My most recent check-up with the doctor surprised me. I didn't think that I had made the decision to finally accept my diagnosis and really take care of myself for a long enough period of time to affect this particular check-up. As a matter of fact, I was expecting a bad report and a scolding from my doctor.
So, imagine my surprise when I was told that I had lost 9 pounds since my last check-up (6 months earlier) and that my A1c is stable at 6.6. The doctor said he'd like to see it a little lower but that it isn't terrible, and he was satisfied that it was stable. My kidney function is normal and my triglycerides level is still high but it has dropped by 157. He told me to keep doing what I'm doing, and I thought, "No, I will be doing much better than what I've been doing." I really don't know how these numbers were so good, but I know that I can't keep eating whatever I want and keep having things go this well. I also believe that the changes I made in the two weeks before this check-up had some affect on the number, but not that much on my weight. However, from here on out, I was going to do better, and I can't wait to see what happens at my next 6-month check-up after spending six full months being intentional about taking proper care of myself.
So, what does being intentional look like? Well, first of all, I have never been a fan of physical exercise, and I hate to run, but I love to walk and I enjoy dancing to music in my own home. I have some exercise videos, but they aren't my favorite way to exercise either, and to find time to do those is not something I make a priority. Time has always been an issue when it comes to finding time for deliberate exercise as well. I figured all of the running around I do, running my kids here and there, and going up and down stairs several times a day, especially on laundry days, was enough -- apparently not.
In the fall, my husband and I found a nearby park that has a great walking trail -- no steep hills, but not completely flat and easy either. We walked there in the evenings, often taking our youngest dog with us, as the older dog couldn't handle that much walking anymore. I really enjoyed that. Then this winter hit with snow after snow after snow and sub-zero temperatures for quite a few days in a row, and there went the walking. I may enjoy walking but not enough to continue to walk in this kind of weather. I do hope to get back to this in the spring.
So, in this winter weather, what can I do without having to plan it and set aside a chunk of time to exercise. Well, I found that when I am cooking and/or baking in the kitchen, I enjoy listening to music, AND when I listen to music with a good beat, I enjoy dancing. So, I decided to combine the two -- when I work in the kitchen now, I put my ipod earphones in, play my favorite dance tunes and dance in the kitchen while working. Not only is it good exercise, but it's also fun, and it adds something to my kitchen work.
What about eating? Well, I have two great cookbooks for Diabetics: Fix-It and Forget-It Diabetic and Fix-It and Enjoy-It Diabetic. I have begun to rely on these two cookbooks, not only because they have healthy, diabetic-friendly recipes that are easy to make and use easy-to-find ingredients, but also because with two of the boys working and me being their transportation, I am often driving one or both of them home at our normal dinner time, so planning to make recipes from Fix-It and Forget-It Diabetic is not only healthy and diabetic-friendly, it is also convenient. I put the stuff in the crockpot and let it cook all day, and when we arrive home after I have picked the boy(s) up from work, we can simply sit down and eat. It's a win/win for everyone. If what I am making requires something additional, I will plan so that I have time to prepare that ahead of time as well and then we just have to heat that up in the microwave.
Recipes from Fix-It and Enjoy-It Diabetic are good for evenings when using the crockpot isn't necessary, and the recipes in this book are just as healthy and diabetic-friendly and easy to prepare. Oh, and the recipes we have tried so far from these two cookbooks are pretty tasty.
Wednesday, February 26, 2014
Monday, February 24, 2014
My Diabetic Story
Apparently, if you have multiple blogs with Blogger, you can't vary your "About" section for each one. I tried because the "About" section on my other blog really doesn't apply to this blog. Therefore, I am not creating an "About" section on this blog.
So, today's post will begin with my Diabetic story. In the summer of 2011, I was diagnosed with Lyme Disease and a couple of weeks later with Type 2 Diabetes. The Lyme was caught early and I was put on antibiotics and that took care of it. The Type 2 Diabetes, of course, is a different story.
When I received my diagnosis, I didn't accept it because I had no symptoms -- no persistent thirst or abnormal numbers of trips to the bathroom or anything.
