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Category: Diet and Weight Loss

Start to a Good BG Roll?

Chris Stocker

I have my first endo appointment in almost 6 months on Thursday.  I have to get my blood work done tomorrow, so I am a little nervous.  I already know that my A1C is going to be high, probably around 8.  I haven’t had one that high since I was first diagnosed.  Yesterday was my best full day of blood sugars and I am going to try and copy it as much as I can for as long as I can.

First, to start the day, I actually ate breakfast.  It wasn’t a very healthy breakfast, a donut, but it was something in my stomach.  For lunch I had a chicken sandwich, not fried, grilled, so it was healthy.  For dinner I controlled my portion size and that was very tough for me later on at night.  I had one beef slider, a salad, and some brown rice.  Very small portion for me, I would normally eat about 3 sliders, 2 bowls of salad and 2 servings of rice.

For a snack at night, which I didn’t even want to eat, but my blood sugar was going down I had a peanut butter and jelly sandwich.  Why was my blood sugar going down finally?  Because I did this weird thing called exercising for 45 minutes.  First time that I had an intense exercise in months, seriously, months.  I went for a nice, fast 2 mile walk to start it off then came back to do some crunches, push-ups, leg raises and then did some curls.

I think that I have found the fix to always saying that I don’t have time to exercise.  Here it is.  I am backed up on some of my favorite podcasts all the way back to January because I never have time to listen to them, because when I do work, I don’t fully concentrate on the podcast or my work.  So, if I don’t have time to listen and don’t have time to exercise, why don’t I just do them together?  My new goal is to exercise my way through 2 separate podcasts, which are anywhere from 20-30 minutes each.  Last night I made it through two episodes of the Duct Tape Marketing Podcast.

Let’s hope that this keeps up and I can start to lose some weight again before I head back up north to New York and home to visit family.

Eating Healthy for Diabetes Doesn’t Have to Be Expensive

Chris Stocker 1 Comment

Being diabetic, we all know that we need to eat healthy and exercise.  Well why is it so difficult to actually follow through on this?  I have said plenty of times that this is the time that I am going to cut back on my bad eating habits and increase the good eating habits.  I can’t just stop eating bad one day and then switch to eating good, it just doesn’t happen.  The easiest way for me to get back into eating habits is to eat the things I have been eating, but cut down on the portion control.  Eventually, I will not require as much food to move away from the table and I can begin eating healthier things.  The other bad part of eating unhealthy is the amount of money that I spend eating out.  I eat out for lunch on average 3 days a week.  One day, I will eat bad and spend about $10 and the other 2 days are split between Subway and Quiznos, which are both about $5 each.  That right there is $20 a week, $80 a month, almost $1,000 a year.  I could pay off a credit card in a year with that amount of money!

So, yesterday was the tipping point for me.  I went to the store and bought stuff to make my own Sammie’s and oven roasted chicken breast subs and flat bread salads.  I paid about the same amount of money, but will have enough food to last me about 2 weeks worth of lunches.  I used to always say that it costs so much more to eat healthier, well not exactly.  If you do it properly, then it doesn’t.  Living with type 1 diabetes brings a lot of expensive situations, but eating does not have to be one of them.  I bought a package of pork tenderloins (6) for $5.50, a box of boil in a bag brown rice $2.50, package of steamable veggies $1.99 and made 5 days worth of lunch for under $10!  When I go out for lunch and buy stir-fry it costs me $10 for one meal.

On a side note, here are some pictures from Daytona and a few videos, hope you enjoy.

Daytona 500 National Guard Jimmie Johnson CarNational Guard Car

Diabetes Makes Me Think A Lot

Chris Stocker 1 Comment

Last night I started to think about some things, usually not good when I do this kind of stuff.  Diabetes makes me think a lot.  Let me exaplain the background of the  story first and why it came about.  Over the last, I’d say 2-3 weeks I have fell in love with this new bbq sauce.  It is the Sweet Baby Ray’s Honey Chipotle.  I am not getting paid by them, nor have I received anything for free, even though, I will admit I wish I did!  This bbq was found randomly because a local grocery store, Albertson’s, is closing down.  I tasted it, and that was the end of that.  I have eaten it on literally everything.  Salad, sandwiches, steak, fries, crackers, bagels, EVERYTHING!

Last night we decided to look at the ingredients and the very first one on there was high fructose corn syrup.  Hmm, probably not the best thing for somebody, especially a diabetic.  So my girlfriend asked, “is it healthy for your to be eating this much of this when you have diabetes?”  My quick reply was no, “no definitely not, but it is amazing!”

About 2 hours later that situation popped into my head and I started to think about it.  Has that ever happened to you?  Somebody says something to you, and it means nothing but then some time passes and you actually think about what they really said.  And on went my brain.

