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Stephany Writes

Categories: Healthy Living

When Hard Work Pays Off

When I posted about my improved bloodwork numbers on Friday, a few people asked me to share the changes I made. And I am very happy to do so!

First, a disclaimer: I don’t know exactly what moved the needle. When I had bloodwork done in January, I was shocked by some of the numbers. The most troubling was my A1C at 6.6%. Anything over 6.4% is a marker for type 2 diabetes. My fasting glucose was also abnormal, indicating diabetes. But my doctor wasn’t keen to start me on medication, as I’m still quite young to have numbers this high without first trying lifestyle changes. So I left her office with a clear goal: clean up my eating and see if it helped.

Given that diabetes doesn’t run in my family, I felt confident that my elevated levels had to do with my unhealthy eating habits, not anything related to genetics. And that meant I had control. I have the power to make changes and improve my bloodwork. And I fucking did that. I am so proud of myself for making the necessary changes and so relieved that my hard work paid off in the form of vastly improved bloodwork.

Here’s how I did it.

First, I focused on the easiest swaps.

I knew I couldn’t completely overhaul my diet overnight. That would never work, and it wouldn’t be sustainable for the long term. Instead, I started with simple, low-effort changes that felt manageable. Here are some of the swaps I made:

  • White rice → brown or basmati rice
  • White bread (for toast) → sourdough bread
  • Instant oatmeal → lower sugar instant oatmeal (same brand and flavor, just half the sugar—and honestly, it tastes almost the same!)
  • Lessening the creamer I add to my morning coffee (from 3 tablespoons to 1.5 tablespoons)
  • Sugary Starbucks drinks → vanilla sweet cream cold brew (about 40g less sugar than a peppermint mocha and 20g less than a caramel macchiato, my former go-tos!)

These changes didn’t take much effort—just a willingness to try something new. But I knew if I really wanted to turn things around, I had to face my biggest challenge: my sweet tooth.

Second, I took charge of my sweet tooth.

Arguably, the biggest change I made over the last three months is significantly reducing the amount of soda I drink. I am a Dr. Pepper girlie through and through, and I do not like diet soda, and I was drinking it daily. I would buy those little, 7.5-ounce cans at the grocery store and made a rule with myself that I could only have one can a day, but there were more days than not when I would drink two or three (or four…) cans a day. If I needed a pick-me-up, if I wanted something sweet with dinner, or even if I was just thirsty, Dr. Pepper was my go-to.

Once I finished up the last pack of Dr. Pepper, I told myself I could no longer keep Dr. Pepper at home. I could have it at a restaurant or pick up a 20-ounce bottle at the grocery store, but it could no longer be a daily habit. This was so hard at first. Soda was such a crutch for me, but now that I’m three months in, I can happily say that I have gotten used to not having Dr. Pepper at home. I keep Waterloo seltzer on hand when I need something sweet and fizzy, and that seems to keep the cravings at bay.

Another big change I made was limiting the amount of sweets I keep at home. I used to have so many sweets on hand because I wanted to be able to satisfy my sweet tooth whenever a craving hit. Whether that’s a handful of Hershey kisses, a bowl of ice cream, or Little Debbies, I always kept an array of different options to choose from. Now, I only keep two treats in the house:

  • Dark chocolate candies for an after-lunch treat (dark chocolate is not something I crave, and it’s so rich that I’m not tempted to eat more than a couple of pieces at a time)
  • Ice cream sandwiches for an after-dinner dessert (ice cream doesn’t tempt me in the same way other sweets do, and ice cream sandwiches are lower in sugar compared to other comparable options)

I still let myself enjoy desserts when I want them. For example, my family does game night every other Saturday, and my mom and I trade off baking a dessert for it. If I want to go out for ice cream or order dessert with dinner, I do. I don’t believe in deprivation, and I knew I needed this to feel sustainable. Telling myself I had to turn down dessert every single time it was offered would have made me crazy.

I’d be lying if I said I never questioned whether I was doing enough. I wondered if I’d regret not cutting out sweets completely—if my A1C or fasting glucose didn’t improve because I hadn’t tried harder, would I feel like I brought this on myself? But at the same time, I had to be realistic. Giving up sweets entirely wasn’t something I wanted to do. How joyless would that be?! That’s not the kind of life I want to live, even if it meant I’d end up with a diabetes diagnosis.

