Hoo-boy, it's been three weeks since my last weekly update! It sure seems like everything has been going crazy at once. Work has been screamingly busy, and we had an offsite meeting as well as a company dinner one of the evenings. Throw in Father's Day, Anniversary, kids getting out of school, my mom having another procedure (for her irregular, fast heartbeat: successful!) and the like, and it makes for times that test even the most composed. Of which I am not. ;-)
Oh, and speaking of my mom, I have to brag about her a little bit. She did not go back to smoking after her time in the hospital in January. It's one of the hardest habits to break--especially if you're worried about gaining weight from quitting--and she did it. AND, once she got feeling better after her surgery, she started walking and is now walking around 6 miles/day! Yeaaaaaay, Mom!!!
More good stuff: I met with my new doctor and it went well. I like her. And good news: my a1c is 5.3%! Down 0.4% from January! Woo hoo!!! I'm also happy that I got my little Women's Challenge trophy every week but one so far, and there's only one week left. Even though I don't work out each week with equal intensity, I feel like I'm at least hanging in there. And hey, I've still got nearly 3 months until my tri in late September. I'll be ready!
Progress last week
7-day blood glucose average: 104 (met goal of less than 120)
7-day fasting average: 101 (met goal of less than 120, 100% of days)
Weight goal: +1.2 lbs. (Did not meet goal of either maintain or make progress toward goal. It could have been a lot worse. My entire month was up & down, with net progress of -.6 lb.)
Food goals:
I didn't track this week. I ought to have done so, but I did not. Oh well. I know I got at least one healthy fish meal in there and a couple of meatless breakfasts.
Exercise goals:
With our offsite, I didn't get my BodyPump class in there or my swim. However, I got two good runs, a spin class, some strength training via DVD, and a dance DVD session. Met my Women's Challenge goals for the week.
Misc. goals: Got adequate sleep.
Monthly Measure
My result seemed a bit weird. I wasn't expecting any changes, but I lost an inch off my waist and around my ribcage. Other measurements were unchanged.
Goals for this week
7-day blood glucose average goal and fasting numbers: below 120.
Weight goal: Maintain or make progress toward goal.
Food goals:
- 4 or more meatless, low-fat meals and 2 or more fish meals.
- On work days, switch to tea and plain water after that first cup of coffee.
- Track fiber. Minimum 30 grams fiber/day. (Include both insoluble and soluble sources. I'm dropping the "work up to 50 grams fiber/day" part, because it's pretty darn hard to get even 30.)
Exercise goals:
Minimum of 30 minutes of workout 5 days/week. Workouts to include at least 1 bike, 1 run, and 1 swim per week, plus 2 strength training per week.
Misc. goals:
- 7 or more hours sleep/night.
Monday, June 29, 2009
Thursday, June 25, 2009
Busy times!
I've been pretty swamped with everything lately: home, work, and juggling in fitness. I'll be resuming my regular weekly update schedule on Tuesday, but I just wanted to post a little something to say I'm still around!
Tuesday, June 16, 2009
"Be the Match" Marrowthon
I usually write about my stuff on this blog, how dealing with my type 2 diabetes diagnosis (a year ago last Sunday!) has transformed my life in so many ways.
But this week I wanted to call your attention to the National Marrow Donor Program's "Be the Match" Marrowthon. I had never given much thought to bone marrow donation, but a little boy in our neighborhood--a good friend of Things 1&2--was recently diagnosed with a disease that may, if his current treatment does not work, require him to receive a bone marrow donation. This inspired the Mr. and me to sign up for the registry. We missed the bone marrow donor drive offered at the church affiliated with his elementary school, but we went to a drive at our local farmer's market, because *another* local boy also needed to find a donor match.
The National Marrow Donor Program typically askes for a donation from potential donors to cover the cost of processing, but from June 8-22, there is no cost to joining the registry. For more information, please see the "Be the Match" web site. People can join by either stopping by a local donor drive or by ordering the online kit. (At a donor drive, it takes about 20 minutes or so to complete the paperwork and cheek cell swab.)
But this week I wanted to call your attention to the National Marrow Donor Program's "Be the Match" Marrowthon. I had never given much thought to bone marrow donation, but a little boy in our neighborhood--a good friend of Things 1&2--was recently diagnosed with a disease that may, if his current treatment does not work, require him to receive a bone marrow donation. This inspired the Mr. and me to sign up for the registry. We missed the bone marrow donor drive offered at the church affiliated with his elementary school, but we went to a drive at our local farmer's market, because *another* local boy also needed to find a donor match.
