Diabetic Recipes
How does it happen that life gets in the way of taking proper care of my diabetes?
How does it happen that I can log faithfully - bloodsugars, food, activity, dosing - for months - and then - poof! (or more like thud!) - I just fall off the wagon?
How?
Well. I guess real life happens.
Last spring, I rededicated myself to my health and well-being. I got into an exercise routine, I altered my eating habits, I committed to testing AND logging so that I could control my diabetes more effectively. And, on a whole, these efforts paid off. I lost about 50 lbs in a little over a year. I improved my A1C. I found myself with more energy and more stamina. I actually started enjoying eating well, packing a lunch and taking in ample servings of fruits and vegetables.
And for awhile, I was great at testing and logging. I used Sugarstats faithfully. I downloaded and graphed and adjusted. Unfortunately, even when I first started doing it, it felt like something that I could only maintain temporarily - unlike the other changes which from the start felt like changes that had permanency.
Talk about a self-fulfilling prophecy. After 8 months of faithful logging - I pretty much stopped.
And you know what? My A1C went up by .4%. I had more - and more stubborn - low bloodsugars. I had high bloodsugars that hung in for full days.
Yes, I know, it's my fault. Because I can't seem to commit to it. Because my life gets so busy that logging drops down, down, down the list of priorities, until it's just a faint blip on a distant horizon - something that I'm still striving toward.
Will that ever change? Will I ever be able to get this part of my disease management in focus?
I'm not sure. But I'd love to hear about your challenges with logging - and your victories around it. Is there something that works for you - that might work for me?
I'm right there with you Nic in regards to my logging. I'll be watching for some good input here (or at least hopefully better than what I've offered!).
Logging is also one of my downfalls. It was easy when I was a kid because back then we only tested 3 or 4 times a day and I only took one shot and a little later two. Now I could easily check my BG half a dozen times and take several boluses throughout the day for meals, snacks and any corrections. I would need to keep a notebook strapped around my neck in order to accurately keep up. I haven't found logging to make any difference in my overall control though. I imagine I would benefit if I stuck to it, but I don't even try or think about it anymore. I've more or less drawn the line about what I'm willing and not willing to do, and that's on the other side of my line.
So, ya, I'm no help (sorry!!). But if it's something you need to do to reign in your control, I guess the best thing to do is to make it as simple as possible - maybe use a meter for which you can just upload data to your PC or something less tedious than recording each reading yourself. I used to have a Palm, and I used EZ Manager software to enter data on that. I liked that a lot, but I have a Crackberry now.
It is a challenge. When you swing and miss, just get back up to the plate. I have found that when changes aare coming, I test at the beginning and this helps me to stay focused on my numbers. When I get up, before breakfast, before I drive, before any serious exercise, ... etc. I add the logging by transferring my number into a data management program. Yes, I do sometimes have a donut and I do eat when stressed. So, bolus to cover the snack and check again, and make adjustement as necessary. Hope this helps and stay the course. As always, have a great day.
D2
I'm a self proclaimed anti-logger. I try my hardest to keep BG stats using sugarstats.com. At this time, it stops there. I've been keeping up with sugarstats for the better part of four months. I've had a few blips here and there, but I've been plugging along.
I think I'm finally making the connection that logging actually helps keep my BG down, it's my motivation for the time being. I still haven't figured out a good way to keep logging all the strange foods I eat...