May 7, 2017

8:45 AM: 3/4 C cereal with soy milk (30g)
9:45 AM: 1/2 C mac and cheese (18 g)
11:45 AM: 1 can of tuna with mayo, 1 1/2 C ice cream (36 g)
6:00 PM: 1/3 sweet potato (9 g), 2 cheese slices, 1 C mac and cheese (36 g)

May 6, 2017

I didn't poke this morning due to sleeping in until 10:30. At that point I just needed food. Here is what I ate today:

10:45: 1/2 C cereal with soy milk (20 g), 1 fish taco on corn tortillas (23 g), 1 C Halo Top Ice Cream (26 g)
3:30 PM: 1 can of tuna with mayo, 2 Cheddar cheese bites
6:00 PM:  Vegan stir fry, 1/2 sweet potato (13 g), 1/2 C salad, 1/2 strawberry
9:00 PM: 1 1/2 C mac and cheese

I didn't get much exercise today. I felt really tired and ended up sleeping most of the afternoon.

May 5, 2017

My blood sugar was 126 this morning. Not too bad, but still some work to get it lower. I am wondering if it does spike higher if I take my medicine longer than 12 hours apart. I took my medicine around 5:45 PM last night. I didn't poke until 6:45 AM this morning. It was still a decent reading, but I think I am going to work on getting up earlier so my medicine can be closer to 12 hours apart for both doses. Here is what I ate today:

7 AM: 2 scrambled eggs, 1 T ketchup (5g)
10:15 AM: 1 C salad, 1 T honey mustard dressing (4g), 1/2 C bean pasta with Alfredo sauce
1:15 PM: 1 can of tuna, 1 T mayo, cheese
4:00 PM: 1 1/2 C Halo Top ice cream (36 g)
6:00 PM: 1 fish taco on corn tortillas (23 g)

Total Carbs: 68 g


I walked for 32 minutes in the morning for a little bit of exercise. I also was able to get rid of a bag of clutter at the Goodwill Donation Center on my walk. That felt good!

May 4, 2017

I didn't poke this morning. Hopefully I will be brave tomorrow and get some blood for a reading. I will try to eat healthy today though. Here is what I ate:

9:30 AM: 1 C cereal with soy milk (30 g)
12:25 PM: 1 C Indian veggie soup (25 g)
3:00 PM: 1 can of tuna with mayo and relish
5:30 PM: 1/2 plate salad, 1/4 plate cauliflower rice, 1/4 plate Mexican pork

It looks like my estimated amount of carbs is 55 g, so I met my goal for today! I also worked on my May goals of getting my spiritual health under control. I read the Bible, a few sections from a daily Bible history book, prayed the prayers of the hours, prayed the Rosary, watched a Mass online, and meditated. I couldn't find my prayer journal to write in that. I will have to look for it tomorrow. I also did 30 minutes of dancing for exercising. I was sweaty, but happy!

April 2017 Reflection

My resolution for April was to get my diabetes under control. After looking at my record sheet, I didn't do the best. I am going to modify my goals to better reflect where I am at and a more attainable focus so I feel that I am making progress. Here were my goals and my reflection on how I did with each of them along with the new goals for May:

1. Say no to carbs/sugar. This is a good goal for a diabetic, but unrealistic with how many carbs are out there. This month I want to give it a number amount to stay under for carbs/sugar.

2. Eat vegetables. I need to be more specific and write the servings. I know we should have at least 5 servings of vegetables a day, but I am not a veggie lover. I only had four days last month where I ate over 3 vegetable servings. Therefore, I think this month the goal will be to eat 3 servings of vegetables a day. If I can do that most days, then I can up the amount next month and so on until I am a regular veggie consumer.

3. Try a new recipe once a week. This gets a zero unless you count that I tried some of my husband's recipes. I did not actually cook anything new. I think I need to change it to cook a new recipe twice a month.

4. Swim four times a week. April had many showers which made it very hard to swim at all. I only got in 2 days. Maybe a better goal for May would be to swim ten times a month.

5. Hike once a month. Again the rain was a factor. We also had a lot of other things going on for some weekends (Easter, family gatherings). I'm not sure whether to keep this goal or to add it into the next one for May. Maybe I need a daily walk instead.

6. Jump rope, tennis, basketball twice a month. That did not happen. I did have a half hour dance session last evening though. I think a more realistic goal would be to exercise for a half hour at least twice a week. Then I can dance, or go play a sport, or swim, etc.

7. Poke every other morning. I did well with this goal surprisingly. I poked 19 out of the 30 days and actually I didn't start until April 3rd, so I poked 19 out of 28 days. I did have 2 errors with not enough blood, and only seven of those days had readings below 130. I still have a lot of work to do to get my blood sugar under control, but I am making progress.

8. Keep a food diary. I wrote down what I ate 12 out of the 28 days. Maybe a modified version could be: keep a daily food diary.

