A fork in the road

Well, my journey has taken a turn. A couple of weeks ago, I had a routine check-up at the doctor. My blood test revealed that my A1C, which tests my blood sugar over the past three months, had spiked. It's supposed to be at 7, but mine was at 10. So, my doctor referred me to an endocrinologist. I had my appointment on Tuesday, and he put me on three new diabetes medicines. I've had diabetes since 2001, but it has been under control and I haven't worried about it too much. It now has my full attention! All three of these medicines have different side effects, and in the past few days, I've dealt with nausea, stomach issues, low blood sugar, severe headaches...just plain not feeling well. I came into work late one morning, but other than that, I've been working and last night, I was feeling better and had a great night out with friends. But yesterday during the day, I felt lousy until maybe 2 p.m., and today, I have a bit of a headache and can't quit yawning. It's no big deal. I can get through this. The doctor told me he wished he had a crystal ball and could tell me which medicines are going to be the right combination for me so I can get my blood sugar under control, but it varies from person to person. Untold numbers of people have been through this before, and I'll get through it, too. I also am going to be tested for another ailment on Monday. No need to bore you with details if I don't have it, though, so I'll wait to talk about it. It's nothing awful--actually, I truly do have a lot of the symptoms, and if they all could be taken care of by treating this, I would be thankful. I still am going to go to Weight Watchers. When I weighed in yesterday, I had stayed the same. However, I was on vacation last week while my son was back in town, and I splurged some while he was back, so I am satisfied with staying the same. One of my new meds has a side effect of being an appetite suppressant, and I have to say, it is working. I get full faster, and then, until I feel my body physically being hungry, I'm not thinking about food. WHAT???? Me??? My doctor told him that he actually had one patient tell him that he wanted to be taken off the medication because he didn't enjoy food like he used to. It IS kind of a weird thing, but it's also a good thing. There are so many more sweet things to enjoy in life, and I embrace them all. So, my journey is going to be more focused on controlling diabetes, along with weight loss. I hope you don't mind. I am what I am!

Weigh-In Day, #2: Eight Sticks of Butter

It's weigh-in day, and I'm happy to report I've lost two more pounds. That's eight sticks of butter, folks! (5.4 pounds in two weeks) I'm also happy to report that after my last blog about exercise, my super friend Jana and I have walked the lagoon for the past two nights. Last night, we met up with her husband Keith and had salads afterwards. I really feel blessed to have such encouraging friends. Three other friends have offered to walk with me, too, and I'm sure I will do that, too. I have a busy day today, or I'd tell about some restaurant favorites I'm finding that are working well. Another time! Have a happy and healthy day!

Moving it

Exercise is by far my biggest challenge in weight loss. I dislike it with a passion. It doesn't help that I broke my ankle a year and a half ago--ever since then, getting back in the groove has been tough. Now I not only don't like it, but it is more of a challenge because I am so out of shape from not exercising. So I get winded way too easy, and I walk more slowly, and I like it even less than ever. My doctor told me that if I would exercise for just 20 minutes a day, that would be good. I took that to heart, and most days, I have been doing that. But I have to admit, I didn't over the weekend. I was tired from our Relay for Life event, and on Saturday and Sunday, I just didn't make myself do it. I was home. I could have. I didn't. My eating this weekend was fabulous, though. I tracked everything I ate, and I ate very healthy meals with small portions. I can even kind of feel the inner, thinner me itching to get out. Right now, I am very motivated with my diet. Now, I just need to devote at least 20 minutes a day to moving! When I joined Weight Watchers, I also decided to enroll in the 21-day challenge that inspirational leader Lysa TerKeurst offers in conjunction with her book, "Made to Crave." You get 21 days of inspirational emails for free. Today's email was about exercise. I found it helpful, so I am sharing it here: I know I feel a sense of accomplishment when I exercise, that it puts me in the right frame of mind to eat the right things, that it is good for my health--all those positive things. I just need to be more disciplined and do it!

