In the last few days we’ve had a lot of new readers to Blogging Diabetes.  Today is also the day the diabetes newsletter comes out for QualityHealth. I would like to welcome all of the new readers.  Below, I put together a quick tour of some popular articles and links on the site.

My name is Tony Rose and I have been blogging about diabetes since October 2008.  I was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes in the summer of 1998, just about 12 years now.  Utilizing technology, I have been pumping insulin with Medtronic since January 2006.  This blog was started to help my readers and me to constantly learn more about diabetes from the online community and other resources.  For those that do not know, I try to inform and provide insights about real-living with diabetes.  To see more, you can click on the Welcome page.

Thank you for stopping by – I hope you enjoy your stay at Blogging Diabetes. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me using this form.

Diabetes Magazine

Just last weekend while I was getting ready to pay for my groceries, I noticed this “gem” of a magazine by the register.  I typically laugh at most of the magazines and entertainment guides that are strategically placed in these locations.  This one caught my eye for obvious reasons. 

OK, Seriously – I’ve been living with diabetes for almost 12 years and no one, not a single person, told me I could reverse my diabetes.  With all of the information I’ve tried to share with you, I’m a bit disappointed.  Not only can I reverse my diabetes, but I can do it with FOOD. SWEET (get the pun?)!  If you are looking for 12 “Superfoods” that can just melt the pounds away, check this magazine out.  On a semi-serious note, I would like to know how to improve my insulin sensitivity in 7 days.  My sensitivity seems to change like I change my underwear.  I didn’t buy the magazine because I do not want to support a company that advertises misinformation or misleading information.

…click here to read more

If you haven’t noticed, there is a new ad image on the right side of this blog for a Diabetes Meal Planner.  This post is to announce that Blogging Diabetes has teamed up with QualityHealth.  You might be asking, what is QualityHealth?  Here is a blurb from their corporate site:

A top-10 consumer health portal, QualityHealth.com provides users with thought-provoking articles, interactive health-management tools, patient-education resources, and valuable manufacturers’ offers. The site enables brands in the pharmaceutical, medical-device, and consumer packaged goods industries to connect with consumers who have a demonstrated interest in a specific health condition—and a vested interest in finding the right treatment.

What I have quickly learned is that this site has a lot of great information on many different areas of healthcare besides just diabetes.  In terms of diabetes, there are articles, recipes, coupons, advice, directories, drug information, videos and much more.

So the question that you as the reader of Blogging Diabetes may have is how does this impact you.  I’m here to tell you that it will not impact you at all.  As of writing this, I am more committed than ever to Blogging Diabetes, helping my readers and doing my best at my diabetes management.  I will not be writing for Quality Health, but have agreed to let them stream my blog posts (feed) to their site.  So their readers can get quality diabetes information, tips and insights from my blog. 

…click here to read more

Just last week I finally started the Diabetes 365 project.  This project is located on Flickr and has a group of around 220 people that submit pictures or videos every day, hence the 365.  At first I thought it would be a lot of work with little return.  I’m on the verge of pre ordering a new Canon Rebel camera and enjoy taking photos.  I’m not even close to anything but an amateur when it comes to photography.  On Blogging Diabetes you can easily keep track of my pictures by clicking on the word “Photos” in the header.

Back to the project; It has been fairly easy to keep up with the daily pictures because I can snap one on my phone camera, which is pretty good, and with the click of a few buttons, email it to my Flickr account to be automatically posted in my Diabetes 365 folder (called a Set).

…click here to read more

When I converted over to an insulin pump roughly four years ago, little did I know that syringes would never go away.  I have written here before some of the reasons I miss my syringes and my insulin pen.  With injections there’s no unknown.  You fill the syringe, you grab some skin and inject.  When using an insulin pump there are a few unknowns and a mental checklist that you need to go through when something doesn’t seem right or your numbers are out of whack. 

