Many of you who have been reading my column over the last several years know that I have a love-hate relationship with exercise, mostly leaning toward the hate (though hate is a strong word that should not be used too often, as I have told my own children many, many times).##M:[more]##
My habit has been to jump on the exercise wagon for a few months, get too busy, lazy, bored, or all of the above, and then jump off again. You’ve heard of the yo-yo dieter. I am a yo-yo exerciser. But this time, I have jumped back on, hopefully, for good. I could say it had something to do with the fact that for the last six months, we have been hosting a member of the U.S. National Rowing team, who is in training for the 2008 Olympics in Beijing. Her exercise regimen consists of three hard workouts a day, five hours of hard-core, heart-pumping exercise.
I might also attribute my new attitude to the fact that my husband is in training for not just one but two competitions of his own: his traditional annual 100-mile ride through the mountains of Southern California in March, and a new one, the Crash-Bs, an indoor rowing competition in Boston in February. I could also say my resolve had something to do with the fact that all three of my kids are actively involved in sports and what’s good for the goslings is even better for the goose.
But no. My new resolve has nothing to do with peer pressure and everything to do with trying to ward off Type 2 Diabetes. Like 54 million other Americans, I have something called “pre-diabetes,” blood sugar levels that are higher than normal, but not high enough to be considered the real thing. At least for now. Unlike Type 1 diabetes, which results in loss of the insulin-producing cells in the pancreas and usually occurs in children and young adults, Type 2 accounts for 90 percent of diabetes cases. It reduces the ability to use insulin efficiently and is associated with obesity and inactivity. Do you see where I am going with the exercise thing?
Another 20.8 million children and adults in this country, or 7 percent of the population, have diabetes. An estimated 14.6 million have an official diagnosis. Unfortunately, the other 6.2 million people, or nearly one-third, are unaware that they have the disease. Diabetes can lead to complications of the organs, such as the kidneys and the eyes, and can result in the loss of limbs if untreated.
Native Americans, African-Americans, Asians, and Latinos carry a genetically higher risk for diabetes. So the odds were already against me. My mother’s brother and sister both have adult onset diabetes, and my father is on medication for high blood sugar. But the real threat is the gestational diabetes I had when I was pregnant with Will, my third and last child. At the time, my doctor told me I had a 40 percent chance of getting Type 2 diabetes at some point in my life.
For the last few months of my pregnancy, I had to watch my diet very carefully, especially for starch and sugar intake, and I was supposed to monitor my blood glucose levels several times a day. I dutifully went out to the drug store and bought the finger-prick blood test and glucose monitor. For the few couple of weeks, I did very well. But then, I quickly realized that I was the world’s worst patient. Confession time: there were several times that I didn’t do the blood test but said I did and made up numbers, because I discovered that I did very badly poking sharp objects into my own skin. My brief experience gave me the utmost respect for people who live with the disease every day.
The good news is that people like me who have pre-diabetes can actually prevent the development of Type 2 diabetes by watching the food we eat, ramping up physical activity, and losing weight. I am officially 15 pounds heavier than my college cheerleading weight and 20 pounds heavier than my pre-baby weight. For years, I’ve worn my extra pounds cheerfully, almost proudly, as if they were a badge of courage, or a battle scar of the baby-bearing years. So what if I had a closet full of clothes that didn’t fit, but would some day?
I’ve lived with pre-diabetes for years and have my blood glucose tested annually, but my wake-up call came at a recent Health Fair, where my fasting blood sugar levels came up high. Are you sure you didn’t eat something before this test, asked the nurse who took my readings. A fasting blood glucose level between 100 and 125 mg/dl signals pre-diabetes. A person with a fasting blood glucose level of 126 mg/dl or higher has diabetes. Mine registered at 112, far enough along to diabetes to make me think of changing my ways for good.
Since I can’t think of the word “diet” without becoming obsessed by the idea of food, my own best personal therapy is exercise. I’m trying to do at least a half hour a day, more if I can make the time. If I shed a few pounds along the way, it will be gravy, so to speak, but my real goal is to drop my sugar levels below 100 and out of that pre-diabetic state.
It might be a little bit early to start thinking about New Year’s resolutions, but it’s never too early to do something about your health. We moms tend to do everything for everyone else first. This time, do this for yourself. Get your blood sugar levels tested, eat right, and jump on the exercise bandwagon. For more information about diabetes, start with the American Diabetes Association, at www.diabetes.org.
