About the Contrary Cook

My name is Michael and I am a contrary cook.

I started this blog back in 2008 after I turned 40. I weighed 280 pounds and was in the worst shape of my life; literally “fat, sick & nearly dead”, just like the movie. I ate out at restaurants or ordered in delivery 5 or 6 nights a week and never ever cooked at home…when I did, it was usually something out of a can or a box or a bag (an entire bag of doritos was a perfectly acceptable dinner). My stove hadn’t worked in over a year.

Then things went from bad to worse. In an effort to get my shit together, I went to the doctor for the 1st time in years. That’s when I was told that I have diabetes and high blood pressure (160/100). Without much fanfare or explanation, she handed me a bag full of pills, a glucometer, and sent me on my way.

I started hitting the gym, walking, learned to cook at home, lost some weight (about 30lbs), but it wasn’t enough. My AC1 tests were in the toilet: 11.1 to be exact.  So 2½ years of “eating right” and cooking at home and I actually felt worse. My hand and feet were numb and tingly and my vision was getting blurry. I was depressed.

By trying to follow the ADA (American Diabetes Association) recommended diet, I eventually graduated to taking insulin shots in addition to oral diabetes medication. I yo-yoed back and forth on all the popular fad diets, always getting a little better, but always ending up right where I started: Fat and sick with stupid-high blood sugar levels.

Then I started self-educating, reading books by Dr’s Neal Barnard and Caldwell Esselstyn and looking at the research of T. Colin Campbell and John McDougall and Dean Ornish.

It’s been a long journey, but my blood glucose levels are finally starting to get under control. So much so that my doctor has put me on a limited trial and taken me off of all my diabetes medications for the time being.

She’s given me till January 1st to prove that I can keep my numbers in check, otherwise it’s back on medication I go. My daily average is still hovering at around 140 mg/dl (down from 230-290’s) so I still have some work to do, but at least I see a light at the end of the tunnel.

So that’s why I’m re-starting this blog after a 3-year hiatus. It’s time to get back on track and beat diabetes one bite at a time. This time, once and for all.

Wish me luck.

-Michael