The National Marrow Donor Program typically askes for a donation from potential donors to cover the cost of processing, but from June 8-22, there is no cost to joining the registry. For more information, please see the "Be the Match" web site. People can join by either stopping by a local donor drive or by ordering the online kit. (At a donor drive, it takes about 20 minutes or so to complete the paperwork and cheek cell swab.)
Monday, June 8, 2009
Weekly update, 6/9/09
The Latest
What a couple of weeks this has been! The week before the big 5K went well, but this past week saw the best laid plans completely laid out: I was sore after the race (especially my shins!). I got a nasty head cold, and I learned that illness and poor sleep=not so great fasting numbers in the morning. My work week was screamingly busy, and of course that meant my home life stuff would be, too, because it all happens at once, doesn't it?
I took a day off to chaperon Thing 1's school field trip to an art museum, which was in jeopardy of being cancelled. Ah, the 2nd grade perspective: already much snickering at the nudie bits. For example, reaction upon viewing a Renoir of a mother, half-naked toddler, and cat: "Hey! Look! You can see that little boy's buns!" I tried to make a teaching moment of it by pointing out that earlier painters did more formal portraits, whereas modern painters portrayed people in more naturally, in less formal settings: "...and, well, it doesn't get much more natural than that!" Fortunately, we had diverting tasks, such as counting the number of paintings with dogs, finding a still life and counting the number of bugs in it, and tracking down works by painters they'd studied. I enjoyed seeing the small gallery of Impressionist works and the Rodin sculptures, but the Picasso sculpture and large amount of Medieval art (nearly half the museum!) didn't do much for any of us, I'm afraid. We braved the porcelain gallery, and the kids were surprisingly interested in the novelty teapots and serving dishes. (I was not-so-surprisingly interested in escaping the gallery with the nick-knacks unscathed.) They gamely counted bugs painted on the still life-themed plates as I wondered what had inspired such dinnerware: 18th-century attempts at weight-reduction-through-aversion, perhaps? Not for restaurant use, obviously, what with patrons' constant complaints of dragonflies in their soup and all.
We also enjoyed 3 straight days of dance recital rehearsal+performances+volunteer duty. (I didn't screw up Thing 2's makeup too badly...I'm surprised I still know how to apply the stuff at all! Thank goodness for the dance teacher's makeup cheat-sheet.) Until I eradicate the "Mary Poppins" show tunes ear worm, though, I'm going to be humming "Jolly Holiday" and "Chim-chim-cheroo!" under my breath. Things 1 and 2 were in 2 dances: the barnyard scene as ducks, and in same costume for the "Let's Go Fly a Kite" finale at the end. They had a great time, looked totally adorable, and Thing 2 is still prancing around in her yellow tutu.
The good thing about all the craziness last week was that food dropped in priority. The bad news was so did my regular exercise routine, but I kept as active as possible, considering how things were going. I got in lots of walking and a little bit of strength exercise at home, but gym classes and regular workouts went "poof!" I was back at spin class yesterday, though, and it felt good! And it feels healthy to not be freaked out over having to take some "active rest" time. (I would really have freaked out about this last summer or fall, for example.)
Progress last week
7-day blood glucose average: 96 (met goal of less than 120)
7-day fasting average: 100 (met goal of less than 120, 100% of days)
Weight goal: -2.2 lbs (met goal of either maintain or make progress toward goal)
Food goals:
- Consumed 4 meatless, low-fat meals and 1 fish meal. (met meatless meal goal; missed fish meal goal by one meal)
- Met fiber goal 2/7 days.
- Met my coffee goal.
Exercise goals:
Did fine the week before the race, except I was one strength workout shy of my Women's Challenge goal. Week after the race? I pretty much had a week of active rest (read lots of strolling and some more serious walking), punctuated by some light strength exercises a couple of days.
Misc. goals: Got adequate sleep all nights except Wednesday night, and it showed in my morning blood glucose number.
Goals for this week
7-day blood glucose average goal and fasting numbers: below 120.
Weight goal: Maintain or make progress toward goal.
Food goals:
- 4 or more meatless, low-fat meals and 2 or more fish meals.
- On work days, switch to tea and plain water after that first cup of coffee.
- Track fiber. Minimum 30 grams fiber/day and work up to consuming 50 grams fiber/day. (Include both insoluble and soluble sources.)
