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Exercise, I hate it as much as you do, trust me

Good evening all.  There are a few new updates on our facebook page.

Today's article is about how exercise is good for you.  I'm sure if you are like me you are sick and tired of hearing it.  But it is true and if you stick with a routine you will feel better.  Really.

Not only is exercise very important for keeping up our health, but you gotta eat right as well.  If you've been diagnosed with diabetes then this is even more important, especially when you add an exercise regime.  Adding any kind of physical routine means you need to pay particular attention to your body and its needs.  You don't want to pass out in the middle of your workout!  I highly suggest talking to your doctor about a nutrition and exercise plan.  Start slow and work your way up.

Exercising with a friend can help a lot as well.  Not only will you have a buddy to boost your confidence, keep you going but you'll also have someone with you in case anything does happen.

Good luck!  I'm in this with you and rooting for all of us!

Here is the full article

Nice little article on myths about diabetes

Direct link - The Ledger  Robin Williams Adams

Published: Saturday, November 26, 2011 at 12:01 a.m.

There's a surprising amount of misinformation circulating about diabetes, a disease affecting nearly 26 million people in the United States.

To bust some myths, The Ledger spoke with Janet Armitage, a registered dietitian with the Polk County School Board Wellness Program, and Dr. Mary Quillinan, a Clark & Daughtrey Medical Group internal medicine doctor with a keen interest in educating patients about diabetes.

Here's some of what we learned:

Myth 1: Sweet tooth

If you have a sweet tooth, you're going to get diabetes because too many sweets cause it. Or, if you have diabetes, you can't eat sweets.

Reality: No, they don't and yes, you can. Diabetes occurs when your body either isn't making insulin or isn't making enough. If you are careful, you can eat small quantities of sweets. More importantly, realize carbohydrates in many forms (think pasta and breads, too) can raise blood sugar. So can some medications.

“A lot of people have told me over the years “But Dr. Quillinan, I didn't eat any candy.'” Quillinan said. “But they ate a whole box of macaroni, and carbs do count.”

Myth 2: Insulin

If you're on insulin for diabetes, you've “failed” because you didn't control your blood sugar with diet and exercise.

Reality: “There are a lot of excellent insulins now,” Armitage said. “A lot of doctors will start diabetics on it right away. It could help them get in control a lot faster.”

People with type 1 diabetes are making little or no insulin, so they will need to get insulin.

Myth 3: Diet

It's all about diet.

Reality: Even more than diet, Armitage said, it's exercise. “You really have to move. It gets the sugar out of your cells and into the bloodstream to give you energy in different parts of your body.”

Myth 4: Blood sugar

All you have to worry about is your blood sugar being too high.

Reality: You also need to make sure it doesn't get too low. That's a condition called hypoglycemia. It can occur if, for example, you exercise while your medicine or insulin is working at maximum performance to lower glucose (blood sugar). The combined impact of exercise and medication could make your blood glucose too low. Check your blood sugar before and after exercising.

Myth 5: Weight

I'm not overweight so I can't have diabetes.

Reality: Other things can raise blood sugar, including kidney failure, surgery, chemotherapy and hormonal problems (including being pregnant).

Myth 6: Fruit and pasta

I'll have to give up fruit and pasta because I have diabetes.

Reality: It's a matter of measuring what you eat and keeping the appropriate balance among protein, carbohydrates, vegetables, fruits and so forth. You should eat a variety of fresh fruits and vegetables daily. You can have pasta in moderation.

Myth 7: Skipping meals

It's OK to skip a meal to lose weight.

Reality: People who are overweight should lose weight, but skipping a meal is the wrong way to do it. It gets your blood sugar out of whack, and the level could go up or down. You should eat meals about the same time each day and eat about the same amount at every meal.

Myth 8: Sugar free

It's sugar free so I can eat as much as I want.

Reality: Wrong. Sugar-free items still have calories and may include carbohydrates. Some sugar-free items have a laxative effect because your body has trouble digesting them.

Myth 9: Symptoms

I don't have any symptoms. I feel great. I must not have diabetes.

