Posted in Uncategorized, tagged diabetes, fitness, health, insulin, shakeology, tony horton on June 5, 2015| 6 Comments »
There’s not a lot to report. Blood sugar is staying steady. I lost another 1/2 lb. this week. I’ve been doing a lot of exercise, but the past few days I haven’t felt well, so I took off a couple of exercise days.
I’m pretty happy with my progress. I would like to lose weight a little faster, but slow and steady wins the race. Well, at least in the case of the tortoise and the hare. LOL
Here’s a hilarious video with Tony Horton about Shakeology, which is what I’m drinking.
Posted in Uncategorized, tagged beachbody, blood sugar, diabetes, insulin, piyo, shakeology on May 30, 2015| 4 Comments »
I haven’t posted since week 4. There’s been so much going on with work, death, and other things.
Here’s the deal.
I’ve lost 4 1/2 lbs. That’s not as much as I would have liked by now, but I’m finally doing some serious things to promote my health. Some of you have read earlier posts and know some of this stuff. Feel free to skim.
1. I started drinking Shakeology shakes from Beachbody. This is a meal replacement shake which has more nutrition than any other shake on the market as far as I can tell. This is from their website: “You’ll get protein, fiber, vitamins and minerals, phytonutrients and antioxidants, super-green foods, prebiotics, digestive enzymes, and just about everything else your body could ever need.” I can honestly say I have more energy.
2. I’m doing PiYo, which is a workout that’s a cross between Pilates and Yoga. It’s really kicking my butt, but it’s going to be worth it! I also got this from Beachbody.
3. My blood sugar is staying really good. I just wish it would stay that way without insulin. I actually forgot my insulin the other night, and 24 hours later (when I realized I had forgotten it the night before), my blood sugar was only 167. That’s really not bad for no insulin. When I was first diagnosed, it was almost 400 without insulin.
I fully believe I’ll be able to kick the insulin by the end of the year. I’m really going to try hard. Wish me luck!
Posted in Uncategorized, tagged diabetes, insulin, loss of a friend, weight loss on April 24, 2015| 12 Comments »
I didn’t realize it had been that long since I posted about this. I did week 1, then kept forgetting to weigh in. I apparently skipped weeks 2 and 3. Time flies.
Anyway. I gained back 4 of the 6 lbs. I lost. It’s not really surprising since last night (the night before weigh in!) I consumed copious amounts of comfort food. I won’t apologize for my binge because I lost a very dear friend. He was a co-worker going all the way back to 1981. His wife called yesterday morning and said he was never coming to work again, then told my boss he had died. We are all just stunned. Yesterday, we were like zombies all day here at work. This is the second good friend I’ve lost in the past four years. You know, we aren’t guaranteed tomorrow, so we need to make our lives count.
I hope next week’s weigh in will be better. I just didn’t really care last night, even knowing what I would see on the scale this morning. The pain in my heart overcame everything else last night.
Posted in Uncategorized, tagged diabetes, health, insulin, kicking insulin, kidney disease, losing weight, metformin, neuropathy, weight loss goals on April 3, 2015| 10 Comments »
The Dreaded Insulin Pen
This post may be long since it’s the first one in this series. I plan on doing an update every Friday.
Diabetes is a very serious disease. It can lead to blindness, kidney disease/failure, neuropathy, and other complications. The key to preventing these complications is to keep blood sugar at the proper levels.
Every night, I give myself an insulin shot. This is an extended release insulin that lasts all day. At this point, I don’t have to take the shots at every meal like many diabetics do. I DON’T want to go there. I also take a medicine called metformin twice a day. In addition to these medicines for diabetes, I take a blood pressure pill and a cholesterol pill every day. This is my life right now. I’m keeping my blood sugar under control, but I hate that shot every night.
So, here’s the deal. My goal is to be completely off insulin by the end of 2015. I plan to do this by losing the weight I need to lose. In doing this, I might also be able to get off the blood pressure meds. Maybe even the cholesterol meds. This is going to take a lot of work. Exercise, self-control when eating, etc. Losing weight is the best way to get your pancreas to start working properly again. And that’s what I’m going to do, if at all possible.
There’s always the possibility that this won’t work. I might be on insulin for the rest of my life. But I’ve seen many people lose the weight and get off insulin. I’m going to try with all my heart.
This hasn’t been a full week because I just started this on Monday. But I want to weigh in on Fridays, so I’m going to have a five day week the first time. That’s okay, because I’ve already lost 6 lbs. 🙂 I know a lot of that is water weight because it’s impossible for someone to lose 6 lbs. of fat in 5 days. But I’ll take it.
If anyone wants to join me, please feel free to comment with your goals and accomplishments. Even if you don’t have diabetes, that’s fine. Many people still want to be healthier. Exercise, eating better, and losing weight can prevent or reverse all kinds of health problems. If you just want to lurk and say nothing, that’s okay, too. But, please, at least click the “like” button, because I want to know you’ve been here. And, if you don’t have any health or weight problems, I would love to have some cheerleaders, especially when I’m feeling down about this whole thing. Because I know that’s going to happen. It’s normal.
