The scale is down again this morning. Whoo hoo. I still don't know for sure that it's the Metformin since I am still only taking one pill in the morning. From what I've read it takes a bigger dose and a couple of weeks for it to kick in. I do know that this week hasn't been bad at all. I haven't noticed any side effects from the metformin so far.
We went out to dinner last night for a Sodbusters meeting where there is actually more eating than meeting. We went to Mountaintown Station. I love it there with it's railroad and primitive decor. They have a chicken marsala that is really good. I skipped the angel hair pasta on which they serve it, had asparagas as a side dish, and with a small salad I was good to go. After dinner I watched 2 hobo sundaes and a cherry chocolate cheesecake being delivered to our table, but I really didn't feel all that deprived. I can make my own cheesecake and I have a half gallon of NSA vanilla ice cream in the freezer. Best of all, my fasting blood sugar is down to 100 this morning. I have a hard time using the word diabetic in regard to myself, and I don't really think I'm quite there - but I certainly don't intend to go any further down the diabetic path. One thing this experience has done is take away the "all or nothing" mentality that has dogged me for so long. The Beck book has also helped with that. I am really paying attention to when, how, why, and what I eat.
I think tomorrow I will be able to get outside. My congestion is slowly clearing. I still can't smell anything and hopefully that will be better soon. One of my favorite jobs involves smell stuff. :)
Showing posts with label diabetes. Show all posts
Showing posts with label diabetes. Show all posts
Thursday
Pluggin' away
I'm still congested this morning. It's better, but I'm still not able to workout. I got on the Wii Fit today. Tillie says I'm 33. Not bad!
I did some reading on Metformin last night. I found a thread on lowcarb friends where it was being discussed. There was a mixed bag of thoughts about the drug. The main thing is that there are minimal side effects. It's also fairly inexpensive. I've noticed that I don't have the urge to binge anymore. These past weeks I have been downing sugar like there's no tomorrow. I don't know if it's the Metformin or the fact that I've been sick. Probably, it's more the latter because I'm still at a very low dose of the Metformin.
My weight has dropped 4.4 pounds since Monday morning. Most of that is water that I was retaining, but it's still good to see the scale go down.
I did some reading on Metformin last night. I found a thread on lowcarb friends where it was being discussed. There was a mixed bag of thoughts about the drug. The main thing is that there are minimal side effects. It's also fairly inexpensive. I've noticed that I don't have the urge to binge anymore. These past weeks I have been downing sugar like there's no tomorrow. I don't know if it's the Metformin or the fact that I've been sick. Probably, it's more the latter because I'm still at a very low dose of the Metformin.
My weight has dropped 4.4 pounds since Monday morning. Most of that is water that I was retaining, but it's still good to see the scale go down.
Tuesday
Onward and downward!
The scale continues to move in the right direction and I am feeling really good. I don't know if I mentioned this. I probably did and forgot. I am participating in 2 weight loss challenges. One of them is Biggest Loser Blog Edition and I am on Team Angie. The first 3 weeks I managed to gain. I felt like such a failure. Then I got the "pre-diabetes" news from the doctor and that turned things around. I got back on track, but in the meantime I had gained about 7 or 8 pounds so the last 2 weigh-ins showed a loss, but I still had a net gain. I am pretty confident that next week I will show a net loss. I no longer feel like a fraud because I AM DOING IT!
I am currently reading a book called "Confessions of a Carb Queen." It's written by a woman who was addicted to food. It's a bit of a departure from what I usually read - The Elm Creek Quilt series, and it is a little more explicit on other things than I am confortable with so I won't be recommending it to family members. But it does give a lot of insight into the mind of someone who is addicted to food. As I'm reading it and she describes her binges I want to shout, "so stop already." But even as I'm thinking that, I see myself. I never consumed the quantities that she did although I'm sure in time I could have gotten there. Before the "diagnosis" I felt totally out of control. I was good for most of the day, but evenings did me in. Listen to me. I'm talking as if I am cured. I'm not. I am one bite of sugar away from going back my old habits. But I feel different this time. I feel like I did when I quit smoking. It was hard at first but I am pretty sure that I would never go back to it. But I won't test it by taking even one puff.
