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rachylou

Veteran

So I’m doing my morning browse on Twitter and I just came across this fashion blog:

https://www.readytostare.com/

Has anyone mentioned it yet? It got on my feed through the #DOC tag (Diabetes Online Community). The blog’s author wrote a piece for healthline.com (https://www.healthline.com/hea.....diabetes#1) about people joking about eating a cupcake and getting diabetes. Type 2 diabetes specifically, which has a big big exercise, weight loss, and diet component (as well as medication).

The thing about this is, people accuse Type 2s of eating and slothing their way into the disease. People come down hard and they come down often. They nag you about putting a teensy-weensy packet of sugar in your coffee.

But its not true. Rather, you eat and exercise your way into controlling the symptoms. This article states it and states it clearly. It’s the sort of disease that’s not a matter of IF, but WHEN. And being overweight is a reflection of a person’s metabolic difficulties with Type 2. It isn’t the root of it. If you don’t have those genes, you’re not gonna get it. Cupcakes or no cupcakes.

The misinformation is so bad, Type 2s will avoid the sugar packet and then go eat a lot of tortillas and fruit. Doctors will say ‘don’t eat sugar,’ overlooking the fact that people don’t understand if it’s not a fat or a protein, it’s a sugar. You’re gonna have to eat ‘sugar,’ because you have to eat. It’s really about how much of a sugar punch a food delivers. A tortilla and a glass of juice smack you upside the head with just a little, whereas a ton of veg is a little shove.

Anyways, the writer, Alysse, has a link with her Amazon fashion faves. I think she’s fab. I’m not Type 2, but I’ve sat thru a lot of diabetes classes with Type 2s... and it usually makes me pretty angry...

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20 replies

Latest reply was from smittie

MsMaven

Veteran

Thanks for this, Rachy.

I always thought the diet and weight connection to diabetes was a bit odd. I had two uncles, one on each side of my parents' family; one who was skinny as a board and the other within a healthy weight. They both developed type-2 diabetes in later middle age. They were heavy smokers and drank a lot of alcohol, which may have been the real problem.

My DH had multiple health scares last summer--including possible diabetes. Yes, he was overweight and now has lost many pounds, but the change in his eating habits came from keeping track of everything on his Fitbit. Also his exercise program. Together we've learned a lot about the different kinds of carbohydrates. It's been a fascinating journey. It's also been difficult. We rarely eat out anymore. Back in the days when he was a partner in a Final 4 CPA firm there were constant dinners, client lunches, conferences, retreats, etc., and it would have been so difficult for him to deal with this kind of diet then, especially without his Fitbit.

Before this year my understanding of diabetes was flimsy. I've learned a lot about it these last few months, and I appreciate Fabbers who willingly talk about their challenges.

Inge

(website)

She is knew to me, Rachy, thanks for linking to her. Going to check out her blog.

And yes, sadly so many misconceptions and prejudice re Diabetes Type 2 still out there.

Angie

(website)

Fashion Stylist

Good Info! I know very little about Diabetes and want to know more. This is a fab start. Thanks for the info. Great blog too.

Anonymous

My Mom recently died in January in her 60s, she weighed under 100 lbs and had had type 2 for 9 years.
She was underweight the entirety of it. I have a thyroid condition and all her siblings have thyroid issues and/or diabetes.
You’re so right about misconceptions about it being a disease you get because you’re overweight, it’s absolutely a disease based on metabolic dysfunction.

rachylou

Veteran

I’m so sorry, Jenna! The misconceptions are very bad and people are very mean.

And the things you’re never told: I recently saw for the first time what the blood sugar profile of a person without diabetes looks like. You’re always told the body keeps it between 60-100. But that’s FASTING. You eat and it goes over 100 ALL THE TIME. I think about all the people using insulin, trying to keep their blood sugars steady after eating and then getting yelled at for going low (because it’s incredibly dangerous) or feeling shamed because it goes to 180 after eating... well, guess what...

Ms. Maven - Yes it’s hard to eat out. I don’t know what restaurants do. But for example, Red Lobster can get 2500 calories into 5 prawns. I mean, I think this defies the laws of physics and NASA should visit them because they have the secret to intergalactic travel too...

Anonymous

Thank you, Rachylou.
I say again, you are so right on with all this. I love you started the thread.

