Spotlight on you

Like many, I spent 2020 being idle. Being inside most of the time was boring but it kept me safe from the pandemic. It also led to me gaining 30 pounds. My five-foot, two-inch body took on a different shape! in 2020 I forgot that I also needed to be exercising my body and make healthy food choices. Finding out that I was headed towards diabetes alarmed me; my mother had become diabetic, and I knew I could prevent that in my life by making changes. I knew I’d been inactive but wasn’t paying attention to my eating habits. When the doctor informed me that not only my weight had gone up, but that my A1C was too high it hit me like a ton of bricks! I had to admit that my clothing had become tight and that I was in a spot I did not want to be in.

Fortunately, I was able to reach out to AMD’s licensed dietitian Clarissa Vega. She explained that lowering my caloric intake and focusing on the most healthful choices would be beneficial to weight loss and my A1C.  Clarissa explained the wide variety of options in products from various local businesses such as the supermarket and smaller purveyors like Trader Joe’s and Aldi’s.  Her office is filled with wrappers from myriad products from local stores. That awareness of options previously unknown to me was interesting and fun! She is also an enthusiastic practitioner of healthful eating and I learned there are delicious choices while improving my health! I buy low-carb crepes, which I fill with hot or cold choices. I became more mindful of what I was eating, and why. I knew about simple carbs but hadn’t been mindful enough about them. I began to pay more attention to what I prepared for myself and when. At first, it was tedious counting calories, but my body and mind adjusted, and I did it every day. I had a routine of what I ate for breakfast, lunch and dinner, and a late snack. I started baking keto apple bread as I love to bake, as my mother had. There are many healthier choices to be made. However, I became more aware of eating beneficial food and practicing mindfulness is the key to going forward for me. I am now losing another 15 pounds as I approach my next birthday.  To schedule an appointment with Carissa, contact your Personal Healthcare Assistant at 1-954-876-9008 or PHATeam@associatesmd.com.