Tuesday, August 31st

Out running some errands yesterday, I decided to go to Chick-Fil-A. Normally I order a grilled chicken sandwich combo, and I usually add on some nuggets or something. I decided to do it differently.
I ordered the grilled chicken and fruit salad and an unsweetened iced tea.
My thought was that if it wasn't enough and if I was still hungry then i would order more.....
Surprisingly, It was enough.
and was also quite delicious.
Then in my running around I went to Publix and did some shopping.
Honeydews are currently 2 for $5, so I got a couple of them and when I came home I cubed one of them up so that I will have something to snack on for the next few days.
Then came dinner, which ended up being at Ceviche.
I hadn't been there before but have wanted to go.
It was spanish style Tapas, lots of things were ordered, many of which I wouldn't normally have tried, however I kept my mind open, and tried everything, and had a really filling and delicious experience.
I left feeling content, yet not overly stuffed.
and so this morning's blood sugar.....99.
If my goal is between 80 and 120, then I guess that is just about perfect - right in the middle!

Sunday, Aug 29 and Monday, Aug 30

Not much to say
Saturday I made homemade Gnocchi with alfredo sauce and fried sage leaves.
Also a salad with goat cheese, toasted walnuts and dried cranberries.
Sundays Fasting Sugar was 118
Sunday Nicole and i met Jamie and Mauricio at Carlucci's.
I had a Calzone with Broccoli.
Mondays Blood Sugar was 117.
Sorry I don't have much else to say, but I figured that I should still log my readings.
and a Delicious Photo never hurts.

Saturday, August 28th

Started the day with a bowl of cereal.
Then for lunch I had some Indian food that Mark had brought over.
It was Paneer in a delicious sauce, along with some rice.
Then while working I had one of the granola bars that I usually keep with me.
But after work Nicole and I went to the dreaded arches of McDonalds.
So far in 2010 I have had a strict NO DRIVE THRU rule that I have stuck to.
I have eaten "fast food" several times, but I always get out of the car and go inside.
I feel that forcing myself to go in for the food will make my "fast food" trips less frequent.
So.....
Although it was a bit of a drive, there is a McDonalds that has a 24 hour lobby, so that is exactly where we went.
I had 2 McDoubles, and a Chicken Wrap.
The McDoubles were delicious, but when I got to the Chicken Wrap I found it to be dry and nasty so I threw it away.
Then what did I go and do?
I forgot to take my night time Glimepiride pill.

The morning blood sugar was 123.
Not the worst, but it was not what I wanted and was 3 points above range.

Was this the McDonalds? or the lack of medication?
or the fact that I didn't do any cardio the previous day?

Maybe all three.

Hopefully this will improve.
It will!

Friday, August 27th

It was important for me to do better yesterday then i did the previous day.
So....
Breakfast...Two Pop tarts
Then a work out with Lynn.
followed by a trip to Whole Foods to pick up a couple of things, and to get lunch off of their Hot Bar.
Delicious.
Out to PULSE for a show and one and a half cocktails
Then a visit to Jimmy Johns for dinner.
a B.L.T. and a bag of chips
Delicious.

Not stuffing my face all day must have worked.
Morning Blood sugar....74
a little too low actually
Tomorrow's goal.....
between 80 and 120

Wed, Aug 25th and Thurs, Aug 26th

Not that it really matters, but when I do a blog for Thursday, August 26th, that is the day of the my morning blood sugar, the day of eating to build up to that reading was actually the day before, which would have been wed.
I digress.....
Tuesday Addison and I went to MAMA NEMS' Comfort food for the soul. Our friends Desiree and Angelica were talking about it one day and we said we wanted to go there, and finally we did.
Delicious!
Corn Bread, Meatloaf, Mac and Cheese, Green Beans, Fried Green Tomatoes, Cheese Grits and for dessert we split both a Peach Cobbler and a Banana Pudding!
Heavenly and Decadent!
I took quite a bit home with me in a "to go" box.
I was so full that I really didn't want anything else for awhile.
Later that evening Mark came over and we went to Smokey Bones, where I ordered Chicken Fingers, but I only ate two of them and brought the rest of them home as well.
Morning Blood Sugar was an amazing 84!
Wednesday I got up and finished off the Chicken Fingers with a piece of Cheese and some Honeydew Melon.
Then off to work out with Lynn.
Then before work I finished up the Mama Nems'
I was doing OK until after work, when Addison and I went to Steak and Shake. I had the Bleu Cheese Bacon Burger and a cup of Chili. We always have the same waitress when we go there and we must treat her pretty good, because after our meal a couple of Chocolate chip cookies appeared on our table.
At this point i was still doing OK
Until our post-Steak-N-Shake Wal Mart trip was coming to a close and we were in that Checkout Line
Magically a few Candy Bars ended up in our basket, and I am pretty sure that we inhaled them in a matter of seconds while driving home.
What was I doing?
Was all of this work for nothing?
Did I have guilt? Absolutely.
Will I try to control myself a little better? Absolutely
Morning Blood Sugar....122
Not terrible, but still a couple of points above range.
Food can definitely be a struggle for me.
Smarter food choices are coming my way!

