My life without sugar

My life after sugar

So I’m 28 – just turned actually and I do not ‘really’ eat sugar anymore. I’ll tell you why because in light of Diabetes awareness day I thought that I’d share my story. When I moved to the UAE in 2008 I was your average sized girl – I had just turned 22 and I was going to travel the world as a flight attendant in Abu Dhabi. I was excited. Everything was fresh and new and a little scary after I moved. In fact I got slight adjustment disorder and found comfort and solace in food – the worst kind of food – crisps, chocolates, Nutella and fast food. I started to put on weight and soon after I had finished flying school my uniform was getting tight. I had gained 4kg.

See also: How Diabetes can affect your fertility

But I thought that it was okay, I was a healthy girl, I would bounce back. Unfortunately the excess of life in the Emirates soon caught up and I was unable to bounce back. After a trip to the lady doctor, I told her my problems and my inability to shift the weight I had gained. We did some tests and I was diagnosed with Polycystic Ovary Syndrome. This meant that I had cysts in my ovaries that were adversely affecting my hormones and I would be afflicted with spots, acne and the inability to lose weight for a while. I was determined to make it go away, so I went on a diet and did some exercise (not enough really) – but I carried on eating the sweets – something small after every meal. Yes I was having sugar after every meal – without realizing it. I was unable to shift the weight which had slowly creeped up. I was now 10kgs heavier than when I started. But it was okay because all of my friends had also gone up a dress size. Everyone was gaining.

After I left the airlines for the greener pastures of PR and Media, I enrolled in university and had coffee from a coffee shop on a daily basis – sometimes more than one coffee. My weight had stabalised and I even lost a kilo or two – I think because I had stopped eating aircraft meals and I was moving more. However I had 2-4 lattes a day, fast food daily and my skin was terrible. I was at my wits end – my bathroom was filled with thousands of dirhams worth of skincare – to no avail. I had stopped with the chocolates though.

During Uni I found a great job where I would be interning (and eventually working). We had cookies and chocolates in the office on a daily basis – so again it started with a sweet after every meal – and most of the time they were only small. My skin was bad, my waistline was expanding and I could not understand why – I was eating salads and soups and healthy sandwiches. Finally I went out for dinner with my mum and her friend, an endocrinologist visiting from Europe. She took one look at me and told me, in no uncertain terms, that I have insulin resistance. She told me that it was a symptom of polycystic ovary syndrome and could be treated with diet and medication. I was almost relieved but scared at the same time. Why had none of my doctors told me this? The next day I went to my clinic in Jumeirah to have it checked out. I asked the doctor for the test, which consisted of a glucose test that lasts 2 hours. When my results came in it was confirmed that I had insulin resistance and I was at risk for Type 2 diabetes.

Try this sugarfree bluberry muffin recipe

While my polycystic ovary syndrome definitely played a part in my illness, I believe that those little chocolates, over the years contributed a great deal to my overall health. I had also stopped exercising. When I was diagnosed a fire was lit under me and I overhauled my life. I cut out sugar and refined carbohydrates. I was very strict at the beginning and didn’t even eat fruit or starchy vegetables. I stopped drinking everything but coffee and water (I could not give up my coffee). I stop the sugar. It was hard, it was one of the most difficult things I had given up. In those few months where I was really strict, I was also moody in the beginning, but soon my body adjusted. The medication I was on was also helping. My skin had cleared up, and I was visibly losing weight. I was also feeling better.

I occasionally will have a chocolate (just one) but for the most part I have cut the sugar out. They still have cookies and chocolates at work. I just don’t have any. It’s been around 8 months since I was diagnosed and I am now off my medication. My skin is still relatively good and I feel great. I also joined a gym and started to exercise. I am slowly reversing my diagnosis so that I am no longer a diabetes risk – with the help of my doctor. I am at the weight I was when I first moved here, six years ago.

I hadn’t realized how much sugar I was actually consuming until I took stock of my life and gave it up. Refined sugar is something that is of no benefit to us. Sure I am human and I like cake and I will demolish a slice of cake when there is a birthday. I will have chocolate occasionally – though for the most part it will 80% dark. The UAE has one of the highest rates of Type 2 diabetes in the world, and a recent survey found that 1 in 3 young children is overweight and obese. We need to reeducate ourselves about food and how we are feeding ourselves. Once we get that right we can start being a healthier and happier people.