About Kate Jones: my journey to better health
Food, Wonderful Food!
I come from a family who enjoy food and for whom it forms the centre of family celebrations, especially cakes, cream teas, chocolate and so on. We always had generous portions when I was growing up, often with two substantial meals in a day at the weekend. I was fortunate to have a mother who taught me to cook and who was interested in cooking world cuisine. I continued this when I went to university, teaching myself to cook Chinese food.
I was fairly active during my university years, including riding a bike everywhere. This was followed by a few years training in physical theatre. I had found it difficult to keep my weight down, but with all this activity it was OK.
Life Changes Leading to Weight Gain
Then my work changed to a more sedentary job, I got married and my weight increased quickly. I was also struggling with painful periods, tiredness, susceptibility to infections and low moods. I didn’t even realise how overweight I was and I remember lying to a doctor about how much exercise I was doing. I said it was moderate, when actually it was very little! I tried various ways to lose weight including skipping breakfast, fasting days and cutting out dairy. If anything, it seemed to make things worse.
After a minor procedure, my periods and the accompanying pain stopped and I expected to feel a lot better. Although initially I had more energy, other problems persisted and I was still unable to lose weight. Eventually, in 2014, I self-diagnosed Lyme’s disease from a tick bite on holiday the year before and went to the doctor for the relevant blood test. She told me it might be Lyme’s, but it could also be a lot of other things making me feel tired (including cancer!). She ordered a range of blood tests to find out what was going on. I nearly didn’t have the one for blood glucose, because no-one had told me it should be a fasting test, so they were unable to do it at the time of the other tests. I nearly didn't bother going back for it, but having grasped the nettle to have the other tests, I thought I would have this one too. I'm very glad now that I did!
Diagnosis and Taking Action
After all the blood tests, it turned out I did not have Lyme’s disease (or cancer), but my fasting blood glucose (sugar) was very high (more that twice what it should have been for a healthy person). I thought this was just because I’d had a sugary drink the evening before the test, not realising how much sugar was in it. Although this no doubt contributed to that first result, a second fasting test showed similar high blood glucose levels. After a further test to find out what my blood sugar levels had been for the previous three months (known as the HbA1c) I was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes.
I couldn’t believe it.
Various medications were suggested, but being a natural healer (I have practiced and taught Reiki for over 30 years), I was keen to find out whether a more natural approach would work. I was given 3 months to see whether I could bring down my HbA1c. My initial level was 66 and in those 3 months I brought it down to 49, which is only just into the diabetic range. The diabetes nurse was very surprised and also impressed by the amount of weight I had lost.
Better Health
Around the time of my diagnosis my husband had bought me a book by nutritionist Marilyn Glenville which was the basis for changing what I ate and gave me my initial understanding about insulin resistance and the importance of blood sugar balance. I continued to lose weight and my HbA1C (and waist circumference) continued to drop, until the following year my HbA1c was 40, which is in the pre-diabetic range. I was in remission!
I found Marilyn Glenville’s approach easy compared to the various ways I had tried to lose weight before. It also taught me that managing blood sugar levels is about more than just what you eat. I didn’t feel deprived or starving and what I ate was more nutritious (and delicious!). I even began to enjoy lettuce!
I found that reversing my diabetes led to an unexpected improvement in my health and well-being. I had more energy in general, found joint and muscle pain reduced so exercise was easier, my thinking was clearer and generally I had a greater sense of well-being, all of which is explained by better blood sugar balance and insulin sensitivity. My skin and hair were in better condition and my eyesight (which wasn’t bad anyway) actually improved! I felt more positive about life, with more energy to do what I wanted to achieve in life. I also realised that when my blood sugar is high my mood is often low.
So Reversal and Remission Is Possible
In 2014 doctors at my GP surgery were still generally of the opinion that once you were diagnosed with type 2 diabetes, all that could be expected was a gradual decline in health accompanied by increasing medication to try to slow the decline as long as possible. They expected what they saw as the inevitable consequences of the disease, such as heart disease, kidney failure, blindness and amputation. Scary stuff!
There is now more understanding of how type 2 diabetes can be reversed, and that reversal can be maintained, with good nutrition and other lifestyle changes. Better still, those with pre-diabetes who make such changes can avoid becoming diabetic altogether.
When I realised from my own experience that reversing diabetes is possible, even for someone as lazy and addicted to over-eating as me, I wanted to start letting other people know that a better quality of life is possible with some simple changes and without having to starve. I started writing a book about my experience and continued to research how to manage my diabetes. One of the things I’ve recognised is that it’s difficult to do it alone and that support is really needed.
C.R.A.N.E.S
We humans are forgetful, so to support myself and hopefully others in remembering all the elements that support good blood sugar balance I came up with a mnemonic: C.R.A.N.E.S. which stands for Choice, Rest, Activity, Nutrition, Engagement with life and Support. This has now become the name for my nutrition coaching business.
During 2021, I decided to take a diploma in applied nutrition with Sano, to become a Nutrition Coach. I hoped this would enable me to support others with their blood sugar balance and achieve remission. I was delighted to qualify in February 2022.
I found the course useful as well as interesting and learned even more about how to manage blood sugar balance through good nutrition and how to support people in improving their eating habits.
I also learned about doing research into the latest scientific developments, so my understanding of how to manage blood glucose continues to develop.
Oops – Sliding Back
I made the mistake of thinking I was ‘cured’, so my blood sugar levels began to rise again as I got busy and paid less attention to what I was eating and other lifestyle choices. A couple of very stressful years during Covid, which included caring for my mother up to her death from cancer, led to further deterioration, so that in early 2022 my HbA1C was back up to 51. A doctor commented that this was mild diabetes and no medication was needed, but it felt like a disaster to me, after being in remission for so long!
Being older and post menopause, I was doubtful if I could get my HbA1c back down again. However, with the additional learning from the course and returning to more healthy eating I managed to get my HbA1c back down to 47, which is in the pre-diabetic range, within three months.
This relapse taught me a lot about the role of stress and post menopause hormones in this condition, so although it was difficult I also see it as valuble learning for supporting others.
With the greater understanding I now have, and the ability to do research to keep up with the latest knowledge, I hope that I can continue to bring my blood sugar levels down, slow the ageing process and perhaps even achieve complete remission. I want to achieve this so that I have the energy and lifespan to help many people to improve their lives by having better blood sugar balance, through CRANES Well-being!