Memorial Day Weekend

Good to honor our fallen heroes, but the celebrations can be hard on the diet. 

On Saturday Mary and I headed to Galveston for a relaxing little soiree one of Mary's customers hosted.  It was not my dream menu because it had all the stuff I like and should be avoiding.  I did have two beers, and not lite beers either, artichoke dip and hummus on some sort of crackers that tasted great and were probably high in bad stuff, a large dollop of forbidden rice salad (oh that was good), two, count 'em two, chicken tenders from the thigh (where the flavor lives), a chocolate cookie, one of my wife's fabulous lemon squares and a small hand full of these chocolate covered nuts.  I did try to pick out the ones covered in dark chocolate, for whatever good that did.

I was afraid the next morning what my blood glucose would be.  I imagined something in the 140-150 mg/dl range.  Surprise it was 125 mg/dl.  Not bad. 

Yesterday, Sunday, we did a lot of work in the garden and I had lot of carbohydrate foods, beans, pasta, oatmeal, banana, peach, strawberries, a nice burger (90/10 fat ration) on a whole wheat bun and probably a few other things I should have avoided that I don't remember.  We would up eating late and we had couple of frozen margaritas just to add to the mix of things I like and should eat little if at all.

The numbers this morning:

1. Blood Glucose:  112 mg/dl.  Man, that was surprise. 
2. Weight 194 1/2.  Stuck, but I will take it. Could be worse. 
3. Exercise:  45 minutes on trainer. Would have gone out for a ride, but the garage door is broken and this was just the easier thing to do. 
4. Mood.  Happy. 

Maybe I have turned a corner here.  Things that have raised by BG in the past seem to have less affect now.  Now I could just have a major weight drop.

Article I saw on line today:  Does low muscle mass cause type 2 diabetes?  The accompanying question is does resistance training help improve, reverse or prevent type 2 diabetes.  Got another strong argument for finding the time to start using the resistance bands I bought to work on the arms.  The other argument come from my wife who wants me to work on the arms.  Like I married the work out queen or something.

Victory and Triumph

Well, not yet anyway.  I have 45 pounds, more or less, to go and I still have what Mary calls my poochy belly.  It's not flat; it's still round, but smaller and less round than it was.

I am feeling thinner.  By that I mean I can feel bones I haven't felt in a long time.  My shoulders are more prominent.  My clavicle is somewhat more noticeable. The layer of fat that used to cushion them is slowing going away.  My butt is slimmer, according to Mary.   Shoes that I thought were fine are feeling a bit loose. (Fat feet?  Who knew?) My wedding ring is sliding on and off a bit easier now, no more tugging.  Shirts I haven't been able to wear for a long time fit quite nicely now. Same for some old shorts I haven't worn in years because the were too small.

Hey, I'm starting to look good!  That's a great feeling. 

I still see my belly, shrinking though it is. It still extends too far out from my breasts (our new rule is that bellies are not allowed to stick out beyond our breasts; both of us have a way to go there).  I still don't absorb the glucose as efficiently as I should, but I am doing better on that score.  I had a piece of carrot cake, not a big one, and I don't think it registered as a blip at all. 

Message to me:  Feel good and encouraged by what I have accomplished.  Understand and accept what need to be done. 

The numbers:

1. Blood Glucose:  132 mg/dl.  Must have been the carrot cake, small piece and the corn on the cob.  
2. Weight:  194 1/2.  Definitely below 195 and above 194.  
3. Exercise:  45 min + on trainer.  
4. Mood:  Positive, but with the knowledge that more needs to be done.

Menu:

1. Breakfast:  Banana, grapefruit, oatmeal infused with blackberry herbal tea and craisins. 
2. Lunch:  Leftover hamburger from yesterday's grill fest and an orange
3. Dinner:  Leftover Turkey Rustica from last week and a salad
4. Snacks:  Soy yogurt.

Musta Been the Rice

Took time off from riding this weekend for a lot of hard work around the yard.  Sunday I was pretty happy. The blood glucose was 112 mg/dl and my weight was 195 lbs.  We finished up yesterday, Sunday at around 6:00 pm, cleaned up and decided a to go out to eat. We went to a Greek restaurant called Niko-Nikos.  I had the grilled pita sandwich and some rice.  OK, a lot of rice, it was good and ate it all.  And a couple of beers.  The rice and beer sent my blood glucose up this morning.

The numbers:

1. Blood Glucose:  133 mg/dl.  It was 130 on Saturday morning after a couple of margaritas on Friday night, splurge night, 112 on Sunday, and up again to day.  I can look at it that slowly, I am getting better at processing glucose again.  So I will.
2. Weight:  194 1/2 lbs.  Not quite 195, not quite 194.  
3. Exercise.  Took the morning off.  Still stiff from the weekend's yard work.  Tomorrow, back at it. 
4. Mood:  Good.  Sore, but good. 

Menu:

1. Breakfast:  Oatmeal infused with blackberry herbal tea, grapefruit.
2. Lunch:  McDougall bean sauce on whole wheat pasta and strawberries.  
3. Dinner:  Hamburger cooked on the grill, the one we did not cook last night, and a salad. 
4. Snacks:  Soy yogurt and a few Wheat Thins, the low fat kind.

