This is my journal. Here you will find my feelings, thoughts and information about my Diabetes discovery and weight loss journey. It helps to put feelings and thoughts in writing. I will be adding images showing my weight loss progress.
Where do I begin? I have always had a issue with my weight. Not a bad one, but over my lifetime I have been on and off diets, fad ones too only to find they didn't work. Years ago my father was diagnosed as a diabetic, at first he dieted (yes he was big too) and controlled his blood sugar that way. As the years progressed he became insulin dependent and eventually went blind because he did not take his diabetes seriously enough. He passed away in March of 2000. Several years ago my mothers best friend found out that she was diabetic too, but she didn't take it seriously either and didn't eat right and died from complications of diabetes in January of 2002. My health was always good even though I was obese. Blood pressure was fine, blood sugar, cholestrol etc. Everything was in normal ranges. That all changed after a very stressful start in 2003. On 12/29/02 my best friend passed away from a massive heart attack at the age of 43. I miss her so much, we had been friends since the age of 11, we shared so much of our lifes together including trying to lose weight. 5 days after she passed away my uncle Bob passed away from cancer. The same day he died a good friend of my families passed away also. January and Febuary were pretty good although I was still reeling from the deaths of my loved ones and I was forced to take a week off without pay from my job due to the economy. The first week in March 2003 my mother and I became pretty ill and she ended up spending 6 days in the hospital due to the virus we both had contracted. I was again forced to take a week off from work due to the economy but this time I was given unemployment benefits. My mother has COPD and asthma really bad so that is why she didn't heal as fast as I did. I also visited my OBGYN and was surprised that I had lost about 15 pounds since I had seen her last year. In April my boyfriend of a little over a year broke up with me, I wasn't totally devistated by this but it still hurt alott. Off and on over the previous 6 months or so I just didn't feel right, I have arthritis in both knees so I went to see my Doctor for a check up. To our surprise all of a sudden my blood pressure was up. She suggested monitoring it for about a month because it was 169/98. So I bought a blood pressure monitor and watch it. I went higher but not much lower. I made an appointment to see her on 5/19/03. My blood pressure was still too high so she prescribed some medication for me to take. Before I left she said, "lets do some bloodwork to make sure the HBP is not being caused by something else" I thought nothing of this. I had my bloodwork done and 2 days later got the shocking results.My random glucose was 343mg/dl normal range is 60-159. Most all of the other tests she had run were within normal ranges so I knew in my heart I was diabetic. She ordered a fasting glucose test to be done. I went on 5/24/03 and had the tests done. She also ordered a HBA1C which tells what your glucose average was over the last 3 months. It was on a holiday weekend so I had to wait a few more days than normal to get my results back. When I got them I was devistated, my fasting glucose was 261mg/dl and normal range is 60-109. My HBA1C was 10.6% and normal range is 4.9-5.8%
I cried for days, knowing what my father and my mothers best friend had gone through I new I was going to have to make major changes in my lifestyle. That is a hard pill to swallow when you are used to eating what every you want when you want. I thought to myself this is the end of the world. How much more can I handle without going over the edge, maybe into deep depression, perhaps just saying to hell with it, doing what I wanted and dying young!!!! I had been planning on a trip to Chicago for vacation and thought .. why bother I won't be able to eat much of anything, how can I enjoy my self when I have to watch every little thing I eat? My doctors office called and referred me right away to a diabetic nurse and she made me an appointment with a nutritionist. She also prescribed oral diabetic medication (500mg Metformin) and another High blood pressure medication. I was still crying everyday, I just didn't know how I was going to deal with this. I saw the diabetic nurse and nutritionist on 5/31/03 and received my blood glucose monitor and the nutritionist explained the food pryamid to me in detail. So I went home with my medications, food guidelines and cried some more. I knew what I had to, 1st thing I did was went cold turkey off my favorite beverage of Mt. Dew. That was really hard, and to cut out almost all refined sugar. Then I woke up one day and kicked myself in the butt and said.. come on Sharee get off this pitty party and get healthy, get on with your life and be strong. So started my journey of knowledge regarding Diabetes. I scoured the internet for information. I