You got to move it, move it

Today is day #1 of my food/exercise log.

Don’t bash me too much, since I haven’t met with a dietitian or attended the “Sweeter Choice” class yet, so I am running without any guidelines to manage my gestational diabetes. Cut me no slack once I am educated though!

Breakfast: Maple & Brown Sugar Oatmeal, a bowl of ripe mangoes (this was before I got the news)
Lunch: Corned Beef & Cabbage, brown rice
Snack: String Cheese
Dinner: Turkey Chili, boiled beets, sauteed asparagus with garlic, and garden salad, hoji-cha

Exercise: 2-mile walk

At 9:22 this morning my cell phone rang. The caller ID on the screen indicated that it was my OB/GYN’s office calling. With my appointment only a day away, it could only mean one thing: my 3-hour fasting glucose tolerance test came back positive for gestational diabetes.

I answered the phone and steeled myself for the news.

“Your results came in this morning,” the nurse began. “Your levels were elevated…”

She went on to tell me that they scheduled me for an appointment next week with the Fetal Diagnostic Center at Kapiolani Medical Center and enrolled me in the Sweeter Choice Program which includes a 4-hour class on how to manage my gestational diabetes. One thing I am grateful for is the support and education that is available to expectant mothers these days.

From the Kapiolani Medical Center website:

What is diabetes?
Diabetes is a condition that impairs the body’s ability to use sugar and as a result increases your risk for health problems, such as heart disease, kidney disease, and atherosclerosis. As a diabetic, you should be under a doctor’s care and should regularly monitor your blood sugar levels.

Prenatal Care
Prenatal care is important for all pregnant women. As a woman with diabetes, it is particularly important for you because you are at increased risk for complications during pregnancy. Diabetic women tend to give birth to larger babies, and therefore are more likely to need a Caesarean section. There is also an increased chance that your baby will be born with low blood sugar levels and may need to be treated in the intensive care unit following delivery.

Can you minimize the complications associated with diabetes?
You can prevent many of the complications associated with diabetes simply by controlling your blood sugar levels during pregnancy. To control your blood sugar levels you will need to modify your diet, exercise regularly, and you may need to take insulin.

Needless to say, I’m bummed. Truthfully, I’d rather become a vegetarian than have to adhere to a diabetic diet. Taming my sweet tooth is going to be the toughest part of this ordeal, but perhaps this will force me to make wiser eating choices and prompt me to exercise more often (i.e., daily). Now it’s not going to be something that’s just good to do, but it’s now something that I MUST do.

I’ll be keeping a daily food diary and exercise log here on this blog. Perhaps this will keep me from cheating (too much) on my diet.

just had an mri done today — they want to see what parts of my brain are functional, i guess. earlier this month, i went in to see a neurologist to discuss the results of the mra. you know something’s up when he opens with a question about whether or not i believe in God. APPARENTLY, one of the main arteries in my neck that feeds my brain is 100%blocked. the cool thing is that my body has found a way to still provide blood to my brain via a bunch of new (?) smaller arteries. They couldn’t tell when the blockage happened — it could even possibly be congenital. The doctor wanted to follow up with an mri to see if there’s any dain bramage. so this was my second trip to the qmc imaging department. i’m glad i didn’t need an i.v. put in this time like i had for the mra (they used a dye too, and it felt SO weird going through my body). those machines are pretty cool. you have to stay really still for nearly half an hour while the images are being taken — a difficult thing to do when the machine is vibrating half the time, when you’ve got a bronchitis-like cold & have the constant urge to cough, and when there’s hair tickling your face and there’s nothing you can do to brush it out of the way once the procedure starts…
exercise-wise, have been swimming fairly often, but haven’t gone walking much since the san-nin-gumi schedule got messed up. sticky went to japan & mahealani’s been busy with her visiting fam.

The positive: I got a 55 mile bike ride in on Monday that was the best ride I’ve done since last year.

The negative: It was supposed to be about 65 miles.

The negative: I had a serious mechanical failure resulting in a damaged derailleur hanger on Monday that ended my ride.

The positive: The hanger was designed to break first before damage came to the more expensive derailleur or the even more expensive frame.

The positive: I found a replacement part for the hanger on eBay for less than $14 including shipping; it retails for $25.

The negative: It’s still not here and the bike isn’t rideable until it shows up.

The negative: I didn’t get a run in tonight.

The positive: I fixed my mom’s shower drain and changed the battery in my truck instead.

Just couldn’t get up early enough for a long ride this morning, but since there’s no service tomorrow morning, I’ll try to do my 60+ mile ride tomorrow. I did an hour this afternoon and I’ll try a run in a bit, once it cools down. My weight is about the same. I am starting to get headaches and lightheadedness when standing from a seated position, which is making me wonder if I’m starting to get hypotensive. Too high, too low, is the blood pressure ever just right?

Still weighing in between 183 and 186. Trying to break through that 183 barrier. We’ll see…

Or at least I’m trying to double up in my training. The Century is my primary goal right now since it’s coming up quicker; I did a 50 mile ride yesterday, followed by a short 14 mile today (couldn’t get going early enough before service because of the rain). I’ve already done a 60 plus this year (Metric Century) so I’m actually ahead. I’m behind on the running, though. I hope to do some this week. My weight is about the same although people are telling me I look like I’ve lost weight. I’m wondering if those people need new glasses. What I am wondering, however, is if either my blood pressure or blood sugar is getting a bit lower than I’m used to because I’m starting to feel lightheaded standing up from a seated position. I have a doctor appointment at some point, so we’ll see. My baseline blood pressure is typically around 100/60 and it’s been a hair lower recently.

Not lost time, not yet. Trying to train for both the century ride and the marathon at the same time is quite challenging, especially with my two jobs, my blog, coding, and my social activities (what are those?). My cycling is fine and I did a minor bike overhaul last weekend; still have to change out my chain and I’d love to get new cranks, but I doubt that’ll happen soon. I got enough clothing to last awhile (some of my jerseys and shorts are in the two decade old category!), and the new tires are fantastic. I have to get more running in and probably need new shoes soon, which will mean more dollars. Ah well…. hopefully to do 45 miles in the morning on the bike and maybe a quick two miles running tonight.

dude, it’s JUNE!!! i can’t believe half the year is practically gone! coach mahealani’s had us up our exercise schedule, so we’re out & about 3-4x/wk and we’ve recently been going around diamond head instead of just around the park. while the scale hasn’t really registered much of a difference, my energy level’s been up and i notice i’m eating better too (deep-frying loses it’s appeal when you realize how much it’s gonna take to burn it off…plus it’s too hot to do much cooking, so i’m opting for lighter fare like salad). mochi orders have been pretty light, so it hasn’t been too difficult to fit the extra exercise in. i worry about being able to keep this schedule up, especially come holiday season…
going in for my next check-up at the end of july. i forgot to mention at my last one, i was up 4pounds, despite the extra exercise. boo.

I registered for the marathon today, so I better freaking get a move on. Been riding more than I have been, which is helpful, but I have to get some running in. My weight’s been up because I’ve been eating like a farm animal, so that has to be worked on some. But I’m feeling all right and I’m somewhat motivated, albeit for selfish and shallow reasons.

The plan for this weekend is two rides and at least one run.

I’ve been successfully flogging myself both on the bike and running the last week or so. My weight is back to 183, which is at the low end of what I’ve been weighing in at for awhile. The plan is to get to at least 170, if not 165, by the century ride in late September. I’m behind in training for both it and the marathon, but I’ll get there.

The main goals: avoid injury and finish.