Sometimes, I have a hard time doing two things at once. Sure, I can walk and chew gum at the same time, or do dishes while talking on the phone, or even pat my head and rub my stomach simultaneously. But when it comes to dieting, I have a hard time doing it all.

Basically, I can diet to keep my blood sugar healthy or I can diet to lose weight. But it seems I cannot both lose weight and control my blood sugar on the same diet. It seems really unfair.

When I was first diagnosed, I was told to lose weight and to monitor my blood sugar, making sure I kept it below 140 at the two-hour mark. At the time, I wasn't really given a frame of reference to put it into context for me. I did some research and all I knew was that high blood sugars lead to complications. I didn't know how high was high enough for complications. I didn't know that some people routine have blood sugar in the 300s or higher. I only knew that anything over 140 was bad.

I didn't know meters have their own range where they are allowed to be off, so if the meter reads 145, it may still be in the acceptable range. I didn't know that some organizations, like the American Diabetes Association, recommend keeping blood sugar below 180 after a meal. I only knew that anything over 140 was bad, bad, bad.

On more than one occasion, my meter would get thrown across the room if it read over 140. I would cry, I would agonize, I would cross foods off my meal plan if my blood sugar was over 140. And I would quit on many a diets because the foods that were low in fat and calories would make my blood sugar over 140.

These days, I've ridden enough blood sugar rollercoasters not to let the odd 150, 180 or even 200-plus rattle my cage too much. What goes up usually comes down. And hopefully that applies to my weight too.

This month, I'm focused on losing weight. My blood sugar hasn't been the best. I'm still taking insulin when I remember to, but I've given up on taking my blood sugar, at least for the time being. I know that a good portion of my higher blood sugar is due to the excess weight I'm carrying around these days. I have at least 20 pounds to go to get my BMI back to the healthy range and once I'm at a healthy weight, it should help with my blood sugar control. At least that's how I'm justifying it for now.

Maybe my New Year's resolution will be to start taking and tracking my blood sugar again. But for now, I'm focused on getting through this year a few pounds lighter.