Learned of a no brainer recently. I have very painful feet so walking is very hard for me as a form of activity. I saw on another website someone suggested just sitting with hand held weights and using those while watching tv. It doesn't matter what muscles you're working as long as you're doing something. As my daughter would say' Duh! I tried it and my sugar went down after 10 minutes of just lowering and raising my arms with 2 lb weights in each hand. Something so simple.
More testing today. I went to low-impact cardio this morning. Tested before...144. Tested after...151. Tested an hour after that...117. Later in the day I drank a big cup of iced coffee with half-n-half and ate 2 oz of lean beef, then tested an hour after that...161. Then I ran some errands and tested two hours after that...126.
I am all over the place! How do you keep from this sort of thing making you nuts and questioning everything you do, or don't do? How would you interpret all of this?
I'm quite hungry now. Planning to have a nice salad and some Petrale sole for dinner in a little bit. And before bed, celery and almond butter. I'm curious about which one affects me more.
Diva: good for you for finding a way to exercise. Are your feet painful from diabetes? Do B supplements help at all?
Georgia: how long after something are you testing? Look at diabetes 101 for a good explanation about why we raise our blood sugar temporarily after strenuous exercise: the body is releasing sugar to feed the muscles. However, it will drop fairly quickly as the exercise helps reduce the insulin resistance and the glucose can get into our cells better. So don't fret that bs is higher after exercise, note how well it dropped afterward!
AS to the coffee, I assume it wasn't sweetened, or was sweetened with equal or splenda, but the caffeine alone may release blood sugar. Mostly you should be checking 2 hours from the start of the meal or snack, use the one hour testing only if you think necessary. Mostly, the goal 2 hours after is 7 mmol or under, which is 126 in the US. So you ARE getting there. It WILL take some time.
I am really glad you are joining us and working to get your sugars under control, its great!
Rie: were you drinking dry white wine? how dramatic! Hope the pool game was fun!
Trish: hope the visit continues to be good. Blessings on you making room in your already busy home.
Took my daughter out for her birthday supper tonight. THe weather is so warm, and its the first day of spring. We would never have dreamed of going out to a patio to eat on her birthday before. DOn't know if it will ever happen again, but we did enjoy it. She is experimenting with vegetarianism again, so I am testing her iron levels. Interfering mother!
I am finishing my ww week with 14 leftover weekly points and didn't touch my activity points, and had activity every day of the week. Not an ounce of gain or loss as far as I can tell.
By the way Diva: I have not seen actual formulas for calculating foods with sugar alcohols, but it would look like you don't use those carbs, you subtract them from the total carbs. ( The booklet I have just suggests checking foods on the online tracker, but checking one of the foods I had recently, that appears to be the way to figure it out. )
Big hello to Ruth, and hope to see the ticker return soon.
fbs at 83 this morning. My weight is still stalled. I did 40 minutes of Walkitout. I feel pretty good in the midst of a very busy week.
Mad, I was drinking white zinfandel - two smallish glasses. I am thinking I just need to be more aware. I have been joking lately that I get dizzy on a little wine and I am wondering if I just need to test at these times. Certainly before I drive. Actually, my pool team won the division championship Monday night. Thanks! Keep being an interfering mother!
Diva, good for you on finding a way to exercise without hurting your feet. U tube even has videos on how to exercise in a chair.
Georgia, it sounds like you are testing a lot. Chart it all so you find the patterns. Here is my menu from yesterday: BR: 1/2c fiber one cereal, 1/2c unsweetened almond breeze (measured to ensure portions), one sliced apple with 2 tbs peanut butter 2 (defatted peanut butter powder) LU: 1/2 plate green salad with a little oil/vinegar, 2/3c green beans, 2/3c tomato soup Su: grilled chicken breast, cucumber slices, 1/2 roasted potato, broccoli salad Snack: 1/2c cottage cheese with 1/2 fiber one. This was a pretty typical day although sometimes I do have a protein at lunch. Typically, I use the plating method and fill at least half of my plate with green (or low carb) veggies. When I am hungry, I eat those until I am full.
They were baking bread at my work all afternoon yesterday. It was brutal and so hard to resist but I did. I am the director of a juvenile facility with really wonderful food. It is often a challenge. Lots of treats and teen friendly foods. I usually do ok but the bread is always so hard to resist! Tonight is my little cousins birthday party. They are serving pumpkin pie at her request. I will simply have a small slice and enjoy! I hope this helps...
Trish, Ruth, I hope you are having a great week. Later!
Rie
Last edited by Riemontana; 03-21-2012 at 10:52 AM.
Well, company is gone. I have to say that I truly enjoyed visiting with DSIL's Mom. She is a speech therapist with teens and special needs kids so she wore DGS out because everything they did was a teaching experience for him and for me. I knew a lot and already did some things that I guess just comes naturally to me, but I learned a whole lot more. I think it will make more of my time with him "quality" tme.
Tried to get online a few times today, but couldn't. Not sure why my pc was acting up. May have to make some changes in where I keep it. Will see.
Diva - Thanks for sharing about the exercise idea. I try to be more active and have often thought of using the weights when watching tv. I'll have to start doing that. It's better than eating or doing nothing.LOL
geoblewis - I eat 2 meals and 1 or 2 small snacks. I don't eat until around 1 or 2 in the afternoon just because that is what works for me and what keeps my FBS normal.