found so much it was a bit overwelming at first. I started eating right and my outlook changed for the better. I kept eating right and following my food guidelines and by 8/1/03 I had lost 15 pounds. I went on my vacation to Chicago with a great outlook and my BS was well within range for the whole trip. I went to a conference that the National Psoriasis Foundation has every year. I got to see 2 of my very best friends from the online support group for Psoriasis that I started in 1999, and got to meet a few more members of the group too and made a bunch of new friends. I had a blast!!! About a week after I got back from my vacation I had blood work done to check my random glucose. I jumped for joy, it was 102........... YIPPIE!!!!! On 8/28/03 I had another random glucose test and it was 108 and my 1st HBA1C after finding out I was diabetic was 6.3% My doctor and diabetic team is so happy and so am I. Then my weight loss hit a brick wall. I was still having great readings of my blood glucose, but I wasn't losing any more weight. So on 9/13/03 I joined Weight Watchers. I needed some help with this journey I was on to get healthy. I had been on this plan off and on over the years with much sucess but something stressful always happened (I am a stress eater) and I stopped going to the meetings and gained the weight back I had lost plus more. So here I am. Today is 9/20/03 and I had my 1st weigh in at Weight Watchers today and I lost 4.6 pounds... hooray. I gave myself a big pat on the back haha. Being on Weight Watchers and being a diabetic is very challenging. I have to count the food points and my carbohydrates as well, but in the past week my blood glucose readings have been great!!! They have been well below 140 in the evenings and under 125 in the mornings. I am a very happy girl today. So in the past year or there abouts I went from weighing 269 pounds to today at 234.6 a loss of 34.4 pounds. Today I am so motivated to continue this journey and I hope you enjoy sharing it with me. The only downside in my life right now is my Psoriasis. The last 7 months of stress in my life is catching up with me and I am having a small flare, but this to shall pass.Today is 10/04/03 My second week on weight watchers I gained 1.7 pounds. Well it was a stressful week for me and well you ladies know what PMS can to do you. Anyway moving on to today, I lost 3.3 pounds making a grand total of 6.2 pounds lost on Weight Watchers in 3 weeks. Not too shabby if I do say so myself. My blood glucose levels have been quite low compared to be before Weight watchers so that is a plus for controling my diabetes. I also posted a couple of photos, 1 from a couple of years ago when I was at my heaviest and 1 that was taken in June of 2003 when I was a little lighter. But in the last year I have lost 36 pounds and I have a good outlook today on the upcoming week and staying on track. I still have days when I feel sorry for myself (don't we all?) but the trick is not to give up on yourself! When life throws you a curve ball, move aside, move on and be strong. Today is 10/14/03. My weigh in at Weight watchers on 10/11/03 was better than I felt it would be. I lost 2.6 pounds and a total of 8.8 lost since I joined Weight Watchers and a total since June 2003 of 28.8 pounds. I thought for sure I was gonna gain again this past week. Was a bit stressful, but I surprised even myself. So far this week the weekend was rough and Monday I went over my points, but today I was right on target with my WW points and my blood glucose levels. I also started walking this week. Starting out slow as I am not used to alot of exercise. Took a walk yesterday around the block and made it in 10 minutes. Today I was going to walk again after dinner but I had to stand in one spot at work for about 1/2 hour today making copies of documents for an auditor, My back is killing me. I have a bad back too, 3 herniated discs and when I have to stand still in place for a long period I get pain and numbness down my outter thighs. Man since I turned 40 I have been slowing falling apart HAHA!!
Today is 11/02/03 Wow I haven't entered anything here in quite a while.. So updates are due. 10/11 weigh in I lost 2.6 pounds. 10/18 I stayed exactly the same. 10/25 I lost .6 pounds I was a little bummed with this weight in as I was only .2 short of my 1st 10 pounds lost at Weight Watchers. So yesterday I had my WW weigh in and lost 2.3 pounds.. YIPPIE made the 1st 10 pounds lost since starting Weight Watchers 9/13/03. So my total lost at WW is 11.7 in 7 weeks.
Total lost since June 1st 31.7 pounds.
On 10/25/03 went to Sonora California for the weekend. Sonora is in the famous gold country of California. Very rural and peaceful. My mom and I went up after I had my WW Weight in... the 26 of october was my 44th birthday and also one of my mothers best friends 70th. We went to sonora to surprise her for her B-day and we did. This weekend I didn't do very good staying on the program, but sometimes we have to splurge or I would go crazy haha. Well I will close for now..
