Most Delish Tortilla Taco Thing

I made this yesterday. You should try it. It’s gluten free.

 

Ingredents:

1 corn tortilla
Hummus of your choice
1 small to medium avocado
Chopped tomato (as much as you want)
Chicken (or meat of your choice, optional), cooked to your preference, cut into pieces
Seasoning or cheese of your choice (I used the slightest bit of Parmesan)

Spread the hummus on the tortilla, using as much as you want. I actually used hummus with chunks of peppers in it. Cut avocado into slices and place on top of hummus. I used the whole avocado, but this made it really bulky. You can always use less.

Slice up the tomato, and place the desired amount on top. It might work better if you chop it, but I lack patience. Put the sliced chicken on top (I used it cold, but it would be really tasty just off the grill or broiler).

Sprinkle on the parm or seasonings, and enjoy!

Unfortunately the only picture I got was this really bad blurry cell phone picture. But it still looks yummy!

 

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Tales of Cats and Other Thingers

So, when my brother moved back into my parents house (yes, we are all three lame and living at home currently), he brought home a kitten he had acquired while he was living in his apartment. Her name is Wiz. She looks like this:

And yes, in case you were wondering, I already have a cat who looks like this:

So now there are two cats living in my house that look exactly alike, except the little one has a white paw and a white spot on her chest. I have to admit, I have enjoyed having a kitten around who actually enjoys cuddling, because with Smokey the best you can do is him plopling himself next to your leg and leaning against you for a short period of time. Wiz, on the other hand, will climb up on you and sleep in the crook of your neck or behind your knee. Once, my dad was sitting in his favorite chair, and he began to feel his back get warm. He stood up, and there was the baby cat, cuddled into the small of his back! She’s crazy.

The one downfall, which I have dealt with previous cats, is that she enjoys a feather or two. Remember this guy? I posted him a couple of weeks ago on wordless Wednesday:

(If you cant see the image you can click it. It’s being difficult).

Well, he got a haircut.

I’m going BIG this time.

Currently I’m taking Human Nutrition in preparation for nursing school. As part of the course, of course (see what I did there?), we are required to do a nutritional analysis. This means logging every bit of food and every minute of exercise to an online site where our teacher can access it and then analyzing our results.

We have to do it for 4-6 weeks. I’ve been doing it honestly for two weeks, and let me tell you I am not happy with what I see. I’ve also been toying with the idea of going gluten and dairy free and forgetting the red meat for a long time now. I’ve decided to implement these changes into my diet between now and Thanksgiving. The goal is to see how I feel, see if some of my issues clear up, and see if I lose any weight (with my slight insulin resistance, I’m not sure this will happen).

On top of that I’m attempting to work out one day on, two days off at the gym including weight lifting for the duration of the month (Thanksgiving is exactly 30 days from tomorrow. That’s crazy). I am pretty excited about this. After a shopping spree at the new Hy-Vee in Springfield (if you’re from the northern part of the Midwest you know about the wonders of Hy-Vee), I am set with gluten free essentials and a healthy amount of fruits and veges that I am hoping will get me though the next couple of weeks. It really is going to be a “detoxification” process, because I am pretty sure my body is addicted to processed sugar and artificial sweeter and caffeine. Not to mention salt, but the sodium question will not be addressed this time around. I’m resolving to only eat out once a week, so that means with my family birthdays upcoming I may have to skip out on some after church meals on Sunday.

Here are some things I jotted down during nutrition class this evening, things that are always on my mind but may be implemented in steps rather than all at once:

Food Plan:

Goal: 10 servings of fruits and veges a day (note: these are goals, not requirements). This is to implement more fiber in my diet.
Goal: no red meat, gluten, or dairy products except for greek yogurt for the protein content.
Goal: balance carbohydrates and protein
Goal: drink at least 64 oz of water a day.

Exercise Plan:

Goal: Start doing yoga again (for stress relief, because tonight my nutrition teacher said belly fat can develop as a result of stress! I didn’t know that!).
Goal: One day on, two days off regular exercise plan for a month.

