When he first heard from Level2, Max was extremely skeptical. In fact, when he first received a flyer in the mail from Level2, he threw it away.
He only dug it out of the trash because his wife, who was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes, was considering getting a continuous glucose monitor (CGM) through her company.
“I wanted her to do it and realized if I did it, she would too,” Max shared.
But after nine months with Level2, his life has completely changed.
“I have learned so much from my Level2 care team. We mesh! We all work together, hand in hand. I wasn’t told to cut out all the foods that I love. They say to make sure that I can monitor what I do and understand how it affects my body,” he said.
“They gave me alternatives to foods, and it was invigorating and exciting to know that I can do this!” he continued. “I love bananas, but guess what? Bananas aren’t great for me. So I cut those in half. Little by little, we’ve adjusted my lifestyle rather than make drastic changes to my diet.”
Before Level2, Max was drinking a six-pack of Coke for dinner. He slowly started weaning off soda and now he proudly mostly drinks water.
He also found a new friend –– his CGM.
“My continuous glucose monitor is the BEST. I really thought it was going to be a pain. It’s a great way to monitor your progress. It’s invaluable. It’s always there helping you when you want to eat something, giving you the information you need to make better choices so your glucose doesn’t spike,” he explained.
The CGM helped him learn how certain foods affected his body –– like how skipping breakfast impacts his glucose levels.
“Just this information in and of itself makes it totally worth it!” he said.
Last September Max biked for two miles and could barely make it home. Fast forward a few months and he’s now joined a bicycling club, slowly working his way up to riding 50 to 70 miles. He’s even participating in a 100-mile bike race.
“That is just part of the lifestyle change that the Level2 program has helped me achieve. The biking is helping me get physically fit, and the more physically fit I am, the more fun I have and the more I want to do it! But my ultimate goal is to do my first triathlon in a year from now,” he shared.
Although Max says he could have done it on his own, Level2 really kick started everything. The encouragement and accountability from his care team made a huge difference.
“There are other people in my corner who want to see me succeed! I am able to do things that I couldn’t have done a year ago. Also, I no longer sit on the sofa watching YouTube videos of triathlons saying, ‘Gee, I could have done that back in the day’. I am actually doing it!” he states.
When Max was first diagnosed, he read online that type 2 is a common disease. He figured, everybody has it; all he could do was take his pills and accept that it would be part of life, for the rest of his life.
“I thought it’s just something you have to live with; that’s not the case!” he stated.
Looking back, Max would’ve told himself not to ignore his type 2. Instead he would’ve done more research and listened to the people who were trying to help him.
“Don’t minimize what this disease can do to your body and to your life,” he said. “Make the changes that are necessary. You will thank yourself.”
Max reduced his A1C from 9.7 to 6.0, lost 82 pounds and eliminated all diabetic medication except for metformin. He placed in the upper 25% in the 100-mile bike race and is already training for his second race.
15 sep. 2021
