Obese, diabetic with high BP; need help with food addiction
Diagnosed 1 year ago. Can't take Metformin or Glipizide due to side effects. Felt like a zombie, could hardly do my work. Didn't make much difference in my levels as I am also a food addict. Weight at 312 (was 320 2 1/2 weeks ago). A1C at 10.2 and sugar was 345 on Saturday morning. Feel better off the Meds, actually walking and getting to the gym. I know a lot of this will get better if I lose the weight.
Anyone out there a food addict like myself? How are you coping?
Also would like to know if there are any vitamins that help with the high blood pressure or the diabetes since the meds only make it worse for me.
Thank you in advance for any help.
Minda
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Thanks, @ihatediabetes, the idea of a women's club is a great idea. It is usually less intimidating. @contentandwell do you have a women's exercise club in your area? Teresa
@ihatediabetes It sounds like a great club. I go to a co-ed one but there are two gyms. They are both co-ed but the downstairs one is for the people who are doing more strenuous things (my son goes to that one when he visits and I bring him along) and the upstairs one has equipment but not a lot of weight lifting. I chose this club because I do a lot of pool exercises and it's one of the only facilities with a pool. It's not the other people that intimidate me, it's the darned equipment. MY PT said he would go with me sometime and help me get started but so far I have not heard from him on that. It is not an inexpensive club but they rarely have trainers around to ask questions to; I think they should. Other than that I really like the place. My husband won't go there because he thinks it's a "snob club", but it is not at all. Very down to earth people there, and everyone is very friendly.
JK
@hopeful33250 Teresa, unfortunately no women's club around here despite there being some type of facility on almost every corner! The only all women place for exercise was Curves and they all seem to no longer be around. I have no idea what they had there.
JK
@contentandwell Yes, Curves was what I was thinking of. They were a low impact circuit-type of exercise place. (You only spent a few minutes on each machine) They used some strength training, but it was all developed for women so you did not have the heavy weights to deal with. Some of the Curves in this area have closed as well, there are 1 or 2 still open, though. Perhaps you can find something else. Maybe the Y will offer some low impact aerobic classes? The important thing about exercise is to do something that you enjoy, you will be more faithful to the exercise if you enjoy it. Best wishes!
Teresa
@contentandwell Pool walking is one of my favorite exercises as well. It is gentle on the knees as well as the other joints. Teresa
@ihatediabetes Your understanding of your anxiety and how it affects your eating habits reflects some great INSIGHT! I especially like the phrase, "It really helps to pick up heavy things just to deplete me of anxiety." Yes, exercise does that, doesn't it? Thanks again for your posts, they represent insight, encouragement as well as education for everyone! Teresa
Teresa, yes I am monitoring myself since I am going through the Healthy Living Program. It's an intervention. I think they encourage you to be introspective. So I am paying attention to my thoughts and behaviors. I actually noticed that since I have been hiking I can actually sense my body better. I can feel hungry after and during hiking. So I carry snacks like granola bar or a mix of nuts and dry cranberries. I also carry a bottle of water in my coat pocket. I actually found myself dumping out some of the water because I knew I only needed two thirds of it and didn't want to carry extra weight. Then I don't carry more snacks than I need. I eat a few pieces and then I can feel exactly when it's enough. I know exactly how much water I need to be comfortable. I haven't felt this awareness before hiking miles at a time carrying only what I needed. So much of modern life is going through drive-thru for burger, fries, pop. You certainly can't tell when you had just enough when you get a burger combo with 1200 calories put in a bag on your carseat. People drive and eat at same time. How can they tell when they're full? Of course they can't. They're driving! So I discovered for myself what it feels like to be hungry from hiking and taking in small amounts of food and water to continue hiking. It's a new experience for me. I think that's why I noticed I was snacking when I was anxious. I could compare eating from hiking versus eating from anxiety. It felt totally different. Eating from anxiety feeds the anxiety not a physical need. To me that's an epiphany.
@rosemarya Thanks for the testimonial! Teresa
@hopeful33250 I do the water aerobics, depending on the instructor that lasts between 45 minutes to an hour. After that, and on days when I do not make the class, I do either another 30 - 45 minutes walking in the water, vigorously, or an hour at least if I have not been in the pool for class. I hate going but I am glad afterwards. I am a fairly sociable person but I really hate it when people start talking to me because that slows me down and when I am in the pool I want to be done with it.
My club is really quite good, I have to look into more options. In all of the classes the instructors know the participants; weaknesses and problem areas and they make sure we tailor the exercises to ourselves. I have done Zumba in the past, may do it again, and I do Pilates Reformer now. There are many other types of things they have, I need to explore more. It's a good sized club with so many options.
JK
@contentandwell It sounds like we have similar tastes in exercise. I do not attend the water exercise classes, but like to walk in the water and move my arms at my own speed. When I exercise, I just enjoy going at my own pace. It works better than trying to keep up with an instructor, that way I can tailor the exercise and not get too tired. It sounds like you have a lot of variety in your exercise plan. Teresa