Hi to you all,
I'm skipping my regular weekly update today. My friend J's mom passed away today. She had suffered from lung disease, so of course my friend has mixed feelings: loss and sadness, but glad her mom is at peace.
Mrs. J was a great and beautiful lady. I remember her coming out to California to visit during Mardi Gras, helping her daughter throw her renowned yearly party. I remember her warmth and charm, and the wonderful food she prepared for us all to enjoy. She made my wedding veil and gorgeous decorations for the church pews. But most of all, she raised my friend to be a strong, vibrant, and beautiful woman, who makes a difference in the world.
I'm glad Mrs. J's suffering is over, but I'm so sad for her children and their family, especially for my friend. They live very far away, so the only way I can be present is through thoughts and prayers, and that makes me feel sad, too.
Wednesday, May 26, 2010
Wednesday, May 19, 2010
Weekly Update, 5/19/10
Well, you all know the latest, so not much new to report. Except that yesterday, Mr. Handsome-and-Handy and Thing 2 went on her class field trip to a location on Tunitas Creek Rd. to watch Stage 3 of the Tour of California bike race! They collected banana slugs and drew pictures of trees while they waited, and then got to cheer for the 3 minutes it took for the bicyclists and cars to pass. I was a little jealous, but the official race video footage is really fantastic, and it was fun to see some of it going through our neck of the woods, literally!
Progress This Week
7-day blood glucose average: 98 (met goal of less than 120)
7-day fasting blood glucose average: 96 (met goal of less than 120)
Weight goals: No change from last Wednesday. I went up a little since Friday, though, which is a bummer, but I'm glad my jeans are at least fitting a little better than they were a couple of weeks ago. I do prefer them to fit the way they were fitting on Friday, though, so I'll continue to fight the good fight.
Food goals: I tracked every day. Theoretically, if it takes a calorie deficit of 3,500 calories to lose 1 pound, I should have at least had a little nudge down with being 1,273 under. Unless, of course, the food tracker way overestimates calories burned for physical activity, which is entirely possible.
Fiber: Averaged 37.5 grams/day.
Exercise goals: Didn't meet my goals this week. I missed BodyPump class (got there today, though); it was challenging fitting fitness with work and school activities lately.
Total mileage: 32 miles
Wednesday - Rest
Thursday - 40 minutes (2.24 miles) - Lunchtime walk
Friday - 20 minutes (1.14 mile) - Lunchtime walk
Saturday - 90 minutes (7.07 miles) - Mostly run, some walk
Sunday - Rest
Monday - 64 minutes (21.55 miles) - Spin class
Tuesday - Rest
Teeth: Flossed 5/7 days.
Sleep: Getting 7-8 hours per night, except Sunday night.
Goals for Next Week
7-day blood glucose average goal and fasting numbers: below 120.
Weight goal: Maintain or make progress toward goal.
Food goals:
* Track food intake DAILY.
* Track fiber, aiming for at least 30 grams/day average.
Exercise goals:
* 30 minutes of activity 5 days/week.
* Spin class at least once per week.
* 2 strength sessions
Misc. goals:
* 7 or more hours sleep/night.
Progress This Week
7-day blood glucose average: 98 (met goal of less than 120)
7-day fasting blood glucose average: 96 (met goal of less than 120)
Weight goals: No change from last Wednesday. I went up a little since Friday, though, which is a bummer, but I'm glad my jeans are at least fitting a little better than they were a couple of weeks ago. I do prefer them to fit the way they were fitting on Friday, though, so I'll continue to fight the good fight.
Food goals: I tracked every day. Theoretically, if it takes a calorie deficit of 3,500 calories to lose 1 pound, I should have at least had a little nudge down with being 1,273 under. Unless, of course, the food tracker way overestimates calories burned for physical activity, which is entirely possible.
Fiber: Averaged 37.5 grams/day.
Exercise goals: Didn't meet my goals this week. I missed BodyPump class (got there today, though); it was challenging fitting fitness with work and school activities lately.
Total mileage: 32 miles
Wednesday - Rest
Thursday - 40 minutes (2.24 miles) - Lunchtime walk
Friday - 20 minutes (1.14 mile) - Lunchtime walk
Saturday - 90 minutes (7.07 miles) - Mostly run, some walk
Sunday - Rest
Monday - 64 minutes (21.55 miles) - Spin class
Tuesday - Rest
Teeth: Flossed 5/7 days.
Sleep: Getting 7-8 hours per night, except Sunday night.
Goals for Next Week
7-day blood glucose average goal and fasting numbers: below 120.