Today is 11/30/03. I have had a busy month, with the holidays approaching I have been out shopping for Christmas and trying to find some clothes that will fit me. I had to break down and buy some new pants and shirts. I was wearing 30/32 (5X) and now I am in a 18/20 (2X) Since the last time I wrote here I am down 35.6 pounds since the 1st part of June 2003. I am feeling so much better and my blood sugar readings are in the low range which is a plus. Another thing I have noticed is that I can bend over and tie my shoes while sitting down. I haven't been able to do that in years. I have posted an updated photo that was taken on Thanksgiving day. I was a little worried about my WW weigh in the saturday after the big turkey day, but I lost 1.8 pounds.. YIPPIE!!!!! I haven't gained any weight since my second week of WW weigh in. I stayed about the same for a few weeks here and there but overall my average weight loss per month has been about 5 pounds. After the holidays I am going to join the gym, I am way past due for that. I need to start toning and firming up or I will have alot of extra flesh when I lose all the weight I want to. Well that is it for now, I hope you, your family and friends had a nice Thanksgiving.
Today is 12/29/03 It has been about a month since I wrote anything here. Trying to get ready for the holidays kept me very busy. Well the 2 weeks after Thanksgiving I gained 2.3 pounds, Nothing drastic but was a bit discouraging. I got right back on program and the saturday before Christmas I weighed in at my Weight watchers meeting and lost 5.3 pounds. YIPPIE I was so excited and happy. Christmas came and went and I had my weigh in last Saturday 12/27/03 and lost .4 at least it was a loss, even the little losses add up. I had a great holiday and got alot of great gifts from my family and freinds. This weekend was hard, but I think I will do well on program this week. I am shooting to get my 20 pound star with Weight Watchers this coming Sat. but if I dont its ok. This is a hard journey and sometimes we all slip. Anyway, I am down to 220 pounds now and have lost a total of 49 pounds. I will have another progress photo up as soon as I can. Have a wonderful safe New Year!!!
Today is 1/17/04 Well I finally did it. I received my 20 pound star at my Weight Watchers meeting today!!
So here is how I did. I lost .6 pounds on 1/3/04 and gained .6 promptly the next week. But This week I lost 3.7 pounds and like I said got my 20 pound star. My total weight loss to date is 52.9 pounds. YIPPIE!!!!! Last Saturday 1/10/04 I joined the Discovery Health Channels Get fit challenge. The weigh in was at my local Discovery retail store and I was 1st in line at 7:30 am. Weigh in was at 10 am, I received a get fit kit. It included a journal to keep track of food, water and exercise. I tape measurer, a lip balm and a 3 month pass to Bally's Fitness centers. There is a Bally's here in the city where I live so I also started working out at the gym this week. I am sure that boosted my weight loss this week. There is also an updated photo of me below taken today 1/17/04. I feel wonderful, healthy and stronger than ever. I can't even remember the last time I weighed below 220. Well that is all the update for now. Anyone else that is on a weight loss journey please feel free to email me and good luck to you!!!
