Miss Dot's Health Journey pt. 1

The nutritionists at the Diabetes clinic couldn’t believe it.

Within two weeks of starting the Maximized Living Advanced Plan, my A1C number had become almost normal, and my blood sugar levels were also close to normal. It isn’t everyday that a patient ignores their advice and returns healthier…

In the Summer of 2011, I was diagnosed with Type II Diabetes. It ran in my family. I had already fought and won against Congestive Heart Failure, Colon Cancer and debilitating back pain. I thought at this point, what else? I consulted with my Maximized Living doctors, Dr. Jason and Dr. Jenny Kestner, and was convinced that I could reverse the Diabetes through nutrition and not medication.

The nutritionist at the Diabetes clinic turned up her nose at the suggestion that the diet would be effective, and she cautioned me to take the medications prescribed or else. Telling me I couldn’t do something really hacked me off, and after spending a year and a half of my life in a medicine-induced fog after my heart failure and another 3 years of chemo brain, I was not at all excited about medicating this new problem. I was more motivated than ever and started the Advanced Plan the very next day. By the end of the two weeks, I had dropped 20 pounds, and oh, by the way, I never once took the medicine.

The nutritionists at the Diabetes clinic were floored…

They told me to come back in two weeks- another 15 pounds gone, A1C and blood sugar levels still dropping. Two more months later, I lost another 40 pounds. I was maintaining below normal readings and the shock factor with the nutritionists. Come back in six months, they advised. I maintained again.

But I still had a long way to go. One of the biggest obstacles with the ML nutrition plan is the fact that it required eating in a way that I had never considered before. I’m a Southern gal, and to be told that most of my Southern comfort food favorites were the cause of so much unhealthiness in my body was a rather grim discovery. I had to understand, though, that I was on a journey to get healthy and not just lose weight. I began finding ways to incorporate ML friendly ingredients into my favorite dishes, not entirely sure that the food would taste right to me. The first recipe, my Mother’s famous Pound Cake, turned out great. It was very encouraging.

I started taking the ingredients and guidelines, and I started experimenting- not just baked goods but full meals, sauces, different cooking methods, gadgets, shopping techniques, research on products and other diets to find out the similarities and differences. Everything went to building a new understanding of how to get and stay healthy. I would take my dishes to recipe night at the ML clinics. People started asking me to send them the recipes. I had so many requests I decided to start a newsletter which became this website.

One thing I found out that is so important, once you start down this path you find so many people who want advice but also want to share their own recipes and thoughts. I thought that the website would be a perfect place for us to gather and discuss, invent, share and care. So welcome to Miss Dot's. Blessings and Cheers!