Feel the burn...

Oh my goodness, Wednesday’s camp last week almost killed. I found it really hard after 2 days of exercise but it felt good to do it and feel proud that I did manage to get through it. I did make a slight error...I had a soup for dinner about an hour or so before and it made it’s presence know. Naughty soup sloshing around my tummy. Anyway alls well that ends well by Saturday my body had recovered after 2 much needed days of rest and by sticking to the food plan and eating healthy meals and snacks my blood sugars have remained the most stable they have in months which is great news and means I have allot more energy.

I am such a womble that I forgot I couldn’t make Saturday mornings camp but hadn’t swapped it for another day so I completely missed one last week. I was really mad with myself but I have allot on my mind at the moment and it’s not the end of the world I guess. Over the weekend I have a few naughty little treats but this is real life and my main purpose for attending fitcamp is to improve my health so I wasn’t too hard on myself and I didn’t go made but I had a glass of wine with my dinner and a lovely Sunday roast. My blood sugars did increase slightly over the weekend so this just means me learning from what I did wrong and making the changes in the future. Bigger, fatter meals require more insulin..simple really but the body is a strange thing.

Then it was Monday and one week down, I have measured myself and have lost all told a full inch over the whole of my body. Not bad considering I have enjoyed all of the food I have eaten and had a lovely but not excessive weekend.

Last night’s camp was really fun too, using different equipment. It made it a bit different and I thought less about about what I was doing and enjoyed it. I don’t ache as much today as I did this time last week. I think this is mainly due to the exercises being more aerobic last night and also an improving fitness level.

I need to make the most of this week as I will miss two camps next week due to a work trip to Germany, that’ll be a real test.....

2nd camp already!

So...It’s Wednesday and I am still aching from Monday’s first camp, but I do feel amazing!!!

Monday we did a fitness test and the word test just makes me turn into Rocky Balboa or something and I just want to smash it!! it was great!! I love to try and beat my own personal goals and not be in competition with anyone but myself, so this was perfect for me to get started. We all did it in the rain but it was a much needed relief as I was a bit of a sweaty betty after just the warm up.

I got home, had a shower and got straight into bed for the best nights sleep I’ve had in ages! I was a bit concerned about having a Hypo in the night as the exercise normally catches up with me a good few hours later but I was fine and the next morning woke up and my blood sugar was a perfect 5.3. This still feels a little bit odd to me as I’m used to it being at least 8 or 9 on a good day but I have been brave and did my insulin injections to match what I had for my breakfast and by lunch it was 7.6...well within the healthy range for a diabetic.

Last night I did my normal Zumba class...man alive that hurt, my legs were killing but it was good fun as always and I think it helped move my aches to others areas.

I’m sure after tonight’s camp I’ll be fine and I have a couple of days of rest to look forward to.

So far this week I have been really good with my food choices and have stuck with Fruit smoothies, soups and simple dinners of grilled chicken and veg, or a vegetable omlette with salad. I have only had de-caff green tea and water to drink, Yesterday was my worse day with caffeine withdrawal headaches but it’s much better already today and I have no cravings for tea or anything sweet. I hope that it lasts but I do think it is down to feeling full to the top....I hate to admit it but drinking water really does curb your hunger....dam it ;)

Send me to Bootcamp....

Hello, I’m Jo and I’ve just turned 30 eeek!

I was diagnosed as a Type 1 or insulin dependent Diabetic when I was 11. Back then I thought this is amazing, a week off school and I can eat outside of lunchtimes and no one else can...I had no concept of the fact that this is for life...at 11 I couldn’t believe how long away Christmas was or ever imagine being old enough to wear high heels (my child hood dream – bless me) into my teenage years I hated it, I would break down in tears to mum asking why I got it and hated not being like everyone else and I rebelled against it a lot refusing to eat meals. As I got into my twenties I just seemed to except it and now I can’t even remember what it was like not having it.

Recently I have had my fair share of emotional turmoil to deal with and have given my health the back seat at my last diabetic review with the nurse at my doctors surgery I was given the grim news that my blood sugar control was poor and my cholesterol was higher than it should be. My cholesterol was 6.00mmol/l (it should be below 5) and my HbA1c (a test gives you a picture of your average blood glucose control for the past 2 to 3 months) was 10.3 this should be between 5 -7. There are number or health issues directly related to blood sugar control...this is as science geek as I get so don’t worry – basically excess glucose in the blood damages both the large blood vessels (such as those supplying the heart muscle and limbs) and the very fine blood vessels (such as those supplying the kidney and eye) as well as damaging nerves. This contributes to: Heart Disease, Stroke, Kidney Disease and retinopathy leading to blindness! - Basically no body wants this do they? but believe me even knowing all this it’s still ridiculously hard to keep on top of your own health and stay motivated as the effects take time to show themselves!

Anyway, it’s come to the point where I need to man up, stop feeling sorry for myself and take control of my own long term health...That’s where Fitcamp comes in.......It’s going to be really hard for me to motivate myself and stay that way as I am a Monday dieter and I’ve normally fallen of the wagon by Tuesday lunchtime, I have very little will power and I crave everything that’s bad for you takeaways, chocolate, deserts all that naughty stuff. I intend to make this a change for life and make those things very occasional treats and I’m really excited to see how following the nutritional advise and exercising regularly a number of times a week helps improve Diabetes control and as a sneaky bonus my waist line...

Today is day one, I started with a blood sugar of 4.9 this morning which is perfect but I’m so used to running it high (Normally about 10 - naughty) it felt a bit scary. I have had a fruit smoothie for my breakfast and some soup and another smoothie for lunch so far as well as a number of de-caff green tea’s and water. I actually feel really full, it’s just a different feeling of full and it’s rather strange. I am really looking forward to the first workout at Swallowfield camp tonight. Exercise is a complicated one when you are a Diabetic as through-out the activity your blood sugar level tends to increase but then falls a few hours later. I have never let being diabetic stop me doing anything and I'm not about to start, I will put in as much effort as everybody else. So the plan is to ride out any high sugar peeks this evening and not try to adjust my insulin to compensate and see how we go.

I have also taken all of my measurements and even weighed myself just to see how that also changes.

Full steam ahead :)