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  1. Guest Post: Making it Stronger

    Wednesday, 28 July 2010

    Olivejooice is a blog I absolutely adore reading. Read this post, and I'm sure you'll see why. I'm so inspired by this lovely lady's sweet nature and determination. And she runs. My word, if you saw my last vlog, you'll know how rubbish I am at that, so I admire her all the more for it!
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    Friendship. I’ve always been pretty shy and because of it, finding good friends has never been easy for me.
    After I was diagnosed with diabetes, one of the first things I did after calling my mom was text my best friend at the time. Her reaction: That sucks. Mine: Yes, yes it does.
    While learning the ropes of this new disease, I also learned how to navigate my friendships being newly diagnosed (and to this day I’m still learning). Who needs to know? Do I inject myself in front of them, or is that rude? Do I tell them the basics of low blood sugars?

    Which friends need to learn how to give me a glucagon shot? Do I bring it up? Do I pretend it’s not there? Should I eat this cake in front of them? If I refuse the cake, am I giving them the wrong impression of diabetes? Will they think I can never have cake? Is it okay to ask them not to ask me about my blood sugar levels when I test?
    Overall, diabetes doesn’t come up in most of my friendships (outside the D-OC, of course). Of my closest friendships, my childhood best friend doesn’t like to talk about it (I think this is because she worries), another friend has taken a “mother hen” approach and will at times wag her finger at my food choices and try to lecture me on the best way to treat my lows (at one point she said string cheese). Each friend has their own way of dealing with the fact that I have a chronic illness, but the fact is, diabetes doesn’t harm any of my friendships.
    Recently, I learned my best friend (whom I refer to in my blog as Veronica) brought up something she did at my bachelorette party that I didn’t know about. After many hours and many drinks, my group of friends made their way back to the hotel room. I was already there with my friend May (we had the buddy system going on, and I went back earlier than the rest).
    I remember being on the bed, the room spinning. Veronica came over with my contact case and meter in hand. “Take off your contacts and put them in here”
    I obliged.
    “Did you test your blood sugar”
    “Wha? Yeah…I tested when I got here” I peered at her through a half closed eye.
    “Hold out your hand” and with a prick, she tested for me (after a scwabble about my busted meter display, and me explaining that it pinged to my pump and I could see the numbers there).
    What I didn’t know, was that Veronica also set an alarm on her phone to go off after a few hours, so that she could wake up and remind me to test my blood sugar again. I was amazed. How did she even know to do that? I didn’t even remember it.
    Veronica and I hadn’t had the diabetes talk yet, I hadn’t explained low blood sugar with her, I never told her the affects of drinking with diabetes, I never asked her to make sure I was okay blood sugar wise that night. She just did it. When I asked her why, she said that she wasn’t questioning my ability to take care of myself, but that it’s easy to forget about things like that when we are all out having a good time. She wanted to make sure I was okay first hand.
    Diabetes hasn’t harmed any of my relationships…but learning about Veronica’s actions that night, it certainly strengthened ours. She shouldn’t have had to keep an eye on me, but the fact that she did anyway speaks volumes about just how special of a friend she is. She took the time to learn about my disease simply because she wanted to know about it, for me. I love her so much for that!

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    That was a really beautiful post - I think we all need to thank the 'Veronicas' in our lives!

    Posted by Becky at 19:00 | Labels: , | 3 comments |

  2. Tuesday already! Today's guest is Jacquie from Typical Type 1. I love what she said to me when she emailed this across to me. 'Diabetics of the world unite!'. Couldn't put it better myself. So I'll let her take it away with a story of a far off land...

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    "How much do I bolus for a pan-fried fish with the head attached?"

    It was the first time I'd ever asked myself that particular question. Then again, it was also the first time I'd ever been in Greece -- or anywhere outside of the United States, for that matter.

    But there I was, on one of the peninsulas of Halkidiki, surrounded at the dinner table by my husband, his dear Greek friend George, George's mother, father, and wife, Eleni. Oh, and a plate full of fried-crisp whole fish: heads, tails, bones, fins, eyeballs and all.
    We'd been in Europe for almost three weeks, and while I was thoroughly enjoying the adventure, I was also coming down with a debilitating case of homesickness. After all, foreign countries can be . . . pretty foreign. I'd noticed that the streets were home to little herds of stray dogs. Virtually everyone was a heavy smoker. The elevators counted the first floor as "0", and the 2nd floor as "1." And although the friends we stayed with spoke English, most of the conversations around us took place in Greek.

