Back in 1997 (on my 43rd birthday) I was diagnosed as diabetic. I'm 5'6 and weighed 225 pounds at the time. My typical road warrior lunch back then was a double quarter pounder with cheese, super size fries and a tall Coke.
Diet and exercise got me down to 155 pounds in a period of about 6 months. I eliminated the dbl qp at lunch and started with 6" subs (turkey/ham) without any sauce and stopped drinking regular pop altogether. I sold my lawn tractor and bought a 36" commercial walk behind mower (2 acres of yard) and went from 1 golf league to 2 (walking, not riding). In winter I tried to walk and also had a tread mill and ultimately went to an elliptical.
Fast forward to my 65th birthday, I had bulked up to about 170 pounds. My walk behind mower was long gone due to multiple surgeries that prevented me from being able to manhandle a 500 pound mower with a pull start. By my 66th birthday I was up to 175 and my blood sugar readings were getting a little high. A month later and we went down to see our grandson get sworn in to the Marines. It was a food fest weekend and I got home and I was almost 180 pounds.
The "creep" of weight had to stop. I was still eating much better than I did before my diabetes diagnosis, but I started taking my diet more seriously. I also make it a point to get at least 10,000 steps in at least 3/4 times a week and hit 6/8,000 on the other days.
I'm 149 pounds now.
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