How I Found My "Why" Through Netflix Documentary: The Magic Pill

Disclaimer: I am not a medical provider, nutritionist, or certified personal trainer. Please seek advice-specific information from you medical provider, nutritionist, and/or fitness trainer for advice specific to your health needs.

Today is my 32nd birthday!

There are so many things that I'm thankful for. Great family, sweet friends, a thoughtful boyfriend, finally starting this blog, finding out one of my friends and her husband are pregnant as I type this, and I'm also very thankful for the turnaround that's happening with my health.

A few years ago (college years I think) I went to the doctor for a physical or something. I don't remember why I was getting a physical, but I remember him telling me that I was pre-diabetic. I was told that I needed to lose weight (duh). That was it. No education on what pre-diabetes is. Nothing.

I was scared. I was used to getting a clean bill of health when I would leave the doctor's office. "What the heck is pre-diabetes? Either I have it or I don't, right?"

I was afraid of diabetes. The older people in my family called it "the sugar." I'd seen insulin needles, test strips, and that little pouch people kept their supplies in. I knew my grandma would keep peppermints around in case her "sugar" got too low. My grandmother was a diabetic. My mother was a diabetic and now this doctor was telling me that I was pre-diabetic.

I remembered when my mom was a type 2 diabetic and how scared for her I was. When I was a kid, I thought if you had anything, you were going to die. I was young. I didn't know what it meant. I didn't know the causes. I didn't know how you get rid of it. I'd seen on tv where people would have to get a limb amputated because of it. I didn't want that to be my mom. I didn't want her to be sick.

I remember the time my mom tried to show me how to load the insulin needle in case I would need to test her blood sugar for her. I declined. I didn't want to learn how.

I remember the relief I felt when my mom went through her own health and fitness journey. Through diet and exercise, she reversed her diabetes diagnosis. She instantly became an inspiration to me.

This diabetic generational pattern didn't hit me until about a year ago. I started noticing my body changing; particularly with my skin and my inability to keep the pounds off even after I would lose a significant amount of weight. I wanted to start my own health and fitness journey before a diagnosis would follow.

I'd always struggled with eczema as a child and well into my adult years. Like the severe kind of eczema where you don't know if it's allergies or something worse. As I got older and was able to research, I saw the connection. Everything that I ate had an effect on my skin and my weight.

Acanthosis Nigricans

Back to the skin issues; I noticed the skin discoloration first, then the dryness, and then how irritable and dark my neck and arm pit areas looked. The insecurity this created was overwhelming! I must have spent hours on Google trying to figure out why my skin was fighting me.

Every symptom. Every cause. Every picture. I could relate to the articles I'd found online. I sympathized with the faces I saw. They were sad, depressed, miserable, and I knew exactly how they felt.

I never went to the doctor or the dermatologist to confirm. I didn't need to. A prescription here, a prescription there. I was tired of being treated with steroids and creams.

My body was trying to tell me something and I was finally ready to listen. Sure I worked out hard everyday and was very active, but my eating habits were awful. Sugary drinks, bread, pasta, high fructose corn syrup, you name it. If it was breaded, glazed, or powdered, I was eating it.

My skin irritation and my inability to keep the pounds off was just a symptom of a bigger problem. I needed to protect myself from the bad fuel that I was putting in it.

"Let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food" ~Hippocrates

Netflix Original: The Magic Pill

"Diabetes is a dietary disease"

I knew one day my love of documentaries would pay off.

You name it, I've probably seen the documentary, especially if it pertains to our food industry here in the USA and the eating habits of Americans.

Forks Over Knives, Fat, Sick, and Nearly Dead, Food Matters, and In Defense of Food, are just a few of my favorites. Now I can add to the list one of Netflix's latest releases: The Magic Pill.

I've seen it twice now. I knew I would love it when I read the Netflix description:

"Doctors, farmers, chefs and others weigh in on the controversial ketogenic diet and its potential to eradicate common illnesses."

If you've been hanging around my blog, you know that I'm currently changing my eating to the ketogenic lifestyle (I'll write in another post on what the ketogenic diet is). In a nutshell, the ketogenic way of life is very similar to the Atkins diet: Low carb + high fat.

My life before the ketogenic way of life was the exact opposite: high carb, low fat, high sugar, low protein, and a high caloric intake. It's like I'm learning how to eat again. I read labels like nobody's business. I've learned to say "no" to some of my favorite food items I don't always get this part right.

I found a reason bigger than "I want to lose weight." Through this documentary and countless others, in addition to researching time and time again, I've been able to find out what works for me.

The Magic Pill

Other people succeeding in their health has become a source of inspiration to me. One of my favorite people from The Magic Pill was Sara.

Sara totally surprised me when she began to tell her story. She is a grandmother, but when you see her she doesn't look a day over 50! Sara was diagnosed with breast cancer, but was able to conquer it! She did this with no chemo and no radiation. Sara is a kosher-ketogenic and credits her success to research. When she was diagnosed she learned what few of us know: cancer cells love sugar. My favorite part of the documentary is when she quotes Star Trek in relation to cancer and sugar:

"If you don't want them to reproduce, stop feeding them!"

This documentary and countless others helped me to figure out my "why". When my "why" became the difference between a life of needle pricks and insulin versus a life of good health and overall well-being, my "how" became simple.

So, What Now?

I did up learning how to use the insulin needle lol! But only as a tool in my weight loss journey. Pricking myself three times a day is not sexy, and I'm running out of fingers to prick lol! I use it to measure how well my eating is improving. Some days I kill it and other days I have no clue what I'm doing. I go to the gym about four days a week, but I have committed to a minimum of three days per week. I write down EVERYTHING I eat and drink. Yes, this is tedious. Yes, I could use the apps that are available, but for right now I learn more about my eating habits when I have to write it down myself. I also have a really great support system. They are reminders that I want to be around for a very long time. I pray that my efforts will allow me to share many birthdays with them.

Cheers to good health!

Have you seen the documentary too? Or have a question? Drop a comment below and let's talk.

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