Weight goal: Maintain or make progress toward goal.
Food goals:
* Track food intake DAILY.
* Track fiber, aiming for at least 30 grams/day average.
Exercise goals:
* 30 minutes of activity 5 days/week.
* Spin class at least once per week.
* 2 strength sessions
Misc. goals:
* 7 or more hours sleep/night.
Monday, May 17, 2010
Quick Monday Update
What a weekend! It went pretty well, even though...
One reason we're laughing so hard here is because on the other side of the table, Kat's husband and Susan's husband were juggling our bevvy of cell phones, snapping photos. (The first photo above is Shannon taking a picture of them with all of our phones.) I had been following Shannon's blog a bit, but Kat's was new to me. I checked it out when Susan mentioned that she was going to be at the show; I found out that we live less than 5 miles apart and have, among other things, the Hawaii travel-bug in common!
If you ever get the chance to meet people from our little corner of the blogosphere, I highly recommend it! In my experience so far, everyone I've met has been just as delightful in person as they are online.
- I overdid it a little on Friday evening and Sunday calorie-wise, by about 1,000 calories; it could have been better, but it could have been worse.
- I overdid it a lot on Saturday exercise-wise. I went 7 miles, mostly slow running, some walking; which is a new personal distance-on-foot record for me. Man, was I sore toward the end and all that day and the next; I hadn't exactly been building up to that distance. Not terribly smart, I know, but I felt really cooped up after missing BodyPump last week and not getting any high-intensity exercise, so when I had the chance on Saturday, I decided to see if I could still do 10K. Turns out my route was a little longer than I thought.
- I underdid it sleep-wise last night, but it was so worth it: I went to Susan/Foodie McBody's one-woman show in San Francisco and was part of a blogger meet-up! Her show was terrific: funny, moving, and it so effectively captures the experience of facing and learning to manage type 2 diabetes in a positive way. *And* I got to meet these wonderful gals:
Left to right: me, Shannon of "SuperwomanSpirit", Susan of "foodfoodbodybody", and Kat of "fitmindbodyspirit"
One reason we're laughing so hard here is because on the other side of the table, Kat's husband and Susan's husband were juggling our bevvy of cell phones, snapping photos. (The first photo above is Shannon taking a picture of them with all of our phones.) I had been following Shannon's blog a bit, but Kat's was new to me. I checked it out when Susan mentioned that she was going to be at the show; I found out that we live less than 5 miles apart and have, among other things, the Hawaii travel-bug in common!
If you ever get the chance to meet people from our little corner of the blogosphere, I highly recommend it! In my experience so far, everyone I've met has been just as delightful in person as they are online.
Friday, May 14, 2010
It's the "Friday-and-I'm-on-the-Cusp" Pep Talk
Dear Me,
We've been doing so well lately. It was truly wonderful to see a number ending in a "0" between those lovely toes this morning. That's exciting, because hopefully our "official" weigh-in on Wednesday will be into the lower decade, which we haven't seen since before Christmas.
However...the weekend is coming. Weekends are historically challenging, but hang tough! Remember the following:
Love,
--Myself and I
We've been doing so well lately. It was truly wonderful to see a number ending in a "0" between those lovely toes this morning. That's exciting, because hopefully our "official" weigh-in on Wednesday will be into the lower decade, which we haven't seen since before Christmas.
However...the weekend is coming. Weekends are historically challenging, but hang tough! Remember the following:
- Weekend is a rest day from work, not (this week, anyway) working out. Get out and play, a half hour each day!
- Eat those veggies. Eggplant and butternut squash roasting awaits! (Go a little easier on the oil, though.)
- We are not a squirrel...and even they do not roast and salt their nut stashes.
- We're in it together, with all of our blog buddies!
Love,
--Myself and I
Wednesday, May 12, 2010
Weekly Update, 5/12/10 (The Screamingly Busy Edition)
Well, it's been a screamingly busy week (so how did I just write so much?). The weekend was pretty relaxing, though. I'm happy to say that I more than made up for missing having Mexican food on Cinco de Mayo last week; as a daughter of California, it felt kind of wrong to not have any on that day! Mother's Day was sweet; I got a lot of knitting done on hat #2 and enjoyed sitting by the fire. We had rain! Rain in May! Nearly unheard of in these parts. Mr. Handsome-and-Handy and the kids spoiled me with homemade cards and school crafts and flowers, and we all enjoyed dinner at our local Mexican restaurant. (Chicken fajitas! Yum! You inspired me there, Biz! And glad the "pink chicken" story made you laugh.)
