What am I giving up for Lent?

I've been hearing lots of people's resolutions for Lent. Some of my friends are giving up pretty considerable stuff like no Facebook, no margaritas, no drinking and coffee.

Lent is described in  Wikipedia as: 

 "The Christian observance of the liturgical year from Ash Wednesday to Easter Sunday.

The traditional purpose of Lent is the penitential preparation of the believer—through prayer, penance, repentance, alms giving, and self-denial. 

Its institutional purpose is heightened in the annual commemoration of Holy Week, marking the Death and Resurrection of Jesus, which recalls the events of the Passion of Christ on Good Friday, which then culminates in the celebration on Easter Sunday of the Resurrection of Jesus Christ. 

During Lent, many of the faithful commit to fasting or giving up certain types of luxury as a form of penitence"

Now, I am not the most ardent, believing and practicing Christian; I still eat meat on Fridays; a friend told me I was nuts for doing this if I wasn't even Catholic. Yeah that's probably true and I don't really know if what I'll do will make a huge difference in how I tune God in (or out!). I was also talking to the bf about this and noted that I already have a pretty streamlined life and I honestly didn't feel the need to give up much more; but after thinking about it for a little bit, I suppose there's always something that I can improve on:

So I'm giving up Vending Machine Snacks

Yes, that horrid temptress machine that sits there quietly and somehow manages to take my spare change--I'm done with you vending machine. It isn't you, it's me.... In a given week I've realized that I drop a few bucks for a quick snack, especially around the 3:00 pm munchies and I think I can do better than that. Same with soda pop, a can of poison is anywhere from $.75 to $1.25 for a single serving. What that also means is that I have to plan to bring a big bottle of something (for a $1.25 for a 2 litter bottle that will last all week) and maybe grab apples or bring my own dang snacks from home. I think I can do that with just a little bit of planning and careful avoidance of the break-room....

Yeah it isn't much of a penitence but then again... wish me luck and please hold me accountable!!

Calories, Carbohydrates and Treadmills, oh my!

It is no secret that living a healthy lifestyle has several benefits for one's life. I may have mentioned this before but about 3 years ago I was diagnosed with Diabetes Type II. How I got there was the result of eating without worry--I'm sure I was dealing with tons of other internal issues as a way of coping with my life back then...

Long story short, I had to change my entire lifestyle. I won't deny that sometimes it is extremely hard to maintain a healthy regimen. Holidays make it very hard, but since I've lost and managed to keep about 30 pounds off and on and I guess the battle will always continue. What's helped me? I don't think I'm so much in a special diet. Sure, I've eliminated any food that can be bought on the drive-through and regular soda pop (switched to diet). I've tried to eat at home as much as possible and when doing this try to eat less--I don't always succeed at this but again, it is an ongoing fight--it will always be.

I also have to exercise. I found that at least for me, even if I eat nothing but lettuce it makes no difference in my body, I still get high glucose readings, so I had been consistently running/walking for 1 mile every day and recently increased that to 2 miles a day. The result is that my doctor removed my Diabetes diagnosis at my last physical after my last AC1 test and told me not to go back to my old habits. Only recently did I start paying more close attention to the calorie and carbohydrate contents of food but only because I've tried to see what it would take to basically burn off whatever I eat and the comparisons are disconcerting! I almost bought a small packet of chocolate donuts the other day at the store and realized that it contains more than 400 calories, well when I figured that I'd have to run for more than a 1/2 hour just to burn that little pack of donuts off I put it back on the shelf immediately. If that's not a motivator (or demotivates me) then I don't know what will!


So I didn't even add physical fitness to my new year's resolutions. It is something that has been ongoing and likely always will be. The other part I like about this is that I'm starting to fit into smaller clothes which is awesome, I just wish I had the budget to work with! Anyone want to nominate me for a makeover or send me to "What Not To Wear"?

Sunday's Blood Sugar Report: 109

That was even after two Easter events with both families and no medication!

I'm so proud of myself, I've been keeping busy, hitting the threadmill during lunch, my goal is to do 1 running mile (usually between 12-15 minutes) and walking the dog in the early morning and late evening.

Oh yeah I guess moderation in eating helps...

I go back to the Dr on Friday, we'll see if my blood tests say I'm doing alright....

112 Blood Sugar

This week has been somewhat stressful at work, just too much to do and too much running around and no real time to watch the diet or exercise, so my blood sugar has been a little high.