Other Thoughts:

Limit diet coke intake (yeesh!)
Green Tea (yum and good for you)
Fish or tuna twice a week (tuna is fish, but it’s whatev)
try to eat a few carrots daily for eye health
Try to replace sweet tooth to crave fruits instead (this sentence doesn’t make sense, but you get the gist)
Monitor Blood sugar levels (duh)
eat at least 4 times a day, try to equal amounts (ie no big meals, just several small ones).

And finally, the logging that needs to go on for both my sake and my nutritional analysis:

• Food Intake
• Exercise
• Blood Sugar
• insulin intake
• water intake
• hours of sleep
• waste output (gross! But necessary)
• pedometer

I make plans like this c-o-n-s-t-a-n-t-l-y.

And I always sincerly hope that I will keep it up, but hopefully this time the added motivation of my required nutritional analysis (and being able to explain how much better I felt at the end of it, maybe I’ll get bonus points!) will keep me motivated. I mean, how much of it, besides food elimination, isn’t just healthy habits to have?

 

The Biggest Thing

The biggest thing that I am looking forward to maybe actually be able to stick with is the exercise. I have a gym membership, and even though two days off, one on may not be the recommended amount of exercise, it’s still a hell of a lot  more than I put in now, and the ultimate goal is to switch to five days of cardio and three days of weightlifting once I’m used to this less frequent plan.

Can you help me out?

I’m going to attempt to post on facebook and twitter regarding my progress, and of course, use my blog as November will be a big blogging month for me anyway. What I need is support and encouragement. If you have a success story, please tell me! I’m not trying so much to lose weight as to feel better and improve my overall health. What do you think? Too much at one time, or do you think I’m doing well? Do you have any suggestions?

Disclaimer: I am not a medical professional! My blog is not intended to be medical advice. I have a health care team that is supervising me in my undertakings. If you plan on drastically c hanging your diet, beginning an exercise routine, trying to lose weight, or undertaking any other kind of health-related lifestyle change, it’s important to consult a doctor before beginning. 

Awareness Month is Coming!

November, in case you weren’t aware, is diabetes awareness month. Here are some things I am participating in that you might want to participate in too:

 

• Blue Fridays – wear blue every Friday in November
• The Big Blue Test 
• National Blog Posting Month (nablopomo) 
• World Diabetes Day 

More info coming soon, but you can find a bunch of info on the linked sites above. I am so excited, I can’t wait! I have my blue finger nail polish and hair ribbon ready to go!

Wordless Wednesday

 

 

 

 

 

 

On Mondays and Starting Over (and yes, I am fully aware that it is Tuesday).

Seriously, I feel like every Monday I decide it’s time to begin again, regarding healthy lifestyle and exercise as well as diabetes. “This is the week. I will spend the whole week following my exercise, diet, and diabetes care plans.” Every Monday I tell myself this, and every week at some point (sometimes Sunday night, sometimes Wednesday, usually not Friday because that would be progress) my morale tends to fizzle out and I get lazy again. Yes, part of this is that if I don’t do what I planned on Monday I lose the will to continue, feeling as though I have already failed.

Does anyone have any advice on how to fix this problem? This week I just plan on looking at each day as its own success/failure unit, rather than seeing the entire week as a block. I think that this is the best way to look at Diabetes, because if we look at one day’s failure as the end of the week, month, year, life, then we never get anywhere, because there will be failures in diabetes. And not all of them are our failures, in fact, most of them are diabetes’ failures or our body’s failures.

One day at a time. That’s the motto for this week.

And now for your weekly dose of music video: 

An Open Letter to the National Football League

Dear NFL commissioner and whom else it may concern,

Property of the National Football League

First of all, I’d like to than you for your support of Breast Cancer awareness and the American Cancer Society each October.  My grandmother passed away after a long battle with breast cancer in 1994, and the cause is close to my heart. My grandfather is a colon and prostate cancer survivor, so I appreciate that your profits from the auction of the NFL player-worn pink merchandise is going to the American Cancer Society rather than a type-specific cancer organization. For your philanthropy in this realm, I am truly grateful.

However, my intentions for this letter are more than for gratitude. I am writing to ask you, why can’t you go further? Did you know that September is Alzheimer’s Awareness month, and that November is Diabetes Awareness Month? And that each of these causes, like breast cancer, have colors to represent the awareness of the diseases? And that, like cancer, each of these diseases leads to thousands of deaths in the United States and the world each year?