Day 13- April 20, 2017

This morning my blood sugar was 126. It is a lot better thanks to not eating any Kashi bars. Now to begin another day of trying to making good food choices. Here is what I ate today:

8 AM: 2 scrambled eggs, 1 T ketchup
11 AM: 1 can tuna, 1 T mayo, 1/4 C vitamin water mixed in 2 C water
1:00 PM: 1/4 C vitamin water mixed in 2 C water
2 PM: 1 box mac and cheese
5:30 PM: 2 C salad, 1 hard-boiled egg, 3/4 C Halo Top ice cream

Day 12- April 19, 2017

Today my blood sugar was 163, so obviously Kashi bars are bad. We'll see how well I can stay away from them. Here is what I ate today:

8:30 AM: 2 scrambled eggs, 1 T ketchup, 1/4 C vitamin water with regular water
11:15 AM: 1 can tuna, 1 T mayo
12:30 PM: 1 1/2 C mac and cheese
1:30 PM: 1/4 C Halo Top ice cream
4:00 PM: 1 box mac and cheese
6:30 PM: 3/4 C Halo Top ice cream

Day 11- April 18, 2017

After taking several days off from poking to enjoy Easter I need to get back on track. My blood sugar was 168 this morning. Not good. Here is what I ate today:

9:30 AM: 2 scrambled eggs, 1 T ketchup, 2 Kashi bars
10:30 AM: 3 Kashi bars
4:00 PM: 1 can tuna fish, 1 T mayo
5:30 PM: 2 C salad, 2 C mac and cheese
7:00 PM: 1 C mac and cheese

I made progress on sweeping the floors and then scrubbing them. I also washed the rugs.

Day 10- April 13, 2017

I don't feel well this morning. In fact, I started not feeling well last evening. I think I am dehydrated. I had troubles sleeping. My pancreas hurts worse than yesterday. My blood sugar was only 113 this morning, but I am sleep deprived and hurting. Here is what I ate today:

7:15 AM: 1 C mint tea
8:00 AM: 2 scrambled eggs, 2 slices turkey bacon, 1 T ketchup, 1 C mint tea
11:45 AM: 1 can tuna, 1 T mayo
5:30 PM: 1 1/2 C bean pasta with 2 T pumpkin pasta sauce, 2 scrambled eggs, 1 T ketchup

Day 9- April 12. 2007

I am happy to report that today's rising blood sugar reading was 96! Hooray! I felt shaky and just wanted to eat, so I almost skipped taking it. But my curiosity on how low it really was won over. I guess the exercise and eating better yesterday paid off. Here is what I ate today:

8:30 AM: 2 scrambled eggs, 2 slices turkey bacon, 1 T ketchup
11:30 AM: 1 box mac and cheese
4:00 PM: 1/2 C Halo Top ice cream
5:45 PM: 2 C salad, 1/2 C shrimp/veggies, 1/4 C clam chowder

Day 8 April 11, 2017

This morning my blood sugar was 125. I figure that isn't too bad for eating a whole box of mac and cheese. Here is what I ate today:

7:45 AM: 2 scrambled eggs, 2 slices turkey bacon, 1 T ketchup
11:00 AM: 1 can of tuna, 1 T mayo
2:30 PM: 2 C salad, 1 slice soy cheese
6:30 PM: 2 C salad, 1 hard boiled egg, 1 T honey mustard dressing, 1 C bean pasta with pumpkin pasta sauce, 1/2 C clam chowder

I also swam 20 laps.

Day 7- April 10, 2017

I missed a few days due to lack of motivation from some of the glucose readings I had. Today I decided to try to get back on track. My blood sugar was 119 this morning. That isn't too bad considering what I ate yesterday. Here is what I ate today:

5:45 AM: 2 scrambled eggs, 2 slices turkey bacon, 1 T ketchup
9:00 AM: 1 can tuna fish with 1 T mayo
12:00 PM: 2 C salad with 1 T honey mustard dressing
1:30 PM: 1 box mac and cheese
5:30 PM: 2 C salad, hard boiled egg, 1 C tomato soup

Day 6- April 7, 2017

Today the blood sugar was at 135. I need to say no to the granola bars. My pancreas was hurting less. Here is what I ate today:

8:30 AM: 3/4 C cereal with soy milk, 1 granola bar (peanut butter and chocolate chip)
10:00 AM: 2 scrambled eggs, 2 slices of turkey bacon, 1 T ketchup
1:30 PM: 1 tortilla bowl, 1 granola bar (peanut butter and chocolate chip)
3:00 PM: 3/4 C cereal with soy milk
5:30 PM: 1/2 plate of salad, 1/4 plate of vegetable chili, 2 egg salad

Day 5- April 6, 2017

Today I had a blood sugar reading of 125 which I figured wasn't too bad since I ate the box of mac and cheese yesterday. My husband had massaged my back last night and I took some pain pills to be able to sleep on my back. I woke up with less back pain. My pancreas has more of a dull aching pain than the sharp pain of the last couple of days. I took these as improvements.