    I might have succumbed to my homesickness if it wasn't for one amazing coincidence: Eleni, my husband's best friend's wife, has Type 1 diabetes -- and an insulin pump. See, I'm one of those dorks who will run shamelessly up to a complete stranger -- smile on face and pump in hand -- if I even see a hint of transparent plastic tubing peeking from his or her waistband. It's why I feel an instant connection to each and every D-OC'er, no matter where they're from or how old they are or even how long they've been living with diabetes. I can't help it. 

    From what I knew, Eleni was a little more reserved about her T1 status. She, too, had lived with the disease for well over a decade, so the ins and outs were old hat. She and her husband had just had their first child, and hers was a pregnancy without complications. Here was someone living the kind of diabetic life I'd always hoped for -- only on the other side of the world and without as many pets. Although she insisted that she could barely carry on a conversation in English, Eleni spoke the language better than some of my friends do. She explained to me what it was like trying to feed a baby when your blood sugar's in the 50's, and how her husband jokingly tossed a candy bar her way any time she started to get grumpy. Thinking back, I wish I'd asked her how to say "My blood sugar's low" in Greek.
    That final evening of our stay in Halkidiki, I was pretty much ready to go home. I was upstairs, changing into the last clean outfit I had in my suitcase and borrowing Eleni's hairdryer before our dinner of fried fish. (I was dying for some Chick-Fil-A.) The doors between our two bedrooms were both open, and just as I was ready to head downstairs, I heard the noise that's the same in every language: "Ka-CHUNK!" 

    Of course, it was Eleni's infusion set inserter. I looked over and saw her in the familiar position: shirt pulled up to expose the site on her belly, neck craned as she looked down to smooth the edges of the site with with an alcohol swab. She glanced up, we smiled quietly at each other, and I descended the stairs to take my seat at the dinner table.
    I haven't talked to Eleni much since we left Greece, but I hope to see her again in the near future -- either on our side of the pond or hers. Meeting her was one of the highlights of my trip. 

    Out loud, "How much do I bolus for a pan-fried fish with the head attached?" is a question that doesn't make much sense when I'm among English-speaking friends in the States. But across the table from Eleni, at that moment, asking it made me feel right at home.


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    OK, now I totally want to go to Greece - makes my current trip to Harrogate sound positively mundane (which it is....)

    Posted by Becky at 19:00 | Labels: , | 8 comments |

  3. Kelly Kunik is awesome. There is no way around it.She's sweet, funny, and loves pirates as much as I do. She's also a kick ass diazon, who I respect as much as I like. So I was so pleased that she agreed to join in this week's line up of guests. I love this post, because it's so completely true. 

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    Diabetes Has Made Me Many Things

    Diabetes has made me many things, most of them good.
    Diabetes has made me AWARE. I pay attention to others and myself and by paying attention I’ve prevented myself from being hurt – and have prevented others from being hurt.

    Diabetes has made me TOUGH. There are days when diabetes has “put me through the wringer,” and yet I’m still here. WHY? Because diabetes has made me pull myself up by my bootstraps, dust myself off, and continue on with life.

    Diabetes has made me GENTLE. Yes, gentle in the sense that I understand what it’s like to not feel good, so I’m gentle with others who are having a bad day.

    Diabetes has made me GRATEFUL for all of life’s blessings, big and small. I’m grateful for Drs Banting & Best and their great brains.

    Diabetes has made me APPRECIATIVE. I appreciate the little things like; correctly bolusing for an unknown food, finding unopened infusion sets in old hand bags, and uber appreciative of a darn near empty insulin reservoir that didn’t crap out completely until I made it home from work.

    Diabetes has made me see the FUNNY. I can laugh at infusion sets gone awry, unexpected interrogations by the “Diabetes Police,” and pump batteries needing to be changed at the most inopportune of times. There’s more funny moments in a diabetes life, but the above will do for now.

    Diabetes has given me the gift of a BULL SHIT FILTER - a wonderful mechanism in the brain that allows PWDs (people with diabetes) to see through the bullshit that life throws our way and focus on what’s really important.

