Archive for the ‘Weight, Weight, Don’t Tell Me– Does it have to do with what I eat?’ category

Ah. We Are Still Discussing Diabetic Diets. Hmm.

June 9th, 2011

I can’t believe we still discuss diets.  As in, what we eat, what we should eat, what supplements to take, who makes them, why we need them, why we don’t need them, what we do need, what we never need, what someone on the other side of the planet needs, what someone with green eyes needs, what an apple shape should eat and what a cantaloupe shape should eat and what a dear me pineapple shape should eat.

It’s enough to drive a person crazy.

And, then there is of course the dreaded DIABETIC DIET.  Cookbooks for DIABETICS and DIABETIC CANDY BARS and DIABETIC DRINKS and wow I’m surprised they haven’t come out with DIABETIC EAR CLEANERS by now.

I guess I feel the best when I don’t consider life in terms of “diabetic” and “non-diabetic” because I like to choose when I put on that moniker myself and not give that choice to others. 

It’s my disease, my choice when to be labeled. 

(Hey, I’m not saying I make a lot of sense all the time.)

I think my feathers get the most ruffled when it comes to a DIABETIC DIET.  Type one diabetes has a load in common with type two diabetes, but the advancements in insulin delivery technology over the past 30 years means to me that as a type one I don’t need to avoid much of anything when it comes to food.

(I need to avoid some of it for other reasons like my overall health and size, but that’s not what I’m talking about.)

And then Joslin enters the fray and I feel all hope may be lost.

Joslin, one of the most highly regarded and prolific diabetes knowledge and care centers in the world, and I’m getting miffed when they put up a blog about a DIABETIC DIET.

My prerogative, I guess.  Like I just said, I’m not one to make sense all the time.

Since I have found that the more I shoot for healthy eating the easier things go.  The less I think about “how many grams of protein am I eating” and the more I think about “how many different fruits and veggies can I eat in a day” the better things go.

So when Joslin puts out information with phrases like “ability to prevent or manage diabetes” then I really do request that this preeminent diabetes center be more responsible and specific.  I want them to say, in their own blog written by their own expert, something along the lines of “ability to prevent type two diabetes”. 

I just want those two extra words.  Heck, one of them can even just be a digit.

With news reporters discussing the various types of diets out there and they say things like “prevent or reverse diabetes” it makes my job that much harder.

I didn’t think any of us needed any of this to be MORE difficult.

And, for the record, the top three in the Joslin blog?  Each incorporate HEALTHY EATING and EXERCISE.

Maybe not as marketable, but definitely more effective.

Happy National Donut Day!

June 3rd, 2011

I found out this morning when I checked facebook that today is National Donut Day

Not only is it National Donut Day, but Krispy Kreme is giving away a free donut to every customer.

Yes!  Free.  Donut.  Every.  Person.

Well, that news changed my day quite a bit.  In a good way.

Happy Friday!!

Every time I see a donut I’m about to eat I think about the donuts our Sunday School teacher brought us when I was in confirmation in junior high.  As it was common knowledge I have diabetes, and since everyone knows DIABETICS CAN’T EAT SUGAR, he brought me a muffin each week.

Really quite kind of him if you think about it.

Now, this was back before I had a sliding scale or counted carbs or anything like we do now.  But let me tell you: this muffin was HUGE and it had nothing but pure sugar.  I probably would have been better off just eating a donut!

And then I started thinking (I was well into my third donut by this point- the second paid one) about how many people have commented on what I can and cannot eat in my 23 years of living with type one diabetes.

Add to that the fact I’m a fitness professional and used to weigh about 50 pounds more than I weigh now, and a marathoner, and someone who is just trying to do her best—but  it so often feels like any and every person who knows me has said something about something they’ve seen me put in my mouth.  I’ve stopped eating meals with others sometimes simply because I didn’t want them to evaluate my lunch.

But THEN you have to add in the fact that I don’t want to just tell everyone to leave me alone and scram—I want them to not keep asking or keep wondering.  I want to tell them the truth about eating with type one diabetes.

