cava_cavien

Being back to school is the hot topic lately. For me, being back to school is a big change. Not only do I move away from home again every semester, but also my schedule is constantly changing. The stress is different. The food is different. The exercise is different (walking an extra 3 miles a week around campus). My control is different.

Over the summer, I really watched what I was eating. I finally got my other health issues sorted out and had the potential to lose the weight I had gained because of them. I was motivated. So I started limiting my portions, choosing "smarter" carbs, and decreasing my overall intake of carbs.

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kizette

I started putting on the weight over two years ago. For those two years, I let twenty pounds add onto my body. I watched myself go up in jean sizes, throw away old clothes because they were too tight, and hate who I was in the mirror. My blood sugars didn't seem to be affected much by my weight. My wardrobe and my mindset were the only things shattered.

Eventually, I realized that the twenty extra pounds were slowly taking a toll on my long-term health, including the long-term health of my diabetes. I started working out again. (You might remember my post about getting my body ready for summer.) I also tried to watch what I was eating more closely, including low treatments.

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Fillmore Photography

I decided to try the bioidentical hormone treatment. After reading books, studies and general information, I feel that I made an educated decision. I went to a seminar and personally talked to the doctor who founded the clinic. I spent hours on the web looking through positive and negative feedback from research studies, personal stories and major medical journals. And I used my brain. (READ MORE)

In case you didn't know that acronym stands for, "There's No Such Thing As A Free Lunch." I remember those words on the chalk board during my Economics class in high school. Yesterday this saying came to mind again.

During the day I get a phone call from one of our salespeople at work letting me know that he wants to treat the office employees to lunch as an early Valentine's gift. All the gals in the office were excited to get a free lunch but see it as a test of my will power.

Having to count points and carbs means I plan for most meals. I have spent the first weeks of the New Year luke-warm about my weight loss and I just recently got the fire burning again. Free lunches come with a price that I am not ready to pay. (READ MORE)

Punchstock

In my perennial bid to lose weight, I joined Sparkpeople. It's a website that lets you track your calories and exercise, gives you menus and recipes and has a forum for support and help. The best bit is that it's free, unlike Weight Watchers, which charges to use a lot of their site. I'm not knocking WW, by the way - I've done that in the past, with great success. I just don't have the money to do it right now.
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Once I started tracking my postpartum blood sugar (and weight), I realized I needed extra help, so I called one member of my diabetes care team I knew I could count on to get results, my dietitian.

I love my dietitian. I say that without a hint of sarcasm. She is awesome and she really knows her stuff. I love her so much that I don't care if insurance won't cover more visits and I have to pay out of pocket. Like a good therapist, she's worth every penny.

Before the visit, I told her what I wanted: A healthy diet that was a little higher in fat and protein, and lower in carbs than the traditional exchange diet. My goal is to manage my blood sugar and lose weight, while consuming enough calories to maintain my milk supply for breastfeeding. It's a delicate balance. Too few calories will hinder milk production, too many calories will hinder weight loss. (READ MORE)