I got on the scales and I was 1lb below 13st! I don't know how it has happened (maybe all the cycling?) but WOW! A miracle has been bestowed upon me!
Monday, 24 October 2011
Wednesday, 21 September 2011
A Walk in the Park
I bumped into Max last week, which reminded me I haven't posted for a while. I have to say I miss him. His sense of humour always brightens the day. I was attending a series of 'training clinics' aimed at the newly diabetic.
What can I say about them? A lot of it was truly numpty. I know all about how diabetes works. In fact, more than the nurse did, as she confidently told everyone that glucose was absorbed from the stomach. Er, no, the only things absorbed from the stomach are pretty much aspirin and alcohol. Anyway, I kept stumm, as I could see the others in the room really did need it dumbed down that much. One chap quit, saying he didn't want to learn how to be a doctor. Sigh. Trust me, there's no danger of that here.
Then it got more interesting, as they started to tell me things I didn't know - about insulin types and different GIs, which is unfortunately, nothing to do with muscled Americans in khaki uniforms. GI stands for Glycemic Index, a measure of how fast the sugar from foods gets into your blood stream. I had no idea that French bread (high GI) was a death trap compared to ice-cream (low GI). I went straight home and ate three bowls of mint choc-chip.
Finally, we got to watch a video about a bloater called George, who fails to starve himself into being slim. Then he takes up basket ball and suddenly all the fat goes away. Give me strength. OK, maybe I shouldn't speak so harshly of George. I just wish the condescending signs telling me to 'walk instead of taking the lift' were not based on fantasy.
I saw an ad on the back of a bus recently. It said
"Lose your spare tyre? It's a walk in the park!"
No it [insert swear word of choice] isn't! Really, health advice should have some sort of basis in reality. Politicians lie. The medical profession shouldn't. If I could lose my spare tyre by walking in the park, I should have the figure of Naomi Campbell by now. Instead, all I have is her temper when I try to cut down on food. Maybe if she ate a bit more, she'd be less aggressive too.
So I went to see yet another dietitian, who went through the 'so you think you're different' spiel. No, I think I know myself by now, and all the problems I have do occur in other people too. I just seem to have difficulty overcoming them. She suggested eating less and doing more aerobic stuff. Surprise!
My main problems are a) I forget to count what I'm eating. I never weigh things. I'm busy. This is not an excuse. It is a fact.
b) If I don't eat enough, I scream at people. This is not fair on my family and deleterious to my career. Again, this is not an excuse. It is a fact.
c) I eat on the run most of the time. It is spooned into me in between fetching the kids from after-school clubs and going for a swim. It isn't something I spend a lot of time deliberating about. It isn't enough of a priority for me, despite being something I worry about constantly. This needs to change before anything will work.
If you took me away from my current life, tucked me up in a health spa and took away all the stress that triggers the screaming-during-hunger outbursts, then I am sure I would lose weight just like anyone else.
What can I say about them? A lot of it was truly numpty. I know all about how diabetes works. In fact, more than the nurse did, as she confidently told everyone that glucose was absorbed from the stomach. Er, no, the only things absorbed from the stomach are pretty much aspirin and alcohol. Anyway, I kept stumm, as I could see the others in the room really did need it dumbed down that much. One chap quit, saying he didn't want to learn how to be a doctor. Sigh. Trust me, there's no danger of that here.
Then it got more interesting, as they started to tell me things I didn't know - about insulin types and different GIs, which is unfortunately, nothing to do with muscled Americans in khaki uniforms. GI stands for Glycemic Index, a measure of how fast the sugar from foods gets into your blood stream. I had no idea that French bread (high GI) was a death trap compared to ice-cream (low GI). I went straight home and ate three bowls of mint choc-chip.
Finally, we got to watch a video about a bloater called George, who fails to starve himself into being slim. Then he takes up basket ball and suddenly all the fat goes away. Give me strength. OK, maybe I shouldn't speak so harshly of George. I just wish the condescending signs telling me to 'walk instead of taking the lift' were not based on fantasy.
