Here’s exactly what you can expect to gain: You’ll Curb Cravings and Feel Fuller Longer