How much are my “live for right now” decisions hurting me in the long run?  When will I get back in to see my doctor?  Can I get private dental insurance as a diabetic?  Why can’t I just stick to my diet?  Why am I asking so many questions? 

Those are just a few of the thoughts that went flying through my mind last night.  Usually it gets me into a little bit of a down mood, but last night I snapped out of it pretty quickly.  They have recently built a new Dollar Tree across the street from where I am living, so I wanted to walk there and get exercise.  Amanda and I also decided to stop into Office Depot because there was a paper shredder there that I wanted last week.  It wasn’t on sale anymore.  This is when my mood changed.

As I was walking out the door to leave I glanced down and just so happened to see a different paper shredder in the ad for even less money.  So I went and asked an employee if they had more because I didn’t initially see them the first time I looked.  They did, but they were all on top of the shelf.  As I was waiting for somebody to climb up and get the shredder for me, Amanda brought my attention to a $200 desk on sale for $45.  It is a large desk, with storage, and lots of room for lots of stuff I have.  SOLD!

The desk was already assembled, but I had to take it pretty much completely apart once I got it home in order to get it upstairs to my make-shift home office.  And if you are wondering, didn’t you say you walked to the store?  Yes, but we had her brothers come pick us up with the truck.  I am working on-site today, so I won’t get to use the desk until tonight, but a good desk makes you do a lot better work.  Or is that just me?

Sorry about the 2 or 3 different things I was talking about in this post, but that was everything that happened to me yesterday.  Good thing I started a diabetes blog a long time ago to get this stuff off of my mind and know that there are others going through the same crap.

Just another day in the life of a diabetic!

Weekend Filled with Work

Chris Stocker 2 Comments

Here it is another Friday and another week gone. Where has the time gone. This had been one of the busiest and craziest weeks of my life. Everything from battling high blood sugars, extrely high blood sugars, meetings with clients, writing proposals and contracts, actually doing the consulting work, exercising, dieting, losing weight, 3 am bed times with 7 am wake-ups. What a week!

I used to get so excited about Fridays and the weekend starting. But now? Not so much. I used to be able to relax on the weekends and go out on Fridays and Saturdays and have a good time. I have decides not to do that anymore. I will only go out one of the two nights and not even late either. Instead, I have a lot of work to get done in such a small amount of time.

Currently I am writing 2 daily blogs, I do on site consulting for about 25 hours a week at Volvo Aero Services and managing some other consulting services, trying to exercise and eat healthy, which is almost impossible when you’re working at a pace like this.

But you know what? This is the life that I chose, so I am not complaining about it because I love it! I’m doing what I have always wanted to do, screw the sleep. I know that it’s not the best for my health, but ya know what no matter what I do, there will always be something that is not good for your health.

Last thing I want to mention. This Sunday I am going to the 25th anniversary of the Chili Cook Off. Google it because I am typing this on my WP app and can’t add a link. It features Zac Brown Band, Gloriana, Sara Evans, Montgomery Gentry, and Rodney Adkins. Should be a great time.

Have a good weekend y’all.

Not a Great Weekend For Diet and Blood Sugar

Chris Stocker

This weekend was not so good for the blood sugars or my diet.  My levels were running up close towards the mid 200’s on average all weekend.  Last night after dinner my blood sugar was over 400 for about 3-4 hours be fore it finally came down in the middle of the night.  When it is that high the first thing that I do is change my site.  It’s weird though because my sugar was 115, and then I ate a salad and about 30 minutes later I changed my site and about 30 minutes after that I had chinese food for dinner.

That leads into why my diet wasn’t so good this weekend as well.  Last night I had chinese food from Pei Wei.  On Saturday I didn’t get home until 6 and had to leave at 6:30 for the Panthers game, so I had to stop at Burger King quickly to pick something up.  I know I could have eaten a little better while ordering from BK, but I was starving and haven’t had BK in forever so I decided to go with two of their spicy chicken sandwiches and a junior whopper, like I said, not the best decision I ever made.  Friday night was even worse.  I went to a friend’s naturalization party, I know who has ever gone to one of those before!  It was a place in Boca Raton called The Lodge.  The beer is not normal beer, so it was a little expensive, but the food was amazing.  We had some BBQ chicken nachos and a grilled chicken sandwich.  My blood sugar was about 300 at the end of the night, but the amount of food that I ate was incredible.

I’m becoming thirsty right now thinking about all of these high blood sugars!  I might even have to go to the bathroom soon too.  Funny how thinking about certain things makes your brain want water and go to bathroom.

The weekend was very busy, so fast food just seemed like the right option for me.  I started doing some side work at a local fitness center helping out with directing sports during birthday parties and events for the little kids.  I coach football, so I enjoy doing these things on the side.  At the same time trying to keep up with the consulting work because unfortunately that doesn’t stop after 5 p.m. on a Friday.

