If you remember from the last Diabetes Update, my blood sugar level was 194, and I’d lost 7 pounds. The doctor had put me on Januvia, and told me that he needed me to lose more weight, faster.

Well, May 27th and my FBS (fasting blood sugar) had dropped 24 points to 170! I was so excited about that, though the doc said it was good, but that had I lost more weight it would’ve been a better number. Yep. The weight thing.

I’m not struggling with the food, I promise you. I’ve been doing very well, not completely excluding anything, but rather focusing on adding the good stuff to replace most (seriously, 99%) of the bad stuff. It’s really, honestly, with head hung in shame… the exercise.

So I bought Core Rhythms. Yes I did. I’ve been ridiculously busy and haven’t had time to try it for more than 15 mins since it arrived, but I can already tell I’m going to love it. Likely much more than the treadmill, that’s for sure. I feel like a gerbil on that thing.

So anyway, while the weight is steadily at 245 (yes, actually a 4 lb. gain from my lowest since starting this trek) I’m hoping that by continuing the good eating and incorporating the workout DVDs, I should finally start to see some serious weight droppage.

I’m madder than hell at the producers of The Biggest Loser… let me just share that with you. Bitter? You bet your big fat butt I am.

Okay, so my next appointment is mid-July, on the 14th, right before the three-month mark that I’ve been on the Januvia. So that means I’ve got another 6 weeks to do some serious damage control. I know what you’re thinking: “But Lara, more than 1-2 pounds per week isn’t healthy.”

Guess what? The contestants on TBL weigh in every week and a half (10 days, not 7 as the show would make you think), and if they are being medically supervised (as I am) to lose that enormous amount of weight that they do, I think I can handle 3-4 lbs per week without fear. My goal for July 14th is 20 lbs. which would put me at 225. I’ve done it before without even trying, and now I’m going to do it again. I think once I do that, I’ll have a good jump start behind me and I will be able to continue this without giving up.

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• “It tastes so… blah. I need more flavor!”
• “It takes too long to make.”
• “I don’t eat breakfast as it is, and you want me to eat that?”
• “Instant oatmeal is easier/more flavorful/faster/etc.”
• “I can’t ever get the consistency right. It comes out like glue/soup.”

Guess what, kiddies? I’ve used each and every one of those excuses myself, my entire life. Until I got my Type 2 Diabetes diagnosis, I pretty much refused to give it another chance. Granted, while oatmeal is proven to lower cholesterol my cholesterol levels are fine, and there’s no clear and present danger to my heart, the bottom line is that I need to lose weight and I need to do it right. Oatmeal is going to help, and I’m here to tell you: Cooked oatmeal really isn’t all THAT bad.

Why Oatmeal Will Help You Lose Weight

Old-fashioned oatmeal (sorry kids, not the instant kind) is absolutely packed with dietary fiber, which is the stuff that makes your world go ’round if you’re on a diet. The more dietary fiber you consume, the less fat you absorb and the more you flush out your *ahem* system.

Clearly, the better your digestive tract is working, the less time you’ve got food and toxins building up in your body. The less time for fat to absorb into your bloodstream. No, oatmeal isn’t going to make you crap your pants like Alli or Olestra, but it will keep things moving the way they should be. Know how your grandmother had faith in bran muffins? Yeah, that.

I could also get into the whole Glycemic Load stuff – if you’re interested, the oatmeal itself has a GL of 13. As comparison, brown rice has a GL of 17. The lower the GL, the longer it takes to digest the food which means a longer stability of metabolism and blood sugar levels. Also, the longer you stay full, the less you eat, the more weight you lose. :)

So anyway, how does one actually cook old-fashioned oatmeal quickly, and make it taste good?

Here’s what I do:

1. 1 cup old-fashioned oats (yep, out of that big round cardboard box) into a bowl.
2. 2 packets of Splenda
3. dash of salt (maybe a little more than a dash)
4. LOTS of ground cinnamon (I’ll explain this later)
5. 1/2 tbsp light butter (sometimes I will omit this)
6. 3/4 – 1 cup 2% milk (depending on the day, how chewy I want it to be; chewy uses less)
7. stir it up and pop it into the microwave for 2 minutes
8. add fruit or flavorings, stir up again, and enjoy!

