Change is Good!

Well, it's Thursday. It's weigh-in day. It wasn't as bad as one had thought. I lost 2/10 of a pound. Small success, but success none-the-less. I'm also happy to report that my new medicine seems to be working. It's a little too early to tell, but I don't have any blood sugar numbers in the 300's and I'm starting to see some in the 100's. It will take four months before I will really know if the new medicine is working.

You'll notice that I posted some new inspiration along the side of my blog. I thought they were cute and wanted to lighten the mood of this blog. I'm always better at the "not so serious" side of things. I think I was just getting too serious about this weight loss - the adjustment over the weekend was a good move for me.

So for now, I'm content. I'm trying some new things along with my new medicine and yes EXERCISE is one of them. Not just talking about it this time - actually getting the bum moving!!

Stay tuned as I continue to sneak up on 90 pounds!

Finding that balance

I think most of you know that I'm diabetic. For those of you that didn't, you do now. (Smile) Anyway, it takes a lot to balance weight loss with control of blood sugar and it hasn't been going so well lately.

I'm really struggling with weight loss these days. I looked back at my older posts, clear back to January 11th, when I set a goal of 25 pounds by Easter. Well, Easter has come and gone and I'm still posting and hoping for that next 25 pounds. I'm very close and when I think if it that way it seems better than to think that I haven't even lost 25 pounds since January. The year is fast approaching half over, one more month and we will be there.

I went to the Doctor yesterday because my blood sugar levels have actually been getting worse rather than better. The last week I've had blood sugar levels as high as 366 and none below 300. For those of you not familiar with diabetes, my blood sugar should be between 80 and 120. Not good! It was determined that the new medicine (from last fall) is not working. Not really a big surprise there, but more of a mystery as to why it has taken so long for my blood sugar to get bad. The only thing the Doc could come up with is that I had enough of the old medicine in my system that it took a while for the blood sugar levels to elevate and with my weight loss I was able to stretch that out until now. For the most part I guess that's right, but my bad attitude says, "WHATEVER".

It's frustrating to think a person can lose 89 pounds and still have to be on 3 medications to control blood sugar. The positive side is that I'm not on insulin, YET! The Doctor mentioned that awful word yesterday, but I get to try a new oral medicine before having to consider insulin.

The good news is that I was able to drop my blood sugar 100 points overnight just by taking one dose. That too will slow up and my blood sugars will gradually go down (we hope). Between the high blood sugars and the low weight loss, my bad attitude has really picked up. I guess I'm just venting. I'm trying to get all of this frustration out so I can get back to focusing on my goals.

It's very hard to stay positive. I've been at this a year and I'm so close to the 100 pound mark - but I just can seem to stay focused. I want to get there but you wouldn't know it by the way I've been eating the last 2 weeks. I can't explain it. I know what I need to do, I know what I shouldn't do, yet I keep tricking myself into believing that one little piece of chocolate or that extra handful of potato chips isn't going to hurt me, but in reality it isn't helping either. This week was a 0 (zero). I didn't lose anything and I didn't gain anything. To me, it's a week lost. I can't get it back, I don't get a do over and then with the added "blood sugar" thing I seem to be getting a little frustrated.

I hate complaining, but this blog helps me vent and I decided not to worry about it, because as readers you can just skip over my whining. I'm going to set some goals this weekend. I'm going to re-evaluate and start over. I'm changing up my blog and removing some of the stuff. I need a change. I need to mix it up. I need to get my bum in gear and get serious about my weight loss. So, now you know why the changes. Hang in there with me. I'll get back on track and thanks to all of you for your positive reinforcement. I need all the help and encouragement I can get.

"The Phantom"

This picture arrived in my email box over the weekend. This is my truck driving brother-in-law's brand new "Phantom Gray" Kenworth T660. I don't think Terry has ever had a new truck, but he can't say that now. Oh, excuse me - I think half of this truck is Deanna's and I know she's never had a brand new Kenworth!

Congratulations you two. I hope the improved gas mileage gets you further down the road! Happy Haulin'

How slow can you go?

"Proceed with caution. We don't want any crash dieting taking place here."

