Hack 4: Diabetic Vegan - for a Month

aI had always shunned - if not derided - the idea of being a vegan as too hard and impractical for someone who was more focused on muscle maintenance and growth than looking skinny or saving animals from slaughter. And then I contracted diabetes. 
       Last fall, it was undeniable that I had suddenly become diabetic, but because the Type of diabetes I had (Type 1 vs. 2) was uncertain, I assumed along with everyone who told me so that I had Type 2 - the kind that can be "cured" with sensible diet and exercise.
      In fact, a well-meaning chef-friend of mine had been reading Michael Greger's book "How Not to Die" and there were several pages devoted to studies showing how a plant-based diet had been shown to be especially effective in reversing the effects of diabetes. "Basically, Chris," my chef-friend said with a confident nod (just like my internist), "you've f*cked your body all these years with your high protein diets." And now I had diabetes as a result, it appeared. Well, no more of this, I thought. I'll be a vegan for life if it will make my diabetes go away. 
       So, I loaded up on plant-based protein powder, meat- and milk-substitutes, looked up recipes for easy vegan stews and dishes my wife would enjoy (despite that fact that SHE hadn't signed up for a vegan diet), and started frequenting a coffeehouse nearby, called Hip Cafe, which quietly devoted itself to mostly vegan bakery and sandwich offerings, giving me a place to meet with people without being tempted by foods with animal products like butter, dairy, meat, etc. Doing so had a big learning curve and took a lot of extra work, but thankfully the retail grocery world has evolved to a point that people with certain diet-based restrictions can find a certain level of convenience foods and restaurants to help them along.
       All this lasted about 2 weeks, thanks to a wine trip last fall with a group of friends in Sonoma County. My new regimen stuck out right away when we went grocery shopping together or ordered dishes at restaurants. This led to friendly curiosity among my wine friends, who also happened to be eye doctors and pediatricians (medical professionals who don't specialize in diabetes, per se, but run into it a lot due to the prevalence of juvenile diabetes and eye complications from the disease). Curiosity was soon followed by concern, when they heard about my sudden unintentional weight loss and extremely high blood glucose numbers. And after consulting with some fellow doctor friends in between wine tastings, our pediatrician friend urgently advised me to seek a research university-based hospital for more tests to determine root causes for my condition and then declared "well, veganism isn't going to help whatever you have going on right now." And just in time! I was about to pass up some slices of a giant 3-inch-thick marbled ribeye that was being cooked for dinner that night, along with other buttery side dishes and dairy-filled desserts. For more on what happened next, see my Mayo Clinic Hacks.