Sometimes... you just need a cookie

Or in my case, three.

Three.... four, no five Mallow Puffs all in a row.

My oh my it was delicious.




I've been trying to tighten up on my eating and drinking habits lately. I do have a focus on healthy eating, trying to make sure I get enough of the good stuff in my diet. I've been making conscious choices to say no to that beer with dinner or picking a healthier take away option. My nurse educator said when she looked at one of my diet records that there was a little bit too much unhealthy stuff. Fried chicken is okay every now and again as a treat but I think at one point I had it three times in one week.

So I stopped that carry on! I think I've only had fried chicken once in the past month. Tonight would probably be the only time I've eaten that many mallow puffs in one go. It was right before dinner and I included them in my carb count. Two hours late and I'm testing at 6.7 mmol/l. Is this how I should be eating all the time? No.

Is it okay on occasion? Yes, If I ensure I carb count and inject appropriately for them.


Am I going to eat 5 Mallow puffs tomorrow? No and not just because I ran out.

But, in all seriousness, I'm a big believer in taking things as they come, one step at a time. For me, those mallow puffs were like a step sideways. Which is okay every now and again.

14 Days of Healthy Eating

I've decided I'm going to do a healthy eating bonanza for 14 days starting the 4th of February. 

I like to think I eat a pretty healthy diet and my recent cholesterol levels indicate that. But I've never been strict on myself for it. So I decided that I would try something new, a focused 14 day healthy eating plan. SHONELLE STYLE!

I forsee a balance of strictness and going with the flow. Anyone that knows me personally knows I can be a bit of dreamer/loose unit sometimes. I've posted before about my inability to committ to something so I've decided to start small and do it my own way. I also believe in keeping realistic and measurable goals. Does my 14 day eating plan mean I can't eat takeaways or drink fizzy drink? Heck no. What I am going to focus on is including more vegetables, protein, healthy fats, whole grains and low GI foods. The strict part about my 14 day healthy eating bonanza is the documentation and preparation. Anyone who has done a diet record before know they are about as much fun as standing in a never ending super market queue. I'm determined to have 14 days of diet records out of this 2 week bonanza. There's always a heap of documentation for my diet records. They include the food I've eaten, the carb counts for said food, my insulin to carb doses, my insulin correction rates doses and the exercise I've done. Oh and blood sugar levels.

The preparation side of my 14 day bonanza is a focus on preparing lunches and snacks so I don't get caught in the trap of purchasing food from near my work. I'm going to spend the rest of today and Sunday researching food recipes, shopping for food and preparing it so I can have two weeks filled with tasty snacks and lunches. So food wise, I'm going to focus on healthier options but not to a point where it's unrealistic for me. So for me, the strictness of a 14 day healthy eating bonanza is not about the food I'm eating but making sure I'm documenting it and preparing it in advance.

I'm also going to prepare an exercise plan but I'm going to start small. I do a fair amount of light exercise a week as I usually walk to and from work every day (about 50 mins a day). So I'm going to focus on getting some cardio and resistance training in.And then I'll finish my 14 day bonanza by doing a 12km walk over in Central Otago. 

What's going to keep me going?

In reality I have just one goal out of all of this. Dropping my HbA1c at the end of the month. It's currently sitting at 77 (9.2) at the moment. I am going to do this.

Other things that keep me going are:

- Knowing I have two hospital appointments at the end of the month. One with my dietician and the other with my Certified Nurse Educator. To make the most out of them I'm going to need records to show them!

- I'm going to do a 12km walk in Central Otago, originally I was going to train and run it but it soon became one of those things I had an inability to commit to.

- The prepration side of this will help me to save money, which is especially important as I'm saving money to go on a trip to the States at the end of April.

- I'm going to tell 2 of the people closest to me about this who I hope will motivate me. My amazing best friend and my amazing boyfriend.

- I'm going to blog about it. I know my blog doesn't have the biggest reader ship but I do know that the view count does rise! Knowing there are others out there reading this makes me feel good and motivates me to keep going :)

- Because I'm doing this for the right reasons, not as a quick fix weight loss plan (though that would be nice!) but as way to focus on healthy eating, exercise, emotions as attitudes. My previous post showed a glimpse of some emotional struggling, I want to use healthy eating as a way to feel good in my body and soul.

I'm pretty excited about all of this.

Please feel free to comment on advice, recipe ideas (especially lunch ones!) and anything else motivating, happy and optimistic.

Shonelle xx