Destined Diabetic

If at first u don't succeed...

2008-03-06T10:28:00.000-08:00

Let me just start off by saying that weight loss and healthy living are 2 very difficult goals to achieve in this fast food carb-filled day and age. There are so many fad diets and "easy weight loss" programs. The hard thing is finding the one that works with your body type and your daily schedule. That being said, this last month's weight loss plan has not been working out so well.

My weight lifting program 5x a week and cardio 2x a week wasn't easy to sick to. With my schedule I couldn't get my butt to the fitness room 5x a week. My excuse for not doing cardio?......the bike didn't have batteries and it was too cold to go outside and walk (shh, there's an exercise bike in that same fitness room I hate going to). The other form of exercise, Martial Arts, didn't happen until just last week. I did have a valid excuse.....bad allergies! Wow, cop-out much? Anyway, my eating habits are getting better. No fast foods,fruits and veggies from the local produce stand and no white flour...all whole wheat. I have been snacking a little though. I tell myself its OK because they are whole wheat pretzels....but I know I shouldn't snack at all after 8pm.

Although the first month didn't go as well as i thought I'm not going to let that get me down! The key to weight loss and healthy living (IMO) is to find the best program that fits into your lifestyle. It may take a lot of tries and you (I) will stumble along the way, but its important to pick your self up and try a new path.

Setting Goals

2008-02-18T08:51:00.000-08:00

Goals are good. I'm going to cut down my over all desired weight loss amount into smaller incraments. I feel that if I set an unrealistic goal like 50 lbs. I'll be more inclined to give up if I don't see fast results. So, my 1st goal is 20 lbs.

I got on the scale this morning, I'm down 3 lbs!

Coffee Reducing Diabetes?!?

2008-02-15T18:29:00.000-08:00

"The resounding conclusion from these analyses was that COFFEE consumption reduces the risk for type-2 diabetes by a whopping 60%".

This quote was taken from an AST Sports Science website article that has gathered scientific results showing that coffee has shown to help reduce the risk of Type 2 diabetes!

Humm, this is interesting. I need to look into this further.

Choosing the Right Method of Exercise

2008-02-13T21:23:00.000-08:00

Today I took the 1st step towards choosing the best method of exercise for me. The problem is that I'm not like some people who can walk for 45 mins. or workout to an exercise tape. I need to be interested, it needs to be FUN! I had studied Martial Arts for 5 years when I was a teen into young adulthood. So, I figured out that that was the best direction to go. I did my research and went to watch a class at the school that I had decided on.
A lot actually goes into choosing a martial arts school. There are 3 main aspects I look for. The 1st aspect is how many classes a week it offers. Let's face it, life can get in the way, I would hate to go to a school that offers 2 or 3 times a week classes, and have something come up and now your down to 2 classes for that week. True, you can workout at home, but where is the fun in that? Where is the motivation and the structure? Trust me, I've tried it. After 3 rounds of kicking I was like "humm, I wonder what happened on my soap I Tvo'd"?
The 2nd aspect I look for is the uniforms. I started out in a school that wore uncomfortable white uniforms. White! heaven forbid it was that TIME OF THE MONTH and how self conscious you would be. And of course being barefoot you always had to make sure your feet weren't funky and your toenails were painted..oh, I said it, don't tell me that the female martial artists don't make sure their feet aren't funky before going to class! Later, when I switched over to a less traditional school, I learned a lot more than I learned at the other school AND I worked out in sweatpants and a T-shirt. My instructor was like..."Look at it this way, if you are attacked on the street you are not going to ask your attacker to wait while you take off your shoes, and you certainly wouldn't be wearing your Gi (uniform) at the mall. So therefore we workout in sweats and sneakers". I liked this. The other issue I have with the traditional white Gi's is that I am an overweight woman and if you have ever seen a Gi you will notice that it is bisected by an extremely unflattering belt that changes for white to black and you progress..and it MAKES ME LOOK FAT! Now I know that people say that wearing the Gi is supposed signify respect, but I don't see how what you wear shows respect, just tradition.
The 3 aspect of choosing a Martial Arts school is content, or style of martial arts. There are all kinds of debates as to which style is better. I'm not going there, but in order to make up your mind you can take a few classes or you could ask the instructor exactly what you are required to do in order to pass each belt test. That will give you an indication of what you will be learning everyday. Another thing you could do is go on http://www.youtube.com/ and search for clips on different styles of Martial Arts
Taking all the above aspects into consideration I choose a school that has classes 5 times a week, additional cardio-kick boxing classes, wears BLACK Gi's and studies a style that I am somewhat familiar with.
No, I haven't gone to a class yet, maybe I should lose some weight first....I will look horrible in that Gi!

Almost a fully healthy day

2008-02-11T21:16:00.000-08:00

Humm, ok. So the 1st day didn't go as planned. Not entirely anyway. I did alot of running around and took 100 calorie snacks with me so I didn't have the urge to stop at fast food. It worked and I was good all day. I had my vitamins and had plenty of liquids. When I got home It was late in the day so I made a healthy dinner, but...I didn't do any cardio or any weight training today =(

And...I snacked alittle tonight. I told myself it was ok because they were not unhealthy snacks, but I shouldn't have had any, healthy or not. I read that after 8pm or 3 hours before bed you should stop eating, but that's when I feel the urge to snack the strongest. When I'm watching tv or sitting on the couch. Maybe if I feel the urge to eat late at night I can drink hot tea? That fills you up. Oh, or I could try that dieter's tea I've read about.

So day 1 I took all my pills, I ate healthy all day, had a healthy dinner..but didn't exercise and snacked at night. (sigh) I guess we'll see how tomorrow goes!

Written In Stone

2008-02-10T20:32:00.000-08:00

I'm starting tomorrow..sheesh, how many time have I said that? Well, I'm 31 years old and about 100 lbs. over weight, how many times do you think I've said it? My family has a history of diabetes and I'm on the path to following in my father's footsteps. Yes, I'm destined to become a diabetic.
Don't get me wrong, I'm not aspiring for the title of diabetic. I'm just like alot of other overweight people. I'm weak. Yes I said it..I'm weak. But I won't say it too loud. I can be tough on many other things. I can be determined, confident, strong willed and...weak. But only weak when it comes to food. I don't binge, I'm not an emotional eater. I just am always snacking.
My hubby loves me and wants me to live a long and healthy life. He doesn't want me to be model thin, just healthy. HE also wants to be healthy, so he has us take all the good vitamins, start workout routines and eath a healthier diet. Sound like a good plan right? So why can I not stick to it? I hate taking the pills but I know they are necessary for many things and I have a hard time doing even a 10 min. workout routine. A hard time because I just don't feel like it.
My father has diabetes and has to go to dialasys 3 times a week. I don't want to get to that point. I want to be healthy and not become a diabetic.
So here's the plan.... 1) Take my vitamins EVERY DAY! 2) Strength training 10 mins. 5x a week and cardio 3x a week 3) Healthier diet 4) Blog about it, kind of a way to track my progress, or lack of.... I will NOT allow my destiny to be written in stone, I will NOT sit back and let myself become diabetic.