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Tracy Found a Sustainable Lifestyle that Reversed her Type 2 Diabetes and High Blood Pressure

It was June 2020, my head was pounding and I was ignoring a lot of important symptoms. A routine check-up led me to a type 2 diabetes and high blood pressure diagnosis. At 54 years old, I found myself at serious risk of a stroke.  My father recently died from complications from a stroke, and I am a caregiver to my severely disabled adult son who had an intraventricular hemorrhage/stroke as a baby. I knew I needed to make a change, but had been struggling to find the right diet and exercise plan for my entire adult life. Who knew my greatest opportunity for change would come from one of my weakest moments!

Dr. McDougall to the rescue! Once I found The Starch Solution, everything fell into place. I started in June 2020, scared, overwhelmed and over 183 pounds at 5’5”. By September 2020, I was down to 150 pounds and already felt so much better!

My plan was simple. First, I educated myself using all of the wonderful McDougall videos, newsletters, emails, books and website information so I knew exactly what was on plan. Then, I found a few Facebook groups for support in order to not feel so alone on my journey. Next, I set up new healthy habits in my home, at work and in the community. Lastly, I cleaned up my environment and removed food items that were a problem for me. I replaced them with healthier options that I really enjoyed and were easily available with minimal effort. 

To have the weight come off so fast was very encouraging, but to see the utter shock and surprise on the faces of all my doctors was really thrilling! I had reversed my type-2 diabetes and lowered my blood pressure in just a couple of months eating as a Starchivore! One of my very skeptical doctors sent me an email that said, “WHATEVER YOU ARE DOING, JUST KEEP DOING IT!” None of them had ever had a patient reverse type 2 diabetes with diet. Not one of them had ever mentioned using food as medicine. The following scenario was repeated again and again: They would look at me, then look at my chart, look at me and my chart again and, with their mouths gaping, they would congratulate me and ask lots of questions. I am always thrilled to be an ambassador for The Starch Solution. I’m truly thankful to have found this healthy new lifestyle.

I write this at my 12 month McDougall anniversary, and I am excited to still be a proud follower of The Starch Solution! Currently, I have lost 50 pounds! I have no doubt that I will eventually reach my goal weight. I still walk a minimum of 30 minutes a day and try to educate myself in some way to stay on track. If you are considering this way of eating, just remember to be kind to yourself.  Sometimes we forget what it feels like to feel better and be healthy. This is a sustainable lifestyle with delicious healthy food that can help you obtain big results.

There is one more thing I would like to share with you. I used to be so embarrassed by my “before” pictures, then I realized I was actually very proud of that girl! That girl was working hard to do her best at everything she did. She tried to be the perfect wife, mother, friend, teacher, leader and volunteer. She just didn’t have the right set of tools to get healthy. She tried every diet and ran 5 miles three times a week in an attempt to avoid diabetes and obtain a healthy weight. Now, that girl has the right set of tools and is amazed at how easy it is to stay on track! That girl from a year ago is really proud of the person she is today!