Sun Aug 22 - Tues Aug 24

Ok, I've been away from my computer for a couple of days, so I figured that I would put three days in to one blog.
Saturday I cooked for Mark and Nicole.
The challenge was that I could make whatever I wanted to, providing that my protein was fried.
Normally I stick to baking and it is usually Chicken, so this time I decided to be different then the norm and go with a theme.
Country Fried Dinner!
I looked up some recipes and made the following: Country Fried Steak with White Gravy, Cornbread (probably the most delicious that I have ever eaten) Creamed Spinach, Tomato and Onion Casserole and Pumpkin Maple Bread Pudding.
Was it the healthiest? NO
Was it delicious? YES
So saturday I basically snacked on that throughout the day.
Sunday morning blood sugar 116.
Sunday morning off to Tampa for a show that night.
There were no complete meals the whole day, just a package of Cheese and Crackers here, an uncrustable PB&J there, and a few Chicken Fingers, and so on.....
Also in the mix were a couple of Vodka drinks, so I was a little worried about mondays sugar, which turned out to be 113.
(Maybe the all day snacking, and never too much food at one time helped)
Then monday lunch was at one of my favorite places.... Acropolis in Ybor City.
I had the usual GYRO platter with Greek Salad and Greek Fries.
So Delicious!
a couple of the people that dined with me didn't want there leftover Moussaka and Pasticcio, so I took them home with me, along with my Gyro and Salad leftovers.
Perhaps I had too big of a portion late at night, along with the rest of the Bread Pudding, and I was so full that I knew I was going to be out of range, but somehow I still weighed in at 117.
So far, being without insulin has been agreeing with me and I have managed to stay under 120.
Today my fridge is empty, so not only must i shop and refill, but I am also excited to see what culinary adventures will come my way.
Thanks for reading.

Saturday, August 21st

Day two without insulin
With yesterday's news of a "in range" blood sugar I wanted to start the day off right.
My first meal of the day was simple, some honeydew melon, a piece of string cheese, and a cracker that I stuck in my pocket from Jason's deli. I knew that the next day i was going to cook "big" and I wanted to have something to munch on while I prepped for the next day (today) so I also purchased a Salad with Grilled Chicken, Dried Fruit, Nuts and Goat Cheese which was my dinner before work.
During work was a Granola Bar, and after work i was propositioned by Bobby to go to Bananas.
I thought about declining, because I have eaten there several times over the last few weeks and there isn't really anything "Healthy" on the menu, however I decided to go, eat what I wanted, and see what my morning blood sugar was.
If it was high, then i would have to really tighten up on my late night eating.
Nicole, bobby and I all went. We shared an order of homeade Potato Chips (good thing there were three of us, because I could have easily eaten the whole bag - So Delicious!) and then I ordered the Grilled Cheese and Tomato Soup.
a little worried this morning as I took my reading, I was pleasantly surprised that it was 115!
Even better then the previous day.....

Friday, August 20th

So yesterday was when I was going to the Doctor to find out my results.
Prior to my appointment I had a granola bar, then I went in and found out the good news....
NO MORE INSULIN
So afterwards Mark and I went to Jason's Deli, where I had my tried and true Tomato Basil Soup and Salad Bar.
It hasn't let me down yet!
Then later that evening i met my other friend Marc at Thai Thani out by Sea World.
We started with the summer rolls (Yes, I ate shrimp) and then I had the Pineapple Yellow Curry Fried Rice with Chicken.
Once I got home I didn't know what to have as my final meal of the day, of course i wanted something good and greasy, however this was going to be the first night in almost a year that I did not take insulin before going to bed, so i heated up some green beans and tomatoes and figured that i would play it safe (and it ended up being delicious anyway)
This morning's blood sugar....
Was it going to be high?
Is my body ready for this without the insulin?
The Doctor said between 80 and 120, would i be in range?
Yes!
117
Now lets see how tomorrow goes

A DAY TO CELEBRATE

Thursday, August 19th!
Just had a follow up Doctor's appointment.
Last time she raised the amount of pills that I take daily, but she reduced my insulin down to 10 units a day.
Well, the results were excellent!
So good, in fact, that she took me off of insulin!!!!!
My glucose is in range at 99
and my Hemoglobin A1c is down to 6.0.
I am thrilled!
No more sticking myself every night before bed.
I feel a great sense of accomplishment.
I am down a few pounds too!

I would also like to Thank all of you who have supported and encouraged me.
I couldn't have done it by myself.

I am eating and photographing delicious food today, so I plan to get back in the swing of blogging!