A1c Dropped from 11.4 to 5.9 and Lost 18 Pounds in One Month

- All right, my name is Chaka Samuel. I live in Carmel, Indiana, and I have type two diabetes. Wow, yeah, so you say basically in 2025, because I joined like just in January. So in 2025, yeah, I just eat out a lot. ⁓ I know I was ⁓ battling depression and kind of just grieving ⁓ over it. And part of my way of kind of just dealing with that, I... I guess what we call comfort eating was one of the ways that I used to do that. So I was always eating out a lot. mean, whether it was Indian food, pot pies or, you know, a lot of, a lot of foods. And I mean, there's just a lot of money that I, I guess they say I've wasted just eating out a lot by nature. Well, I buy occupation, excuse me. I'm a pastor. And so a lot of times when I would be traveling or like visiting, you know, instead of like carrying a meal with me, I would always stop by someplace. So McDonald's or, you know, any of these other places, you know. So I used to just kind of I used to eat out a lot. And, know, it's not until like I saw pictures, I was like, wow. Yeah, I really started to pack on some serious pounds. And, you know, in January, I. I went to the doctor, something I was actually avoiding doing honestly, because a few years ago I was told at least from my blood sugar levels, I was on the brink of diabetes. And, you know, I wasn't really thinking too much about it. I was actually avoiding going to the doctor for like nearly two years because I was just too afraid. I didn't want to just think of that kind of reality. just was just... eating this kind of just doing what I want, you know, and it's crazy. mean, you know, I was I just had a lot of issues like in terms of like dandruff, some skin issues, feeling overweight. ⁓ There was even times where I thought I was having pain in my back, but little did I know that was pretty much my kidneys trying to tell me that something's wrong. And I wasn't aware of that. You know, I just treated it like back pain. And eventually when I went to the doctor and the results were alarming, I found out that my A1C last time I took it was like 5.6, like back in 2024. Now it's all the way to 11.4 with my average glucose being 282 milligrams. And My levels, whether it's vitamin B, vitamin D, my levels were down. A lot of things were abnormal. And I was only like one point off from getting kidney disease. So it was very alarming. And It's crazy, I don't remember if it was a friend of mine or my mother that was just telling me, she was just like, she's like, on this track, you're progressing to a slow death. And the reality was, you know, I said, oh my goodness, does this mean I have to be on insulin or whatnot? Cause like my grandfather had diabetes, my father had diabetes. I mean, I've seen my father take... blood pressure medications and these kind of things. And you know, I didn't want that for myself, but I just knew after that, I really just kind of had to really think about the quality of life that I wanted. You know, I knew that I was dealing with depression. was tired of dealing with the skin issues that, I mean, I had like bad, bad dandruff in my head, in my beard, ⁓ the fatigue, like just, I was just sick and tired of feeling sick and tired. I, after the results, I really kind of had to think, because, you I've had a friend of mine who's had to get his kidneys removed. It's my age. Well, he's my age now, but when we were younger, I remember I had to visit my friend in the hospital for, again, kidney failure, right? Um, I had a friend of mine that passed late last year. mean, due to heart failure. Um, and these are folks around my age, you know, and, and just to be clear, I'm, I'm 31, so I'm in early thirties. So it's at a young age to hear that. And, you know, I just had to think, cause to me, it's just like, I'm looking at that and I'm in shock. You're on that road where you could be in a predicament just like that. And it's like, to me, it's like I've seen it, you know, and, and I don't know, I just had to stop and think to myself, it's just like, you know, I mean, the words that were told to me is just like, you're like on a slow progression to a lot of complications that could end up being deadly one day if I keep on this path. So I, For me, was like, choose life or death, You know, what kind of quality of life do you want to have? So I had to really sit there and think about it. My mother is a very health conscious person. She was the one actually that sent me a seminar from Mastering Diabetes. And that's where I mean, she sent me a lot of stuff and I sometimes I didn't have the time. Sometimes I was just like, this stuff is too long. So I listened to it and you know, my mother asked me about it. And she says, would you be open to doing this kind of program? And I told her, said, well, when it comes to coaching, I don't know. was just like, I'm like coaching is expensive. And I was just looking for, I don't know. My excuse was I was just like, why does it have to cost so much? It's for change, but. I did tell her, because my mom used to try and tell me recipes, things I need to do and whatnot, but I didn't need. And I mean, I've even had brothers who used to just