around the world today, more than 2billion people are overweight or obese. our global obesity epidemic has beendescribed as the most significant preventable public healthcrisis in recent history. this 48-year-old manager of a constructionfirm found himself fighting an uphill battle against a disease that can effectevery organ system in the human body.
kevin's wife had convinced him tovisit their local medical clinic, because she was concernedabout his weight, and the joint pain he complainedof every evening after work. at the clinic, kevin was told that hisfasting blood sugar was elevated, and
that he was prediabetic. his triglycerides, total cholesterol, and ldl cholesterol were also elevated andhis hdl cholesterol was low. standing 5'7" tall and weighing 180pounds with predominant central obesity, kevin's physician calculated a bmiof 28 kilograms per meter squared. kevin was informed that he was overweightand suffering from metabolic syndrome, a collection of biochemical andphysiological abnormalities associated with the development of cardiovasculardisease and type two diabetes. the physician on duty advised kevinto make some major lifestyle changes.
by eating better, andgetting more exercise. six months later, kevin returned tothe clinic weighing nine pounds more than he had at the previous visit. when the new physician on duty asked if he had been able to make any of the lifestylechanges suggested by her colleague. kevin told a story she had heardfar too many times before. the first week after hislast doctor's visit, kevin had tried eliminating allof his favorite foods and snacks. he skipped breakfast, drank a mealreplacement shake for lunch and
ate a calorie reduced frozendinner in the evening. he had also tried to eliminatethe fat in his diet. the first week, kevin lost four pounds butas the weeks went on he found it impossible to stick tothis planed restrictive diet and he noticed that he was replacinghis favourite high fat foods like potato chips andpizza with foods that were high in sugar. in the evening he would findhimself in front of the television, snacking on multiplepackages of swedish fish. by the time he went to bed, he wouldalmost always feel he had over eaten.
the soda machine at work became hisenemy as he tried unsuccessfully to walk by without buying the cold soda cans thathe ended up drinking usually three or four times a day. he and his wife both worked long hours soone of them would usually stops for take outs on the way andthey would end up sharing a pizza and a two liter of coke,exhausted from their long days of work. regular exercise was difficult forkevin because of his joint pain and he often felt that he justdidn't have the energy to move. the physician took notes andasked clarifying questions as kevin spoke.
identifying major target areas for change. including specific food and eating behaviors that were contributingto kevin's uphill battle with his weight. she asses kevin readiness to make dietarychanges and asked if the couple had access to simple cooking tools like a pot,a knife and a cutting board. then she spoke with kevin andhis wife about the importance of avoiding highly processed foods in order toachieve their health goals for kevin. together, they came up with a stepwiseaction plan that would allow them to gradually reallocate a small amountof time to the preparation of simple,
home cooked meals. in this way they could once again bein control of the fat, sugar, salt, and total calories they were consuming. kevin and his wife enrolled in a freeonline nutrition and cooking course and began tracking their food intakeusing an online food blog. to help them control portion sizes, their physician advised them to buy a setof affordable smaller dinner plates and glasses that they found ata local hardware store. the couple kept their meals simple,but made sure that each plate
was composed of one-half plant-basedfoods like fruits and vegetables. with the other half of the mealmade up of lean protein and whole grain carbohydrates. over the next four weeks, they gradually began to feelmore comfortable in the kitchen. kevin tried his hand atmaking veggie omelets and a stir fry andeven a homemade tomato sauce. he started to feel pretty good about thefood that he was able to prepare at home. on sundays when they had more time,kevin's wife would cook a stew or
a pot of vegetable soup and freezethese meals in smaller containers for later on in the week. following his action plan,kevin gradually replaced the sodas he once drank daily withunsweetened sparkling water. six months later, andwith regular follow up visits, kevin's weight had dropped to 165 pounds. and his joints were no longer hurting him,allowing him to start walking regularly. his fasting blood sugar level andhis lipid profile had both improved. and he told his physician that he hadmore energy and was actually enjoying his
food more now because he no longer feltguilty about his poor eating habits. he andhis wife found that they talked more now that they were spending a bit moretime in the kitchen together after work. they sat down for meals together and made a pact to stop snackingin front of the tv. they even found their new eating habits tobe more economical because they shopped for groceries once or twice a week insteadof buying each meal separately, and usually buying more food than they needed. 18 months later, kevin had managedto keep the weight off and
Diabetes Insipidus Vs Diabetes Mellitus,
his fasting blood sugarhad returned to normal. kevin told his physician that he feltbetter at he age of 49 than he had at 39. life as a healthy middle ageman was treating him well and he couldn't imagine ever going back.
Since you now realize how to manage your condition, you happen to be better prepared to create the proper selections and changes in your daily life. Remember that these guidelines are only related if you utilize as many of them as you possibly can, and therefore you ought to commence today to see quick results.
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