I kid you not, I’ve got the process down to less than 4 minutes. I’ve even seen so-called “nutritionist blogs” out there saying that it can take 10 minutes to cook this kind of oatmeal, to which I call “Horseshit!”

Oh, and about the whole cooking it in the milk thing… One of my friends claims he prefers to cook his oatmeal stovetop, in just enough salted water for it to absorb into the oats, and then add a splash of milk to it after it’s done. I’ve never tried it that way, as I said, I like my oatmeal chewy, not soggy or soupy, and that’s the only thing I can imagine would happen using water.

Here are some of my favorite things to add to my oatmeal in step 7:

• 2 tbsp canned pumpkin puree
• sliced banana
• blueberries, raspberries, blackberries, strawberries, or any combo of them all
• 1 tbsp creamy peanut butter
• a dozen semi-sweet chocolate chips

I’m not a fan of raisins, but I do like craisins (dried cranberries). Problem is they have so much sugar in such a concentrated form. I rarely do the chocolate chip thing because of that too. But for a treat, a change of pace, it can’t hurt once in a while.

I seriously eat oatmeal almost every morning for breakfast. If I’m not eating that, I’m eating some kind of Egg Beaters omelette or something, but the oatmeal actually takes the least amount of time and is quite versatile.

The cinnamon thing…

Ground cinnamon has been shown to actually lower blood sugar in diabetics because it enhances your body’s sensitivity to insulin, which regulates the blood sugar. I swear to you, I put it in just about everything now. I even added it to chili once!

So, how do you do oatmeal?

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So on my last post about my diabetes battle, where I mentioned that I’d “only” lost 7 pounds, a beautiful reader by the name of kirwin left a comment that totally put some things in perspective for me:

I know it’s not the numbers you were hoping for but seven pounds is seven pounds. Consider this: that’s a newborn baby. You did AWESOME, and you are heading in the right direction.

Keep it up. It’s the tortoise that wins the race.

To that end, because I’ve never in my life thought of measuring weight loss to the weight of your average, healthy baby… and because one of my dreams in life is to be a mom… I’ve decided to add the “baby meter” in a way that’s unlike any other baby meter you’ve seen!

I’m going to be naming these babies… and sending them out in the world to live outside my body! Once you give birth, you can’t put the baby back in. You have to name the baby. I see it like I’ve been nurturing these babies far longer than a normal pregnancy… in fact, it’s been about 18 years, so they’re due to get a life of their own, outside my body!

I’d like to introduce you to my first born…

Meet Elardabeth! She was the first 7 pound baby born during my battle against diabetes. Thanks kid, but you’re on your own now!

So for those of you who got to this page by clicking on the “What’s with all the babies?” link on the home page, now you know! I’ll be updating this page with all the babies and their names, every 7 pounds I lose!

Babies I’ve Set Free

Elardabeth

Well, Avenue just sent me their second email in as many days promoting a huge sale they’ve got going on. (For what it’s worth, unless I’m madly in love with something and need it for an event, I never buy anything unless it’s on sale.) The coolest part, is that if you spend $75 or more, you get free shipping!

For under $20 each ($30 in some cases), you can fill your spring wardrobe up with loads of great items. I’ve put together one outfit combo here, but don’t assume this is all there is that’s on sale! You can check out the whole thing (including $10 pants!) by going through to Avenue’s Deals of The Week page.

