Monday, May 16, 2011

Life in the Fat Lane

Anyone who knows me knows I've never been thin (at least post-child #1 and that was 1972). But at the time of this writing, I'm fat. Not my fattest, but fat nonetheless and I need to change. So call me Sparky - I've joined sparkpeople on line. It's a free diet support site with some pretty nifty apps. Turns out that this lady (ahem, me) with MS and type 2 diabetes apparently also has heart disease. I'm waiting for the final tests and results but the EKG and newly developed heart murmur speak pretty loudly. Ironically, after reading up on things, it seems heart disease is in place long before the a type 2 diabetes diagnosis and, people with both MS and type 2 diabetes aren't uncommon and, one step further, both MS and type 2 diabetes are associated with heart disease. Oh my. So I'm freaking out here. I'm remiss in checking my blood sugar. My goal is to keep myself between 95 and 105. Since 150 is pretty routine, I have my eating habits cut out for me. Life without cinnamon rolls with icing, life without fried foods, life without fast foods. And salt! No added salt! Frankly, I can skip the salt, it's the meat tenderizer (ala accent) that I (and all the delis) put in dips and brocolli salads, etc. That is one of those deadly yummies I can't imagine living without. But I have to. The pool is excellent for my MS, I can exercise in it, and now, it might just be my life saver.

Yesterday I had one of those fabulous donuts I love for breakfast and it hit me like a 2x4 that I was commiting suicide. My "ah ha" moment. A long slow death at my own hand. Ironically, I quit smoking in February 2010 and I'm sure that didn't do my heart any good but food? OMG. I will freak until the tests and done and the results are in and it isn't doing me any good in the meanwhile. I sleep alot. I am depressed in spite of taking anti-depressants. I seem paralyzed with fear. But life goes on and June 3rd will be hear before I know it. For now, I'll get used to testing my blood sugar regularly, eating only the most sensible foods and visiting sparkpeople.com twice a day.

1 comment:

Jane and John Weichert said...

You can do it. I've found that since I gave up fast food that I really don't crave it any more. It's as though the more you eat, the more you want and the less you eat it, the less you want it.