No-carb Fun!

Aw fuck!

I know, I know, but it's how I feel.

I'm on day 3 of a no-carb diet and I'm not loving it.

Have I mentioned that I was diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes about three years ago? Well, I was. And in those three years I have been monitoring my blood, trying to eat "a little better" and doing my best to keep it under control.

For those of you not familiar with this little problem, here is a short primer.

First, Type 2 is not insulin dependent. My pancreas is apparently not producing the insulin my body needs to convert blood sugar into energy. It's producing some, but not enough to keep up. Therefore, the glucose in my blood tends to build up if I let it. I try to control this problem with oral medication. Not needles full of straight insulin. Some day I may have to go to needles, if my pancreas craps out entirely, but I'm hoping it's a long way off.

Second, sugar is not my enemy. It is one of my enemies in the army that is carbohydrates. Your body turns carbs into sugar. So a bowl of Kraft Dinner, for example, is worse than a chocolate bar for me.

Stress is my enemy. The flu and bugs like it are my enemy. These things have a major impact on blood-glucose levels.

And recently, I've had a fair bit of them all. (To say nothing of Valentine treats. My bad.) I've been losing the fight.

And so, my best weapon right now is the no-carb diet. I've got to get things back in line. Call it a cleansing.

But one of my biggest problems with this disease, and the "standard" methods for control, is that I am not a "typical" Type 2. To be blunt, I'm not overweight. Never have been. I've been about the same weight and body type since high school more than 25 years ago. If anything, I'm underweight.

And it seems most (99 per cent) books, recipes and advice is geared for those that not only need to control blood sugar, but those that also need to lose weight. I think if I followed most of the advice I've heard and read, I'd disappear.

Anyhoo, the ol' no-carb diet. Breakfast is three eggs and some bacon. No toast, no potato. Yeah, I know, too much cholesterol. Rob Peter to pay Paul? Time will tell.

Lunch has been a salad with chicken chunks and supper has been a salad with steak chunks. They do the job for a while, but I'm usually hungry a little while after meals.

Bah, I'm boring myself here. And I have the disease. If you don't, this must be very boring.

Bottom line is that today I'm pissed off. I have to shop for two entities in my house— myself and everyone else. I'm preparing six meals a day instead of three. And yeah, I know, I could combine things, but I'm feeding a picky 4-year-old, a picky two-year-old (yeah, Sontoo is getting a little more finicky) and a wife that, when on night-shift, has her own list of agreeable food.

And now I'm stressing myself out just thinking about today's shopping trip. So I'm gonna stop. I have to research no-carb snacks to get me through between meals.

Happy Thursday. Survivor night! Yay.

Be (a) Patient

Well yesterday morning was a fun one. It started with a visit to the doctor's office, two energetic boys in tow.

Waiting for 15 minutes is no big deal, if you're alone. But if you have inquisitive children it can be a trial. While Sonwun sat in a chair and asked a million questions about everything in the room, Sontoo, the younger, set about trying to collect all of the equipment needed to perform a pap smear. Why, tell me why, don't they put that stuff up higher? Am I the only parent that must spend 15 minutes waiting in an exam room with two small children? I only have two hands.

Anyway, the point of the visit was to go over blood test results from about a week ago. In case I haven't mentioned it, I was diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes about a year and a half ago. So we must monitor. And the bottom line today is that my glucose levels are too high and I need to get them under better control. I knew that. I monitor daily. But there are some issues, Catch 22 style.

For those of you not familiar with this, um, challenge, there are a number of factors that impact blood sugar levels. The obvious one is food. But it is only one of the factors. Of equal standing are stress, sleep and exercise. And the past five months have increased stress, deprived me of sleep and trashed my exercise plan.

Let's start with stress. Regular readers will know that we just moved from Gimli to Thompson. And moves, as you know, are one of THE big stresses in life, right up there with divorce, weddings and driving around Thompson at midnight. But that one's behind me now. Mommy being away is the new one and I'm getting better at dealing with that one daily.

Moving on to sleep. Stress interferes with sleep. See above. The doctor gave me a prescription today for a sleeping pill, but I am nervous about taking one for two reasons. I don't want to sleep through Sontoo's crying, or coughing. And I don't want to get hooked on them. (Oh, the warning on the medication? May cause drowsiness. Seriously.)

Exercise. We bought a treadmill about two years ago. I used it regularly for a while and it does help with the glucose levels. I actually got to the point where I was off the meds and doing fine. Then I got lazy and cocky and slowed down. And that's how I got to where I am today. Finding time to run these days is difficult. But I have to make time and I know it. So, tonight when the boys are asleep, I will get on it. It's the only time of day that I can be sure Sontoo will not attempt to join me and find himself flying toward the wall, or rolling at a high rate of speed that I'm sure would not be healthy for a 1.5-year-old.

I think if I start with exercise, I will see improvement in stress levels as well as sleep problems. Triple bonus. Time will tell. I've done some reading on sleep problems and I've learned a few things:

1. I need to set a regular bed time.

2. I should have a wind-down routine.

3. No coffee before bed (duh!)

4. I need to cool off the room.

Go figure, it's just like the stuff they say about the kids. I'm pretty sure I can handle it, but Sontoo's gonna have a hard time giving up that nap time latte.

In other Thompson news, the Boil Water Advisory has ended. That's good, cause I was just about out of bottled water. I have run the taps to clear the system and made this morning's coffee with tap water. It's funny, I know it's all good now, but I can't help but feel just a little leery. For the kids, I think I'll finish up the bottled water before switching back to tap.

On the agenda for today, Swim Lesson 3 for Sonwun. He is still loving the water, loving the lessons and loving the competition. Even at 3.5, put two boys in the water and you're going to see competition at work. Both boys have to be first to the edge of the pool when told to go there. I don't hear much through the glass in the viewing area, but "I win" generally comes through loud and clear about a dozen times a lesson.

Anyway, that's the news. Have yourselves a great day.