Being diagnosed with Diabetes is a scary life altering diagnosis but it need not mean lowering your quality of life. Deepak Madgeri shares his experience of managing Diabetes.
Name: Deepak Madgeri
Age: 67 years
Occupation: Service
Living with Diabetes
I enjoyed a healthy and happy life with no restriction on what I ate. I was diagnosed with Type 2 Diabetes at the age of 53 years during a periodical health checkup. As Diabetes is often diagnosed in our family, I should say we are a little bit prepared when someone new is diagnosed. I feel no hesitation about discussing Diabetes with my family and friends. I use Apple Watch for exercise monitoring and use a glucose meter synced to my mobile phone to monitor my blood glucose levels. I also regularly visit the hospital for a blood glucose check and consultation.
My diet
My diet consists of 60 per cent vegetables, 20 per cent fat and 20 per cent carbohydrates. I avoid milk products, ghee, sugar, white rice, black tea, coffee, bakery products and red meat. I substitute sugar with stevia, tea with green tea and red meat with fish and chicken curry.
6 am – 2 cups of hunza tea and 6-8 soaked almonds
9 am – Green smoothie and one large bowl of fruit (4 varieties) if I still feel hungry after an hour.
1 pm – Awala juice, a large bowl of salad with 1 teaspoon cold pressed olive oil/flax seed oil, 1 tablespoon grated coconut, 2 types of vegetables including green leafy vegetable, cooked sprouts, dal, one jowar or bajra roti or khapli wheat roti, one cup red rice.
4 pm – Green tea
5 pm A handful of dry fruits or roasted gram (chana)
8 pm – Awala juice, a large bowl of salad with 1 teaspoon cold pressed olive oil/flax seed oil, 1 tablespoon grated coconut, soup or thin dal, green vegetable and one jowar/ bajra/ khapli wheat roti.
My exercise routine
A brisk 45 minute walk in the morning, which I have gradually increased, to 75 minutes covering 5 to 7 kms. I do Yoga for an hour and meditate for 20 minutes.
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Some of the yogasanas I do are:
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Kapal Bhati Pranayam 300 breaths
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Brahmari Pranayama 5 rounds
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Supta Matsyendrasana (Lying down body twist)
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Dhanurasana (Bow Pose)
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Paschimottanasana (Seated forward bend)
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Ardhya Matsyendrasana (Sitting half spinal twist)
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Shavasana (Corpse Pose)
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Surya Namskar 12 rounds (Most Important)
I have joined a gym to prevent muscle loss (which often occurs with weight loss). This should also help to lower insulin resistance and improve blood glucose control.
Word of advice
Age is the only a number, have proved with the result in 3 months that I am able to manage Diabetes and reduce the medication. My health parameters were as below:
September 2022:
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HBA1C – 10.53
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FF Sugar – 162 mg/dl
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PP Sugar- 176 mg/dl
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Weight -89.4 kgs
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BMI – 28.86 kg/m2
December 2022:
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HBA1C – 6.5
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FF Sugar 115 mg/dl
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PP Sugar 117 mg/dl
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Weight -82.00 kgs
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BMI – 25.31 kg/m2
I am happy to note that my weight reduced by 7.4 kgs in 3 months, my body mass index reduced by 3.55 kg/m2 12.3 per cent and my medication reduced from total of 7 tablets to 3 tablets.
