A guest blog post. A personal experience with the power of Sugar.
I thought I was dead. Seriously, at the time the thought of me not having cancer and dying was a miracle idea that made me cry even thinking that I may survive. Just several months earlier I lost a good friend to stomach cancer. He was healthy until diagnosis, and died within two months of diagnosis. It stunned & shocked everyone.
Months after my young friends sudden death I started experience pain in my arms, arm pit, and chest. Not major pain but soreness. I could feel lumps under my skin, over time they were getting larger and seemed to be moving from my arms to my chest. I thought I had cancer and was going to die.
I have had health care forever but had not seen a doctor in many years, nor did I have a primary care physisician that I see regularly. (I'm not sure I am alone on this, I have learned a hard lesson though and will be seeing a PCP reularly now.)
When I noticed the lumps were growing and appearing under my arms and seemingly moving into my chest I started making calls to meet with a primary care physician. I went onto my health insurance website and found a local doctor. My appointment was weeks out; over those weeks the lumps under my skin got larger, the size between a marble and a golf ball. I started to feel more sore. I thought I had Cancer and was going to be told the news by the doctor when I visited him.
I thought it was odd when my doctors visit was in the heart health wing at an area hospital. I especially thought it odd when prior to my meeting with the doctor, I was hooked up to an EKG machine. I was impressed that this "doctor's office" was so thorough! I was told to wait in a room for the doctor to see me, that seemed normal, so I waited.
When the doctor came in he started speaking about my heart. "Your heart looks good", "Do I have a history of heart issues?" We do so I discussed my heart. Then I told the doctor about the lumps under my skin and he seemed confused and continued to discuss the results of the EKG.
When he was finished discussing my heart, and began wrapping up the visit, I asked him if he was going to check out my lumps. He looked at my quizically and stated authoratatively and snobbishly,
"I am a Cardiologist!"!
Having found him on a list of PCP on my health insurer website I was confused and asked him, "so, are you my Primary Care Physician?" This time he doubled down on the snobbish tone and stated heaven to hear "I Am A Cardiologist!".
Good for you, I thought. You're a doctor, I'm dying of Cancer. My entrance into our healthcare system has started off pretty bad. How was I able to schedule a visit with a premier Cardiologist, a specialized heart doctor, off the street basically?
I got home and got online looking for a PCP who will inspect these lumps and send me to someone; not a cardiologist! I had worriedly waited for 6 weeks for the appointment with the cardiologists and now was looking at another 6 week wait. I made calls and, of course, sounded like a crazy person explaining that I have cancer and its getting worse, that I am not going to make it 6 more weeks!"
(Yes, that happened, I'm that guy. Give me a little room, I recently just lost me friend who was healthy then gone in two months.)
The staff at the doctors offices I called likely speak to so many crazy people everyday they calmly listened to me and said, if something opens up before then, they would let me know. A few weeks later I got a call that an appointment has opened up. I rushed in.
The office was what I would expect a primary care physician to be in, a small office, a quaint lobby, Highlights magazines on a coffee table...
I met with a really cool young doctor who thought my experience with the Cardiologist was extremely funny. A dumb, ignorant of health care procedures, person asking likely one of the best doctors in Cincinnati if he was going to be my person PCP? I likely threw that doctor for a loop; a local god of a doctor, who spends the day telling the World how it is supposed to move, and here this kid is asking him if he wants to, you know, be my personal primary care doctor who would refer me to specialized physicians like, Cardiologists, who operate on our most important organs. Yeah ~.
Over the previous several years I was gaining and retaining weight. being in my 40's I thought this was just what happened as we aged. I have heard of metabolism slow down, I am not exercising as much as I once did. I was heavy yes but mostly bloated. Not so much fat in my belly area and legs but just, like filled up with air on all parts of my body.
The lumps under my skin I could feel in my armpits, and arms were of considerable size. I did not have energy, I was heavy and overweight, and this made my usually positive temperament a drag. I also did not like how I looked, I felt old and fat. I did not feel attractive. This kept me from talking to people and getting into things, going out, and having fun.
My new PCP checked me out. Ran some bloodwork, and inspected my lumps:
"These are not cancer" he said.
Even hearing that this could be something else other than cancer I was jolted. Really!!!
The doctor stated that if this was cancer:
I am an Alchoholic who has not imbided in alchohol for over 15 years, I said sort of proudly. I occasionally have ice cream for desert, 3-4 times a week. I try to eat greens with every meal but I'll have pizza regularly during the week. (I had half a pizza for lunch before the doctor visit even. Ok fine, more than half of the pizza!). I drink healthy drinks during the day, I love Bolthouse Farms juices, Green Goodness, Strawberry Bananna, Purple Berry Medely... I drink one or two liters of Organic fruit juice a day. I would mix it with soda water, so good. Healthy right, organic expensive natural fruit juice.
I thought I ate pretty healthy. I garden, eat from the garden when I can, I eat salads (With my steak and ice cream for desert) I buy organic, and I drink organic fruit juice.
The doctor said well I have some good news and bad news for you.
I knew this was coming, I was dying. I would be dead in under a year and my daughter will not have a Dad. This is it...
The good news is you do not have cancer. (OMG!!!!! Thank you God, Thank you God!) But your blood sugar levels are Very high. Elevated blood sugar can do this and your blood sugar is very elevated.
