A Healthy Outlook

Wow! I really had a great week last week - I met all my exercise goals, ate healthy, slept relatively well. It felt wonderful.

And then...

Monday when I was changing the litter, my lumbar spine gave a horrific crack. Lightning bolt pain down my spine.

Here we go again.

Here’s why diets don’t work, but having a healthy lifestyle does.

I’m not happy my back is out, but I am adjusting my days. I am walking and stretching, but I am not pushing it. I’m continuing my daily drinking at least 100oz of water. I’m mindfully eating.

My body said take care of the back, and I am. It’s part of taking care of my health.

I haven’t had to work, and I have been able to rest and do the heating pad. I will start walking more this weekend.

I had planned to start running again this week, but my body said no. So I do everything else I know to do to be healthy right where I am.

Taking care of my body, my spiritual life, maintaining healthy emotions.

Every day.

Goals

It was a better week.

I have gone to my preset goals of minimum of 10k steps a day, and goal of 15k steps a day. I also have my Apple Watch goals - closing my rings, as it were, of movement, exercise, and standing.

This month I’ve closed my movement ring every day, and I’ve closed all three rings most days. I had a great week of meeting my step goals. I went out walking three times this week.

It important to have goals, and be accountable to them. I have the Lose It! App, and I put everything I eat and drink in there. I have been below my calorie goal all week, and lost another 6 pounds. I am in a water challenge, and I have been drinking at least 90oz of water a day.

Fitbit challenges push me further with my steps, and I am on 2 of those this week. Overall I am pleased with my progress.

I’m going to start slowly running again - I have to take it easy and make sure I don’t get hypoglycemic. It is a fear that is holding me. It’s a real thing - since being put on insulin I can’t exercise as vigorously. I’m increasing my activity slowly so I can adjust and monitor my blood sugars.

One day at a time is the way I live, and I it keeps me focused, and motivated.

e b e r

Motivation vs Exhaustion

I’ve gotten a lot done today.
I’ve been deep cleaning ever since I resigned from my job June 15. Purging, minimizing, cleansing. It’s good doe the soul!
What I didn’t do today is exercise.
I’m so exhausted. Nearly all the time. My labile blood sugars have me feeling like I’ve been hit by a truck.
Since last week, I’ve been eating mindfully - I am under calories for today. Part of that is to compensate for the lack of exercise.
I am very motivated to stay healthy, but the exhaustion just saps my motivation.
I’m drinking tons of water - at least 100oz a day. I’ve been decreasing my carb intake, little by little.
Some days are just better than others.
So today I will be glad for what I’ve accomplished.
Tomorrow,I begin. Again.
Just like every day.
e b e r

Recipe: Low Carb Chicken Piccata

I tweaked my chicken piccata recipe to make it even lower carb! It’s delicious and quick,and is a family favorite.

Chicken Piccata

1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breast
Extra virgin olive oil
1/2 cup CarbQuick
1 egg, beaten
1 cup broth (chicken or vegetable)
1 lemon
3 tbsp capers

Cut chicken breast into 4, 4 oz portions. Cover each with plastic wrap, and pound with meat tenderizer until thin. Heat large skillet over medium heat - add olive oil just before cooking chicken.

Put egg in a flat dish. In a second flat dish, place CarbQuick. In a third dish, place water to cover.

Dip chicken in egg wash, then coat with CarbQuick. Repeat with water, then CarbQuick. Add olive oil to pan - when hot, place chicken breasts in pan.

Meanwhile, cut lemon in half. Juice half of lemon - set aside. Cut remaining half into quarters.

Turn chicken when brown. When both sides are brown and crispy, add broth. Cook until broth is reduced.

Add lemon juice evenly over chicken. Add capers. Cook 5 more minutes, remove from heat and rest 5 min.

Serve with reduced sauce, if desired, and a lemon slice. As eaten, with kitchen beans and CarbQuick garlic cheddar biscuits.

Little By Little

Little by little. Bit by bit. This is how I am increasing my activity. It is not without frustration - I want to do so much more! Even as I type this, though, I am stretching my lower back, because the pain has returned. Not at the same amplitude, thank goodness, but it is here all the same. I am back on the rebounder - a great, low impact, full body workout. It really works my core, when I am consciously working on my posture and core strength. I also am doing ab exercises for core strength. Today I start yoga - I have a DVD set that is aimed at working from stretching, to core work, to stretching and meditation. I am hoping this will help my back. I’m increasing my daily steps - I am not back up to my daily 15k yet, but I am getting closer. Everything in me wants to do more, but I know that my back won’t take it. I don’t want another setback, so I will do it like this. Little by little. Bit by bit. On the dietary front, I am drinking at least 80oz of water a day. I have gone away from ice in my water. It helps me drink more. I am journaling everything I eat on an app called “Lose It”. I keeps track of my carbs, which helps me properly dose my insulin. It also has the total calorie count. It’s been the most user friendly app I have used for this purpose. One day at a time - mindful eating and moving, every day! e b e r