    Diabetes has given me a COMMUNITY and has surrounded me with others who live daily with diabetes (or have family members that do) who speak the language of diabetes without uttering the d-word. 
    They welcome me with open arms and hearts and allow me to do the same. And my COMMUNITY continually teaches and always makes me feel loved.
     I consider them family and will love and protect them to the best of my ability. 
    Diabetes has helped make me. 

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    Thank you so much for that, Kelly! If you haven't been following her blog already, where have you been? I insist that you go there now. Go on, I'll even link it for you. There you go....no excuse!

    Posted by Becky at 19:00 | Labels: , | 3 comments |

  4. Guest Post: The Ink That Speaks

    Sunday, 25 July 2010

    Chris is brand new on the DOC scene, and I'm thrilled to have her posting today. Her blog, Canadian D-gal, is a really worth a read. I'm also really looking forward to trying her recipe from the first batch of D-Feast recipes!

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    I was diagnosed with diabetes in the summer of 2002 at the age of 22.  Before diagnosis I was a regular adventure seeker.  My hobbies included rock climbing, scuba diving, Mountain biking, Snow boarding, backpacking… the list goes on (AND ON).  None of these things stopped upon diagnosis.  Just the preparations became harder.  Suddenly it was more than just throwing on my shoes and going for a run.

    I am not one for jewelry; I find it annoying and cumbersome.  I once owned a Medic-Alert ID bracelet that looked like a sports band.  The bracelet didn’t last long before I just stopped wearing it because it bothered me.  Over the years I have continued to be just as active in the outdoors as ever but have never really stopped to think about the repercussions if something did “HAPPEN”.  I am with people sometimes but more often than not I do these things alone.  And anyone that knows me well knows I am constantly pushing my limits and biting off more than I can chew.  Often barely making it home some days.  I've been known to make a phone call or two because I've ridden my bike too far and can't make it back.  I can’t count how many times I had to walk the rest of the run, or stop on the side of the road during a ride.  Sure I can go everywhere with my cell phone but that is not always trustworthy.

    I have never uttered the words “WHAT IF?”  What IF something happened? What IF I wasn’t able to speak? I've never asked that question because I was terrified to come to terms with the reality that something could easily happen.  I’ve managed to go 8 years without running into an emergency situation that I couldn’t handle.  With my lifestyle and stubbornness, that surprises me.  However, putting myself out there almost every day in compromising situations I feel like I’m a walking talking emergency waiting to happen.   Maybe I’ve done well for myself over the years but I’ve come close, on a few occasions.    I’ve got to stop going along waiting for something bad to happen to give me a reason to look out for myself.  After all, I’m usually alone and there is nobody there to look out for me but me.  I’ve got to stop giving myself the benefit of the doubt and DO something proactive.   

    I thought about medic alert jewelry but I just couldn’t bring myself to actually wear any of it.  I thought about those shoe ID tags but I do so many different things I’d have to move it around from running shoe to cycling shoe to roller blade to hiking boot, or buy many of them.  It didn’t seem like the right thing.   A Tattoo seemed like the right decision for me.  NOT only do I never have to worry about breaking it or loosing it. I don’t have to wear jewelry!  It’s there through all the running, bouncing, spinning, sweating, swimming etc.  It will never fall off or get damaged or scratched.   It’s clear and legible and obvious and PERMANENT!  No matter where I go, or what I do, it will always speak for me when maybe I can’t.   So I researched and designed it for a long time and this past Saturday I had it done and I love it!  It has a recognizable medic-alert logo with the red symbol.  It also has the blue universal ring to symbolize diabetes.  And in clear text it says DIABETES TYPE 1.  

    More important than anything else, diabetes is life-long.  Unfortunately it’s not going away any time soon and THAT, my friends, is the ugly truth about it.  My tattoo is more than medic alert, This will speak for me for the rest of my life.  



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    I love this post, because it shows how different we all are, and how we make life with D work for us. I myself would never get a tattoo, but I think Chris' is clean and tasteful, and if I ever were to get one, it would probably be something rather like this!