1. Cutout Banded Bottom Top
   Was: $29.90 Now: $19.99
   Available Colors: Green, Navy, Beet Red (shown)
   Cutout details adds intricate style to this banded bottom top. 3/4 length sleeves with cutout detailing at cuffs. Cutout design at neckline with scalloped trim. Double loop button closure at center back neckline with keyhole detail. Banded hemline with double loop button details and slight ruching. Knit. Imported.
   Cotton/Modal. Machine wash.
   Approx 27″ long.
   Women’s Plus Sizes 14/16-30/32.
   Style #3421693A
2. Denim Lite Skinny Jeans (Also in Petite and Tall)
   Was: $39.95 Now: $29.99
   Available Colors: Jet Blue (shown), Rinse Blue/Black, Medium Wash
   Tiny slits at the hem give these slim leg denim lite jeans a unique fashion element. Absolutely flattering and sleek!
   Modern fit-designed to sit slightly below your natural waist. Single button and zip closure. 5 pocket styling. Constrast stitching. Small slits at hems. Printed ribbon lining with fashion stitching in waistband. Stretch. Imported. Cotton/Polyester/Spandex. Machine wash.
   Petite approx 28″ inseam, Average approx 30″ inseam, Tall approx 34″ inseam.
   Jet Blue and Seaside available in Average only.
   Women’s Plus Sizes 14-26.
   Style #3071622A
3. Criss Cross Beaded Cuff Bracelet
   Available Colors: Blue, Pink, Brown (shown), White, Black
   $6.90
   This criss cross beaded cuff bracelet is all you need to make a strong jewelry statement. Wire. Acrylic beads. Imported.
   One size fits most.
   Style # 3736751A
4. Paparazzi Sunglasses
   Available Colors: Brown (shown)
   Was: $6.90 Now: $5.00
   These sunglasses with decorative embellishment will bring out your hidden starlet! 100% UVA/UVB protection.
   Acrylic frames with gold tone metal design at temples. Imported.
   Style #3764363A
5. Leah Embellished Slide
   Available Colors: Bronze (shown), Black
   Was: $32.90 Now: $24.99
   A bold faceted stone marks the spot on these X-strap slides with a modern chunky heel. Man made upper. Stone embellishment at center of vamp. Imported.
   Cloud Heel Strike Pad® Flexible non-slip sole.
   Approx 2″ heel.
   W/7-13.
   Style #3166607A

So what do you think of my new outfit? ;) Total cost is less than $87 which qualifies for free shipping! (Free Shipping offer ends tomorrow April 30, 2009, so better hurry and get in on this!)

Please share in the comments how you felt about this post, as this is the first time I’ve done a post like this… If you like it, I’ll do it more often!

As you might recall, this morning I had my 6-week check-in with the doctor regarding my diabetes diagnosis that I got on March 9, 2009. I’ve got a few things to report, some good, others not so much.

• I did lose 7 pounds since my last visit, 6 weeks ago. It’s not the numbers I was hoping for (or that my doc was hoping for) but it did prove to him that I’m taking this seriously, so that’s a good thing. He said a pound a week was okay for a normal person trying to lose weight, but he wanted to see a big initial drop, which I didn’t have.
• My fasting blood sugar (FBS) was 194. That’s about 10 points higher than it was the last time, so I’m really kind of upset over that. I’ve been doing really well with limiting carb intake, despite a few wagon trips.

Because of the above two points, he’s put me on a prescription diabetes medicine called Januvia. It’s supposed to suppress the appetite, lower blood glucose levels, and all around help when used with diet and exercise to lose weight.

I’ve read about drugs like Metformin and Janumet (a combination of Januvia and Metformin) used as oral prescriptions for those with Type 2 Diabetes who are having troubles with just diet and exercise.

I’ll be the first to admit that I haven’t been 110% perfect with the diet or the exercise, however I’ve got another appointment in 5 weeks for another blood sugar test and a check-in with the doc (May 26th). I’ve also set the appointment with the CDE (Certified Diabetes Educator) for May 6th.

I’ve re-dedicated myself to using SparkPeople to journal my food consumption – It’s got to be a permanent factor in my life right now, because when I don’t use it, I can pretty much safely assume that I’m going over the 1200-1400 calorie limit.

I’m also going to be forcing myself to get on the treadmill every day. I don’t care what it is that has me “busy” – there’s nothing as important to me as getting on that damn machine. Period.

So there you have it – Maybe I should be going to the doc once a week, for a weekly motivation boost?!? LOL

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In honor of Easter, I’ve decided to put up this cute pic and give you guys a guide of sites I think you’d enjoy perusing. Have a BEAUTIFUL day, and we’ll see you next week with some great product reviews, books, and tips!

