Happy Thanksgiving Eve!

Just wanted to wish anyone cruising by the blog a very Happy Thanksgiving!

My blogroll is the "virtual" portion of my gratitude board. I'm truly grateful for the accountability and inspiration I receive daily from the fitness/weight loss and diabetes blogging communities. I receive this from both the bloggers and commenters on the blogs I follow and the people who offer comments and encouragement on my own. THANK YOU!

Shout out for "Astronomy Picture of the Day"

Don't know how many of you follow the exceedingly cool "Astronomy Picture of the Day" site, but today's is thrilling: "Fireball over Edmonton". We read about it over the weekend, but this footage...wow!

Kind of makes me think twice about going outside to view the Geminids this year....

Weekly Update & Monthly Measure

First of all, a hearty WOO HOO for passing the halfway-to-goal-weight milestone!

I'm also happy that the pants I bought the other week that were just a wee too tight are now fitting well. Snug, but in a good way. They'll be a good reminder to take it easy on Turkey Day.

The last Tuesday in the month is my "monthly measure" day. After last month's yawner, I'm happy to report some progress:
Bust (cross the "girls"): -0.5" (-7.5" total)
Bust (cross the ribcage): -1" (-7" total)
Waist: -0.5" (-5.5" total)
Hips: -1.5" (-6" total)
Thighs: No change (-1" total)
It's interesting that results from my little experiment are holding up over time as well, including the corollary in the comments....

Progress this week:
7-day blood glucose average: 106 (met goal of 120 or lower)
Fasting blood glucose: 6 of the last 7 days were less than 120; average was 115. (missed goal of 100% FBGs below 120, but on average was below 120)
Weight: -3 pounds (met goal of maintain or lose)
Food: 8 meatless low-fat, 3 fish meals. (met goal)
Exercise: 30+ minutes cardio 5 days, including 3 runs; 2 days of arms and abs strength training (met cardio goals; missed abs on one of the strength workouts)
Misc: Met sleep goal of 7 or more hours/night all nights except last night. (yawn!)

Goals for next week:
7-day blood glucose average goal and fasting numbers: below 120.
Weight goal: Maintain or lose.
Food goals: 4 or more meatless, low-fat meals and 2 or more fish meals. Lighter eating if dinner is after 7 p.m.
Exercise goals: At least 30 minutes of cardio 5 days; 3 days of arms & abs strength training workouts; do at least 3 runs (weather-permitting).
Misc. goals: 7 or more hours sleep/night.

Mind games and superstitions

The weight loss mind games are difficult. Why does it always seem harder when you get close to a "decade" number or a milestone number? After reading MizFit today ("What the (bleep) do we know?"), I'm thinking that maybe even thinking that thought is leading to some sort of self-sabbotage. Not to be overly dramatic about it. *cough* Not me. ;-)

And then there are the superstitions. Mine seem to center around clothes. Am I finally achieving success because I got rid of the last of all my old clothes last summer? When do I "give up" my loose clothes? Did my buying slightly-too-tight pants to wear for Thanksgiving as a reminder to not overdo things cause me to bob around my halfway point vs. surging down the scale?

I must say, just writing that helped me realize how bizzaro this line of thinking can be! ;-) I have not ruled out the possibility that this is PMS-thinking and can be recognized as such and then gently let go.

What superstitions about weight loss do you have, if any? How do you overcome them?

Quotable Friday: Annoyingly Cheerful Quotes

Well, it's Friday again, and I've neglected the usual feature for long enough. Today is about annoyingly cheerful quotes...ones that I like, anyway. Do you have any to share? Please, do!

Actually, I couldn't find very many off the top of my head. Here's the one from my Good Earth tea bag that made me think of looking for annoyingly cheerful quotes:

"A pound of pluck is worth a ton of luck." ~ James Garfield

This sounded kind of funny-but-painful to me. I guess I do have a mean streak after all...

"Optimism is the cheerful frame of mind that enables a teakettle to sing, though in hot water up to its nose." ~unknown

And finally, this one might just be plain annoying, since true; for some reason I kept it around in a folder full of old Dilbert clippings. Applicable for both running and writing:

"Never mistake a clear view for a short distance." ~ unknown

Have a nice weekend!

If You've Had Gestational Diabetes, Please Read

If, like me, you've had gestational diabetes, please read Jenny Ruhl's latest article, "Myth Busters: Gestational Diabetes Is Indeed Real Diabetes." Whether you believe the article or no, she offers a compelling argument (convinced me!) and good advice for post-pregnancy follow-up.