    Posted by Becky at 19:00 | Labels: , | 0 comments |

  5. Guest Post: Normal

    Saturday, 24 July 2010

    I'm thrilled to be kicking off this Guest Post Week with a post from the unbelievably lovely Cara, from Every Day, Every Hour, Every Minute. She's a kindred spirit in terms of her love for cupcakes, baking and musical theatre. One day we will HAVE to see a show together - maybe when she wins the UK lottery, as so many spam emails keep telling her she has!
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    Normal. That word can be totally overrated at times. What is it? What is normal? My normal could be very different from your normal. Our normal could be vastly different from the normal of a movie star or a politician.

    To me, normal is getting up every day and living my life with diabetes. Testing, blousing, counting carbs. Quarterly doctors visits, yearly eye doctor visits, and always carrying around a juice box and all the things for an emergency pump site change. All of this is part of my life other than the standard work, friends, and church.

    Even within our diabetes community, our “normal” can be very different. Each of us lives every day with different expectations of ourselves and our diabetes. My high or low marker may be totally different from yours. I have a friend who has diabetes who would be thrilled with my A1c results from the past couple of times. I, however, would like a lower number. Her normal is different from mine. It doesn’t make either of us “right,” it just makes us different.

    Some of us like a low-carb diet. Others don’t. Some of us have to deal with things other than diabetes like celiac or asperger syndrome. Some of us pump, some of us don’t. Some use CGMS. Some don’t.

    One of the best things about the D-OC is that, for the most part, we accept each other for what “normal” may mean to each individual person. We congratulate each other for a “good “ A1c number, while that same number for the next person may be a disappointment and that person needs encouragement and a “better luck next time”.

    Individuality in diabetes is just like individuality in any other part of life. It isn’t always about what’s “right” or “wrong” or “good” or “bad”. It is just about what makes you, you. Finding your comfortable place and striving for it.

    This community is about the support that we give each other and the support we get in return. Because if there’s one thing I’ve learned in life it’s that I need support in my journey. Especially support in this journey of life with diabetes.

    So, D-OC, I encourage you to find your normal and embrace it. And understand that it isn’t always about a number, or a test result. It’s about finding where you are comfortable and healthy and shooting for that goal. And knowing that when it comes right down to it, you can always turn on your computer or your iPhone and find a whole community of people who have their own normal and support you in finding yours. 

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    Thanks for that post, Cara! You make a really, really good point! 

    Posted by Becky at 19:00 | Labels: , , | 2 comments |

  6. D-Feast Friday - Shortbread

    Friday, 23 July 2010

    So, inspired by all the others out there in the DOC posting amazing recipes for D-Feast Friday, I thought I would get in on the action, and share with you my recipe for shortbread. I make it with Splenda, and to be honest, it's such a butter heavy recipe, you don't need a lot of sugar in it. However, it is totally not endorsed as healthy eating!

    Ingredients:

    • 250g butter (you could use margarine, but butter gives a better texture)
    • If you wanted to do straight sugar, you want 140g of caster sugar. However, I use 40g caster sugar, and 8 tablespoons of Splenda, and it works fine 
    •  300g sifted plain flour
    • 1 egg yolk 1 tsp vanilla essence 
    • 2 tsp allspice.
    • Optional, but some 70% dark chocolate. Lindt works well
    Preheat the over to 180 degrees centigrade.
    1. Cream the butter and sugar/Splenda until the butter is nice and soft. Stir in the egg yolk
    2. Gently stir in the flour, vanilla essence and allspice. It gets pretty difficult about half way through adding the flour, but keep with it!
    3. It should form a firm dough ball. You might need to flour your hands and get them in there to get it all together
    4. Dust your work surface and rolling pin with flour, and roll out the dough
    5. Use a 6mm cutter and start cutting shapes. It should make 20-25 biscuits
    6. Place them on a greased baking tray, or one lined with greaseproof paper (my preferred method - you'll see why later)
    7. When your trays are full, place on a centre shelf for about 15 minutes, until gently golden
    8. Leave them to cool on a wire cooling rack. If you've used greaseproof paper, leave it underneath
    9. Once they're cool, melt your chocolate over a pan of water, and drizzle 'artistically' over the biscuits, and leave to set
    If you store them in an airtight tin, they'll last for ages!


    So that's my contribution! Now, I'm going to be away all this coming week, so I'll be handing proceedings over to a lovely group of guest posters! Thank you so much to everyone who has written for me - I can't wait to share what you've come up with. 
    Training wise, I think this coming week's lifting, carrying (and a bit of swimming) won't be a slack-off!

