On the Road

Hi,

I am still having good news with the new "No-Grain Diet."  My morning blood sugar was 116 today. I was really surprised. For anyone who might not know, there is a "morning phenomenon" in which a diabetic's blood sugar nearly always seems rather high in the morning when you first get up. I have never read anywhere that anyone has an explanation for this, but I know it exists, and I see it in my own blood sugars which I consider good or acceptable at 126 -- so 116 is excellent.

I am feeling so much more "committed." I am eating lots of raw veggie salads, also cheese, and raw almonds and walnuts. I occasionally do some tuna, too. The food is filling and satisfying.  I am doing the chia seed gel two to three times a day and attempting to stay on top of the water drinking. I say attempting because I feel that I am only barely keeping me from being dehydrated. There is always something to struggle with. And I need to get back on the exercise band wagon, too. But I am really quite pleased with the blood sugars I have been getting, and I think that is really good.

I talked with my cousin and good friend, Julianna, on the phone today and committed to exercising three times a week. We set up a deal where I have the whole week to decide which days and when, but at the end of the week if I have not exercised on three different days, then I have to pay her ten dollars for every day I did not exercise. We have done this before and it motivated me. The start date is Halloween (tomorrow) and the end date is New Year's Eve. So by the end of the year I will have formed the 3-day-a-week exercise habit. I am aiming for Monday, Wednesday and Friday as my days, with the days in between as backups. Since funds are limited it really helps me to save money by exercising and it actually does keep me on track with the exercise.

Julianna never misses exercising and has reached her first weight loss goal. I am the one who needs the support. But this support system works for me. You gotta do, what you gotta do. I just realized that that will also help me get through the holidays better too, I think. I am a long way from where I was last year at Thanksgiving when I first set off the eating machine and went berzerk. I have not reached the destination, but I am glad to have been in the battle. Just being engaged in the fight has brought me to a better place than where I was. Improvements have definitely been made. No matter how slow the go, "go" is better. Thank you Lord.

I have been looking around at Amazon recently looking for more information about curing diabetes and there are sure a lot of books out there. I think that if someone is actually interested in doing something about their diabetes there is a perfect solution for them out there somewhere. I like being able to read inside the books for a few pages -- often you can see the table of contents and a major portion of the first chapter which is really all you need to assess whether the program being touted is the one for you.

The right program for you is the one you will do. I have ordered three more books that should arrive on Tuesday and after that, I need to slow down on the spending. I ordered three so I could get the free shipping which is a real plus. I ordered:

"Going Against the Grain: How Reducing and Avoiding Grains Can Revitalize Your Health" by Melissa Smith

"User's Guide to Preventing and Reversing Diabetes Naturally" (Basic Health Publications User's Guide) again by Melissa Smith and

"Grain Damage: Rethinking the High-Starch Diet" by Douglas N. Graham which got a good review from Dr. Mercola.

From what I was able to read inside each one, I think the "Going Against the Grain" book and the "Grain Damage" book are the ones I will find most interesting. The "User's Guide" appears to be only a little larger than a pamphlet and was under six dollars. I will check it out when I get it and see what I think.

I now realize, even more, that eating bread and starches actually does what the research says it does to blood sugar and it is one of reasons so many Americans (including me) are overweight. Before I started all this I was on what I considered to be a "low carb" diet for many years, but I would go on it, and go off it. My playing around with the foods I am addicted to by repeatedly stopping and starting them has done a couple of things to my body. One, I think it kept me from being a full blown type 2 diabetic for a long time, so I was always on the verge (pre-diabetic) but never over the edge. Two, as I have gotten older now, it does not work so well and I have to pay more attention to doing what is right for my body. I had gotten to the stage where things were more than a little out of control. (You can read about it in my "Before Day 1" post, if you are interested.)

The other thing I was doing was eating a lot of protein but it was not good protein. It was convenient protein. I practically lived on chicken nuggets. I know. I know. Kid food. But it was fast, it was easy, and I considered it acceptable. I had read in some book somewhere that the breading was negligible so I did not bother about it. Right now, I am eating cleaner, and am actually surprised that when I am at home I am almost a vegetarian. I am not going to take on the "vegetarian" label, though, because I really don't have anything against eating meat and I will do so from time to time. Since I have incorporated so much more raw vegetables in my diet, though, the meat really does just smell bad to me. It is quite unappetizing for the most part, so I am not attracted to it.  If it is cooked well and has an appetizing smell, I will partake. So it is more about taste than philosophy or training.

My weight, right now, is fluctuating at a lower level than it was previously. My range used to be 352 to 342, but my range is now 348 to 337 -- and I have not been up to 348 for a while. My usual top is really about 344 but I don't want to change to that number officially until I have done it for a little longer and can confirm that as the new true range. I am glad it is a lower range and I am taking that as an improvement.

I have another friend who recently told me she was secretly reading my blog and that she is interested in losing the weight she put on before her new and beautiful daughter was born. I noticed that she posted on a social networking site that she was eating cinnamon rolls as she watched a favorite movie last night and I wanted to say something about that. I don't want to turn into the carbohydrate police, especially when she has not asked me to do so (and I have such trouble with it myself). She has made no commitment, but has stated a desire. I could not help but notice that statement and wish that I had something wise and inspiring to say. I don't. I know the feeling, but, I don't want to commiserate and wallow in that either.

I guess the only thing I might like to actually say to her is that the longest or hardest journey always begins with the first step. Maybe the first step is checking out different plans and seeing which one might work. She is young, and beautiful, and intelligent, so I know she will figure that all out on her own, and who am I to bring this up? I weigh a whole lot more than she does, but, I'd like to say, "You are not alone," and "We differ only by degree."

"Check out a few plans and see what comes of it," would be my advice, not only to her, but to anyone who is concerned about their health and eating habits. The word "repentance" means "changing your mind." A little spark of openness will go a long way in solving a problem and changing a mind. The decision to begin the journey is always personal, and it is often hard to budge ourselves in another direction, even when we know we should, we may not really want to. Or maybe we are afraid we cannot change or just simply are afraid, knowing we like eating what we are eating, even though it is bad for us. (Heroin addicts like taking their drug of choice, too, even though they know it is bad for them.) The act of looking at plans and programs is actually the first real step to changing our minds and stepping out towards accomplishing a personal goal.

I feel like a traveler on a journey. I am not stopping here, but am going on.

Be back soon

--Marcia

Here is the recipe for the salad I mentioned a few posts ago:

Christmas Broccoli Salad

1 small broccoli head cut in small pieces (enough for one serving)
1 med tomato cut in bite sized chunks
1 or 2 radishes sliced thin to resemble ornaments (do not peel)
1/4-1/2 C whole walnuts (no need to chop)
1/4 C Feta Cheese crumbled small like snow
small amount of olive oil
small amount of vinegar
any spices you like (I use garlic powder, curry powder, and Italian seasonings -- which I sprinkle on the salad and then pour the oil over and then the vinegar over all) -- you can use any dressing you like but the oil and vinegar do not alter the colors of the ingredients

This is for a large one-person whole-meal salad -- if you are serving more than one then increase the ingredients to fit your situation.

I call this a "Christmas" salad because the broccoli cut small in the bowl reminded me of evergreen branches -- especially when I put the tomatoes and radishes on top of it. The crumbled feta even looked like snow.  It just looked like Christmas and made me feel good. Enjoy!