If I had known after my first pregnancy what I know now, I guess I would still be doomed (at least 50% chance of doom, anyhow) to develop diabetes. But I would have saved my poor pancreas years of some serious abuse.

Holiday Card Photos, Exercise, and Weekly Update

Greetings! We had the most strange and wonderful weather lately: clear days and temps in the mid-70s! It was downright balmy by the coast this past weekend, so we did our holiday card photos at the beach. Things 1 & 2 romped around in swim suits, but the icy ocean water (and dearth of palm trees) reminded us that no, we had not been magically transported to Hawaii. Then--WHOMP!--today we're back to the fog and cold.

When we looked at the photos later, I felt pretty darn happy, and not just because we were all looking at the camera and smiling at the same time. (My Mr. Handsome-and-Handy tends to look tense in photos, but even his smile was looking sincere.) I'm not quite halfway to goal, and I still have the "obese" BMI label, but I was happy to be looking much healthier in our family photos. I was especially tickled by a little bit of definition in my forearm that didn't used to be there.

It made me glad that I overcame my resistance to exercise and work on fitness as well as fat loss. The whole body change thing is a fascinating process overall. Sure, some parts are, alas, looking a bit "deflated" when I do the full mirror check (loose skin in the neck...what is happening to my inner thighs?!?! and--*sigh*--the poor girls). Some parts still need a lot of work (tummy? nothin' new there). But some parts are looking stronger and better (go arms and legs!).

I've been seeing a lot of "exercise doesn't help weight loss" articles lately. That has not yet been my experience; although, sure, if I respond to increased appetite, it tends to slow my loss. But I like what it does for me: Improves my blood glucose control. Makes me feel good physically. And the label "runner" or "athlete" sure as heck takes the sting out of the label "obese."

So, for progress this week, I'm absolutely delighted by my blood glucose numbers. This is the FIRST week that I have had ALL my fasting numbers below 120!!! Woo HOOO!!! On the weight side, I maintained. I'm finding that this whole process is like rehearsing maintenance, because this is the process for the rest of my life: the process of being aware, of analyzing what's working now and figuring out what needs to change to get to where I want to be. Of balancing the slips (um...last night's nut-binge comes to mind) with doing better at the very next meal. (Flax bread french toast with sugar-free jam & almond butter and a side of non-fat cottage cheese, anyone?)

Progress this week:
7-day blood glucose average: 112 (met goal of 120 or lower)
Fasting blood glucose: 100% of the last 7 days were less than 120; average was 111. (met goal of below 120)
Weight: Maintained (met goal of maintain or lose)
Food: 4 meatless low-fat, 3 fish meals. (met goal)
Exercise: 30+ minutes cardio 5 days, including 3 runs; 2 days of arms and abs strength training (met cardio goals; missed strength by one workout)
Misc: Whoops. I forgot to track my sleep, but I felt pretty well-rested and it did not impact blood glucose levels.

Goals for next week:
7-day blood glucose average goal and fasting numbers: below 120.
Weight goal: Maintain or lose.
Food goals: 4 or more meatless, low-fat meals and 2 or more fish meals. Lighter eating if dinner is after 7 p.m.
Exercise goals: At least 30 minutes of cardio 5 days; 3 days of arms & abs strength training workouts; do at least 3 runs (weather-permitting).
Misc. goals: 7 or more hours sleep/night (which means being in bed before 10 p.m.)

World Diabetes Day Linkfest

If you see a landmark building lit up in blue, or see someone wearing blue today, or think "Hmm...I've been hearing a lot about diabetes on the radio lately," wonder no more: Today is World Diabetes Day.

I wasn't sure what to write today. I'm sure there will be a lot of great awareness info out there. So...it's hard to go wrong with a linkfest! Here are some favorites:

Diabetes etiquette tips for people without diabetes
A guide to what is and is not helpful for interacting with your friends and family who have diabetes, from the Behavioral Diabetes Institute.

dLife
A good general resource with lots of articles. My pal Travis from Tu Diabetes contributes articles for this site.

UCSF's Diabetes Teaching Center
Online education for people with diabetes. If you have a friend or loved one with computer access but who does not have access to a diabetes educator, this is a terrific first resource!

Blood Sugar 101
Excellent resource, lots of information. I think this web site saved my life. Also has a handy Blood Glucose/a1c calculator.

Tu Diabetes
A social networking site for people with all types of diabetes. It's a good community for not feeling quite so alone with the disease.

