I found some old blood work results from 2002 and was comparing them to my recent results. In 2002 I was a newlywed and had not had gestational diabetes yet. The only inkling I had of any blood sugar problems was a strong family history of type 2 diabetes and a diagnosis of hypoglycemia when I was 19.

My numbers are exponentially better today. Fasting sugar, cholesterol, triglycerides, HDL; you name it. This got me to thinking about my health and lifestyle today versus 5 years ago. I may be 5 years older but I should be feeling 10 years younger!

The biggest change, health-wise; is that I no longer smoke. 27 years of a pack plus a day are history. I have been smoke free for almost 22 months now, this alone would bring up my HDL levels. I remain very proud of this and it continues to remind me that I can change old ingrained habits. (READ MORE)

This morning in the shower I tried to plan out what I would wear today. Brown capri pants, for sure, I thought. They are comfy and roomy. The shirt I wanted to wear, though, was waded up on a shelf. Seriously, I'm not in high school anymore, why don't I put my clean clothes away?

Anyway. The brown capris felt a little loose and looked pretty baggy as I looked myself over in the mirror. Hmph, I thought. Maybe the black capris would be better; I'm just not feeling this brown thing today.

Same deal with the black capris, but I was running out of time -- and clothing options -- so I went with the black ones. Whatever, I'm a desk jockey so I can live with it.

But the more I moved around the more I realized that my pants were actually too big! Not just a little loose, but like a size or two too big.

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Old Navy Bikinis

Spring Break is coming up in three weeks. I'm heading out to the tropics. My wardrobe: swimsuits, shorts, tank tops and short skirts. Of course, I'm thinking about how my body is going to look in a bikini and hip-hugging shorts. I decided I need to lose the extra pounds I put on in the last few weeks (amazing how fast it jumps up without you even noticing). (READ MORE)

Today I started responding to a question left in a comment. 

In the end, I decided this subject deserved its own post.

I have lost somewhere between 40 and 50 pounds over the past year and half.  It depends on the day and the time of day and whether I've worked out - etc, etc...

Anyway, it's been a long, strange trip losing the weight.  And the way I did it is pretty simple.

I stopped trying fad diets and started doing things the one way that I think really works.  I made very basic, but important changes to my lifestyle.  

I count calories and I burn calories.  It's that simple.  I used a calculator I found online to figure out how many calories I should be eating if I wanted to lose weight. 

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My last endo appointment in May of this year brought lots of good news. An A1C of 6.0, a reduction in my total and bad cholesterol levels, kidney function excellent. Overall, I felt pretty good leaving the office. But there were issues to be addressed - aren't there always? First, although my cholesterol levels were reduced, they were still not where the doctor - and where I - would like to have them. Further, I'd gained 2lbs since my previous visit.

So, I set my mind to fixing these issues, while maintaining all of the good stuff that I'd managed to achieve and then I started making some changes. (READ MORE)

I've been on a bit of a Bond kick lately.

That's Bond as in James Bond, Double-Oh-Seven, licence to kill, and all that rattle. I've been a casual fan since girlhood -- the first post-cartoons drive-in film I remember was You Only Live Twice -- and I've followed, or not followed, the progression of films depending on the actor playing Bond and whether or not I had enough money to go to the cinema.

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