Thanks!
Thanks, everyone, for all of your support and encouragement. I try not to gripe about it too much, but sometimes I think it helps to share that I still struggle with keeping the healthy habits going and eliminating those that have outlived their usefulness. Just to clarify, I don't equate my struggling with feeling like a failure, I equate my not following through on something I say I'm going to do with feeling like a failure. Plus "feeling like a failure" is very different from actually failing. For me, actually failing would look a little something like this...
I think Lori might have been on to something. I don't think my general goals are excessive, but it's funny, I usually feel like I'm not exercising enough, even after a week like this past one. I think it's because I'm sure I was doing more last summer. But anyway, after my next race in a couple of weeks, I'm going to shift my exercise habits a bit. I've had a lot of cardio going on recently, and I'm thinking of adjusting in favor of strength, just to shake things up a little bit over the summer.
Hockey
Our Beloved Detroit Red Wings were defeated by the San Jose Sharks. A moment of silence, please.
[Pubsgal bows her head reverently...]
Well, the Sharks are a pretty good team, too, and they're local, although I'd love to see one of the Canadian teams get the cup. Then again, Canada got the Olympic gold medal this year, and the Sharks have never gotten to hoist the Cup. So other than Mr. Handsome-and-Handy's brother rubbing it in our faces, it would be nice to see the Sharks have their year with Stanley.
Cool news!
First, I'm going to see Foodie McBody of FoodFoodBodyBody in her solo performance show on Sunday!
Woo hoo!!! I met her last year in person at the See Jane Run "I Race for Chocolate and Champagne" 5K, so it will be good to see her again. I'm a little anxious about going up to the city by myself, country mouse that I am, so this should be a good experience, aside from enjoying her show.
Second, I picked up a copy of May 2010 Shape magazine to read about our fantastic Lori of Finding Radiance! Loved the article! You looked fantastic in print, too, Lori! (Although...no mention of your blog! What's up with that?) I noticed another article that cracked me up a little bit. It was about how fun and accessible sprint triathlons are, with a starting training plan, and I thought that was terrific! Where I parted sentiment from the magazine, though, was in their "stuff to get" gear recommendations. If you really needed to have $140 running shoes and a $1000+ road bike to enjoy this sport, I'd still be sitting on the sidelines waving my cowbell. (Except...I'd have to have bought a cowbell.)
Progress This Week
7-day blood glucose average: 109 (met goal of less than 120)
7-day fasting blood glucose average: 109 (met goal of less than 120)
Weight goals: +.2. Maintenance, I'll take it. I'm not surprised; I was over my net calories for last week. There is a glimmer of good news, though; because I was more careful than I had been, my weight wasn't all over the place during the past week, like it has been tending to do.
Food goals: I tracked 6/7 days last week. (I ended up taking Mother's Day off.) Of days tracked, I was over by 481 net calories for last week. Trouble days were (predictably) Friday and Saturday...and probably Sunday, although I didn't feel like I went too far overboard.
Fiber: On days tracked, averaged 29 grams/day.
Exercise goals: Met all goals this week, although counting climbing around on the monkey bars as a strength workout is stretching it a little bit, I suppose.....
Total mileage: 41.79 miles (2 spin classes - woot!)
Wednesday - 70 minutes (2.18 miles) - Stationary bike (10 minutes, 2.18 miles) to warm up for Body Pump class (1 hour).
Thursday - 82 minutes (20.07 miles) - 58 minutes (18.07 miles) spin class + 24 minutes (2 miles) on the treadmill at the gym.
Friday - 29 minutes (1.52 miles) - Neighborhood walk. Blood sugar before was 132; blood sugar after was 87. Walking is a great way to counter elevated blood glucose levels. I'm still amazed at how well it works.
Saturday -Rest
Sunday - 45 minutes - Family "play-out" at the park after dinner. Lots of tag and climbing, and Thing 1 and I ran a circle around the park. Mr. H&H wondered why we were the only parents there not parked on a bench, but we sure needed to move after dinner out.
Monday - 53 minutes (15.02 miles) - Spin class. It usually goes for an hour, but I think the evening instructors having back-to-back classes means that they have to finish the spin portion a little earlier than the lunchtime classes. I didn't really like this particular instructor; he did too much yelling at people to go faster. I much prefer the instructors who tell you what you need to do for a particular drill, and yell encouragement, but each person has different capabilities speed-wise, and the instructors need to have respect for that.