Reality: Many people have diabetes or pre-diabetes without having symptoms. But some symptoms are a warning sign of diabetes. An estimated 79 million people in the U.S. have pre-diabetes, triple the 25.8 million with diabetes, making them a diabetes nightmare waiting to happen.

Sources: Information from Armitage and Quillinan, as well as the American Diabetes Association. One of the books it recommends is “16 Myths of a Diabetic Diet” by registered dietitians Karen Hanson Chalmers and Amy Peterson Campbell. Visit the ADA Website atwww.diabetes.org for more information.

Sweets and the holidays

Good morning!

I just wanted to start the day off with an article I found on fitting in all those holiday sweets at this time of year.  I know I'll be trying a few of these!

http://www.diabetes.org/food-and-fitness/food/planning-meals/holiday-meal-planning/making-sugar-count-during-the-holidays.html

If you like sweets, one of the most tempting parts of the holidays is the dessert. Even though you have diabetes, you can still fit sweets into your meal plan.

Eating high-sugar foods like cakes, candy, cookies, and pies will make blood glucose rise, so do not just add them to your diet. Instead, substitute small portions of these sweets for other carbohydrates already in your meal plan. For example, if you want a small serving of pumpkin pie, then pass on eating a dinner roll during the main course.

Revising Recipes

There are ways to revise many dessert recipes so they are healthier and still great-tasting. Many times, you can replace up to half of the sugar in a recipe with a sugar substitute. You can also try cutting down on sugar and increasing the use of cinnamon, nutmeg, vanilla, and other sweet-tasting spices and flavorings. Replace half of the fat in your recipe with applesauce or baby-food prunes when making chocolate brownies, cakes, or cookies.

These tricks will help you make your recipes a little bit healthier. However, you still must keep the portion small. Also, keep in mind that replacing fat with fruit ingredients increases the carbohydrate content.

Search for healthier versions of recipes using your preferred search engine online. Look for recipes that give you the serving size and the number of carbs.

Desserts During the Holidays

Try these tips this holiday season. They can help you manage your sweet tooth when dessert is served:

• Decide ahead of time what and how much you will eat and how you will handle social pressure ("No thank you, I'm too full.").
• Share one portion of dessert with someone else, and scrap off any high-fat whipped-cream topping or extra frosting.
• Volunteer to bring your favorite low-sugar dessert to social functions. Some ideas are plain cookies, baked apples, or sugar-free puddings.
• Is there someone else at the party who is trying to watch what they eat? Avoid tempting sweets and ask them to join you for a walk while dessert is out on the table.

Introduction

Hello,

I decided to start this so I could get some things off my chest.  I also hope to help people.  My mother and father have type 2 diabetes.  My grandmother has it as well.  Me? I've been lucky so far, but for almost my entire life I've had a rough battle with my weight and my love for sweets.

At my heaviest I was about 200 pounds or so.  I was pretty miserable.  I am happy to say though that today I am at 155.  I still need to loose 10-20 more, but at least I've come a long way and have cut out a lot of sugar from my life. I am keeping my fingers crossed that I can keep diabetes at bay.

Expect posts from me regarding my mothers health and updates about her.  There will also be the occasional rant from me about this or that. Weight, work outs, sweets mostly I figure. Tidbits on my dad and links to articles on about nutrition, news and other things about diabetes.

Tonight I'd like to talk more about my mom.  Her disease is not doing well.  I know she has changed her diet a lot, and is on insulin.  Unfortunately her kidneys have failed and she is now on dialysis 3 times a week. I don't know what I can do for her besides see if I can give her one of my own. I dont' exactly have a good income, its really hard to keep my own finances in order much less help my parents in that respect.  I try though.  They live in a very expensive part of California and I'm trying to get them to move closer to me where its cheaper. Not a ton, the best course would probably be for all of us to move out of California and into a state that isn't so insane.  But we love it here and we are all very stubborn.

I really wanted to write more, but its nearing midnight and unlike most people in the US I need to go to work tomorrow.

Look for posts on diabetes articles from me tomorrow night.

Stay healthy