Kathy King Capehart

A couple years ago, my husband and I half-heartedly attempted a plant based diet and stuck with it for about 3 months. I did lose some weight and felt great but I didn’t stick with it, partially because my eleven-year-old son is an enthusiastic carnivore, and it was easier to make something that we would all eat.

Over the next couple of years, I regained all that I had lost and then some. During that time, I started having to wear a CPAP at night for severe sleep apnea, and around the beginning of 2016 I started experiencing migraines a couple times a week. I developed a heart flutter (which runs in my family), and I was at the heaviest weight I have ever been. I also could not get my blood pressure under control.

I went to see my doctor about my blood pressure and she wanted me to get blood work done. This year, on Friday the 27th of May, at 40 years old, I was diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes, with an A1c of 9.1 and blood glucose of 246. My weight was 256 lbs.

My doctor prescribed Metformin, along with the Lisinopril that I had taken in the past for blood pressure. I was fine with the Lisinopril, as I already knew I respond well to that, but I suggested that I wanted to try to control the diabetes with diet and exercise. She didn’t like the idea since my A1C had come back so high but I decided to try on my own anyway, without the Metformin.

That weekend, I bought Dr. Fuhrman’s book The End of Diabetes and switched, cold Tofurkey, to an almost entirely plant based diet. I also cut out all added sugar and started exercising at least 30 minutes daily. My migraines stopped almost immediately, and over the next month or so I increased my exercise to one and a half to two hours per day.

Last month (September), I had my blood work done again and my A1c came back at 5.7. As of now, mid-October, I have lost 43 pounds so far, and my morning blood glucose is consistently around 100-115. I no longer have a heart flutter nor do I sleep with my CPAP machine anymore. I still have weight to lose and I would like to see my A1c number come down a bit lower but I’m very encouraged so far by the results I have seen so far, as is my doctor, and I am hopeful that I will be able to reach my health goals following this lifestyle.