My workout last night reminded me of two things. 1. I haven't lifted weights in a while (too long); 2. How lifting weights affects blood sugar vs. how doing cardio affects it.
Depending on the length of time I do cardio, it definitely brings down my blood sugar; but does so fairly quickly (as I'm doing the cardio). Lifting weights on the other hand (or doing muscle-specific exercises) has quite the lingering effect! There are many exercise gurus out there and they have their videos saying you'll be burning calories hours after your workout is over! Buy now! But it's true. Certain workouts can "continue working" even after you're done. The class I took at the gym last night is called Cardio Muscle Mix and is one of my favorites! My muscles were a little bit surprised by what I was asking them to do, but they had a lovely time (and were very jelly-like at the end).
Because of the fact that my muscles were still tired much after my workout, meant that technically my body was still working a bit. So my blood sugar continued to drop (not dangerously, just relatively).
The class felt great and I'm back on the weight-train and want to stay on it!
Wednesday, October 26, 2011
Friday, September 16, 2011
Fiber!
Fiber is good for you! The end. Thank you for listening, have a wonderful day.
Well no, there is more. The epilogue to that story is as follows: fiber makes everyone's lives better! It's not any more special to somebody with diabetes than somebody without, except when it comes to carb counting! Don't worry, I'm not going to throw another math lesson at you. Yes I am, but it's easy. When counting carbs, you subtract the fiber. Get it? Good! I was reminded of this when I read the bold sign on the front of the packet of flax whole wheat wraps I bought. They're great and very low in carbs. They ALSO have several grams of fiber, thanks to ye olde flax! Anywho, the sign reminded me about the fact that I don't remember why one is supposed to subtract the fiber. The sign says, "Remember to subtract the fiber, those are the only carbs your body absorbs!" or something like that. I knowwww, Fiber Wraps, but WHY! So there are about 11 grams of carbs in these wraps (insanely low if you've ever read a wrap label), but about 5 grams of fiber. So the net total of carbs is... divide by 47, carry the B... multiply by weight... 6! 6 grams (11-5, that's all)!
Mid-post I decided to investigate the why. It's because fiber isn't digested! That makes sense. We're learning here, people. Get excited. Check it out: http://www.diabetes.org/food-and-fitness/food/what-can-i-eat/carbohydrates.html
Bullet point: Eat fiber because it makes your body happy, and subtract it from the number of carbs in whatever you're eating (some studies say otherwise... but I win)!
Happy FRIDAY!!
Well no, there is more. The epilogue to that story is as follows: fiber makes everyone's lives better! It's not any more special to somebody with diabetes than somebody without, except when it comes to carb counting! Don't worry, I'm not going to throw another math lesson at you. Yes I am, but it's easy. When counting carbs, you subtract the fiber. Get it? Good! I was reminded of this when I read the bold sign on the front of the packet of flax whole wheat wraps I bought. They're great and very low in carbs. They ALSO have several grams of fiber, thanks to ye olde flax! Anywho, the sign reminded me about the fact that I don't remember why one is supposed to subtract the fiber. The sign says, "Remember to subtract the fiber, those are the only carbs your body absorbs!" or something like that. I knowwww, Fiber Wraps, but WHY! So there are about 11 grams of carbs in these wraps (insanely low if you've ever read a wrap label), but about 5 grams of fiber. So the net total of carbs is... divide by 47, carry the B... multiply by weight... 6! 6 grams (11-5, that's all)!
Mid-post I decided to investigate the why. It's because fiber isn't digested! That makes sense. We're learning here, people. Get excited. Check it out: http://www.diabetes.org/food-and-fitness/food/what-can-i-eat/carbohydrates.html
Bullet point: Eat fiber because it makes your body happy, and subtract it from the number of carbs in whatever you're eating (some studies say otherwise... but I win)!
Happy FRIDAY!!
Wednesday, August 17, 2011
Friday, August 12, 2011
Blogging is harddddd
It's tough to post on a regular basis! Sometimes I just don't know what to write about. Perhaps I could pick one day and walk you through what goes on (related to blood sugar and insulin, of course). I'll do that soon.