The Doctor is Pleased

Yesterday I went to my doctor for my six week follow up, about six weeks late.  Oh, well.  He didn't seem to notice.  The good news is that he is pleased with my progress, almost as much as I am frustrated by it.   I wanted to substantially lower on the scale and substantially lower in blood glucose level. 

My blood pressure, glucose level and weight were all good.  My heart rate was 50 beats per minute.  That's great.

Yesterday at work we had a little celebration for Kathy Cane.  I had three, count 'em three, pieces of pizza and one slice of ginger/spice cake with caramel frosting.  Very good cake and my glucose level dropped from yesterday (144 ml/dg).  Must have been due to the carrots I had last night. 

My numbers for today:

1. Blood Glucose:  121mg/dl.  Better then yesterday's 144
2. Weight:  200 lbs.  My body likes it here I guess.  I don't.  
3. Exercise:  45 minutes on the trainer.  It's getting humid in the mornings here in Houston now and I really sweat.  Feels great. Also watered the flower beds in back. Lots of energy.
4. Mood.  Determined.  It's all I can do and be right now. 

Menu:

1. Breakfast:  Oatmeal infused with blackberry herbal tea, banana, grapefruit, coffee
2. Lunch:  If I am lucky, some left over pizza from yesterday.  Always best a day later.  If not, pinto beans.
3. Dinner:  Salmon on the grill. 
4. Snacks:  Soy yogurt and maybe some baked chips. 

Since I am pumped up on exercise, saw this on the benefits of walking,  or how to avoid the metabolic syndrome.  That's good, avoiding the metabolic syndrome.  It's a lot of walking, though.  Makes me think it is the sort of activity we are designed to do.  I wonder if riding a bike counts? 

Friday and Saturday

The blood glucose bounced up from a pleasing 106 ml/dg to 122 ml/dg for both Friday and Saturday.  I test once per day and always in the morning before breakfast.  Why it bounced I don't know, unless it was the margarita I had each evening.  One little once of lime juice.

1. Blood glucose:  122 ml/dg.  Look on the bright side,, it could have gone up. 
2. Weight:  199.  Look on the bright side, it could have gone up.
3. Exercise.  Lots of work in the yard today.  Not a long bike ride, by lots of lifting, shoveling and sweaty stuff. 
4. Mood:  Looking on the bright side because it could be worse. 

Menu:

1. Breakfast:  Egg burritos.  Real eggs.  Hey, they are not that bad and I am out of oatmeal.  
2. Lunch:  Not sure
3. Dinner:  Something grilled, probably hamburgers.
4. Snacks:  Soy yogurt.  Mary does not like it.  I think it tastes pretty good. 

Sometime this weekend I am going to get some exercise bands.  Goal is to increase my work out to include some arm exercises.  I found this site on exercise bands and will be doing them probably starting Monday.  That's the day I finally do my six week follow up, about six weeks late.

Friday Eve, Clean Night

The weekend starts in about 36 hours from now.  I can not wait, and tomorrow is splurge Friday, Tex-Mex and margarita night.

The numbers for today

1. Blood Glucose:  122 mg/dl.  Disappointing.  106 yesterday, 122 today.  Well, the over all trend is down so that is good.  Look on the bright side, right?
2. Weight:  199 lbs.   At least that was not up. Not down, but not up. 
3. Exercise:  30 minutes on trainer, 15 minutes less than I usually do, but I could not get myself in gear this morning.  I have no idea why I have been so tired.  Well, yes I do.  My wife has been tossing and turning and the general rule at our house is that if she does not sleep well, I don't sleep well.  Love, ain't it grand?  
4. Mood:  Determined. 

Menu

1. Breakfast:  Oatmeal infused (I love that phrase; really it just means added) with blackberry herbal tea, a banana and an orange. 
2. Lunch:  Not sure.  Whatever I can rustle up in the fridge, I guess.
3. Dinner:  Pizza, topped with low fat mozzarella, turkey pepperoni, green pepper, onion, artichokes and/or olives.  Mary likes the kitchen sink pizza, I prefer something a spare in toppings. 
4. Snacks:  Soy yogurt

Looking to add a weight band type of exercise for resistance.  

Bit by bit

This is the good part of my new approach. It's all becoming a routine now, a pattern firmly planted in my brain.  What I eat, how much I eat, what I want to eat, getting up and exercising.  This is starting to be the way I do things.  And now the numbers. 

1. Blood Glucose:  106 ml/dg.  Happy about this, just like a normal person. 
2. Weight:  199 lbs.  Someday soon I will be permanently under 200 lbs.  I hope soon. 
3. Exercise:  40 minutes on the bike. 
4. Mood:  Confident. 

Salad week continues. 

1. Breakfast:  had oatmeal infused with herbal tea, banana, a grapefruit and coffee.
2. Lunch:  left over chicken breast burrito, in honor of Cinco de Mayo day.  
3. Dinner:  Taco salad and a some leftover margaritas from the freezer. The Cinco de Mayo celebration continues.  
4. Snacks:  Soy yogurt and a cheese stick, low fat cheese stick.