Food and Family Traditions.
Simplifying Life and Improving Diet.
Drive to survive encompassed life, Diet and exercise walking and thinking lifestyle and relationships, Rectifying obesity dealing with diabetes researching health, Opened up opportunities for living comfortably independence and freedom.
Although looking back seems everything was wonderfully planned reality strips façade, Reactions to situations, Organic progressions of trial and error experiments informing next steps, Each step improving life, Took decades and even now I’m still learning.
Research Engineer, Used to careful analysis of complex problems where easy solutions never quite work and may introduce new unforeseen behaviors, Treated my own health as complex engineering problem, “Suck and See” plus “Learning by doing”, Monitored by family doctor.
Managing My Diabetes II.
Did the rounds check box doctors, Diet recommendations, Purchased blood glucose monitor and action plans, Carefully read and compared diet plans and “permitted” foods, Found many inconsistencies preventing informed decisions, Effects of ingredients depends on preparation degree of cooking and interactions with dish’s other ingredients, Times of meal seemed important.
Decided to devise my own diet and test regime that would suit my specific health goal of eliminating diabetes’ malign effects.
First step was to eliminate things couldn’t control, Decided No processed foods, Meant everything fresh, Sadly no preserved meats, Goodbye salami and smoked fish, Goodbye bacon sambos, Still baked own bread for a time.
Worked out meal plans recipes and serving sizes, Family doctor checked, Started keeping blood glucose logs, Tweaked and worked on ingredients carefully testing and recording changes, Set ambitious targets for blood glucose readings, Patience was necessary surprises along the way, In five years no diabetes symptoms, Ceased medications after Doctor’s confirmation tests, Still undertake regular full screen testing.
Diabetes diet with exercise and walking good basis for reducing weight, Small tweaks in diet resulted in gradual weight loss, Now on final stretch for target weight, Lost about 90lbs since 1998.
Family and Traditions.
Family love, Supportive and tolerant, Helped dealing with stress and anxieties, Particularly because my father died from diabetes’ complications, Sons helped with exercise plans. I’m thankful for steadfast loving family.
Abandoning all processed food was relatively easy, Just retreated to Grandmother’s traditional farm inspired recipes, Spent many hours in her kitchen, Wood fired stove preparation bench and my small table learning cooking skills, Never forgotten and always cherish with deepest reverence those wonderful times.
My vegetable curry directly based on Grandmother’s end of week vegetable casserole, Wholesome ingredients, Root vegetables onions and anything left over in larder or neighbors’ kitchens, Community meal.
Strength and Resolve.
My bowl for curry was crafted by youngest son, Experimental run for his artisan pottery, Silly spoon was three decades old, Imagine stories it could tell!
My apartment rich in Songlines connecting art and artifacts with happy stories and family history.
In my apartment everything does not have a place but everything has story about family.
Blessed be.
