Cooking for myself

I hate to blame my problems over the past two years with my health on my job, but I can’t discount the effect that it had on me as well. For the first two years of teaching, I was always on the go between schools, playing catch up everywhere I went. Part of this working lifestyle was that I ate along the way, never really having (or taking) the time to have a healthy meal. My first year I ate 90% Subway for lunch. While parts of the meals at Subway are healthier than other fast food joints, overall I found it’s not that healthy.

Last year, I relied mainly on meals from the store Fresh and Easy, mainly salads. This was better for me, but because I was eating salad, I supplemented other food into my meals as well that wasn’t as healthy.

This year, I am at mainly one school all day, which means I can bring a lunch with me, and heat it up. Money-wise this has been a blessing, because eating on the go gets expensive after awhile. So far this year I’ve relied mainly on frozen meals, majority of which have been the Healthy Choice Steamer meals.

As a part of my new commitment to my health, I am trying to commit to bringing something homemade for lunch everyday, whether it be a reheated dinner or something I prepared especially for lunch.

A couple of nights ago I made a Beef and Cabbage Casserole It was not too bad, although I over did the melted cheese on top, and I didn’t use the right size dish. I paired that with a salad of mixed greens, corn, and black beans, with a creamy cilantro dressing, and I had some thyme and garlic artisan bread. In the diet I am trying to stick by, I want to have a high content of vegetables, low amount of carbs, and at least some of the rest of the food groups, because I want to have a balanced diets of meats, veggies, and grains.

I’m not sure what I will try next, hopefully something tonight so I have some leftovers to bring to lunch tomorrow.

It’s a New Day (2nd Attempt)

It was at 5am 6 days ago that I finally realized enough is enough. I was feeling bedraggled, tired, and sick. Sick was just the beginning of it; throughout the course of the day I ended up vomiting approximately 10-12 times, seeing the doctor, and calling in sick. The next day I had to call in sick as well. Finally on the third day I made it back to work, though not quite up to snuff yet, I was able to function.

 

My follow-up appointment with my doctor was Friday morning. The diagnosis was Diabetic Ketoacidosis. This is the second time in a little over a year that I’ve been diagnosed with this condition, which has a good potential of being fatal. The last time I had it, I ended up in the ICU for three days. This time my doctor helped me get back with out having to incur those costs again.

 

I’ve decided enough is enough. I’ve had too many close calls, too many ups and downs, too much yo-yoing between being healthy and not, between living comfortably and not. I’ve been letting my diabetic condition control my life, and I’m ready to take the control back. It’s not going to be an easy process, I need support that I’ve refused or ignored in the past. I need to give up my pride and admit that at this point in time, I am not able to handle this all on my own like I thought I could. Thankfully, I have my best friend who has decided he needs to change his unhealthy habits as well. I think with him and any other friends I can draw support from I can be the independent person I’ve always strived to be, even with Diabetes.

 

For my own uses, I will be keeping a blog about what I’m doing to fulfill this goal, what research I’ve done to get there, and to just talk about whatever I need to in relation to this process. If you are a friend of mine who wants to help me out, I’ve got a request. Keep track of this blog, bug me if I don’t update it, because if I don’t update it, it probably means I’m getting lazy again.

 

Today I feel brand new, and I’m dedicating myself to trying to feel this way as much as possible from here on out!