For today though I will touch on the topic of weight loss! Intentional weight loss that is. My freshman year of college I thought, "Good thing I have this nutritional plan, otherwise I'd gain the Freshman 15 just like everyone else!" Well guess what happened, I totally gained my Freshman... 10 maybe. Things like peanut butter mixed with vanilla soft serve ice cream might've done the trick (man that was so good). Peanut butter and cheese are foods considered "free" in the diabetes world because they aren't carbohydrates. Vegetables are more of a free food than PB and cheese are, but still. I love me some peanut butter. And peanut butter loves it some... me. Anyway, after freshman year was over I was at a weight I wasn't comfortable with, so decided to shed a few ell-beez. I honestly can't remember exactly what I did, but going into my Sophomore year I was probably down about 15 pounds! I don't think I even weighed myself, I can't remember. I'm sure I just controlled my portions more strictly. For the rest of college my weight probably fluctuated within 5-10 pounds but I never went to one extreme or the other thank goodness!
October 2010 I had my yearly physical at the doctor and they weighed me (which I never do for myself) and it was at a number I wasn't a huge fan of. So I decided to read some labels, and start thinking about calories more carefully. Even though I've been exercising since high school I never gave two hoots about calories and didn't even look at what was in anything. Once I started looking and calculating calories in combined with calories burned, I realized what I'd have to do if I wanted to lose some weight. Since then, I've just been noticing what I've been consuming. I still treat myself to certain things if I feel like it, but just being more aware is helpful. The flip side of all this is that calorie counting can make anybody go insane if they become too obsessed. And for me particularly since treating low blood sugar = more calories. It's tough sometimes, but obviously treating low blood sugars is priority over consuming a certain number of calories in a day. And then the actual working out comes into play... the longer I work out, the more sugar/carbs I need to 'cover' myself so my blood sugar doesn't dip too low. So I could just start my workout with really high blood sugar so that I don't need to eat anything, but... who wants to work out while hungry?! NOBODY! It's horrible. Even worse than that though is that high blood sugar is not good. Yet another balancing act I've become quite good at! All of these things take practice. When I got diagnosed I thought I'd be the same weight for the rest of my life since I was on a meal/carb-counting plan. But uhdoy, who stays on the same meal plan for the rest of her life? Not this guy. I gained weight, woops. I figured out how to lose it. Hooray! As long as I'm feeling well and happy where I am... that's all I need.
Bullet Point: I'm not really sure. Happy FRIDAY!!
For today though I will touch on the topic of weight loss! Intentional weight loss that is. My freshman year of college I thought, "Good thing I have this nutritional plan, otherwise I'd gain the Freshman 15 just like everyone else!" Well guess what happened, I totally gained my Freshman... 10 maybe. Things like peanut butter mixed with vanilla soft serve ice cream might've done the trick (man that was so good). Peanut butter and cheese are foods considered "free" in the diabetes world because they aren't carbohydrates. Vegetables are more of a free food than PB and cheese are, but still. I love me some peanut butter. And peanut butter loves it some... me. Anyway, after freshman year was over I was at a weight I wasn't comfortable with, so decided to shed a few ell-beez. I honestly can't remember exactly what I did, but going into my Sophomore year I was probably down about 15 pounds! I don't think I even weighed myself, I can't remember. I'm sure I just controlled my portions more strictly. For the rest of college my weight probably fluctuated within 5-10 pounds but I never went to one extreme or the other thank goodness!
October 2010 I had my yearly physical at the doctor and they weighed me (which I never do for myself) and it was at a number I wasn't a huge fan of. So I decided to read some labels, and start thinking about calories more carefully. Even though I've been exercising since high school I never gave two hoots about calories and didn't even look at what was in anything. Once I started looking and calculating calories in combined with calories burned, I realized what I'd have to do if I wanted to lose some weight. Since then, I've just been noticing what I've been consuming. I still treat myself to certain things if I feel like it, but just being more aware is helpful. The flip side of all this is that calorie counting can make anybody go insane if they become too obsessed. And for me particularly since treating low blood sugar = more calories. It's tough sometimes, but obviously treating low blood sugars is priority over consuming a certain number of calories in a day. And then the actual working out comes into play... the longer I work out, the more sugar/carbs I need to 'cover' myself so my blood sugar doesn't dip too low. So I could just start my workout with really high blood sugar so that I don't need to eat anything, but... who wants to work out while hungry?! NOBODY! It's horrible. Even worse than that though is that high blood sugar is not good. Yet another balancing act I've become quite good at! All of these things take practice. When I got diagnosed I thought I'd be the same weight for the rest of my life since I was on a meal/carb-counting plan. But uhdoy, who stays on the same meal plan for the rest of her life? Not this guy. I gained weight, woops. I figured out how to lose it. Hooray! As long as I'm feeling well and happy where I am... that's all I need.
