Just plugging along here. It's been a bit of a stressful month surrounding the type 2 diabetes. I've been on 500 mg Metformin ER for a week now. For the first three days, I gained seven pounds, then it all went away over the next three days. I've been testing my blood sugars like mad. Nothing I do seems to make sense when I interpret it through my glucometer. Then someone suggested that I was trying to do too many different things, and to give the Met ER a chance to start working. I'm still getting used to how it makes me feel. I spent a few days feeling nauseous and dizzy. Now the dizzies are there till late afternoon and the nausea only appears once or twice a day. It reminds me of when I was pregnant! I can't seem to exercise when this dizzy. I lose my balance easily and I'm clumsy all the time.
I tested my blood sugars before and after eating every meal, after certain macro-nutrient combinations, after cardio exercise vs strength training vs Pilates. It's obvious I'm mostly dealing with high morning blood sugars, and if I don't eat but do cardio exercise in the morning, the blood sugar only goes up from the morning wake-up numbers. A lot. Sometimes, eating in the morning helps my blood sugar comes down faster, but only if I eat a small amount of protein with a very small amount of fibrous vegetable and a little bit of fat. Like under 10 gm protein and 5 net gm carb and 15 gm fat. That's a poached egg on a bed of sauteed spinach and a big cup of coffee with heavy cream...175 calories. And doing cardio doesn't seem to help in the mornings, but Pilates does. And so does weight training. I seem to be able to do more cardio later, like after lunch and dinner.
I still have a lot of situations to test out. It's all making me a bit mad, but I'm coming to understand the importance of keeping the blood sugar numbers down. I really can't go over 20 gm of protein, 5 net gm of carbohydrates and 15 gm of fat at a meal. I'm sensitive to all of it. This is really helping me cut back how much I eat. I can have up to four of these tiny meals a day, spaced out every four hours. It doesn't help me at all to save calories for later in the day for a bigger meal. I have to let go of my beloved big dinner!
I'm just figuring a lot of this out. I hope living like this will help the rate of weight loss to pick up momentum.
Sunday, March 18, 2012
Friday, February 17, 2012
Swimmin', swimmin', just keep swimmin'...
No, I didn't take up swimming. That requires a bathing suit. Not ready for that. Just letting you know I'm still here, I'm still working the wellness strategies toward my goals. I've lost two more pounds, down to 293. A pound a month, that's all we get.
Let's see, what can I report on now...
I got a new glucometer this week. I started testing my blood sugar levels again, since I'm supposed to go see the doctor soon. This is why I quit using one after my first year as a type 2 diabetic...all the constant testing! Once in the morning after I get up, then 1, 2, 3 and 4 hours after eating something. I spent the day fasting yesterday and all my readings were over 120. They're supposed to be under 100. So now I'm concerned that I will have to go on Metformin. I struggled with feeling like a failure for a couple hours, but I'm over that now. It was only one day of testing. And it was a day after I had indulged in pizza and root beer (not something I do more than once or twice a year). So now I'm back to my Paleolithic/ketogenic ways. I'll try fasting once again next week and see if my numbers are better. A friend turned me on to Blood Sugar 101, which has very good advice for those seeking to manage bg on diet and exercise alone. It's been my experience that the diabetic community does more to support each other than the medical establishment has ever done. I think they're more knowledgeable too!
I've been hampered with my fitness routine lately. I started the Venus Index workout a few weeks ago and really love the workout I'm getting with it. I'm starting to see definition in my deltoids, my sons can really feel my biceps (wish I could see them!) and I'm now wearing a size 22 in my upper body (almost there in the lower body too!) It's all good! But then I really hurt one of my quads and had to take a break from lower body stuff for a week, then got sick for a week, and now my shoulder is sprained and I can't move my left arm. It's not from poor form. I was just greatly fatigued after workouts and I engaged in activities that put me over the edge, in both cases. I should be back to the full workout routine by next week...Pilates, VI and rowing/walking. And no more wrestling with the 14-year-old! Not good for Mommy!