Speaking of work, it is time to get back to it.  I hope everybody’s week is off to a great start.  See you all on Twitter throughout the day.  I’m going to have a nice little surprise for everybody on Twitter on February 1, so if you’re not following me yet, you better get to it, because the contest will be on Twitter only!

My Three Words of 2010

Chris Stocker 1 Comment

I have been extremely busy since the end of the year up until just the last couple of days.  I was either sick, spending time with my family up north or just doing regular holiday type things.  During this time I decided to step away from the computer and take a break, just get away if you will.  I have been catching up on e-mails that I have just been flagging that I wanted to go back and read.  I subscribe to Chris Brogan’s blog.  He writes great material if you are into the whole social part of social media.  He came up with his 3 words for 2010, as he has done over the past few years and this has inspired me to do it as well.  In today’s blog on here, you will read about how these words affect my personal life.  On my business blog today as well, I am writing about how these three words affect my business.  If you would like to read that as well, go to my Chris Stocker Inc blog.  Now, onto the three words: growth, dedication, health.

Growth

When I sat down to think about words that could describe what I want to either accomplish or work at this was one of the first ones that popped into my head.  Even though I have been 6′ tall since the 8th grade and haven’t grown since, well not vertically at least, that’s not the growth that I mean.  I want to grow as a person, a human being.  Over the years I have caught myself saying to myself, “how would you feel if somebody did that to you” and I look back at situations and feel horrible.  Whether it is yelling at a customer service rep over the phone, it’s not their fault, they are just doing their job, or getting impatient at an elderly person driving in south Florida (for those of you that live here you know that’s at least once before every stop light!), or even being short or rude with Amanda or family or co-workers.

In 2010, I want to work hard to not be that type of person and to grow into becoming a bigger and better person at heart.  Be more considerate, take others feelings into affect more often.  I don’t want this to sound like I’m some inconsiderate prick right now because that’s not the case, but there is always room for improvement and that is where I want to be.

Dedication

What’s the point of having goals and setting benchmarks if you don’t have the dedication to stick with these things. How are you to lose weight when you can’t dedicate 30 minutes a day to exercise or eating a healthy meal.  In 2010 I plan to work hard at dedicating myself to tasks that I put my mind to, no matter what it is.  Exercising, work, business, relationships, anything.  There is no more laziness in my life.  Sure there will be things that I have to give up, but what I gain from them will help me get back what I am missing.  What do I mean by that?  Here is a perfect situation that usually happens every day.  I have two options, watch tv and spend time with Amanda or work out and be healthy.  If I make the decision to work out then I am losing out on that 45 minutes of spending time with my girlfriend.  Well in the long run, by working out and spending that 45 minutes to exercise, I am saving myself who knows, maybe 1-2 days or even months added onto my life in order to spend more time with her in the future.  Dedication is about being able to see the long term goal and pushing yourself to get to it.  Knowing that what you are missing out on now will come back ten-fold in the future.

Health

I think this word pretty much summarizes the entire thing.  This year I have set some goals for my diabetes, in regards to my weight and A1C.  With plans that I have worked out already, this should be manageable.  Becoming a healthier person will make me happier, feel better about situations and I feel grow as a person.  I will need dedication and growth within myself to get to this healthiness that I am seeking.

As you can see all three of these words fit together in the end.  Do this exercise yourself if you haven’t already.  Also, like I said if you would like to see how these three words relate to the other side of my life and how they all interact with each other than check out my other blog as well.

Have a great day everybody.

Getting Serious with Wii Fit

Chris Stocker 1 Comment

On Saturday I decided to set up my Mii character for the Wii fit. My girlfriends mom wanted the Wii fit Balance board for Christmas so that is what she got. I wanted to start losing weight and getting back into shape but we just moved out of the condo so I no longer had the free gym to go to anymore.

Why not use the Wii fit then? I wasn’t sure how I was going to utilize it so I went through every game, exercise, stretch, a strength and made a plan. I made a simple plan. Do 3 options from every category. This is a total of 15 exercises whether it be yoga, cardio, or strength training. I jump rope for about 10 minutes total and also do abs or about 10 minutes. It’s taking me about 45 minutes to complete everything.

I’ve started to eat better as well. Smaller portions but eating carba and protein and lots of fiber. I’ve been eating a snack at night peanut butter sandwich with some sort of fruit whether it is a banana or strawberries or kiwi, something to get that sweet tooth satisfied. It’s been working just within the 3 days of doing it. I feel a lot better already. I’ve been doing it at night so I’m wide awake until Bout 2 am again but it’s allowing me to catch up on a lot of stuff. I just cleared out 60 emails last night dating bal to Thanksgiving.

December 1 Already, Seriously?