…click here to read more

While digging out from a record snowfall here in Maryland, I have been counting the days until our family vacation scheduled in May.  My wife, children and I will be traveling to Scottsdale for about ten days to enjoy the pool, golf, Sedona views, and some much needed relaxing.  I will say that this has been the most trying starts to a year I’ve probably ever had.  As our family grew, so did the numbers of illnesses, time off and added stress.  Also, the start to this year has me trying to get in the best shape of my life.  I’ve dropped 10 pounds, my pants are loose and I feel awesome!  I’m pumped to get into my bathing suit and slop on some sunscreen.  There’s nothing better than sitting back or playing with kids on vacation by the pool and then watching them crash from being exhausted and happy.

…click here to read more

I just wanted to take a quick minute and let you know about the Blogging Diabetes Fan site on Facebook.  You may have noticed the Facebook fan box in the right sidebar, which can also be seen in the screenshot below.

Below is a screenshot from the fan site.  One of the reasons I created this site was to bridge the gap between twitter and this blog.  By that I mean the following. Twitter only allows 140 characters, making any kind of meaningful interaction limited.  On the other end, this blog has much lengthier posts.  By now having a Facebook fan page, this will allow another medium to exchange ideas that can be short and quick. 

…click here to read more

This will be the last post in the mini series I have created going back to the beginning of this year.  If you want to catch up on those posts before continuing with this one, they can be found by clicking on the following:

1. You Must Finish Strong
2. I Need to Win at Diabetes
3. Clean Diabetic Diet and Exercise
4. My 2010 Challenge

Let me reiterate that I’m not a doctor and I don’t have any scientific data that explains what I am about to say.  I have neither collected data nor can guarantee these results.  As always, consult your physician before changing anything in your diet. 

Back in September when I fell off of my diet wagon and began eating and drinking soda like it was going out of style, my blood sugars were high.  In the morning I had a very difficult time keeping my sugar below 200 between breakfast and lunch.  At bed time, my sugars were always pretty high probably from an oversized dinner.  During this period from September through the end of December, I was drinking one thing constantly; Diet Mountain Dew.

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I would have a sugar free Monster or Rockstar drink in the morning and then drink Diet Mountain Dew all day long until dinner when I would stop for the evening.  By days end, I would probably come close to 2 liters per day.  It is very hard to tell, but I noticed that when I stopped drinking so much caffeine my sugars seemed to level out.  Granted, I also changed my diet shortly after, but the caffeine had multiple negative effects on the body.

1. By drinking so much soda, I was drinking nearly zero water each day 
2. All of the caffeine was keeping me going during the day, but seriously crashing at night

…click here to read more

This is kind of a big thing for me even though most may not think the same.  My last blog post was the 100th here on Blogging Diabetes and it took me about 14 months.  I would truly like to post every day, but it’s just not feasible with my schedule and other responsibilities. Heck managing my diabetes and trying to be healthy is a full-time job.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank all of you that stop by and especially those that take an extra minute or two to post a comment, tweet or refer a friend.  I would especially like to thank some regulars like:

Lorraine, Cherise, Karen, Bryan, Rachel, Jaimie, Gary, Scott, Harry, Jill, Chris and any others that I may be forgetting.  Seriously… Thank you!

Tony

The last few posts discussed the fact that I have gotten back on the “saddle” in terms of my diet and exercise similar to last August when I was doing great.  Over the Holiday’s I was pretty down for letting myself go again.  Not only had I put back on the weight I lost from the summer, but I was out of control with my A1c and daily blood sugars.  I knew it was time to get things turned around and this time for good.

I laid on the guilt to some of my close friends about how I was past my 10 year anniversary of being diagnosed and needed something to get my butt in gear.  That’s when we came up with the challenge.  For the period January 2nd through the end of February we are all trying to lose pounds and body fat both weighted equally. At the end of this period there will be some prize for the winner, which doesn’t even really matter to me.  I know this was the right time to make a change for the long term and this was a good way to motivate me and get a group of friends together for a common goal.  Nobody is going to lose.  Just like “The Biggest Loser” no one really loses.  If you can make a sustainable change to be healthy, that’s a huge win.