So I’m taking the plunge to be a better me both inside and out. Wish me luck! And those of you who pray, I need that, too!
Posted in Uncategorized, tagged diabetes, exercise, fitness, wii, wii fit on March 14, 2015| 4 Comments »
It had been a long time since I’d used my Wii for anything but watching Netflix. You know, a very sedentary activity. I originally bought the Wii to get more fit, but in the last few years, I’ve used it to sit on my butt and watch TV.
But today, I decided to get out the Fit Board and my games. I mostly used the original Wii Fit Plus that came with my game console. I had forgotten how much I loved the Wii. I boxed, bicycled, did Yoga, did Karate, did step aerobics. I couldn’t believe how much I loved the step aerobic game. I actually worked up quite a sweat today! I feel like my motivation for fitness just came back. I’ve had this Wii for four or five years. I was surprised to find I weighed 18.5 lbs. less than I did when I first weighed on the Wii board all those years ago. Since then, my weight has been up and down, and I was pleased to find it was down this time.
Now I’m going to have to figure out when I can do this from now on. It’s easy on Saturdays because hubby is in bed after working all night. Sometimes, on weekdays, he gets up when I come home, but lately, he’s been sleeping longer. So maybe he’ll sleep long enough to let me use the TV to work out with the Wii. I plan on continuing to walk on the treadmill (haven’t lately because of a foot problem) in the mornings and doing the Wii in the evenings. I don’t want to do the Wii in the mornings because it requires set up time, and I would have to get up earlier than if I just walked on the treadmill. But I’m going to be flexible and take the time to exercise when I can.
I hope this renewed enthusiasm for exercise continues. My goal is to be able to stop taking insulin shots by the end of 2015. Exercise is SO important for diabetics. Wish me luck!
Posted in Uncategorized, tagged a1c test, crab legs, diabetes, diet, exercise, fitness, florida, fruit, health, vacation, vegetables on May 24, 2013| 16 Comments »
I’m not going to post stats because I’m in a big hurry. I’m trying to go on vacation tomorrow, and a bunch of stuff has fallen into my lap (not literally, lol) at work. Stats haven’t changed from last week anyway.
I went to the doctor yesterday to get my prescription for my insulin so I won’t run out on vacation. My doc is out “indefinitely” because he hurt his foot, so I saw a nurse/practitioner. She was so pretty I wanted to smack her. LOL. Seriously, she was very nice. She looked at my last A1C test and decided she wanted to do another one. It’s not high like when I first found out I had diabetes (it was over 13), but it was still 7.2 and she wants it to be under 6.5. So if this test still shows it’s high, I have to up my dosage of Metformin, which is the medicine I take in addition to insulin. It helps the insulin work better. I don’t know if she will up the dosage of the actually pill, or if I will have to take 3 instead of 2 a day. Grrr. Anyway, since my husband’s illness, I’ve been under all kinds of stress…emotional, physical, financial…and I just haven’t been as careful with my eating and exercise. So my weight loss has been at a standstill. I really need to cut down on fats. That’s my main problem. I just like so many fatty foods. I don’t like veggies much at all, and I don’t like too many fruits. I may just have to start choking some things down whether I want to or not. Bleh. Or at least make a list of veggies I DO like and concentrate on figuring out different ways to eat them. Okay let’s see, onions, cucumbers, lettuce…that’s mostly it. I like squash, zucchini, and okra…but fried. *shakes head in exasperation*. I DO like beans (legumes, not green), so I need to substitute those for meat sometimes. I need help here! Does anyone have any good recipes involving onions, cucumbers, or beans???
At least while I’m in Florida, I’ll be eating seafood instead of beef. I LOVE crab! My friend whose family is going with us owes me a couple of dinners because I sold her my cat cage, so it’s going to be crab legs, baby! LOL
Posted in Uncategorized, tagged blood sugar, diabetes, fitness, health, sugar free whitman's sampler, weight loss on March 22, 2013| 17 Comments »
I was really dreading getting on the scale this morning. I had gained a half pound last week, and I really didn’t think I did any better this week. When I’m not actually tracking my food intake, sometimes it’s hard to tell how well I’m doing. But when I got on the scale this morning, I got a pleasant surprise. I hit my 20 lb. milestone! I’m really happy about that and feel I need to celebrate and reward myself somehow. I haven’t figured out what I want to do yet.
I was a little concerned that my blood sugar is up a bit. Not bad. It was 135 this morning, which isn’t bad at all for a diabetic, but I was getting used to it being under 120, closer to 100 most of the time. I need to figure out what’s going on with that. It kind of makes me mad since I’m sacrificing sweets. I was eating at my mom’s church a couple of days ago because my aunt had died, and here in the South, you always have a big meal after the funeral. My mom and uncle, who are both diabetic, were eating dessert. There were lots of desserts there. I didn’t touch it. I told my uncle I really missed eating desserts. He said, “I’m not supposed to have it, either, but I usually don’t except on special occasions.” I still didn’t touch it. Uncle and Mom, if you’re reading this…I just had to tell! Ha ha.