My Weight Watcher's meeting was over lunch, and am happy to report I lost 3.4 pounds! Woo hoo! We have two meetings at work, and this time, I went to the later one. There were just two members there plus two from Weight Watchers, so it became a very relaxed meeting where we could just talk. My downfall in the past has been eating out, so I asked the others about their favorite places to go and feel like they can successfully stay on track. I'm a very social person, and I have lunch out nearly every day plus frequently go out for dinner. I've really thought about this a lot this past week, and I came to the conclusion that if I deny myself going out with friends, that isn't going to work, either. I need to find strategies to make it OK to eat out with my friends. I know the ideas about taking half your food home, asking for your dressing on the side, all those things. One of the biggest things we talked about was planning ahead. I got online before every meal to look at nutrition information for chain restaurants and to read general information about what to eat at the other cuisines I tried this week. For instance, before going to Qdoba, I made a plan to get a Craft 2 meal with two crispy tacos and a taco salad, all with pork, lettuce, mango salsa, verde sauce, no cheese, but I opted for some sour cream because it was lower in calories than I expected. I was surprised that the crisp tacos were 30 calories less than the flour tortillas. I had remembered from dieting before that pork was the leanest meat there. It still surprised me that the shredded beef was lower in calories than the chicken--only the ground beef was higher than the chicken. As I ate the meal, I was pleasantly surprised that I really didn't miss the cheese as much as I thought I would. I mean, really surprised. Cheese is a staple like chocolate, right? But seriously. Try some tacos without the cheese. As weird as it sounds, it works! Another strategy I used was to read up on what to eat before going to the new Thai restaurant near Bradley. Did you know that in Thailand, pad thai is eaten in very small portions? The article I read recommended getting the som tum (papaya spicy salad), and I am going to get that next time. But, I wanted something other than salad my first time there. I settled on the pad nam prik pau (sauteed with a sweet Thai chili paste, onions, carrots, peapods, and bamboo shoots...and I chose pork for the meat.) Talk about tasty!!! I chose it because many of the dishes were stir fried or pan fried or had fried rice--notice a trend? I have no idea what the points or calories were for my meal, but it was very, very good and while it probably would have been healthier if it were steamed instead of sauteed, I thought sauteed was better than anything with the word "fried" in it. Last night, I went to Super Gyros where we had a buy one gyro, get one free coupon so I didn't venture over to the gyro salad or other options. I asked for that incredible cucumber sauce on the side and didn't use even half of it, so I know I saved a boatload of calories there. Some strategies from the Weight Watchers meeting include getting chili and baked potato at Wendy's (I also saw that their grilled chicken wrap and their half Asian chicken salad seem to be good choices), choosing the kid-sized potato at McAlister's, and getting an unwich (lettuce wrap) or Tom Turkey from Jimmy John's...oh, and the black bean soup or chicken noodle soup at Panera. In the past, I have often ordered kid-sized portions whenever the kid's menu has choices I am interested in. It's sad that salads are often laden with surprise calories. I have to say, though, I have discovered a wonderful salad right in my back yard, so to speak. The Student Center offers a custom salad where they include whatever you ask them to. They have wonderful choices with tomatoes and cucumbers diced up really small like I like, artichokes, broccoli chopped really fine, strawberries, blueberries, meats, cheeses (not me!) and other great options. Both last week and this week, I got one after attending the Weight Watcher's meeting and I can see this becoming my Thursday choice for lunch. Their cilantro lime dressing is out of this world. They were out of it this week so I went with a vinaigrette and asked them to put on just one spoonful instead of two. They toss the salad there and it was a-MAZ-ing! It makes me want to go try a salad from Subway. What are some of your favorite places to go and still feel good about staying on track?