Third, I read a book.

Tobia recommended the book Glucose Revolution to me many months ago when I talked about needing to lower my blood sugar. She read it to help with her migraines, and it’s actually has helpful insights for all kinds of health concerns. In fact, the reason the author went on this journey was to better understand her mental health and how food, and glucose in particular, could be affecting her life. It’s incredible to think about all the different ways food impacts the way our bodies and brains work!

I’m not someone who enjoys diet-related books, and I’ll admit the second half of the book lost me a bit. Some of the recommendations—like drinking vinegar before every meal, starting every meal with salad, and taking a walk after every meal—felt overwhelming. But overall, it was an eye-opening read that allowed me to better understand how my body works and the small changes I can make to lessen glucose spikes.

The first section of the book, which dives into the science behind the foods we eat, helped me understand what’s actually going on in my body. Here are some of the notes I took:

  • The primary sugar molecules in food are glucose, fructose, and sucrose (sucrose is a combination of glucose and fructose).
  • Whenever we see a glucose spike after eating something sweet (like a cupcake), there is a corresponding fructose spike that we cannot see. (Science hasn’t found a way to measure fructose spikes, only glucose spikes.) But a glucose spike after eating something starchy (like white rice) does not have the fructose spike and is therefore less harmful.
  • A glucose spike happens when we deliver glucose to our cells too quickly, and our cells cannot use it for energy. That’s when our body releases free radicals, which can be dangerous (some free radicals can lead to cancer). We can live with a moderate amount of free radicals, but too many of them and our body goes into oxidative stress (which drives heart diseases, diabetes, cognitive decline, and aging).
  • Fructose increases oxidative stress more than glucose alone. This is why a glucose spike with a sweet food is worse than one with a starchy food.
  • Insulin’s sole purpose is to stash excess glucose into storage units throughout the body to protect us from the free radicals getting it. Storage units include the liver (in which the glucose is turned into glycogen, which is not harmful to us) and muscles. Once those units are full, the glucose is turned into fat and stored in our fat reserves.
  • Fructose can ONLY be stored in our fat reserves.
  • The more glucose spikes we have, the more insulin that’s released in our bodies – chronically elevated levels of insulin are what bring about health problems.
  • Insulin decrease is the KEY FACTOR in losing weight.

So that’s a lot, and I will be honest: I am not a doctor or a scientist, so I am trusting that the author got the science right. If anything rings untrue, please let me know!

There were a few key things I put into practice after reading this book:

  • The proper order of eating food – To slow down the breakdown and absorption of glucose, there is a proper way to eat food. Start with fiber (veggies), move on to protein and fat, and finish with starches and sugar. Obviously, it’s not possible to eat this way for every meal, but I do try to follow this method for most meals. For example, most of my dinners combine a veggie (like green beans) with a protein (like chicken) and a starch (like rice). So I eat in that order to lessen the glucose spike I would have gotten if I ate my starch first.
  • Assessing food labels – Stop with those damn calories, people! Instead, consider the sugar, carbs, and fiber of a food to determine a food’s nutritional value. First, look at the ingredient list. If sugar is a top-five ingredient, then the food is likely to cause a glucose spike. Second, look at the nutrition facts. Ideally, a serving of food should have 1g of fiber for every 5g of carbs. So when you’re looking at nutrition facts, divide the number of carbs in the serving by 5. The fiber grams should have that amount of fiber. AKA, if the food has 25g of carbs, it should have 5g of fiber, or close to it.

I’m not perfect at following all of these practices, but what matters most to me is being more mindful of what I’m eating and how it might affect my blood sugar. Before making these changes, I couldn’t go more than a few hours without a blood sugar crash. I would get shaky, hot, and dizzy, and I needed to eat something immediately. It was really affecting my life. I had to constantly think about food: how to keep my blood sugar stable, what snacks I’d need, and what would happen if I couldn’t eat at a certain time. It was exhausting. I still experience hypoglycemia episodes from time to time, but they’ve become less frequent and when they do happen, they feel a lot less dramatic.

What’s Next?

Cleaning up my diet and trying to lower my blood sugar has been the driving force in my life over the past three months. And while I’m proud of the progress I’ve made (it’s so cool to see that my fasting glucose and my total cholesterol are normal!), I have more work to do. My A1C is still at the very top of the prediabetes range, and several of my cholesterol numbers remain high.

