This interview is based on a conversation with Lyle Wallace, 45, a Dallas pastor. It has been edited for length and clarity.
I hit 6 feet 3 inches tall as a freshman in high school and weighed around 185 pounds.
Then, while playing a lot of sports like football and basketball during my junior and senior years, I ate a lot of protein and built a ton of muscle, eventually reaching 230 pounds.
It was all good because I was running around doing all sorts of exercise, and my metabolism was fast. That all changed when I started Bible college in upstate New York, and my physical health became less of a priority.
My job was stressful, and I found it hard to detach
The weight crept on. Then, when I entered the ministry, I found myself eating out a lot with the young members of the congregation. Sitting at a table together was a good way to bond and establish trust.
The only trouble was that we went to fast food places like Taco Bell or Mexican restaurants, where you fill up on chips and salsa before the main course arrives.
The job was stressful because I found it difficult to detach from other people’s emotions as they dealt with bad stuff like domestic violence and sexual abuse.
I turned to food as an outlet and became less healthy by the month. I had terrible digestive issues and bouts of diverticulitis. I had several colonoscopies and liver biopsies in my 20s and 30s and was found to have a fatty liver.
They should have been warning signs, but I ignored them and stayed sedentary. I’d sit in my office studying, writing sermons, and doing paperwork. My metabolism slowed down as I got older, but I didn’t change my habits.
I had problems with tendonitis, with symptoms mimicking a heart attack, pressure on my joints, and suffered excruciating pain from a bad back. I had spine surgery in 2019.
I was prescribed Metformin
My wife, Nicole, would be on top of me about the causes, but I didn’t face facts. It was only when I was diagnosed with diabetes in January 2023 that I became seriously worried.
My dad was diabetic and needed three or four insulin shots a day. I’m terrified of needles and didn’t want to go down the same route. The scale registered over 285 pounds.
I was prescribed Metformin, but not given any advice about improving my lifestyle. My blood sugar levels actually increased — one of my A1C tests showed 8.0 — and I despaired.
Still, it was a wake-up call. My health insurance company encouraged me to sign up for an app called Twin Health, which created an AI-powered “digital twin” of my metabolism.
It collected my health information, including data from lab tests, a smart scale, a blood pressure cuff, and real-time glucose monitor sensors, and made personalized recommendations for nutrition, sleep, and exercise.
The app advised me what to eat and when. I learned that consuming protein and fiber on my plate before any carbohydrates helped my metabolism. Nicole and I scanned barcodes at the supermarket to assess the suitability of certain foods and prevent sugar spikes.
I’ve reversed my diabetes
I increased my physical activity by building up to walking four miles a day, without causing back pain. The other day, I ran after my 8-year-old daughter and her cousin and overtook them. They couldn’t believe it.
My current weight is 215 pounds, 70 pounds lighter than before. I’ve gone from a 42-inch to a 36-inch waist and lost 2.5 inches off my collar size.
Best of all, I’ve reversed my diabetes — reducing my A1C to 5.1 —and am medication-free. People in my congregation keep asking how I did it. I’m not a particularly high-tech guy, but AI worked wonders for me.
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