I saw an ad on the back of a bus recently. It said
"Lose your spare tyre? It's a walk in the park!"
No it [insert swear word of choice] isn't! Really, health advice should have some sort of basis in reality. Politicians lie. The medical profession shouldn't. If I could lose my spare tyre by walking in the park, I should have the figure of Naomi Campbell by now. Instead, all I have is her temper when I try to cut down on food. Maybe if she ate a bit more, she'd be less aggressive too.
So I went to see yet another dietitian, who went through the 'so you think you're different' spiel. No, I think I know myself by now, and all the problems I have do occur in other people too. I just seem to have difficulty overcoming them. She suggested eating less and doing more aerobic stuff. Surprise!
My main problems are a) I forget to count what I'm eating. I never weigh things. I'm busy. This is not an excuse. It is a fact.
b) If I don't eat enough, I scream at people. This is not fair on my family and deleterious to my career. Again, this is not an excuse. It is a fact.
c) I eat on the run most of the time. It is spooned into me in between fetching the kids from after-school clubs and going for a swim. It isn't something I spend a lot of time deliberating about. It isn't enough of a priority for me, despite being something I worry about constantly. This needs to change before anything will work.
If you took me away from my current life, tucked me up in a health spa and took away all the stress that triggers the screaming-during-hunger outbursts, then I am sure I would lose weight just like anyone else.
Monday, 25 July 2011
Cholesterol
What is the deal with cholesterol? Yes, yes, I know fatty crap in your arteries gets stuck and blocks the flow leading to strokes, high blood pressure and heart attacks. That's not news. Cholesterol is high in most people with a Western diet, because we eat way too much junk. That's the current thinking.
My cholesterol was 5.4, which I was told was 'below average' but still 'too high', which kind of doesn't bear out much hope for the rest of the population. If the fat woman has lower than average cholesterol, everyone else must live on lard.
On the other hand, cholesterol isn't all bad. We need some to keep our nerves working properly. We also use it to make serotonin, which helps to make us happy. Very low cholesterol is linked to depression, aggression and high suicide rates.
Anyway, being a good girl (or at least trying to avoid sugary fatty stuff so I don't feel diabetically awful), I cut out some of the bad stuff; not all of it, by any means - I haven't had a personality transplant - and guess what? My cholesterol is now 4.6. How good is that?
I have no idea if my arteries are rejoicing with a new-found anti-atherosclerosis, plaque-free existence, but I have a revived belief that maybe, just maybe, I can change my future.
My cholesterol was 5.4, which I was told was 'below average' but still 'too high', which kind of doesn't bear out much hope for the rest of the population. If the fat woman has lower than average cholesterol, everyone else must live on lard.
On the other hand, cholesterol isn't all bad. We need some to keep our nerves working properly. We also use it to make serotonin, which helps to make us happy. Very low cholesterol is linked to depression, aggression and high suicide rates.
Anyway, being a good girl (or at least trying to avoid sugary fatty stuff so I don't feel diabetically awful), I cut out some of the bad stuff; not all of it, by any means - I haven't had a personality transplant - and guess what? My cholesterol is now 4.6. How good is that?
I have no idea if my arteries are rejoicing with a new-found anti-atherosclerosis, plaque-free existence, but I have a revived belief that maybe, just maybe, I can change my future.
Wednesday, 29 June 2011
National Cycle Week
In the spirit of National Cycle Week, I have started cycling to work. This means I'm doing about 5 miles a day on the bike. It isn't a pretty sight, but I quite enjoy the freedom of sailing down the hills - if not the panting and pain of going up them.
I hopped on the scales yesterday to find them hovering at around the 13st mark. This seems bizarrely light. I can't remember the last time I dipped under 13st. Maybe my scales are broken.
More worryingly, my blood sugar is disgustingly high in the mornings, so this could account for the unexpected weight loss. It is quite possible that I'm peeing out sugar and hence not using it to top up my fat reserves.