Tuesday - 60 minutes (3 miles) - Lunchtime walk. I walked to the post office, so got stamps, sunshine, and a great walk! Score!
Teeth: Flossed all but one day.
Sleep: Getting 7-8 hours per night.
Hockey Respite for Mr. H&H: Some of those games were early, but I'd say this was accomplished. Coming off the goals list this week, since the Red Wings are out.
Goals for Next Week
7-day blood glucose average goal and fasting numbers: below 120.
Weight goal: Maintain or make progress toward goal.
Food goals:
* Track food intake DAILY.
* Track fiber, aiming for at least 30 grams/day average.
Exercise goals:
* 30 minutes of activity 5 days/week.
* Spin class at least once per week. I'd like to shoot for two, since I'm doing the bike portion of the "Tri the Coast" in early June.
* 2 strength sessions
Misc. goals:
* Sisterhood of the Shrinking Jeans 21 Day Habit Challenge goal of flossing daily.
* 7 or more hours sleep/night.
Thanks!
Thanks, everyone, for all of your support and encouragement. I try not to gripe about it too much, but sometimes I think it helps to share that I still struggle with keeping the healthy habits going and eliminating those that have outlived their usefulness. Just to clarify, I don't equate my struggling with feeling like a failure, I equate my not following through on something I say I'm going to do with feeling like a failure. Plus "feeling like a failure" is very different from actually failing. For me, actually failing would look a little something like this...
Pubsgal [throwing up hands in disgust.]: "*Bleep* this, I'm outta here."Hmmm. I don't think so. Even if "success" often looks like I'm jogging in place, guess I just gotta throw on that sweat band and wear a hole in the floor. (Although there might be some monthly whining about it. ;-)
[Grabs several pints of premium ice cream, eats self back into sedentary stupor, goes blind, and loses limbs, etc.]
I think Lori might have been on to something. I don't think my general goals are excessive, but it's funny, I usually feel like I'm not exercising enough, even after a week like this past one. I think it's because I'm sure I was doing more last summer. But anyway, after my next race in a couple of weeks, I'm going to shift my exercise habits a bit. I've had a lot of cardio going on recently, and I'm thinking of adjusting in favor of strength, just to shake things up a little bit over the summer.
Hockey
Our Beloved Detroit Red Wings were defeated by the San Jose Sharks. A moment of silence, please.
[Pubsgal bows her head reverently...]
Well, the Sharks are a pretty good team, too, and they're local, although I'd love to see one of the Canadian teams get the cup. Then again, Canada got the Olympic gold medal this year, and the Sharks have never gotten to hoist the Cup. So other than Mr. Handsome-and-Handy's brother rubbing it in our faces, it would be nice to see the Sharks have their year with Stanley.
Cool news!
First, I'm going to see Foodie McBody of FoodFoodBodyBody in her solo performance show on Sunday!
Woo hoo!!! I met her last year in person at the See Jane Run "I Race for Chocolate and Champagne" 5K, so it will be good to see her again. I'm a little anxious about going up to the city by myself, country mouse that I am, so this should be a good experience, aside from enjoying her show.
Second, I picked up a copy of May 2010 Shape magazine to read about our fantastic Lori of Finding Radiance! Loved the article! You looked fantastic in print, too, Lori! (Although...no mention of your blog! What's up with that?) I noticed another article that cracked me up a little bit. It was about how fun and accessible sprint triathlons are, with a starting training plan, and I thought that was terrific! Where I parted sentiment from the magazine, though, was in their "stuff to get" gear recommendations. If you really needed to have $140 running shoes and a $1000+ road bike to enjoy this sport, I'd still be sitting on the sidelines waving my cowbell. (Except...I'd have to have bought a cowbell.)
Progress This Week
7-day blood glucose average: 109 (met goal of less than 120)
7-day fasting blood glucose average: 109 (met goal of less than 120)
Weight goals: +.2. Maintenance, I'll take it. I'm not surprised; I was over my net calories for last week. There is a glimmer of good news, though; because I was more careful than I had been, my weight wasn't all over the place during the past week, like it has been tending to do.
Food goals: I tracked 6/7 days last week. (I ended up taking Mother's Day off.) Of days tracked, I was over by 481 net calories for last week. Trouble days were (predictably) Friday and Saturday...and probably Sunday, although I didn't feel like I went too far overboard.
Fiber: On days tracked, averaged 29 grams/day.
Exercise goals: Met all goals this week, although counting climbing around on the monkey bars as a strength workout is stretching it a little bit, I suppose.....
Total mileage: 41.79 miles (2 spin classes - woot!)