Now it's 2014 and I have gone through periods of trying to accept it and live healthier. I have attended the local Diabetic educational classes to learn more, but I still didn't really accept it until a couple of weeks ago. I did subscribe to "Diabetic Living" magazine and I like it enough to read it from cover to cover each time it arrives in my mailbox. But it only arrives quarterly. It didn't prove enough motivation until I sat down to read the current issue Spring 2014, and I read the article "Denying your Diabetes" and read the words that a wife had written to her husband: "My wife wrote me a letter explaining that I was a very selfish person -- that I wasn't taking into account anyone else's feelings. She wanted me to be around for our son's life. She wanted him to have a father."
I am married and have three children, one of which is grown but still single and at home and I want to be around for my children. I hope to be around to spoil my grandchildren. I didn't realize that ignoring my diabetes was being selfish. I am the wife and mother. I am used to taking care of everyone else and sacrificing my own needs and/or desires. After reading those words of that wife to her husband, I realized that not taking care of myself is not doing anyone any good, and I decided to get serious about this diabetes stuff.
I decided to plan all of our evening meals again and use diabetic recipes. I decided that I didn't have to give up desserts, I just need to make diabetic-friendly desserts, which really do taste good. Then, I decided to start this blog to keep myself motivated and accountable. So far, so good.
Tomorrow, I will post about my diabetic recipe resource, my exercise and some more specific statistics on my diabetes.
So, today's post will begin with my Diabetic story. In the summer of 2011, I was diagnosed with Lyme Disease and a couple of weeks later with Type 2 Diabetes. The Lyme was caught early and I was put on antibiotics and that took care of it. The Type 2 Diabetes, of course, is a different story.
When I received my diagnosis, I didn't accept it because I had no symptoms -- no persistent thirst or abnormal numbers of trips to the bathroom or anything.
Now it's 2014 and I have gone through periods of trying to accept it and live healthier. I have attended the local Diabetic educational classes to learn more, but I still didn't really accept it until a couple of weeks ago. I did subscribe to "Diabetic Living" magazine and I like it enough to read it from cover to cover each time it arrives in my mailbox. But it only arrives quarterly. It didn't prove enough motivation until I sat down to read the current issue Spring 2014, and I read the article "Denying your Diabetes" and read the words that a wife had written to her husband: "My wife wrote me a letter explaining that I was a very selfish person -- that I wasn't taking into account anyone else's feelings. She wanted me to be around for our son's life. She wanted him to have a father."
I am married and have three children, one of which is grown but still single and at home and I want to be around for my children. I hope to be around to spoil my grandchildren. I didn't realize that ignoring my diabetes was being selfish. I am the wife and mother. I am used to taking care of everyone else and sacrificing my own needs and/or desires. After reading those words of that wife to her husband, I realized that not taking care of myself is not doing anyone any good, and I decided to get serious about this diabetes stuff.
I decided to plan all of our evening meals again and use diabetic recipes. I decided that I didn't have to give up desserts, I just need to make diabetic-friendly desserts, which really do taste good. Then, I decided to start this blog to keep myself motivated and accountable. So far, so good.
Tomorrow, I will post about my diabetic recipe resource, my exercise and some more specific statistics on my diabetes.
Saturday, February 22, 2014
My Vision for this Blog
Hello, I have decided to begin a blog about my diabetic journey: my challenges and successes, recipes and resources that I find helpful and updates on my personal progress on this journey, as well as anything else I consider important to share on this journey.
I thought by starting a blog, it would help me connect with others who are on their own diabetic journey and, maybe, we can help each other along the way with words of understanding and encouragement and showing that none of us are on this journey alone. There are others out there who face the same daily challenges.
My hope is that this blog would also keep me accountable and keep me motivated as I share as often as possible here on this public page. I won't promise daily or even weekly posts because this is not my first blog and, in addition to being a diabetic, I am also a wife, mother and homeschool teacher, all of which keep me very busy.
I thought by starting a blog, it would help me connect with others who are on their own diabetic journey and, maybe, we can help each other along the way with words of understanding and encouragement and showing that none of us are on this journey alone. There are others out there who face the same daily challenges.
My hope is that this blog would also keep me accountable and keep me motivated as I share as often as possible here on this public page. I won't promise daily or even weekly posts because this is not my first blog and, in addition to being a diabetic, I am also a wife, mother and homeschool teacher, all of which keep me very busy.
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