It's said that (for those of us with full visual faculties) we process something like 80% of what we learn visually. Color-coding, shading and graphs are some ways of marking differences between between values and degrees of value, helping us digest large amounts of complex information in a single glance. Consider the political map, with each country, state, county, or other subdivision in a different color. "Red" states and "blue" states. Degrees of obesity per state. And so on.

Consider the color-coded diagram of the human digestive system. Red stomach, yellow intestines, pink colon, green gallbladder, brown liver. What color is your pancreas? Do you want to color it in World Diabetes Day blue to indicate yours has died?

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Food is frustrating to me. Ever since I can remember, food has been a completely different aspect in my life than what my family, peers, and humanity deals with. Yes, food is a source of energy and existence. Yes, it's amazing. Yes, it packs on the pounds. But it's also a total love-hate relationship with me. For one reason: diabetes.

When I was first diagnosed, my life was thrown into "sugar-free" mode. My sugar intake was limited. I never tasted a real coke unless I was low. I didn't get to eat normal candy or normal desserts. Everything was tainted by fake sugar, a chemical taste that couldn't replace my childhood need for some old-fashioned sugar.

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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)