Thursday, April 10, 2008

Don't Belive Everything You Read

Had a nice visit with the diabetes nurse and dietitian yesterday regarding my unstable blood sugar. A few things we figured out were:

1. I'm a fat bastard. But a very fit fat bastard.

2. I eat too much protein.

3. I don't eat enough carbs.

4. I believe too much of what I read on the Internet.

5. With my current muscle mass, 170 lb weight goal may not be feasible.

6. I would make a great classics rider due to the fact you don't have to be a great climber, have a big engine, and I love Belgian chocolate. ( as you may have guessed, I made this one up )

So, what to do. I'm having a body mass index test done on Thursday. She said it's important to know because my a1c doesn't match my nearly match my weight, insulin, byetta, and drug intake. In other word, I may not be as fat as I, or the scale, seem to think I am. I told her to try hauling this carcass up the many steep hills around here, then make that statement.

Go back to doing what got you down to the 5.7 a1c is the new (old ) plan. Less protein, as the dietitian explained I eat more of it than an African plains lion. Probably 10 times more. My triglicerides and cholesteral show it, as both are up a bit, but still very good. No more 16 oz top sirlions for a while. This will help melt the spare tire. This would go along way in helping me climb the Co De Glenwood every day like I used to do.

More carbs. Seems to go against everything I read by all the ADA critics. Hmm... Having cut my carb intake to a very low level, my blood sugar has risen. Why? Because when your body is low on glucose, it signals the liver to release glycogen, then your blood sugar shoots up, sometimes out of control. That's why it's very important not to go to bed w/ low glucose readings, because during the night if your blood sugar drops too low, liver kicks in and you wake up w/ a high reading. Makes sense.

So last night, I had a pasty for dinner and 5 cups of air popped popcorn for a snack. I slept pretty good considering this stupid cold has returned, got up this morning to a reading of 124. Right where it should be.

Moral of the story - self doctoring can be a killer - so I'll work a lot more closely with my team.

1 comment:

Erik W. Laursen said...

I found your blog through a comment you left on BKW. Good stuff. I quoted your comment in my blog. I too and working on the old power-to-weight ratio and health concerns.