Wednesday - 70 minutes (2.18 miles) - Stationary bike (10 minutes, 2.18 miles) to warm up for Body Pump class (1 hour).
Thursday - 82 minutes (20.07 miles) - 58 minutes (18.07 miles) spin class + 24 minutes (2 miles) on the treadmill at the gym.
Friday - 29 minutes (1.52 miles) - Neighborhood walk. Blood sugar before was 132; blood sugar after was 87. Walking is a great way to counter elevated blood glucose levels. I'm still amazed at how well it works.
Saturday -Rest
Sunday - 45 minutes - Family "play-out" at the park after dinner. Lots of tag and climbing, and Thing 1 and I ran a circle around the park. Mr. H&H wondered why we were the only parents there not parked on a bench, but we sure needed to move after dinner out.
Monday - 53 minutes (15.02 miles) - Spin class. It usually goes for an hour, but I think the evening instructors having back-to-back classes means that they have to finish the spin portion a little earlier than the lunchtime classes. I didn't really like this particular instructor; he did too much yelling at people to go faster. I much prefer the instructors who tell you what you need to do for a particular drill, and yell encouragement, but each person has different capabilities speed-wise, and the instructors need to have respect for that.
Tuesday - 60 minutes (3 miles) - Lunchtime walk. I walked to the post office, so got stamps, sunshine, and a great walk! Score!
Teeth: Flossed all but one day.
Sleep: Getting 7-8 hours per night.
Hockey Respite for Mr. H&H: Some of those games were early, but I'd say this was accomplished. Coming off the goals list this week, since the Red Wings are out.
Goals for Next Week
7-day blood glucose average goal and fasting numbers: below 120.
Weight goal: Maintain or make progress toward goal.
Food goals:
* Track food intake DAILY.
* Track fiber, aiming for at least 30 grams/day average.
Exercise goals:
* 30 minutes of activity 5 days/week.
* Spin class at least once per week. I'd like to shoot for two, since I'm doing the bike portion of the "Tri the Coast" in early June.
* 2 strength sessions
Misc. goals:
* Sisterhood of the Shrinking Jeans 21 Day Habit Challenge goal of flossing daily.
* 7 or more hours sleep/night.
Wednesday, May 5, 2010
Weekly Update, 5/5/10 (The Cinco de Mayo Edition)
Happy Cinco de Mayo!
But, drat! I missed Star Wars day yesterday. (It's May 4, as in "May the Fourth be with you.") But no worries! There's still May 25 to plan for, which is both Geek Pride Day (i.e., the day Star Wars was released) and Towel Day (a memorial to Douglas Adams).
Embarrassing Moments
Glad I was able to amuse you all with my embarrassing tale last week! Don't know why, but it's the doozies that really make the best funny stories. But today, I feel the need to ramble and throw out what's been on my mind lately. There's something non-funny embarrassing going on: I'm struggling. It's human, and I don't know why it should embarrass me, but it does. Maybe because once I admit it, I'll have to do something about it, and if it doesn't work, I'll feel like a failure. Damn.
Anyhoo. So lately, I've been feeling a sort of desperate feeling, especially at last week's weigh-in. My weight had been creeping up to my red line and finally went over, and I felt powerless to stop it. (Which is bunk, I know! I've lost over 70 pounds and kept it off for over a year now, so I know what I can do when my back is to the wall.) Part of me wanted to just say forget it. The pull of the salty, roasted nuts can be so strong. I've gotten too smart about which calorie-bombs will satisfy me and yet not up my blood glucose levels, which at least is healthy stuff. And then, walking the tightrope of too-many carbs: how many slivers of a donut will knock me over? Otherwise, I probably would have said "*bleep* it" long before now and dove straight into a bag of chips with a pint of premium ice cream on the side. This "shizzle," as MizFit would say, is really hard. Fairly straightforward, but hard.
I think what really saves me this time around is the support and accountability of blogging and type 2 diabetes. Lots of things came together: The Sisterhood of the Shrinking Jeans started a 21 Day Habit Challenge, and it wasn't tied to weight loss AT ALL! (yeay!) I decided to commit to tracking EVERY day and not avoiding the weekends when I could use more accountability. (I also committed to flossing my teeth, which I had been really good about doing but has lately become a habit-on-the-slip. Which isn't as out-there as it seems; there's a connection between diabetes and dental health.) And Biz wrote her post today, "Keeping the Eye on the Prize," and it made me realize that I have some work to do.
