Hi, everybody. Sorry I have been off the journals so long. LTO - JTO - pretty much EVERYTHING else took over my life here for a few days. However, I have good news (as my sister alluded to above), so I won't keep you in suspense any longer!!! (I just know that everyone here has stopped everything they are doing and has been checking my journal 10 times a day to see what's up!!
)
As I mentioned a couple of weeks ago, I stopped eating dairy foods at the first of the year. This is in addition to not eating gluten due to the celiac disease. My initial testing showed that I was sensitive to dairy, but I wasn't ready to get rid of both at the same time. As 2007 wound to a close, it became apparent to me that dairy was bothering me. The fibromyalgia pain was pretty much gone (which is a great thing, believe me), but the exhaustion just wasn't budging much. It was still a huge effort just to get up and get through the day. And if I ate lots of dairy in one day, the exhaustion effect was more pronounced. So I finally decided if I could stop eating gluten, I could stop eating dairy. And guess what? Over the last week, I have felt better than I have felt in years. A LOT better. In fact, to quote James Brown:
I FEEL GOOD!!! NA-NA-NA-NA-NA-NA-NA
I KNEW THAT I WOULD!!! NA-NA-NA-NA-NA-NA-NA
The exhaustion is starting to lift. It's not totally gone, but it is definitely starting to lift. What a miracle - a true gift! I am starting to feel like myself again - and it's been a LONG time coming. "You are what you eat" has taken on a whole new meaning for me. NO FOOD IN THIS WORLD is worth being as sick and feeling as bad as I have felt for all these years - not even Krispy Kreme doughnuts (a particular weakness of mine back in the days BGF (before gluten free)). Now that I am starting to feel better, it is easier to focus on what I want to do for my health and weight loss efforts in the next few months. Still interested, dear readers?? Here we go:
After consulting with my doctor this week (the one who diagnosed the celiac disease), this is the plan: I have type 2 diabetes and high blood pressure. My blood sugar and blood pressure levels are higher than she would like (not in a dangerous zone yet, but still too high). I have three months to bring them down with diet and exercise (in addition to the medication I already take). If they don't come down in that time frame, then changes will have to be made to my medication regimen. I have no desire to take more medication or become insulin-dependent. In actuality, I want to take less (or no) medication at some point in the future. So I am well aware of what is at stake here. Her suggestion was to come off the wheat-free ediets plan and start a low-carb plan. Even though I am gluten free, the carbs that I have been eating (rice, potatoes, rice pasta) are raising my blood sugar too much at this point. If I stick to a low carb plan, it should help to stabilize the blood sugars and help me lose weight, which would lower my blood pressure. I told her about the 5K at Disney in May and that I was committed to doing it with Stacie. She thought it was a great idea, and said she was proud of me for taking it on because she knows what a challenge it will be. She feels that if I hit the exercise hard (six days a week), follow the low carb plan, take my medication as I normally do, and drink the water I need, we should see the results she (and I) want. She also did some blood work to test my thyroid levels, because she suspects I may need some thyroid medication as well, since most people with celiac disease eventually have some thyroid issues at some point. She also suggested that I journal my food intake, water intake and exercise each day so that I can see how it is affecting me and so that I will be accountable for my choices. So I have decided to do that here at the end of my regular journal entries. On the days that I don't have time to do a regular entry, I'll just quickly put in my food intake, water intake and exercise for consistency's sake. Feel free to ignore that part of the entry if you like - that's just for me!
I also went to see my chiropractor, whom I had not seen in - count 'em, folks - FIVE WEEKS!!! He was very pleased that it had been so long and that I was not in any severe pain at all. He adjusted me and then we talked a bit about my eating and exercise plan. He called me inspirational
because he said that through all the health issues - fibromyalgia, celiac disease, severe back injury and pain - I never gave in. I always remained who I was and didn't let the health problems take over. He says I am a fighter - other people on these boards have said that, too - and I am starting to think of myself as a fighter. And it's a good feeling - a very positive place to be.
So this week, I started on Week 2 of the C25K training plan. I have done Week 1 twice, so I figured it was time to move forward. I trained Tuesday morning, did a Leslie Sansone Walk Away the Pounds tape Wednesday morning, and trained again this morning. It is tough, but I am doing it. And when I am out there, walking and jogging, I think about where I was last year this time - so exhausted that getting out of bed to take a shower had to be done in two parts. I had to take the shower, dry off and lay down to rest, then get up, get dressed and try to make it through my day. I would drive to work and pray for the strength to walk from my car to the office. I would drag through my work shift, drive home, then pray for the strength to walk from the car to my house. And that was my life on a daily basis. So to come from that to training for a 5K event - and doing it early in the morning, then working all day and being able to handle it all without collapsing - is a miracle. I say again,
IT'S A MIRACLE!!! And as I'm puffing along, I think about all this and I feel empowered. For the first time in a LONG time, I feel in control. I feel
LARGE AND IN CHARGE!!! Okay, hopefully as I go along I will be a little less LARGE, but still IN CHARGE!
So I guess I have rambled on here for far too long. But so many of you have followed my struggle since last fall, and I wanted you to know that things are definitely looking up with my health issues and my ability to do the training I need for May. I don't know how the race itself will go. Hopefully I finish it in the time frame allotted. But even if I don't, just training for it and making the attempt is more than I would have dreamed possible just a few short months ago.
As always, thanks to all of you for the support and encouragement you've given me here. I hope all of you have a great day!
Food for Yesterday:
Breakfast - Two boiled eggs, 4 oz. turkey sausage
Lunch - Tuna with mayo and mustard on lettuce with low fat Italian dressing
Snack - One boiled egg, 1/2 cup cucumber slices
Dinner - 4 oz. pork chop, 1/2 cup green beans, 1/2 mixed vegetables
Water for Yesterday:
170 oz.
Exercise for Yesterday:
Leslie Sansone Walk Away the Pounds video for 30 minutes
Seems like a great thing to do and I KNOW with your determination, you'll do an awesome job.
I hope you are feeling better soon and that you can get some estimates for the plumbing work that needs to be done.
) - I plan to continue with it because I think it will strengthen my core muscles and help to keep me from having severe back problems again.