Step One

I took the first step and went to the Weight Watchers meeting over lunch. I'm signed up for the next 17 weeks. The leader and her assistant, who know me because, let's face it, I've been there before, were welcoming, and I thought the meeting was good. Weight Watchers has a new "Simple Start" plan that looks like a great way to begin. Basically, you have a good-sized list of foods you can have, and you don't have to weigh, measure, or track anything. It's all common sense things like fruits and vegetables, lean proteins, high-fiber carbs--and the book gives recipes and restaurant tips, too. The leader says that while they suggest everyone start off on this plan for two weeks before going to Points Plus, many people like to stay on it because it's easy to follow. Oh, and there is a list of indulgences to choose from each day, too. Tammy, the leader, pointed out that you can take the list on the back of the booklet to the grocery store, and if you buy what's on there, you'll be set with everything you need. How easy is that? After the meeting, I stopped at the Student Center food court. I've been hearing that the salads there are great, so I tried a little one. It was great--sort of like a salad bar, except they put on whatever ingredients you want--so in that way, it's more like Subway. They had a fat-free cilantro lime dressing that's out of this world. I can definitely see this being my routine, and the nice thing is that if I can't make the meeting for some reason, I have plenty of other opportunities with the Weight Watchers' meetings in Peoria and Pekin. I'm feeling very motivated, and I also feel like it's my lucky day--I found some cash on the ground on my way back. It was enough to pay for my WW membership. How about that!

Back in the game

Guess what! I'm back! I've been trying to lose weight for the past few months, but while I have been watching what I eat and exercising more, I just need to dedicate myself to it more. A new at-work session of Weight Watchers begins today, and I'm going to join. I'm writing this blog because I want the accountability. I just read something about how it takes a village, not only to raise a child, but to succeed in weight loss. I found the article inspirational, and I hope you will be part of my village to support me when I succeed and encourage me if I backslide, and to walk beside me if you also want to lose weight. Please let me know how you are doing, too. I think one of my biggest problems with dieting is carving out the time for it. Time for exercise, time to grocery shop and get the fresh foods I need, time to clean, chop, dice--whatever I need to do to make sure the foods are easy to grab for a snack, time to cook and clean up afterwards (sliding through the drive-through for a quick something off the dollar menu becomes way too tempting when you cook for one.) Oh, and I really need to take the time to check out the current Weight Watchers program. I know they change, and I keep wanting to revert to what I was familiar with from Weight Watchers a few years ago. The thing is, I then don't put my whole heart into it. This time, I'm taking a fresh approach--as if I had never been in Weight Watchers before. Because this time I want things to be different. This is going to be the time I succeed in taking off the weight and keeping it off. It's not about looking good; it's about being healthy. So, my first goal is to carve out the time needed to make this a successful venture and do all the things I listed above. After all, I'm worth it!

