Living With Diabetes: How a Diagnosis Made One Woman Learn to Appreciate Her Body
Key takeaways:
A diagnosis of Type 2 diabetes made Shalena Broaster tune in to her cravings and how to curb them.
In the process, she learned to appreciate her body and what it needs.
Her healthy choices are paying off.
When Shalena Broaster’s blood sugar levels dropped from “diabetic” to “normal,” she cried.
For 3 months, the 42-year-old worked hard to get her blood sugar under control, something she’d never had to think about or even consider.
However, in July 2021 — 2 months after giving birth to her second child — Shalena was diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes, the most common form of diabetes. Her body wasn’t producing insulin properly, resulting in dangerously high levels of glucose in her blood.
Giving in to cravings didn’t go well
Shalena’s first pregnancy was relatively uneventful. But 3 months into her second pregnancy, the Philadelphia native was diagnosed with gestational diabetes, a type of diabetes that develops in pregnancy and usually goes away after the pregnancy ends. She met with a diabetes specialist nurse who helped her understand what diabetes was and the risks for her and her unborn child. The nurse also counseled Shalena on nutrition and monitored her diet.
“I started eating a lot better,” Shalena says. “But it was really hard because, you know, when you’re pregnant, you do have all kinds of cravings.” For example, during her first pregnancy, she indulged her cravings for doughnuts and Swedish Fish candy. Not this time. “I couldn’t, because I had to keep my blood sugars in check,” she says.
After giving birth, Shalena says, doctors monitored the blood sugar levels of her and her newborn son. Neither showed signs of diabetes, and Shalena felt she was in the clear. So, all those great eating habits she developed during pregnancy? “They flew out the window,” she says, laughing. She was so happy to once again have her favorite candy that she shot a video of herself dancing and eating Swedish Fish in the aisles at the store Five Below.
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Then came the 6-week, postpartum checkup in July. Bad news: “Oh my God,” she says. “My numbers were through the roof.” Dangerously high, she was told, so she went for a complete blood workup with her primary care physician. Her numbers didn’t look good. Shalena had gone from a mild case of gestational diabetes to Type 2 within 5 months.
Changing her lifestyle
It was time to get serious. “I was determined to become healthier,” she says. Shalena prioritized healthy eating and exercise. “I started eating better and promised myself I would move my body for 30 minutes a day.”
She chose August 1, 2021 as the start date for her new and healthier lifestyle. She discovered she liked YouTube fitness videos such as and8 Fitness, produced by twin sisters whose height and shape reminded Shalena of herself. She’s especially fond of the duo’s 22-minute, Beyonce-inspired Beyhive dance routine.
Shalena documented her progress in a notebook – what she was eating, her blood sugar levels, how she was feeling – to hold herself accountable. She included affirmations and little love notes to herself for encouragement. She also did a great deal of research on diabetes, insulin resistance, intermittent fasting, and how carbohydrates affected her body.
“As I started eating better, I prayed to God to, like, forgive me for abusing my body,” she says. She also began listening to her body. “I’ve never listened to it before, but my body was saying to me, ‘You know what? We don’t need as much food as you’re giving us,’” and she adjusted her portions. Finally, Shalena started to stop eating around 7 p.m. — a practice she calls “closing down the kitchen” — to give her body enough time to digest the day’s meals.
“That was a challenge because I was just so used to plopping in front of the TV and just eating,” she says. “But I started learning discipline, and I started changing my relationship with food — meaning, I don’t have to have it all the time.”
Three months later, she got the news: Her blood sugar was no longer in the diabetic range. She also lost 30 pounds.
“I did this for me,” she says. “I honored myself. In the process, I became better for my husband and children.”
As an African American, Shalena is also beating the odds: According to statistics from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Black adults are 60% more likely than white adults to be diagnosed with diabetes, and twice as likely to die from it.
Healthy choices are paying off
Fearful when first diagnosed, Shalena says she succeeds through discipline and knowledge of what works best for her body and lifestyle. “I think it’s one of the best things that’s ever happened to me because it helps me to really appreciate my body, learn about my body, and really nourish my body,” she says.
“Becoming and staying healthy doesn’t have to be hard. It can be as fun as you make it. The challenge will be to keep going,” Shalena says. “You’ve got this.”
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