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Category: Diet and Weight Loss

Endo Appointment Leads to New Diet and New Changes

Chris Stocker

I haven’t been to the endo in 7 months. I had 3 different appointments all get cancelled and rescheduled for multiple different reasons. I was flying back to south Florida from the north on Sunday and was hoping that the winter up there wasn’t going to delay me and make me cancel my appointment again on Monday. My endo office made it clear that I needed to be at this appointment or there would be no more prescriptions written, which is completely understandable in my eyes.

I got my blood work done up in PA while I was up there, but I wasn’t sure it was going to be completed in time for the appointment, but luckily it was.

But, just like I thought, the blood work was not good.

I was previously on a statin and something for my triglycerides because they were extremely high. I had ran out of refills and my primary doctor would not call in any refills, I had to set an appointment. Well, I should say, my FORMER primary doctor, because he no longer is because of that. Since I could not get refills (they were prescribed by PCP, not my endo), I stopped taking the pills. For this reason, I knew my cholesterol and triglycerides were going to be off the charts. And they were.

I also hit my highest weight I have ever reached. I’m actually quite embarrassed by it, and I don’t get embarrassed easily.

We had a very nice heart to heart conversation about your 30’s being different than your 20’s. I’m now married, with a kid, own a home, own a business and have a shit load of other stressful items, so life is a bit different.

We also talked about how my body is already at a disadvantage by having diabetes, so we have to try and level the playing field. Also, in order to get my labs back at a normal level, I really needed to make changes. I am now back on a generic Lipitor, triglyceride meds, blood pressure and Vitamin D. My pill collection is growing.

I used to be anti-medication because once you start, it’s tough to stop. But I am at a point in my life that I just want to be healthy, and if taking a pill is necessary to reach that goal, then so be it.

I also needed to lose weight. My insulin usage is out of control, my basals are so damn high, and I get it, as long as my levels are under control, it doesn’t matter how much insulin I use. However, I need to cut that back by cutting out my diet a bit.

new-dietSo, she put me on a diet that I have been doing for 2 days now and I feel confident in sticking to this diet. Basically, this is the diet:

Breakfast – 3 egg omelette. One day with cheese, the next day with ham. Alternating back and forth.

Lunch – As big of a salad as I want. Vinegar based dressing. No croutons

Dinner – 6 oz of meat ( 8 oz of fish). Non-starchy veggies.

Snacks – Mixed nuts. I have set aside a certain amount for the day and I have been eating it throughout the day.

So far, it has been great. My blood sugar levels have been nearly perfect (perfect to me).

I am excited to continue on with these changes and losing the weight and becoming a better person.

Follow me on Snapchat to follow my journey on this new diet and new changes. Just screenshot the image below and follow the steps:

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It Took Yardwork to Understand How Out of Shape I Am

Chris Stocker 1 Comment

I moved from a traffic filled, noisy, hustle and bustle city to out in the country with dirt roads and tractors about 6 months. It’s been something I’ve wanted to do since I was young. Living out here does however come with an acre of land and a lot of yard work to do. Once every two weeks I have to go around and pick up all of the palm fronds that have fell in the yard, along with the hundreds of pine cones that have fell from the 20 pine trees I have in my yard. I pick up the pine cones because I don’t want the tractor mower riding over them. What does this all have to do with diabetes?

Well, one day I decided to do the yard pickup, cut the grass, weed whack, and use the blower to blow leafs off of the roof, and about halfway through I had to sit down and relax and felt like my heart was about to pump out of my chest and I started to feel a little nauseous. I knew at that time that if I can’t even handle doing yard work, how am I supposed to live a long healthy life for my daughter? It took some yard work for me to realize how bad it has gotten. No exercising, no controlling what I eat, just put it on a plate, shoot up some insulin and go back out and eat more. Then as soon as I’m done, just sit on the couch and watch sports because I’m too tired from sitting in my office chair all day long.

Typing this out makes me understand how pathetic that sounds and how many excuses I have given over the years and that every day that goes by that I continue to give an excuse, is probably another day I’m losing out on in the end.