Right here (yes, I'm back below red line weight) is a really comfortable place for me. I still feel like I can eat enough to make me feel good and satisfy my "foodie" side, yet stay within a given range. But lately, I've been feeling like I ought to try a little harder, to at least get back to where I was last summer (which is about 10 pounds lower than I am now). I feel like I need to break though the plateau and get to goal, to at least taste it. "Goal" for me is the upper end of the healthy weight range for my height, a little over what I weighed in college, and is 26.2 pounds away. Is it a reasonable goal? No way of knowing until I try a little harder to get there. (And no, I really don't think it's a matter of not eating enough calories; -.5 lb/week gave me a calorie budget of around 2000 calories, and I'd generally eat more when I exercised, so my net was rarely below my daily budget. -1 lb per week gives me a budget of 1788, and my calorie counter counts one's
"net calories" for the day, which is gross calories-exercise. Exercise calories, I know, are a guesstimate, but I do try to keep it conservative.)
So what's the plan? Right now, I'm doing everything "fitness-ly" possible. I can't give any more time to it than I do already, and I'm pretty good about intensity when I'm working out. It has to be the food: portion control, planning what I'm going to eat before I put it in my mouth, mindful eating. (Mr. Handsome-and-Handy cooks in a highly supportive manner; I am the one who puts the food in my mouth on the weekends, though.) *sigh*, I know, the usual stuff. I also have to be okay with feeling hungry now and then. I feel physically hungry right now, in fact. I'm planning to eat in about a half hour, so I'll wait it out. (Later: Greek yogurt and strawberries. Yum!)
Good Listens
I often use my commute time to listen to books on CD that I want to read, but am too lazy to do at home. In other words, non-fiction items from the library. Well, not all non-fiction; I listened to a compilation of old detective radio shows lately. But I've been listening to some interesting items lately. One was "Steering by Starlight" by Martha Beck, and the other is "What Should I Do with My Life?" by Po Bronson. Both are read by the authors, who do a fantastic job. I enjoyed both quite a lot. I think Beck's book was saved from seeming too woo-woo by her common sense vibe and friendly-gravelly voice. The Bronson book is actually a re-listen, and it has all kinds of little "zingers" in it that I hadn't remembered from my last listen. (Which was probably several years and many formative CDs ago.) One theme in his book is that change often doesn't happen until it "gets personal": the suffering one is in becomes immediate and concrete, and one has to change. Boy, I sure can relate to that one.
Good Eats
Not sure how many of you follow Amy Tenderish's "Diabetes Mine" site; it's a good one. Today, she posted an article called, "Five Foods to Consider," in which a nutritionist and CDE discusses the benefits of some food choices one may not have considered. I knew about most of them--chia seeds, Greek-style yogurt, and 70%+ dark chocolate are in regular rotation--but I didn't know that quinoa was considered a seed rather than a whole grain. I need to sneak some more salmon in there. Mr. Handsome-and-Handy enjoys it also, but we tend to go frugal on the protein (and go for foods that the kids would eat--they're a little too old for the "it's pink chicken!" fib).
Progress This Week
7-day blood glucose average: 102 (met goal of less than 120)
7-day fasting blood glucose average: 102 (met goal of less than 120)
Weight goals: -4.4. Whew! Back below my "red line" weight.
Food goals: I actually did it! I set a goal of tracking all 7 days, no matter how painful. And oh, was it painful! Tracking over the weekend made me realize how much I slack off and mindlessly eat on the weekends. I'd eat, and then sit down and track, and then remember stuff later on that I'd forgotten, and pretty soon I was over budget. I think setting the calorie threshold to a 1 lb/week setting has been helpful, because even if I go over a little bit, I can still maintain.
Fiber: On days tracked, averaged 33 grams/day.
Exercise goals: Met all goals this week.
Total mileage: 35 miles
Wednesday - 80 minutes (.8 mile) - 10-minute solutions yoga in the morning; in the afternoon, treadmill run (10 minutes, .8 mile) to warm up for Body Pump class (1 hour).
Thursday - Rest
Friday - 56 minutes (12.05 miles) - Stationary bike (38 minutes, 10.5 miles) and treadmill run (18 minutes, 1.55 miles) at the gym.
Saturday - 4 hours - School clean-up day. Lots of yardwork (sweeping, weeding, a bit of lifting heavy things), so I'm counting this as strength exercise.
Sunday - Rest
Monday - 70 minutes (22.15 miles) - Spin class. It usually goes for an hour, but I was a little early and the instructor went a little late, so got some extra time and miles.
