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Back in March, I wrote a post about my top five diabetes habits that needed to be changed. I'm curious to see how I've progressed in the last four months. I haven't made a conscious effort to truly change, but I have kept these things in the back of my mind. So here goes:

1. Blind Bolusing- I truly have gotten better about this. I am testing more in general, so it's natural to test before eating. I'm still not testing directly before carb bolusing. I've narrowed it to about five to thirty minutes before. When I eat out, it's still easier to test before I leave the house (which can put me at an hour before I actually bolus for carbs). Not only do I need to feel confident to test at a restaurant (and find time to!), but I also need to work on bolusing before my meal instead of waiting until I'm completely finished. Of course, then we get into stacking boluses if I go back for seconds or order dessert.

2. Food Choices- In the past two months, my food choices have radically changed. I wouldn't say I'm consciously eating better for my diabetes, but I'm eating better for my own health. I've almost completely cut out dairy. I don't scarf down bread whenever it's in front of me. I'm also finding ways to eat better carbs instead of telling myself that I HAVE to have a certain amount of carbs in order to keep my blood sugar in range.

3. Days Off- I can't say I've made much improvement in this area. I never found an alternate pattern for holidays and weekends. I am testing more on those days, even if I am just sitting around and not eating anything radical. My averages for these days have slightly improved just from testing more and catching the trending numbers.

4. Keeping Quiet- I am still self-conscious about my diabetes in the real world. I hide my pump at the gym. I don't let others know when I'm low, unless I find it necessary or I'm close to them. I have developed an ease at bringing it up in conversation. And when next semester starts, I will not be ashamed (or worried) to introduce diabetes to anyone new I meet. After all, staying in the dark is not the best way to cope with this disease.

5. Easy Does It- My diabetes stress comes in waves. Sometimes I'm easier on myself and sometimes I get very frustrated with high averages. I've found that when a lot is going on in my life or my other health issues are flaring, I tend to let diabetes slide into the background. Otherwise, I actively manage this disease. I now want to focus on finding a good balance between my other life and my diabetes life. Diabetes is always going to be there, so I need to find a way for aggressive management and typical life stress.

I'm sure I've developed more bad habits to replace these old ones, but for right now, I'm impressed with myself on moving forward with diabetes. I've used outside resources and developed an inner strength so that diabetes doesn't overwhelm me constantly (only on those bad days).