Random Fun Shots

This is what happens when a princess goes to sleep putting her lipstick on..it ends up on her cheek, her forehead, and a little on her lips.

How the kids spent most of their time on the trampoline at Rader's...falling off :)

My beauty :) I just adore this girl!

Salads!!

I have always liked salads. Now that I am prediabetic I am on the look out for foods that have no sugar or carbs. Salads fit the bill!

I eat at least one salad each day. I have several variations that taste amazing! I always add a chopped up hard boiled egg and cheddar cheese. Those ingredients alone make an awesome salad. When I want to make it an entire meal I add bacon, sesame chicken, or taco meat.

I am now three weeks into this new lifestyle and I LOVE it! I feel amazing! Finding out about my blood sugar problems has been such a blesssing :)

So go eat a salad!

Fall Happenings

My boys are so awesome! I love Joshua's Mr. Cool look :)

We had a great time at Rader's, the trampoline was awesome!

The kids liked all the other activities as well :)

Joshua loves shooting with Grandpa Tucker!

Elliana loves it when mommy plays dress up with her. Mommy puts fancy clothes on her and does her hair in an up-do :) Mommy loves teaching her daughter about beauty, femininity, and celebrating being a girl!

Asher reading The Mouse & the Motorcycle. He is a great reader!

Learning Curve

There are so many different things to learn in this new eating lifestyle. I have been doing a lot of research and I am learning new things almost everyday.

Just yesterday I learned that "sugar free" does not mean sugar free. Items marked sugar free contain sugar alcohols. These sugar alcohols raise blood sugar levels the same as sugar. So you must count the grams of sugar alcohol as grams of sugar.

I had a very yummy lunch today that contained 5 grams of sugar and 2 servings of carbs. I had a small portion of a honey crisp apple (probably 1/5) and tuna fish with lettuce on a wheat pita. I am drooling just looking at this picture!

Another Yummy Meal :)

I made turkey tacos for my family last week. A favorite around here. I knew that I wasn't going to eat a traditional taco due to the carbs in the tortilla. So I came up with my own spin on tacos and it is so yummy! I made a salad using a spring mix of lettuce (0 g sugar/0carbs), cheddar cheese, chopped up egg, and taco meat. It was so good! And it had no sugar or carbs!!! No more tortillas for me! :)

Taco Seasoning:
1 tablespoon chili powder
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon onion powder
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 teaspoon sea salt
1 teaspoon black pepper

Add 2 tablespoons, of the above mixture, and 2/3 cup water to ground turkey (or beef).

My computer won't rotate pictures at the moment, so tilt your head to the right :)

It is day 12 of limited sugar and I feel GREAT! I have a feeling some of my chocoholic friends are thinking "Oh, poor Amy..." If these thoughts cross your mind, you are mistaken. I would not go back to eating sugar and a ton of carbs! That way of eating was literally making me sick. Why would I want to go back to being sick?? I love eating healthy and keeping myself on track :)
I will add more great recipes as I find/create them :)

Lunch & Snacks

This my favorite low sugar/low carb lunch right now -

A salad with cheddar cheese and egg and a pepperoni pizza. This entire meal contains 5 grams of sugar and 2 servings of carbs (the salad is 1 g sugar/0 serv. carbs, the pizza is 4 g sugar/2 serv. carbs). It is really yummy!

The pizza crust is a whole wheat pita. Simply stick it in the oven for a few minutes to get it a little toasted. Then add a little ragu pizza sauce, some cheese, and pepperoni. Pop it back in the oven until it looks good. The kids love these little pizzas!

I have found some good substitutes for sweets. I want to lessen my desire for treats. So I do not indulge in these very often.

I have not tried the Dove sugar free chocolates yet. But my kids have and they LOVE them.

One treat I have made for myself is a mixture of the sesame sticks and sugar free chocolate chips. I liked this treat before I had to give up sugar. It tastes just as good with the sugar free chocolate chips.

One serving of sesame sticks (1/3 cup) mixed with 2 tablespoons of sugar free chocolate chips = 0 grams of sugar/ 2 servings of carbs. Because it takes up two servings of carbs, it isn't something to eat everyday. As much as possible we need those servings to be veggies and whole grains.

Good and Not So Good

I have discovered many foods that I thought were healthy that contain a lot of hidden sugar and carbs. With the kids we want to limit their sugar and have them eat good whole grain carbs.
The Yoplait strawberry/banana yogurt contains 33 g of sugar in each 1 cup serving (Asher's favorite yogurt). Yoplus has 15 grams of sugar (this is my yogurt, or it was, too much sugar for me now!).

These yogurt cups contain 15 grams of sugar (Elliana's yogurt). The best choice would be Fage yogurt. It contains a lot of protein and only 7 grams of sugar. But my kids won't eat greek yogurt. So the yogurt cups are my best option right now (for Elliana). And a small portion of the yoplait strawberry/banana is my best choice for Asher. I will be combing the yogurt section for a better choice! Or I will be dropping yogurt all together.

Whole wheat pitas and whole grain english muffins are good choices for carbs. I will be posting yummy recipes I have found using these products. The pitas have less than 1 gram of sugar and the english muffins contain 1 gram of sugar.

