Today’s blog
Lynn Murphy Mark
What’s cooking?
There is a new requirement for living in our condo: we both have to be vigilant about our food intake. My plan is for my overall health. Jan now has a new challenge: she may be an insulin dependent diabetic. For reasons unclear to us, recent lab tests showed that her blood sugar was in the 700’s. Considering that a normal fasting blood sugar is under 100, her result points to her body having converted into needing insulin to keep her blood sugar normal.
We are both in shock that this could happen from out of the blue. With a diagnoses of diabetes, there are very definite life style changes that have to be made. We will meet with a diabetes educator tomorrow for more answers to our many questions. I asked if anyone in her family was diabetic and she told me that both of her parents were on insulin, she thinks. If so, then she may come by this honestly.
Counting carbohydrate grams is in our future. Checking blood sugar levels several times a day is Jan’s new responsibility, as is giving herself insulin according to a sliding scale tied to her sugar level. There will be a glucometer in our house, an insulin pen, and plenty of information about dietary changes that we must commit to. I say “we” because both of us need to modify our way of eating. So if there is any ray of sunshine in this new development it is that we are going to have to develop a new, healthy eating plan.
That is easier said than done. Neither one of us enjoy cooking much. We tend to fix our own food, and eat at different times except for dinner time. Then we sit down and have a meal together. Our new plan has to include more fruits, vegetables, lean proteins and whole grains. (I will have an easier time because I love vegetables. Jan, not so much.). The good news? These dietary changes can only result in better health and welfare for us. Both of us need to lose weight, and here is our opportunity to do so together.
We will be attentive to Jan’s A1C level. This test measures average blood sugar levels over the past two or three months. An increase in A1C may mean a change in treatment plan that includes dietary changes or changes in insulin dosages. We have a learning curve to navigate and I will support Jan however I can.
As for myself, my trip to Santa Fe and the reading and writing I did there revealed some insights into my relationship with food. Rather than eating to live, I have been living to eat and I have paid a price physically, mentally and spiritually. I came back from my pilgrimage with a new plan for myself that involves putting in place the structures that I will need to be successful. Perhaps it is divine order that puts Jan and me on a new track to better health.
I have given away the sugary food packages in the pantry. I need to evaluate what is in the freezer, although we have a good supply of vegetables and lean protein sources in there. Now it’s a matter of following a plan will become a life-saver for us both. Today I am grateful for the new developments in medicine for treating diabetes. There is only one way to look at this, in my mind, and that is as an opportunity for better health all around.