I have medical coverage for the first time in over three years - hooray! Which translates into doctor visits, of course. Those visits have been informative, with my learning that I've gained more weight than I want to accept. I knew that I'd gained weight, but the reality left me with my mouth wide open in shock. Oh, and I discovered that I have high cholesterol and am pre-diabetic. Definitely a wake up call. A very loud wake up call!
Of course, dealing with western medicine, the first option given me was to take medications. I have a resistance to that; I don't like taking them. Chemicals! I'm already surrounded by chemicals and toxins in my everyday environment; in the personal care, household items and foods that are fraudulently claimed to be safe. And if, with my limited resources, I have struggled to lessen those things as much as possible - why would I want to swallow half a dozen or a dozen different medications when every single one of them would have side effects that would create new problems?
For my high cholesterol and pre-diabetes, my Doctor has agreed to let me address them via aggressive diet and lifestyle changes. I'd already started making some of those changes on my own, so I now have further incentives, lol.
Those changes include eating (something healthy, of course!) every three hours and this is, for someone prone to skipping meals, a huge challenge. For someone who spent the first forty years of her life dieting, it just feels wrong to be eating so often!
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| An example of a meal that I won't be eating, lol! |
And then there's the physical part! How does someone with chronic pain AND multiple non-visible physical disabilities move their body; exercise; without being overwhelmed and felled by pain? No stair climbing, jogging, aerobics, weights. No long walks, no jumping jacks, no weights. No kayaking, softball or volleyball. There's not a whole lot left, but I'm working on it! Oh, and I'll toss in a complete lack of funds here too - for those of you wanting to share that yoga, etc. would be perfect. But hey, if you want to donate funds for a class or DVD, we can talk!
A lot of changes; a lot of learning new ways to be in my body and changing how I treat my body.
I'll be writing some posts about those changes. What I'm doing and how - both with my diet, shopping habits and with my body. I'll even toss in some great recipes as I discover them. And I have! Good food still exists!
I'll leave you with this recipe that I discovered in an old magazine for diabetics. I made it for a picnic recently and it was a hit with everybody - and not one person knew it was low in fat/calories! I'm just going to have to make sure that I share each one that I make, because it would be too tempting to eat the entire thing myself. It's that good!
Luscious Lemon Cheesecake
Ingredients:
1 graham cracker, crushed, divided
2/3 C boiling water
1 small pkg Sugar free lemon jello
1 C 2% cottage cheese
8 oz fat free cream cheese
2 C thawed sugar free whipped cream
Spray non stick cooking spray lightly into an 8 or 9 inch pie plate. Sprinkle 1/2 of the crumbs onto the sides of the pie plate.
Stir the boiling water into jello in a large bowl until completely dissolved. Pour into a blender container. Add cheeses, cover and blend on medium speed until smooth.
Pour into a large bowl and gently stir in whipped cream. Pour into your prepared pan, smoothing the top. Sprinkle the remaining crumbs around the outside edge.
Refrigerate about 4 hours or until set.
Makes 8 servings and leftovers should be stored in the refrigerator.
Per serving: 100 calories, 2g total fat, 10mg cholesterol, 11g carbs, 5g sugar