The thing is that there is a distinct line between smoking and not smoking. When a smoker decides to quit, it's done. You don't pick up another cigarette - period. But with food, the line is more blurry. So there needs to be a clear definition of those foods I will eat, and those foods I won't. And I don't need to apologize for not eating something. (Not that I ever should have had to.) But if you tell someone you aren't eating that beautiful cake they made just for you because you are trying to lose weight - well, they oftentimes will move heaven and earth to make sure you have just one bite. But tell them you are diabetic - they back right off. Why, that's a matter of life and death! For some people, so is losing weight, but there you are. They might be offended if you put your looks ahead of their beautiful cake, but they don't seem to mind if THE DOCTOR has said "no cake." Go figure. I think most people mean well and are really trying to be nice. They just don't get it.
I am currently reading a book called "Confessions of a Carb Queen." It's written by a woman who was addicted to food. It's a bit of a departure from what I usually read - The Elm Creek Quilt series, and it is a little more explicit on other things than I am confortable with so I won't be recommending it to family members. But it does give a lot of insight into the mind of someone who is addicted to food. As I'm reading it and she describes her binges I want to shout, "so stop already." But even as I'm thinking that, I see myself. I never consumed the quantities that she did although I'm sure in time I could have gotten there. Before the "diagnosis" I felt totally out of control. I was good for most of the day, but evenings did me in. Listen to me. I'm talking as if I am cured. I'm not. I am one bite of sugar away from going back my old habits. But I feel different this time. I feel like I did when I quit smoking. It was hard at first but I am pretty sure that I would never go back to it. But I won't test it by taking even one puff.
The thing is that there is a distinct line between smoking and not smoking. When a smoker decides to quit, it's done. You don't pick up another cigarette - period. But with food, the line is more blurry. So there needs to be a clear definition of those foods I will eat, and those foods I won't. And I don't need to apologize for not eating something. (Not that I ever should have had to.) But if you tell someone you aren't eating that beautiful cake they made just for you because you are trying to lose weight - well, they oftentimes will move heaven and earth to make sure you have just one bite. But tell them you are diabetic - they back right off. Why, that's a matter of life and death! For some people, so is losing weight, but there you are. They might be offended if you put your looks ahead of their beautiful cake, but they don't seem to mind if THE DOCTOR has said "no cake." Go figure. I think most people mean well and are really trying to be nice. They just don't get it.
Saturday
Staying the course
The Wii said I am 55 today. Yesterday I was 33. Hmmmmm.
As of the other day I went back to Atkins/Atkins maintenance because of my issues with blood sugar. It's what I always knew I needed to do, but was in denial about. The difference now is that there is no arguing about limits. No more of this "well I cheated a little, might as well go whole hog" kind of thing. It's not about numbers on the scale anymore. This may sound strange, but in a way it's kind of freeing. The constant arguments with myself about not letting a bite turn into a binge - well, they've kind of been co-opted by health issues. I can no longer justify a "last supper" event every time I slip up. Yes, it's a freeing kind of thing.
For example, last night we went to Melisa's where she set up a "nacho" bar. I took along a lowcarb tortilla and a bottle of diet root beer. I was able to load up my tortilla with beef, lettuce, cheese, sour cream etc. I even crumbled one nacho chip in it to give it some crunch. When you know the answer is going to be a resounding "no", it's easy to just not start the inner dialogue.
This way of life will never be a snap for me because this isn't just about blood sugar. It's also about compulsive eating, but I think one thing feeds off of the other. If I can get a handle on one, the other may also fall in line.
And by the way, I never did eat the lowarb tortilla. It was just the "vehicle" for the other stuff.
As of the other day I went back to Atkins/Atkins maintenance because of my issues with blood sugar. It's what I always knew I needed to do, but was in denial about. The difference now is that there is no arguing about limits. No more of this "well I cheated a little, might as well go whole hog" kind of thing. It's not about numbers on the scale anymore. This may sound strange, but in a way it's kind of freeing. The constant arguments with myself about not letting a bite turn into a binge - well, they've kind of been co-opted by health issues. I can no longer justify a "last supper" event every time I slip up. Yes, it's a freeing kind of thing.
For example, last night we went to Melisa's where she set up a "nacho" bar. I took along a lowcarb tortilla and a bottle of diet root beer. I was able to load up my tortilla with beef, lettuce, cheese, sour cream etc. I even crumbled one nacho chip in it to give it some crunch. When you know the answer is going to be a resounding "no", it's easy to just not start the inner dialogue.
This way of life will never be a snap for me because this isn't just about blood sugar. It's also about compulsive eating, but I think one thing feeds off of the other. If I can get a handle on one, the other may also fall in line.
And by the way, I never did eat the lowarb tortilla. It was just the "vehicle" for the other stuff.
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