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Sometimes you need to look deep within yourself and ask the question, “Am I really giving it 100%?”  I wasn’t and not so deep down, I knew it.  I was too complacent and just tested, corrected, bolused, tested, corrected, bolused, and so on.  You could easily say I was just going through the motions.  Not anymore.  I owe it to too many people to take better care of myself.  I’m not saying that I’m perfect now or even can have a perfect A1c.  All I am saying is that I knew I could do better and now I finally am. 

My results so far are pretty good for only a month.  I am down about 10 pounds and my daily blood sugar numbers are ten times better than before.  Now it is a rare occurrence to be over 225.  At the end of February I will have my body fat retested and get everyone else’s results.  Wish me luck.

The next post will be on the single most important thing to change to better manage diabetes.

The last 2 posts (…finish strong & …win at diabetes) have led up to this one where I am going to discuss my recent diet and exercise.

Diet

I first mentioned that I started the Fat Flush diet back in August of last year.  I think it’s a great plan, but with not without some flaws.  It was never designed for a diabetic and is mostly geared towards women.  I can tell because it talks about being able to reduce and target cellulite on every other page.  However, I definitely think there are some great tips and information that can help a diabetic. So, I have created my own modified version of the Fat Flush diet that helps me control my blood sugar and weight at the same time.

Disclaimer: What works for me may not work for you.  Always consult your doctor before making changes or starting a new exercise routine.

Here is a sample of my daily diet:

Breakfast around 7:00 AM – I will have either a Fiber One bar or Smoothie Shake with a scoop of protein. I usually put some type of fruit in the shake, like a banana or strawberries.

AM Snack – I will have almonds, a Larabar, piece of fruit or nothing if I get busy and miss it.

Lunch – Almost always this is 3 eggs (1 whole egg and 2 egg whites) with a whole grain english muffin or toast.  I can eat eggs any time of the day.

PM Snack – I will have either almonds, a Larabar or piece of fruit

Dinner – This is the key meal in my opinion.  You should go fairly low on simple carbs.  I almost always have a salad with some type of protein like, tuna or chicken.  I put some cut up peppers, carrots, snow peas and a tiny bit of bacon bits and shredded cheese (2% – low fat) topped with a low fat dressing. Virtually no simple carbs.

Workout/Cardio after my girls go down for the night, which I typically start around 9:00-9:30.

Before Bed – Finally, for my post workout drink (not the kind you’re thinking of) I will have a 12oz glass of a mixture of cranberry juice (concentrate), water, ground flax seed and some protein.  For more about the cran-water/flax drink, check out the Fat Flush book or send me an email.

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Exercise

My exercise is nothing all that special.  I usually do one body part using my Bow flex and/or dumbbell set with an 8lb medicine ball or maybe just some core exercises like planks, which are much harder than they look.

After doing maybe 30 minutes of exercises I will jump on our treadmill or elliptical and do about 30 minutes (5 warm up and 5 cool down).

Nothing too fancy here, but it works.  I went from probably 3,000 calories a day to between 1,200 – 1,500 and after a few days/week it’s just like normal.  Sometimes I am starving, but I will snack on something with low carbs and fiber.  Best of all is what you will quickly see in your insulin intake and blood sugars.  Since I don’t eat 3 servings of rice or potatoes, chips, or sugar loaded foods, I am never getting above 250 anymore (like, at all).

Since starting this diet on 1/2/2010 (25 days) I have lost almost 10 pounds and my blood sugars are better than ever.  I can’t wait to go to the Endo now.  I’m actually looking forward to it.  If I can do it with a 9 month old, 4 yr old, full-time job, 2 blogs and little downtime, so can you.  You really owe it to yourself and shouldn’t have a reason not to.  My health and diet is now a priority and will not revert back after seeing these results.

Thank you all for the messages and support – I appreciate you visiting.

Next up is the single biggest thing you can do to help manage your diabetes or diet and you’re not going to like what it is, trust me.