I'm about to start gardening. It's a communal thing, at a friend's house. A group of us are getting together to work this garden. I'm starting the tomato seeds over the weekend. I usually get my "beyond organic" veggies and soy-free pastured eggs from Fresh Edibles Farm, a local CSA. But there are some items they don't grow, so I'm going to plant some fava beans (because I actually love the leaves for salad), edible amaranth greens, kai lan, and dandelions. Yes, dandelions, on purpose. 'Cause you know I go nuts for the greens! I think I want to plant some black-eyed peas. I like them when they're young, in a salad with tomatoes and red onions, dressed with olive oil and a little apple cider vinegar, some Greek oregano and a little sea salt. I've also got some seeds for a variety of zucchini that puts out more blossoms than zucchini. I wonder if I can put together a recipe for fried zucchini blossoms using coconut or almond flour. If it turns out, I'll post it in the recipe section.
I'll be going to some conferences for work soon. They're in San Francisco. I've made plans to stay in a hotel 1.5 miles away so I can walk to the conference and back every day. My hotel has a gym, but I don't like to use those. I'm packing my Pilates band, ring, 2, 4 and 8-lb balls, mats. I am sticking to my eating plan during the conferences. Not drinking alcohol either. Probably won't be testing my bg during the conference meetings, but I can still track that in the morning and after dinner.
Staying on track, feeling good!
Let's see, what can I report on now...
I got a new glucometer this week. I started testing my blood sugar levels again, since I'm supposed to go see the doctor soon. This is why I quit using one after my first year as a type 2 diabetic...all the constant testing! Once in the morning after I get up, then 1, 2, 3 and 4 hours after eating something. I spent the day fasting yesterday and all my readings were over 120. They're supposed to be under 100. So now I'm concerned that I will have to go on Metformin. I struggled with feeling like a failure for a couple hours, but I'm over that now. It was only one day of testing. And it was a day after I had indulged in pizza and root beer (not something I do more than once or twice a year). So now I'm back to my Paleolithic/ketogenic ways. I'll try fasting once again next week and see if my numbers are better. A friend turned me on to Blood Sugar 101, which has very good advice for those seeking to manage bg on diet and exercise alone. It's been my experience that the diabetic community does more to support each other than the medical establishment has ever done. I think they're more knowledgeable too!
I've been hampered with my fitness routine lately. I started the Venus Index workout a few weeks ago and really love the workout I'm getting with it. I'm starting to see definition in my deltoids, my sons can really feel my biceps (wish I could see them!) and I'm now wearing a size 22 in my upper body (almost there in the lower body too!) It's all good! But then I really hurt one of my quads and had to take a break from lower body stuff for a week, then got sick for a week, and now my shoulder is sprained and I can't move my left arm. It's not from poor form. I was just greatly fatigued after workouts and I engaged in activities that put me over the edge, in both cases. I should be back to the full workout routine by next week...Pilates, VI and rowing/walking. And no more wrestling with the 14-year-old! Not good for Mommy!
I'm about to start gardening. It's a communal thing, at a friend's house. A group of us are getting together to work this garden. I'm starting the tomato seeds over the weekend. I usually get my "beyond organic" veggies and soy-free pastured eggs from Fresh Edibles Farm, a local CSA. But there are some items they don't grow, so I'm going to plant some fava beans (because I actually love the leaves for salad), edible amaranth greens, kai lan, and dandelions. Yes, dandelions, on purpose. 'Cause you know I go nuts for the greens! I think I want to plant some black-eyed peas. I like them when they're young, in a salad with tomatoes and red onions, dressed with olive oil and a little apple cider vinegar, some Greek oregano and a little sea salt. I've also got some seeds for a variety of zucchini that puts out more blossoms than zucchini. I wonder if I can put together a recipe for fried zucchini blossoms using coconut or almond flour. If it turns out, I'll post it in the recipe section.
I'll be going to some conferences for work soon. They're in San Francisco. I've made plans to stay in a hotel 1.5 miles away so I can walk to the conference and back every day. My hotel has a gym, but I don't like to use those. I'm packing my Pilates band, ring, 2, 4 and 8-lb balls, mats. I am sticking to my eating plan during the conferences. Not drinking alcohol either. Probably won't be testing my bg during the conference meetings, but I can still track that in the morning and after dinner.
Staying on track, feeling good!
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