String cheese and healthy popcorn are a good snack option. My kids will not eat string cheese . But two of them like popcorn!

This is another example of a food that I thought was really healthy. The applesauce contains 12 grams of sugar in 1/2 a cup! My kids eat 1 cup at a sitting! The Honey Crisp apple has 17 grams of sugar. My kids normally split an apple between the three of them. So the apple is a better choice. But an entire apple would be too much sugar for one of them.

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So I have a few good snack options for right now-popcorn, apples (split between them), whole grain english muffins, and wheat pitas.

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Unfortunately, Asher is a picky eater. He has a sweet tooth like his mama. He also does not like meat. In order to get him some protein I will be giving him a small portion of the yoplait yogurt (similar to the size of the yogurt cups). But I will find more choices as I continue on this sugar/bad carbs war!

A New Challenge

4 triathlons, numerous 5K's, hours upon hours of training, and a 1/2 marathon are behind me. So what do I take on next? Prediabetes.

Two days after completing my 1/2 marathon I had a routine physical. I had some concerns and it had been years since my last check up. Here were a few of my major questions-

1. I could not lose weight. In fact I was struggling to stop myself from gaining. All of this weight was showing up in my waist. Something that I knew was not good.
2. I cut out a little sugar and I felt better.
3. At times I would get so hungry I would feel as though I was going to vomit. Grabbing something high in sugar would make me feel instantly better.

During my physical the doctor informed me that I was probably prediabetic. I am well aware of prediabetes and diabetes. My mother has been diabetic for 20 years. I have two uncles and one grandpa that are also diabetic. And just this year diabetes was a huge factor in the death of another grandpa. But what I was not aware of was that type 2 diabetes is genetic. I had always been told that people get type 2 diabetes from making bad choices. I was not making bad choices. But with so many relatives affected by this disease, it is obvious the doctor was correct, genes do play a huge role.

The doctor put me on a very strict eating plan. I am allowed to eat 15 grams of sugar and 6 servings of carbs each day (each serving of carbs is 20 g, but 21 g is considered two servings.). I have been very surprised at how much sugar is in the foods we eat. An apple is 15 grams of sugar. That is all I can eat the entire day! One cup of green beans is 2 grams of sugar and 1 serving of carbs. Half a cup of strawberries contain 4 grams of sugar. In addition, carbs are everywhere! I can eat these foods, but I have a very limited supply of sugar and carbs I can eat each day. It is a huge balancing act.

I have been eating this way for 1 week. I have lost 5.2 pounds and 2 1/2 inches in my waist. Think maybe I have a blood sugar problem?? I also feel like a different person. Like I am walking out of a fog. Aaron says I talk more. I am slowly getting back to normal :)

I had a lot of blood tests done and I have now heard the results. The tests confirm the doctors suspicions. My a1c blood glucose test came back at 5.9. The normal a1c number for someone who does not have diabetes is 5 or below. Someone with a 6 is considered to be a diabetic who is managing their diabetes well.

In addition to this news, I was told that I am extremely deficient in magnesium. My thyroid is not working optimally and I am very deficient in vitamin D. Magnesium is very important to muscles. How in the world was I able to compete in triathlons, and train and run a 1/2 marathon?

So my new challenge is to get healthy. I have a doctors appointment in three months to recheck all of my blood work. This may not be a physically exhausting challenge, but it is far more important than a triathlon or 1/2 marathon.

I am putting all the dedication, perseverance, heart, and tenacity that I have into prediabetes. I will do everything I can to lower that a1c number. It will be difficult. The nurse informed me that she has seen people lower their number by .2 (point 2!), but it was hard. My response, just wait and see. I will surprise you.

But there is also another challenge for Aaron and I. My kids carry my genes. We are determined to lower the amount of sugar and carbs they consume. That will require the help of family and friends. Think twice before offering a snack high in sugar and carbs. If you need food ideas, feel free to ask. Because we love them, we will be diligent to make sure that they eat a low sugar and carbs diet.

1/2 Marathon Photos

Sprinting to the finish line. People were yelling "way to finish" and "go sprinter!" It was fun :)

There were a ton of great moments during the race, here are a few...

1. Running behind a couple of ladies with the verse "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me" on the back of their shirts. A great motivator. I almost felt bad when I passed them, but not really :)

2. I was about 8 miles into the race when a great christian song came on the radio. It was about how each moment in life is important. During one line of the song it says "it doesn't matter how far you've run, but how much you've loved" I wanted to yell '"now you tell me" :)

3. When I approached the finish line I heard Aaron yell "Go Amy!!"

4. Laughing (inside) at the people who started walking a 1/2 mile into the race..really??

5. Running across the 74 bridge, it was beautiful :)

6. Watching the marathon winners run past me. They make it look so easy!

7. Crossing the finish line and knowing I had beat my goal time by 15 minutes!

8. My kids telling me "you were fast!" Oh how I love them :)

If you are wondering how I'm feeling..well lets just say I'm hobbling :) But I am looking forward to next year!

2:15 Baby!

I completed my first half marathon this morning! I had two goals 1-run the entire 13 miles 2-finish by 2:30. I am happy to say that both goals were met :) I finished at about 2 hours 15 minutes! :)

Me and the kids after the race