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TwitThisWith her blood-sugar level topping 300 and her A1c result a sky-high 11.7, her doctors didn't expect her to be off medication just four months later -- but she was. The Des Moines resident's blood sugar now holds generally steady at a very healthy 82, and her A1c is now below 6. It seems McMahon has literally walked away from diabetes.
"When I received the diagnosis, I said, 'Okay, this isn't terrible. This is something I can live with,'" she recalls. "My doctor agreed, telling me that some aspects of treatment were in my control, especially diet and exercise. He mentioned walking as the easiest exercise -- all you need is a good pair of shoes." The following day, after McMahon was discharged, she walked into a bookstore to gather information on diabetes care -- and she's been walking ever since.
Each day, McMahon straps on a pedometer (a device that counts footfalls) and hikes about 10,000 steps (about five miles). But she doesn't limit exercise to one walking workout a day; McMahon also follows exercise experts' advice to incorporate more movement into everyday activities. "I have to park a few blocks from work, and that used to bother me. Today, I'm glad for the built-in opportunity to get more steps." To learn more about diabetes management, McMahon attended classes at her hospital's diabetes-education center, and it was there that she stated her goal: to get off medication, which she was taking twice a day. "I was warned that this would be very hard to do," she says. "But I decided I was going to take charge of diabetes, and not let it take charge of me."
By combining regular exercise with a healthful eating plan (her favorite treats are now blueberries and low-fat granola bars), McMahon cut her daily dose of medication in half within a couple of months. Two months after that, she was down to none. And about two months after that, she achieved another health goal: She had pared 62 pounds from her at-diagnosis weight of 214 pounds.
McMahon's all-out efforts to cut out medication (and cut herself down to a healthier size) took place during the winter, when Iowa weather can make outdoor exercise tough. "When it's really cold out, I'll simply pace around the house," says McMahon. "My family thinks I'm nutty, but I tell them, 'You just do whatever you have to do.'"
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