Thanksgiving Stuffing Remembered

[WARNING: Do not read if the mention of a certain fast food establishment resembling a pale fortress induces in your person a response of the "Harold and Kumar" variety...which probably does not include readers of this blog. Whew! I'm off the hook!]

All the healthy alternative recipes for holiday favorites I'm seeing online (yeah!) made me remember a Thanksgiving dish of the most opposite kind....

My Mr. Handsome-and-Handy was born and raised in Michigan, and like about 47.5% of the state's population, migrated to California in his 20s, as did his brother. (Which actually works out to more like 33.3%, if his family is any indication of the trend. This also explains all the Red Wings jerseys we used to see at San Jose Sharks hockey games, and maybe why my dad was always partial to UCLA even though he never went to college there...but I digress.)

Anyhow, his relatives send little poignant reminders of home every now and then: pictures of the snow piling up in his college town of Houghton, Red Wings apparel...and banners...and newspaper clippings, links to the "I Yust Go Nuts at Christmas" song, and the like.

One year, one of his sisters sent us a newspaper ad. It featured coupons for White Castle hamburgers (the frozen food case ones...which is kind of baffling: why would anyone in the Midwest buy the frozen ones when you can get the real thing?). It also featured a recipe for White Castle Turkey Stuffing.

"This is CLASSIC!" I exclaimed. "We'll have to take this ad to your brother's Thanksgiving get-together."
"Why just the ad?" queried my husband.

Why indeed. While more bankrupt than Enron nutritionally (or perhaps this...Velveeta AND White Castles???), it tasted pretty good. The frozen White Castles don't have mustard or pickles on them, so it's just meat, white bread, and tiny minced onions, not exactly novel ingredients for stuffing. Oysters in stuffing, on the other hand...what's up with that?

Weekly Update

First off, Veterans Day greetings. If you have served in the military, are serving, or are the supportive family member of a man or woman in service: you have my heartfelt thanks.

So...time for another weekly update! I'm pleased with the week's progress, even though it did derail somewhat on Friday. I had a doctor's appointment on Thursday and got my flu shot and my tetanus booster. (Otherwise, all is well. My doctor was happy about numbers; she advised that if the holidays got too challenging and my fasting were going up, we had some leeway to increase my metformin dosage, but she thought I was doing fine as-is. I go back in January for next a1c and cholesterol testing.) Not sure if it was a reaction to the shots, or something else, but WHAM! I was wiped out on Friday and ended up staying home and laying around and sleeping. (Not exactly the opposite I'd wanted or planned, but I rolled with it and was fine by the end of the weekend.)

And today, I indulged in a nice bike ride for my morning workout, riding along our coastal trail, since Thing 1's school is on holiday and we didn't need to do the whole morning routine. I haven't been able to do that since the early fall, before the mornings started getting so dark, and it was a great treat.

Progress this week:
7-day blood glucose average: 111 [met goal]; had only one fasting blood glucose at 122 [almost met goal].
Weight: -3 pounds (59 total) [met goal]
Food: 5 meatless low-fat meals and 2 fish meals. [met goal]
Exercise: 4 days of 30+ minutes (and only two runs), 2 arms & abs strength training workout [did not meet goal].
Being sick on Friday and hurt arm from tetanus booster did not help at all [did not meet goal].
Sleep: Met goal of 7 hours/night only one night, but sure made up for it on Friday!

Goals for next week:
7-day blood glucose average goal: <= 120, with morning numbers <120.
Weight goal: Maintain or lose.
Food goals: 4 or more meatless, low-fat meals and 2 or more fish meals. Lighter eating if dinner is after 7 p.m.
Exercise goals: At least 30 minutes of cardio 5 days; 3 days of arms & abs strength training workouts; do at least 3 runs (weather-permitting).
Misc. goals: 7 or more hours sleep/night (which means being in bed before 10 p.m.)

Weekly Update

Time for the weekly update! (I've changed the title of my usual Tuesday post to not be quite so scale-focused. I really want this to be more about overall good health.)

I guess I overreacted a bit last week with my setback, but it did make me more aware of some of the things I wasn't doing well. So I'm delighted by this week's progress...although a little bewildered, because I took it a bit easier activity-wise than previous weeks. The lesson, I guess, is that it's okay for me to aim for "moderation in ALL things." I'm finding, though, that with fitness, it's hard to not get swept into the "more intensity is better" frame of mind. I do know that yesterday morning, running felt good again, so perhaps cross-training is the way I should go. I'm sure that it being lighter in the mornings again helps; I was out running during the most beautiful sunrise yesterday.

