Healthy Habit #3

Cut out the caffeine. This will help cut the carbonated beverages and sugar too, they go hand in hand for me. I will be drinking a lot of herbal teas.

Healthy Habit #2

Eat 25+ grams of fiber daily. I was told to grind flax or chia seeds and eat several teaspoons full (mixed in food) three times a day. This will help keep my blood sugar under control. Here is a great article about the importance of fiber.

Fiber is a type of carbohydrate (just like sugars and starches) but since it is not broken down by the human body, it does not contribute any calories. Yet, on a food label, fiber is listed under total carbohydrate. So this gets kind of confusing for people who have diabetes. Carbohydrate is the one nutrient that has the biggest impact on blood glucose. So, does fiber have any effect on your blood glucose?

The answer is that fiber does not raise blood glucose levels. Because it is not broken down by the body, the fiber in an apple or a slice of whole grain bread has no effect on blood glucose levels because it isn't digested. The grams of fiber can actually be subtracted from the total grams of carb you are eating if you are using carbohydrate counting for meal planning.

So, fiber is a good thing for people with diabetes. Of course, most of the foods that contain fiber (fruits, vegetables, whole grain breads, cereals, and pastas) also contain other types of non-fiber carbohydrate (sugar, starch) that must be accounted for in your meal plan.

The average person should eat between 20-35 grams of fiber each day. Most Americans eat about half that amount. A study in the New England Journal of Medicine showed that people with diabetes who ate 50 grams of fiber a day — particularly soluble fiber — were able to control their blood glucose better than those who ate far less.

So if fiber does not give us any calories, why exactly should you eat it? There are two types of fiber: insoluble and soluble. Insoluble fiber keeps your digestive tract working well. Whole wheat bran is an example of this type of fiber. Soluble fiber can help lower your cholesterol level and improve blood glucose control if eaten in large amounts. Oatmeal is an example of this type of fiber.

Another benefit of fiber is that it adds bulk to help make you feel full. Given these benefits, fiber is important to include in the daily diet for people with diabetes, as well as those who don't have diabetes. You can add fiber by eating whole grain products, fruits, vegetables, and legumes. Leave the skin on fruits and vegetables, as it is high in fiber. Eat whole grain breads and crackers. And be sure to increase your fiber intake generally, and remember to drink 6-8 glasses of water per day to avoid constipation.

Healthy Habit #1

Cutting out aspartame. And gum. This artificial sweetener is in almost every major brand of gum. The chemical essentially turns into rocket fuel in the body and really messes with the gut. Thankfully, I mostly avoid aspartame but have been chewing gum more recently. I will be cutting that out, or searching for the xylitol sweetened gum instead.

Turkey

Right before Thanksgiving we were given a huge 25 pound turkey. Because we spent Thanksgiving with my family and went out to a restaurant for dinner, Tom has been sitting in my fridge, thawing. Yesterday I cooked him up, along with some yams, potatoes, stuffing, gravy, green bean casserole,
brussels sprouts, rolls, and cranberry sauce. It was so yummy.

Non jolly holiday

RAD sucks. E was officially diagnosed with Reactive Attachment Disorder this fall. Holidays, fun events, and even weekends are hard and at times make me want to pull my hair out when he rages or pushes buttons. It's mainly directed to me. This morning he told me again that he hates living with me.
When I totally ignore him with no interaction or connection, he seems so much more calm and content. How can a mom not show affection or love to her son?
it breaks my heart.

I found a video that explains a bit more about RAD:
http://m.youtube.com/#/watch?v=Z_CiAjbsYek

Fire part 2

We are amazed at the help we have received from friends and strangers since the fire. We had to wait to do any clean up until after the insurance company came out to inspect things. We announced a work party on a rainy Saturday afternoon and we had a surprising amount of people come help. We got most of the debris hauled to the dump. It felt like a huge weight was lifted off my shoulders.

We got a settlement check from our insurance for the structure, which was for the total amount we had covered, but about $6,000 less than what we will need to rebuild. The building was considered an outbuilding and not part of our house. We had to come up with a list of contents to get the material possessions reimbursed by insurance. This took me about two weeks. It was 9 pages and about $20,000 worth of stuff. We will get a prepaid visa in the mail for about half that. While I am so thankful for insurance, I feel ripped off. I don't want to complain though, because we have been blessed by friends and strangers alike. Our church arranged for meals to be brought over for six days. My sister told her friends and clients about us and they gave her money, gift cards, art stuff, toys and linens for us. Friends have rounded up things to replace lost items. We have received gifts in the mail from family, friends and strangers. I am amazed by the love we have received.

Since the fire department sent in their report, county zoning and permitting came into the picture. This has been a small nightmare. The rooms we used for the teens can't be called bedrooms unless we get a larger septic tank. The foundation should be dug up and sealed with foam, we need a higher insulation and window rating. I am pretty sure the people who built the studio did not have any permits. We had an electrician come out and figure out what needs to be done. We should be able to apply for a permit next week.

Fire

Two weeks ago we experienced something I would never wish on anyone. A house fire. Our house is a three bedroom, two bath double wide. Right behind it sits a studio building that is about 600 square feet. A few years ago we repurposed the once music recording studio, and made it into a rec room, art space and sewing area. It also had beds for the kids. On a Friday afternoon while I was sitting at the computer at work, I got a call from J. He calmly told me the studio caught on fire and was destroyed. I shrieked out loud and spent some time trying to handle my shock and emotions. I maintained a strange balance between staying calm and freaking out in front of my co-workers. I finished up my newsletter publication and headed home in a rush. I came home to find J, L and C. I felt thankful that the 13 or more emergency responders had left and it was just us left to deal with the aftermath of a very hot electrical fire. So many thoughts were going through my head. I was grateful no one was home or hurt. I was sad for the kids who lost the majority of their possessions. I was curious how my trauma affected children would react to this traumatic event. I was fearful, worried and a huge ball of emotions. We dealt with the insurance company the best we could on a Friday afternoon and tried to go back to as much normalcy as we possibly could that weekend.

To be continued.