Sunday, January 22, 2012

Ow. Stop it.

I've been thinking about a post for a few weeks now and I haven't been sure about how to say what I want to say or even if I know what I want to say. Mostly the universe keeps kicking me in the head about some things in my life and to keep from getting my skull fractured, I'll write 'em down here.

I'll get in the Way Back Machine to start. A few months ago, I called in to get my blood pressure meds refilled and when I went to Fred at the pharmacy, he said that he'd had to call my doctor to get a renewal and that she wanted me to call her. When I got home, there was a message from her to call, so call I did. She said that I hadn't been in to see her for awhile (2 years) and she wanted to get my attention to make an appointment. Appointment made and away I went. I was able to get my bp meds changed from a beta blocker (the side effects were awful) to an ACE inhibitor (no side effects for me. Yay!). Had the annual (bi-annual) physical and some blood drawn. Turns out that I have what's known as "a little sugar" in my blood, also known as pre-diabetic. After all these years of eating whatever I wanted and sitting on my ass, it caught up to me. So off I went to the diabetic workshop to learn how to eat and I've started walking with my friend Ben. Our goal is to walk every night, which I have tried to do. My problem was that my shoes didn't fit right and after a very short time walking, they would kill my feet and make me ache all over. I knew I would be spending some $$ on good quality walking shoes and I didn't seem to be able to buy shoes on my own that fit properly, so yesterday I went with Mr. Bob to the New Balance store in Santa Monica. I was fitted and I love my new walking shoes. They don't pinch and they don't hurt. I walked last night and a short distance this morning and my feet don't hurt. It's a miracle.

As far as eating goes, I was doing pretty well for a bit and then I fell off the pre-diabetic food wagon, so today I went to Trader Joe's to get some food to climb back on the wagon. The basic food diagram for women is 30 carbs total for each meal and 15 carbs total for each snack. And no, carbs can't be 'saved' for later in the day. The goal is to balance the insulin levels. And here's another clue: sugar is sugar. Doesn't matter if it's sugar, honey, fructose, or any other kind. It all acts the same in your body. The real kicker for me is that I felt a lot better eating like this, so I'm going back to it.

Another way the universe is applying boot to brain is that every time I turn on the TV, I seem to land on an infomercial for an exercise dvd. Now, I have a few of those dvds and I have used them in the past and I know they work, so I keep getting these reminders to drag them out and use them. And I am. Today, I will be using my 10 Minute Trainer dvd and this week, Ofelia and I will work out to her Bar Method dvd. I will report back on what I did (or if I sloughed off and sat on my ass). I may go to a Zumba class, although I hate going to the gym. Some people do better with working out at a gym and some do better in their own living room. I belong to the latter bunch.

I'm going to go put my sweats on and work out. Next post: Paris and the ongoing effect on my life.

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