Give Me The Reason For Yo Yo Dieting

A much thinner image of Luther Vandross appears on the Give Me The Reason album cover than his fans have previously seen. We are discussing the perils of yo-yo dieting, the music industry’s fat-shaming ideology, and the myths surrounding type 2 diabetes on this year’s Luther Tribute podcast.  

By the time Luther Vandross headed to the studio to record his fifth album Give Me the Reason in 1986, he’d become one of the most successful soul singers of the first half of the eighties. His four previous albums have been either certified platinum or double-platinum in America.

For Luther Vandross’ fifth album Give Me the Reason, the album comprised nine tracks including the hits: So Amazing, There’s Nothing Better Than Love, Stop To Love, and Give Me The Reason.

Divabetic’s Luther Vandross Tribute podcast guests include Lisa Fischer, Jason Miles, Jeff James, Patricia Addie-Gentle RN, CDE, and Chuck Flowers. 

 

Attend the Women With T2D Summit

If you have high blood sugars, you need to attend the Women With T2D Summit!

This virtual event was created to help women with type 2 diabetes cut through the noise and find their best-personalized diabetes care plan.

The summit brings together 20+ speakers from diverse backgrounds, including physicians, dietitians, fitness pros, psychologists, and even regular people with T2D sharing what works for them.

You’ll get all the information you need in one place, plus you’ll walk away more motivated, better equipped, and with a clear path to make progress on what can seem like a problem too big to handle – your diabetes.

The summit starts in just a few days on June 29th. Since it’s virtual, you can soak up all the content from the comfort of your own home.

REGISTER NOW

 

Saving A Rescue Dog Triggers Man’s 100+ Pound Weight Loss

“I tried and failed on every diet program ever commercially marketed in the United States,” says Walking With Peety:  The Dog Who Saved My Life author Eric OGrey on Divabetic’s Diabetes Late Nite podcast.

Although it was apparent to everyone else that Eric was morbidly obese, he wasn’t aware of it or his health issues. But by age 51, Eric was 351 pounds with a 52-inch waist, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and type 2 diabetes. He estimates that he was on about fifteen different types of medication. “It was a cruel, gradual, slow process. It’s not like you wake up one day and you’re a hundred pounds heavier than you were the day before. The worse it gets the more you get used to it and it becomes your new normal.”  

Eric admits that one of his biggest problems was that he wasn’t personally involved in his own health. He was taking both metformin and insulin and his A1C was 12. “I didn’t know how my own body worked. I relied upon other people, namely MD’s, to make those decisions for me.” 

Eric turned his diabetes health around after seeking the help of a naturopathic doctor, Dr. Preeti Kulkarni. 

“Dr. Kulkarni put me on a plant-based diet and told me to adopt a dog from my local shelter. I had never had a pet before so I immediately asked her if it was OK if I got a cat instead.” She said, “have you ever walked a cat?”

Eric chose to rescue an obese middle-aged dog. He says, “I thought we’d have something in common.” 

The first time the two went for a walk, they were only able to go about a hundred yards before they had to stop and rest. “I was so out of shape I was out of breath just tying my own shoes.” 

Within three months of a program that consisted of eating a plant-based diet and walking Peety for 30 minutes twice a day, he lost 5 pounds a week, and all of his medical stats improved. His A1c also dropped from 12 to 5. 

Listen to more of Eric OGrey’s transformative story on Diabetes Late Nite with music from P!nk. Other guests include Chilbrook Kennels breeder, author, and diabetes alert dog and scent detection expert, Debby Kay; poet Lorraine Brooks; Yoga for Diabetes author, Rachel Zinman; and Patricia Addie-Gentle RN, CDE. Throughout the podcast we feature songs from the P!nk’s Beautiful Trauma album courtesy of SONY Music.

Divabetic Mystery Phrase #33

Can you solve Divabetic’s Mystery Phrase #33? Our phrase is measured by the force that pushes on the walls of your blood vessels as they carry blood and oxygen to your organs (systolic pressure) and the force that’s created when your heart rests between beats (diastolic pressure).

Do you know what Divabetic’s Mystery Phrase #33 is?

Diabetes damages arteries and makes them targets for hardening, called atherosclerosis. That can cause high blood pressure, which if not treated, can lead to trouble including blood vessel damage, heart attack, and kidney failure.

