Sunday Funday.

Well Thanksgiving is over and it's now 'Tis the season. Today I joined a gym so that I can walk on the treadmill; the only exercise I have permission to do. It's cold here in Minnesota; there won't be any walking outside for this girl.

Last week I had blood work for my endo appt. All my numbers were great, including my cholesterol which is a blessing considered last time it was checked it was really high. I've never had high cholesterol in my life but then in the last 6 months I had this crazy idea to go on an egg diet where I basically ate eggs all day every day (protein) and the blood work showed my stupidity. My doctor asked "what happened in the last few months" and I told him about my egg idea and he put the kabash on that straight away. Put me on a limit of 2 egg yolks a week (unlimited egg whites) and voila, my cholesterol is back to being very low.

A couple of numbers didn't come back awesome- my white blood cell count and my thyroid test. No big deal tho; a tweak to my thyroid medication should take care of both of those issues.

But the number I always dread is the A1c. I knew it wouldn't be great because after my spinal cord repair let's just say that keeping my blood sugar in line wasn't exactly a priority. My A1c went up .4, from the previous 6.3 to now 6.7. Not horrible but still a disappointment because I have this goal of getting it down to 6 or lower. I guess I want it that low because then I feel I have a "cushion" for when things go awry (like spinal cord surgery!) and it goes up. But if you are already starting a little higher, then it doesn't give as much of a cushion for it to go up and be in a range that I feel happy with.

The other number that needs a little work is my weight. My forced sedentary lifestyle put some extra fat on me and I am on a mission to get rid of the extra weight by the end of the year or at least by the end of January. My goal weight is 118. That is where I look and feel my best. I'm 125 now so I think a 7 lb goal is attainable. I'm very small boned and a small amount of added weight on me gives me a muffin top AND a double chin. I know that sounds ridiculous but after some recent pictures taken of me I almost fell off my chair. I looked horrible. Everyone has a weight that they look (and feel) their best and mine is 118-ish.

I started the Paleo way of eating last week and so far it's been great. It's not a big change from how I was eating prior, except that it cuts out grains. I can't say I'll never eat grains again but after reading a lot on the Paleo's claims that grains cause inflammation and a host of other issues, I'm curious to see if I feel a difference when not eating them. So it's more of an experiment for me. If I don't feel different after about 2 months, I will reincorporate healthy grains back into my diet. I thought now would be a good time so then I won't feel as left out at the holidays when I can't eat any cookies or pies. Having celiac disease sort of ruined the holiday eating for me, so at least eating Paleo I can pretend THAT is the reason I'm not eating any of those beautiful desserts that are around me during the month of December.

Last night I went to the natural food co-op and ended up introducing myself to someone in the freezer aisle that I could tell was struggling with making a decision on a gluten free bread selection. I seem to always end up doing this when I go to this store; it seems to be a haven for celiacs, especially that frozen food aisle where all the GF frozen goods are. I like helping people and after her and I talked for a while, I found out that she, her 3 kids, her brother and her brother's daughter all have celiac disease. One of her children becomes violently ill when he ingests gluten and must be hospitalized. I suggested that she take advantage of the Mayo Clinic's Celiac Clinic right here in Minnesota, where they offer top-notch care and cutting edge research for celiac disease. We are so lucky to have the Mayo Clinic just one hour away. What a blessing that is.

I was up early today because as you know Sunday's are my chop & prep days for food for the week. I'll be making a chicken curry dish in the crock pot (from a paleo cookbook), chopping up lots of veggies for snacks, cleaning chicken for a chicken stir fry later in the week and chopping up lettuce for salads. Oh and of course I need to boil about a dozen eggs to have on hand for last minute breakfasts or snacks. And yes, I'm only eating the egg whites :)

Then back to the weekly grind tomorrow...