Tracking Is The Key To Success!

& On That Note, Game Plan Is ALMOST HERE!!

I'm Sooooooo excited!! I've been using my Game Plan system for a few months now, and it is about to be available through LeFever Wellness!!

I've really learned so much about my health in the last couple months because I've been tracking things from so many points of view. Anyway, more on that in the next couple days.

Just for Fun

Left: me at 203 lbs.
Right: me today at 150 lbs

My recent low was 138 lbs, but I was unhealthy due to my diabetes. Under-insulation was causing me to lose weight because I couldn't absorb the nutrients. Now I'm back on track, getting to a healthy weight, and gaining lean muscle weight.


At 203 lbs I was out WAY out of balance. No wonder I look so unhappy!

I'm A Little Off Balance - But What Else Is New?

Sleep
I haven't been sleeping enough. I've had a lot on my plate the last couple days so I've been burning the midnight oil. Good time for a weekend. I think I'll sleep in tomorrow.

Stress
My stress is up due to a few things going on in my life. On my 1 to 10 scale of stress I usually float around 1 or 2. Maybe that is just the healthy stress of having things to get done. I've been up around the 4 to 5 range lately. I'm curious to see what impact that will have.

Mood
I have been more positive about things lately. Since I've been actively making myself think about my mood I've noticed that my mood has actually improved. That said, I can tell that the slight skew in other areas of my health have caused some symptoms related to my mood. In particular I've noticed that my patience is a little short. To remedy that I've been trying to bubble up a little bit, realize that the small things are small, and focus on the more important things. My beautiful 2 year old daughter is always happy to help, and spending time with her and my wonderful wife is a great way to remember what is truly important! Of course, these are my wonderful girls, you will have to go get some of your own. I highly recommend it!

Exercise
I didn't technically get my workout in, but I DID spend an hour or so cleaning up the house, and we walked about a mile and a half or more with friends down to get yogurt. So I guess that counts as having some activity in my day. My body definitely has that "I've been walking" feeling, so that is a good sign.

Nutrition
My calorie intake is WAY down. I think it is so interesting that, just by eating when I am hungry, my caloric needs can fluctuate almost 1,000 calories! When I'm regularly doing my P90X workouts (I need to start that again so keep me accountable Dale E.!) I eat about 2,500 calories. But I'm between 1,500 and 1,700 calories now. That might actually be a little off now that I think about it. I haven't completely had an appetite recovery since being sick, so it might come up to about 2,000 calories when I'm off P90X, for a fluctuation of about 500 calories.

Medication
On a positive note, my insulin needs haven't gone up that much. Although, that is likely because I'm just not eating as many carbs. When I'm doing P90X I need more carbs for the extra energy, which in turn requires more insulin. I'm probably also benefiting from the lasting effects of the exercise I've done, my work out yesterday, and the activity I had today. It all counts, and I can see the effects in the level of insulin dependent.

I don't think of myself as Type 1 diabetic, I think of myself as an insulin dependent diabetic. If you are insulin dependent (or dependent on any medication) the question is, "how dependent are you?" I mean, I have to have it, but it is nice to see that I am doing OTHER THINGS than just relying on the medicine to solve my problem. And actually, by doing those other things I get a combined approach to solving my issue, which is always better.

What Will I Do About It?

Well, I need to bubble up a bit and look at the big picture. The last week and a half there have been a number of big things come up. I've had to prioritize those things over my health. Life happens, and that is part of life. But the key is to contain it. If your lifestyle becomes the problem, then you are really in trouble.

So, I need to start by assessing my big life priorities. My health is one of these, because without it I can't live longer, happier, and spend more and better quality time with the people I love.

With that called out, I need to begin a small recovery phase to bring things back in line. I pushed things a bit to get through a couple little bumps. Fine. Now lets get back to it. I'm going to sleep in tomorrow (if my daughter will let me), get in a good workout, and eat some healthy food. I'm going to relax a bit, because I need some down time.

Then I'm going to focus on getting back into a routine that incorporates the healthy things in my life. You know and love them, and we talk about them all the time; sleep more, stress down, mood up, nutrient dense, exercise well, and consistent medication.

How Are You Trending?

NOTE what is going on up there. As I track, I notice and observe differences base on what is going on with my body. Are YOU this in tune with your body? If not, you should be. Take diabetes out of the equation - we can all be Liveabetics. Everyone should have some general idea about how many calories they eat, sleep they get, exercise they do, stress they are under, general mood, and medication requirements. These things will change over time, and you must be aware of the changes.

KNOWING HOW YOU ARE TRENDING IS CRITICAL TO YOUR SUCCESS

Think of it like this. Do you know how much you earn, or how much is in your bank account, how long it takes you to drive to work, what time your lunch break is, etc.? To live practically I guess these are important, but in the grand scheme of things they are fairly small. You won't be laying on your death bed thinking, "if only I had spent more time commuting to work." But you may be thinking, "geez, I wish I had taken better care of myself, got more exercise, eaten better, and spent more time with the ones I love."

It doesn't matter if you just "blew it" eating a whole pile of those delicious onion rings, a massive dinner, and the over sized piece of chocolate cake (mmm cake!) at the restaurant with friends. Tomorrow is a new day, so lets start it off right. ARE YOU WITH ME?

If I can get 1 person this week to start taking an active role in living better, my Liveabetic movement will have been successful. Are YOU that person? If so, leave me a comment and tell me and all the other Liveabetics out there that you are going to start kicking butt and getting healthy!

This weekend I'm going to sleep in, smile more, get some exercise, and eat healthy. If you are motivated to do better, comment and let me know! It will motivate me to do better with my help, and will hopefully inspire others to do the same!