kind of nicely warn me, you know, to be careful or whatnot, but I didn't need. What I didn't need was advice. I knew from me, if there was anything going to change, like I need someone to just walk with me through this, you know, like, and that's where the coaching kind of came in. Funny enough, I have heard about it before. I just don't remember where, but I know my mother likes to, I don't know where she finds all these online seminars and she gets to watch them for free. But sometimes she would send me something on WhatsApp or she would email me and she, and of course, after I shared my diabetes results with her, she shared this, she shared the program with me and I'm forgetting the author's name. the doctor's name. Actually, I have the book here. Matter of fact, because I ended up buying the book the other day. think, yeah, I think it was Robbie Barbaro, think. I may be wrong. Or was it Cyrus? I just remember it was one of them. well, the book came. Well, I got the book later, but this was like one of those kind of fry-free kind of seminars. And that was addressing one of the topics about like, about diabetes and of course, ⁓ plant-based eating. So. I decided my mom was just like, they're live right now, tune in, watch it. So I said, okay, especially now I'm just, now I'm a little more just like, all right, you know, I'm sending stuff all the time. Let me just check it out. So I checked it out and the information was great. know, I mean, there were some things, you know, I already kind of knew because, mean, funny enough, my, like my mother, she ate, she eats primarily whole food plant-based already, but I know I was kind of just eating everything else. It was just about eating everything else. So there were some things I knew, but it was fascinating. I said, you know, I had enjoyed basically just listening to that. That presentation, it's just then when my mom afterwards called me and she said, what did you think? She's like, do you think you'd be interested in a program like this? And I told her, said, yeah. I said, when it comes to help and support, I'm open to it. I said, I just don't have the money to do it. And you know that that was just my big thing so because I kind of I don't know I just didn't have a positive first save you about the finances and coaching but I was grateful. mean, some of my family members allowed me to pay for the program. And so when I got started, immediately when I saw the portal and I saw recipes, exercise videos, connected with my coach, it was like an app. And I could see that there were, ⁓ you know, every time you log in there are these goals, like almost like these badges you can get. So I told myself, I said, well, let's, you know, I told myself, you know, this is, this is me choosing me. And I said, you know, we're gonna give it a shot. Now I personally like cooking a lot. So it was a bit of a challenge at first. ⁓ you know, especially like finding recipes. It's funny, I was telling my friend, like I said, I would spend literally a day in the kitchen just trying to prepare. mean, something that was like 15, 30 minutes was taking me like an hour, two hours. Because I mean, I was going to the grocery store, I would just buy all these things because it's... Cause I mean like when I realized it was like no oils, I was just like, my goodness, I have like three different oils on the counter. I'm just like, what am gonna do with these oils? Right? So, and then I was just like, okay, so we're replacing this with vegetable broth. So I said, okay. ⁓ So yeah, I mean, you talk about just spending like hours, two hours in the supermarket scrabbling. I mean, are croakers or buyers and I'm just looking for all these different things. I would say the first recipe I really tried was the three bean quinoa recipe from week one. I enjoyed it. I really did. I know from my mother's cooking, there were certain things I was accustomed to, but this one, I felt really proud of myself when I made this one. I would say really getting into the habit of cooking was the main challenge for me. And I said, there's anything that made me especially want to reverse type two was I hate pricking. I absolutely hate pricking my finger. But ⁓ I would prick my finger. I would check in ⁓ with my coach, Jessica. You know, it's great. So I had a skill but my skill was not working. So I couldn't even really keep progress of like the weight and whatnot. But what I've noticed was especially after like, after at least like following the meals, like I made sure at least to eat my last meal before like 6, 7 o'clock. So when is staying consistent on the meals and like even with at first especially when I was home all day and I couldn't make it to the gym because I was trying to see if I could exercise more. ⁓ I did watch at least one or two of the exercise videos as well but I've noticed especially I don't even know how long it took to be honest with you but I wasn't scratching my head as much from the the dandruff. You know, then eventually I'm just like, huh? I said, it doesn't look like I have snowfall coming off my head anymore. You know, my energy, ⁓ went up, you know, I wasn't as fatigued and honestly being a part of the program, I was