Off To A Strong Start
By the time Casey got diagnosed with type 1 diabetes, he knew the drill. He had two older siblings, and they both had type 1 diabetes as well.
He was 26 at the time, and he was both driven and disciplined in how he responded to the new diagnosis. Within a few months, he had his A1c under control and measured at 5.2%.
Low Carb = Low Quality of Life
He achieved this using a low-carb approach. Casey was eating approximately 20-30g carbohydrate per day, and this gave him phenomenal blood sugar control. Unfortunately, his health outside of the blood glucose numbers started going downhill quickly and progressively. It started with recurrent bouts of prostatitis. Then he started experiencing chronic heartburn, joint pain, and fatigue. His body felt like it was shutting down. Casey said, “I felt like a 60 year old in a 30 year old body.”
He suspected the low-carb approach was the culprit, so he increased his carbohydrate intake to about 100g/da – but that only made things worse. His blood sugar control was more difficult and none of his other symptoms were getting any better either.
Finding A New Way
At some point, he found Dr. Will Bulsiewicz’s book Fiber Fueled. Casey had eaten a vegetarian diet in the past and knew he had felt healthy back then. However, that was before his type 1 diabetes diagnosis. Casey was curious whether it was possible to eat a plant-based diet while living with type 1 diabetes, so he started looking for examples of people who were doing this. In the meantime, he figured “I feel terrible already, so what do I have to lose by trying this?” so he started making small shifts toward a more plant-based diet.
In his search, he first came across Drew Harrisberg, and shortly after that he found Mastering Diabetes founder Robby Barbaro. Through Robby, Casey of course found the Mastering Diabetes book. He purchased it and read it right away – and he was mindblown. He immediately wanted to give the method a try, but the fear was intense.
After a few years of avoiding carbohydrates as much as possible, it felt crazy to flip all of that on its head. Although he’d been adding more plants to his diet, the potential of fully committing brought a wave of fear. Ultimately, he decided to give it a try, and make it a slow and steady progression.
Bring On The Plants
Casey started by eating two plant-based meals each day. Then, he started eating two days each week fully plant-based. Eventually, almost all of his meals were fully plant-based. Within those meals, he focused on limiting processed foods and eating whole foods. As that became routine, then he eventually lowered the fat content of his meals.
Using this stepwise progression helped Casey to feel like the changes were sustainable. He had a newborn baby at the time, so he had his hands full and knew he needed to take things one step at a time so he could keep showing up for his family too. He was protecting himself against overwhelm, and building up his confidence as his mind and body adjusted to the new lifestyle.
As he lowered the amount of fat he was eating, this naturally increased his carbohydrate intake. Eventually, he was eating up to 600g of carbohydrate in a day. The best part was that his insulin sensitivity was increasing alongside his carbohydrate intake. Whereas his insulin-to-carbohydrate ratio had been about 1:10 before he started using the Mastering Diabetes Method, his new average ratio was 1:30 – and when he is physically active and working out regularly, it can easily be around 1:50.
High Carb, High Energy, Low Pain
While Casey had been able to achieve a good A1c while eating a low-carb/ketogenic diet (5.2%), he was able to achieve just as good an A1c while eating the high-carb plant-based diet that Mastering Diabetes recommends. After a few months using the Mastering Diabetes Method, his A1c was 4.8%
But lowering his A1c wasn’t his goal. Casey’s biggest struggle had been the other effects of the low-carb diet, such as chronic pain, low energy, and heartburn. Using the Mastering Diabetes Method, all of these struggles were resolved. Casey also found that his recovery time after working out is so much fasting now. He bounces back more quickly after a workout.
Header | Before | After |
|---|---|---|
Fasting Blood Glucose (mg/dL) | 95 | 75 |
A1c (%) | 5.0 | 4.8 |
Weight (lbs) | 205 | 180 |
Blood Pressure | 130/80 | 108/70 |
Cholesterol | 166 | 112 |
Insulin to Carbs Ratio | 1:10 | 1:30-1:50 |
Symptoms | Chronic pain, fatigue, heartburn, prostatitis, joint stiffness | All Resolved |
You’re In Control
One of the things that Casey said he loved most about the Mastering Diabetes Method in contrast with other methods is that it didn’t feel as rigid. It felt more flexible, where you can see results to varying degrees based on how much you want to apply it to your life. You learn what to do in order to get the best results, but you also get to decide what version of that fits your life circumstances and your body.
Through the teachings of Mastering Diabetes, Casey came to understand what was happening in his body and how the foods he eats affects that physiologically. Having this knowledge made him feel empowered in his daily life because he felt like he was so much more in control of what was happening. He knew he could make a choice that would have a poor response on his blood glucose later, but the key is that it would be a conscious choice. He could make the choice with the understanding of how it would affect his body, and act accordingly. Or, he could choose to do what would give his body an optimal response. In either case, you’re not a victim. You’re in control, and you feel like you truly have a sense of choice. You get to decide what experience you want to have.