    Posted by Becky at 23:41 | Labels: , | 2 comments |

  7. So I decided to try running in the 'real world'. I made a vlog. Hopefully Episode 2 will be coming later this week. Apologies again for the weird helicopter sound over parts of the audio. One day I will work out why it does that, I swear!



    Posted by Becky at 21:07 | Labels: , , , , , | 4 comments |

  8. Hitting The Wall

    Friday, 16 July 2010

    So that's two days in a row that I'm talking about hitting things. I promise you that I'm not a violent person, really!

    I had to force myself out of bed this morning, and it took half an hour longer than it normally does. I knew from the start that this morning's workout was going to be a difficult one. 

    I did my weights - now up to 10 chest fly reps per set, which is great, but after that, I just couldn't bring myself to turn on the Wii and do the rest of my routine. I sat on the carpet with the weights beside me for a few minutes. Right then I just wanted to go back to bed. I didn't want to do this any more. I'd really just had enough. Why was I doing this, when I was tired? What was the point?

    The point is that I've committed to a fundraising challenge. JDRF are worth my being tired. It's about getting money for hours of crucial research. It's about support for the newly diagnosed when they're overwhelmed, and a voice for all Type 1's. It's about care until a cure. 

    So I ran did a 20 minute free run. It wasn't my whole routine, but it kept me going. For the first time doing 20 minutes instead of 10, I didn't think 5.5k was too bad.

    I'm also thinking about getting hold of a Rufus the Bear to take with us as a mascot - what do you guys think? I could make him a little camouflage outfit? I keep laughing as well, because Orange (mobile phone company) currently have huge cardboard cut-outs of all the actors from the A-Team remake in their shops. Shall I go and get my picture taken with them?

    Now, I have to say a huge thank you to Dana from I Already Gave My Right Arm To Be Ambidextrous! She commented on my last post to let me know she'd given me the Versatile Blogger Award! This is my first blogging award, so I'm thrilled!

    Rule #1: Thank the person who gave you the award.  

    That would be Dana Morton from I Already Gave My Right Arm To Be Ambidextrous! Seriously, thank you!

    Rule #2: Share seven things about yourself.    
    1: I'm learning the ukulele at work. Sometimes my job is awesome
    2. I kill all plants, which really makes me sad, because I love them
    3. For a long time, I really didn't understand what Twitter was about. Now I'm hooked
    4. I'm always nervous getting on and off escalators, because I'm scared they'll eat my trouser cuffs
    5. The first night I was in hospital with DKA, I slept in my clothes, because they'd hooked me up to the syringe driver before I could get changed, and I was too nervous/embarrassed to ask how I was supposed to take my shirt off without taking it out
    6. I cannot do a front roll, back roll, cartwheel or handstand
    7. I moult everywhere. There's something about my hair that makes me think I must be part feline
     
    Rule #3: Pass the award onto 15 bloggers who you have recently discovered and you think are are fantastic!! 

    Not all of these are 'recently' discovered, but they are certainly all fantastic!

    5. Holly @ Arnold and Me 
    6. Lorraine @ This is Caleb 
    7. Ginger @ For Bete's Sake!
    8. George @ NinjaBetic
    10. Allison @ Lemonade Life
    13. Rachael @ Flimsy the Kitten 

    Just picking 15 was really hard!



    Posted by Becky at 23:42 | Labels: , , , , , | 5 comments |

  9. Hitting the High Notes

    Thursday, 15 July 2010

    If you know me in real life, you'll know I love to sing. I know I can hold a tune, and I like to think that I'm not half bad at holding one either. Again, if you know me well, you'll know that I have, as Andrew puts it, 'Rain Man' skills for remembering songs. Which means that I'm a veritable juke-box (or Spotify, in this digital age) when you get down to it. I can usually think of a song for every given situation.

    I love musical theatre. It was, and still is really, what I've always wanted to do. I just love it. I love the colour, the drama, the energy and raw emotion. I always wanted my moment to be the leading lady. Never got it, sadly.

    But wait a minute! Surely we're are all the leading ladies and leading men of our own lives?! If we're not, then who is? Are we not deserving our chance to belt out our favourite numbers? 

