Fat Tuesday

Somehow, Fat Tuesday has a more positive meaning for me now than in years past. It used to stand for overindulgence and gluttony right before a period of sacrifice and reflection. Now it should be renamed SUGAR Tuesday for me. Although I have no intention of having one last dive into sugar before the season of Lent begins.

Fat is now my friend. Healthy fat. (some would say that is an oxymoron much like jumbo shrimp!) Fat is what keeps me satiated and away from the sugars that are deadly for this type 2 diabetic.

A shout out to my good SparkFriend _Ramona for sending me some more information and tools to use to work on lowering my blood glucose levels. She sent me links for www.bloodsugar101.com that have given me a program to follow to lower my blood sugars. This protocol involves checking my blood glucose levels about 7 times per day in effort to gain a better understanding of how certain foods interact with my system. The protocol itself helps keep me on track. BS levels are checked upon arising in the morning for a fasting blood sugar reading and then I check 1 hour after a meal and then 2 hours after a meal to see how the foods I am eating affect my blood glucose levels.

The website has some very good information and links that are proving helpful to me.

So far my postprandial readings are within the target levels. The big mystery remains; why are my fasting glucose readings always higher in the a.m. than my bedtime readings. My doctor suggested that one possible cause is sleep apnea which triggers the release of cortisol because of the stress, which triggers the of release glucagon. I may have to take the test to see if my sleep is being interrupted just to see if that has anything to do with it. As always, there is more to discover.

As with any medical condition, knowledge gives power. The sense of controlling your condition gives you hope. I saw this power at work when my young son and I came up with "protocols" to deal with his asthma episodes.

I have yet to decide what sacrifices I will make this Lenten season, but that is my goal for today.

I had a priest once who would always say, with cheerleader-like enthusiasm, "Let's make this the best Lent EVER!" It always made me cringe, but I get what he was getting at. Any opportunity for reflection, sacrifice and spiritual enlightenment is one that should be taken advantage of. So I will attempt to make this my best Lent EVER! I hope you will do the same.

Happy Fat Tuesday everyone! I may just celebrate with some grass-fed butter and coconut oil in my coffee!