medications and told me to limit carbohydrates, fat and alcohol. Within four years my blood sugar had improved enough that I no longer needed the medication, but I was still struggling with my weight and my blood pressure was too high.
The turning point came in 2003. I literally woke up one day and decided that I was done with dieting; I needed to make a permanent commitment to lead an overall healthier life. I joined a gym, hired a personal trainer, and started working out six days a week. I also revamped my eating habits: I started eating five small meals a day—mostly complex carbs (like salads and veggies) and lean protein (such as egg whites, chicken, turkey or fish).
Today I weigh in at a lean 130 pounds and my blood sugar is now in the 80s
or 90s. I even started competing in bodybuilding contests! I had never worn a bikini before, and now I'm competing in one in front of thousands of people.
"My hairdresser saw the warning signs"
Patty Kidd, 45, mother of two, Grand Rapids, Michigan
Two years ago, when the texture of my hair changed and patches starting falling out, I mostly worried about how I was going to look. But my hairstylist, Synia Jordan, made me realize that my health could be in danger.
I had been seeing Synia for nearly seven years, and we always talked about a lot more than my hair. I told her that
I had been diagnosed with diabetes in 1990, but that it was "only" type 2 and I was taking medications that would keep me healthy. I wasn't on insulin, and my kidneys weren't showing any signs of problems, so I didn't think it was a big deal. But when I started filling out a survey from Synia's program, I got nervous. (She had recently joined the National Kidney Foundation's Healthy Hair Starts with a Healthy Body program, which trains stylists to talk to clients about their risks of diabetes, high blood pressure and kidney disease.) I was doing everything wrong, from not eating as many vegetables as I should to not exercising enough. I also weighed about 190 pounds, and I'm only 5'3".
What really scared me the most was talking to Synia about her mom, who was on dialysis. Around the same time, a friend who was a diabetic learned that she needed a kidney transplant. That's when I realized that I wasn't OK, and that I needed to make some major changes to prevent these kinds of problems. In the past, I had promised my doctor I would diet and exercise, but it was always so hard and I gave up quickly. This time, I joined a diabetic education program and, with their support, finally stuck it out. Now I'm down to 147 pounds and my doctor has even lowered my dose of medication.
4 Foods to Fight Diabetes
Research has shown that people who regularly have the following foods may be less likely to develop type 2 diabetes:
1. Whole grains (including oatmeal, whole-grain breads and cereals)
2. Spinach, kale and other leafy greens
3. Lowfat dairy
Which Tests to Get When
The current guidelines call for anyone 45 and older to get screened for diabetes, but ask your doctor about doing it earlier if you have any risk factors, including a family history of the disease, a body mass index (BMI) over 25 (go to womansday.com/bmi to learn yours), high blood pressure, low HDL ("good") cholesterol, or if you had gestational diabetes or a baby weighing more than 9 pounds. Certain ethnic groups are also at a higher risk, including African-Americans, Native Americans, Latinos and Asians.
Your doctor will give you one of these tests (or both): a fasting blood sugar test, in which your blood sugar levels are measured after fasting for eight hours, or an oral glucose tolerance test, in which your blood sugar levels are tested after you drink a sweet liquid that contains glucose, a type of sugar. The oral glucose test is often used to diagnose gestational diabetes in pregnant women.
The results of both tests can also tell your doctor if you have pre-diabetes (your blood sugar levels are too high to be normal but not high enough to be diabetes).
Surprising Signs That You May Be Developing Diabetes
Excessive thirst or hunger or frequent urinati