    This past year with T1 has also given me so much in the way of drama. From reading all the blogs and tweets out there I know that from day to day, so many of you out there in the DOC have such amazing stories in your lives. We have the highs and the lows, both emotional and literal, and I think there are a whole bunch of stories out there that are worth of songs full of money-notes.

    So get up and belt out your song, whether that's figuratively or literally. I've got the flat to myself - you can bet I've been hitting the high notes tonight! What do you think, guys? DOC - The Musical?

    On a side note, a HUGE thank you to Chris  for giving The D-Team a plug today. You get to choose your own song, Chris!

    Posted by Becky at 23:02 | Labels: , , | 3 comments |

  10. Tomorrow will be the 14th July. Which means there is just over a month to go until The D Team challenge takes place. 

    I've managed a couple of interesting things. I've moved up my weights, so that I'm using dumbbells weighing 10lb each, instead of the 5lb ones I was using before. I'd been finding doing chest flys unbelievably difficult with this weight increase, but I've pushed through and had a bit of a breakthrough this morning. I wasn't completely trashed after doing my set amount of reps! Hoorah! That means that I can start thinking about doing the amount of flys that I did with the 5lbs now! 

    I've also twice now managed to break the 3k mark whilst doing ten minute free running on the Wii Fit. That's been one of my goals, so I'm chuffed to have managed to do it. Now, I know of course, that these are 'Wii Distances', not real world ones, but I'm still pleased. 

    All in all, I've been finding doing these workouts before work difficult, but I have found myself enjoying them as well, which is pretty great, because although I've loved going to the gym whenever I've been able to afford it, I've never exactly been one for sticking to 'in my front room' type exercise. I have to attribute a good deal of this to encouragement from the wonderful Ginger Vieira. She's been really helpful, giving me advice via Twitter (yes, I am a hooked convert), and pointing me in the right direction. If you're after inspiration, I suggest looking at her latest vlog. See, women can do weights! Oh and Ginger, if you're reading, notice how I also slipped 'chuffed' in again, for you? ;)

    You might be wondering what the heck the picture of someone dressed as Wonder Woman is doing on today's post. Maybe you're not - you might be wondering about something else. But I'm going to assume that you are for a moment. Admittedly, it's not the first time I've had Wonder Woman pay a visit, but this is not about that. For a really long time, I've so badly wanted an excuse to dress up as her. I haven't, for several reasons. First up, I haven't really had occasion. That's one of the main reasons. However, I've never felt comfortable getting my legs out. I don't like having them on show, and the only time I ever wear anything shorter than just above the knee is in bed, or if I'm going swimming. I just don't like my thighs - no-one really needs to see that, at the end of the day! They're about the size of Shropshire.

    However, in the next fortnight I have the opportunity to dress up. But I noticed this morning, after doing my workout, that my thighs in general felt different. By that, I mean, more toned and not as flabby. Sure, this is almost certainly psychological, because I doubt that the fruit of my workouts would show this quickly. But I'm going to keep telling myself it's real. That way, I'll have another reason to keep it up after the challenge is done!  

    In an attempt to cross another thing off The List though, I've had Andrew buying me costume things off Ebay. On top of him harassing customer services over my laptop on my behalf. He is on his holiday - I should really leave him alone! Thank you, Andrew - you did help me get the laptop back! 

    I've also been 'let loose' today! I'm guest blogging for Allison at Lemonade Life today. Please do have a wander over there and check it out, particularly if you've not read her blog before - it's always a good read!

    Posted by Becky at 22:10 | Labels: , , , , , , , | 2 comments |

  11. Mixed Bag

    Saturday, 10 July 2010

    Mixed bag of short updates tonight. First up, my laptop should be back in my hands at the start of the coming week - hooray! I have missed it dearly.

    Second up - The D-Team Challenge has now in fact been booked. We'll be undertaking this madness on Saturday 14th August at 9:30am. We now have all four members of the team, and with the imminent return of the laptop, this means I can vlog for you all. With the challenge date now in sight, both training and fundraising can begin in earnest. I'd be very appreciative if those of you who are regulars here could help spread the word about what we're doing, and try and help gather support and funds. It's all for JDRF at the end of the day. That's what I keep telling myself when I don't want to do another ten arm and leg lifts. 

