Yep... once again... not a cult.
So Purdue sends this invite for employees to participate in this program to REVERSE diabetes- free of charge, and involves some sort of health coaching. "Hmm." I think. Let me just click on this link to find out more....
So I dive deep into the research paper and am getting intrigued, but, suddenly, hit a roadblock. There is it. The name of a local doctor here in town that runs a medically supervised weight loss program. She was part of the study. I tried that program. And had NO success. Why? Because I was a sugar addict and they just kept telling me to add more artificial sweeteners to things. Ugh. I resign myself to the fact that this is just a modified version of her program and it's not going to work for me. *sigh*
But then I keep reading... and see another name. One I'm not expecting... that of one of my Honors College students. He was a research assistant on the project. And, seriously, the kid sits in my office for some amount of time EVERY. DAY. I had no idea that was his research. But...it at least perks me up to find out more. So I do.
And so sure, there are SOME similarities to the previous program I tried.. but they learned A LOT and this is truly different. How is it different you may ask?
1) I haven't seen anything that says exactly where the name came from...but I have to believe it is because there is a VIRTUAL component to it. Yep.. I have online doctors appointments and a Health Coach who is available by text 24/7. I love it.
2) It's customized to me. No cookie cutter meal plan. My health coach and doctor work together to decide what's best for me and how to best approach each barrier and goal.
3) It's free. :) Well, for Purdue employees. Purdue has opted in to offer this to their employees as a health benefit. They quote it as a $5000 value. That may sound like a lot, but a friend recently told me that it typically costs an employer $30,000 to cover the health care costs of someone who is diabetic. So for Purdue, I'm sure it's a cost saving measure.
4) We are focusing on blood sugar, not weight loss. That being said.. sure.. I've lost some weight.. but its great to know there's no pressure to lose weight- its about getting the bloodwork in an acceptable range. In the past program I felt like I was scolded because I'd come in and have only lost .5 lbs and that wasn't sufficient.
5) They supply you with all the tools you need to succeed. Including a digital scale that automatically uploads your weight to an app so you can't cheat on recording it! Hello Internet of Things!!
So, what made me decide to go ahead and try it? Data.
I went to an informational meeting with a scoff on my face, expecting to hear a repeat of the medically supervised weight loss program and to prove to myself I DID NOT want to do this. But there was a free lunch. So there's that. But in the meeting... there was a statement that caught my attention- the presenter says "are you tired of just going to the doctor and having them continually up your dose or add another med only to not see results? " Um... yeah. You've got my attention. Well, here's some data from our clinical trial... 87% of participants were OFF their meds by the end of 10 weeks. WHAT? OFF OF THEM? Like no more? That's crazy talk. But, it's true.
So that's what made me decide to start my Virta Journey. Next time... what it's really been like...
Thursday, June 29, 2017
Wednesday, June 28, 2017
My Virta Journey
OK.. so by the title, y'all may be thinking I've joined some sort of cult or clone club (that's a reference for all you Orphan Black fans out there), and while there ARE moments where I stop to consider if I did, that's totally not what this is about... so sit back and take a read...
Admittedly, I should have started this blog 3 weeks ago. Or even a month ago. But here I sit with bygone good intentions and am finally getting started.
So fast forward out of my sugar coma and basically I've had fluctuating blood sugars for YEARS. By fluctuating, I mean I've had high highs and low lows. With no rhyme or reason... no consistency based on med dosages, etc. Just sometimes they were low.. and sometimes they were high.. and sometimes they were normal. People ask me if I'm diabetic, and my answer is "I guess so? " I do things diabetics do, I take meds diabetics take, but my body doesn't respond in traditional ways... so that's where the question mark comes in.
But for the past 6-9 months my blood sugar has been high - and no interventions are helping it come down. Well... until now.... (more about that soon)
I had read a bunch about plant based diets and how they can regulate blood sugars and was about 2 days away from going full vegetarian-even if not borderline vegan. Of course, I had rationed in my head that the occasional bacon bit or cheese was not going to be harmful.... and so my plan had included "meat as a garnish" too.
But then... an email came from Purdue. They were offering a program to qualifying employees that could REVERSE diabetes and pre-diabetes, not just manage it like previous attempts. And I was intrigued... so what was it?
Stay tuned to the next post to learn more about Virta!
Admittedly, I should have started this blog 3 weeks ago. Or even a month ago. But here I sit with bygone good intentions and am finally getting started.
My Story
So if you've known me for more than a day, you probably know my family doesn't have the best health history which means my sister and I have probably not won any genetic lotteries. And I eat an average American diet- which means I enjoy pretty much whatever I want to eat and try to throw some healthy food in there about half the time. :) But that being said- I try to overcome that by working out, having regular bloodwork, and visiting my doctor at a frequency that would send many of you running straight into a hypochondriacal coma. But even in creating interventions such as working out multiple days a week, there has been little change in my physical appearance nor my bloodwork numbers. And that's quite frustrating. So occasionally I give up and drown myself in a 5lb bag of gummi bears (Albanese Rocks!!!), only to perpetuate the situation and help me cut to the heart of the matter which is I'm pretty sure I'm a sugar addict. I am SOOOO an equal opportunity sugar eater! Yep- even the nastiest of the nasty candy- I'll eat it. (you know, the ones the old lady always gave out at Halloween and you were like, I'd rather she had given me pennies than this stuff... bring it on... ) And like it. Cake- it's my favorite. And never met a pie or cheesecake that I said no to. Soda... yep that too. I was the generation that discovered Jolt- "twice the sugar"...remember that? We can have a different post about ice cream and cookies later... but the bottom line is, even though they weren't my favorites.. I still ate them.So fast forward out of my sugar coma and basically I've had fluctuating blood sugars for YEARS. By fluctuating, I mean I've had high highs and low lows. With no rhyme or reason... no consistency based on med dosages, etc. Just sometimes they were low.. and sometimes they were high.. and sometimes they were normal. People ask me if I'm diabetic, and my answer is "I guess so? " I do things diabetics do, I take meds diabetics take, but my body doesn't respond in traditional ways... so that's where the question mark comes in.
But for the past 6-9 months my blood sugar has been high - and no interventions are helping it come down. Well... until now.... (more about that soon)
I had read a bunch about plant based diets and how they can regulate blood sugars and was about 2 days away from going full vegetarian-even if not borderline vegan. Of course, I had rationed in my head that the occasional bacon bit or cheese was not going to be harmful.... and so my plan had included "meat as a garnish" too.
But then... an email came from Purdue. They were offering a program to qualifying employees that could REVERSE diabetes and pre-diabetes, not just manage it like previous attempts. And I was intrigued... so what was it?
Stay tuned to the next post to learn more about Virta!
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