Jaime

(website)

Veteran

Yes, in general I think people are pretty ignorant to the causes of diabetes and other supposedly "lifestyle" diseases. And I never thought it was right to blame people for their bad genes and specifically for perfectly normal eating habits that are only blameworthy when you have the wrong genes.

Janet

(website)

Veteran

Will check out that blogger — it’s always welcome to see a wider variety of body shapes and sizes represented!

I hear you about the diabetes remarks. As someone with a loved one with mental illness issues, it gets my hackles up when people say things like the weather are “schizophrenic.” So I try to be considerate — using these terms that are actually associated with medical diagnoses to describe anything other than the actual disease or condition is just not wise.

rachylou

Veteran

You’re right, Janet. That’s smart. Jokes become misinformation.

Anonymous

Yes to that Janet! I went to a Nami event where they were talking about stigma, so not to ever use words like mad, crazy, etc.
Good info re:diabetes Rachy!

Isabel

Veteran

Unfortunately, as human beings, we often attribute certain diseases to character flaws. ( not being able to control yourself/having no willpower )

As science advances, we're finding out more and more that this is often not true. Take smoking for example ( even drugs) some people are more predisposed to becoming addicted because they have more receptors in their brain to which those chemicals lock onto.

Thank you for this link ! And I love how democratic blogging is. I'm not looking at her body, I look at her style and creativity. One of my favorite bloggers is Ashley ( a working mom in action ). https://www.houseofdorough.com/aboutme

rachylou

Veteran

Oh, I will check out the link!

smittie

Veteran

Not much time but I thought type 2 was brought on by too many carbs, and fruit, sugar, veggies, bread are all carbs.

I’ve heard people have had remission by eating fat as their fuel source rather than carbs.

Why is eating a character flaw? That’s a silly idea and one that won’t help anybody.

I’ve only lightly looked into this, so will look at your links when I get a chance, Rachylou.

rachylou

Veteran

It’s never true remission. Type 2 is difficulty making and using insulin. It
operates at the genetic level and is strongly heritable, meaning it’s almost guaranteed it will show up if it runs in your family, no matter what. You can go to an all fat, all protein diet, but you will be very sickly. That’s what people did in days of yore. It’s interesting. There are a lot of variations - diabetes refers to a symptom actually, and there are many pathways to the symptom.

Echo

Veteran

Yes, there is a lot of misinformation about type 2 diabetes. My dad had type 2 diabetes, despite having been athletic and never overweight. It was genetic, making me prone to inherit it, too.

To speak to what Isabel said, I think as a society we are prone to blaming victims. We want to be able to deny that something awful might happen to us, so we blame people for eating "wrong" or not exercising enough or for being overweight. We also blame people for being poor or being an immigrant or for having an addiction or a mental illness. It is denial. If people can find a reason why THEY got a disease or can't pay their rent or are battling an addiction, we can write a narrative in our head about why WE cannot. That's entirely false and also furthers the destructive idea of the other, but we live in a society based in blame instead of finding cooperative solutions to issues.

Jaime

(website)

Veteran

What Echo said exactly. Not to get ghoulish but one of the most formative books I studied in college was The Denial of Death by Ernest Becker (anthropology/philosophy major what can I tell you ).

rachylou

Veteran

Yes. And I think we want to wish things better when we know we’re powerless. Someone’s got to be in control, and if not me, it must be ‘you.’ More peaceful tho to accept people as they are and find the beauty in that.

rachylou

Veteran

Cross-posted, shevia. Were you really a philosophy major? I admire your reading skill then! Reading about how you know you know - it’s *like* ‘Wait! Do I know I know I know?’ Lol I’ll have to look up Becker.

RobinF

Veteran

You are all so smart! I love what Echo said about people trying to deny that things can happen to them.

My DH is diabetic and is very thin. It runs in his family and he found out when he was 35. It's always puzzled me that it is called type 2 and then the advice for type 2 is to lose weight - I don't think so! It is scary though and to think before insulin there was no way to control it.

And I'm with you Rachy about the insensitivity of people. Weight issues run in my family and it is really not just about will power.

smittie

Veteran

Thanks Rachy.
It’s interesting that there are different paths to type 2 diabetes. Interesting convo.

I must admit that I am really into denying death and aging. I’m sure this contributes to my attitudes about diet and exercise being a panacea for all ills (which I know is an incorrect view, but one that seizes my imagination quite often). It is easy to start thinking you can control everything if you just adopt the right behaviours. It is hard to admit that something might just be because of our genes.