Time Goes By - Long post about Health and Fitness
It's been quite some time since I posted. Needless to say, Project 365 was Epic Phail for me. 46 days and even that was a struggle. Heh.
Latest news. August 17, my Doctor informed me that my diabetes treatment and management was no longer working. My hA1c was the highest it's ever been, even at my initial diagnosis. It was 8.5. He wants it around 6. This is the average blood sugar over a three month span. This had the effect of a slap in the face for me. Change had to be made. He has been trying to get both myself and jadawin to start on Byetta, an injection medication, for some months now. Until the August visit, I refused. Injections? No thank you. Uh uh. Scary stuff. August 17, I told him I'd do it. It's a teeny little needle. Itty Bitty. 8mm long and super thin. It attatches to a pen which holds the medication. I take it within one hour prior of Breakfast, and Supper. The problem I have with this is my insomnia. Sometimes I don't wake up til Noon, and I don't eat my first meal of the day til 1 or 2pm. Another change to make. My goal nowadays is to be up and have my shot no later than 10-11am. That's still pretty late to be starting the day but at least it gives me enough space between first meal and last meal of the day. The Byetta has to be at least six hours apart.
September 16 I actually started the new medication. I had to setup an appointment with a Byetta Educator, so she could go over my diet and exercise habits, and then teach me how to use the pen. She liked that I drink a lot of water normally, and that I don't eat a lot of candy. She instructed me to increase calories and protein for breakfast, decrease lunch and dinner portions by 25% of what my usual intake was. Okay this sounds manageable. This doesn't sound daunting. I started my shots that very night.
All of these new changes had a profound effect on me. Emotionally. All my life I told myself "I'm not that big. I'm not that heavy. I don't have to worry." I was clearly mistaken. My diabetes diagnosis was in 2004, and for the last five years, I've done nothing to change my life for the better. Nothing to improve my health. That all changes. Now.
This is me a couple years ago, when I visited my dad in California. This is my motivation picture. This is me, weighing 313 pounds. I'm ashamed of that number. Ashamed to admit I let my health get that bad. But I did, and I have to face it, and I have to fix it.
I have changed my diet in steps. Returning to the habit of buying LIGHT things. 1/2% milk (I can't stand skim, no matter how healthy it is), light bread (2 slices for the price of 1, FTW), Light mayo (can't NOT have mayo) I've added salads to my diet as a staple, rather than an occasional thing for special 'nice' dinners. I've lessened the amount of meat I eat in a serving. I've increased other kinds of proteins in my meals. My nutritionist says having an egg or two with breakfast is FINE as long as I'm exercising and watching my intake of other types of cholesterol. Snacks are fruit, sugar free jello pudding, peanut butter sandwiches, and I now make my own pie, rather than buy other brands.
I went back to the doctor on October 18 for a follow up, to report how my Byetta is doing. I weighed in at 307. I lost six pounds. SIX pounds. SIX POUNDS! That encouraged me! Made me feel good! I had started going for 15 minute walks once or twice a week. Sidewalks are a pain to walk on with sciatic problems and an arthritic foot. So I started searching around for local gyms. Fitness USA is nearby and has a two week free trial. Their low membership is 19 a month. There's a startup fee. I've now been a member for two weeks. Two weeks, three times a week. My first go was 10 minutes on the treadmill, then a half a session as they showed me around the gym and showed me how to use the machines. Good grief I was exhausted. So very sore the next day. The good thing was, though... I felt so encouraged. I saw people there of all shapes and sizes, all ages. People working to improve their health. To get fit. Not just pretty people who already look fit and slender. People my size. People bigger than me! People less than my size. People who USED to be bigger than me! I signed up for a membership. Talked hubby into it, through texts, since he was at work. His comment? "This better last longer than the Wii Fit did!" (We got a Wii and Wii Fit for Christmas last year, I used it a few times then got lazy)
I broke out the wii fit last week. I deleted my old profile. I was embarrassed to see how slack I've been. So I started a new profile. This was this past Friday, November 6. IF the balance board is accurate.... it shows a 10 pound weight loss! I weighed in at 297!!! That is even more encouraging. I go to the doctor this Thursday for my regular quarterly lab work and checkup. I'll compare that weight in on their scale when I get weighed. :)
I have a small group of friends, we're all on a forum board together, and I share this with them. The thing is, I'm not letting friends and family who are NOT on that forum know how I'm doing. I read other people's LJ, but I don't post anything to mine. So I'll be blogging about my health and fitness here. My home on the internet, where I can ramble freely at will. LOL
Latest news. August 17, my Doctor informed me that my diabetes treatment and management was no longer working. My hA1c was the highest it's ever been, even at my initial diagnosis. It was 8.5. He wants it around 6. This is the average blood sugar over a three month span. This had the effect of a slap in the face for me. Change had to be made. He has been trying to get both myself and jadawin to start on Byetta, an injection medication, for some months now. Until the August visit, I refused. Injections? No thank you. Uh uh. Scary stuff. August 17, I told him I'd do it. It's a teeny little needle. Itty Bitty. 8mm long and super thin. It attatches to a pen which holds the medication. I take it within one hour prior of Breakfast, and Supper. The problem I have with this is my insomnia. Sometimes I don't wake up til Noon, and I don't eat my first meal of the day til 1 or 2pm. Another change to make. My goal nowadays is to be up and have my shot no later than 10-11am. That's still pretty late to be starting the day but at least it gives me enough space between first meal and last meal of the day. The Byetta has to be at least six hours apart.