My problem is that I don’t have a gym anywhere near me (closest store is 20 minutes away). So, I need to do things on my own at home. I hate going for walks outside during the summer because it feels like 95 degrees even at 3 a.m. down here in south Florida. Wait, I feel like I’m making another excuse. I used to have an exercise bike, but I rode that till I broke it, literally. The batteries went dead and leaked and ruined the electrical so now there is only one level that works, and I don’t see the point in that.

My goal is to purchase an elliptical machine, which is exactly what I use when I do actually go to a gym. Only problem is that they are so damn expensive, but the investment in my health is well worth it.

My 30th Birthday Goal – 30 by 30 in 90

Chris Stocker 3 Comments

I have put on a lot of weight over the last 4-5 years. Like a lot of weight, nearly 60 pounds. I’ve come to the point that I’m just disgusting with myself half the time. I live in Florida and don’t go to the beach or pool because I can’t stand to take my shirt off. And no it has nothing to do with showing my infusion set. It took me a long time to admit that I am grossed out about my body when I look in the mirror.

I grew up an athlete, quarterback in college and was in great shape and fit body. My 30th birthday is approaching and one of my best friends from elementary school is getting married the day before my birthday, so I decided on a new goal.

30 by 30 in 90.

What does 30 by 30 in 90 mean? I’m going to lose 30 pounds by my 30th birthday in 90 days.

That comes out to about 2.5 pounds a week. That’s not really a lot for someone like me who is just so over weight and such an unhealthy eater.  I drink about a 2 litre of soda a day….and maybe a bottle of water a day. So, just by switching those two items around I can lose majority of this weight.

I am a late night worker, so I usually eat around 10-11 P.M. Eliminating that will also help me lose majority of this weight.

The goal is straight forward and the plan is simple.

It all comes down to the execution of the plan, but isn’t that what everything comes down to?

I will be sharing more frequent updates on Twitter.

30 Days and Counting

Chris Stocker 1 Comment

30 Days from today I will be marrying the love of my life. Before that day comes, there is a massive weight loss plan that I am looking to execute as close to the plan as I can. I have lost several pounds since I started at the gym two months ago, but nowhere near where I wanted to, so the next 30 days are going to be intense.

I wanted to be 30 pounds lighter, but 30 pounds in 30 days is not going to happen. I’m sure I can buy one of those pills or those books that promise me that I can lose 30 pounds in 30 days, but I’m not sure if I will be alive on that 31st day.

This is going to be a stressful 30 days, so I’m sure the gym will be a relief from the days leading up to the wedding.

Joining a Gym for First Time

Chris Stocker 3 Comments

Joining a GymI have been using my “home gym” for a while now, but I get the feeling that there is only so much I can do here and only so much weight that I can lose.  Every time I watch the Biggest Loser, I think to myself, damn if I just had access to that kind of stuff, I could shed this weight with no problem.

So, that is exactly what I am going to do, join a gym.  Amanda and I are going today to join a local gym, after some detailed research.  I wanted to find something around $20/month, but around here, that doesn’t exist.  There is a $10/month gym, but it is about a 20-25 minute drive away with local traffic, and I know that I will not want to drive there every single day.  Plus with gas prices, it would be a lot more expensive than the $10. Read More

Lots and Lots of Insulin

Chris Stocker 3 Comments

I have been up in Pennsylvania for over a week now spending some great time with my family.  Along with that family time comes a lot of food.  A lot of food means a lot of insulin.  I have been going through insulin like it is water, literally.  On an average day, I use about 180-190 units of insulin.  That’s with my high basal rates, plus my unhealthy eating.  Add in being back at home with all of my favorite restaurants, I have been averaging 250 units of insulin a day for the last few days.  Some people don’t even use 250 units a month, let alone in a single day.

This is something that I am not proud of, and I know that I need to make up for all the extra insulin used by cutting back on the amount of insulin that I use when I get back to Florida and eat healthier again.

This all goes back to the whole idea of balance in my life.  I need to balance out this mass eating and insulin intake that I have been going through this past week and eat very low carb and keep my boluses to as low as possible for at least a week.

We shall see how well the low – carb adventure goes when I get back tomorrow.