I want to build on the healthy habits I have implemented over the past three months. For example, there are some habits from Glucose Revolution that I’d like to implement just to see how they improve the way I feel:

  • Eating a salad before lunch and dinner – I need more veggies in my life and this is one way to make that happen. Plus, it would help lessen any glucose spikes.
  • Trying apple cider vinegar – My stepdad swears by the health benefits of ACV and he might be on to something. I’d like to give it a shot and see what happens.

I still need to make a lot more changes to the way I eat (hellllllo more fruits and veggies!), but I am proud of the changes I did make and that I did it in a way that feels sustainable and satisfying.

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About Stephany

Hi, I'm Stephany! (She/her) I'm a 30-something single lady living in Florida. On this blog, I love talking about what I'm reading, my personal life, mental health struggles, and so much more. I love connecting with readers and other bloggers, so please leave a comment or send me an email!

Comments

  1. Birchie

    May 7, 2025 at 7:18 am

    Stephany, this is amazing. I feel like the average person would say “oops, my numbers are bad, I’m going to eat nothing but plain chicken and veggies”, do that for a few days, burn out, go back to old habits, and keep up that cycle until the next blood test. You figured out how to make small changes and keep them snowballing into huge changes.

    I didn’t know that sourdough is better than white bread but yay that the thing that tastes better is the healthier choice.

    I really like ice cream sandwiches for a lil’ sumptin’ sumptin’. They’re very satisfying, but not in a “if one is good then two is better” kind of way.

    I take walks after 2 of my 3 meals each day simply because I have a dog;-) So I also approve of this advice.

    Reply
    • Stephany

      May 8, 2025 at 10:01 pm

      I feel like I *have* been that person in the past and now I have learned from my mistakes. Small, sustainable changes that make a big impact but don’t feel like a huge sacrifice are what work for me.

      I was delighted to find out sourdough is better than even whole-wheat bread (which is gross to me, lol). So hooray for that!

      So you’re telling me I need a dog… hmm…

      Reply
  2. Elisabeth

    May 7, 2025 at 7:42 am

    First, this is incredible. I’m with Birchie. SO MANY PEOPLE would just shrug and say it was impossible to change. And you’ve made such a big difference without completely upending how you eat OR by veering into disordered eating patterns. So many gold stars for this. Please keep us updated.

    I just finished the Glucose Revolution and thought it was a great book! I know of a few people that have noticed real changes by implementing some of the strategies.

    I appreciated how most of the “hacks” were pretty simple (as in – eat the same things but in a different order) and I LOVED the graphic of the sink and starting with greens instead of carbs. I found that such a helpful image.

    Reply
    • Stephany

      May 9, 2025 at 8:36 am

      I’m glad you enjoyed Glucose Revolution. And yes, that graphic is something I still remember and think about often! I do love how simple her hacks were and how she was honest that it’s not possible to do ALL of these hacks ALL the time. But just trying your best is what matters most!

      Reply
  3. Jenny

    May 7, 2025 at 8:05 am

    Thanks for breaking this all down! I definitely want to read that book- interesting that excessive glucose is responsible for all sorts of health issues, not just diabetes. And I didn’t know that about the fructose spikes. I heard someone- a woman, and I’m assuming it was the author of this book- on a podcast talking about the proper order of eating (fiber first), the vinegar trick, and walking after meals. Right after I heard that I was implementing those things, but now I’ve gotten lazy again.
    Anyway, congratulations on making these changes, and seeing such great results. It’s nice when hard work really does pay off.

    Reply
    • Stephany

      May 9, 2025 at 8:37 am

      It’s actually quite interesting to learn all the ways glucose can affect more than just our sugar/diabetes risk! It is responsible for brain fog, mental health challenges, migraines, etc. I feel like even people who don’t have diabetes risk would find something useful from it!

      Thank you!

      Reply
  4. Rebecca J Vincent

    May 7, 2025 at 8:40 am

    That’s so awesome you’re taking charge of your health. Its never easy ( believe me, I know) but it sounds like you’re making such smart moves! HERES TO A HEALTHIER YOU!

    PS – I love Apple Cider Vinegar drinks!

