MS Speaks

Since I post quite a few items about diet and nutrition here, a bit of background might help to explain this emphasis.

When I was diagnosed with  Type 2 diabetes back in '84, I was told that the best way to get it under control was to lose weight, and if I didn't, I'd be in big trouble.

So I lost 100 lbs. and got my weight down to the low end of the normal range (108) for my height.  I've maintained the normal weight ever since. That's over 30 years. I'm still not taking any diabetes medicine, and my HbA1C test always comes out around 5.1, which is excellent, they tell me.

 I've felt ever so much better since I lost the excess pounds and stayed on the diabetic diet. I'm a lacto-ovo-vegetarian too, and maybe that has helped.

Counting calories and  weighing food is a nuisance, and watching those nutrition labels is another nuisance but it's well worth it. Exercising for about 30 minutes every day is the hardest part but I try to keep at it.

I can't imagine how people can eat some of the desserts I see. I used to be big on desserts but nowadays they just look too rich and sweet for my taste.

Maybe the biggest benefit of losing the weight was its effect on the MS.  I've had more stamina and better mobility ever since. I do fall sometimes but I've had no more broken bones.

I still have MS symptoms that act up in a big way the minute I'm too tired, stressed, overheated, or have an infection. Keeping those triggers from happening takes planning and concentration.

Your muscles have to work harder if you have MS. If you give them too much to do, they don't like it. Excess weight probably gives them too much to do.

At least that's how I see it.