Food Sensitivity Testing

My weight loss journey began in October 2018, when I had my yearly check-up with Dr. Couri. I had another infection, and Dr. Couri thought that maybe I was diabetic. She suggested that I see Leslie her Dietitian to see if there was anything that would help me avoid taking medication.

I started in January 2019 with a simple blood test to determine if I had food sensitivities. My first appointment with Leslie was enlightening. She looked at me, asked lots of questions, and gave me the confidence to make the change. It turns out I have food sensitivities and lots of gut inflammation. I, like most women, carry my weight around my tummy. I have tried for years to lose weight. I thought I was eating healthy and I go to the gym 3-4 times a week. My weight never matched my eating or exercise routine. My results showed sensitivities to dairy, soy, rice, and almonds. We also checked my A1C, (a three month average of my blood sugar) for the first time. It came back at 6.1. The goal was to get below 5.7.

I started my new eating plan on January 23rd. Soy and dairy were the hardest to figure out. My first trip to the grocery store took 2.5 hours. Since I eliminated soy, dairy, and almonds, I changed everything to coconut. Pinterest has become my best friend. I can find recipes for anything that I’m hungry for and still meet all my requirements. We have also adopted a whole food diet with intermittent fasting.

In April we did another A1C, and I was down to 5.9. At this point, I had lost 15 pounds. This was huge for me! It showed that I was heading in the right direction.

Three months later, I had an appointment in August to check my A1C for the third time. That was when Leslie told me that I was NORMAL! My A1C was down to 5.3, and I had lost 25 pounds.

That was one of the happiest days of my life! Words could never express how relieved I was to not be near the diabetic range.

I still have changes and improvements to make. I’ve learned that slow and steady wins the race. Now I’m training to run the Disney 5K in January 2020. That is something that I would never have attempted a year ago.

I owe Dr. Couri and Leslie so much. They spend time with me, asked questions when no one else did, and helped me make simple changes to improve my health. Words can’t express how grateful I am for them. They didn’t give up on me, and they believed that I could lower my A1C and lose weight.