September 16 I actually started the new medication. I had to setup an appointment with a Byetta Educator, so she could go over my diet and exercise habits, and then teach me how to use the pen. She liked that I drink a lot of water normally, and that I don't eat a lot of candy. She instructed me to increase calories and protein for breakfast, decrease lunch and dinner portions by 25% of what my usual intake was. Okay this sounds manageable. This doesn't sound daunting. I started my shots that very night.
All of these new changes had a profound effect on me. Emotionally. All my life I told myself "I'm not that big. I'm not that heavy. I don't have to worry." I was clearly mistaken. My diabetes diagnosis was in 2004, and for the last five years, I've done nothing to change my life for the better. Nothing to improve my health. That all changes. Now.
This is me a couple years ago, when I visited my dad in California. This is my motivation picture. This is me, weighing 313 pounds. I'm ashamed of that number. Ashamed to admit I let my health get that bad. But I did, and I have to face it, and I have to fix it.
I have changed my diet in steps. Returning to the habit of buying LIGHT things. 1/2% milk (I can't stand skim, no matter how healthy it is), light bread (2 slices for the price of 1, FTW), Light mayo (can't NOT have mayo) I've added salads to my diet as a staple, rather than an occasional thing for special 'nice' dinners. I've lessened the amount of meat I eat in a serving. I've increased other kinds of proteins in my meals. My nutritionist says having an egg or two with breakfast is FINE as long as I'm exercising and watching my intake of other types of cholesterol. Snacks are fruit, sugar free jello pudding, peanut butter sandwiches, and I now make my own pie, rather than buy other brands.
I went back to the doctor on October 18 for a follow up, to report how my Byetta is doing. I weighed in at 307. I lost six pounds. SIX pounds. SIX POUNDS! That encouraged me! Made me feel good! I had started going for 15 minute walks once or twice a week. Sidewalks are a pain to walk on with sciatic problems and an arthritic foot. So I started searching around for local gyms. Fitness USA is nearby and has a two week free trial. Their low membership is 19 a month. There's a startup fee. I've now been a member for two weeks. Two weeks, three times a week. My first go was 10 minutes on the treadmill, then a half a session as they showed me around the gym and showed me how to use the machines. Good grief I was exhausted. So very sore the next day. The good thing was, though... I felt so encouraged. I saw people there of all shapes and sizes, all ages. People working to improve their health. To get fit. Not just pretty people who already look fit and slender. People my size. People bigger than me! People less than my size. People who USED to be bigger than me! I signed up for a membership. Talked hubby into it, through texts, since he was at work. His comment? "This better last longer than the Wii Fit did!" (We got a Wii and Wii Fit for Christmas last year, I used it a few times then got lazy)
I broke out the wii fit last week. I deleted my old profile. I was embarrassed to see how slack I've been. So I started a new profile. This was this past Friday, November 6. IF the balance board is accurate.... it shows a 10 pound weight loss! I weighed in at 297!!! That is even more encouraging. I go to the doctor this Thursday for my regular quarterly lab work and checkup. I'll compare that weight in on their scale when I get weighed. :)
I have a small group of friends, we're all on a forum board together, and I share this with them. The thing is, I'm not letting friends and family who are NOT on that forum know how I'm doing. I read other people's LJ, but I don't post anything to mine. So I'll be blogging about my health and fitness here. My home on the internet, where I can ramble freely at will. LOL