A Smarter Journey: Nutrition

As a musician, I work funny hours, and I don’t like eating right before performing. This means that, some days, I’ll eat in the morning and not at all in the afternoon, to then be famished in the evening and gobble as much as I possibly can. Or maybe I’ll have a hasty lunch and not eat again until after an evening gig, late at night, which as we all know, isn’t good for the midriff at all. I’d frequently eat whatever was at hand, too, without putting much thought into it.

Generally speaking, I’ve always known that such lack of consistency is detrimental to my health, but I kind of put my concerns aside in favour of getting things done, trusting that my body would somehow keep up—which it did, for many years. I’m sure many of you can relate.

But alas, there’s a limit to everything. As I mentioned in the previous article, I got diagnosed as pre-diabetic on December 2023. What does this mean, exactly, and why does it have so much to do with nutrition?

Pre-diabetes

You’re pre-diabetic when your blood sugars are higher than usual, although not high enough for you to officially have type 2 diabetes. At this stage, it’s possible to revert to normal levels through lifestyle changes.

I really didn’t want to become dependent on medication to manage my insulin levels, so I decided to cut down on my sugar intake, as I thought this was the best thing to do. I also sought to increase my exercise, but I still wasn’t 100% sure that I was going about things the right way. I knew that I needed better types of sugar in my diet, so I focused on consuming more fruits and fewer cakes and chocolate. I reduced processed foods, as I’d read news articles about the amount of sugar within them.

What I learned during the SMART Rewind Metabolic Health 12 Week Programme with Pamela is that proper nutrition doesn’t only focus on the what, but also on the when and the how.

Case Study: My Breakfast

I used to have porridge and fruits for breakfast. I needed something that filled me up, and cereal wasn’t doing it for me. However, I hadn’t realised that my menu choices were increasing my sugar levels. While the food I was having is generally recognised as healthy or good, it wasn’t working for my body in particular.

As part of the programme with Pamela, I wore a monitor for two weeks straight. Whenever I ate something, I could see on my monitor app what that meal was doing in my body. This led me to discover that some of my favourite food, including fruits like mangoes, bananas and oranges, were making my blood sugar levels spike. Consumed in the morning, they’d affect my body during the whole day. On the other hand, I noticed that berries don’t give me any issues, which is great because I quite like them, and neither do apples, which isn’t as exciting because I’m not a big fan of them.

Now, the fact that I shouldn’t eat mangoes or bananas in the morning doesn’t mean that I should completely cut them off my diet. As Pamela remarked during the programme, the time of the day plays a big role. I can eat sweet fruits in the afternoon, or before or after I exercise. Complementing them with food that’s high in dietary fibre, like nuts or good veggies, helps me to counter the high sugar intake. Learning all this brought me a great relief. I’m very glad there’s a way for me to enjoy the food I like without compromising my wellbeing.

Nowadays, my breakfast is more balanced. I have proteins, good fats and fibre, but no carbs or sugar. It’s a menu that satiates me while keeping my sugar levels low, a real game changer! I feel so much better now. My thinking is sharper, I’m more alert and have more energy. It helps immensely when managing the fatigue and memory issues associated with menopause.

What you can do

An important thing I learnt in the programme is that we all react to food differently. Bananas don’t work for me in the morning, but they might work for you. I’ve cut down—and in some cases removed—certain carbs, but increased others to improve my health.

The programme finished a while ago, yet I’m still adjusting my diet and thinking about it. I keep observing myself to decide what, how and when to eat. Besides, changing my blood sugar level wasn’t only achieved through understanding and adjusting my nutrition, but also making changes to my sleep, exercise and stress levels. It’s a complex topic, which is why I found Pamela’s integral guidance so valuable.

Nutrition is an area of your life where you can really make impactful changes in favour of your wellbeing. Be to help with your menopausal process, or your diabetes, or your health in general—as I know people who don’t undergo menopause also read my blogs—I recommend you reach to Pamela and have a good look with her at your nutritional habits. You can book a free consultation with her following this link.

• Introduction
• Physical activity
• Stress levels
• Sleep

If you want to learn more about diabetes, you can find reliable information on the NHS website.