Diabetes Lottery

Don't Jerk The Tangles!

My oldest son worked as a waiter at a retirement community in High School.  It was a wonderful job, and he met a lot of very interesting people.  Last spring, they had a dinner for the graduating seniors that worked there and their families.  My wife and I were fortunate enough to attend.

The speaker that evening was a resident of the facility.  His name was Bill Jones.  He was almost 90 years old, and had been a Baptist Bishop.  Very obviously southern, his drawl was soothing and his demeanor was calming.  If you saw him you would have guessed him to be in his late 60’s.  Impeccably dressed and amazingly spry, he shared with us some of his ‘life lessons’, because “that’s what us old folks are supposed to do”.

Mr. Jones was a young minister in the 1950’s in a very busy parish in the suburbs of St. Louis.  One day he was particularly busy, and completely flustered.  He was running around his office frantically.  He said to his secretary, “Mary Alice, I don’t know what I am going to do.  I have three meetings today, I have to visit one of our parishioners in the hospital, I have a funeral at 11:00, and a wedding at 4:00.  How will I get it all done?”

Mary Alice replied, “Bill Jones, when I was a young girl in parochial school, I had to take sewing class.  I had the hardest time with that class.  I tried and I tried, but I just couldn’t get it.  One day I had a particularly large mess of thread in my hands that I was trying to unravel.  Sister Margaret came over to me, put her hand on my shoulder and said, 'Mary Alice – don’t jerk the tangles'.  And that would be my advice to you Bill Jones – DON’T JERK THE TANGLES.”

I will never forget hearing that inspiring story.  In our lives we so often find ourselves buried in problems.  Watch what you eat.  Exercise.  Work.  Raise a family. And there is only 24 hours in a day!  How can we possibly get it all done?

In the grand scheme of things, it will all get done.  Maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow.  But if we keep focused on our goal, and work diligently – it will all get done.  When you start feeling overwhelmed just relax, take a deep breath, and remember Mary Alice.

 

Diabetes Education Complete - For Now...

Last class.  

Over the previous three weeks I had really learned a lot.  I was actually going to miss these meetings. Seeing the progress that others had made, hearing the problems that they were having, and listening to their questions and how the instructors advised them, all helped me understand what I was going through, and made me feel that we were a team - fighting a common enemy.

At the last class we discussed the difficulties (or lack thereof), of eating out.  At this point I felt I had a pretty good grasp of carb counting, but there were still things I learned that surprised me. Obviously, the numbers I will give you here are approximate, because every restaurant is different, but they will give you a good idea of what you are up against.

Breakfast:

What is the best choice of the following:

4-5'" bagel            Large muffin            English muffin breakfast sandwich            3" frosted donut

Ready for this?

The bagel has 70 g. carbs.  The muffin has 80 g. carbs.    The sandwich has 30 g. carbs.  The donut has 35 g. carbs.

The best choice of these four would be the sandwich, with the donut coming in a close second. Ronald McDonald should be proud.  I was surprised to see this initially, but think about it.  The only carbs in an english muffin breakfast sandwich is in the english muffin.  Eggs, cheese, and meat are all protein.

Lunch:

Lunch is lunch.  A sandwich, a salad - I don't think I need to explain this to you.  

Dinner Entrees:

Asian:          Stay away from the rice and noodles and you're good.  One cup of fried rice has 50 g. carbs.  A half cup would be better.

Indian:        Indian food is your friend.  Low carb baby!

Italian:        Italian food is not as friendly.  Imagine that!  Fettucini Alfredo, Lasagna, Ziti - Carbs, carbs, carbs.  How 'bout 60-70 g. each!  That's 4-4 1/2 carb choices right there.  And who in the world can eat Italian food without bread?  No one, that's who.  But don't get  your panties in a wad. Chicken or veal parmigiana, sauce on the side with a little whole wheat pasta has 30 g.  

Mexican:    The carbs are in the tortillas.  Remember that and you'll be fine.

Pizza:           Personal pizza - regular crust - 111 g. carbs!  A slice of thin crust - 20 g.  See the             difference?  Two slices of thin crust aren't going to kill you.  Use your head.