Lazy Easter/Spring Link Love Day

• Ten reasons to travel in April (telegraph.co.uk)
• Cook the Perfect Boiled Egg with the Power of Science (lifehacker.com)
• Spring deals for indoor waterpark lodges (gadling.com)
• A good workplace for rabbit allies. (stephendann.com)
• Easy Crescent Danish Rolls for Easter (frugalwahmstalkradio.com)
• Fresh, simple Italian Easter (canada.com)
• The Spark: Pass the Food Coloring! (dir.yahoo.com)
• Recipe: Rice Krispie Easter Eggs from Bouchon Bakery (thekitchn.com)
• Thank goodness nature doesn’t suffer from recession (telegraph.co.uk)
• Follow the fragrance (telegraph.co.uk)
• Guide To Basic Container Gardening (hbb2obm.com)
• Joe’s First Square Foot Garden Bed (the-enobling-journey.blogspot.com)
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I don't want to be this woman!

I’ve been scrolling through the archives here, from before I did the major site change, and found this little gem from almost 3 years ago: 10 Reasons To Get Started Losing Weight Today.

Of course, in addition to that list is the really popular 100 Reasons To Lose 100 Pounds page.

But with the discovery that I’m now considered a Type 2 Diabetic, plus the recent passing of my birthday, I’ve got even more reasons to list out here.

1. Extended Health Issues. I’ve now had a 5 year battle against cervical cancer, having had biopsies twice and a chunk removed from my cervix once. While I’m not 100% sure that the weight has anything major to do with it, if anything at all, it sure doesn’t help. There are surgeries involved and extra weight just makes everything a greater risk. Add Diabetes to this, and now my body is basically telling me to get my head out of my butt and do something before it decides to fail me completely.
2. Still No Man, Still No Babies. Gah, I feel like a desperate retard every time I say (or write) anything about this. I just turned 32, and no matter how you slice it, even a “healthy” woman would start to panic at this age. Without getting into a debate about whether or not a man should love me for who I am and not what I look like, the bottom line is that I used that as a crutch for nearly two decades now. In fact, it was my protection in a way. Little did I know then that I’d actually be protecting myself better by having had more dating/relationship experience, which would’ve come naturally had I been more visually appealing to the men I’ve found myself interested in.
3. It Just Feels Better. Mentally, emotionally, and physically, good health just makes life a little better all around. No pain from sitting or standing too long. No depression from shopping for new clothes. No insecurity from hanging out with thin women or the men who ogle them. No fear of what may or may not happen to your health because of bad habits.

What reasons do YOU have to get started on your weight loss goals TODAY? Share in the comments.

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Granted, thus far the study has only been done on mice, and we all know that means that it may or may not yet apply to humans. But what they did was take subcutaneous fat (the layer of fat right below the skin) from the buttocks and moved it to the abdomen areas of the mice. The result was a drop in body weight and blood sugar levels in those mice. Researchers believe there is something in this kind of fat that improves the metabolism of glucose.

What they do know is that women with a larger backside and smaller stomachs have a lower risk of Type 2 Diabetes than women with large amounts of abdominal fat. It all goes back to Dr. Oz and his grotesque display of that “omentum” on Oprah a few years back.

Belly fat in the omentum is probably the most dangerous. It’s only job is to provide fuel to your internal organs, but when you have too much and are not eating properly, it’s delivering toxic fuel to those organs. Fuel loaded with chemicals and poisons that aren’t good for your body. It’s almost the equivalent to putting sugar in your car’s gas tank. Fortunately with the body, as opposed to a sugared tank, you can actually reverse it before it kills the car.

If you’re interested in learning more about how your body works, especially when you’re dieting, you need to grab a copy of You: On A Diet by Dr. Michael F. Roizen and Dr. Mehmet C. Oz. It’s on my reading list for sure.

So get out those “Apple Bottom Jeans” and wear them with pride, ladies! (But get your bellies flat first!)

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Before I get into that, I’d like to share with you some pics of zoo animals enjoying their birthday cakes, courtesy of HuffPo:

Gee, one who doesn’t know me might wonder why I focused on zoo animals there for a second… LOL Anyway, back to the meat (haha, “meat”) of this post…

There are many things that plague my brain on certain occasions. Birthdays, holidays, friends and family giving birth, people passing away, nothing really ever happens without my brain taking me on a whirlwind voyage through my own life.

