I got a Garmin step thingy for Christmas, and I used it pretty regularly for a while. I stopped using it over the summer for two reasons. First, I tended to hit about 6500 steps a day regardless of what day it was or what I was doing and I didn't need a reminder that I wasn't making that 10K goal and second, it's hot in the summer and wearing a plastic wristband is uncomfortable enough without adding summer sweat and a wrist band tan to that.
But it's "fall" now (pumpkin everything means fall even if it's still 95 degrees outside), and I do need to get my A1c down, so I strapped it back on and connected it to My Fitness Pal, and as of today I am trying to get back on the fitness wagon. Counting steps, counting calories, counting the days until my designated cheater day...
Why???
I don't want to be overweight. I'd like to not go blind. I would appreciate having the energy to chase an 18 month old around and not have to stop and take a breath or a break all the time. I'd really like to feel good and feel good about myself.
That's really the deeper reason. I've been kind of depressed lately. My pants feel too tight, and not in a good way. I have no control over the whiny diabetic dog, or the in-pain husband, or the foster situation. I have a little more control over things at work, but even there I'm bound by rules and a boss and an administration that's still in the middle of constructing our strategic plan. The one thing I do have control over is myself, and lately I've let myself get out of control.
Time to stop that crap.
I miss carbs. Do breaded vegetables count?
I'm starting off small...fifteen minutes of stationary bike riding three times a week is small. Trying to make sure I hit 7K steps a day is small. Trying to stay close to my allotted caloric intake and not hating myself for going over it is not as small, but still smaller than expecting perfection right out the gate. I'm on day one of this and so far I've done well. Maybe I'll let next Sunday be my cheater day. We shall see how well I do this week... and this week I'm off several days for varied reasons so it will not be a regular week against which to measure things, which is good, because it's days when I'm home that I'm less likely to get off my butt and more likely to be doing things like this
At least my right index finer is getting exercise.
The thing is, now I've got to be watching my blood sugars more than ever because one fifteen minute stint on the bike will give me a day of lows. Could I alter my basal rates to compensate? Sure, if I had a habit of exercising going. But I don't yet- YET- so I don't want to go in and make adjustments until I'm at a level where I know I'll need them all the time. Which means I'll need to constantly monitor my sensor readings else I'll be imbibing so much regular Coke to keep from passing out that all the exercise will be mute.
Frustration level: Fax Machine.
But since the diabetes is part of the reason I need to do this, I need to do this. And I know I've said I need to do this many times in the past, and those times have not gone so well. The nice thing is that I can keep trying and hope that eventually I'll get myself in some good habits. So here we go again.
Or, to paraphrase the words of Joey McIntyre, heeeeeere weeeeeeee goooooo agaaaain...I'm a gal on a mission, baby,
I'm lookin' at YOU, 5.9
