Taking Control of Yourself

This post is not directly related to the topic of this blog. It’s about taking control of yourself, so that you can do what you love in your career.

With that being said I have been working extremely hard through the pandemic at keeping the changing landscape of IT in a school district up to date and fluid. What I have found is that has come at a neglect to myself and my well-being. This as we all know interferes with our work at some point.

Understanding that is what got me to the Endocrinologist to help me get my diabetes numbers under control. My eating at my desk, not knowing when I would eat, meetings, fires to put out all led to me grabbing something unhealthy and grazing all day long at my desk. These habits led to not getting my insulin on time or at all, not eating when I got home for the evening, and almost completely zero exercise.

The Doctor and I spoke for almost a full hour. We discussed everything I just mentioned, talked about solutions and a small bit of “you need to make the effort” from her. When I left we had a plan for the next two weeks. The biggest thing was a change to my insulin dosage and a CGM to monitor my glucose levels all the time and see where my blood sugar level was.

I’ve come to really like the CGM because it opens your eyes to how much your glucose levels fluctuate and why. You can tell by why you eat, when you eat, what you do after you eat, how much insulin you give yourself and when. Real statistical data in front of your face to see, look at, and analyze.

From the feedback for one week, here is what I see:

• My weight has increased by 5-7 lbs because I am giving myself the right insulin at the right time.
• My exercise routine doesn’t cover what I am eating.
• What I eat truly affects how my glucose goes up, or down even with insulin.
• That time of day also affects my glucose levels.

What I’ve learned about what I eat:

• Don’t eat carb like Snacks i.e. Cheez-It’s.
• Don’t eat whole grain bread that is above 12 grams of carbs.
• Don’t eat Pizza.
• Don’t eat seconds.
• Don’t pile on the first helping.

Now, please do not comment about all the “Don’t” above. When I say don’t it’s really an eat “in moderation”. As an example, if you are eating Pizza, it’s not 4-6 pieces because that is what you always have been eating. It’s 2 slices, with a salad, and a lite dressing. When you put food on your plate for a meal you need to portion control. It’s not 5 big spoonfuls and everything heaping all over the plate. If you want to heap something it should be the vegetables, or beans.

If you need a second helping make it vegetables and/or fruits, or more salad. If you are having fish as a protein then have a small portion of that too. Just don’t make it a second full meal.

Drinking caffeine is bad for insulin too. It inhibits the body from using the insulin. This is all caffeinated beverages, sodas, teas, coffees etc. Water is much better, or a non-sugar drink. A protein drink that you make, or one you purchase would be filling too. Just check the label to see if it has any caffeine in it. This doesn’t mean cut out the coffee or you favorite beverages altogether, it just means limit them to one a day if you feel you really want them.

As for exercise, 150 minutes a week is recommended which is just over 20 minutes a day. Do it when you can, and don’t say you don’t have time because you do. You sleep 8 hours, you work 8 hours, 2 hours of drive time, 2 hours of eating as a high end time for everything is 22 hours used, leaving 2 free hours which is 120 minutes. 20 minutes of 120 is 17% of the remaining free time, leaves you with 100 minutes for whatever you want to do.

Now, truthfully no one sleeps a full 8 hours, nor do you eat for 2 full hours. I sleep 6 hours on a good night, and three meals a day take an hour at most if I’ve prepared correctly on my days off for the rest of the work week. All of this gives you 2-4 hours of “free” time on a work day. Weekends or days off gives you on the high end 10 extra hours of time.

So, find the time, watch what and how you eat. Exercise and drink a lot of water. Take care of yourself and it will take care of the rest. I know that is what I plan on doing.