I am, however, trying to avoid sugar as much as possible, mostly because it makes me feel dizzy and crap if I have a large dose of it. This impromptu change in nutrition may also have contributed to the surprise weight loss. Who knows?
Friday, 13 May 2011
Speedy!
I finally did it! I managed to lope 5km in under 40 minutes. OK, so I only broke the barrier by a handful of seconds, but I don't care. I am fab. I am speedy! I've knocked loads of time off since I started doing this running. It must be doing me good.
Sunday, 8 May 2011
The Forest is Further.
It must be further round the forest. I did the 5km on the treadmill again in 42 minutes, but so far I've failed to beat 52 minutes round the forest. There is obviously some sort of extra dimension around which I need to jog when doing it outdoors.
My sugar was 9.1 when I checked it yesterday. This is a slight improvement. I have had no sugar for several days but I don't feel any different. I need some more of those blood test strips.
Taking up jogging and giving up sugar has had no effect on my weight at all. I still weigh between 13 and 13.5 stone. I still look like a pink Buddha, but without the laughing face and ability to bless people. I am the shape of a Teletubby; all I need is Beatrice's hat to act as antennae.
Last week I did 20 hours exercise, ranging from jogging to climbing to walking. I ate no sugar. None. Except the muesli bar when I did the 15 mile walk. And I think I deserved that.
I don't know what else to do.
My sugar was 9.1 when I checked it yesterday. This is a slight improvement. I have had no sugar for several days but I don't feel any different. I need some more of those blood test strips.
Taking up jogging and giving up sugar has had no effect on my weight at all. I still weigh between 13 and 13.5 stone. I still look like a pink Buddha, but without the laughing face and ability to bless people. I am the shape of a Teletubby; all I need is Beatrice's hat to act as antennae.
Last week I did 20 hours exercise, ranging from jogging to climbing to walking. I ate no sugar. None. Except the muesli bar when I did the 15 mile walk. And I think I deserved that.
I don't know what else to do.
Monday, 25 April 2011
10.5
I have just worked out why I feel so fab after a work-out. It's because my sugar is lower. I haven't done my sugar for a while. This morning it was 10.5, and yes, that is before breakfast and no, I hadn't eaten anything for about 14 hours except a cup of tea (without sugar). Shit shit shit. Back to the doctors. It does explain why I feel like I haven't slept all night, despite having had a reasonable number of hours.
I did run the woodland circuit again - 5.2km in 52 minutes - which was slow compared to the treadmill. Then again, it includes up hill and tree roots, so maybe I shouldn't be surprised.
I am quite annoyed with the whole Health Trainer programme. Ms Sabbath managed to get rid of me by simply not booking another appointment. The help was not targetted to what I need anyway, which is why it didn't work. For some god-unknown reason they think that telling me to eat a certain way makes it happen. Seriously, I KNOW WHAT I SHOULD BE DOING! I JUST CAN'T DO IT.
So, as Max predicted, I'm diabetic, with aching joints, high cholesterol and I think the last prediction he had for me was immobility followed by early death. Always good to see the sooth-sayer has it right. Can I transfer my affections to the fat-removal magician now, please?
Miserable and knackered.
Jem x
I did run the woodland circuit again - 5.2km in 52 minutes - which was slow compared to the treadmill. Then again, it includes up hill and tree roots, so maybe I shouldn't be surprised.
I am quite annoyed with the whole Health Trainer programme. Ms Sabbath managed to get rid of me by simply not booking another appointment. The help was not targetted to what I need anyway, which is why it didn't work. For some god-unknown reason they think that telling me to eat a certain way makes it happen. Seriously, I KNOW WHAT I SHOULD BE DOING! I JUST CAN'T DO IT.
So, as Max predicted, I'm diabetic, with aching joints, high cholesterol and I think the last prediction he had for me was immobility followed by early death. Always good to see the sooth-sayer has it right. Can I transfer my affections to the fat-removal magician now, please?
Miserable and knackered.
Jem x
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