For the second year in a row when I went to my annual doctor visit, I'd gained 4 pounds over the winter. He looked at my blood tests and was not happy. The extra weight had pushed my blood glucose level to an almost pre-diabetes level. (I'd had gestational diabetes twice, so I wasn't too surprised to hear this, yet it's not what you want to hear.) "You've got to get this weight off", he said. (How, I wondered? I already work out every day and am pretty careful about what I eat. It's obviously not enough.)
The endocrinologist and I spent some time talking about the difficulty of losing weight, and he shared my concern that it's not an easy thing. He asked if I'd like to see a diabetes educator who would take my lifestyle habits into account and counsel me on what to eat and how to lose weight. At first I thought, well I counsel others on this. But just like a chef being inspired to try new foods and dishes from another chef, I decided to have him put my name on the list and see what I can learn from someone else. I'll have to get back to you on this one.
Here's the main message he wanted to leave me with, "A loss of just 10 to 15 pounds can make a huge difference. If you have pre-diabetes, you are at a 50 percent increased risk for heart disease or stroke. For some people with pre-diabetes, intervening early can actually turn back the clock and return elevated blood glucose levels to the normal range. You have a golden opportunity-instead of waiting until you have diabetes, the time to act is now!"
At first I felt overwhelmed and frustrated, and then I decided he's right and this is a wake-up call. I've got to shake things up. I always feel better when I have a plan. In the exercise area, instead of doing one day of strength training a week, I'll do two days. I bought a jump rope and have started jumping rope. I'm looking at doing a new class called Cardio Kickboxing. Aleen, my exercise instructor reminds me often that our bodies get used to the things we normally do, so we have to keep mixing things up and trying new, different exercises.
I thought back to all the tips I've written or shared with others over the years.
- Eat breakfast
- Little steps pay off big.
- Control portion sizes.
- Don't Skip Meals
- Plan Meals and Snacks
- Work out every day
I've followed them, now I need to follow them even more intensely. And think about whatever I put into my mouth and the affect it will have on my weight. (true, it's not easy when you work in a test kitchen)
I found a great resource to get a few more facts on pre-diabetes:
http://www.diabetes.org/pre-diabetes/faq.jsp
And a great resource for recipes:
http://www.bettycrocker.com/search/searchresults.aspx?terms=diabetes
Two terrific cookbooks I recommend because I edited them and know all the research and effort that went into them:
Betty Crocker's Diabetes, Everyday Meals Easy as 1-2-3, a collaboration with the International Diabetes Center. In addition to great recipes, talks about the medical and emotional aspects of dealing with diabetes.
Betty Crocker 30-Minute Meals for Diabetes tasty main dishes and snacks that are done in 30 minutes or less.