I am personally writing because I live with type 1 diabetes, and have many friends and family members who live with type 2 diabetes. The struggles we face every day cannot be compared to someone living with cancer, because they are far from the same, but they are important not only to us personally but to the nation as a whole.

The Diabetes Blue Circle

Commissioner, I know that the NFL is active in the Play 360 campaign. A positive effect of this campaign would be to reduce the number of type 2 diabetes cases in children. Because you seem to already be on board for this type of campaign, I urge you to look into dedicating one week in November to allow awareness of diabetes the way you do breast cancer in October. Our color is a pale blue. It would be great to see players wearing purple in September for Alzheimer’s, and blue in November for Diabetes. You’ve taken the step to very publicly support one non-profit fighting a disease that affects millions of Americans, and I can assure you that the same positive feedback would occur if you took on other causes in a similar manner. I also urge you to look into the International Diabetes Federation or the American Diabetes Association for organizations to donate money to in the name of the NFL.

Alzheimer's Ribbon

Fall is the season of fundraising events and awareness events for many organizations fighting against life threatening diseases, and since it is also the season of the money-makingest sport in America, it would make a lot of sense to unite the two, especially in the midst of lockouts over money while the rest of America is in the grips of recession.  Your fans live with more disease than just breast cancer. Please consider my offer for this November.

Sincerly,

Sarah Jane Blacksher

Person with Diabetes since age 11

When you aren’t perfect, why try?

As much as I work to give myself a new philosophy, I always slide back into the lazy perfectionism. Can’t lose weight? Why try? Can’t resist the chocolate? Why not eat the whole bag? Miss one day at the gym? Why go back?

And for this reason, I ruin relationships, give up on dreams, fail classes, let blogs become unbelievably sick and near death, and let an 8.4 a1c turn in to what I predict will be the worst. A1c. Ever. which will be drawn for next month.

What is happening to me? Why do I let myself spiral down this way? What does it take to bring me back? This time there isn’t a Utah to run away to. The blog is no longer new and exciting. What motivation do I have to continue the good fight? And tell me why I’ve abandoned my twitter world, where I made some of my best friends, who were there to encourage me every step of the way?

What now? Continue trying knowing failure is my only option, knowing I’ll never get it right, or just quit and say forget about it, writing my life off as a mistake that sprung a leak of mistakes that would direct the course of the creek of my destiny?

…*pause while I take my Prozac*

Seriously. What is my DEAL?

Ten Years.

Never forget

Stolen from Chris.

It’s Time to Fix This.

For many people with diabetes, "Dawn Phenomenon," or the rising of blood glucose levels in the morning due to hormones naturally released, is an uphill battle. DP is the main reason I started using an insulin pump in 2009. And, for a while, I had it under control. But as anyone with any type of diabetes can tell you, if there is one thing that is constant in d-care it is change.

After nearly 8 weeks of a steady job, my body is still working on adjusting to a new schedule, waking up early and going to bed early. For most of the past few weeks, mornings have been brutal. My normal waking blood sugar level is somewhere between 150 and 200. I am OK with this for now. However, I have hit kind of a road block. No matter what I eat or even if I don’t eat, and after numerous basal adjustments, my blood sugar caps out somewhere between 250 and 400 between 8 and 11 o’clock in the morning, leaving me virtually useless, tired, lethargic, and blurry-eyed at a time when I should be very productive at my job.

I considered my next option. Getting up and working out in the morning. Not that easy for someone like me, who enjoys neither getting up early nor exercising. But yesterday I took a huge step, one I never thought I’d take. I bought a gym membership.

Today I went to the gym. I used the elliptical machine for about 30 minutes before getting ready for work. I got to work, and I still felt exausted. Blood sugar check time.

322.

What the heck? I am so bummed that on the first day of my now-committed to 18 months experiment I saw no change in my levels. I will continue to try, and add insulin adjustments and perhaps pure-protein breakfasts (but let’s face it, eggs get old fast). But for something I was excited about and sure I would get positive results to turn out so negatively on the first day, my hope has been smacked on the head.

(I can do this).