Here is what I ate today:
8:30 AM: 1 granola bar (peanut butter and chocolate chip), 1 C tea
9:00 AM: 1 bowl of cereal with soy milk
11:45 AM: 2 scrambled eggs, 2 slices of turkey bacon
3:00 PM: 1 granola bar (peanut butter and chocolate chip), 1 C pasta with pumpkin sauce
4:30 PM: 1 granola bar (peanut butter and chocolate chip), 3/4 C cereal with soy milk
5:30 PM: shrimp with corn/red peppers/ketchup, 1/2 plate of salad

Day 4- April 5, 2017

Last night my pancreas hurt so much that I had to get up to take some pain medicine. I still had some troubles sleeping, but was able to finally get some rest. I woke this morning still in pain. Stupid turkey. I need to go back to a no meat diet. Anyway, I did get enough blood to get a good reading this morning of 108! Yay! The last few days work for the sugar has helped. Now to calm the pancreas down.

Here is what I ate today:
8:15 AM: 1 C tea
9:30 AM: 3/4 C cereal
11:00 AM: 1 box mac and cheese
2:00 PM: 1/2 C cereal with raisins
3:30 PM: 2 scrambled eggs and 2 slices of turkey bacon with 1 T ketchup
5:30 PM: 1 C refried beans, 3/4 C salad

Day 3- April 4, 2017

Today I woke up in pain. My pancreas was hurting. I think I was really dehydrated and had eaten too much meat lately. I also had been spending much of my last few days reading which resulted in sitting or lying around a lot. After drinking some water this morning, and then saying a pray, I was able to get a blood sugar reading of 130. Improvement! It is still a bit high, but it is motivating to keep trying with the blood sugar levels decreasing. Here is what I ate today:

9:30- 3/4 C cereal
12:30- 2 C salad
1:30- 2 scrambled eggs, 2 turkey bacon strips, 1 T ketchup
6:00- 1 1/2 C salad, 1/2 C vegetable chili, 1 C clam chowder soup

Exercise:
50 minutes walking (to church, the mall, and back home)
15 laps of swimming (about 20 minutes)
cleaned the fridge- bending, standing, moving

Day 2- April 3, 2017

Today I woke up and was brave enough to check my blood sugar level. It was 150. That is high, but not as high as I was worried it was going to be. It was motivating to get me to eat better though. Today's food diary is:

9:30- 1 C cereal
11:30- 1 C salad
12:30- 2 scrambled eggs, 2 slices turkey bacon, 1 T ketchup
2:30- 1 Crunch granola bar
3:30- 1 C mac and cheese
5:30- 2 S turkey, 1 C salad, 1/3 C stuffing, 1 T cranberry sauce
7:30- 2 scrambled eggs, 2 slices turkey bacon, 1 T ketchup (had withdraw cravings)

Day 1- April 2, 2017

Today I finished reading Gretchen Ruben's book, The Happiness Project, and am ready to embark on my own happiness adventure. I had already brainstormed some of the areas of my life that I would most like to see change and had created a PowerPoint of those ideas a few weeks ago. That made it very easy today to check out Gretchen's goal charts off of her site: http://gretchenrubin.com/get-started/get-started/ and type up my goals for the month.

This month I have the goal of getting my diabetes under control. It was a year and ten months ago that I was first diagnosed with diabetes. After a year and several months of working hard to bring my blood sugar down, I had great results last September with an A1C of a 6.5. I had finally broken under the elusive 7 A1C that the doctor wanted me to have. I was ecstatic!

Then disaster hit. I had one challenge after another present itself around that time: my father-in-law's battle with cancer that ended with his death at the end of November, my mom announcing her engagement with the marriage being held about five months later in February, a classroom of students with recognizable learning disabilities that were not diagnosed, and more. With so much stress in my daily life, I turned back to the habits that probably led to my diabetes in the first place- my bad eating.

Now I am on a mission to get my blood sugar levels back down to where I know they can be and to keep them there. Here are my goals for April:

1. Say no to carbs/sugar.
2. Eat vegetables.
3. Try a new recipe once a week. (I get sick of eating the same healthy foods over and over, so I need to find more ways to prepare them.)
4. Swim 4 times a week. (One of the only types of exercise I enjoy.)
5. Hike once a month. (I live in Hawaii. I should take advantage of the beauty.)
6. Jump rope, tennis, basketball twice a month. (I need to switch it up.)
7. Check my blood sugar every other morning. (I hate poking. I haven't poked since September.)
8. Keep a food diary. (I have been successful with making better food choices when I record what I am eating.)

Now begins the hard part of keep track and following my resolutions through. Here is what I ate today:
10 AM: 1 C of cereal with soy milk, 2 eggs with 1 T of ketchup, 2 slices of turkey bacon
12:30 PM: 1/2 C of macaroni and cheese, 1/2 C Zippy's chili, 1 Crunch granola bar package
3:30 PM: 3/4 C of macaroni and cheese, 1/2 C Zippy's chili
6:00 PM: 1 enchilada bowl

I definitely need to eat some vegetables tomorrow. I wonder what my blood sugar will be like in the morning. I didn't have my goal sheet complete until dinner time, so I guess tomorrow will be more of my first day with the new resolutions. I am trying to psych myself up. Here is to the new resolutions!