I had to take my medication twice (I was at about 160) and it usually suppresses it so much it really makes me sicker in the morning (pushes it down to about 95). Big fluctuations like that send my body on a wild spin. Two nights ago I cut my pill in 1/2 and felt much better in the morning. Of course when I do everything like I'm supposed to I don't even have to take my pill---yeah, that means I would have control----ha, ha, ha!

So this morning I felt rested, woke up at 7:00am and took the dog on a 2 mile walk. Checked my blood sugar again and it was at a comfortable 112 before breakfast. My doctor told me he preferred that I was around 90-100, but in my experience being anywhere around that range just doesn't feel good, at least to me.

Oh the joys of Diabetes Type II

Diabetes Talk: Dietary Fiber

I get these emails from a list I subscribe to. As far as I know they're not copyrighted, and the information is usually pretty good, so I'll pass it along here as often as I can.

Dietary fiber is a type of carbohydrate but since it isn’t broken down by the human body, it does not impact blood sugar the same way that other starches and sugars do. Starches and sugars are broken down by your body quickly and you will begin to see a rise in blood sugar 10 to 15 minutes after consuming these foods. Dietary fiber actually helps slow down how fast your body processes other starches and sugars. This can lead to more stable blood sugar levels, a reduction in cravings and may increase insulin sensitivity.

Dietary fiber isn’t packaged alone; most of the foods that contain fiber also contain other types of carbohydrates. Fruits, vegetables, whole grain breads, cereals and pasta all contain fiber but also contain sugar and starch. Because the non-fiber carbohydrate will raise your blood sugars quickly it is important to account for it in your meal plan. The Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommend that you consume 14 grams of fiber for every 1,000 calories you consume. This means an individual following a 2,000 calorie diet should consume an average of 28 grams of fiber per day.

Fiber Rich Foods: Mayo Clinic
http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/high-fiber-foods/NU00582

Fruit
-Raspberries; 1 cup; 15 grams carbohydrate; 8 grams fiber
-Pear with skin; 1 medium; 15 grams carbohydrate; 5.1 grams fiber
-Apple with skin; 1 medium; 15 grams carbohydrate; 4.4 grams fiber
Grains, Cereal and Pasta
-Spaghetti, whole-wheat, cooked; 1 cup; 45 grams carbohydrate; 6.3 grams fiber
-Oatmeal, regular or instant, cooked; 1 cup; 22.5 grams carbohydrate; 4 grams fiber
-Popcorn, air-popped; 3 cups; 15 grams carbohydrate; 3.6 grams fiber
-Bread, whole-wheat; 1 slice; 15 grams carbohydrate; 1.9 grams fiber
Legumes
-Split peas, cooked; 1 cup; 41 grams carbohydrate; 16.3 grams fiber
-Lentils; 1 cup; 30 grams carbohydrate; 15.6 grams fiber
-Black beans; 1 cup; 30 grams carbohydrate; 15 grams fiber
Low Carbohydrate Vegetables
-Broccoli, cooked; 1 cup; 10 grams carbohydrate; 5.1 grams fiber
-Turnip greens, cooked; 1 cup; 10 grams carbohydrate; 5 grams fiber
-Carrot, raw; 1 medium; 5.9 grams carbohydrate; 1.7 grams fiber

Diabetes Talk

If you don't know from my old Windows Live blog, I was diagnosed with Diabetes type II last year. I don't like it, but I think I've learned to live with it, more so I've learned to do something about it instead of just having it.

That's OK, I blame genes for about 60% of it, but the other 40% was probably my doing. I try to have yearly physicals and up to early 2007 nothing had come up in labwork. I didn't have a physical early last year because I was living it up in Southern California and didn't have insurance. I was also packing in the tacos and every other kind of delicious food I could think of and when I came back to Utah it hit me like a ton of bricks. We were still living at my mother in-laws--I don't blame her at all, really :) -- around that time when my kidneys started hurting, of course I was thirsty as heck and going to the bathroom at all hours of the day. I had made an appointment to see the doctor, but my co-worker must have noticed that I was off-whack and he tested my blood with his glucometer and I was at about 380. He literally grabbed me and took me to the ER. By the time I got there and they tested me again I was about 475 (of course I was stressed/scared out of my mind) but then got under control with injected insulin.

The doctor says it was just a matter of time given my family history. Now I live my life according to my blood sugar levels, finger pokings and how far can I go without eating. That's OK, I have managed to keep my levels seemingly under control (around 120), I know it isn't the ideal, but I like the challenge of not having to take my medication if I do everything I'm supposed to and it seems to work! So I'll also be posting some diabetes talk here from what I hear, read and run across the internets!