It went really well. I think she got caught up in my enthusiasm. She even took the time to look over my food diary which tickled me to death. I kind of figured she'd disregard what I had to say. It felt good to be taken seriously.
She's ordered the tests for the thryoid although she doesn't really think there's a problem with it. She also suggested a diet plan for me to look into. It's called the Eat Clean Diet. I haven't googled it yet, but I'm going to look into it. Anyone else have any experience with it.
Finally she said I was probably pre-diabetic (which I had already guessed) but that it should take care of itself so long as I kept up with what I was doing. Anyone else out there have any experience with that? I know it's a direct result of my weight, but I don't really know much else. I should have asked her, but we covered so many topics I didn't think of it until later.
Hurrah for a doctor that took the time to listen to what I had to say!
That's great! Listening is the most important thing a doctor can do, IMHO.
As for being pre-diabetic, I know that full blown diabetes are often able to go off their insulin medication is they lose weight, so I imagine losing weight would keep you from having to go on meds.
Losing weight is really important, I agree. My fasting blood sugar before I lost weight was 109, which is borderline. After I had lost 45 pounds, my fasting blood sugar was 87.
And the key to that was exercise! I went from a sedentary desk worker to someone who walked every day and went to the gym 5 or 6 times a week. Really, physical activity is just so important for lowering blood sugar! (I also kept my carb intake under control, but mostly it's the exercise.)
I haven't read the books that go with the Eating Clean Diet, but I love the magazine that is published to go with the diet. Clean Eating magazine is actually my new favorite food mag! It's basically a whole foods diet that limits processed foods and emphasizes fruits, veggies, whole grains, and lean proteins. All the recipes in the magazine have nutritional breakdowns, which is very nice.
Congratulations on having (what sounds like) a great doctor. They are hard to find.
It's nice that your doctor got a bit caught up in your enthusiasm. It adds a nice personal touch to things. I went to the doctor a couple weeks ago and she noticed the difference in my weight from the last time I was in the office. It was cute though because when I got the form back from my blood work, she wrote a little note in the corner telling me to "Keep up the good work!!!" I thought that was sweet.
Pre-diabetes can be combated. I was told three years ago if I didn't shape up by the time I was 30 I'd be popping pills or worse, shooting up insulin. I started monitoring my bs daily, fasting and 40 min post meal. I lost 40 lbs and that made all the difference. I went from a fasting of 113 to the 80's.
As for the eat clean diet, I've not heard of it but now I'm totally going to google it.
I love the note from the doctor telling you to keep up the good work. My doctor said something similar and the smile when she said it was nice.
I go this morning for the blood tests, I'm kind of all good no matter what it shows. I've been watching my calories and I'm starting to think I need to eat more. I consistently eat around 1200 calories and find myself scrounging at night to add on calories. (Chocolate soy milk is a favorite of mine).
mmmmm Chocolate Soy milk used to be the death of me, had to ban it from the house. I will cross my fingers for you that your blood tests reflect your efforts. I can't even imagine being good enough to stick to 1200 calories! Great job!
So I have good news and bad news. The good news is all my tests came back normal. My glucose is fine, which is a huge relief. I really thought i was having trouble with that. Although, I've stopped getting the shakes since I've been eating healthy and counting calories, so maybe I had already self-corrected.
I was told my thyroid was 'fine' but I asked for the numbers to be sent to me. I know there is a bit of controversy over what is considered 'fine' and I want to research it a bit myself.
My cholosterol is a bit high, but not enough for the doctor to want to put me on meds. I find this incredibly depressing since I don't eat meat, eat fairly low fat and work-out 3-4 days a week. It has to be genetic because I can't do anything else about it. My step-dad has cholesterol problesms and recommended red yeast rice so I picked some up today.
And! the biopsy from my mole came back all clear, no cancer, no bad cells, nothing. That is a huge relief. I've been trying not to sweat all this but it's had me on edge.
The bad, bad news is that I have been working out since May and counting calories for uhm.....6 weeks and the scale has hardly budged. It's just going to be a long, slow, slow, slow road. It's depressing.
The good news is, I've discovered how much I love cycling. I feel better than I've felt in ages and since I have started eating healthy, I swear, I am eating more and enjoying my meals more than ever before. (And I do love my food!) So I will work on remembering that it's the journey that matters more than the final goal and that this is a life-long process, not a quick fix kind of thing.
Congrats on all your good news!
The weight and the cholesterol situations are so frustrating, I'm sure. It's so hard when you feel you're doing everything right and the numbers don't show the progress you want.
Like you, I try to focus on the other benefits of my good habits when I'm feeling like that (which is recently). Such as...
It could be worse, I could be gaining. (Or, in your case, that your cholesterol would probably be a lot higher if you weren't doing all that good stuff!)
I feel proud of myself because of my diet and exercise. Taking on new challenges in fitness is giving me new confidence that I can succeed.
I feel more energetic and positive because of the exercise.
I'm doing good for my insides by eating right.
...etc, etc.
Hey girl, I feel your pain completely. I have been exercising for a full 9 weeks, at least 4 days a week and keeping a food diary for about 5 weeks. I really felt being as overweight as I am, I would lose a lot faster than I am, but I guess, as long as I am losing something, I won't complain. I started weighing when I started my food diary, I don't like to weigh every week so the first two weeks, I lost 3.5, the second two I lost nothing and finally the 5 week I lost another 3. I try to keep my calories around 1200-1400. I have started exercising outside walking and jogging because I am trying to prepare for a buddy race this October and have found my elliptical is great cardio but it doesn't work the muscles I need it to. I really feel that the walking I have started is better for me than my elliptical is. I have a 2.2 mile route that I take and each day I try to jog a few more blocks or add a street that has a bigger hill (I call those butt busters). Just don't give up, that is my goal, I want to continue to do this forever, I just want to be physically fit and look great doing it!! Good luck and keep us updated!!
I had to update since I was so upset over the cholesterol thing. My cholesterol is fine. It's right on the edge of being high, but it's under cut off. It was my triglycerides that were borderline high. From what I have read, that should drop as I lose weight, so it's all good. I'm so glad I asked for the numbers, otherwise I'd have gone on thinking I was worse off than I am.
That is great. Your doctor sounds like a good one. It is good that she takes the time to listen to you, look over your food journal and really invest in your health and your weight loss efforts. I wish more docs were like her. That is good news about your levels. I'm happy for you that they aren't as bad as you thought. And, you are right, as you lose, they will drop into the healthy, normal range.
So I went to my doctor and....
My step-dad has cholesterol problesms and recommended red yeast rice so I picked some up today.