    In other news, I now have a date for my pump clinic appointment. Had a bit of clash, but managed to reschedule it for 3rd August.

    Posted by Becky at 00:27 | Labels: , , , , | 0 comments |

  12. There's A Hole In My Bucket

    Wednesday, 7 July 2010

    Some days are harder than others. I think we all know that. If you think I'm talking rubbish, then I'm sorry, but I think you're kidding yourself. 

    Anyway. After trying to counteract a long string of higher numbers, I decided to up my basal, and my morning ratio. I overbolused for lunch on the first day of this, so I switched back to my old ratio. Still getting hypos. 

    These hypos have had practically no warnings, which scares me. I've reduced my basal back, so fundamentally resetting all the changes. But was it the basal? Was it the bolus? Was it the hour workouts in the morning before breakfast or any insulin?

    It is like I've got a bucket full of water that I'm trying to keep hold of. Shame the bucket is full of holes then, really, isn't it?

    Training Update:
    I've now doubled the weight of my dumbbells, so I'm now using two 10lb weights, instead of two 5lb ones. That means I've taken my sets down to 10 presses, 5 chest flys and 10 biceps curls. I've also switched from running a lap to doing free runs, so I can see the distance more accurately. 10 minute free run so far, has given me 2k 78m, and 2k and 69m. Hopefully I can break the 3k mark soon... 

    Posted by Becky at 23:47 | Labels: , , , , , | 4 comments |

  13. Just so you know that it's not just me training for this madness, I challenged Andrew to take on my workout routine this evening. He did. So I took pictures. 

    Loading up the Wii Fit, and putting together my usual routine on his profile, I got the response of 'that's quite....thorough', which I actually found to be reassuring! I had been worrying that the whole thing was too wussy, or too easy. I am however, now told that it is not. 

    To be honest, I would have been satisfied with an assessment of the Wii Fit routine, but to his credit, Andrew wanted to do the whole thing, just as I do it. Which meant starting with the weights. They look ridiculously small in his hands, and after advice from Ginger, I plan to up the weight of my dumbbells, starting from tomorrow. Andrew has a much better general level of fitness and strength than I do, so the weights and ab crunches were no problem for him.

    Yoga, which I've always thought Andrew had problems with, since he struggles to balance on one leg, didn't seem to be too much of an issue tonight. I was very impressed with his balance - and slightly miffed that my own isn't as good! However, I was rather pleased to receive the reminder that he is actually human, rather than an exercise-droid, when the air got a little blue during his attempt at the Grounded V. I hate that one too.

    I'm also rather convinced that the female equivalent of the Wii Fit Guy (Wii Fit Girl, I suppose?) is really quite shamelessly flirty. It's a touch concerning, and reminds me exactly why I have Wii Fit Guy as my trainer, even if I want to wallop him over the head with something the majority of the time. 

    The muscle exercises didn't cause much of a problem either, except for ones where you have to stand on one leg. Until we got to the Parallel Stretch. That thing is evil, and I'm starting to think this might be a fact universally acknowledged. I've yet to find a person who enjoys doing this, and if I did, I'd be a bit scared of them, to tell you the truth!

    Lastly, an 'island lap' on the jogging option. I always, for some unknown reason, managed to score a better 'burn rate' on this than Andrew does. I really, really don't understand how. He did really well today though, and managed to do the lap in 10 minutes, which I didn't think was possible, and scored a personal best on the burn rate. All in all, I say a very well done to him for doing it. And having just asked him, what was his final verdict on the workout as a whole?

    It is not a wussy workout - it's actually rather difficult...

    Yey! I'm not a total wuss! Now to see if I can get Rob and Tom to take on the challenge, perhaps.
    In other news, we've made it up to 4% of the total fundraising goal! Thank you so much to those of you who have donated already - you're absolute champions. As promised, I will be booking the date this week. I'm just waiting for news from Amsterdam to finalise the dates. I love that that sounds dreadfully exotic, but isn't really! Our fundraising pack from JDRF also turned up today, which I'm rather impressed with, and I'll be looking at that in great detail over the next couple of days.

    Oh and yes, I did do this routine myself this morning. I didn't just watch Andrew do it!