feeling really driven and you know, and I would say if there's anything I'm very grateful for the program, for is that it Help me discover my why. Because I didn't really have a personal why. Like I said to myself, I challenged myself and I said, I don't want this to just be about reversing diabetes. I said this is about a lifestyle change and I started writing down actually. I wrote down and gave myself some goals. I told myself, I mean to me I my stamina was terrible, but I told myself I think I could run a 5k one day. I think I could do one of those ⁓ obstacle races one of those days and something. It encouraged me to even go to the gym and exercise a bit more. you know, I was really just like, okay, you know, I was feeling good. Like it gave, like it really built that sense of why and it fueled me to do things more. And like, you know, instead of like juice, like here, like I kind of keep some infused water. So to kind of help myself stay hydrated. So. Yeah, I was feeling really good and I realized a lot of things that I wanted to do or least healthy practices I wanted to do for self-care. I was able to start doing them because, you know, I ⁓ stayed committed and then, yeah. Yeah, so of course with my numbers, were originally when I started, they were in like the upper 100s. And so like 180, like between the onesavities, 180s. I think if anything that kind of made me start to see things started to come down. I started seeing myself in the 90s and the 80s. Now I had to go download some charts online because I was just like, needed to track, cause I wanted to see exactly what ranges I were in because I said, man, when it came to cholesterol and blood pressure and. Okay, But yeah, so I noticed especially my, I think that was my way of really kind of seeing like my blood sugar numbers were dropping and you know, at the same time, of course, I had started Monjaro. I was 2.5 milligrams of Monjaro. And, you know, basically the doctor had wanted me to follow up in a month's time. So in one month's time, you know, when I went to the doctor, I mean, she was amazed. Now, she told me just straight, she said, you know, she said, I know I put you on a small dose of Menjar to kind of see how you were doing. And she said, I expected you to lose six to seven pounds. She said, you lost 18 pounds. She said, there's something else that you're doing that is, she's like. It's just blowing the expectation. She's like, whatever it is that you're doing, you need to keep on doing that. So like I was 240, I think I was 248 pounds when I first went to the doctor and received my diagnosis. By the time I saw her again, I was 200 and let's see 18 from. Yeah, I was somewhere close to around 230 or so. ⁓ absolutely. Yeah. So I wasn't feeling as sluggish anymore because, you know, I was just tired all the time. Worn out. said, you know, ⁓ I was taking a. I know the doctor, she had prescribed me some kind of. Shampoo and some other kind of. ⁓ Some other cream, you know, to kind of deal with weree just, you know, fungal stuff. because it was, yeah, I just like again, itchy skin, ⁓ you know, there are just a lot of low energy. But again, like the real thing when I saw the difference was in my hair. I was scratching and there was no tantrum. That was a big one for me. Right. ⁓ And then, of course, just the level of energy that I've had. know, like it was waking up earlier, I was able to get more done in the day, you know, when I on the weekends when I would go to church, like I think that was one of the big significance. Like folks were telling me like, your face looks smaller. They're like, oh my, like they're like, you look smaller. Like it's amazing. So a lot of folks were just asking me what I've been doing. You know, and I tell them, you know, I said, I said, when I drink water, I mean, to help me drink water, I do like infused water. I said, you know, I was on the program. I said, diabetes. I said, I eat whole food, plant-based diet. I said, once the processed food. And that was one of the key things I said, once you put the processed food aside and you start eating whole foods, another thing is I felt full fast. didn't feel so hungry. And so like I needed to consume so much. Like I noticed a difference when I ate a bowl of oatmeal and I was full. Cause I'm like, I normally would have to eat two or three times as much to feel full when I was eating like like eggs and bacon and sausages and you know, it was just, I realized the healthier I ate, the more full I felt and the more I was actually able to do stuff. So that was really the big thing for me. I would say that, especially with the, you know, I've had clothes that I've had in a bin that I've said at some point I'll be able to fit back into. And I feel so good looking at myself in the mirror fitting back into the boots I couldn't wear two years ago, you know. Like the shirt that you see I have on, this was tight. I put this shirt on now. It feels regular. know, I, you know, so a lot of like my clothes started fitting. So that, that, that made me really happy. A lot of people I realize, especially at my church, they were just really inspired by my journey. A lot of them were asking me, what do you do? And