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

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

It's never too late, until it is.

I hate those blogs that apologize for not posting in a long time, but seriously, sorry I haven't posted in a LONG time.

I've been so busy with work and life that I haven't felt much drive or energy to post to the blog.
I think its important though because I can see that people are reading it, and its important for me to stay committed to good diabetic health.

Recently I decided I HAD to get healthy. I had to exercise and lose weight. This sudden desire was triggered by the conclusion of the Biggest Loser Game I played with my friends. One of my friends, who by no means was large when we began the game, lost 24 pounds in three and a half months. WOW. I was so amazed and inspired. How did she do it? Good old fashion exercise and eating right.

If she could do it, I knew I could do it, but unlike her I knew I wouldn't be able to do it on my own. So I bought a few personal training sessions with a trainer at my gym, 24 Hour Fitness.

The first week went great. In addition to exercising with a trainer I was using My Fitness Pal (will have to blog about that in another post, its amazing) and my blood sugars were coming back fantastic.

So why are my hands numb? I have experienced numbness in my hands off and on now for the past couple years. But almost the same time I began exercising my last two fingers in my hand went numb, 24 hours a day.
I said why? Why are my fingers numb?! I just began exercising and taking care of myself! Well after 25+ years of bad blood sugar numbers, it doesn't matter if you suddenly decide to exercise and take care of yourself, the damage is done. High blood sugars cause nerve damage and after years of high blood sugars diabetic neuropathy is likely to be present. Yes there is medication for this, there is medication for everything, but this is a road you don't want to go down. Damage is permanent.

This is my plea to you. If you have diabetes, whether you're newly diagnosed, or have had it for the past 20 years, take care of yourself. Take care of yourself TODAY. Don't wait until its too late to decide to be healthy.

I'll update you on my exercise and numbness.