Nachos:      This'll make you happy!  Nachos with cheese only have 30 g. carbs!  Of course the serving size is 6-8 chips.  Oh well....

Dessert:    Cake is bad.  Cheesecake is better.  Fruit pie is bad.  Pumpkin or custard pie is better.  Ice cream (1/2 cup) is fine.  It's simple really.

Now you should have a general understanding about eating out.  It's all about choices.  My mother asks me all of the time, "Can you eat that?"  Yes I can.  I'll say it again.  It's all about choices.  If I'm at my favorite restaurant and I know they have the best apple pie in the world, I'll have a salad for dinner.  If I have a craving for pizza, I'll have a slice or two (thin crust of course) and skip dessert.  This isn't that hard folks.  Don't deprive yourself.  You'll feel bitter and binge later. Everything in moderation.  People told me that for 45 years, and these folks made me realize it in four weeks.  I thank them for that.

 

And now for the time I was waiting for!  The weigh-out!  I couldn't believe I was looking forward to getting on a scale!  C'mon - get out the bullhorn.  

It was eight weeks since I had been diagnosed.  And the winner is.....

ME!  

In eight weeks, I had gone from 254 pounds to 210 pounds.  My blood pressure was never bad -110/77 was my average.  Today, my blood pressure was 92/68!  Evidently diet and exercise really are good for you.  The thing that made me most proud though was that my entire class lost almost 80 pounds - and I lost 44 of them.  Over the top as usual...

Fool Me Once, Shame On You. Fool Me Twice And I Must Be An Idiot.

Today I thought I would take a break from recounting my story at diabetes education class to tell you some of the mistakes I made.  I'm not bragging, but if there is a mistake to be made, I'll make it. Possibly you will benefit from my mistakes, and not make them yourself.  

Mistake #1:  

I love food.  All kinds of food.  But I'm not a sweets kind of guy.  Well, not really anyway.  I couldn't tell you when I ate my last candy bar, but I'm a big fan of dessert.  Cake, pie, cookies, ice cream, I love them all.  Ok, maybe I am a sweets kind of guy.  So I had to figure out a way around this carbohydrate thingy, because I really didn't want to give up dessert. 

As we learned in my earlier post, "Continuing Education",  you are permitted 225 grams of carbohydrates per day.  HMMMM, 225 grams.  How can I... EUREKA!  As usual, if I think about a problem long enough, I can figure out a way around it.  It all seemed very simple really.  If I didn't eat any carbs for lunch, and I didn't eat any, carbs for my afternoon snack, I could save them up and have dessert after dinner! C'mon now.  You have to admit it.  That makes perfect sense, right? After all 225 grams is 225 grams.  

WRONG!  Although you can eat 225 grams of carbs per day, you CAN'T eat them all at once.  This causes a spike in your blood sugar, and the goal is to keep your blood sugar at the appropriate levels, with the least amount of spikes possible.  You need to eat carbs and protein together throughout the day to achieve this.  Post dinner BG - 290.  What a moron.

Mistake #2:

People who write instructional pamphlets or textbooks should bear in mind that there are people like me in the world.  When I started my diabetes class, we were told that it was very important to check and record our blood sugar levels regularly.  We were given a very nice sheet to fill in the results.  The instructions were as follows:  "In the space provided below, list all foods, drinks, portions sizes and exercise.  Be sure to also record the time of each blood glucose (BG) reading and meal or snack." There were spots to fill in you BG levels for fist thing in the morning, two hrs. after breakfast, pre-lunch, two hours after lunch, pre-dinner, two hours after dinner, pre-exercise, post-exercise, and bedtime.  That's nine blanks per day.  

At the end of week one I had pricked my fingers 63 times.  Over the top as usual.  I had used up an entire month's worth of test strips in one week.  No one explained to me they were looking for an overview of my BG during the week.  You need to test at different times during the day.  Today you might want to test first thing in the morning, after lunch, and at bedtime.  Tomorrow you might want to test after breakfast, before dinner, and after exercise.  But you do not, and I repeat - DO NOT have to test yourself 63 times a week.