My chicken sandwich theology

I have been feeling nudges from within to comment on the whole Chik-Fil-A debacle for the past week or so. I was afraid I wouldn’t be eloquent enough, and I have been praying about this a lot. I am truly disturbed by the Chik-Fil-A president’s statement that he is afraid of what God is going to think of our country when it permits same-sex marriages. Well, I am concerned about what God is thinking of people who claim to be Christians behaving in such a hateful and hurtful way. People seem to feel empowered to express their intolerance about the issue of same-sex marriage. It seems to me that in this age of political correctness, people somehow think it’s still OK to belittle and hate gay people. Our ancestors have disappointed God time and again with racial prejudice, and I believe today we are disappointing God with our bigotry toward our fellow Americans whose sexual orientation is different from the majority. Do I think that the legalization of same-sex marriages is going to bring down the wrath of God? No, I do not. I think He is far more unhappy about the hate that is being expressed in churches, in conversations, in lines at Chik-Fil-A. The topic in my Sunday School class today was “What Would Jesus Say to Our Nation Today?” The lesson focused on three points: justice, righteousness (meaning doing the right thing at the right time), and love. That lesson more than anything prompted me to stop thinking about it and to actually write this blog. I want to stand up for people who are under-represented and do the right thing NOW out of love. I have many gay and lesbian friends, and I believe with all my heart that God created them just the way he wanted them. I do not believe that our sexuality is a choice. We are who we are because God made us as we are. Yes, we can strive to be better people within, but some things are simply part of our DNA. If you have alienated yourself from gay people, then you are missing out on being with some of the most incredible people on this planet. Being gay is part of who my friends are, but it isn’t their sole identity. I love my gay friends because they are beautiful human beings with loving and giving souls. I wouldn’t change one thing about any of them, just like I don’t want to change my straight friends. God made each of us, and God doesn’t make mistakes. People like to point to a couple of scriptures and base all their hate and anger on a few words. If you ask me, the overarching message of the Bible is love. We are asked to love one another and to be kind. I look at all the crazy things going on in this world, and I don’t understand how people can point to same-sex marriage and say it is the one thing that is going to lead to the downfall of us as a people. All gay people want is the same thing the rest of us want: to make a lifetime commitment to the one person they love more than any other and to have all the legal rights and privileges that everyone else enjoys. It’s the antithesis of the “gay lifestyle” stereotype that too many people envision, of people flitting from one person to another with no real feelings. Plenty of straight people live that kind of life and yet there doesn’t seem to be a big uproar about that. Nor is there a big uproar about couples living together outside of wedlock, or people having affairs, or a whole lot of other choices people make. And in those cases, people are making choices; again, being gay is not a choice. I’m not saying we should judge the choices people make in their lives—that’s something between them and God. We all fall short of the perfection we have in Jesus Christ, and we are so blessed that our slate is wiped clean when we accept Jesus as our Savior. What I’m saying is, why are people focused on this one segment of the population? This isn’t even something they’re trying to force upon churches that do not want to allow gay weddings. No one is saying that has to happen. That whole argument about the definition of marriage doesn’t hold water, either. Straight people have been defiling what a marriage is supposed to be for decades. Many have gotten married for all the wrong reasons—reasons that have nothing to do with love and lifetime commitments, but here, we have a situation where two people of the same sex want to get married for all the right reasons. I strongly believe in the founding principle of separation of church and state. We are not supposed to force our religious beliefs on others. Isn’t this what all the clamor is about? People say same-sex marriage goes against their religious beliefs, so it just better not be legal. How ludicrous! We are not forced to attend a particular church, or any church at all, and yet a far-too-large segment of our population thinks that they have some right to force their beliefs on the entire country. The Bible is all about love: the love God has for us, the love we should have for Him and Jesus, and the love we have for one another. What I’m seeing is a spewing of hate that is reprehensible. It’s that hate that upsets God, I believe. Not only is it the hate itself, but it’s the fact that many gay and lesbian people are led to believe there is not a place for them with God. We as Christians are supposed to be disciples, bringing people to the Lord, but instead, far too many are embracing a message that says homosexuals are not worthy of God. None of us are worthy. It is only through God’s grace that any of us will find a home in heaven. But I will tell you this, when I am in heaven, I want my very dear gay and lesbian friends there with me. I don’t want them to feel that God has turned His back on them, because He hasn’t. People have turned their backs, or worse, gotten ugly about all of this. I’m here to tell you, though, that not all Christians feel that way. I hope and pray that my brothers and sisters of all sexual orientations can see through all the clamor and refuse to stereotype all Christians as close-minded, hate-mongers who abhor gay people. And don’t give me that “love the man, hate the sin” stuff. There is no way that the actions we have seen over the past couple of weeks is loving in any way. Besides, that saying carries so much judgment. Let’s just leave it at “love the man or woman.” We need to stand together and embrace one another as people of God. We are all human. We all have struggles, we all need God, we all need each other. My gay friends have been there for me during the lowest points of my life, showing me love and lifting me up as much as my straight friends, and I want them all to know that I am beside them now and always. My prayer is that we as a nation will begin the healing process and create an environment not of just tolerance or acceptance, but of love and understanding. That healing process begins one person at a time, and I want my gay friends to know that there is a place for you with God. I would be proud to sit with you in church. I want you to feel the unconditional love that God showers on me each and every day. I hope that God’s love shines through me and that you know that I see you as a very important part of the family of God—a wonderful creation of God—and that the world is a better place because you are in it.