How It All Started...

Once upon a time there was a very happy, unhealthy princess who LOVED chocolate. Then the princess started to feel tired, ALL THE TIME! Ok I'll stop with the princess shenanigans but there is not yet a Disney princess to get any sort of common ailment. Back to the story, my name is Ashlyn and I love chocolate. In 2011-2012 I realized that I was exhausted all the time. I would get up at seven, go to bed at nine and still be tired in the morning! Some weeks I would take a nap every day. I knew something was wrong with me so in January 2013, my family practice doctor ran blood tests on me. One of the tests she ran was called an A1C1 Test. It is a test that can give a person an average of their blood sugar over three months. Mine said that I was .1 point away from being Diabetic. She said that I was in the range doctors referred to as Pre-Diabetic. After looking on the Internet, I realized there is not a lot of information out on Pre-Diabetes or PD. My doctor told me that I needed to eat better and exercise. The tool she gave me.... A food pyramid, which was no help at all! So I went home, lived my life like I always did consuming mass amounts of chocolate, still continued to be tired, and didn't exercise because of it. At the end of the school year I decided to take control of my life. I didn't want diabetes; I was tired of being tired. So I made an appointment with a naturopathic doctor with the plan to get healthy by any means necessary. 

In May of 2013 I met with the naturopathic doctor. She told me that if I was willing to change my life style that I could reverse my pre-diabetes. The Plan was drastic and was going to be hard but I was willing to do ANYthing to become healthy again. On May 31, I began Phase 1.

• MediClear SGS Shakes to replace two meals a day. (This shake is full of nutrients and vitamins, it is also a detox which I needed because I had a super fatty liver as result of the PD)
• 1 meal of lean meat and vegetables prepared anyway. 
• Snack, if needed of vegetables, and every so often, and apple.

I've been on Phase one for a month and have two more weeks to go. I've given up chocolate, dairy, carbs,  and fruit, but I've gained so much. 

1. Energy! I'm a night owl again! No more going to bed at nine, and I wake up feeling refreshed.
2. Weight loss! Being a few pounds outside of my ideal BMI I was thrilled to find out that I've lost 10 pounds. 
3. Exercise! I used to not have enough energy to even think about walking around the block and when I did it took everything out of me!

But this is just the beginning. It is a battle everyday to make the right choices. It is also a battle to not step on the scale every day and just look at this process from a vain standpoint. I might never be able to eat chocolate every day again, but I will be alive and healthy. And chocolate is not that great anyways right.... ok I just lied, but being able to be there for the ones I love is just as sweet.