you know, I tell them, said, yeah, I said as much as, cause I know some of them, they were just like, wait, if you're diabetes, did they put you on something? And I said, yeah, the Manjaro is there. But I said, compared to what the program, like meeting a whole food plant-based diet and getting exercise and whatnot, said, I said it doubles. I would say that it affects just doing that compared to even just that. So. Okay, yeah. So my experience with Mastering Diabetes has been one where I'm not only given the tools, but I'm also given the accountability, the encouragement to keep on going because, know, it's, I said, it's a very holistic process, you know, in the sense that... Like I said, you have to be okay up here as much as you want the rest of your body to be okay. And to have someone who you're checking in with your blood sugars, someone you could talk to when you get advice, when you're discouraged. You post things, you share what you're doing and other people are inspired and encouraging you. I tell them when it comes to... processed foods, eliminate as much as you can as possible. I mean, you may use some little slight things here and there. You know, I keep the red, yellow, and green. red light foods on my refrigerator, right? I said, you know, having the tools and having the support makes a difference. It's more than just trying to change on your own. it being a part of a community and a program that really actually gives you those tools and encourages you and gives you the recipes and they even help you find if there's a recipe that doesn't work. What I appreciate with my coach, she'll help me find some smaller recipes. Like I think she helped me with like the chickpeas and spinach recipe that I've been eating consistently. You know, that's like my go-to breakfast because it's quick, but it does the job. So yeah, that's the answer. If you're thinking about working with Mastering Diabetes, I would say you have all the tools that you need to succeed. And one of the things where they will challenge you, which made the difference for me, and the most important for me, is like, they will help you really kind of just stop and ask yourself why. Like, what is your why? because that why is what will drive you. And it's like really kind of thinking about that why that's really helped me, propelled me in terms of taking everything seriously and just seeing how, you know, just again. how just taking care of not just your diet, like getting to sleep, the exercise, you even with the information that is shared through some of the seminars, some of the videos that are there, even looking at other posts and seeing other people's recipes and knowing that there are other people that are right where you are. And so you don't feel alone in this. It's a very powerful thing. I what, I mean, you know, I don't know if it's part of the question, but one of the things that touched me is like, you know, like I'm not that big of a cook. And like I said, I felt embarrassed to kind of share a picture of like my meal and like this messy kitchen. And someone just, just like, no, they're like, that's how it's supposed to look. Like they just, like, I felt, I felt okay. Like I felt like where I felt like I was, I was unsure or whatnot. I felt, you know, encouraged and felt like, okay, like I'm. I'm a part of something, I'm not alone in this. And if you don't want to go at this alone or if you're afraid, said, joining Mastering Diabetes will give you a sense of community that will let you know that you're not alone and that you can do this and that you can experience the change. It's worth taking that first step because you don't know what You don't know what your life looks like, especially particularly having a better quality of life looks like unless you take, unless you really choose yourself, you know, and sell yourself that, hey, there is the possibility that this can't turn different. Even if I have diabetes, that this is manageable, this is reversible, you know, that. that something different can happen. It's possible. it's just like the question it just boils down to is, am I willing to bet on myself that something can happen? Once I chose, I had, like I said before, I had that choice where I was just like, you gotta choose a road of complications and be depressed and sad and ultimately lead to a premature death. Or you can choose yourself and see what kind of life and the opportunities that you'll be able to have when choosing to help. So ⁓ yeah, so making that choice for yourself really. When you choose you, you immediately start to feel good about yourself and you'll see the results little by little. Yeah, working with Mastering Diabetes, my A1C went from 11.4 to 5.9. Yeah, I was shocked. My doctor just said, she said, if I could give you an A plus on everything, I'll give you A plus on everything. She's like. Yep. The investment was totally worth it for me because I I'm not the same where I was in January. One, it helped me discover my why and helped me to understand the importance of choosing me and that I can live a healthier and a happier life. ⁓ It did show me that ⁓ there are a lot of options there to eat healthy. It helped me really totally