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OK, a few months ago I was headed toward a midlife crisis, and not a psychological one. I just thought that being fluffy and inactive and not sleeping all that well, aches and pains, and being prediabetic was part of typical middle age.
But I didn't want to become diabetic and since I had gestational diabetes when I was pregnant, and my blood sugar was creeping upward and now into the prediabetic levels, I felt like it was inevitable unless I took some action.
So I cut out carbs and sugar and unhealthy fats, and began exercising more regularly. Long story short, I have lost 22 pounds since February 1. And the other day I had my yearly physical.
My blood pressure was 106/66! My fasting blood sugar was back down to 88 when it had been over 100! ALL my labs were within completely normal range, except that my healthy HDL was high. I take that back - I had had a slight uptick in triglycerides but I think that is due to eating more red meat than I usually do while cutting back on other stuff, so that's easy to address. My doctor wasn't concerned about this and in fact was very impressed overall. I am 56 and feel better than I have in years!
I just wanted to post this to encourage others to lose some weight. Even a little weight loss can have a pretty immediate and positive impact on our health.
OK, a few months ago I was headed toward a midlife crisis, and not a psychological one. I just thought that being fluffy and inactive and not sleeping all that well, aches and pains, and being prediabetic was part of typical middle age.
But I didn't want to become diabetic and since I had gestational diabetes when I was pregnant, and my blood sugar was creeping upward and now into the prediabetic levels, I felt like it was inevitable unless I took some action.
So I cut out carbs and sugar and unhealthy fats, and began exercising more regularly. Long story short, I have lost 22 pounds since February 1. And the other day I had my yearly physical.
My blood pressure was 106/66! My fasting blood sugar was back down to 88 when it had been over 100! ALL my labs were within completely normal range, except that my healthy HDL was high. I take that back - I had had a slight uptick in triglycerides but I think that is due to eating more red meat than I usually do while cutting back on other stuff, so that's easy to address. My doctor wasn't concerned about this and in fact was very impressed overall. I am 56 and feel better than I have in years!
I just wanted to post this to encourage others to lose some weight. Even a little weight loss can have a pretty immediate and positive impact on our health.
WOOHOOO!
Great job! So no margaritas with stan4 on your Dallas runs then, eh?
OK, a few months ago I was headed toward a midlife crisis, and not a psychological one. I just thought that being fluffy and inactive and not sleeping all that well, aches and pains, and being prediabetic was part of typical middle age.
But I didn't want to become diabetic and since I had gestational diabetes when I was pregnant, and my blood sugar was creeping upward and now into the prediabetic levels, I felt like it was inevitable unless I took some action.
So I cut out carbs and sugar and unhealthy fats, and began exercising more regularly. Long story short, I have lost 22 pounds since February 1. And the other day I had my yearly physical.
My blood pressure was 106/66! My fasting blood sugar was back down to 88 when it had been over 100! ALL my labs were within completely normal range, except that my healthy HDL was high. I take that back - I had had a slight uptick in triglycerides but I think that is due to eating more red meat than I usually do while cutting back on other stuff, so that's easy to address. My doctor wasn't concerned about this and in fact was very impressed overall. I am 56 and feel better than I have in years!
I just wanted to post this to encourage others to lose some weight. Even a little weight loss can have a pretty immediate and positive impact on our health.
Congratulations on the improvement, the joy, and the overall heath.
I'd like to point out to those who have lost sight of this fact... If you think you are active think again - as in really look at the numbers. I was pre-diabetic two years ago and then at the end of last year I was diagnosed as diabetic; my numbers actually hit a high of 395!
My doctor wanted me to immediately go on insulin, but I resisted and through 10,000 steps a day (6 days a week), I was able to get my average down to the 130-140 range in just short of three months.
After getting my sugar back under control, I started experimenting with exercise, foods, and bakes to see what really triggers me and what I really could and could not eat. I would get occasional spikes back around 200 when I had too many cookies and other sugars or fast carbs (yes, I do love sugar, TOO much).
But here is the kicker. I have not been walking for about a week and a half because I am building a pergola on my deck. From 9AM when I wake to about 8PM when I get tired of it all, I am hauling wood, sawing, measuring, painting, fitting, raising posts, lowering them, re-sawing, re-painting, going back to the lumber store to get more wood, etc. I didn't feel like it was a lot of work at first, but as the days went on, I started getting more and more tired. My muscles were aching, and when I hit the pillows I was zonked.
During the longest days, working directly in the sun, I started snacking a bit too much and drinking too many sugary drinks again - including a couple cans of coke a day and sweet tea. During the evening when I tested my blood, expecting to see the tell-tale 200 mg/dl or more... I was more than a little shocked to see that going from walking and no sweets to no walking, but building the pergola and having sweets that would normally spike my blood sugar, I found that my sugar levels are measuring out at about 109 with the lowest measured at 87.
The point of all that is that although I thought I was being active - with 10,000 steps, apparently the actual WORK I am doing eclipses those steps by far - and here is the funny part, during the day, I still don't really feel that I am being that active. If you think you are being active, look again. After I finish this project, I will definitely have to find another physical workout project.
Congratulations on the improvement, the joy, and the overall heath.
I'd like to point out to those who have lost sight of this fact... If you think you are active think again - as in really look at the numbers. I was pre-diabetic two years ago and then at the end of last year I was diagnosed as diabetic; my numbers actually hit a high of 395!
My doctor wanted me to immediately go on insulin, but I resisted and through 10,000 steps a day (6 days a week), I was able to get my average down to the 130-140 range in just short of three months.
After getting my sugar back under control, I started experimenting with exercise, foods, and bakes to see what really triggers me and what I really could and could not eat. I would get occasional spikes back around 200 when I had too many cookies and other sugars or fast carbs (yes, I do love sugar, TOO much).
But here is the kicker. I have not been walking for about a week and a half because I am building a pergola on my deck. From 9AM when I wake to about 8PM when I get tired of it all, I am hauling wood, sawing, measuring, painting, fitting, raising posts, lowering them, re-sawing, re-painting, going back to the lumber store to get more wood, etc. I didn't feel like it was a lot of work at first, but as the days went on, I started getting more and more tired. My muscles were aching, and when I hit the pillows I was zonked.
During the longest days, working directly in the sun, I started snacking a bit too much and drinking too many sugary drinks again - including a couple cans of coke a day and sweet tea. During the evening when I tested my blood, expecting to see the tell-tale 200 mg/dl or more... I was more than a little shocked to see that going from walking and no sweets to no walking, but building the pergola and having sweets that would normally spike my blood sugar, I found that my sugar levels are measuring out at about 109 with the lowest measured at 87.
The point of all that is that although I thought I was being active - with 10,000 steps, apparently the actual WORK I am doing eclipses those steps by far - and here is the funny part, during the day, I still don't really feel that I am being that active. If you think you are being active, look again. After I finish this project, I will definitely have to find another physical workout project.
That's a great story! Maybe after you finish your pergola you can embark on "forced" activities that mimic that sort of work. To me, it seems like using your muscles as well as being upright played a big part in this. You could do some bodyweight exercises through out the day (drop and do 10 pushups here and there), some squats, resistance band exercises. While I think everyone being obsessed these days with step counts is a good thing because it gets people up and at least moving, I think it is overly relied on for physical fitness.
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