Today is 2/15/04 Long overdue for an update. With my Weight Watchers Weigh in on 1/24/04 I lost .9 pounds. On 1/31/04 I lost 1.6 pounds and received my 25 pound magnet at Weight Watchers YIPPIE!!!! Then on 2/7/04 I gained 2.4 pounds. A little set back, but these things happen when you are a journey of weight loss and health. Our bodies don't always want to play nice haha. That was a bad week for me and we all have them. I just didn't journel my food like I should have and ate too much. Didn't eat foods that are not good for me just too much. It's truely amazing how a little extra food can put you on the upswing instead of the down swing. I finally joined Bally's gym. My free trial is not over until April 3rd, however they were having a special for the people participating in the Discovery Health Channel challenge and I just couldn't pass it up since the special would end at the end of Feb. I also post on the Weight Watchers message boards and there is one I just love it's the "Guys on a diet" board. They are having a challege on that board so I joined in. It is to challenge yourself to keep track of your daily basics. Fruit and Veggies, water, dairy, Vitamin, your points target, flex points and your activity points. So I joined in and journeled faithfully and to my surprise when I weighed in at Weight Watcher 2/14/04 I had lost 4.4 pounds.. WOW!!!! That is really a great weigh in considering how long I have been on the WW plan. I am very proud of myself, I have been going to the gym 4-5 days a week. On the days I don't go to the gym I have been doing some resistance training here at home and this really helps boost the metabolizem. (ok so im not a great speller) With my Weigh in on 2/14/04 my total lost with Weight Watchers is 27.4 pounds. Grand total lost 57.4 pounds. My blood sugar is still really good, and I am excited to see my doctor on March 1st. She does not know I have lost all this weight and I know she will be very happy. Oh I almost forgot, I had some blood work done about 2 weeks ago. They check my Cholestrol, potassium, liver and kidney function as the diabetes can affect all this things. I am happy to report everything was normal. My bad Cholestrol was really low and the good cholestrol was a little low, but overall my cholestrol was 173. That lets me know that what I am doing with diet and exersice is working and I am healthier than I have been in many years. In retrospect I believe that becoming a type 2 diabetic was a blessing in deguise. It gave me the kick in the butt I needed to eat right, exercise and become a healthy person. Without that revelation I would probably still be very obese and unhealthy. I still have a long way to go, but I know I can do it. There has been noticable progress with the inches lost, clothes getting smaller and smaller. I checked my Body Max index and when I was at my top weight it was 52.6 today it is 41.3 quite an improvement in less than 1 year. Ok that is all the update for now.
Today is 3/6/04 Updated weigh in for the last few weeks. 2/21/04 I stayed the same and on 2/28/04 I gained .4! Fast foward to todays Weigh In 3/6/04 I lost 1.6 pounds. This past month has not been the easiest, I am not sure why, but it hasn't been. I seem to be doing the YOYO thing between 2-4 pounds but hopefully that cycle is over. I am actually starting to feel like I am going to make it this time. My next mini goal is to get below my current weight of 210.6 and reach 60 pounds lost total. I have 1.4 pounds to lose to make it. I plan on working my butt off this week and started doing that today. I bought a new workout tape and did aerobic and weights for 1 hour today. That should help boost my weight loss. I will still go to the gym at least 4 days a week to get in 1-2 miles on the treadmill. My second mini goal within the next few months is to reach 199, when I do I will actually weigh less than the 200 lbs listed on my drivers license. :) I have given myself a big pat on the back. This has not been an easy journey so far but I refuse to give up!!! Also saw my doctor on March 1st for a 6 month check up for my diabetes. My doctor came in the room almost jumping for joy when she saw my weight loss and found out the progress I have made. She changed one of my high blood pressure pills and put me on a low dose baby aspirin and a low does cholestral pill, But I will have blood work done next week and if my HBA1C test is as good as her and I both think it will be she will reduce my Diabetes medication in 1/2. YIPPIE!!! I am seeing a bright light at the end of this tunnel, and I know I will reach a health weight within the next year.
Please check back every few weeks and I will try and update more often. More updates to come as I progress. Today is 4/3/04 Wow it’s been almost a month since I updated this journal. All during the month of March I continued my yo yo’ing . Up 2 down 2 etc. I wont give you all the details. Another tragedy happened in my family. My Niece Rachael who is 22 lost her fiancé who was 29! He passed away on March 26 from what they believe was an Abdominal Aneurysm. The past week of my life has been an emotional mess. My whole family is so devastated by this loss in our family. I still cannot believe its true!!! His name was Paul and he was a very talented Tattoo artist. Just 2 ˝ weeks ago he tattooed me for the 4th and 5th times. I feel like I will always have part of him with me. His untimely death really took me for a loop. I cannot even imagine what my niece must be feeling. Her son Anthony from a previous relationship who will soon turn 6 years old is not doing well either. Paul was his dad, was there for him day in a day out unlike his biological father. The last year and ˝ of my life has not been the best, but I always try and look on the bright side of things. God was watching over my niece’s, great nephew and even Paul that night, they had been on the freeway and dropped my niece Heather off at home. Paul stopped at a stop sign to use his cell phone and that is when it happened. If it had happened 5 minutes earlier they all might have been killed in a traffic accident on the freeway, so in a way we feel blessed. Anyway, this past week really sucked, but I stayed as focused on WW as I could and managed to lose 3.4 pounds. I received my 30 pounds star today at my Weight Watchers meeting and my total weight loss is at 61 pounds. There is an updated photo of me below that was taken today. Please tell the people you love that you love them, hug your kids, kiss your spouse passionately and make sure they know how much they mean to you. Life is way too short!!!
