That was a hell of a wakeup call.
About a month ago, a new clinic opened near my house that was offering free health screenings. I figured I might want to check it out, figuring it’d be a urine test or BMI or something...turns out it was a blood test.
The result came back about a week ago, and the news was basically something my dad had tried to warn me about for years: I’m either diabetic, or right on the verge of it. Blood glucose readings at that point, which should have been at around 100, were at 361. Despite the fact that I’d eaten lunch about an hour beforehand, this was still way too high.
One thing I figured might be factoring in was my admittedly excessive soda intake, so I challenged myself to go cold-turkey on the stuff. The caffeine withdrawal was going to be the hardest part...but, that’s what the colossal supply of tea (home brewed, unsweetened) is for. Good thing mom got me to liking that stuff when I was a kid...that reminds me, I need a refill.
As of 10 minutes ago, my post-meal reading is down to 225, and my morning reading was down to 171. Not at goal yet, but it's still one hell of an improvement.
Exercise will definitely help things out more...still trying to get myself back into a workout routine; for right now I've at least gotten myself to liking the cross-campus walk before and after my classes on main campus; that's almost 2 miles round trip each day, with the added bonus of the east end of campus never being as much of a craps-shoot on parking as the west end (where my classes are) is. Next semester I'm also signed up for a weight training class, which will probably help too.
I think the hardest part, though, is going to be my diet. Cutting out the soda was easier than expected, but the rest of my meals are another matter entirely, especially pasta and meat. X_x; Still, the numbers don't lie...I'm making it work. :D
In about 2 weeks the VA clinic is having me come in for some baseline readings, which'll be taken after a 12-hour fasting period so as to be accurate of what condition my body's currently in. Here's hoping I can get the numbers down about 30 or 40 more points by then. :]
The result came back about a week ago, and the news was basically something my dad had tried to warn me about for years: I’m either diabetic, or right on the verge of it. Blood glucose readings at that point, which should have been at around 100, were at 361. Despite the fact that I’d eaten lunch about an hour beforehand, this was still way too high.
One thing I figured might be factoring in was my admittedly excessive soda intake, so I challenged myself to go cold-turkey on the stuff. The caffeine withdrawal was going to be the hardest part...but, that’s what the colossal supply of tea (home brewed, unsweetened) is for. Good thing mom got me to liking that stuff when I was a kid...that reminds me, I need a refill.
As of 10 minutes ago, my post-meal reading is down to 225, and my morning reading was down to 171. Not at goal yet, but it's still one hell of an improvement.
Exercise will definitely help things out more...still trying to get myself back into a workout routine; for right now I've at least gotten myself to liking the cross-campus walk before and after my classes on main campus; that's almost 2 miles round trip each day, with the added bonus of the east end of campus never being as much of a craps-shoot on parking as the west end (where my classes are) is. Next semester I'm also signed up for a weight training class, which will probably help too.
I think the hardest part, though, is going to be my diet. Cutting out the soda was easier than expected, but the rest of my meals are another matter entirely, especially pasta and meat. X_x; Still, the numbers don't lie...I'm making it work. :D
In about 2 weeks the VA clinic is having me come in for some baseline readings, which'll be taken after a 12-hour fasting period so as to be accurate of what condition my body's currently in. Here's hoping I can get the numbers down about 30 or 40 more points by then. :]