Maude checks in with Doctor D, to have a peek at her A1C. The 2020 Twenty: Entry Nine. And it is looking pretty hopeful.
April 10, 2021
The road from high school to diabetes was littered with empty pints of ice cream.
This week I finally met my new endocrinologist and had my A1C checked.
An A1C test samples your hemoglobin to see what percentage of your red blood cell proteins are essentially frosted with sugar (not a clinical term). The sugar collects on the proteins over a somewhat extended period of time. Diabetics should have it checked every three to six months. People at lower risk have it tested less often. Everybody has some sugar hanging on to their hemoglobin (it sticks), but a long-running high blood sugar level can indicate problems. In the case of Type 2 diabetes, it means your body is resisting insulin, which manages your blood sugar, getting it where it needs to go. If you accumulate too much blood sugar, it can cause huge problems, potentially affecting several different organs and systems. I’m being cheeky about it, but it’s really no joke.
I was due to be checked in January, but due to a couple of scheduling SNAFU’s, I wasn’t able to book an appointment until January. And the good doctor is in demand, so here we are. Because I’ve managed my blood sugar decently since my Type 2 diagnosis in 2019, I only get it checked twice a year, as opposed to quarterly. It, in fact, has only been checked twice (now three times) since I was diagnosed. Hopefully I get to keep it that way.
And it is looking pretty hopeful.
Of course, samples were taken, and lab results are not yet in. But my new doctor’s opinion is that I may not even fully qualify as a diabetic–not based on my A1C’s alone–and I may not need the medication either (apparently I’m on a very low dose). This is despite the fact that I’ve gained fairly far out of the weight range my original doctor gave me, which didn’t make for an ideal BMI even when I was there. But with my diagnosis A1C barely crossing into range, a normal one three months later (and sixteen pounds lighter), and “only” a prediabetic-normal cusp level six months after that (with eight pounds of the re-gain, mind you)–if it looks good enough this time, she’ll let me experiment with not taking the medication, and see what happens! She said my exam and my health habits were great! Maybe a little less wine.
The lab results will reveal the story of the last nine months. It’s very possible weight loss–and well, all the healthy things that get you there–were all I ever needed. It happens! It’s usually the first recommendation made with these issues. The required physical activity makes your cells more sensitive to insulin, which is what you want. But I have been taking the medication, albeit imperfectly, so it may be a factor. And I have gained back more than eight pounds at this point! Just gotta wait for that new number.
Speaking of Numbers
My BMI currently sits on the technical edge of obesity, hovering where “overweight” ends. (I’m on a lot of cusps! A lot of fences. Go figure!) I’m not particularly concerned about that number. But out of curiosity, I looked again to see what weight would put me, with my height, in the ideal BMI range. And it’s another twenty pounds under my original goal! All I can say is, “Sheesh!” With all the work I’ve put into losing the first forty-six, and with the relative ease of gaining back The Big Twenty, I’m not sure I could swing that. But who knows? Maybe from my goal point I could. Maybe there could be a Little Twenty.
If I did, I’d be about where I was when I graduated from high school. I’m not sure what would be left; I like to think I’ve gained some substance!
However, a confession: the road from high school graduation to gestational diabetes was littered with empty pints of ice cream. This was, for sure, my main vice. Where others may have been binge drinking their way through college, I was having extra dessert. When I was pregnant, I joked that I needed it to sweeten the babies (it worked, by the way). Until I got that bad glucose test and had to back away from the sugar! Of course, when gestational diabetes was corrected by, well, delivery, I went back to old habits. And I’m sure that’s what got me back up to my heaviest non-pregnant weights ever.
In recent years, the last couple in particular, I’ve canned it. I still eat dessert. I still love ice cream. I still eat ice cream. I just don’t habitually eat it by the pint. I still could! I just don’t. MyFitnessPal deserves a lot of the credit for that change, simply because it’s hard to ignore the nutritional content of what you’re eating (and its effects) when you’re entering the information into a fitness app. You can’t ignore what you’re doing with your hands and seeing with your eyes. It also helps that I went back to school to prepare for a healthcare internship and came out with a nutrition credit. Sure, you can ignore what you know, but when you see it benefits you not to . . . so no more pints.
When I get my weight where I want it, every once in a while might not hurt. As long as I burn the evidence. On that note . . .
On the Fitness Tip
I felt the burn from my Easter Sunday walk (and some squats and a plank) for a couple days. Despite that, I got caught up and lost focus on strength training in the early part of the week. But it’s never too late to start again. So after checking off another four-mile walk on Thursday (making nigh on ten miles in ten days!), I did squats on Friday, with thunderstorms in the forecast ruling out more walking. I did not manage to get in a plank.
Planks, again, are good any day, whether I’m doing cardio or not. I aim to plank for the standard minimum thirty seconds, then try to endure two minutes. I’m not sure I ever have gotten to two minutes. Some days are closer than others, with my most impressive ones being on the last weight loss streak, not lately. However, I always see a benefit just from having tried. Planks, for core work, are just a win. But just as important, if not more so: squats.
The original squat challenge I did was a 28-day challenge that aimed to train me how to do squats properly, with the quantity increasing each day (five work days and two rest days), and the level of difficulty elevating each week. I learned how to do four different styles of squats, ending with the most advanced, and that’s what I still do. But a catch to the challenge: I had to start over whenever I missed a day. And I missed many. It was truly a challenge, and it took forever for me to get there. I actually started it long before I got the Type 2 diagnosis, and I didn’t finish it for a long while after. It might have been a year-long squat challenge by the time I completed it. But I did eventually build up the discipline to do it. Now I just shoot to get in my squats any given day. The standard recommendation for squats is fifty a day. Do I do fifty squats every day? Lord, no. But that is at least my target for the days I do strength. And yes, this is me trying to regain that discipline.
Today, I did my third four-mile walk in six days, and a plank just for the hell of it.
The initial 5-6 pounds seem to be holding off, according to my scale and the more reliable ones at the doctor’s office (still showing the same pattern). We’ll see what the next few days say.
And so, the mission continues, whether I’m taking medication or not!
What do you think? I would like to hear from you, but you won’t find the typical Comments section here. If you have given the issue some thought or have an experience to share, please enter it here, or send your response to Maude@mauvereport.com. I would love to hear how the rest of America is doing with this in 2021.