The Case of the Forgotton Monitor

So yesterday i thought it would be a brilliant idea to put on fake nails. Ha. Horrible. Typing is next to impossible.

Anyway. A few days ago I decided to check my levels every hour in order to see where i was and how food affected my numbers. I was doing really well (mostly in the 90-110 range, yay!) and with the exception of forgetting in the evenings once I left work, I was keeping on schedule. That is, until I got to work yesterday and didn't have my monitor.

While on the subject, let me now take the time to say that my own worst enemy when it comes to diabetes is my own forgetfulness. Forget to take insulin, forget insulin, forget new needle for pen, forget to replenish test strips, forget to test, forget meter, forget emergency sugar, forget to eat. Absent mindedness, ADD, and diabetes don't mix well.

I went the whole day without it. A few months ago, when I less than cared about my health, this would have been no big deal. But now, it is. I should have gone home to get it, but it's about 30 minutes there and 30 minutes back. So I dealed. I made sure to eat my afternoon snack and read the labels on my pre packaged food carefully so i didn't overdose the insulin. And things turned out fine. Then I got home, and couldn't find the monitor. I'm 95% sure it's in my boyfriend's car. Problem being, he drove to Colorado yesterday.

So this morning, I went to stock up on supplies for my back up meter. The lancet shooter thingy is broken, so i stuck lots of lancets in for self poking (which I hate). I even tossed in an extra bottle of test strips. Guess what I forgot?

You're right. The meter.

So I'm guessing that when I get home tonight, my perfect numbers won't be so perfect.

Goal Number One

It might be a silly thing to start with, and it might not even be working toward good health as much as I would like to think, but within the next few weeks, I hope I can get off Diet Coke entirely.

So far today, I have drank close to 60 ounces of the stuff. It's only 3:45 pm. I'll go home, cook a healthy, diabetes friendly dinner of meat with vegetables and sugar free applesauce, and then I'll drink another third (at least) of the 2 liter in my fridge. All this caffeine ant artificial sugar I put into my body cannot be good for me.

It started in high school, I'm sure. The year after I graduated, they removed the soda machines from my high school in order to combat obesity. Or something. They replaced them with juice and sports drink machines. I was glad they waited til after I graduated. Every day, I grabbed a can from the fridge on the way to school. I bought a 20 oz bottle with lunch, and another before my after-school activity (unless it was softball, in that case I drank a water on the way and bought a 20 oz on the way home). Sometimes, my after school drink would actually be a 32 to 44 oz fountain drink. I worked at Sonic and would drink the DC constantly while I was at work (we got it free from the fountain if we brought our own cups).

In college it just got worse. I kept my mini-fridge stocked with cans and drank from the fountain every meal, including breakfast (even though my school only provided Pepsi, yech!). I had officially formed a caffeine addiction, which I'm sure started in high school. When I went home for my first Christmas break, I had headaches for three full days before I realized what it was and bought a 24 pack to last the rest of the break.

My first full day working here at GWCNM, I went home with a MMCH. Massive migraine caffeine headache. It was terrible.

I'd love to stop drinking the stuff, switch to Green Tea or something more healthy until I can break the addiction. The reason I'm writing is to find motivation. I would really like to be off the stuff by the time classes resume on the 24th, but with eight solid days of work without a break and a vacation with multiple eating out opportunities ahead of me, I wonder if I can do it?

(And I finish the 20 oz bottle sitting on my desk).

Lifestyle Choices to Change to Fight Obesity

As I stated in the previous entry, I'm overweight.

No, don't try to argue with me. Don't tell me I'm "not fat." It's not a self-esteem thing. My self esteem is as good as any 22 year old girl's.

No, it's absolutely a health thing. My risk for heart disease is already high. Diabetes and heredity, as well as being a former smoker put me at high risk. If I can shed some weight, I can significantly drop that risk!

I recently read a book called Water with Lemon, by author Zonya Foco, creator of Lickity Split Meals, a cookbook which has a special edition for diabetics that I own and use on occasion. The part about the book that struck me most was the push to "never underestimate the power of one good habit." I decided to start with Zonya's list of "good habits" to follow (they are available for printing on her website, however, apparently since the last time I checked she has created a "password" which you have to have read the book to have(I'd love to give it to you, but I'll have to go home and look it up).

The point is, everyone has good, healthy habits and bad, unhealthy habits. By making lists of good habits we want to achieve and bad habits we want to eradicate, we can live healthier lives simply by working toward those goals.

MY LISTS:

Healthy Habits to Achieve:

• Drinking more water
• Exercise 4-5 times a week
• Test glucose levels at least 4 times a day
• Replace processed foods with fresh and organic foods
• Eat more Omega 3 fatty acid foods (to raise my good cholesterol)

Unhealthy Habits to Get Rid of:

• stop drinking so much diet coke!!
• Stop eating pre-packaged meals with preservatives, artificial flavoring, and massive amounts of sodium (but they're so easy!)
• Stop eating at least 3 hours before bedtime (I am queen of late night snacks!)
• Lower my sodium intake
• Stop staying up late at night (unless I can get a full 8 hours in)

There are my lists. What are some other things on your lists?