Consistently, I lose a little or none one week and the next I come out shocked and wondering how could I repeat that 4 pound weight loss for next week? Hummmmm.....

I'm happy with my six-tenths of a pound. It is small, but noteworthy. I feel like I'm sneaking up on 90 pounds. Don't want to scare it away. After all, it has taken over a year to chase it and I'm sooooo close.

The exercise thing, well it just plain didn't happen for me. I thought about it a lot, but never really did anything about it. Maybe this week or maybe not. I like keeping you all in suspense, wondering.... will she exercise or not. Tune in next week as I continue my journey down weight loss avenue.

Saige

Some of you have had the pleasure of meeting Saige, others of you have not. She's our funny girl! Always there to make you laugh, giggle from your toes or just plain burst out with an unexpected roar of laughter. Last weekend she was in a dance competition in Bismarck, ND. Her group had dairy cow or Holstein cow costumes. Her Mom was helping her get ready and when she finished Saige walked over to the mirror. She put her hands on her hips and said, "Well Mom, let's go find the rest of my herd!" Their dance group got the highest award, which I believe is "diamond". Outstanding Saige! Great Job!

On a not so funny note, she also got hurt the same weekend. She somehow had a fight with a piece of exercise equipment and lost. She has what was described as looking like a blood blister on entire bottom of her foot. This is from damage she has done to the muscle. In addition, there is also a hair-line fracture. She has a cast and has been told that there will be no (absolutely none) weight on the foot for 10 days. I'm guessing my funny girl has lost a little of her sense of humor. I wish I was there to spoil her, but she's just gonna have to settle for a care package from Aunt Jo. Love you, Saige - take care!

Food Allergies

Recently a friend told me she got the results back from her allergy test. While she always keeps an upbeat attitude, I could tell that she was kinda thinking...."What's Next" She was listing foods like flour, eggs, sugar, milk, soy, peanuts and bananas. Yikes, I take all this stuff for granted. Her son has food allergies too, he has pretty much grown up with it and I'm not sure if that's not better then finding out in your 30's that you have allergies to foods that you have loved for so many years. My sister has food allergies too and she was in her late 20's early 30's when she developed these allergies. While I'm thankful I don't have food allergies (ok I tell everyone I'm allergic to shellfish, but really I just don't like it) I think maybe I should pretend to be allergic to some foods to help me with my temptations. Maybe I could tell myself that I'm allergic to sugar and flour. I wonder if it would work? HUMMMMMMMMMMMM, probably not! So, to my friend, her son, my sister and all those with food allergies - my heart goes out to you. I'll be thinking of you as I make good food choices for myself, because while for different reasons we are avoiding some foods, we probably are faced with many of the same frustrations.

The Right Direction!

Well, I bet you all thought I was skipping weigh-in last week, but that's just not true. I missed my first weigh-in since September 25th, not by choice! I had a meeting at 9:00am in Hermiston, so I had to skip the weigh-in. As some of you might have noticed my last weigh-in was very discouraging, I was up 4 pounds and really couldn't pinpoint what happened. Having 2 weeks before the next weigh-in made me take a look at some of the habits I was developing and I think with anything you get into a routine and eventually the habits evolve into something more than when you first started. I guess what that means for me is portion control. It has always been a battle for me. The 4 pound weight gain was a system check for me. I had to take a step back and figure out what had changed without me noticing. So for the last two weeks I've been eating more salad, veggies and fruits. I love them all, but I had gotten in such a routine with them, that I found myself bored with the foods I was eating, never feeling satisfied and therefore going back to the kitchen to find something more to eat. I went shopping in the fruits and vegetables to find something different to try, something that maybe I wouldn't ordinarily buy. I had fun with it and I think it's helping. I lost 4.8 pounds this week. So I got rid of the 4 pounds I gained two weeks ago and lost an additional .8 (almost another pound). This week I'm focusing on exercise again (and again and again). I just seem to fall out of that routine so fast and once you quit exercising it's ten times harder to get going again. So wish me luck on the exercise thing, it's a personal goal set for the week!!! I'll keep you posted.

Man it feels good to get back into this blogging thing. I missed sharing with all of you!