There are several ways in which high blood sugar levels in the blood can increase blood pressure:

  • The blood vessels lose their ability to stretch.
  • The fluid in the body increases, especially if diabetes is already affecting the kidneys.
  • Insulin resistance may involve processes that increase the risk of hypertension.

In 2012, researchers quoted figures suggesting that 30% of people with type 1 diabetes and 50–80% of those with type 2 diabetes have high blood pressure in the United States.

The combination of high blood pressure and type 2 diabetes can greatly increase your risk of having a heart attack or stroke.

If your blood sugar level is too high, you may experience: increased thirst, frequent urination an fatigue. However, the American Heart Association (AHA) stresses that most of the time there are no symptoms for high blood pressure (also known as hypertension).

People usually find out they have high blood pressure when a doctor takes a blood pressure reading, or they take one themselves at home.

The reading will give two numbers:

  • The systolic is the top number
  • The diastolic is the bottom number

According to the AHA, the results will be one of the following:

  • Normal: Systolic below 120 and diastolic below 80
  • Elevated: Systolic 120–129 and diastolic under 80
  • Hypertension stage 1: Systolic 130–139 and diastolic 80–89
  • Hypertension stage 2: Systolic 140-plus and diastolic 90 or more
  • Hypertensive crisis: Systolic higher than 180 and diastolic above 120.

What is considered normal blood pressure for people with diabetes?

On the basis of recent studies, most people with diabetes should have a blood pressure that’s more than 130/80 mm.

People with diabetes can help decrease the risk of high blood pressure and cardiovascular disease by managing their blood sugar levels.

 

Here area few effective ways to lower your blood pressure levels:

  1. Stop smoking
  2. Increase activity and exercise more
  3. Lose weight if you’re overweight
  4. Cut back on sugar, refined carbohydrates and processed foods

Join the happy healthcare host, Mr. Divabetic for this free, fun Virtual Cooking Party with special guest, Registered Dietitian and Certified Diabetes Educator Jill Weisenberger MS, RDN, CDE, CHWC, FAND on Tuesday, October 6, 2020, 7 – 8 PM, EST on Zoom.

FREE REGISTRATION

Chef Robert’s Mediterranean Chicken with Love Recipe

Chef Robert Lewis, aka The Happy Diabetic” shared his experience living with Type 2 diabetes, connecting with audiences through food, and how you can begin making healthy meals at home with the Divabetic community on Divabetic’s recent free Zoom Cooking Party.

Chef Robert Lewis, The Happy Diabetic, is a nationally recognized author and motivational speaker who is passionate about helping people learn to live a healthier lifestyle. Chef Lewis graduated from the prestigious Culinary Institute of America in 1976. He was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes in 1998. Thus began his motivation to create great tasting dishes that are easy to prepare. He travels the country speaking on the benefits of healthy eating not only for people affected by diabetes, but also for anyone who would like to eat and live a healthy lifestyle. 

Chef Robert’s Mediterranean Chicken of Love Recipe 

Ingredients                                                                                                                                                           

1 T extra-virgin olive oil

8 ounce skinless, precooked chicken brest sliced

1 T chopped garlic

Half a red bell pepper sliced, and green bell pepper sliced or 6-7 mini multi colored peppers sliced

½ red onion sliced

5-6 stalks of asparagus

2-3 large white button mushrooms sliced

1/2 cup grape tomatoes or Roma tomato diced

1/4 cup white wine or vegetable broth

1 t dried oregano

1 t dried rosemary

2-4 leafs of fresh basil or 1 t dried basil

10 black pitted olives or kalamata olives

1 can 15 oz. white Italian beans (drained well)

Black pepper, to taste

½ fresh lime

SEE FULL RECIPE

We’re talking about depictions of diabetes on the silver screen including Steel MagnoliasSoul Food and The Baby-Sitter Club on Divabetic’s Diabetes Late Nite podcast with music from 2Cellos. How realistic are these portrayals? How do we feel after viewing them?   Guests include Patricia Addie-Gentle RN, CDE, Glucose SOS founder Pamela Heyward, Constance Brown-Riggs MSEd, RD, CDE, CDN, Kent Gash, Jessica Clark and Muniq Gut Health Shakes Founder, Marc Washington.

Throughout this podcast we will be featured music from the album ‘Score’ by 2Cellos courtesy of SONY Music.