If you've been following this blog since I was living in France, then you probably know a little about my weight and health struggles.
My big flaw -- and this has been quite cyclical over the past three years -- is a.) I lose a good amount of weight and get back to my happy high school/freshman year of college size, then b.) I live abroad and go nuts and weigh much more than I ever have before. But the food in France was so wonderful....
Neither here nor there.
Diabetes is something that runs in my family, and it's something I don't ever want to have. I've always known that I've had high triglycerides (blood sugar levels) and cholesterol. But does that stop me from making poor eating decisions? No. Knowing this, I've tried (half-heartedly) to eat better and lose weight, but that generally lasts about a week before I get bored and go back to my sugar-eating ways.
After my mom listed off to me some precursors to diabetes, all of which I had, she mentioned some concern about it. And I don't know if I'll ever get it, but I am quite at risk for the disease. This prompted me to see a doctor and get all of this checked out. Yes, in fact I am getting closer than they would like with my "out of whack" cholesterol and triglyceride levels (like you see in all those commercials). I saw a nutritionist.
What this means is that I need to very closely monitor what I am eating for a transitional period of time. Basically, I have to cut out everything bad for a few weeks and wean my body off synthetic foods and starches. When I can physically stand that and don't have thousands of nagging cravings, then I can get back into moderate levels of sugars and starches in very, very small doses.
That's where Lance Armstrong comes in. I've been tracking all of my eating habits on The Daily Plate which is part of the LIVESTRONG.com Health Network. It's really neat what you can find there.
On The Daily Plate, I can track ANY food I eat, as specific as the guiltless salmon dinner from Chilis, to a grande skim, no whip frappuccino from, you guessed it, Starbucks. There are also networks of other users in encouragement groups, recipes, health/beauty tips, you name it!
And I think it's starting to work. The difference this time is that I keep thinking, if I fall back into my old habits, there's a chance I could be priming my body for a disease later in life that could possibly be something irreversible. But I'm taking control and trying to stop that from happening.
Granted it's only been three days at this point, but I'm noticing some changes. Other than the sugar-withdrawl headaches I'm suffering through, I'm losing some weight, my clothes are a little more loose than before and overall, I just feel more energized without sugars.
Here's to keeping it up!
3 comments:
It's funny how we can have MORE energy without sugar! Seems so backwards. I often wonder if the internet had been around when my parents were younger they could have avoided all the heath problems they now have thanks to poor eating habits. Good job for starting, and good luck to continue! Maybe I'll see if I can get them to try it when I'm home this winter . . .
That's amazing! Good for you! I should really follow in your footsteps... I'm not prone to diabetes but heart disease (I think). Good luck!
That's amazing! Good for you! I should really follow in your footsteps... I'm not prone to diabetes but heart disease (I think). Good luck!
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