First, I want to thank Jenny for the excellent resources on her
website, especially the page on diabetis risk at:
http://www.geocities.com/jenny_the_bean/risk.htm

My mother was always very obese and she developed Type II diabetis
when she was 51 years old.  I have been obese for most of my life and
was the classic yo-yo dieter, losing weight only to gain it (and more)
back eventually.  As I got older, it became harder and harder to lose
any of the weight at all.  As I neared 50 myself, I became more and
more concerned about the very real possibility that I would also end
up a diabetic like my mother.  My doctor said my glucose level was
fine and that I "could lose some weight," but she did not think it was
a major issue.  I know now that this "diagnosis" was based strictly on
fasting blood glucose levels, but I did not know anything about that
at the time.  But I knew that something was wrong.  I was constantly
hungry, I had very little energy and tired easily, and I would often
find myself nodding off after lunch (which is not a good thing when
one attends many afternoon planning meetings at work!).  I had pretty
much given up on ever losing any weight and felt resigned to my fate.

Then, a little over a year ago, I ran into an old acquaintance who I
almost did not recognize because he had lost so much weight.  He told
me that he had done it using the Atkins diet and that I should give it
a try.  I now look back on this chance meeting as almost a miracle
because my life has changed so much for the better.  I have lost 65
pounds, I am never hungry the way I once was, my energy level is great
and constant throughout the day.  I feel like I have been given my
life back.

So, I had not been thinking much about diabetis lately until I started
reading this newsgroup, especially Jenny's postings.  The recent
thread on Blood Glucose Meters got me thinking about it again and I
read Jenny's page on risk and decided to get a meter and see what it
showed.

I did my first reading Tuesday nite about 2 hours after dinner and the
reading was 79.  Wednesday morning before breakfast it was 72.  I had
2 low-carb Walnut Cinammon muffins (from the Low Carb Comfort Foods
cookbook) for breakfast and an hour and a half later the reading was
90.  I wanted to try the blood sugar test before lunch, so I went
ahead and did it.  I'm not sure if I should have waited for the BG to
come down some before doing the test, but I don't think it would have
mattered.

Anyway, for my test I ate a 4-pack of Dolly Madison Zingers (they're
like Twinkies).  The package says 2 servings (yeah, like anyone eats
half a package), each with 31 grams of carbs (21 grams of sugar).  So,
the total was 62 grams carbs, 41 grams sugar, and I think it was 410
calories.  The funny thing is I did not enjoy eating this at all,
though I once ate stuff like this every day and loved it.

Exactly one hour later I tested and my BG was 150.  At two hours it
was 126.  I realize that these are only slightly above the "normal"
readings of 140 and 120, but I can only imagine what these numbers
would have been 65 pounds ago.  Anyway, I decided to go for a walk
instead of eating lunch after this little experiment.  I walked for
about 30 minutes, but I started feeling queasy and decided to head
back to work.  By the time I got back to my office I was in a cold
sweat and felt light-headed and dizzy.  I took another reading and my
BG was 51.  I don't have any kind of sugary foods here, but a
co-worker gave me a Nutrigrain bar and I ate half of that and started
feeling better.  I followed that up with a can of sardines and lots of
water for lunch.  I didn't feel normal again until much later in the
afternoon.

This little experiment was a real eye-opener for me.  Sure, I had read
Dr. Atkins and the Drs. Eades on the effects of insulin and blood
sugar swings, but I never really "felt" what they were talking about
until now.  I really can't believe this was how I once lived.  I had
already decided that I would be eating low-carb for the rest of my
life, but this has made it clear to me that I really do not have a
choice.  I strongly encourage everyone to read Jenny's risk page and
consider getting a meter so they can check themselves.  We are
responsible for our own health and can not be totally dependent on
doctors for our care!  Thanks again, Jenny.