Look - there were 63 blanks - what would you do?  I had to type with a pencil the whole next week.  

Mistake #3:

As we have discussed, carbohydrates are the enemy.  As diabetics, we need to limit the amount of carbs we eat.  Well, if some carbs are acceptable, no carbs must be better, right?  Rather than ask, I decided to run my own experiment.  Week three - no carbs.  

Since I wasn't eating any carbs at all, my liver decided to help me out by dumping it's sugar reserves at night.  Thoughtful little booger.  My BG was actually higher when I didn't eat any carbs than when I ate the recommended allowances!  Imagine that.  These folks really do know what they are talking about.  Don't deprive yourself.  Everything in moderation.

I'm not trying to insinuate that you are as anal-retentive, over-the top, or hard headed as I am, but I hope that sharing these tips will keep you from making the same mistakes I made.  And please don't get me wrong, this is just a sampling of the things I have done wrong so far.  I'll keep you posted...

Have you made any mistakes in treating your diabetes?  Let me know.  God knows I need all the help I can get!

Burn Baby, Burn

The next topic covered in class was exercise.  Well, maybe not exercise - more like physical activity.  That was a good way to put it because I HATE EXERCISING!

To lose weight, as much as I hate to say it, you have to do two things.  Cut your caloric intake, and increase your physical activity.  But here's the dirty little secret.  Your body burns calories all day long - even when you are sleeping!  How many calories?  That depends on your metabolism.  Genetics, weight, age, height and other factors influence your metabolic rate.  

Do you know who I have always hated the most?  The person who can just eat and eat and never gain a pound.  I now understand that I really don't hate that person, I'm jealous of their metabolism.  My metabolism must work from 12 to 1 every day and take an hour off for lunch!

Anyway...

According to "A Moment Of Science," produced by Indiana University, your body burns about 12 calories per pound, per day.  Therefore, if you weigh in at 200 lbs. your body should burn roughly 2400 calories per day.  AT REST!  Sleep all day - 2400 calories.  Really?  Really. What I'm telling you is that if you weigh 200 lbs. and you eat 2400 calories per day, and don't lift a finger, you shouldn't gain any weight, because just by continuing to breathe, you will burn off the 2400 calories.

Wow Bob, that's intriguing! 

I know, right?  Here's the second dirty little secret.  A pound of muscle burns roughly 40 calories per day at rest.  A pound of fat burns 3.  Wanna boost your metabolism?  Add muscle. Your body will obviously burn FAR more calories if you replace the fat with muscle.  When you start your exercise program, make sure you include resistance training.  This will add muscle, which in turn will burn more calories, which will make your life easier!

Now let's think about this.  When I was first diagnosed with Type II diabetes, I weighed in at 254 lbs.  My body burned roughly 3000 calories per day (254 pounds x 12 calories per pound per day).  AT REST!  I should have been able to eat 3000 calories per day without gaining any weight. In order to lose a pound of fat, you have to burn about 3500 calories.  So if I had just cut my caloric intake to 2500 calories per day, and didn't lift a finger, I would have lost 1 pound a week. (-500 calories a day x 7 days= 3500 calories.) Cool.

Now that you understand that your body burns calories at rest, you should realize that everything else you do is exercise!  EVERYTHING!  Rocking in a rocking chair, walking, shopping, cleaning, doing laundry - all burn additional calories. You've been exercising all of your life and didn't even know it!

Uncle Bob tip time:  To lose weight, burn more than you take in.

The solution really is that simple.  I didn't say easy - I said simple.  It's a decision.  A decision to push yourself away form the table sooner.  A decision to eat right.  A decision to be more active.  A decision to change your life. 

Cut the calories.  You don't have to starve yourself.  Just decrease you calories by 20%.  No big deal. 

Cut the carbs.  Less bread, less potatoes and pasta. Make dessert an apple with peanut butter.  

Be more active.  Take a walk, wash your car, cut your grass, take the stairs.  

Promise yourself you will do this.  Don't say you will 'try' to do it, because that means there is a possibility you won't.  Promise yourself you WILL do it.  And I promise you - you won't regret it!