When Ann (AGILLASPIE60) was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes in July, 2010, she knew she had to change her lifestyle and get her health under control. A few months later, she was struggling with motivation when she found SparkPeople.com. Since then, Ann has lost 40 pounds and is now in control of her diabetes! We asked Ann to share her inspirational story to show others what can happen when you work hard to make healthy changes in your life. Ann today As a person with diabetes, were there any specific challenges you faced when trying to lose weight? If so, how did you overcome them? "I work 10-hour days at a childcare center. I use large amounts of energy caring for small children and by the time I get home, I am exhausted. I have to MAKE myself find time for exercise. I walk my dog most nights but also decided I could exercise with the kids during my workday. They play in the gym every day, so I started running laps with them. We get creative during our laps by hopping like bunnies, crawling like turtles, etc. I even hula hooped with them one day!" What SparkPeople tools and features have helped you the most? "I love the Nutrition and Fitness Trackers. I really enjoy reading all the articles on nutrition, fitness and motivation. The support from other SparkPeople members has really been great as well!" Did you take medication to help control your diabetes? "I take Metformin for my diabetes, but my doctor recently told me I can stop taking it at any time! I have been taking it every other day for the past few weeks and will stop taking it altogether as soon as my current bottle of pills runs out." Do you have any go-to meals, snacks or recipes that are diabetes friendly? "For lunch I usually have a Lean Cuisine meal. I read the labels carefully to make sure I don't have too many carbs and that there is fiber in them. I include plenty of fresh fruit in my diet and try to get a few servings of veggies every day as well. I am happy that peanut butter is a super food! I have about a 1/2 serving of it most days. For breakfast, I almost always have a bowl of Quaker High Fiber Oatmeal with blueberries." Has exercise played a role in your weight loss and/or diabetes management? "I usually exercise 5-6 times a week. At times I have taken my blood sugar two hours after a meal and had high readings. So I go for a brisk 30-minute walk with my dog and I'm able to lower that number by as much as 80 points. That is phenomenal! So YES, exercise is key to keeping my glucose levels down, and I have NEVER felt so fit in my entire life!" Now that you've reached your weight loss goal, what are some future goals you've set for yourself? "Of course, I want to maintain my weight and continue the healthy lifestyle I have adopted. I want to run a 5K race this summer. I am looking into hosting a diabetic seminar at my church to help all those people who have asked what I did to lose the weight and control my diabetes." What advice do you have for other people with diabetes who are trying to manage their condition and their weight? "Build a support system. Tell people about your condition. I was surprised at how many other people have diabetes. My doctor told my about a local support group, and I recommend those. Take a diabetes education class at your local hospital if you can! Use SparkPeople to get TONS of information and support from people just like you! You CAN manage—even beat—this disease! Be vigilant and take charge! I made diabetes my enemy and I was determined to not let it get the best of me. When you feel yourself getting down, look to SparkPeople for support and ideas to stay strong. YOU CAN DO IT!" Congratulations, Ann! If you are diabetic and looking for information and support to help you reach your goals, check out SparkPeople's Diabetes Condition Center and Spark*D program, which provides free diabetic meal plans, newsletters, and SparkTeams that offer support! |
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Motivation Articles › Inspiring Stories''I Beat Diabetes with SparkPeople!''I Beat Diabetes and You Can, Too-- By Jen Mueller, SparkPeople Community LeaderSparkPeople advertisers help keep the site free! Learn more
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Jen Mueller
Jen received her master's degree in health promotion and education from the University of Cincinnati. A mom and avid marathon runner, she is a certified personal trainer, certified health coach and advanced health & fitness specialist. See all of Jen's articles. |
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Member Comments
They are finally on track and your story gives me hope that he too can beat this thing. You are truly an inspiration to a worried mom. Love that you incorporate your work with exercise, helping your children and yourself. Keep up the good work!! - 8/21/2012 3:29:46 PM
1. being beat over the head with e-mails from your organization. More junk thrown at me than I could read in a day. BTW, this was without me signing up for your daily newsletters!
2. The before and after picture of Ann which was obviously not the same woman. You could call it a mistake but it was very misleading. - 8/8/2012 2:26:44 PM
osition is always there (and will always be there), through diet, exercise, and weight loss you can "reset" your body to use the insulin correctly, thus rendering the disease asymptomatic (this applies only to Type II, obviously, not to Type I where you don't produce insulin). Once the disease is no longer symptomatic, you appear to not have diabetes... however as I said the underlying predisposition is still there so later on, if factors change, it can indeed (as someone said above) come roaring back.
As for me I was diagnosed with type II diabetes in January of 2012, just about the time my company was having us sign up for various healthy-living options, one of which was SparkPeople. I decided to take an aggressive approach to become free of the disease (and off meds). With a lot of help from the tools here on SparkPeople, I have lost over 30 pounds so far and my numbers are way down -- in line with where they're supposed to be and getting better all the time. I have another followup meeting with my doctor in a couple of months and I'm hopeful that at that time I'll be able to get off the meds (metformin). I am encouraged by the comments above from people who have taken this course and been successful; this further convinces me that I can do it; THANKS! - 4/20/2012 12:25:57 PM
............. - 4/17/2012 11:06:04 AM
This is good news. I am going to get serious with my program. - 4/14/2012 5:01:29 PM