always a work in progress

Ok, so lately my fasting blood sugars have been higher then what I would like for them to be. They have been averaging around 160. (They should fall between 80 and 120) At my last Doctor’s visit my Hemoglobin A1C was down to 6.6, but this past time it had jumped up a whole point to 7.6. This is totally unacceptable. If I do not get it back to where it was then the Doctor will most likely put me back on Insulin, and I DO NOT want that!

Perhaps my eating has gotten off track. Although I feel like I usually make pretty good choices, I have stopped logging in everything that I eat. I should probably reissue my account at myfooddiary.com. When I have used them in the past I feel like not only do I eat better, but that I am also better at portion control. It is a very helpful tool. I also just recently revisited my “Living with Diabetes” workbook and realized that a refresher is not a bad idea.

I have started “Eating Out” less and “Eating at Home” more. Today I made a delicious salad containing Spinach, Fresh Beets, crumbled Feta (lower in Fat then most cheeses) and a sprinkling of Walnuts. (I find that when you individually place the nuts on the salad and try to make it “look pretty” then you ultimately have fewer nuts on the salad, making it a little better for you)

And then there is Exercise. I know for a fact that for the period of time in which my A1C was taken that I was NOT exercising as much as I use to. I work out with a trainer once a week religiously, however I should be doing cardio at least 3 or 4 additional days. I was definitely "slacking" for that time period. I have slowly gotten back to doing it more often and that feels a lot better. In the past I have found that when I take off a couple of pounds that my fasting sugars improve. Although my weight has not increased, and I am still 20 pounds lighter then my “Heaviest Weight” I should still turn the exercise up a couple of notches.

I had to make myself do it today, but I did manage to walk on the treadmill for 30 minutes: burning over 250 calories.

My short-term goal is to get my A1C down to 7 (or lower) by the next time I get my blood work done: which will be at the beginning of June. I have done it before, and although it will be a challenge, I HAVE TO DO IT AGAIN!

I did get a bit of good news a couple of days ago. I entered a contest for bloggers that I heard about on Sam Talbot’s website. Although I was not the winner, I was runner up and I will receive a personally autographed copy of Sam’s book “The Sweet Life”. He will also put a link to this blog on his email newsletter! I’m so excited. To any of you that have found me please join my blog! The more the merrier.

I will keep you up to date on my progress, and I also plan to include some delicious step-by-step recipes (with photos of course) in the very near future!