Tuesday - 40 minutes (2 miles) - Lunchtime walk
Teeth: Flossed all but one day.
Sleep: Getting 7-8 hours per night.
Hockey Respite for Mr. H&H: Accomplished, and then some! Mr. H&H got to go to the first game of the Red Wings vs. Sharks series. Though the way the Wings have been playing against the Sharks (not to mention the poor officiating), well, don't know how much longer this will be on the goal list.
Goals for Next Week
7-day blood glucose average goal and fasting numbers: below 120.
Weight goal: Maintain or make progress toward goal.
Food goals:
* Track food intake DAILY.
* Track fiber, aiming for at least 30 grams/day average.
Exercise goals:
* 30 minutes of activity 5 days/week.
* Spin class at least once per week. I'd like to shoot for two, since I'm doing the bike portion of the "Tri the Coast" in early June.
* 2 strength sessions (BodyPump + something on my own)
Misc. goals:
Sisterhood of the Shrinking Jeans 21 Day Habit Challenge goal of flossing daily.
7 or more hours sleep/night.
Continued "Hockey Respite" for Mr. H&H: Get home in time for Mr. Handsome-and-Handy to watch the Detroit Red Wings playoff games. (Go Wings!)
But, drat! I missed Star Wars day yesterday. (It's May 4, as in "May the Fourth be with you.") But no worries! There's still May 25 to plan for, which is both Geek Pride Day (i.e., the day Star Wars was released) and Towel Day (a memorial to Douglas Adams).
Embarrassing Moments
Glad I was able to amuse you all with my embarrassing tale last week! Don't know why, but it's the doozies that really make the best funny stories. But today, I feel the need to ramble and throw out what's been on my mind lately. There's something non-funny embarrassing going on: I'm struggling. It's human, and I don't know why it should embarrass me, but it does. Maybe because once I admit it, I'll have to do something about it, and if it doesn't work, I'll feel like a failure. Damn.
Anyhoo. So lately, I've been feeling a sort of desperate feeling, especially at last week's weigh-in. My weight had been creeping up to my red line and finally went over, and I felt powerless to stop it. (Which is bunk, I know! I've lost over 70 pounds and kept it off for over a year now, so I know what I can do when my back is to the wall.) Part of me wanted to just say forget it. The pull of the salty, roasted nuts can be so strong. I've gotten too smart about which calorie-bombs will satisfy me and yet not up my blood glucose levels, which at least is healthy stuff. And then, walking the tightrope of too-many carbs: how many slivers of a donut will knock me over? Otherwise, I probably would have said "*bleep* it" long before now and dove straight into a bag of chips with a pint of premium ice cream on the side. This "shizzle," as MizFit would say, is really hard. Fairly straightforward, but hard.
I think what really saves me this time around is the support and accountability of blogging and type 2 diabetes. Lots of things came together: The Sisterhood of the Shrinking Jeans started a 21 Day Habit Challenge, and it wasn't tied to weight loss AT ALL! (yeay!) I decided to commit to tracking EVERY day and not avoiding the weekends when I could use more accountability. (I also committed to flossing my teeth, which I had been really good about doing but has lately become a habit-on-the-slip. Which isn't as out-there as it seems; there's a connection between diabetes and dental health.) And Biz wrote her post today, "Keeping the Eye on the Prize," and it made me realize that I have some work to do.
Right here (yes, I'm back below red line weight) is a really comfortable place for me. I still feel like I can eat enough to make me feel good and satisfy my "foodie" side, yet stay within a given range. But lately, I've been feeling like I ought to try a little harder, to at least get back to where I was last summer (which is about 10 pounds lower than I am now). I feel like I need to break though the plateau and get to goal, to at least taste it. "Goal" for me is the upper end of the healthy weight range for my height, a little over what I weighed in college, and is 26.2 pounds away. Is it a reasonable goal? No way of knowing until I try a little harder to get there. (And no, I really don't think it's a matter of not eating enough calories; -.5 lb/week gave me a calorie budget of around 2000 calories, and I'd generally eat more when I exercised, so my net was rarely below my daily budget. -1 lb per week gives me a budget of 1788, and my calorie counter counts one's
"net calories" for the day, which is gross calories-exercise. Exercise calories, I know, are a guesstimate, but I do try to keep it conservative.)
