Diabetic Recipes
See that cat, he's jumping for joy - in spite of early-morning stressors...
I thought for sure I was going to be late.
I got in my car at 7:20 - I'd have enough time to make it into Providence for my 8:00 appointment with the doc - with time to spare. But there was traffic. A lot of it.
I was fairly certain my blood pressure would be through the roof when I finally arrived at the doctor's office 5 minutes late.
But my blood pressure was just fine at 110/70. And my A1C is lower than it's been maybe ever - without an astronomical number of low bloodsugars! On top of that, I've lost 19lbs since my last appointment in May. And my bad cholesterol number - although not yet at that elusive under 100 number, has finally at least hit 100. I was so freaking excited, I forgot all about the damned traffic and relaxed as my endo smiled his way through telling me I was doing a good job....
I'm proud that the changes I've made are paying off - and I'm confident that moving forward with these changes will result in continued improvements in my health. I am lucky and thankful to have a support system that has been at my side - and made it that much easier to stay on track.
But there's still work to do.
First - I am DETERMINED to get that bad cholesterol number under 100 and I NEED help....
So, I'd love advice... Has anyone taken supplements that they've found help with reducing bad cholesterol - Fish Oil? Garlic? Anything others?
Next - Athletes out there... Please, advise. How do you handle your daily exercise? I know that I could be losing more weight if I wasn't having to consume extra calories around exercise to keep my bloodsugar from dropping? Does anyone have methods for reducing/cutting out insulin around exercise that don't involve spikes in bloodsugar? How about sources of carbohydrate that won't pack on pounds?
Finally - My doctor wants me to stop being so obsessive compulsive. About bloodsugar testing and exercise and other things.... Um, dude, I want me to stop being so obsessive compulsive too - but this is how I was made. Any advice from other diabetes-OCD sufferers - how do I stop (over?)thinking?
Nicole: Fantastic news. Hard work certainly paying off. You really just might give the performance of the year. Ha!
You get gold stars! Multiples! Huzzah!
--Hannah.
What works best for me and exercise is the following. I eat a lunch that has a low GI index - my choice is 4 sdelicious lices of whole grain bread spread with peanutbutter and tons of fresh spinach and iceburg lettuce. One can easily wonder where the bread is under all the vegetables...... Such a meal will usually digest slowly so w/o exercise a portion of the meal bolus would have to be extended over 1-2 hours. BUT since you are going to exercise after lunch, the amount that you were going to extend is NOT TAKEN. So you are eating the same but taking less insulin and instead getting ewercise. I often take a 2-3 hour fast walk. I mean really fast. Walking in the country is much nicer b/c it also unstresses you. And after the walk you are exhausted and you sleep well that night! A word of caution. Test a lot afterwards b/c I often need a little extra insulin after this exercise. For a while I took 5U with 2U extended for 1.5 hours - which meant I skipped 2U of insulin when I took these walks. Then things just up and changed for no reason whatsoever and I need more insulin for the same food amounts. Rather than a total of 5U I need 7-7.5U with 5-5.5U right away. So again you skip the extended 2U that would have been extended. The most important thing is to try the same thing many times and figure out what works with you own body. You have to log so you see what happens if you change one variable. And how does one stop over thinking - for me that is impossible, but reading a good book forces your head to think about something else at least for a while. And if you have a hypo drink coke with sugar. It works very quickly so you will not sucumb to hunger and over eat. Again experiment so you know how much your bg will rise after drinking x-amount of coke.For me 30ml=dl coke will raise my bg a teeny more than 30mg/dl. So if I want my bg to rise by only 10mg/dl I only drink 10ml coke. This is about the smallest teeny little sip one can take. 30ml is like a mouthful of coke. 15ml is in between the two. I carry my coke in a baby bottle with ml markings on the side. This is what has helped me. I am hoping it can help someone else, but you have to test on yourself to see the amounts that work best in YOUR body.
OH Nicole here is a HUGE HUG for all you have accomplished! (((((HUG))))) Way to go!
Thank you - all of you.
Huzzah is right Hannah, I'm feeling good.
Carey - The performance of the year... Nah? I'll leave that to one of the Olsen twins.
Chrissie - Thank you for the exercise advice. I have thought of timing exercise around the dinner hour so that I'd be eating the same food to cover the activity - I might give it a go and follow your recommendations! I've been testing, testing, testing - hence, the doc's conclusion that I've got OCD... LOL... And big hugs right back...
Congrats on your great doctor's appointment! I'm sorry to say I do not have any suggestions for you - I'm in the same boat as far as lows during exercise.