    Posted by Becky at 23:58 | Labels: , , , , | 0 comments |

  14. Post DuckTales evening, I am really quite tired today. I think it is somewhat to my credit though that I managed to do my workout yesterday, and first thing after getting up today.

    Woke up this erm...."morning", got a drink, took a couple of painkillers and went back to my bed. Then decided this was a pointless endeavour, threw on my workout clothes, and headed to the gym. By the way, when I say "gym", please read "my living room, with Andrew's weights and the Wii Fit". If I had money, I would have a gym membership for certain. I do actually, rather perversely, love the gym. Always got a real buzz after a good workout. But I digress. I thought I would share my slightly revamped current workout with you, in the hopes that this might help me track my progress, and perhaps those of you who are more experienced, might be able to advise me on the way to go/what I'm doing right or wrong.

    I-pod on, weights in hand, I do four sets of the following, currently with two 5lb weights (10lb total, obviously)


    Bench Press (with dumbbells, not barbells) - 15 reps
    Chest Fly - 10 reps
    Biceps Curls - 10 reps


    Which comes to a total of 140 reps. Then 20 abdominal crunches. Sounds wussy, I know, but I find these really hard to do, so even 20 is a bit of an accomplishment at the moment.


    The move on to the Wii Fit. I start off with some yoga, as I'm also trying to improve my balance, and some of these poses are actually really difficult! After beginning with some deep breathing, to try and get my focus, I go on to the following (searching for the images of these was bizarre, as many of the poses have different names to what I'm used to!):


    Warrior
    Half Moon
    Sun Salutation
    Downward Facing Dog
    Bridge
    Grounded V
    Standing Knee
    Cobra

    Moving on from yoga, I go to the muscle workout section, and do some exercises from there.

    Single Leg Extension (6 reps on each leg)
    Lunge (10 reps on each leg)
    Sideways Leg Lift (10 reps on each leg)
    Tricep Extension (10 reps on each arm)
    Arm & Leg Lift (10 reps on each arm and leg)
    Side Lunge (10 reps on each side)
    Parallel Stretch (30 seconds)


    After doing that, and being told by the Wii Fit Guy that 'you were very unsteady there', as he always does, I move onto a 12 minute jog round the 'island'. Saturday I managed a burn rate of 208%, and 253% today. 

    Finished off today with about quarter of an hour of rhythm boxing. Now hopefully, I can carry on with this revamped routine. Anyone out there got any thoughts, suggestions or comments?

    Plan this week - book the challenge date. Cue the ominous music...

    Posted by Becky at 23:45 | Labels: , , , | 1 comments |

  15. DuckTales induced hypos

    Friday, 2 July 2010

    My work sometimes takes me to some odd places. Today it was ASDA (big name supermarket for you US-ers. Think Walmart). We have a party hire in the theatre tomorrow, and we had to go and buy alcohol for making cocktails. Tomorrow night I'm making cocktails, baby. For the record, for some unknown reason, this has made me have DuckTales theme in my head al day. Or more specifically, Garfunkel & Oates going 'DuckTales! Woohoo!'. But I digress.

    So I've been trying to get some high numbers back under control. I've tweaked my basal slightly, and altered my morning ratio. Both these seem to be working, but it appears that for my lunch, I either over 'guestimated' the carbs, or over bolused. Or, which is more likely, a bit of both. Which meant I was walking over to get limes, and suddenly went 'ok, things are starting to wave around a little bit here. Better check things'. 

    Numberwang says 2.4mmol/l (43mg/dl). That would be why then. Have some Glucotabs, buy some chocolate, because hey, as slow acting carb it works for me, and I can get hold of pretty much any that I want, since I'm smack bang in the middle of the supermarket. Sit down in the cafe. Eat the chocolate. Feel sick.

    Now, it takes me full on forty minutes, and a second go at Glucotabs and chocolate to get myself to 4.1mmol/l (73 mg/dl). I then spend the rest of the afternoon dancing around high numbers. I tried not to test too much, but I was at least 11mmol/l (198 mg/dl) for most of the afternoon. 

    Better luck tomorrow. But hey, I learned how to make Ginger G&T's, Mojitos and Tijuana Slings this afternoon. It also turns out that ASDA now sells FairTrade lemons. So it's not all bad, I suppose.

    Posted by Becky at 23:49 | Labels: , , | 0 comments |