Chris Stocker

I can’t believe that today is already the first day of December.  How crazy is that?  I am so glad that NaBloPoMo is over!  Like I said, I’m still going to try and do it, but at least there isn’t any pressure to get a post done.  Well, my diabetes has been talked about a lot lately, so I am going to get back into that starting today.  I have put on a lot of weight since I have been laid-off, probably a good 10-15 pounds.  It hasn’t affected my sugars that much, but I know it isn’t helping them at all.  I have been getting no exercise at all, just walking from parking lots to stores and walking from my car to the entrance of the Bank Atlantic Center for the hockey games, that’s about it.

I am going home for the holidays, well the day after Christmas, and my goal is to lose 10 pounds before I go up there.  That gives me 26 days to do so, and 10 pounds may seem like a lot, but it’s not.  One full week of exercise and I can guarantee this weight will be gone.  Although I have been posting blogs, I have not logged into my Twitter account in almost 2 weeks.  So I don’t really know what is going on in everybody’s world.  I am going to spend some time this weekend catching back up on all the blogs that I have missed in that time period.

As of today my insurance has ran out. I was not able to get blood work done before the insurance ran out because of some scheduling conflicts on my own part.  My own fault.  I am awaiting to receive paperwork on my Cobra insurance.  I need to get that as soon as possible so I can fill it out and get it submitted as soon as possible, that way I don’t some how go beyond that almighty 63 days of continuing coverage.  If that happens then the insurance companies will send out a rep and put a big red stamp on my forehead that says “Pre-Existing Condition”.  All insurance execs should have to go through what the guy in Saw VI went through, that’s how I feel.

Well, until tomorrow, have a good one.

A New Week, A Lot of Work

Chris Stocker 2 Comments

A new week, a lot of work.  I decided to take kind of a 3 day weekend from working on things.  I turned my laptop on for about 30 minutes since Friday and that was to just write blog posts of Saturday and Sunday.  So now I have a lot to catch up on.  I have created a new exercise plan as well and I am going to stick to it.  If I can dedicate 30 minutes a day to write a blog post every day, I can dedicate 30 minutes a day to exercising as well.  I’ve put on too much weight over the last 3 weeks.  I just need to get back down to a manageable level of weight, basically so I can fit into all of the clothes that I don’t fit into anymore.

Last night’s game with the Bears and Eagles was a great game.  We won and that was awesome, but it was also great to see Cutler throw a touchdown for Diabetes as well.  The best part of the game last night was when it was over.  McNabb went over to Cutler and pulled him away from the cameras and talked him for several minutes.  This gave me the chills.  Cutler isn’t playing that great right now, but neither are his teammates (as a former QB myself, I could tell a lot of receivers were running wrong patterns and it’s not always his fault).  And the city is going to start turning their back on Cutler and McNabb of all people know how that feels.  I think that was a stand up classy thing for McNabb to do.

Moving on, my niece will be 3 weeks old tomorrow, I can’t believe that.  Tomorrow is also the birthday of the twins.  When I refer to “the 11.13.09 002twins” this is what I mean.  My aunt, who was more like a sister to me, has 4 little girls, and they have called me Uncle Chris since day 1 and I have called them my nieces, so I still call them my nieces even though they are really cousins.  Confusing?  I know.  Here is a most recent photo I have my new niece.

Well, now it’s time to get back to work.  Have a great, short week.

How NaBloPoMo Has Changed My Diabetes Outlook

Chris Stocker 2 Comments

Making the commitment to post at least once a day for the whole month of November is tough, really tough.  I am not going to lie, it has been overwhelming.  For a few reasons, such as not having anything interesting to say everyday, being busy, not used to posting on Saturday and Sunday, and that’s pretty much it.  Hmm… you know what that kind of sounds like?  Managing my diabetes.  It’s not always fun and interesting, too busy to check sugars, and not being as good with management of Saturday and Sunday’s.

NaBloPoMo has taught me a lesson about diabetes management.  If you are determined, you can get it done.  It’s an everyday thing and if you skip a day, you lose, you don’t win.  It’s not a sprint, it’s a marathon.  Slow and steady, one post at a time, one blood sugar check at a time.  Plan out your post topics, plan out your meal / exercise plans.  Isn’t it funny how something like this NaBloPoMo can change your life?  Thanks Kerri for introducing NaBloPoMo to me.

Diabetes is a lifetime commitment.  For some guys that can be a very scary word, women as well.  You start to get the shakes and lightheaded and freak out and just want to run away when you are you are committed to something for life.  It’s going to have it’s ups and downs, highs and lows (literally), but at the end of the day, if you take care of what you need to, it will all be ok.  I know I’m now going into how this is like a relationship now, but with diabetes, NaBloPoMo and relationships, they all have some similar concepts and it makes it easier to think about controlling my diabetes.

Well you all have a great weekend I have a lot of stuff to get done today.  There’s good news in the employment category, but some bad news along with it.  Will post about it in a few days.

Take care everyone!