Diary of a Diabetic Chef

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It's been six months since my diagnosis for Type 2 diabetes. Six months of change, evaluation and more change. And six months of this weekly column.
Quoted From: https://cnmwellness.com/diary-of-a-diabetic-chef-journey-toward-better-health-will-continue/

"Lloyd/The OregonianKen Gordon, owner of Kenny and Zuke"s Deli, was diagnosed with diabetes early this year. He will keep a diary of his efforts to help treat his condition with diet and exercise.
It"s been six months since my diagnosis for Type 2 diabetes. Six months of change, evaluation and more change. And six months of this weekly column.

When I started, I was the walking picture of ill-health-to-be. I just didn"t know it yet. I was 50 pounds overweight, with high blood pressure, high cholesterol, high triglycerides, high blood glucose levels. But I didn"t feel so bad and, with a strong dose of denial thrown in, it might have been a few more years of a downward health spiral before I had a heart attack or needed daily insulin injections.

But I"ve managed to turn my health around, and I"m happy that this weekly column seems to have helped inspire others. I"ve also written for other publications, lectured for health organizations, done interviews to promote healthy lifestyle choices and formed connections with organizations that help those with health challenges. All great, but really all motivated by my need to save my own life. All of it helped keep me honest and on track. I don"t know if I would have made the same remarkable progress without others watching.

Having to report publicly on my health each week has been a huge motivator. I"ve dreaded the prospect of having to admit gaining back a couple of pounds, cheating on my dietary goals or missing a day of exercise. I"ve felt I"ve had both a cheering section and a panel of critics watching my every move for inspiration or a misstep. I"ve heard from all sides and have tried to answer each hooray and criticism. The support group of readers, media, friends, customers, business associates and family have given me no small amount of inspiration and energy. Everyone has had something to say about my appearance. Strangers come up to me at food carts and ask, "Really? Can you eat that?"

It seems there are so many people with some investment in my behavior now, either because they care about me or because they are modeling their own behavior on mine. I think that a great number of good deeds and courageous achievements have personal experience as their motivation.

I can"t deny that I would never have gone down this path or achieved the success I did as fast as I did, had I not been so frightened in the doctor"s office last Jan. 12. And I guess that"s a big point. I"m not trying to make a buck writing a diet book or a self-help manual. My journal of my attempts to improve my health resonates with some readers not because it tells them what to do, but because it tells me what to do. It has helped me live in a healthier way than I have been, buy some more time and feel better. Like all of us."

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