Yesterday, I found a box of Whitman’s Sampler candy. SUGAR FREE! Pure bliss. It kind of made up for not having dessert at the church. Of course, I had to buy a box of regular Whitman’s Sampler for hubby. 🙂
Stats for this week:
Beginning weight: 193
Today’s weight: 173
This week’s loss: 2 lbs.
Total loss: 20 lbs.
Yay!
Posted in Uncategorized, tagged diabetes, fitness, jimmy thomas, romance novel convention, weight loss on February 8, 2013| 18 Comments »
1. Losing weight helps control diabetes (I REALLY hope I can get off insulin).
2. Losing weight can help prevent heart disease, cancer, and other illnesses.
3. Losing weight can give you a whole new wardrobe because you can suddenly wear clothes that have been in your closet for a long time.
4. Losing weight can boost your self-confidence and give you a feeling of accomplishment.
5. Losing weight can make you finally weigh less than your husband. (I’m not there yet, but I’m getting close.)
6. Losing weight can keep your body from continuing to move after you’ve stopped jumping up and down for joy.
7. Losing weight can make you able to shop longer…so, you know, you can buy more stuff.
8. Losing weight can make you able to tie your shoes straight instead of off to the side. (Does anyone understand what I mean here?)
9. Losing weight can make you feel more confident when you’re going to Las Vegas for the RNConvention in August and you’re going to meet the cover model (Jimmy Thomas) that’s been on many of your books. 🙂
10. Losing weight can make you want to start helping OTHER people be healthier because your excitement is contagious. Yay!
Those are just a few. Some of them are humorous and some are serious. But they are all relevant, at least in my case.
Stats for this week:
Beginning weight: 193
Today’s weight: 178.5
This week’s loss: 1.5 lbs.
Total loss: 14.5 lbs.
Posted in Uncategorized, tagged diabetes, diet, exercise, fitness, weight loss on January 25, 2013| 23 Comments »
Okay, I’m going to take a deep breath and carry on. For those of you who already know all about the diabetes and stuff, you can skip some of this, but since this is my first fitness post, I need to give some background.
I’ve always struggled with my weight and even got fired after 15 years with Weight Watchers because my weight was creeping up. There is a lot of obesity in my family, and I’m just glad I didn’t end up as overweight as a lot of my relatives. At one time, I got down to a size 6 in jeans. I don’t expect to ever be THERE again, but I would be happy with a 10. Oh, who am I kidding, I REALLY want to be an 8. 🙂
On December 14, I was diagnosed with adult onset diabetes. This is type 2, the kind that, although it’s hereditary, it can be prevented with proper diet and exercise. However, my diet and exercise was NOT proper. LOL. I had suspected for a couple of weeks that I was diabetic because of some symptoms, the most suspicious one being horrible thirst. My blood sugar was in the high 300’s, and according to my A1C test, it had been for some time. My doctor said my red blood cells looked like sugar frosted flakes. Ick. Anyway, I decided I would be the one in my family who took control of my diabetes. I saw my grandmother get sicker and sicker because she ate what she wanted and did no exercise. She lived to be 70. I see my mom following the same pattern, although she’s 78 now. But her kidneys are shot, and she doesn’t see as well as she should. And she’s had a couple of heart attacks. I want to break this pattern. And I also want to warn people of what can happen if they ignore their health. See, my doctor also put me on blood pressure and cholesterol medicine. Guys, you DON’T want to go there.
So today is the first post for Fitness Friday, which will be linked on A Heart More Focused blog (when she gets the post up today), which I learned about through my friend, Amber West. My future posts shouldn’t be this long, but I thought I needed to do a background for all this.
Anyway, with the deep breath….before I learned I was diabetic, my weight had climbed to 193. It’s now at 182, so I’ve lost 11 lbs. My goal is to get to 140. Anything less than that, especially since I’ll have extra muscle weight, I think would be too small. But we shall see. I may adjust that if it looks like I’m carrying extra weight at that number. But if I’m in my size 8’s? Well, that’s my REAL goal. 🙂
Who wants to join me? I’m so thankful that Amber made me aware of this. Is anyone brave enough to jump in? Amber and Erika are posting measurements along with their weights. I’m not THAT brave. LOL
Posted in Uncategorized, tagged diabetes, ROW80, writing on December 16, 2012| 21 Comments »
I’ve put my writing on hold until the next round. I’m spending this time reading my literature about diabetes and trying to come to terms with the fact that this is going to be my life from now on. Testing my blood sugar twice a day is going to be a challenge for a writer, since I’m sticking my fingers. However, they aren’t really as sore as I thought they would be. Maybe it won’t be too much of an issue. I’ve had two doses of my medicine (it’s once a day), and my blood sugar is down some, but not as much as I would like. Maybe it takes a little while. I think my medicine is the kind that actually makes the pancreas produce more insulin. I need to read up on it. I’m also on blood pressure medicine. 😦
I’m an optimist by nature, so I’m NOT going to let this get me down. I just need to take care of it. And I promise there won’t be numerous blog posts on diabetes and how it’s affecting me. No one wants to hear all that. Just maybe a mention every once in a while to let everyone know what’s going on.
So, how has YOUR writing been going? I’m still interested in hearing about you. 🙂
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