Thank You 2010

I started this blog a year ago.
I wanted to keep a visual diary of what I was eating, hoping that it would teach me a thing or two.
It did.
When I started I wanted to post a photo of every single thing i ate, and talk about each meal.
I no longer think that is important.
Throughout this process i have learned a lot about myself, my habits, and about diabetes in general.
Sometimes I wish I could remove my sense of taste and just be a robot when it comes to eating.
However i have learned that even still, Diabetes is not an exact science, and I would still have fluctuating numbers.
Sometimes I wonder what would happen if I just ate whatever i wanted, whenever I wanted.
Sometimes i am glad to have Diabetes as an excuse because I don't want to eat that dessert, or have that extra portion.
Other times I eat it anyway, and then have to live with the guilt.

I have realized that i am a food addict, and there is really no difference between that and any other addiction.
It is all the same.

The good news is that in this past year I have worked out harder then ever before.
I have been more conscience of what I was eating then ever before.
I have made some poor decisions, but I have also made some great ones.
I have lost a little bit of weight, and I still plan on losing more.
I have done so well that my Doctor has taken me off of insulin, and there is potential for her to also lower my current medication upon my next Doctor's visit.
Overall i am doing pretty good.
and it keeps getting better.

This is the time of year that everyone makes New Year's Resolutions.
Two years ago i stopped cooking Bacon at home, and last year I quit going through Drive Thru's.
I was successful at both of those, however this year I am not going to set anything in stone.
I can say that i will try to cut back on the french fries and potato chips, also cut back on the desserts.
I have already began to make arrangements to cook more of my own food at the house and limit my dining out.
I will continue to occasionally blog, wether it be about a delicious meal I ate or prepared, or a diabetes related update.

I thank you all for reading this.
It has been very helpful to me.
I wish you all a happy 2011, may we all have delicious food!
I feel that I need to post one final photo, so here it is, my final meal of the year.
a salad of mixed greens with cranberry goat cheese, walnuts, sliced apples and grilled chicken.

See you next year!
Diabetes can be delicious!

love, Loc

Latest Doctor's appointment

So it was time again for my annual physical, which was also my latest diabetes follow up checking my Hemoglobin A1C.
My last appointment was 3-4 months ago, when my doctor reported that my A1C was 6.0. She told me that was great for a diabetic. At that time she removed me from insulin. This was my first appointment with no insulin. I took in my blood sugar log where some of my numbers were as high as 137 and some in the low 70's.
Would my overall numbers be low enough to not only keep me off of insulin, but possibly even lower my medication?
Turns out to be pretty good news.
My A1C was 6.3.
It did rise a little, but that is being insulin free.
It is also the lowest it has been (without insulin) for the last several appointments, and i also think it is the lowest it has been since I have been diagnosed a "diabetic". She did not lower my current medication that i take, but i feel that if I can keep my numbers the same (or even lower) that she might reduce my pills next time.
Deborah (my Doctor) was pleased and so am I.
I still need to continue to eat right and exercise more.
and i definitely still want to get down another ten pounds or so.
I have had people commenting lately that they can see i have lost weight.
I might not see it a whole lot, but it is still very encouraging to hear.

the Next Day...

Ok, so eating pretty good overall has been doing me pretty well and has resulted in pretty decent morning readings.
Well, let me tell you about yesterday...
I knew that I was going to be dining out, and I decided early in the day, that i was going to order what i wanted, but try not to go crazy with portions.
Nicole and I were out running errands and ended up at Julie's Waterfront for lunch. I decided to get a Cheese Burger, and I knew that i could get Hush Puppies as my side. I haven't had more then one Hush Puppy at a time in years. I ate every bite!
Ok, so then what would I make for dinner before work? I went through the fridge and looked for things that I needed to "use up" and had a little Mexican Rice from the previous day and a Chicken and Cheese Quesadilla.
Then after a night at work, a group of us went to see Addison at Bananas. Once again, I decided to just order what I wanted, but not to go too crazy (By too crazy I mean ordering an appetizer in addition to my meal) I had one of my tried and trues from their menu - B.L.T. and Potato chips. They do make one of the most delicious B.L.T.'s - Green Tomatoes and thick, thick Bread. Mmmmm!
I cleaned my plate.
Fast Forward to 8 hours later.
In previous Bananas nights I have experimented and there have been times when i have tried to eat "Healthy" and have salads with cucumbers and avocados resulting in a surprisingly HIGH blood sugar, and then other times when I have ordered "Delicious" and may have been on the Shared Appetizer/ Fried and Heavy side and had a LOWER blood sugar.
Confusing.
I realize that Fasting Sugars also include Exercise, Good sleep, Portion control, Mood, and a little Luck of the Draw, in addition to Diet,so.....
This morning when i took my reading what would it be?

The previous day with all Home Prepared meals it was 110, would this one after Dining Out be even higher?
102! hooray!
was this because of portion control? and only eating 3 meals? is that a good thing to do or a bad thing?
Is it Ok to have a Potato chip? a Hush Puppy? a piece of Bacon?
I always hear "Everything in Moderation"
For today I will be happy that my morning results are so good! It is a day without stress for wondering why it is so high or so low. It is a day where I am not going to over-think every bite that I took yesterday (something that I often do) It is a day that I will truly thank God for giving me a little bit of peace. A day that I need a little more often. A day that i hope to have often, yet a day that I will try to not be too hard on myself if i cannot achieve such great results tomorrow. a True day of Thanksgiving!

since Thanksgiving

Since Thanksgiving, my fasting sugars have been a little better.
I have been better with exercising, better with portion control and better with food choices.
My morning readings have been 103, 114, 113, 77, 98, 97, and 100.

Yesterday I actually had a day where I did not eat out at all, and prepared my own food at the house.
I started the day with a breakfast of scrambled eggs with tomatoes and parsley (no cheese necessary) home fried potatoes and onions, and a piece of toast with jelly (and only one piece, as much as I could have eaten 4 or 5, i found that one piece sustained)

Lately I have been having little "low sugar" fits in the mid afternoon, so to try to prevent that I had a bowl of popcorn in the middle of the day with cinnamon and curry powder.

Then before work I baked some Spiced Chicken Breasts, and had it with sauteed Brussels Sprouts and Mexican Rice.

Then after work I had a salad with Avocado, Celery, Diced Chicken from earlier and a little Bleu Cheese.

Delicious!

Morning sugar was 110.
slightly elevated from the previous days, but still right in range.