Bullet Point: I'm not really sure. Happy FRIDAY!!
Thursday, July 28, 2011
Addendum to the math post
I wanted to clarify that my intention was not to scramble your brain with mathematics, but only to show off my math skills. No, wait... that wasn't the goal either. I'm not really sure what the goal was, but it certainly wasn't to confuse anyone. In reality, all the calculations are easy (once you know how/why/when/zen), but writing them all at once even made my brain hurt. It's more difficult to explain than to DO.
I also wanted to note that of course not everything I eat has a label. So I do a lot of estimating, particularly when I go out to restaurants. Roasted chicken on a bed of risotto does not have the ADA exchange rate listed on the underside of the plate (or DOES it?!). After a short time, I got very good at the guessing and estimating. Naturally, sometimes the guessing is a bit off, but that's to be expected. A salad with apple slices for example- I think of the carbs in an apple (average 25grams) and check out about how many slices on the salad- probably about a whole apple, so that's 25grams right there. Maybe there are some crispy tortilla strips on that salad too! A whole small tortilla would be about 25grams of carbs also, and I'd bet that about 3/4ths of the tortilla was on the salad, so I'd add 20grams. Then I'd factor in a couple grams here and there for dressing, cheese (goat cheese for this salad thankyouverymuch), etc... so for this fictitious (but delicious, no?) salad, I would take about 5 or 6 units of insulin (because there were about 50-60 grams of carbs in it).
Anyway... don't be confused, count your foods (or I will)!
I also wanted to note that of course not everything I eat has a label. So I do a lot of estimating, particularly when I go out to restaurants. Roasted chicken on a bed of risotto does not have the ADA exchange rate listed on the underside of the plate (or DOES it?!). After a short time, I got very good at the guessing and estimating. Naturally, sometimes the guessing is a bit off, but that's to be expected. A salad with apple slices for example- I think of the carbs in an apple (average 25grams) and check out about how many slices on the salad- probably about a whole apple, so that's 25grams right there. Maybe there are some crispy tortilla strips on that salad too! A whole small tortilla would be about 25grams of carbs also, and I'd bet that about 3/4ths of the tortilla was on the salad, so I'd add 20grams. Then I'd factor in a couple grams here and there for dressing, cheese (goat cheese for this salad thankyouverymuch), etc... so for this fictitious (but delicious, no?) salad, I would take about 5 or 6 units of insulin (because there were about 50-60 grams of carbs in it).
Anyway... don't be confused, count your foods (or I will)!
Tuesday, July 26, 2011
Math Lesson
Perhaps it's time for some technical information, mmm? Perhaps it's not, but here it comes. So as I've mentioned there are a few different types of insulin, and the 'fast acting' Humalog is what you're going to learn about right now! So exciting.
A healthy blood sugar target is around 80-150mg/dL (milligrams per deciliter, I've gone cross-eyed). If your (my) blood sugar is over that, it needs to be 'corrected.' That's where exercise can come in, but typically insulin takes that job. Each person's body is different and processes the insulin differently, so the 'correction factor' is different. There will be a quiz at the end of this post about how many times I used the word 'different' so pay attention. What you do first is determine the correction factor with your doctor, then decide on a target blood sugar, and that's where the fun math comes in! My correction factor is 50 (I'm going to be honest, I don't remember what that even means... it's just 50. That will have to suffice for now). My target blood sugar is 100mg/dL. Before you run away, let me give you an example: Let's say I check my blood sugar and it's at 250mg/dL, sacre bleu! No fear. Equation is as follows: actual blood sugar (250) minus blood sugar I correct to (100) then divide by 50 (correction factor) = 3. So what? 3. Congratulations. Neat number. No, no, it's more than that. That 3 means I have to take 3 extra units of Humalog in order to get my blood sugar to the wonderful 100mg/dL I want it to be! Not too bad? Still with me?
