Whew - 4 miles yesterday! It was a decent run, I think. I did go low mid-run, but I had my trusty Clif energy shot with me, so that did the trick. I like the mocha flavor, it's got some caffeine in it. Caffeine doesn't keep me up or anything - I can drink espresso and go straight to bed - but I do think I notice some energy when I use the gel while running. Of course, it could just be that it brings my blood sugar up, so I feel more energetic in general. I'm actually trying to figure out how to work the gels into my runs even when I'm not low, just for general energy. I just don't want to mis-time it with my insulin and then go really high. And of course, I'd like to not go low mid-run, either. I guess this is what training is for!
Weight this morning: 162.4 lbs.
Wednesday, July 10, 2013
Sunday, July 7, 2013
Eeek - skip the run?!
I hate to say it, but I think I'm skipping the run today. I should have gone earlier, but by the time I was about to go (I was literally outside in my running clothes), I looked at the radar and saw a giant storm about to roll through. Now it's raining still, and I'm frackin' hungry, and I'm losing light. And my CGM sensor is starting up with it's stupid 2 hour window. If it was a real "long run" I might worry about it, but it was only 4 miles today. Still... hate to get off schedule. Better planning next time!
Saturday, July 6, 2013
Woops!
I have no idea what happened with my blood sugar overnight, but it was not impressed with my attempts to wrangle it.
I did go out last night. It was really fun, I had three drinks. I hadn't planned on eating, but I got this grilled flat bread with tomatoes, feta, onions, green peppers... I think some lemon oil. Anyway, this probably sent my calories higher than I would have liked, but I think I still came in under 1900.
My blood sugar shot high, which was very frustrating, because I dosed for what I ate. Did I say very frustrating? Let's go with EXTREMELY frustrating. I'm not sure if my insulin-to-carb ratios are off these days, but I feel like I'm going high a lot more than usual after I eat. I'm not sure that it's my I:C, I feel like maybe it's that I need to be pre-bolusing a little more. Not sure why I would all of a sudden need to be doing that, but I guess it could happen.
Anyway, I went to bed at 240-something, I think. I took the insulin to cover it. I woke up at frickin' 300! What's up with that?! That was about 5:30 AM. I bolused to cover (through my pump) and woke up three hours later at 271. I was set to change my pump site tonight, but all I can think is that my absorption has petered out. Anyway, I took some more insulin, this time with a syringe, and then changed my pump out. According to my CGM, I'm at 184 and dropping like a rock with double down arrows. Ugh, I just felt so gross, having been that high all night.
Today is my off day from exercise. I've got a 4-mile run tomorrow, which is a bit of a back-off, since next Sunday I'll be doing 6 miles. I weighed in at 163.4 lbs this morning. Not bad considering I ate late yesterday, which tends to throw me off.
Well, I'm off to watch the ladies Wimbledon championship!
I did go out last night. It was really fun, I had three drinks. I hadn't planned on eating, but I got this grilled flat bread with tomatoes, feta, onions, green peppers... I think some lemon oil. Anyway, this probably sent my calories higher than I would have liked, but I think I still came in under 1900.
My blood sugar shot high, which was very frustrating, because I dosed for what I ate. Did I say very frustrating? Let's go with EXTREMELY frustrating. I'm not sure if my insulin-to-carb ratios are off these days, but I feel like I'm going high a lot more than usual after I eat. I'm not sure that it's my I:C, I feel like maybe it's that I need to be pre-bolusing a little more. Not sure why I would all of a sudden need to be doing that, but I guess it could happen.
Anyway, I went to bed at 240-something, I think. I took the insulin to cover it. I woke up at frickin' 300! What's up with that?! That was about 5:30 AM. I bolused to cover (through my pump) and woke up three hours later at 271. I was set to change my pump site tonight, but all I can think is that my absorption has petered out. Anyway, I took some more insulin, this time with a syringe, and then changed my pump out. According to my CGM, I'm at 184 and dropping like a rock with double down arrows. Ugh, I just felt so gross, having been that high all night.
Today is my off day from exercise. I've got a 4-mile run tomorrow, which is a bit of a back-off, since next Sunday I'll be doing 6 miles. I weighed in at 163.4 lbs this morning. Not bad considering I ate late yesterday, which tends to throw me off.
Well, I'm off to watch the ladies Wimbledon championship!
