Can’t Stop. Won’t Stop.

Peach here! A few months back I wrote about my current goal to get more skillful at navigating diabetes in a winning, healthy, and consistent fashion. I thought I’d share my progress and current focus. It is not a diet. It is a change in habits that evolves, because this is my life now. And for our life, I have to find a way to be consistently healthy and once I find how that works for me, for us together, we have to keep up the higher standards, the healthy choices. Though Batman is as healthy as a 25 year old, 😍 he does it with me, because that’s how life works! We are in this together! Together we go! Together we win and together we thrive!

So for me I have a two pronged issue. 1) Figure out how to keep my sugar numbers consistently low, resulting in a low A1C (which is an average of your sugar up and downs for the past 90 days). When I was diagnosed in April 2016, my A1C was 14 some odd. This time last year I was changing doctors, at the recommendation of my parents, because after having some success, my numbers were headed in the way wrong direction. And 2) last December when I made the Dr switch, I was put on insulin. Guess what? Turns out insulin can put weight on you. 🙋‍♀️ Something I had no idea! I could actually feel the weight coming on quickly, it was so alarming. Weight has been a struggle for me my entire life and this was an  extremely unwelcome development. In the first 7 days I put on 9 lbs. by the time things evened out (by March) I had put on 33 lbs. Obviously, I was going to have to find a way to become the boss of the scale again, while still using insulin, (until such time as I am completely healed, always a possibility!). 🙏🏻👍🏻

So, Batman and I determined to consistently cut way back on carbs, which is without a doubt, the best thing for us both. Along with that we are calculating every day how to increase our activity. We are not really gym type people, but, we are blessed to have some great equipment and we are happy to use it. We also use activities (going to the woods to check trail cams, etc) cutting the grass, bike riding, all sort of things, day by day. He has responded to it quicker than me, 😍👌🏻👊🏻💪🏻  but we both are committed and realize that these two things work, and you can never stop them. If we continue, we will most definitely enjoy the results. The key is never stop. Can’t stop. Won’t stop. The first result I got to see was a loss of 5 lbs. Then I continued to gain it back and lose it again and again andddd again, until I have finally gotten to a new low of 7lbs! Now, I fluctuate between the 7-5 lb weight loss, but the excitement is, now I’m finally, 10 months after being put on insulin, getting the mastery over the scale again!

The second thing to happen was even by FAR the most exciting! I was so excited to find out my new A1C is now 5.9!!! Working on my next A1C average, and it is my goal to be firmly in the 5 range! To realize that we are figuring out the right timing and combination of medicines, injections, foods and exercise is so heartening!! It makes me excited just to talk about it!

We still have carbs. But, we really work to not let carbs ‘have’ us! We have ocassional meals that don’t reflect our low carb life, but, are always deliberate and always get our activity up, if we do. And we always gladly, get back on that low carb boat, and row, row, row. We make 2/3 of our meals low/no carb. I’d say we are enjoying the dance of calculating when and how to choose carbs. Paired up with protein and activity. Additionally for me, it’s the right management of targeted shots of insulin, interspersed with all the other choices.

It’s definitely my thorn, and thusly, our thorn — in the flesh…BUT, His Grace IS sufficient for me, for us!! (2 Corinthians 12). His strength is made perfect (complete) in our weakness. He is showing us the way, lighting up our path! He. Always. Makes. A. Way. Gotta run!! Time to row, row, row our boat!

We can’t lose when we won’t quit, and the same is true for YOU! Happy Monday!