Last week I ordered a backrest massager for my office chair and it arrived this afternoon. It's not like Rod's which was a whole long pad that does from the back of the neck and all the way down to the thighs. This is just for the lower back, although you can move it to work on other areas. This one is just perfect for me though, and makes my chair that much more comfortable. I'm hoping that the massage for it will help with 1) my bronchitis, 2) the osteoarthritis, and 3) the lymphedema I have in my back. Oh, and just because it feels good too. :-)
I have an appointment to have my HBA1C test on Thursday morning this week. Basically it's a check up with blood tests for my diabetes. It includes the HBA1C (which says how much sugar has been in your blood stream over the last 3 months), tests for cholesterol, and for me, a test of my iron too, since I finished taking the iron supplements a couple of weeks ago. I was taking the supplements because the last lot of tests I had showed I was anemic again. I've been having problems with anemia for about a year now. I'm pretty sure with the way I can drop off to sleep so easily that the iron will once again be down. I drift off at the computer so often it's really not funny, and I know it's not related to high glucose levels because it happens whether my readings are high, middle of the road or normal.
I've been working on a website that will be selling locally produced honey (in fact, I should be working on that right this minute, but I've a list of things I've wanted to write about it and decided to get it out of my system today). My client dropped off some of his honey in various sized containers so I can sort out shipping details for them, and naturally I had to sample at least one of the honeys. (grin) He dropped it off on his way to work in the morning and as I hadn't had breakfast yet, I decided to be VERY brave and try a drop on my usual breakfast of 1 slice of crumpet toast with a bit of peanut butter. The reason this was brave is because there's hardly anything I can eat in the morning that doesn't push my glucose levels up over the threshold. This is why, for anyone who's noticed I have nearly the same breakfast everyday, I tend to stick with one or two things I know don't cause me too much trouble. So the day I tried the honey out, I put a small drop of honey with the peanut butter and quite enjoyed having something a little sweet. Well, blow me over with a feather, but my after breakfast BGL was lower than usual! I have found I have to make sure it really just a DROP (about the size of my small fingernail) otherwise my BGL really will go high, but if I only have a drop, my BGLs are in the mid 6 range (or around 120 for the USA readers). What a pleasant find!
In the exercise department, I am trying to increase my steps for my walks to about 5,000 steps minimum. That way it should be easier to hit the recommended 10,000 steps per day as the other half would be from other activities around the house.
It's interesting as I find the longer I've been going for walks, the more active I become otherwise. This can only be a good thing as it in turn burns even more calories and also helps improve my whole attitude.
And I know I used the word exercise up there, but I intend to replace that word in my vocabulary with 'play'. In the afternoons or evenings, I play on my Gym ball. Exercise is a definite 4-letter word and should be banished. I'm much more likely to go PLAY than I would to go exercise, even if they are both one and the same. It's my perception of the activity I'm trying to change so that it's something I do because I want to and it brings me pleasure. And yes, I've smiled and even cracked up when I've been playing on the gym ball, so that's good. It is fun.
The other thing I've decided to change when it comes to 'play time' is not doing actual counting of various moves. Instead I have a digital clock that also displays seconds, so I've been aiming for 1 minute on each activity. Later when I have more confidence I can built up to 1 and a half minutes and increase from there. I'm probably doing more reps than I would if I were counting, and it keeps that feeling of 'exercise' away. I'm playing with the ball doing sit ups for a minute - I'm not obsessing over how many I do. I just keep going as best as I can until the minute is up. So far this change is helping my attitude and helping me to look forward to having a good play. Just don't ruin it by telling me it's good for me. ;-)
I have an appointment to have my HBA1C test on Thursday morning this week. Basically it's a check up with blood tests for my diabetes. It includes the HBA1C (which says how much sugar has been in your blood stream over the last 3 months), tests for cholesterol, and for me, a test of my iron too, since I finished taking the iron supplements a couple of weeks ago. I was taking the supplements because the last lot of tests I had showed I was anemic again. I've been having problems with anemia for about a year now. I'm pretty sure with the way I can drop off to sleep so easily that the iron will once again be down. I drift off at the computer so often it's really not funny, and I know it's not related to high glucose levels because it happens whether my readings are high, middle of the road or normal.
I've been working on a website that will be selling locally produced honey (in fact, I should be working on that right this minute, but I've a list of things I've wanted to write about it and decided to get it out of my system today). My client dropped off some of his honey in various sized containers so I can sort out shipping details for them, and naturally I had to sample at least one of the honeys. (grin) He dropped it off on his way to work in the morning and as I hadn't had breakfast yet, I decided to be VERY brave and try a drop on my usual breakfast of 1 slice of crumpet toast with a bit of peanut butter. The reason this was brave is because there's hardly anything I can eat in the morning that doesn't push my glucose levels up over the threshold. This is why, for anyone who's noticed I have nearly the same breakfast everyday, I tend to stick with one or two things I know don't cause me too much trouble. So the day I tried the honey out, I put a small drop of honey with the peanut butter and quite enjoyed having something a little sweet. Well, blow me over with a feather, but my after breakfast BGL was lower than usual! I have found I have to make sure it really just a DROP (about the size of my small fingernail) otherwise my BGL really will go high, but if I only have a drop, my BGLs are in the mid 6 range (or around 120 for the USA readers). What a pleasant find!
In the exercise department, I am trying to increase my steps for my walks to about 5,000 steps minimum. That way it should be easier to hit the recommended 10,000 steps per day as the other half would be from other activities around the house.
It's interesting as I find the longer I've been going for walks, the more active I become otherwise. This can only be a good thing as it in turn burns even more calories and also helps improve my whole attitude.
And I know I used the word exercise up there, but I intend to replace that word in my vocabulary with 'play'. In the afternoons or evenings, I play on my Gym ball. Exercise is a definite 4-letter word and should be banished. I'm much more likely to go PLAY than I would to go exercise, even if they are both one and the same. It's my perception of the activity I'm trying to change so that it's something I do because I want to and it brings me pleasure. And yes, I've smiled and even cracked up when I've been playing on the gym ball, so that's good. It is fun.
The other thing I've decided to change when it comes to 'play time' is not doing actual counting of various moves. Instead I have a digital clock that also displays seconds, so I've been aiming for 1 minute on each activity. Later when I have more confidence I can built up to 1 and a half minutes and increase from there. I'm probably doing more reps than I would if I were counting, and it keeps that feeling of 'exercise' away. I'm playing with the ball doing sit ups for a minute - I'm not obsessing over how many I do. I just keep going as best as I can until the minute is up. So far this change is helping my attitude and helping me to look forward to having a good play. Just don't ruin it by telling me it's good for me. ;-)
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