    Reply
    • Stephany

      May 9, 2025 at 11:41 am

      It is SO hard to make these changes, but having that diabetes diagnosis looming over me really helped me get my ass in gear.

      Reply
  5. J

    May 7, 2025 at 3:48 pm

    Thanks for this review and information, I might get this book. My mom was diabetic, but controlled it by balancing her sugar with protein I think. So if she wanted some cherries (she LOVED cherries) she would eat them with a big of cheese, which helped keep her from spiking. As with so many things, we are all a little different, but there are similar changes we can make to be healthier.

    I LOVE salad, but not sure I want it at breakfast. I guess redefining what salad means might help that. Breakfast veggies to me usually means scrambling them in with eggs, since I don’t really drink smoothies.

    I used to do shots of acv and honey, and eventually cut out the honey, to help with arthritis. It didn’t really work for me, though I know people it has worked for. I know that vinegar is good for blood sugar, so it makes sense that it would help with diabetes. I think this is one time you might want a straw…not sure it’s good for your tooth enamel.

    Reply
    • Stephany

      May 9, 2025 at 11:45 am

      The ACV would be diluted in water. The author was VERY clear about that! And I don’t think I could just do a full shot without diluting it, lol. Just thinking about that makes me squirmy!

      My dietician told me about pairing something sweet with a protein/carb. I need to be better about doing that. Totally forgot she told me that until you mentioned it!

      Reply
  6. Suzanne

    May 7, 2025 at 5:55 pm

    You DID IT, Stephany. I am so glad you are celebrating that. You took action, you saw results. Way. To. Go.

    Reply
    • Stephany

      May 9, 2025 at 11:46 am

      Thank you, friend! I am so glad it worked. I would have been very disheartened if it hadn’t.

      Reply
  7. Grateful Kae

    May 7, 2025 at 8:14 pm

    Stephany!!!!! You are amazing!!!!! 🤩 thank you so much for sharing all of this! I am SO impressed how you just took the bull by the horns and got it done! I don’t think many people (probably myself included!) would be fully willing to do the work- it is hard and sounds like a lot! Amazing job. So inspiring!

    Reply
    • Stephany

      May 10, 2025 at 10:33 am

      Thank you! Getting that possible diabetes diagnosis was scary enough for me to kick things in high gear! And a lot of the changes were small and relatively easy. It’s just about doing the work (and sometimes failing!)

      Reply
  8. Nicole MacPherson

    May 8, 2025 at 7:45 am

    Incredible, Stephany! You worked hard and it’s paying off! I’m so proud of you.
    I use ACV in dressings but I’ve never just taken it straight. Is it supposed to be just swallowed by the spoonful? I like it fine but I’m wondering how it’s done. Or maybe diluted? I’m so curious and hung up on this tiny detail.

    Reply
    • Stephany

      May 10, 2025 at 10:34 am

      You dilute the ACV in water. So a tablespoon of ACV with 8 ounces of water or something like that? I would start out very small and work my way up. The fact that I’m even willing to give this a try is crazy to me, lol.

      Reply
  9. Diane

    May 8, 2025 at 10:37 am

    Stephany- this is so inspiring! I’m so glad you wrote this post, so honest and practical. It’s a testament to little shifts adding up to a big change.
    I wonder if drinking apple cider vinegar in a shrub would work? I do love a refreshing shrub!

    Reply
    • Stephany

      May 10, 2025 at 10:35 am

      TBH, I had to Google what you meant by drinking ACV in a shrub, lol. I feel like they probably have some options to do “shots” but I’ll probably just do a tablespoon of ACV diluted in water. We’ll see how it goes!

      Reply
  10. Lisa's Yarns

    May 9, 2025 at 11:45 am

    Way to go! I love that you really stepped up to the challenge and saw results! That is so encouraging! I should check out that book as well. There are things I can take away from this as well, like the order of eating! I love salads, so I should eat them as part of more meals. We are getting closer to optimal produce time, too, which really helps!

    Reply

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Welcome!

Hi, I'm Stephany! (She/her) I'm a 30-something single lady, living in Florida. I am a major bookworm, cat mom, podcast fiend, and aspiring novelist. I identify as an Enneagram 9, an introvert, and a Highly Sensitive Person. On this blog, you will find stories about my life, book reviews, travel experiences, and more. Welcome!

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