The truth is, it’s a lot of calculations.  It is a lot of trial and error.  It’s probably more “error” than “trial” really.  And the consequences range from uncomfortable to dire crisis to not being able to feel my legs as I stand 60 years from now.  It’s a lot of guessing and measuring and reading and thinking and trying and feeling like a failure.

It’s a lot of doing my best every day and feeling frustrated that perhaps my best isn’t going to be good enough.

And yet, if someone asks something about what “can” and “should” I eat, or makes a comment about me eating candy… I rarely get to tell them all of that.

I usually settle for saying something like “I can eat anything I want; I just need to count how much sugar is in the food.  It used to be that you had to eat your food to match your insulin, but now I match my insulin to the food I want to eat.”

Still, on a perfect day I wouldn’t need to explain anything—I could just eat—but for now, I guess I’ll stick with my standard response.

And enjoy my donuts.

Surprised by the Ranking of National Weight-Loss Programs

May 12th, 2011

I just read a report that Consumer Reports ranked weight loss programs this year and put Jenny Craig in first place, followed by (can you believe it) Slim Fast in second and Weight Watchers in third place.

Huh.

(I find it rather amusing that I got all huffy with the article as I read it.  Apparently, I found that Weight Watchers worked for me and am offended that anyone could possibly put it in third place!!!)

It makes sense, of course, that for weight loss, if you eat only what someone else puts in front of you that you will likely lose weight—because you aren’t making choices throughout your day.  Since Jenny Craig is a program with counseling and prepackaged food, there aren’t as many choices as you would face in the grocery store, food court, amusement park, cafeteria, or restaurant.   With the second place winner in the ranking none other than Slim Fast, I’m seeing where the dieters were going with this.

They wanted easy.

And simple.

And fast.

And no thought.

And no work.

Hmm.  Sounds like a lot of “we know we should but it’s just sooo muuuch wooorrrk” things out there.  Like, for example, keeping yourself healthy!

I don’t know where anyone got the idea that staying healthy and fit was supposed to be easy.  I don’t think it was ever supposed to be easy.  Sure, living with diabetes makes a lot of things more complicated than average, but I don’t think anyone has anything easy! 

Maybe the yo-yo diets have a lot to do with the “on a diet/ off a diet” concept, where you eat dramatically differently (or, in the case of Slim-Fast, you drink dramatically differently) when you are “on” than when you are “off.”

The thing is, though: your body needs to always be ON.  It functions best that way!!!  You can’t really have months where you do exercise or watch what you eat, and months where you don’t care.  As it goes with your blood sugars, you know it doesn’t work to your benefit that way!!  You need to keep a closer watch on yourself and your body.

All the time.

In real world scenarios.

So that when you DO need to find something to eat at an amusement park or vending machine, you can make good choices for yourself.  When you have a high you can’t seem to bring down, you know that taking a walk after a meal can help as much as an extra shot of insulin.

It’s all about real world living every day.

How could it be anything else, really, when it comes down to it?

You can do it.  You can make your life work with the body you have.  You can make your body work better for you if you work on it slowly but surely and steadily.

Go for it!

Tired of Your Own Excuses?

May 4th, 2011

Do you ever listen to yourself and get tired of hearing your own excuses?  I do.  I’m not putting myself on any other level than anyone else on this: I think some days I accomplish perhaps more than some average bears only because I’m scared that my true laziness will someday be revealed!

I do get tired of my excuses though.  I get tired of pondering changes or worse yet knowing what steps to change I should make, having them even in order as to priority, and for some reason not making the changes.  Do you know what I’m talking about?

Not that me being tired of hearing them leads me to stop making the same excuses all the time.  (I told you, I’m just like everyone else when it comes to some things.)  Sometimes I need some time to get riled up enough at my own excuses that I make a change, take a step, and really get moving in the right direction.