5/26/04 Well it has been several months since I have updated here. My life has been a roller coaster since my last journal entry. My weight has been up and down over the past few months! I am very frustrated at this point, but I refuse to give up!!! I went to my Weigh in today and was up 1.4 pounds from last week. So right now I weight a bit more than I did back in April when I last made an entry here. 209.4 pounds and back slide a bit on the weight loss.. I am at 59.8 pounds lost as of today.. I have an appointment with my doctor on July 19th and I am going to ask her if the diabetes can interfere with my weight loss efforts and see the nutrionist again to see what level of carbs I should be eatting at my current weight to loss weight. I might be eatting too mnay carbs and not enough protein.. it could be anything. I know there were a few weeks in there where I was not on the Weight Watchers program 100% and didnt get enough exercise in. So I am focused this week and bound and determined to lose the weight I still have to lose, which is at least another 60 pounds. Hang in there anyone on a weight loss journey or who has diabetes. You can do this.. I know I am going to come hell or high water!!!! Until the next update, cheers.
Today is 4/28/05. I have really been slacking on my journel. I am currently maintaining between 201 and 205. Just seem to have lost my modivation. I was sick for most of March and the 1st part of April with really bad allergies and haven't been to the gym in over a month!!! I need to get it back together. I need to get serious about Weight Watchers again and exercise but just cannot seem to find the umph!!!! Not much is new. My diabetes is still under control and my last A1C was 5.6% and my random glucose was 82. I have added a new link below regarding Diabetic Myths that has some very interesting information on it. I am going to be meeting a good friend of mine from the Weight Watchers "Guys on a diet" message board in June. His coming to California with his 2 kids for vacation. I cannot wait to meet him in person. Him and I have this connection that is hard to explain. We are alot alike in regards to our weight issues, how we grew up and how we deal with food. Sometimes its a bit scary but in a good way. I hope this finds you happy and healthy. Until the next entry take care.
Today is 9/13/05 Wow I haven't written here in 5 MONTHS!!!! Boy I have really been bad about updating this. Mostly because I haven't been doing very well on Weight Watchers. As of last Saturday I weighed 206.8, This year has really been a struggle for me weight wise. But I have still kept off the 60+ pounds I have lost so I feel really good about that! So in updating what's been going on with my life... hmmmm well I did meet my friend Tim from the Weight Watchers Goad board. What a great time we had and felt like we had been friends for years. I love this guy, he's a great friend and his kids are wonderful too. Last year in Sept my Niece Rachael met a new man and started dating. It was hard for all of the family at first because we still miss her Fiance Paul that passed away a year ago in March. But this new man grew on us all the more time we spent with him. So a year later they are getting married and having a baby too. We are all very happy and excited for her and her husband to be Shane. My nieces 7 year old son is very happy to be becoming a big brother too.
I finally started going back to the gym also. Last week I made it 1 day. Been walking on the days I have not gone to the gym. Took a walk at lunch yesterday and then a walk again after dinner last night. I didn't get to walk at lunch today because I went out to lunch with 2 men from one of our distributors at work. It was a nice lunch and even though I didn't make the best choice of meals I felt fine with it. I got home this afternoon from work and went to the gym had a good hour workout and then came home and had a light dinner. I spoke with another friend of mine from the Goad message board who has lost 230 pounds.. yes that is right, he has lost that much. What an inspiration Matt is to me and so many others. He started at 400 pounds and now weighs 169!!!! So in closing for this time. I feel I am back on track, still struggling with eating the right things and not bingeing because of bordem etc. Not giving up is the key to success in weight loss. If you fall off the wagon for 1 meal or 1 day you just climb back on and start again. That is really the beauty of weight watchers. Its very easy to get back in the swing, as long as your head is in the right place. I have been trying to remind myself that if I am not hungry then I don't need to eat anything. So for all of you out there trying to lose weight just hang in there and stick with it!!!! If I can do it you can too. Until the next time, good health to you and your family.
This is the latest photo down 61 pounds now weighing 208.2
This photo was taken Christmas eve 2004. I am at 200.5 in this photo. Down 68.5 pounds.
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