Monday, November 5, 2012
Challenge Me!
Some days I don't want to remember that I'm diabetic. Those are the days I resent that I have to take care of myself or die. That no matter how much I want to, I can't eat whatever I want. And those are some of the hardest days to deal with. That resentment can lead me to 'forgetting' to take care of myself.
One thing that helps are my friends and family. They challenge me and I need that. More than I think I realize. I have found that doing something for just me is hard to do. I'm a giving person but when it comes to giving to me, I'm not on that list. So when people challenge me to take care of myself it gives me a 'valid' reason to add myself to the giving list. Is that a proper way to view myself? Of course not. I know that but it's how my mind functions and while I work on accepting that I should be on that list it helps me to stop worrying about being selfish.
Seems rather silly, doesn't it? To worry about being selfish if I take care of myself, but I do. And having friends challenge me helps me deal with that issue while I learn better ways. For now that works.
Saturday, November 3, 2012
From there to here: A trucker's story
I was raised vegan. We didn't know it at the time as everything was called 'being vegetarian' then but looking back, that's what we were. I grew up eating things like home made bread, soups and stews that warm you from the inside out. There was no dairy, eggs or meat. Now I've eaten all of that over the intervening years and most in great quantities. Throw in a lot of sugary, fat fast food and I find myself where I am today. Diabetic on the way to heart problems and an early death. I did think that at least if I did kick off early I wouldn't have to contend with the zombie apocalypse because I sure as hell wouldn't be able to out run them in the condition I was in!
Oh woe is me, right? Nope! I am an ever cheerful (sometimes annoyingly so) person with a smiling face in the world of trucking. And if there is one word that describes me, it's stubborn. So while I now wear a medical alert bracelet and take medicine for the diabetes and struggle with the whole getting healthy issue I haven't given up. In fact, looking back over the last couple years I've come a long way.
How long, you ask? Ok, maybe you didn't ask, but I'll answer it anyway. A couple years ago I still ate fast food and refused to give up candy. Drink diet soda? Are you crazy?! Blech! I had so many bad eating habits that I'd resigned myself to being over weight and unfit. So unfit, that I couldn't get in and out of my truck without huffing and puffing like a beached whale. I'm fairly certain I looked like one also. Now, I can actually walk half a mile and survive. I eat fresh fruit and vegetables as much as I can and I only eat fast food about once a week. I've come a long way, baby! I used to live on peanut M&M's (the 2lb bag) and Mt. Dew and Doritos. It could be days before I'd actually sit down in a truck stop and eat a meal. And if you're thinking that was healthy, you'd be wrong. Spaghetti or fettuccine was my 'drug' of choice. Oh the times I waddled back to my truck, making sure to stop in the convenience store to grab a candy bar on the way and eat it also as soon as I got in the truck. I don't question why I'm unhealthy and overweight. I know.
Remember the stubborn thing? Yeah. So I decided that that whole dying early thing wasn't on my To Do list and one day a couple years ago I went for a walk. Well, it was supposed to be a walk. A long walk. It didn't turn out that way. But I was sure proud of the tenth of a mile. I even posted it on my Facebook page.
As it turned out, that was the start of my journey to get fit and healthy. It's lead me through some interesting mental twists and turns and some self discovery that while painful was truly enlightening. That first tenth of a mile lead me to where I am today; almost 20 lbs lighter, certainly more fit and with a more positive attitude than I've had in decades. I still have a very long way to go but I keep telling myself:
"There is nothing to keep me from doing this except myself!"
Oh woe is me, right? Nope! I am an ever cheerful (sometimes annoyingly so) person with a smiling face in the world of trucking. And if there is one word that describes me, it's stubborn. So while I now wear a medical alert bracelet and take medicine for the diabetes and struggle with the whole getting healthy issue I haven't given up. In fact, looking back over the last couple years I've come a long way.
How long, you ask? Ok, maybe you didn't ask, but I'll answer it anyway. A couple years ago I still ate fast food and refused to give up candy. Drink diet soda? Are you crazy?! Blech! I had so many bad eating habits that I'd resigned myself to being over weight and unfit. So unfit, that I couldn't get in and out of my truck without huffing and puffing like a beached whale. I'm fairly certain I looked like one also. Now, I can actually walk half a mile and survive. I eat fresh fruit and vegetables as much as I can and I only eat fast food about once a week. I've come a long way, baby! I used to live on peanut M&M's (the 2lb bag) and Mt. Dew and Doritos. It could be days before I'd actually sit down in a truck stop and eat a meal. And if you're thinking that was healthy, you'd be wrong. Spaghetti or fettuccine was my 'drug' of choice. Oh the times I waddled back to my truck, making sure to stop in the convenience store to grab a candy bar on the way and eat it also as soon as I got in the truck. I don't question why I'm unhealthy and overweight. I know.
Remember the stubborn thing? Yeah. So I decided that that whole dying early thing wasn't on my To Do list and one day a couple years ago I went for a walk. Well, it was supposed to be a walk. A long walk. It didn't turn out that way. But I was sure proud of the tenth of a mile. I even posted it on my Facebook page.
As it turned out, that was the start of my journey to get fit and healthy. It's lead me through some interesting mental twists and turns and some self discovery that while painful was truly enlightening. That first tenth of a mile lead me to where I am today; almost 20 lbs lighter, certainly more fit and with a more positive attitude than I've had in decades. I still have a very long way to go but I keep telling myself:
"There is nothing to keep me from doing this except myself!"
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