Health Update

I shared a bit about my health recently after my annual blood draw and how I was surprised to find several things crop up.  Over the past several years, I struggled with severe anemia and very low Vitamin D levels (which made me feel like I was living in a fog of exhaustion!).  My weight has steadily increased and I was not pleased to see that I had gained 10 pounds over the past year.  I am terrible about exercise but I eat "better" than most and I would not expect this to yield the results that it did.  So here Phil and I are, middle aged, both of us with issues (him high cholesterol and fat around his liver), both of us with some weight to lose.  It is clear, that we can't just eat better than most and expect to remain healthy.  That we have to be super diligent in starting a life long healthy lifestyle - both food and activity.  

So, for the past month this has looked like:  

*Less than 45 grams of carbohydrate per meal (and trying to stick to 25 or less)

*NO sugar, with the exception of 1/2 a teaspoon of coconut sugar in my tea just in the morning and a couple of times I made a low carb cake that had some chocolate chips in it.  My personal goal will be to keep the sugar carbs at less than 20g for the entire week and no more than 5 at a serving (my daily chai had a good 40-50 grams of sugar....and I miss it!).  

*Limited whole grains and starches - so 1/2 a red potato per serving, 1/2 a cup of brown rice pasta or rice (and just a couple of times a week), 2 slices of sourdough pizza for our eating out treat a few times a month, 2 slices of bread, etc..  When I menu plan, I will try to keep grain servings to once a day or less.   No processed grains, no white flour.

*No cheats, none.  If we do, this will be something that we do a few times a year, like going out to dinner on a date night and not counting carbs (we only have 3-4 dates a year and we don't go out to dinner each time), or maybe ice cream on a birthday, or smores on a camping trip.

*We have talked to the children quite a bit about healthy eating and sugar and are battling the sugar and junk food craze that we run into at church, Awanas, various outings/get togethers...that somehow always involve a sugar fest.  

And for me, trying trying trying to exercise 5 days a week on the glider for 30 minutes.

This has resulted in a 9 pound weight loss for me and an 8 pound weight loss for Phil (without exercise, he just started his exercise routine of training for a half marathon....he rolled his ankle last month and couldn't start training until it healed).  

I feel better in terms of energy.  I am on a prescription for Vitamin D and taking a B-12 supplement.  I have noticed my blood sugar "moods" much more than I used to.  I can feel a little shakey after meals.  I wonder if my body is just getting used to processing much less "sugar" both in terms of a sugary drink and processing extra carbs.

It is a lot more time in the kitchen (probably 10 hours extra week).  It is a hated 30 minutes a day on the glider (I will resume walking once the weather gets better which I like a whole lot better!).   It is diligence on Phil's part to make himself a protein shake in the morning for b-fest.  It is a sacrifice of family time for Phil to run for an hour plus several times a week and for me to use the glider in the evenings.  

I had a follow up one month appointment today for a blood draw to test the sugar levels that were in the "pre-diabetic range" and will get the test results tomorrow and post them here.

Edited to add:  My hemoglobin levels are the same.  I did not drop down into "regular range".  I was a bit disappointed but the doctor said not to be and the levels can take a few months to change.  She said to keep up the good work because what I am doing is working.

The doctor went over my food log and said MORE PROTEIN.  Looking over what I was eating, I am lucky if I am getting a 1/3 of what she is recommending for the entire day.  This will be a challenge, much more so than lowering the carb count.  I cannot eat very much dairy or my eczema flares up and cottage cheese and Greek yogurt are two high protein forms.  I am currently making a list of the proteins that I can have and I am hoping I can eat that much meat at a time!  1/4 pound hamburger is 24 g, a 1/4 pound of chicken breast is 30, cheese and nuts are surprisingly small in their protein amounts.  I can do hemp seeds (10 g) and gelatin (1/4 C, 18 g) once a day but that still leaves me with 60 grams to make up.  I am not quite sure what to do.  

This is what 1/2 a cup of pasta looks like. 

Spaghetti squash, the new pasta.  Phil loves it and I can tolerate it if I mix it with regular pasta and use lots of sauce and cheese.  

I was admiring the lovely orchids at the front of the church on Sunday so Phil got me one.  Such a pretty addition in the gloom of winter.

I like having art supplies out.  

I finally finished up the boot cuffs I made for a friend.  I joked with Phil that I am going to charge extra for commission work if people ask me to use only gray and blacks.  I love to crochet with lots of color.