It’s not what you do, it’s how often you do it…
As Paul Merson once said;
‘If you want to be successful, you need consistency and if you don’t have it, you’ve got no chance.’
I have patients who struggle with the necessity of taking 5mls of tincture three times a day. I have thought to myself, how hard can it be? Then I made myself a tincture to take three times a day and found out. I didn’t struggle to take it, I just forgot.
But what I have found that I do struggle with [I am ashamed to admit] is consistency in diet. I don’t mean that I feel that I have to eat the same things each and every day. I mean the decision not to eat biscuits and chips for the sake of my blood sugar levels [not together, obviously].
When I first started out so confident that I could reverse my diabetic diagnosis, I felt I could succeed because I knew what to do. And I do. And here is the rub. I don’t want to do it…
This surprised me. I want to avoid diabetes but I don’t want to give up my biscuits dipped in English Breakfast tea [especially shortbread, and the Ginger biscuits sold by Lidl which contain stem ginger…]. I don’t want to give up on eating my homemade spicy wedges twice a week or my roast potatoes/sweet and sour potatoes/potato salad/jackets with butter and sea salt….
I want my cake and to eat it too.
At first it was easy. In the first flush of enthusiasm I cut out all biscuits, all potatoes and even Gregg’s hot sausage rolls with grim determination [I was gonna beat this!]. I was on a mission to prove myself. And lo! My first HbA1c result after diagnosis had dropped a few points, although still slightly in the diabetic range.
However, my plan which looked simple and very straightforward at the beginning soon started to divert from my chosen path. I was complacent, and started to think the odd biscuit wouldn’t hurt; after all, I could drink Mulberry Leaf Tea afterwards, and take Fenugreek capsules, couldn’t I? I knew they worked…
I began to follow the same thought pattern that I had criticised my own Mother for thinking, which was:
I can eat what I like if I take the medication.
In my case, the ‘medication’ wasn’t Metformin, it was herbs. But does that make the attitude any better?
So, biscuits had made a reduced [but consistent] re-entry into my diet: as had homemade spicy wedges/roast potatoes/sweet and sour potatoes/potato salad/ and jackets with butter and salt.
I am due another blood test very soon, and I am a bit wary about what it may reveal.
The path to being consistent isn’t easy, but my health is at stake here.
The main takeaway for me from this experience is that I am much more sympathetic to my patients who struggle to follow my advice. Because I am not properly following it, either.
