2022 - Moving forward

jwil

I can't say I'm feeling particularly better this morning, but I've constructed a new plan.

I know that I need to have my next blood test in December.  I also know that I've made lots of changes, which whilst they don't seem to have impacted my weight much, I hope they will have affected my blood results.

The audiobook that I am listening to at the moment which is about diabetes, lists many of the symptoms that I am experiencing as side effects of diabetes.  So I can assume that maybe it's all related in my case.

My plan therefore is to collect evidence of what I am doing over the next 3 months until I have my blood tests.  If my bloods have improved, then all well and good and I'll know that I am making progress.  If they haven't improved, or if any of my symptoms continue, then I will be able to go to the GP armed with 3 months worth of detail about what I have tried, and hopefully they will listen to me.  If not, at that point, I will try the private appointment.  In the meantime I'm going to double check what health services I can access through work.

To measure my progress:
1.  The Active 10 app.  I like this app as it measures whether you walk at a fast enough pace for health benefits.  You can aim for as many 'active 10s' as you want.  I am going to try and reach 150 minutes of brisk activity a week (15 x active 10s).  It also counts how much you walk overall, so it may say something like you walked for 200 minutes overall and 150 of those were active minutes.
2. The NHS weight loss app.  I've reset it and input my current weights and measurements.  I am going to try and track my calorie count even though the thought fills me with horror.  Something is stopping me losing weight so I can only assume it's too many calories still.  It has set me an allowance of 2483 calories and reckons I could be 17lb lighter in 12 weeks.  The only potential bad point here is I might eat more processed food in terms of ease of counting, but I shall try and avoid that.
3. Continue with time restricted eating.  This is working really well for me, and I hope is making a difference.  What I've read so far suggests that even those who don't change their diets see improvements in bloods, so I'm hoping that I definitely will.  I eat in a 10 hour window usually from 9am-7pm.
4. Continue with all the other changes I've already made.
5.  Try and squeeze in time for myself and be proactive about chasing it.  I've blocked out lunchbreaks of 30 minutes in my calendar every day, and will try and expand these where I can so I can have an hour or so to give me time to do stuff at home.  I've also cancelled my attendance at a meeting today as I have a lot of other things I need to do as a priority and I don't think I need to be there.

BalanceBy50

Really sorry to hear that you aren't feeling 100% you and you have done a great job with your action plan.  I think tracking how you feel and having this data should make sure you are taken seriously.

Take care and make sure you do find time for yourself xx

jwil

ladyholly said:

Keep going Jwil. I think many people feel like that sometimes. Stop the world I want to get off or more colloquially **** off and leave me alone.

Thank you.  I definitely like the colloquial version better

jwil

BalanceBy50 said:

Really sorry to hear that you aren't feeling 100% you and you have done a great job with your action plan.  I think tracking how you feel and having this data should make sure you are taken seriously.

Take care and make sure you do find time for yourself xx

Thank you.  Hopefully it will be more motivating for me as well.

doingitanyway

TRI works well for me when I want to shift weight and reset my BS. I note you are doing 9-7. I get the best results when my eating window is over 8 hours. It is easier for me as I'm not managing the eating for a family so that might not work for you?

Anyway, great plan. Hope things ease for you too.

jwil

doingitanyway said:

TRI works well for me when I want to shift weight and reset my BS. I note you are doing 9-7. I get the best results when my eating window is over 8 hours. It is easier for me as I'm not managing the eating for a family so that might not work for you?

Anyway, great plan. Hope things ease for you too.

Thank you   I've been reading about it, and whilst 8 hours is most popular, it seems there are benefits to be gained from 12 hours and 10 hours.  10 hours seemed to be a sweet spot between getting the most benefit and it being easy to stick to.  I've chosen to do that for now, and I'm finding it manageable.  8 hours would be a challenge for me right now, but it means I've still got somewhere to go if I need to cut back later on.  In reality, most days I don't eat at 9am sharp and finish at 7pm sharp so I'm more likely to be around a 9 hour window, so I'm getting closer!

doingitanyway

We are all different. Eight works for me, but the most important thing is doing what fits best for you  

jwil

doingitanyway said:

We are all different. Eight works for me, but the most important thing is doing what fits best for you  

Definitely.  Because I've got so much to lose, I like to keep something back to reduce in the future.  I'm not sure if it's a good strategy or not as perhaps I don't get the motivation of fully cutting back, but hopefully it makes it easier in the future once I've got good habits in place.

jwil

Today has been an eye opener as I've never counted calories before properly.  Despite not eating particularly well at lunchtime today, I am well within my (extremely generous) calorie allowance and even if I have something else in a minute, which I don't think I will, I'm not going to come close to reaching it.

Bulking up my meals with fruit and veg clearly makes a huge difference.

Despite my huff, I did make myself walk the kids to school this morning, and have learned that I don't mind the discomfort so much if I feel I've earned it.  So when I'm sitting around and aching, it's more bothersome than when I'm aching and I know I've done some exercise.  Hopefully I can use that to motivate me to keep going.

In MSE stuff, DH sold another 8 items, so they have been packed and posted.  I've cashed out a couple of times on surveys but haven't actually sent the extra to the mortgage this month as things are tight.  I've just carried on padding as normal.  I see how things look after this weekend when it should all get quieter again.

savingholmes

Good luck with getting the diabetes more under control. 

I need to do TRE again. I lost half a pound this week after several weeks of putting back on... I need to reset.