Enjoyed all the posts and Imallears responses really hit home for me. Always slender and stable weight, never considered a diet, 5'8", active 76 yr old until a diag. for pre-diabetes and then kidney disease this past 12 months. I began reading everything re diets and brought both my diabetes A1c back to normal range and then improved my kidney GFR numbers by making big self-imposed changes to my diet.

A year ago, unexplained weight loss led to testing which revealed both of the above conditions. Although the wt loss continued for months, no medical "cause" was determined despite multiple tests and scans. Reducing red meats, eating fish 2 x's/wk and filling my plate with 1/2 non-starchy veggies, 1/4 protein and 1/4 carb, turned into pretty much following the Mediterrean diet. I eat whole grain breads, pasta, unsalted nuts for snacks, beans and legumes along with rainbow colored veggies and low fat dairy.

Since neither of the above two conditions had given me symptoms, I was clueless when diagnosed and docs provided no help with diet and seemed unconcerned about my lab numbers. Over 8 mos, I unintentionally lost 28 lbs, from 124 to 96. Adding high calorie foods has brought me to 106 lbs but I still worried about low weight.

Reducing animal protein in favor of veggie proteins and eliminating highly processed foods and rarely fried means I spend more time in the kitchen preparing "from scratch whole foods". However, my high energy level is back and Imallears note about how good she feels at her present weight has reassured me that my wt may just be my new normal. As was related above, reading food labels is important. Many of us eat too much salt and sugar.

I have my yearly annual exam next week and am very eager to receive my lab reports. This year has been an incredible year of learning the importance of how foods affect our bodies and how much difference making diet changes can improve health. Learning to understand lab reports and becoming a patient advocate will never again find me just accepting whatever a doc does or discounts.

Had I known more sooner about how my red meat, fried foods, high carb diet was adversely affecting me, I might have avoided both conditions. I hope others will take the time to invest in learning what a difference more healthy meals can make in overall health.