I don't think I eat crappy at all. I eat delicious meals.

I just avoid the stuff that is bad for me.

Yes it does mean pushing away the pie and bread and things I used to love. But I find that after being off them a while, I no longer miss them.

The extra daily energy and generally feeling a lot better without the aches and pains is well worth not indulging my immediate gratification.

Sugar is kind of like a drug. It makes you want more. Kicking the addiction takes some initial willpower, but surprisingly for me it only took a couple of weeks for the cravings to subside and in a matter of a few months (diet sodas were my hardest addiction to overcome) went completely away.

For me it actually turned out to be a lot easier than I thought it would be. But I imagine that varies between different people. Being a diabetic and the potential of ending up like your friend, I perhaps had more incentive to change than others.

I pretty much had the same attitude as cottonhauler when I was in my 20's and early thirties. Two liter of Pepsi a day guy I was. Then I became diabetic and had to change my ways but did not have the right education about food to make the best choices (and probably still had "live now pay later" attitude). Once I started having the diabetic complications things got more serious. Then I learned a more proper way of eating and the knowledge of that changed my life for the much, much, much...... did I say MUCH? Better.

I'll also say when I was first diagnosed as being diabetic I went to a trained nutritionist on the advice of my doctor. From what I remember (that was many, many years ago), her recommendations at that time are not much different than what the ADA has been recommending for years. A horrible diet for a diabetic with Dr prescribed drugs to take care of the blood sugar levels. If I would have known then what I know now, at least I would have known how to properly eat for a diabetic, even if I probably would not have followed it because of my attitude like cottonhauler. I also was bulletproof.

When a person gets closer to the end game, some of this stuff seems to carry a higher importance.

John