see the difference between eating a heavily, highly processed diet versus eating especially a whole food plant-based diet and how that works for me. I've seen my weight drop. I've seen skin clear up. I've ⁓ physical problems that I had just disappear. I've seen my mood get better. ⁓ I feel good being able to go exercise and go and ⁓ wear clothes that I haven't worn in years. Things I was starting to wonder if I should have even just given away. I've seen how it's actually allowed me also to, and in my journey, also inspire others and let them know some of the things that they can do. Whether it's even in starting small and like letting them know that, hey, eating a whole food plant based diet does work. Exercise is important. I grew in my understanding of a lot of these things. And there were things that, yeah, I knew for a very long time, but I don't know what I should call it. I don't know if it's like the synergy or just the way how a lot of these things work together. The importance of having a community, a coach. Tackling it alone. It's not easy. like the thing is with Mastering Diabetes, I did not feel alone. I felt a part of a community. I felt like I had someone who, who... an amazing coach who encouraged me, know, one of the things that stuck out to me that she says, even like if there was like a week where I was gone a weekend and maybe I fell off the program where she was just like, you know, she said, you have to remember it's a journey and we stop sometimes it's like when we stop, it's not like we're starting from the front. It just means just like when someone is on a journey, you may stop, you may get tired, you may rest for a while, but you get back up and you just keep on going. And that stuck with me. So like I would say, just my perspective of life is better because of this program and I'm eternally grateful for that. few things. One, there were some of them that reminded me of my mom's cooking when I was younger. And I had to ask her, I'm just like, why did you stop making these things? Because I'm just like, you know, I There were some recipes, ⁓ of course, and it was normal to some recipes probably I wasn't too keen on, but there were a lot of really good ones. And the thing is, I like how cultural a lot of the meals were. ⁓ One of the ones that I'm ⁓ looking forward to actually making is ⁓ Ethiopian chickpea. ⁓ ⁓ stew. So I'm really looking forward to that. But you know, I just like the diversity of the foods. I mean, firstly, you have desserts, you know, which I'm just like, I'm like, we could still have desserts. And it's The thing that I love, one of the things that I've failed to mention is just like, know, normally I know folk and I've seen folks who are like very strict. Like, I mean, I read my labels now. That's another important thing. I do read a of my labels. ⁓ But the thing is what I love is just that sometimes I've seen people who have diabetes or are on these programs, they're like super counting their calorie intake and their meals. like, what I love is with all the options, like I don't have to starve myself. And that was one thing that I was a little scared of in the beginning. I'm just like, great, do I have to starve myself now to help? No, it's really about the quality of the food, emphasis on the quality. Like I didn't have to do no serious counting of no calories or any of those kind of things. I mean there's certain foods. Yes, you know and again the tools are very helpful but like Eating whole food plant based like it just everything just kind of it just worked It just it just worked. So, you know, i'm actually just very grateful man, I I don't know. I i'm sorry. I'm glad you're gonna be editing this because i'm just like they're I'm going to give a quick shout out to my mom because she sent me the video. And I'm really glad that ⁓ I found Mastering Diabetes. I was inspired. mean, me with the recipes. I mean, haven't gone through much of the book yet. But I said I have the book here ⁓ as I'm reading the tools, the information, the recipes. I'm even looking to see if this is the possibility if I could be in the program even longer. Because I said to myself, man, just to offer some of the great recipes from the first six weeks alone. And I'm just like, I noticed that there's a whole lot more. I'm just like, there's more? I'm just kind of like, I want to explore more of these things. So I'm very grateful to Mastering Diabetes. It's changed my life. It has. And it made me feel like I'm not alone on this journey because like you said you know it's not that I haven't known people who are healthy or whatnot but Just telling me what to do and sending me things, that doesn't help me. But actually walking alongside me and coaching and encouraging and feeling a part of community, ⁓ that makes a difference for me. And I'm really grateful that I've had the opportunity. I don't think the same way. I have a much more positive view of myself. My goals and whatnot. and things that I wanna do, things that I've been exploring and whatnot. And to be honest, it all started because I learned how to choose myself in this program. So, as far as just even just changing my diet, changed my life and I'm grateful.