Next science tidbit is counting carbohydrates! That is how I determine how many units of Humalog I take with each meal. For anyone who's done Weight Watchers, you'd be surprised to know it is QUITE similar to diabetes and its carb-counting regimen. The American Diabetes Association once upon a time determined that "one" carbohydrate = 15 grams of carbs. Ask me how many carbs per serving on just about anything, I'll tell you without lookin! Anyway, when I have a meal, I look at the carbohydrates in the nutrition information (luckily the world is coming around and posting nutrition information in more and more places) and assess/mathematize from there. Example time! Let's go with a Nature Valley granola bar (a staple in my diet). The serving size is 2 bars (which come in one packet), and there are 29grams of carbs in that serving. I determined with my doctor that to maintain my healthy blood sugar, my body needs 1 unit of insulin per 10 grams of carbs. Ipso facto, if I eat that granola bar, I take (rounded) 3 units of insulin. 30grams of carbohydrates = 3 units of insulin (for Olivia).
Next time you read a label, there's a good chance you'll see at the bottom the "ADA Exchange". On the granola bar box it says the ADA Exchange is "2" because remember that 15grams of carbohydrates = "one" carbohydrate, that's why the granola bar is 2. Not every brand of food is associate with the ADA, but the ones that are will have this information listed on their label, rather convenient! This all makes sense to me because I learned it and have been living it. Don't fret if your head is spinning. And if it's not spinning, hats off to you and your non-spinning head beneath them!
Bullet points:
-15grams of carbs = "one" exchange in the ADA world
-Blood sugar correction factor
-Math is fun (no it's not)
Happy Tuesday!
A healthy blood sugar target is around 80-150mg/dL (milligrams per deciliter, I've gone cross-eyed). If your (my) blood sugar is over that, it needs to be 'corrected.' That's where exercise can come in, but typically insulin takes that job. Each person's body is different and processes the insulin differently, so the 'correction factor' is different. There will be a quiz at the end of this post about how many times I used the word 'different' so pay attention. What you do first is determine the correction factor with your doctor, then decide on a target blood sugar, and that's where the fun math comes in! My correction factor is 50 (I'm going to be honest, I don't remember what that even means... it's just 50. That will have to suffice for now). My target blood sugar is 100mg/dL. Before you run away, let me give you an example: Let's say I check my blood sugar and it's at 250mg/dL, sacre bleu! No fear. Equation is as follows: actual blood sugar (250) minus blood sugar I correct to (100) then divide by 50 (correction factor) = 3. So what? 3. Congratulations. Neat number. No, no, it's more than that. That 3 means I have to take 3 extra units of Humalog in order to get my blood sugar to the wonderful 100mg/dL I want it to be! Not too bad? Still with me?
Next science tidbit is counting carbohydrates! That is how I determine how many units of Humalog I take with each meal. For anyone who's done Weight Watchers, you'd be surprised to know it is QUITE similar to diabetes and its carb-counting regimen. The American Diabetes Association once upon a time determined that "one" carbohydrate = 15 grams of carbs. Ask me how many carbs per serving on just about anything, I'll tell you without lookin! Anyway, when I have a meal, I look at the carbohydrates in the nutrition information (luckily the world is coming around and posting nutrition information in more and more places) and assess/mathematize from there. Example time! Let's go with a Nature Valley granola bar (a staple in my diet). The serving size is 2 bars (which come in one packet), and there are 29grams of carbs in that serving. I determined with my doctor that to maintain my healthy blood sugar, my body needs 1 unit of insulin per 10 grams of carbs. Ipso facto, if I eat that granola bar, I take (rounded) 3 units of insulin. 30grams of carbohydrates = 3 units of insulin (for Olivia).
Next time you read a label, there's a good chance you'll see at the bottom the "ADA Exchange". On the granola bar box it says the ADA Exchange is "2" because remember that 15grams of carbohydrates = "one" carbohydrate, that's why the granola bar is 2. Not every brand of food is associate with the ADA, but the ones that are will have this information listed on their label, rather convenient! This all makes sense to me because I learned it and have been living it. Don't fret if your head is spinning. And if it's not spinning, hats off to you and your non-spinning head beneath them!
Bullet points:
-15grams of carbs = "one" exchange in the ADA world
-Blood sugar correction factor
-Math is fun (no it's not)
Happy Tuesday!
Friday, July 22, 2011
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