A New Journey

At the beginning of the year,  I posted about a new journey.  Well, let's just say that the path was rocky and covered with brush.  My numbers haven't come down, my weight hasn't come down, and it seems my life is all about food.  And I hate it.  This past week, I had a headache everyday thinking about diets, what I need to eat, and what I need to buy.  But no more.  I'm tired of thinking about food, diets and all the clutter that goes along with it.  So, starting today, I will begin a new journey to a new life.  No more playing Russian Roulette with my life.  Richard Simmons always said that you don't need a DIET because it has the work "DIE" in it.  But rather you should go on a "LIVE-IT"  so that you can live.  I've decided that I'm going on a Live-it, and food isn't going to be my every waking thought. Wish me luck!

I'm also going to start keeping a journal - not a food journal, but a Life Journal.  A journal where I can write my good thoughts and the bad ones.  I can keep track of how certain foods and activities made me feel.  And try to figure out what makes me happy, and what makes me grumpy.  Do you journal?  If so what do you write about?

I'm Still Buzzin'

Yep, I'm buzzin.  But I'm still frustrated with my numbers.  I've tried counting carbs, no change.  I've tried counting calories, no change.  I've tried using my exchanges, no change.  Do you see a frustrating pattern.  So my new plan is just to eat whatever I want whenever I'm hungry.  No, I'm not crazy.  And I'm not going hog-wild.  But I'm going to eat more often, smaller portions, and what food I crave - minus the sweets.  More veggies, more fruits, more protein.  And I may try to eliminate the white foods - potatoes (I love them), white bread, white flour, and sugar.  But I'm so tired of thinking about food constantly.  I'm so tired of planning, cooking half the day on Sunday to make foods for the week.  I'm so tired of feeling like YUK.

And my battle cry will be. . . I will persevere, I will not give up.

The Word of the Month

I've decided that I need a word for the month.  And for the month of March it is "MOTIVATION".

Dictionary.com describes it as:

mo·ti·va·tion

   [moh-tuh-vey-shuhn]  Show IPA

noun

1.

the act or an instance of motivating,  or providing with a reason to act in a certain way: 

2.

the state or condition of being motivated: 

3.

something that motivates;  inducement; incentive: 

While talking with daughter Mary yesterday, we started to discuss diet and exercise.  And she questioned, how do we motivate ourselves to move, when we've become such sedentary people?  We know what we should do, but where do we get the motivation to do it?  Mary is starting to student teach today, so she will be moving.  But I've got to admit that I've become a "Lazy Boy potato".  Most of my waking hours are spent sitting in my Lazy Boy, my throne if you will.  

Over the past few weeks, in an attempt to bring my blood sugars into a normal range and begin the tedious task of losing weight, I have been analyzing and re-analyzing what I eat .  And what I have found is that it isn't so much what I eat.  Oh I admit that I don't follow my recommended food choices to the letter, but I don't binge or over do the sweets.  But my biggest problem is that I sit. . . and sit. . . and sit.  For hours at a time, I sit. I get up, use the "facilities" and then I return to my throne and I sit!  and sit! and then sit some more!  As my health and physical abilities have declined, Rod has taken over more and more of the household tasks.  So, now that I have identified the problem, how do I fix it?  How do I force myself to begin taking back my life?  Where do I find the motivation to get up off my a$$ and move, regardless of how painful or tiring it is?  I got my pedometer out this morning and had great intentions of starting to keep track of my steps, but it was dead.  And I just had the battery replaced, but I didn't use it.  So once I get a new battery, my plan is to keep track of my steps and try to increase by some each day.  Even 25 steps per day will make a difference.  I live in a rural area, with hills on all sides.  So walking outside is not possible at this time.  And I don't have the money for a treadmill, so that's out of the question.  What I do have is a Wii game system and the Wii Fit software!  Have I ever used it?  Nope, but I did watch it once.  Unfortunately that doesn't make a difference.  I don't want to exercise with an audience.  Do you remember the dancing hippos in Disney's Fantasia???  