So what's the plan? Right now, I'm doing everything "fitness-ly" possible. I can't give any more time to it than I do already, and I'm pretty good about intensity when I'm working out. It has to be the food: portion control, planning what I'm going to eat before I put it in my mouth, mindful eating. (Mr. Handsome-and-Handy cooks in a highly supportive manner; I am the one who puts the food in my mouth on the weekends, though.) *sigh*, I know, the usual stuff. I also have to be okay with feeling hungry now and then. I feel physically hungry right now, in fact. I'm planning to eat in about a half hour, so I'll wait it out. (Later: Greek yogurt and strawberries. Yum!)
Good Listens
I often use my commute time to listen to books on CD that I want to read, but am too lazy to do at home. In other words, non-fiction items from the library. Well, not all non-fiction; I listened to a compilation of old detective radio shows lately. But I've been listening to some interesting items lately. One was "Steering by Starlight" by Martha Beck, and the other is "What Should I Do with My Life?" by Po Bronson. Both are read by the authors, who do a fantastic job. I enjoyed both quite a lot. I think Beck's book was saved from seeming too woo-woo by her common sense vibe and friendly-gravelly voice. The Bronson book is actually a re-listen, and it has all kinds of little "zingers" in it that I hadn't remembered from my last listen. (Which was probably several years and many formative CDs ago.) One theme in his book is that change often doesn't happen until it "gets personal": the suffering one is in becomes immediate and concrete, and one has to change. Boy, I sure can relate to that one.
Good Eats
Not sure how many of you follow Amy Tenderish's "Diabetes Mine" site; it's a good one. Today, she posted an article called, "Five Foods to Consider," in which a nutritionist and CDE discusses the benefits of some food choices one may not have considered. I knew about most of them--chia seeds, Greek-style yogurt, and 70%+ dark chocolate are in regular rotation--but I didn't know that quinoa was considered a seed rather than a whole grain. I need to sneak some more salmon in there. Mr. Handsome-and-Handy enjoys it also, but we tend to go frugal on the protein (and go for foods that the kids would eat--they're a little too old for the "it's pink chicken!" fib).
Progress This Week
7-day blood glucose average: 102 (met goal of less than 120)
7-day fasting blood glucose average: 102 (met goal of less than 120)
Weight goals: -4.4. Whew! Back below my "red line" weight.
Food goals: I actually did it! I set a goal of tracking all 7 days, no matter how painful. And oh, was it painful! Tracking over the weekend made me realize how much I slack off and mindlessly eat on the weekends. I'd eat, and then sit down and track, and then remember stuff later on that I'd forgotten, and pretty soon I was over budget. I think setting the calorie threshold to a 1 lb/week setting has been helpful, because even if I go over a little bit, I can still maintain.
Fiber: On days tracked, averaged 33 grams/day.
Exercise goals: Met all goals this week.
Total mileage: 35 miles
Wednesday - 80 minutes (.8 mile) - 10-minute solutions yoga in the morning; in the afternoon, treadmill run (10 minutes, .8 mile) to warm up for Body Pump class (1 hour).
Thursday - Rest
Friday - 56 minutes (12.05 miles) - Stationary bike (38 minutes, 10.5 miles) and treadmill run (18 minutes, 1.55 miles) at the gym.
Saturday - 4 hours - School clean-up day. Lots of yardwork (sweeping, weeding, a bit of lifting heavy things), so I'm counting this as strength exercise.
Sunday - Rest
Monday - 70 minutes (22.15 miles) - Spin class. It usually goes for an hour, but I was a little early and the instructor went a little late, so got some extra time and miles.
Tuesday - 40 minutes (2 miles) - Lunchtime walk
Teeth: Flossed all but one day.
Sleep: Getting 7-8 hours per night.
Hockey Respite for Mr. H&H: Accomplished, and then some! Mr. H&H got to go to the first game of the Red Wings vs. Sharks series. Though the way the Wings have been playing against the Sharks (not to mention the poor officiating), well, don't know how much longer this will be on the goal list.
Goals for Next Week
7-day blood glucose average goal and fasting numbers: below 120.
Weight goal: Maintain or make progress toward goal.
Food goals:
* Track food intake DAILY.
* Track fiber, aiming for at least 30 grams/day average.
Exercise goals:
* 30 minutes of activity 5 days/week.
* Spin class at least once per week. I'd like to shoot for two, since I'm doing the bike portion of the "Tri the Coast" in early June.
* 2 strength sessions (BodyPump + something on my own)
Misc. goals:
Sisterhood of the Shrinking Jeans 21 Day Habit Challenge goal of flossing daily.
7 or more hours sleep/night.
Continued "Hockey Respite" for Mr. H&H: Get home in time for Mr. Handsome-and-Handy to watch the Detroit Red Wings playoff games. (Go Wings!)
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