So when someone else gets a bee in their bonnet about hearing excuses I have to laugh a little.  Because I understand: life is about choices, and we don’t always agree with the choices others around us have made.  (Stood next to a smoker lately?)  As a trainer, I am sometimes hired by a client who is trying to avoid their own excuses… or, rather, perhaps they want to tell the excuses to someone new.

I also love it when the bee in that bonnet has also been in MY bonnet, and has spurred me to say the same exact things that I’m hearing them say.  It makes me feel like I am doing the right thing with myself.

You can read the blog that I read if you want some additional reading today.  I like how the author moves from a complaint (hearing excuses) to an action plan (create a priority list)—one of my favorite transitions to make!  If you can complain about it, there is someone out there who can help you with an action plan to fix it.

If it is fitness-related, you already know someone you can call who can literally get you moving in the right direction.

If it’s health-related, you may have a team in place already and you can add me to your team for the day-to-day living you are working on.

No more excuses. 

Why Don’t I Weigh Less?

April 25th, 2011

As my Memorial Day marathon approaches, I’ve gotten the same question from my boot campers a few times. 

I don’t keep my mileage on my long runs (Saturdays most often, this week I woke at 4am to get it done) a secret.  I doubt anyone would, when they get up crazy early and run 17 miles before most wake up for their weekend!

So when a bootcamper asks on Monday how far I went this weekend, sometimes they ask more questions.  The past few weeks, someone has asked me why I don’t lose weight when I run so much.

(Fortunately, I haven’t yet been offended by a weight-related question from a bootcamper.  I figure they ask because they’re comfortable with me, and as a trainer, my body is at issue for my clients.  So why not.)

But back to the question: Amy, why don’t you lose weight when you’re running 17 miles at a time??

Well, there are several reasons I maintain my weight regardless of the number of miles I run.  Two reasons in particular.

Most importantly, I maintain my weight because I eat more as I run more.  It’s just how it works.  I also eat WHILE I run to maintain my blood glucose levels and my energy. 

I also don’t run off that many calories, all things considered.  I burn maybe 80 calories per mile, so really, it isn’t that much weight.  (I’m a pretty small creature compared to most and have been running for a long time.)  If I eat 200 calories while I’m running, and if I ran 17 miles at 80 calories per mile, that’s a net calorie loss of 1160.  Spread out over a few hours, and discounting the amount of calories I would have used sitting at my computer or sleeping, and it simply doesn’t end up a huge calorie toll.  (I’d have to do those 17 miles four times to come close to burning off a pound.)

The other part is much more complicated and one I think is often too complicated for a bootcamp discussion: remember—they are at bootcamp to exercise, not to talk!  (I heard that snicker, Bootcampers!)

One of the other reasons I maintain my weight regardless of the number of miles I run has to do, I think, with my diabetes.  My daily insulin requirements aren’t much different from the months I run and the months I don’t run.  Sure, the basal rates are different (lower when I run more), but the amount of insulin I take to cover the increased carbohydrates I eat ends up evening things out when I compare it to the higher basal rate I need to take when I’m not doing the aerobic work and don’t eat as many carbohydrates to fuel the work. 

Since the amount of insulin I take affects storage of body fat and my weight, if I take the same average amount of insulin then I won’t really change my weight much at all.

The third reason is that I’m not trying to lose weight.  If I were trying to lose weight, I’d eat less food and take less insulin and keep up my exercise regimen… but I wouldn’t run marathons at the same time.  Those two objectives (losing weight and running a marathon) place competing, intense, high-powered demands on my body and I don’t want to ever place that much stress on my body—I need it to last me the rest of my life!!

If you want help making your way through any distance or achieving a weight goal, I’m here to help!! Contact me at www.DiabetesOutside.com/be_fit.html

Earth Day with Diabetes (Vegans, beware!)

April 22nd, 2011

I’m always frustrated that I can’t recycle my pump supply packaging, nor can I recycle my strip vials.  I know there is some sort of sterile reason for this, but knowing that doesn’t help so much on a day like today: Earth Day.

Happy Earth Day!