Exercise goals:
Minimum of 30 minutes of workout 5 days/week. Workouts to include at least 1 bike, 1 run, and 1 swim per week, plus 2 strength training per week.
Misc. goals:
- 7 or more hours sleep/night.
What a couple of weeks this has been! The week before the big 5K went well, but this past week saw the best laid plans completely laid out: I was sore after the race (especially my shins!). I got a nasty head cold, and I learned that illness and poor sleep=not so great fasting numbers in the morning. My work week was screamingly busy, and of course that meant my home life stuff would be, too, because it all happens at once, doesn't it?
I took a day off to chaperon Thing 1's school field trip to an art museum, which was in jeopardy of being cancelled. Ah, the 2nd grade perspective: already much snickering at the nudie bits. For example, reaction upon viewing a Renoir of a mother, half-naked toddler, and cat: "Hey! Look! You can see that little boy's buns!" I tried to make a teaching moment of it by pointing out that earlier painters did more formal portraits, whereas modern painters portrayed people in more naturally, in less formal settings: "...and, well, it doesn't get much more natural than that!" Fortunately, we had diverting tasks, such as counting the number of paintings with dogs, finding a still life and counting the number of bugs in it, and tracking down works by painters they'd studied. I enjoyed seeing the small gallery of Impressionist works and the Rodin sculptures, but the Picasso sculpture and large amount of Medieval art (nearly half the museum!) didn't do much for any of us, I'm afraid. We braved the porcelain gallery, and the kids were surprisingly interested in the novelty teapots and serving dishes. (I was not-so-surprisingly interested in escaping the gallery with the nick-knacks unscathed.) They gamely counted bugs painted on the still life-themed plates as I wondered what had inspired such dinnerware: 18th-century attempts at weight-reduction-through-aversion, perhaps? Not for restaurant use, obviously, what with patrons' constant complaints of dragonflies in their soup and all.
We also enjoyed 3 straight days of dance recital rehearsal+performances+volunteer duty. (I didn't screw up Thing 2's makeup too badly...I'm surprised I still know how to apply the stuff at all! Thank goodness for the dance teacher's makeup cheat-sheet.) Until I eradicate the "Mary Poppins" show tunes ear worm, though, I'm going to be humming "Jolly Holiday" and "Chim-chim-cheroo!" under my breath. Things 1 and 2 were in 2 dances: the barnyard scene as ducks, and in same costume for the "Let's Go Fly a Kite" finale at the end. They had a great time, looked totally adorable, and Thing 2 is still prancing around in her yellow tutu.
The good thing about all the craziness last week was that food dropped in priority. The bad news was so did my regular exercise routine, but I kept as active as possible, considering how things were going. I got in lots of walking and a little bit of strength exercise at home, but gym classes and regular workouts went "poof!" I was back at spin class yesterday, though, and it felt good! And it feels healthy to not be freaked out over having to take some "active rest" time. (I would really have freaked out about this last summer or fall, for example.)
Progress last week
7-day blood glucose average: 96 (met goal of less than 120)
7-day fasting average: 100 (met goal of less than 120, 100% of days)
Weight goal: -2.2 lbs (met goal of either maintain or make progress toward goal)
Food goals:
- Consumed 4 meatless, low-fat meals and 1 fish meal. (met meatless meal goal; missed fish meal goal by one meal)
- Met fiber goal 2/7 days.
- Met my coffee goal.
Exercise goals:
Did fine the week before the race, except I was one strength workout shy of my Women's Challenge goal. Week after the race? I pretty much had a week of active rest (read lots of strolling and some more serious walking), punctuated by some light strength exercises a couple of days.
Misc. goals: Got adequate sleep all nights except Wednesday night, and it showed in my morning blood glucose number.
Goals for this week
7-day blood glucose average goal and fasting numbers: below 120.
Weight goal: Maintain or make progress toward goal.
Food goals:
- 4 or more meatless, low-fat meals and 2 or more fish meals.
- On work days, switch to tea and plain water after that first cup of coffee.
- Track fiber. Minimum 30 grams fiber/day and work up to consuming 50 grams fiber/day. (Include both insoluble and soluble sources.)
Exercise goals:
Minimum of 30 minutes of workout 5 days/week. Workouts to include at least 1 bike, 1 run, and 1 swim per week, plus 2 strength training per week.
Misc. goals:
- 7 or more hours sleep/night.
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