Bumps In The Road

Oh, this diabetes. Oh vay, my back. These factors have really hampered my efforts to exercise regularly. I started vigorous exercise with type one diabetes a couple of months ago - I loved the exercise, but despite carb loading and bringing sugary drinks, my blood sugar would drop like a stone. Not a good feeling. And not a safe way to be driving. I still haven’t figured out how to exercise and maintain safe blood sugars. The more acute player is my back - both my original back issue, and a new player, my SI joint. I have been on very modified behaviour for quite a while. In the mean time, I am paying attention to the thing that needs to be monitored and mindfully done all the time - eating and drinking. I have been trying to find my carbs per day happy place. To say insulin dependent diabetes has rocked my world is an understatement. I am mindful of everything I eat and drink - I’m so glad for the years I made changes when they thought I was type 2 diabetic. That is the foundation I am building on. On the advice of my endocrinologist, I am not doing the keto diet. I am eating low carb, whole food, and drinking at least 80oz of water a day. I drink diet soda - no regrets. I’ve given up a lot! I need to start walking more - this week the goal is to get back to 15k steps a day. Small, attainable goals will get me back on track. I also will be starting a yoga program to strengthen my core. It is my hope that these exercises will give me the ability to run again. A fresh start! Starts now! e b e r

How Diabetes Changed -And Continues to Change- My Life

Seven years ago August, I went into my doctors office with no major health issues. I walked out with a diagnosis of type 2 diabetes. My risk factors were these: heredity, with diabetes on both sides of the family, being overweight with a BMI of 26 (healthy BMI <24.9), and a sedentary lifestyle. The first immediate change was to MOVE. I began walking 5k a day. I started the Jeff Galloway Walk/Run program, and worked my way up to a steady pace. Since diagnosis, I’ve run 20 half marathons, 2 15k’s, the Glass Slipper Challenge (10k one day, and a half marathon the next), and countless 10k and 5k’s in 3 states. Was it easy? Nope. As a nurse, though, I’ve seen the long term effects of diabetes, and I didn’t want to accept them. This remains my driving force. The second part of my transformation was -and is - much harder. Changing my diet. I spent most of my life eating terribly. As a child I was fed healthy meals, and for this I am grateful - outside of liver and frozen Brussels sprouts. I have no food aversions. I do have a wicked sweet tooth, and a penchant for emotional eating. I drank soda by the gallons, and pastry was my friend when times got rough. All this had to change. I learned about carb ratios, and protein, and keeping fat in moderation. I learned to drink water as my primary beverage. I went from eating a couple hundred carbs a day to consuming less than a hundred. This is a big change. I don’t really miss bread. It was the first to go. Pizza I miss passionately, but I am determined to find a flour alternative that will make a suitable substitution. Sweets are still my nemesis, although now I use them for an entirely different reason. I keep small candies around to treat hypoglycemic episodes. Seven years after my type 2 diagnosis, I walked out of my doctors office with a new, more ominous and irreversible diagnosis of type 1 diabetes. Actually, I have LADA - latent autoimmune diabetes of adults. This was conclusively determined though labwork. My type 2 was never type 2 - I just had some pancreatic function 7 years ago, and may have extended it a bit through my healthier habits. Type 1 diabetes is a whole new beast. As I type this I am wearing an insulin pump with a carb ratio that has gone from 1:10 to 1:7 in just 4 months. I now need insulin to survive. I wear a CGM - continuous glucose monitor, to keep my sugars as tightly controlled as possible. I hate this disease. I have chosen to endeavor to follow “The Diabetes Solution” by Dr Bernstein. I’m slowly eliminating the remaining empty carbs from my life. He advocates 30 carbs a day. Hard core? Sure. He’s had diabetes since he was a child, and he’s in his 80’s now. With no long term ill effects of diabetes. It’s not an easy path...but neither is kidney failure, blindness, amputations, or heart disease. I learned a lot when I thought I was type 2 - in my studies, the effects of that disease and the comorbidities were not what I wanted to deal with. When you have a disease that is reversible, why on earth wouldn’t you try and reverse it? Now I am told I can eat what I want and just dose myself with insulin, but this is a game I am unwilling to play. More insulin use leads to increased weight. It also can lead to hyper or hypoglycemia if I gamble wrong on the insulin dose. So the most sensible thing is to eat healthy, and in moderation. I have a back injury that I’m a month into that has prevented me from exercising, but I’m eating even more mindfully. I refuse to let this disease have the upper hand if I have anything to do with it. What have I leaned over the last seven years? That misdiagnosis gave me time to learn to take better care of myself. To be a good steward of the body God gave me. To face head on the deadly sin that no one wants to address - gluttony. If it wasn’t a big issue, it wouldn’t be mentioned so much in the Bible. As a Christian, I had to repent of my sloth and gluttony. As a nurse, I’m determined to educate educate educate. Obesity is the last frontier - no one wants to offend anyone, and obesity and its comorbidities, according to the NIH, are the SECOND leading cause of preventable death in the US. Only tobacco use is before it. Obesity is an epidemic that is currently responsible for 300,000 PREVENTABLE deaths a year. It’s a national disgrace. Type 1 diabetes is not preventable, but type 2 is both preventable and reversible. It takes determination. My Christmas wish is a cure for type 1 diabetes. It’s a disease that consumes every aspect of my life. It factors in to so many daily decisions I make. My Christmas wish for everyone else is that they would be the best steward of their body as they can be, mentally, spiritually, and physically. Health is a gift. Once gone, it then becomes a choice. Choose it. e b e r