Turning It Around Fairly Quickly

Diabetes management isn’t a race or a one-shot deal. It’s an ongoing dance. For real. It’s not all-or-nothing. I truly benefit from grace and patience with myself. I am fully on my side! I want to feel good and control my blood sugar … and I want to have fun and pleasure with food too. I need to be able to eat “normally” at times – and I suppose I’m fortunate that I am able to do that on occasion without too many repercussions. It’s what I usually do that matters. And the dance goes on ….

The Dance with Diabetes Continues

TW/CW: This post contains talk of emotional eating/food issues, suicidal ideation and other mental health challenges. I haven’t written in quite a while (months!) – and I’ll tell you why: I really haven’t been doing my program or being careful at all. As a result, my blood sugar has risen and been staying fairly high.

My New Doctor is F-ing Useless to Me – Here’s Why

I just turned 58 years old. In all of my years, I’ve only had one good general practitioner MD. ONE. I’d still be with her if I hadn’t moved out of state. She’s the only one I’ve ever trusted or respected at all. She’s the only one who’s ever truly listened to me – and respected my own choices about my own body.

When “Healthy” Foods Are No Longer Healthy Because of Diabetes

Here’s my problem: the joyful abandon with which I ate all of those “healthy” foods has come to a crashing halt due to diabetes. I can’t eat almost any of those foods anymore. Bananas, rice, potatoes (sweet or white), cereal, oats, etc. – all of them are bad for my blood sugar. Even legumes! My body doesn’t process them well anymore, which is really sad for me. I’m not wishing I could eat a donut. I’m wishing I could eat a sweet potato or a banana!

Freaking Out Doesn’t Help

I’m going to keep paying attention to what are the best choices for me in my daily life to stay well – physically, emotionally, mentally, psychologically – even spiritually. To me, it’s all tied together. Freaking out throws me off balance. Strict dietary programs and over-emphasis on activity throw me off balance. I’m riding the waves of recovery from decades of weight loss dieting traumas, negotiating new pathways in my relationship to food and health/well-being. I’m also learning on a deeper level what would have been very helpful for me to know when I was first diagnosed: I don’t have to go to extremes or get this under perfect control immediately – it is okay to take my time and find my way into balance.

Ignoring My Blood Sugar Is NOT An Option

This blog isn’t just about “success” in managing my blood sugar – it’s about the ups and downs, the struggles, and the ways I pull myself back up when I fall down. Which is where I am right now: down.

Allowing My Blood Sugar Level To Be “Good Enough”

My point of this post is to say that life happens – and that we don’t always have favorable conditions to manage our diabetes perfectly. In that case, we just do the best we can – and allow that to be good enough. I’ve tended in my life to be a perfectionist – but that isn’t sustainable – or practical or even ideal in a human life.

Dear Doctor, Please Stop Trying To Push Drugs On Me

Have you read about the side effects of metformin or of statins? Or really, any pharmaceutical drugs? They are terrifying to me. Drug commercials on TV are absolutely absurd with their litany of potential deadly side effects to “cure” a condition that is nowhere near as serious as the side effects of the advertised drugs! Why would I trade in a relatively healthy, feeling well, strong and happy body for the plethora of pain and dysfunction promised by any of those drugs? Seriously?

The Challenge Is On-Going

Well, as busy as I am, the challenge of controlling my blood sugar is ever-present – and the busier I am, the more important it is that I plan ahead and that I have on hand things that are easy to make. I thought today I’d share one of my easy go-to recipes that I try to always have on hand.

Figuring Out What I Can Live With – Finding Balance

My new goal is “enough.” I want to eat enough food – not too little or too much. I want to be mindful enough regarding what I eat without being too strict or too careless about my food choices. I want to get enough activity and enjoy moving my body without going overboard or getting obsessive as I have in the past. There is a nice balance in all things that I am looking to find – and that includes finding a balance in the balance because being overly committed to balance can also cause imbalance (that will make sense to anyone who struggles as I do – and will perhaps sound like nonsense to those who don’t). Being in the state of “enough-ness” is going to take some getting used to, but I’m here for it!