Earth Day is a day to focus on our impact on our environment.  I was reading an article about how much of an impact eating meat and dairy has on the environment, in a substantially negative way.  One of my reactions as I read was “do you want to take protein away, too?”

I think living with diabetes makes me feel like my carbohydrate choices are somewhat limited, and I’m curious if you can relate.  I don’t mean to say my choices ARE limited, and I certainly cannot keep up my fitness and running without some serious carbohydrate support, but it’s more of a mental thing than literal.

I have to watch my carbs.  Literally: I need to count every gram I eat!  But I don’t do that with my grams of protein in the same way.

(Sure, I have counted all of my foods in various ways for various reasons, most notably counting Weight Watchers Points for a few years as I worked to get myself to a healthy weight.  It’s an important skill to have, but it isn’t something I enjoy doing all the time.  If I think too much about the food I’m eating and if I try to micromanage the eating experience more than I have to, I’ve noticed my life becomes generally less enjoyable.)

I appreciate having some things on my plate I don’t have to care about, or count.  It used to be vegetables for a long time, until one CDE said to me once a very long time ago “I don’t recommend diabetics eat carrots on their own as a snack” and that shifted the way I see vegetables a little.  (It was a sad day.)

But so far, lean protein has remained a respite from my food counting, and I appreciate it if only for that reason.  I like eating a stick of low fat string cheese and not touching my pump for that.  I like snagging a few almonds and not touching my pump.  I like grabbing a hardboiled egg and only bolusing for the fruit or toast I have with it.

So, while I am happy to applaud efforts to minimize our carbon footprints, I’m happier still if I can minimize any counting when it comes to animal protein. 

I may take this idea into consideration, though, as it isn’t like I really enjoy eating a lot of meat:

Substitute a vegetable protein source for an animal protein just one day per week, and over the course of a year, you’ll shave off the equivalent of driving 1,160 miles per year.  If every American did this, we would save 1.7 billion gallons of fuel annually.*

As long as I can still have something on my plate that I don’t need to count, I’ll be happy.

What about you?

Happy Earth Day!

*Go Green Get Lean by Kate Geagan (Rodale 2009)

Big Efforts, Small Rewards Day 2

April 13th, 2011

 (Hasn’t changed; losing weight is still work.)

As you work at losing weight, you need to congratulate yourself on each mini milestone you reach.  Some celebrate with a pedicure, some with a new workout outfit, some with a massage… and some (ironically) with a nice dinner.  How about a new pair of shoes!

But how do you know which milestone to celebrate?

Weight Watchers used to recognize every five pounds.  Maybe they still do?  But I’m not talking about milestones being numbers—I’m talking about those milestones that make a massive difference in your daily life once you achieve them.

I’ll just list a couple milestones you might want to celebrate.

  1. (A client told me this one the other day and I am still smiling at her progress!) No longer needing to shop in “the big girls” section of a store.  Woot!!
  2. Climbing to your front door while holding groceries… and not being out of breath when you get there!
  3. The XXL pants falling off as you wear them.
  4. Climbing a flight of steps without your knees and/or back hurting.
  5. Going to the grocery store and not once thinking about going down the cracker/chips/cookies aisle… or, thinking about it and deciding to skip the trip down the aisle.
  6. Recognizing that getting in and out of your car is easier than it used to be.
  7. Reaching a certain destination/distance before you need to take a break to catch your breath.
  8. The glorious sound of a zipper zipping up without the painful groans, gasps, or sucks as you struggle.
  9. Hearing yourself say “yes” to an invitation you might not have said yes to previously.
  10. Recognizing that today you made a great effort to take care of that one body you’ve got to make last your entire life. 

If you think about these for a minute or two, you’ll see that these are in no way “small” rewards.  THEY ARE HUGE.  It’s just sometimes we forget them and get discouraged all over again if we’ve had a bad day or the scale says something we don’t want to see.

Try making a list of reasons you want to lose weight.  Yes, an actual, physical, pen and paper list.  Make it full of small reasons and big reasons.  Once you’ve accomplished something on that list, celebrate your progress.

You can do this.

I’m here if you need help.