Friday, July 5, 2013
I wanted to eat all the food
Yesterday was tough, dudes and dudettes. I was just so hungry and I wanted to eat crap so badly! But I totally didn't! Win.
I ran 3 miles yesterday. It went fine, although I've been running longer distances recently, and I think I managed to convince myself that 3 miles would be easy peasy... not exactly true. Three miles is still three miles, let me tell you! It was a bit hot, too. I don't know, it just took forever for my legs to warm up.
Today, I'm taking a pretty easy day. I've been watching Wimbledon. I met some friends that were in town just for the morning. They wanted to get ice cream, so I went. I got the Death by Chocolate - I'm pretty sure I did die and go to nirvana. I only ate a little bit, though. I dosed for the carbs, but my blood sugar still shot up to 243. It came down pretty quickly with some extra insulin, though.
I'm going to go to the gym tonight. Kinda want to drink tonight, but I'll have to make sure my calories are on track. I'm at 693 right now, so if I don't overdo it on dinner, I can probably get a couple drinks in without going too high on calories. We'll see.
I ran 3 miles yesterday. It went fine, although I've been running longer distances recently, and I think I managed to convince myself that 3 miles would be easy peasy... not exactly true. Three miles is still three miles, let me tell you! It was a bit hot, too. I don't know, it just took forever for my legs to warm up.
Today, I'm taking a pretty easy day. I've been watching Wimbledon. I met some friends that were in town just for the morning. They wanted to get ice cream, so I went. I got the Death by Chocolate - I'm pretty sure I did die and go to nirvana. I only ate a little bit, though. I dosed for the carbs, but my blood sugar still shot up to 243. It came down pretty quickly with some extra insulin, though.
I'm going to go to the gym tonight. Kinda want to drink tonight, but I'll have to make sure my calories are on track. I'm at 693 right now, so if I don't overdo it on dinner, I can probably get a couple drinks in without going too high on calories. We'll see.
Thursday, July 4, 2013
First post!
I have been an a journey to become healthier for that last two years.
This journey has been a bit of a roller coaster. But let me back up. I was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes when I was eleven years old. It was a rocky road for a long time. When you're a kid, you cannot comprehend the meaning of the phrase "long-term." That concept is at odds with being young for most of us. Well, it certainly was for me. I'm embarrassed to admit how long it took me to get myself together and actually start giving a damn about myself. It wasn't until I was 26. January 2011 was a real turning point for me. I realized, however, that to succeed, I was going to need to surround myself by people who could help me, because I seemed to be incapable of helping myself. The first person I went to see was a counsellor - after all, if you know what you need to do for 15 years and you just don't do it, something is wrong upstairs. I also saw my regular doctor, a nutritionist (who was amazing), and an exercise person (I don't know what her official title was.) I was able to really turn things around for myself and my HbA1c quickly came down to 6.8% in the first 4 months. That was extremely motivating.
While I was learning how to give a shit about myself, I had no delusions of grandeur, shall we say. I was covering what I ate with insulin and trying to stay away from really stupid food choices, but I was in no way trying to lose weight. In fact, by May 2011, I had put on 10 lbs. I attribute it to the fact that my blood sugars were not running high all the time anymore, which can cause weight loss, or, in my case, it was keeping my weight slightly lower than it should have been. I graduated from college that month. My pictures aren't pretty.
In June 2011, I went on a trip with a really good friend of mine. She tries to eat pretty healthy, and I sort of noticed. Again, I wasn't trying to make any changes. I remember, however, we were swimming in a pool, and she told me about a website where you could log your food intake and count calories. I figured, heck, I'll give it a whirl. It wasn't like I had some epiphany. I just though, why not? My starting weight was 192 lbs. I got the first comment about 10 lbs of loss into my journey. I started graduate school in August 2011, which involved a move halfway across the country. I kept going. By March 2013, at 164 lbs, I had lost almost 30 lbs.
I decided to start on an insulin pump. This was the best decision in regards to my diabetes that I have ever made. It was a struggle for me to exercise while doing insulin shots, because I was taking Lantus insulin. Lantus is a long acting basal insulin. While that's all well and good, when I went to exercise, I had no flexibility with it, and if I didn't eat almost as many calories I would burn, my blood sugar would go low. Now, with a pump, I just turn down my basal rate before I work out, and often can avoid those lows without having to eat a bunch beforehand. However, starting on the pump was a process, and I had to put my weight loss goals on hold while I sorted out my levels.
