Sugar sugar

This week I learned that the past nine months of diet change have made a bigger difference than weight loss.

I didn't stop eating wheat in order to lose weight, although that has been a nice benefit. I did it to get out of the diabetes danger zone. Yup, I was one of the many Americans at risk for developing diabetes if I didn't change something.

Last spring I noticed that I was gaining weight. It was gradual, but my pants were getting tighter and tighter. It was uncomfortable, both mentally and physically. I changed my diet by adding a salad or stir fry each day. I had hoped that adding more vegetables would spark my metabolism, or at the very least add more fiber and shed more poundage.

It didn't work. I kept gaining.

I had a check-up and when I spoke with my doctor, I told her that the only thing that had changed, and was bothersome, was my unexplained weight gain. She ordered blood tests and found that both my insulin and blood sugar levels were high. She suggested that I try going gluten free, or at least a low glycemic index diet.

While I love toast -- mean, I really love toast, with butter especially -- I was enjoy not having to test my blood sugar and give myself shots of insulin even more. I have watched friends with diabetes struggle over the years with a wide range of issues and do not want to add them to my list of medical frustrations.

So, I went for it. I stopped eating bread and cake and cookies. For the most part. I've had a matzah ball or two, and couple of tastes of challah, but overall I don't miss what I'm not eating. I miss the process of baking, though. I have done away with my weekly challah and pizza dough preparation. I've ended my love affair with making cookies chock-full of chocolate chips, pecans, dried cherries and coconut. I've put aside my experimentation with cakes.

Now, I focus on making protein-filled vegetarian meals for the week. I eat more beans and tofu. I eat more eggs. I eat less cheese, fruit and dried fruit. And, as you know, I eat more chips. Oy, the chips are my downfall! Good thing they haven't retested my cholesterol.

The big news this week is that not only am I out of the danger zone, but my insulin levels have dropped by more than 1/2. Pretty big deal, y'all. Pretty. Big. Deal.