Can you say Shamu on dry land.  Last week on Good Morning America they showed this video:

And I immediately thought of myself.  If this big guy can be forced to do sit ups, maybe I should seek out his trainer.  Of course it probably involves food rewards!  Perhaps this could be my motivation, and then again . . . . So, this month, I will be on the hunt for motivation.  Wish me luck!

Slow and Steady . . .

I'm on my way.  When I weighed in this morning, I had lost another 2.8 pounds.  Yipppeee!!!  I've added a new ticker to my page so that I can see how I'm progressing.  I have a renewed excitement.

And So It Begins

Egg Cups

My numbers are not coming down as I had hoped they would after being off the antibiotic.  So, this past week I have researched, checked out recipes, looked at several suggested menus, and brainstormed with my family.  I think I've come up with several great ideas, and spent part of the morning preparing my make-ahead meals.  Breakfast is really tough for me.  I am usually rushed and grab whatever is handy.  Daughter Mary suggested that I make "egg cups", and have them ready to reheat in the microwave.  I sprayed my muffin tin with butter flavored Pam, and added a slice of wheat bread with the crusts removed.  This was baked at 350 degrees for about 5 minutes, until the toast was just starting to brown.  I removed the tin from the oven and then added some shredded cheese to each cup followed by an egg.  These were returned to the oven and baked until the eggs were done to my satisfaction.  And voila, 6 breakfasts.

Lunch was another problem.  After I fix lunch for the kids, again, I grab whatever is handy.  Hopefully, some pre-planning and make ahead ideas will fix this problem.  I had purchased the EasyLunchboxes, and didn't really used them.  But now they make a lot of sense.  I boiled some small seashell pasta and divided it into 1 cup portions.  I kicked up my "macaroni salad" by adding sliced celery, shredded carrots, chopped dill pickle and sliced black olives in addition to 1/2 hard boiled egg to each box.  To the salad in this box, I added diced lean ham and accompanied it with fresh strawberries.

To the salad in this box, I added nearly 3 oz. of tuna packed in water, which I drained.  After putting most of the tuna in my salad, I gave the rest to the cat.  Ok, so I'm a softie.  I added fresh watermelon to this box.

I took a full bone-in chicken breast, sprayed it with Olive Oil Pam, added salt and pepper, and roasted it in the oven at 350 degrees for 40 minutes.  After it cooled, I removed it from the bones and added two ounces to this box of pasta salad.  Fresh canteloupe was added here.

I took another three ounces of the roasted chicken and added shredded carrots, peas, and dried cranberries. I also added a little Lawry's Seasoning Salt and will add some sunflower seeds or cashews just before eating.  And with this lunch, I will have the honeydew.  Crackers will add the necessary carbs.

All this prep work only took about two hours, with Rod's help.  Hopefully it will make sticking to my meal plan easier.  Wish me luck.

Checking In

I have lost another 1.7 pounds -- small steps add up to giant leaps.  My BS numbers aren't coming down like I wanted them to, however.  I went back on the Victoza, but developed the same stomach pain and leg cramps as before, so Vic and I have now parted for good.  My numbers during the day are OK, but my morning numbers are high and I don't know why. I've tried eating an evening snack - I've tried not eating an evening snack.   I have been reading about controlling my numbers, and will beat this thing. But it's not easy.  And let me caution you about advice.  If you aren't a diabetic, please don't offer any.   A person who is NOT diabetic cannot begin to understand how frustrating it can be to not be able to control your numbers.  Lots of people don't hesitate to criticize or offer advice, and lots of them don't have any idea what they are talking about.  Sometimes I just want to shout "Shut up, you have no idea what you are talking about".  But, I've learned to keep my mouth shut and just roll my eyes.  Hopefully, I haven't offended anyone, but I have taken classes in health and nutrition. I know what should work, but it doesn't always.  But I won't quit trying -- I'm not a quitter and never have been.

WAHOOOO!!!

I am down 4.8 pounds in about 3 weeks.  Started back on Victoza today.  Hopefully my numbers will come down, and I'll be on my way.  I'm feeling sort of Wizard-of-Oz-y -- follow the sugar free road!!   And since I'm so happy, the road has to be happy yellow.