By May 2012, I was ready to keep going. I set a goal to see 154 lbs on the scale before going on a trip in July, and I met that goal with a few days to spare - 154.8 lbs. Unfortunately, that was the lowest I ever got.
This past school year, it has been difficult for me to stay motivated. By Christmas of last year, I was up to 167 lbs. The highest I saw was about 4 weeks ago - 173 lbs. I decided that I really needed to get myself under control. I absolutely refused to go back to where I started.
I'm training for a half-marathon! It's in September. The training has helped to jump start things for me. I weighed in yesterday at 162.8 lbs. My ultimate goal is 130 lbs. The point of this blog is just to have a place to talk about my goals and frustrations, to celebrate my progress, to vent if I need to.
Here are some progress pictures. The first one was 192, the second was 166, and the last was 156. Obviously, I'm still trying to re-attain that. Wish me luck!
This journey has been a bit of a roller coaster. But let me back up. I was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes when I was eleven years old. It was a rocky road for a long time. When you're a kid, you cannot comprehend the meaning of the phrase "long-term." That concept is at odds with being young for most of us. Well, it certainly was for me. I'm embarrassed to admit how long it took me to get myself together and actually start giving a damn about myself. It wasn't until I was 26. January 2011 was a real turning point for me. I realized, however, that to succeed, I was going to need to surround myself by people who could help me, because I seemed to be incapable of helping myself. The first person I went to see was a counsellor - after all, if you know what you need to do for 15 years and you just don't do it, something is wrong upstairs. I also saw my regular doctor, a nutritionist (who was amazing), and an exercise person (I don't know what her official title was.) I was able to really turn things around for myself and my HbA1c quickly came down to 6.8% in the first 4 months. That was extremely motivating.
While I was learning how to give a shit about myself, I had no delusions of grandeur, shall we say. I was covering what I ate with insulin and trying to stay away from really stupid food choices, but I was in no way trying to lose weight. In fact, by May 2011, I had put on 10 lbs. I attribute it to the fact that my blood sugars were not running high all the time anymore, which can cause weight loss, or, in my case, it was keeping my weight slightly lower than it should have been. I graduated from college that month. My pictures aren't pretty.
In June 2011, I went on a trip with a really good friend of mine. She tries to eat pretty healthy, and I sort of noticed. Again, I wasn't trying to make any changes. I remember, however, we were swimming in a pool, and she told me about a website where you could log your food intake and count calories. I figured, heck, I'll give it a whirl. It wasn't like I had some epiphany. I just though, why not? My starting weight was 192 lbs. I got the first comment about 10 lbs of loss into my journey. I started graduate school in August 2011, which involved a move halfway across the country. I kept going. By March 2013, at 164 lbs, I had lost almost 30 lbs.
I decided to start on an insulin pump. This was the best decision in regards to my diabetes that I have ever made. It was a struggle for me to exercise while doing insulin shots, because I was taking Lantus insulin. Lantus is a long acting basal insulin. While that's all well and good, when I went to exercise, I had no flexibility with it, and if I didn't eat almost as many calories I would burn, my blood sugar would go low. Now, with a pump, I just turn down my basal rate before I work out, and often can avoid those lows without having to eat a bunch beforehand. However, starting on the pump was a process, and I had to put my weight loss goals on hold while I sorted out my levels.
By May 2012, I was ready to keep going. I set a goal to see 154 lbs on the scale before going on a trip in July, and I met that goal with a few days to spare - 154.8 lbs. Unfortunately, that was the lowest I ever got.
This past school year, it has been difficult for me to stay motivated. By Christmas of last year, I was up to 167 lbs. The highest I saw was about 4 weeks ago - 173 lbs. I decided that I really needed to get myself under control. I absolutely refused to go back to where I started.
I'm training for a half-marathon! It's in September. The training has helped to jump start things for me. I weighed in yesterday at 162.8 lbs. My ultimate goal is 130 lbs. The point of this blog is just to have a place to talk about my goals and frustrations, to celebrate my progress, to vent if I need to.
Here are some progress pictures. The first one was 192, the second was 166, and the last was 156. Obviously, I'm still trying to re-attain that. Wish me luck!
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