New Kettle Weight Workout

Chris Stocker 1 Comment

I started to fall off of my old exercise routine and I knew that I needed to get back into it, but I just really have not had much time to drive to the gym, work out for 30 minutes and then drive back home.  So, I knew that I was going to have to start exercising at home again.  I have a stationery recumbent bike in my house that I used to ride daily, but the batteries died out and do you know how hard it is to find D batteries?  Well, if you don’t know, it’s pretty damn hard.

I have had a kettle weight laying around my house for a while and I never really used it, so I figured what better time to start using it then right now.  And, let me tell you, this thing has been kicking my ass for the last 3 days.  I started this on Tuesday and have done it Wednesday and earlier today.  It is a short 8 minute workout, so there is no excuses for not having the time.  10 minutes out of the day is not that bad.  But, I feel like I am getting an hour workout in. Read More

Low Carbin It

Chris Stocker

I have been away from blogging and been pretty disconnected from social media as well.  My parents were down here on vacation week and a half ago and I was sure eating like I was on vacation.  I was eating a lot of carbs as well, which means I was going through a lot of insulin.  My daily amount of insulin that I use from basal rates is about 67.5 units currently.  When I was on vacation, my overall daily average was over 200, around 210-215.  That’s a lot of insulin.  My normal daily average when not on vacation is about 175.

I have decided that I am going to go low-er carb than normal to try and decrease my average insulin to less than 140 to start, then try and get it to less than 120.  That means less than 60 units of insulin from boluses a day.  That means about 180 units of carbs  day.  That may seem like a lot to you, but to me, that is nothing.  A normal meal of chicken, rice, and broccoli would be about 50-70 grams of carbs by itself.

Yesterday was my first day trying this and I was starving all day long.  Finally, by night time, I was so hungry that I had to just give in and have a small sandwich, I couldn’t take it.  Today is day two and I skipped breakfast and ate a salad for lunch.  I am now typing up this post and I am already starving.

I am making adjustments to my low-er carb diet still.  I am doing this without growing grocery shopping and buying anything different then what is already in my fridge and cabinets.  I am all out of broccoli though and I can just eat and eat and eat broccoli until I am full.  Sounds like a plan to me.

Some Pretty Damn Big Life Changes

Chris Stocker 2 Comments

Today is February 1, 2012.  Not only is today about flipping over those calendars to the next month and doing a drumroll before seeing what the next picture or phrase or which cheerleader is going to be on the next month (or am I the only one that does that?).  Today is a very serious day for me.  A day of change.

As some of you may know, I own my own business, CSI Marketing Solutions, LLC.  Also, as some of you may know, I have been working at an agency for about 18 months.  This digital agency is voted best place to work just about every year and received hundreds of other awards a year.  It truly is an amazing place to work.  However, I have had a few opportunities come up over the past few weeks or months that requires a lot more of my time.  So, I have made the decision, starting today, to go back to running my business full time.

Before making this decision, there were so many different things that went through my head.  How am I going to pay rent?  How am I going to make my car payment?  How can I afford anything?  And most importantly, how am I going to get health insurance?  Then I started playing the what-if game.  What if I don’t have enough clients and I don’t make enough money to pay my bills and then I lose everything I have.  A good friend of mine said, “..you can’t play the what if game.  For every negative what if you come up with, there’s a positive what if on the other side. So you can go all night on the what if’s.”

I also felt that by making this decision to be able to make my own hours I can get more things in life accomplished.  For one, I can now go to the gym at lunch time or in the morning and begin to get back into shape and lose weight again.  Next, I no longer have an hour long commute each way, so I can be home earlier and I can eat dinner and be ready for bed earlier.  I can also spend more time being more involved in the DOC.

So, let me quickly get into the health insurance issue.  I am entitled to COBRA for 18 months, and the costs of it are about 1/3 of what I thought it was going to be, so I am extremely happy about that.

So, that is where I am.  Moral of the story?  If you want something, do it.  Stop thinking about it constantly and stressing about it and going back and forth.  Weigh your options, and make the best choice for yourself.

Sunday Weigh-In

Chris Stocker

Starting this year, I will be posting my Sunday weight.  It is the only day of the week that I am going to weigh myself.  I am going to let everybody know how overweight I am, so hopefully it motivates me to lose it even more.

Today’s weigh-in:

274