Three H: Holy, Healthy, Happy

WOW! I'm surprised, but happily so! I'm technically not diabetic anymore! I'm not entirely out of the woods as I'm still in the pre-diabetic range, but my A1C has come down since it was last checked 3 months ago! This is so encouraging! Last summer I was pretty disappointed to find that I was technically already diabetic. My A1C was 6.6% on more than one blood test. I knew it wasn't a crazy level, and given I was already on metformin it was considered "under control" because it was less than 7%. It's so encouraging to me that the small changes I've made are actually making an impact! This is a game of inches, not miles, and apparently this is the first time I've really believed that to be true! For reference:  A1C below 5.7% is normal A1C from 5.7% o 6.4% indicates prediabetes A1C from 6.5% or above on 2 separate tests indicates diabetes My recent stats: March 2020: 6.2% December 2019: 6.6% July 2019: 6.6% Back when I wanted to ge...

Well, despite all my progress so far this year, I'm feeling a bit discouraged. I just left an appointment with my OBGYN. I was proud of how well I have been doing with losing weight, but he never mentioned my weight. He usually mentions if I have made any gains or losses, so I asked what I weighed last time I saw him. He said "274. You've come down half a pound." Arrrrrgh!!!!!!! I told him I've lost quite a bit but I always seem to gain and lose between seeing him again. He said I probably gained when I stopped taking the metformin (which is true) and then came back down again as I started taking it again and dieting (also true). *sigh* In my head, I can hear Hermione lashing out at Ron Weasley at the Yule Ball; "You know the solution, then, don't you {Ron}?! " Only it feels like I'm lecturing myself. So what do I do? Comfort my wounds with a Snickers bar like I used to do, or renew my resolve which had already begun to dissolve anyway? Bef...

16.8 Pounds Lost in Two Months!

Wondering what you can do with a Veggetti? Here's an easy recipe I enjoy!  Ingredients: Two large, fresh zucchini Minced Garlic tsp, or to taste. Handful of Chia seeds ( Why? )  Butter, tbsp. *Gasp!*  Salt & Pepper (to taste) One jar* of Classico Florentine Spinach and Cheese pasta sauce (Use two jars if you are also preparing traditional pasta for your family). Aidell’s Chicken Meatballs- Italian Style with Mozarella Cheese (packaged pre-cooked) ¼ Cup Shredded whole milk mozzarella cheese Instructions: Melt butter in a skillet on medium heat Cut the ends off the zucchini and cut in half so you have two small cylinders. Insert the zucchini in either end of the Veggetti gadget (thin or thick; I prefer thin). Twist the zucchini in the Veggetti gadget and it will create “noodles” of zucchini. (You will also end up with leftover “cones” of zucchini. I toss them, but you may wish to use them somehow.) Sautee the zucchini noodles in butte...

I have had great success recently and I couldn't be happier. Truly, this time I am going to do it!  I weighed in at 269.0 this morning! Not only have I escaped the 280's, I have outrun the 270's! This achievement, however small it may seem, is monumental to me.  I am also feeling tremendously better overall. My energy levels and stamina have both greatly improved. I think I'm also sleeping much better, and that is just based upon dietary changes alone. Since I mentioned sleeping better, this is also a good time to confess that I have sleep apnea. Sleep apnea gets a bad rap as being something only really fat old guys get, but really, anyone can have it. Carrying around extra fat on your body can make it worse, but you don't have to be fat to have it. In fact, in one episode of Mythbusters, Adam Savage couldn't complete the sleep study needed for testing the myth because he wasn't sleeping well enough. He was having apnea episodes.  What is sleep apnea? In sim...