Progress this week:
7-day blood glucose average: 109, but had 2 mornings >=120 (90-day average is now 125! My eventual goal is to get and maintain my a1c below 6%; in diabetes circles, this is known as "being in the 5% club.")
Weight: -4 pounds (56 total)
Food: 5 meatless low-fat meals and 2 fish meals.
Exercise: 2 days of 70 minutes cardio; 2 days with 30+ minutes cardio and 1 day with 20 minutes cardio (tap lesson DVD :-). 3 arms & abs strength training workouts. Halloween was an active rest day: I was on my feet a lot that day, which I think helped. For some of the cardio, I tried 2 new workout videos via Netflix. (Love the Roku box; it enables me to watch things from our "instant watch" list on the TV.)
Misc: Went to sleep early one night. Rest seems to help with the morning fasting glucose numbers. And I've noticed they are always lower on the weekends...go figure!

Goals for next week:
7-day blood glucose average goal: <= 120, with morning numbers <120.
Weight goal: Same or less
Food goals: 3 or more meatless, low-fat meals and 2 or more fish meals. Lighter eating if dinner is after 7 p.m. (Meaty dinners after 7 p.m. or snacks after dinner seem to bump up the morning fasting blood glucose levels.)
Exercise goals: At least 30 minutes of cardio 5 days; 3 days of arms & abs strength training workouts; try a new workout video one of the mornings; do at least 3 runs (weather-permitting).
Misc. goals: 7 or more hours sleep/night (which means being in bed before 10 p.m.)

Halloween and The Secret to Cutting Oneself Off the Candy

No "quotable Friday" last week; I was immersed in Halloween stuff! I took the day off so that I could help out with the kids' school festivities, do pumpkin carving, and not be too burned out from the commute to enjoy the evening. I might do that again next year...whatever day ends up being the day of the school festivities, anyway. Had a blast at Thing 2's preschool: cute costumes, parade, all the good stuff. Mr. Handsome and Handy helped out at Thing 1's school (which I covered last year). Next year they'll be at the same school, so that will go a little easier.

With all the fun day stuff, though, they were kind of wiped out for trick-or-treating. We were out only about 45 minutes or so, and they were done.

Me: "Kids, the night is young! It's a FRIDAY! We can keep going, c'mon!"
Them: "Nah, we just want to go home and eat our candy."
Me: "Well, let's go over to aunt & uncle's house! They give out full-size bars and hardly get any trick-or-treaters!"
Them: "Meh."
(Although I did convince Thing 2 to go, then to cruise around and look at decorations with me for a little while.)

Kids these days, I tell ya...half-full buckets? I would have filled that sucker up and stayed out as long as possible. Full-size bars were the stuff of Halloween legend back in the day. And mine dislike all candy with nuts or caramel or nougat in them, they just like the fruit-flavored candies, gum, and plain chocolate. No Reeses? No Snickers? No Butterfinger, Milky Way, Baby Ruth, or Three Musketeers? *sigh*...Mr. Handsome and Handy happily dispatched the Reeses and Snickers. I budgeted carbs for 2 frozen minis on Saturday and 2 frozen minis and 1 frozen fun-size on Sunday...and the blood sugar was well within range. Yeay! And the rest of the candy rejects are in the work breakroom. I think it helped, too, that I was pretty busy most of the weekend and that I worked out on Saturday evening to the 10 Minute Solutions "Kickboxing Bootcamp" (did all 5) and got in about 15 minutes of Crunch Salsa workout, both on Netflix instant viewing. Liked them both, but I especially liked the Kickboxing one...the dance ones make me feel a bit clumsy.

Oh, yes! I promised something amazing!

Astounding!

Are you ready for it?

Are you sure?

Really?

Okay, okay, here it is......

.....drumroll......

.....more drumroll.....

.....cymbal flourishes and a few bangs on the cowbell.....

Dearest readers, I am delighted to share with you today....

.....THE SECRET TO CUTTING ONESELF OFF THE HALLOWEEN CANDY!

Here it is: Make an appointment with the dentist for some item of major dental work the closest available day after Halloween...or possibly even the morning of Halloween if you want to avoid the candy altogether. While I didn't do it on purpose this time, I'm realizing the true genius of this coincidence now, as I nurse a sore jaw from part 1 of a crown procedure. With said procedure, I'm wearing a temporary tooth, and this does not allow for sticky or hard foods. NO problem there, since even lunch doesn't sound too appealing right now....

Hope everyone enjoyed a Happy Halloween!