BIG NEWS!

Hey all.

So two big pieces of news to randomly share with you all.

1. Just got my A1C test results back, and.............. 6.4! HOT DAMN!
That is literally the best my A1C has EVER been.

2. And news two....basically the reason my A1C is so good right now, because I'm working my ass off getting it there....and why am I working my ass off, because I'm pregnant!

There we go. Whew.
I'll try to blog more just so I can keep a record of what its like to be pregnant with diabetes.

Still going strong: Day 4

Friday night and I still managed to drag myself to the gym. 
Burned 508 calories on the elliptical tonight too. Hot damn.
Now I'm going to relax in my favorite green leather chair and zone out watching tv while I drink some green tea.
Here's my product plug. 

Just kidding.

Seriously though, I do want to share with you some pretty decent Matcha green tea in tea bags I found.

I found this at Bel-Air for about $4.

I've been trying to make a point to drink at least one cup of green tea a day. I've always heard and read that its good for you.

But before you take my random "good advice" let me research other random people's point of view on google . . . be right back.

Okay, here is what the internet says about green tea and why you should be drinking it.

--green tea has the most potent concentration of polyphenol antioxidants, which fight free radicals, damage DNA, and cause aging, cancer, and stroke, heart disease.

--apparently, approximately 2 cups of green tea will speed up your metabolism by nearly 5% in a 24 hour period.

--Green tea may help you fight off illness by altering the makeup of intestinal bacteria.  Findings suggest that green tea can also reduce allergic responses and asthma.

--Green tea strengthens your teeth, thus decreasing your risk of cavities. Its antibacterial properties thwart the effects of the bacteria most responsible for gum disease. And it may even help ward off bad breath.

--Although there is no known cure for Alzheimer’s disease, numerous studies suggest that green tea may effectively help to prevent the disease. A compound in green tea reduces the formation of plaque-like deposits in the brain, which are often indicative of Alzheimer’s disease.

--Green tea increases the production of alpha brain waves to calm the body.

--It may help keep cholesterol levels low.

And why Matcha Green tea?

Because matcha is straight, stoneground tea leaves, it provides you with green tea's powerful arsenal of vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, and amino acids in a way no other green tea can.

One cup of matcha green tea is equivalent to 10 cups of green tea in terms of antioxidant content.

How to tell this stuff is really legit?

Because Buddhist monks honored matcha tea as the ‘health elixir’ for its potential to heighten the concentration and enhance the metabolism.

So drink up your matcha, and enjoy.

Strong enough, Jillian

Working out: Day 3

Made it to the gym tonight, burned 490 calories on the elliptical.
Nice. :)

Tonight I listened to my alternative playlist on my ipod. 
When it comes to workout music my go to's are upbeat or hard rock. Tonight with my alternative music, I was going with upbeat.  Here are two songs I have to share with you. Both songs are by Alien Ant Farm which is one of my all time favorite bands.

Smooth Criminal

Movies

Strong enough, Jillian

Exercise Day 2

Day Two and I'm still here!

I went to the gym, did my hour on the elliptical and according to the machine, I burned 516 calories.
I decided this week I'm going to just focus on getting my butt to the gym and making sure I do my time on the elliptical. Next week I'll add weight training to the mix and try using a different machine.

On my ipod playlist I listened to my 80s mix.  One of my favorite songs to come up, Tainted Love by Soft Cell.

Enjoy this throw back.

Strong Enough, Jillian

A little exercise never killed anyone...

A little exercise never killed anyone...unless it did.
Exercise is supposed to do wonders for your health, but if you are a diabetic, too much exercise can literally kill you.

Let me backup a little.

I have decided to make a drastic change regarding my health. I need to lose weight crazy bad and get my blood sugars under control.
So I'm going to eat healthy and hit the gym hard.
And tonight I may have hit it too hard. (That's what she said)
Some times its hard to tell how I feel diabetic wise while I'm exercising. I am a tad over weight so I get winded and tired pretty fast and then its hard to tell if I feel like crap because I'm fat, or do I feel like crap because my blood is rapidly dropping.
Tonight I had to cut my exercise session short after deciding it was the latter.
My blood was 51.
Exercise can kill you.

This will certainly be a trial and error experience as I try different things in order to reach an equilibrium of rigorous exercise and balanced blood sugars.

So why lose weight now?
I've been fat for years.  Since getting married and graduating college I've steadily gained over 50 pounds. 50 extra pounds on my 5 foot frame does not go unnoticed.
So why now? Because I'm tired of looking and feeling fat.
Of course I want to be healthy, but honestly, I want to look hot.
I want to look sexy in a pair of jeans and a tank top.
I want to fit into all my cute, old small clothes.
And here's the big one..., why now...
because I'm going to a convention this year where I will get to meet and take photos with one of my celebrity crushes.
And I want to look hot in the photos with him.
He's a married man, and I'm a married woman, so I'm not trying to tempt his interest, but he's a very attractive individual, and I would like to look equally attractive in my photo with him.
So why now...What, that wasn't enough?
You're right, there's more.
I meant to start this weight loss journey in January with the New Years Resolution crowd, but that just didn't happen. The convention is in December, so although it feels far away, I know weight loss (especially 50 plus pounds) is not a quick process, so every day is important.
Need more?...yes.
Yesterday was Leap Day.
Leap Day is legitimately a special day.
More?
Okay, the final big sign from the universe that today is the day I needed to get serious and start my weight loss journey...
today is the birthday of that celebrity crush I get to meet in December.
So there you have it. 
My inspiration may be weird, but whatever gets your butt to the gym, run with it.

Day 1:
Food wise, according to myfitnesspal.com I didn't eat enough food today. I started tracking my food yesterday and I went over my calorie goal, so clearly this will be a challenge I need to work on.

Exercise wise, I almost died at 24 hour fitness. I had to stop because its hard to exercise with a 51 blood sugar. I was able to get about 50 minutes in on the elliptical and I burned about 450 calories, so I know I did a good job, but I wasn't able to do weight lifting. That's okay though.  A little bit is better than nothing, and 450 calories is nothing to sneer at.

Reward wise, Is it too soon for a reward? Heck no. I need workout inspiration. I bought myself two new work out pants and three new work out tops. I also got myself a new Marvel Avengers coffee mug. This way I can remind myself that I'm training to be a bad ass.

Inspiration wise, I want to get a tattoo on my left arm, near my wrist that says, "Strong Enough", meaning that I am strong enough to accomplish anything I set my mind to. Nothing is stopping me but me.

Goal wise, the end goal is like I said, to look hot. I don't necessarily have a number in my mind what I would like to weigh, but I would say at the most 120, and at the least 90.
90 pounds sounds ridiculously small, but I've read that is a possible healthy weight for someone 5 feet tall. I don't want to be too skinny though. I have no intention of being rail thin.  If anything, I'd like to have sculpted, toned and muscular arms. A1C wise, I'd like to be at 6.  My last (and best ever) A1C was 7.5, so I do have some work ahead of me. I'd like to be more flexible, I'd like to be able to run (previously, I've done 5 half marathons, and I'd like to get back to that), and I'd like to be able to do a pull up.

I'm going to try my best to keep up with this log so I can track my progress, be held accountable, and share my successes and failures. Maybe someone else out there is going through similar difficulties, trying to lose weight as a diabetic, and maybe my experience can help you with yours.

Strong enough, Jillian