He pointed out that the healthy organic juice I was drinking all day is very high in sugar. Of course the ice cream was high in sugar, but also in the pizza and fun foods I eat (because I am sober, I am healthy, right? Wrong) are all high in sugar.
This may be a hard ask for most, myself included. It would seem like a big ask to me if my doctor simply said, out of the blue, that I could not have sugar anymore. But because I came in thinking that what was going on was Cancer and I thought I was going to die, being told I can live if I reduce my sugar consumption, was a miracle. A gift from God.
"Of course I can do that, that's easy if I get to live!
Not having cancer made reducing my sugar intake an easy pill to swallow. I got right to it. I immediately discarded the organic fruit juice, got rid of the ice cream (if it is in my house I will eat it. So getting rid of it worked for me) I started reading the nutrition labels and sugar amounts. WOW! I had no idea there was so much sugar in so many foods; regular sugars as well as added sugars, in foods you may not even consider to be high in sugar.
I only bought non sugar foods. I ate a lot of fish, good fish like Walleye! I would serve it over a stack of lettuce and olive oil. I ate fish 3 times a week. Chicken, broccoli, salad, steak, nuts, I found a sugar free chocolate chip (Lucy's) and would have peanuts and Lucy's sugar free chocolate chips for deserts. Carbohydrates were inspected as they break down into sugars as well, so I would by fibrous foods, and low carb food options. I eat apples and bananas when I want, I just don't drink juice, organic or any kind.
I followed a rule my diabetic friend told me "You can no longer drink fruits, you have to eat them"
In the first two weeks of not consuming sugar the lumps under my skin and in my armpits decreased in size dramatically. They were there but are small. I lost weight almost instantly, in two weeks I was no longer fat and bloated. I was not necessarily fat in the belly or behind, I had been plump and rounded and rounding. It was as if someone popped my skin and let the bloat out, deflated me. In two weeks I was deflated, I quickly lost a lot of weight. In one month I fit into clothes that hadn't fit for years.
The greatest part, and the most counterintuitive, is that I had a ton of energy! I used to drink juice, coffee, and food to get what I thought was energy to work, to accomplish goals, but then I would be tired and unenergetic. When I stopped consuming sugar I had more energy than I had in a decade! It was amazing. My face and neck got noticeably skinnier, younger looking.
The power of sugar on our bodies is immense and little understood or discussed. But when I stopped consuming sugar I lost a ton of weight, gained a ton of energy, felt great, looked good, and the physical ailment that I thought was going to kill me reduced to a minimal state.
We are all different. For me I know my alcoholism and sugar consumption are related. Like most alchoholics when we stop consuming alcohol we crave sugars. I was not longer drinking a lot of beer; I was instead drinking a lot of juice, and ice cream. But when I stopped the sugar consumption I felt and looked great. I was no longer bloated and fat, I was fitting into my cool clothes and looking better than I had in a decade back when I did not drive everywhere and rode a bike everywhere.
Getting off of sugar had a traumatic effect on my weight, happiness, and energy. I had no idea sugar was so powerful; this is why I share my story here.
I did not realize there was so much sugar in most of what I was eating and drinking. By cutting out the sugars I immediately saw a traumatic difference.
One final benefit of all this is that now my stomach did not bloat out, my body was not inflated. But months into this I now could see that when I ate certain foods, my stomach bloated out real bad, and very quick after eating. Like someone took an air pressure hose and filled my stomach with air, round as a basketball. This would occur almost immediately and last for 24-48 hours. I was not able to see this effect before bc I was already bloated from the sugar consumption.
I have not pinned down what ingredient in food makes my stomach bloat. It has been recommended for me to take an allergy test to see if I am allergic to a specific ingredient, food additive, gluten, dairt, oil, starch, carbs... etc.
This is my weight loss journey now. I stayed off of sugar hard core for over a year; I am not sliding back to much but that is my weight loss journey now. Interestingly, if I do have sugar for two to three days in a row, the little lumps in my body start to grow; like a red alert telling me to knock It off with the sugar, and keeps me on track, as morbid as that sounds.
I had no idea how powerful sugar is and how much sugar contributed to weight loss, having energy, and feeling good about myself.
The benefits of Figure Weight Loss are many but as described here, having insurance and PCP doctors can be confusing and difficult; Figure Weight Loss is led by board certified physicians (doctors), they have an in house team of dieticians, nurse practitioners, and dedicated staff. All of the doctors, nurses, and staff under one roof for the same low cost. No need for insurance, it's affordable.
I wanted to share my story to expose the power of two things. First, the power of Sugar on our bodies. I had no idea and hope my story can help people see that it's not all about carbs and fat. Second, the power of the dietitians at Figure Weight Loss. Take advantage of this amazing resource. Dietitians out in the world are an expensive luxury, I mean, who do you know who has a dietitian?
When you come to Figure Weight Loss the doctor is here to see you, no need for insurance, and the dietitians are available to you to create that long term journey of living long with high energy, looking good, and feeling great.
Thank you! Related resource: How Sugar Affects Our Bodies.
This is a guest blog post. The points of view, facts, or content of this page does not reflect the views of Figure Weight Loss, the doctors, nutrionist, or dietitians. While a real story, this is an advertisement, not to be construed as medical advice. For medical advice on weight loss speak to a certified physician at Figure Weight Loss.