A very interesting thing has happened with my eating. I have ended up doing IF (Intermittent Fasting) only because it comes "natural" to me I guess because I ate that way growing up. I do it without even trying to eat that way. FBS is 119 or lower since I eat this way. So I'm going to just go for it.
Happy weigh in day for me, was down a pound at ww and on my own scale today! not quite a whoosh, but an improvement. Very busy office day, but got through it. I didn't get to yoga, so will try to get on the treadmill this evening while watching tv. That will take some real effort, but I do want to be active.
WIll do personals later, ttfn
Trish, I wish I could continue with IF. I simply don't get hungry in the mornings and can easily wait till an eating window from 2 to 9 pm. But I was easily overeating during that time as well and now know that I'm plagued with the dawn phenomenon.
Yesterday and today I had my simple little breakfast of protein, veg and a little fat. I was able to stick to a smallish lunch and a bigger dinner (again, that's my natural eating window), but I did keep to lower calories (carbs and protein) overall for two days. And my blood sugar is starting to stay under 150. I look forward to weighing in tomorrow!
I decided not to test so much from now on. It's not about the testing, just like it's not about getting on the scale. It's about what I'm doing to make the good numbers happen. Going to stick to fbs and two hours after each meal. That's enough!
Good morning. Georgia, stick with it and it will soon become natural and won't need as much testing.
I must admit I've never tested more than first thing in the morning unless I'm feeling weird - and then it's never from BGL problems.
FBGL was 4.2 this morning. When working at the Clinic yesterday, I got a quickie HA1C test with the new machine and am 5.8 so I guess I'm doing something right. The sodium from the weekend is still with me - I may have to admit it's real weight and change my ticker.
Glorious sunny and warm days here which are going to go back to normal on the weekend but I've sure enjoyed being outside in this bonus "summer".
Weight is still below 172, but I will wait and see it if stays off before I change the ticker. Oh how I hope to be under 170 soon. HOpe I can bring Rie and Ruth with me!
I ate the points this week, but fewer grains. Will assume that is a part of it.
Fbs is 136 this morning...how early do you get up to test it? Because I'm just figuring out that it seems to matter and that I need to eat something pretty quickly too. But getting up this early will certainly help me not overeat at breakfast because I'm not hungry at all!
I was reading Dr. Bernstein's book yesterday, the part about timing exercise around dawn phenomenon. It says to wait three hours. That means I have to start waking up earlier in order to go exercise if I'm to keep my bg lower than 170 during exercise.
Trish, I wish I could continue with IF. I simply don't get hungry in the mornings and can easily wait till an eating window from 2 to 9 pm. But I was easily overeating during that time as well and now know that I'm plagued with the dawn phenomenon.
Yesterday and today I had my simple little breakfast of protein, veg and a little fat. I was able to stick to a smallish lunch and a bigger dinner (again, that's my natural eating window), but I did keep to lower calories (carbs and protein) overall for two days. And my blood sugar is starting to stay under 150. I look forward to weighing in tomorrow!
I decided not to test so much from now on. It's not about the testing, just like it's not about getting on the scale. It's about what I'm doing to make the good numbers happen. Going to stick to fbs and two hours after each meal. That's enough!
Georgia - I think when dealing with diabetes it is sooo important to learn what works for us individually. For me, my FBS is always too high in the mornings when I first get up, by waiting until I'm hungryany where from 1 or 2 pm, it is always normal. I do try to eat more healthy foods and it works for me. That doesn't mean it works fro someone else. When I first started out upon this diabetic journey, I tested after everything I ate and found that just because another diabetic could eat a certain food didn't mean that I could and vice versa. This is a learning experience for all of us and we have to find works for us individually. Before I was ever married, a diabetic or even overweight, I ate the way people eat on IF. It is a "natural" way for me to eat. I eat this way when we travel and I always lose weight on vacation rather than gain which should have been a clue to me. We just haven't been taught to look for what works for us. My doc told me that any "diet" would work and that the key is to find the one that you can live with. I figure why not go with the one that works for me and that I can live with. Good luck on your journey and finding what works for you.
You know, reading posts from people who are doing IF or spreading meals out, I realise that I am still suffering from the hypoglycemia I had before I was pre-diabetic, although it doesn't always show up of the meter. I think I said I once did a meter test during a blood draw, and the lab blood sugar was 3.1 and the meter was 4.6 and I have to wonder about my real sugars when I feel low.
I get nauseous and shaky when hungry at times. And ravenous, and I have gotten used to my regular meals, I almost panic when I can't eat when I want or need it. I was thinking it was a psychological thing, but now I think it may have to do with hypoglycemia, and my meter doesn't pick up the lows very well.
Mad, I don't really get hungry when I am low but I get the shaky, dizzy, weak feeling sometimes if I don't eat regularly. Even though technically not low, below about 74 doesn't feel good to me. I am typically at 80 - 85 pre-meal so that isn't much of a range. The diabetes people don't really believe me that it makes me feel that way.... I wonder if I am actually lower and the meter is off? Interesting question. I really feel the best when I eat timely and appropriate meals with an evening snack. (how boring!)
Actually, my pool team won the division championship Monday night. Thanks! Keep being an interfering mother!
