July Check Up

Well, I had my sixth month blood work done last week and, well, my cholesterol isn't great but it isn't terrible yet, either. Probably doesn't help that I forget to take my Cholestoff half the time. But in worse news, my A1C wasn't entirely wonderful, either. He said it's still in the safe range but is edging toward pre-diabetic stage. Not. Great.

Soooooo...yeah. I'm cutting back on carbs and fast food. Also upping the activity level as much as I can. It helps that all the projects I have at work are ones where I move a lot. Even though I'm pretty sure it's mostly water weight, I have apparently lost seven pounds since last Tuesday. I say it's probably water weight because I didn't eat out at all last week until Friday when I had a work dinner. Have been drinking a lot more water, too, so I'm staying  hydrated and flushing all the bad stuff. We'll see after this week if I continue to lose.

It's a struggle, this whole "cutting down on carbs" thing. I love carbs. White potatoes. Ice cream. Sugar in my coffee. I can do without bread, normally, but I do like actual buns with my hamburgers. Fortunately, I got into the habit of eating whole wheat bread and buns years ago after my mother was diagnosed diabetic.

I also am making changes to my budget to help keep me from spending so much on take out. It's ridiculous, but to be completely honest, I was spending over $160 a month on take out and Starbucks--neither of which are any good for me. Plus, thinking of all the money I've wasted on food and beverages, outside of what I spend on groceries that I cook or prepare--it's kinda really sad. Not only am I hurting my body by putting all that junk in it so often but I'm also wasting a LOT of money that I could be putting toward paying off credit cards or repairing things around my house or any number of useful things! I'm so MAD at myself that I am so weak as to give into temptation so much. Depression and stress aside are two big factors, I know, but by giving in I'm letting stress and depression win.

That, I can not do.

So I'm making a commitment to myself. I'm putting aside at least half of the money I would normally spend on take out, forcing myself to not buy what I don't need. Hopefully by the end of the year I will have saved a nice chunk of change AND permanently lost a good number of pounds AND brought down my cholesterol and A1C.

From my lips/fingers to God's ears/eyes.