Many times I find these thoughts sad, though there are many times I think about all the things in my life that I’ve done, places I’ve been, and people I’ve had the pleasure to know and it makes me smile. I’ve decided that today, for just one day, I’m going to work really hard at focusing upon those things alone, and try to forget about the fact that I’m getting older and have so many dreams unfulfilled yet.

32 Years, 16 Favorite Memories

Pardon me, but this list is lengthy. I was shooting for 32, but I have birthday events to take part in… :)

1. I once did a bellyflop on a 14 foot alligator who’d escaped her enclosure. The point was to try to stabilize her so the zoo foreman could jump on and bind her jaw, so she wouldn’t snap when we moved her back in. I honestly think she wouldn’t have anyway, as she didn’t really flinch or anything when the 15 of us picked her up and carried her around to the gate. But it was thrilling to me, for about 15 seconds anyway.
2. I’ve been in two movies, neither of which have been released. However because of this, I do have a profile on imdb.com. During one filming, I hung out with Mykelti Williamson (who played “Bubba” in Forrest Gump) and during the other I had conversation over lunch with Anthony Michael Hall and Chris Penn.
3. My first ever music concert was Janet Jackson (Rhythm Nation Tour) but my most memorable was Billy Joel (River of Dreams Tour) where he held my hand during the entire first half of  “She’s Always A Woman”. Later in life, I was told by a very dear friend that he always thought of me when he heard that song, despite my never telling him the story about the concert previously.
4. I was in Civil Air Patrol (CAP) from the time I was 12 until I was 17. My friend Lucas joined because of me, and we took a flying lesson together. It was a Cessna. Was probably one of the coolest feelings ever.
5. I spent 6 weeks in Italy when I was 15 years old, as part of a summer foreign exchange program. For four weeks, I was living with the greatest host family known to man, who took me on a tour of the whole country. The last two weeks was less fun for me, as it was at an “acting camp”, but I totally made the most of it. I was in a mansion in Perugia with 10 partying teenagers who would steal wine from the cellar and drink into the wee hours. An indicator of my “old soul”: They partied while I slept (or tried to), so I could have the morning to myself with tea, toast and marmelade, the sunrise and the wild horses.
6. My first (and only, thus far) trip to Vegas was last October (2008). I went for a blogger conference, and spent the majority of my time there with either my client (who went with me and shared a room) or with my friend/client Darren Rowse and the b5media crew. It was 4 days and wasn’t nearly long enough. The bonus? I came home only $40 in the hole.
7. My first trip on an airplane was when I was 10 years old. My father owned a travel agency, and this was the first of many vacations I got to have as a kid that took me on a plane. We went to California, and the first place I wanted to go (unlike most kids that age) was the San Diego Zoo.
8. I’ve worked closely with over 100 species of exotic animals when I was a zookeeper, many of which are endangered species. Animals that most people don’t even know exist. I know the scientific names for most of these animals, and can tell you precisely what they eat, how they live in the wild, and other information that most would consider entirely useless to my current occupation. Sometimes knowing this stuff is what keeps me alive inside.
9. Jack Hanna (a very famous zoologist – he’s been on the Tonight Show, Good Morning America, and Maury on hundreds of occasions, and had his own show at one point) once called my house after I somehow got in touch with his secretary. I called and they put me right through to her, and she didn’t understand how (I guess they weren’t supposed to do that), but was so impressed that she made sure Mr. Hanna got my phone message. He called on a Sunday morning at 8am, and helped answer questions I had about my Senior Essay for 12th grade English class. He is the reason I was ever a zookeeper, as he told me which school to go to, and how to go about doing it. I told him that if he ever needed an assistant on his voyages to Africa, to give me a ring.
10. It’s a silly memory, and you may have had to be there, but when I was in 4th grade I had a huge crush on a boy named Jason Mabb (in fact, I crushed on him well beyond 4th grade). We both got in trouble during lunch for talking because he was making me laugh (which is a trait I’ve forever desired in a man) and we got sent up “to face the curtain” which was on the stage in the cafeteria. I think they used that as a way to embarass us into good behavior, but it didn’t ever really work. He continued to make me laugh, and our teacher made us hold hands walking back to class from lunch, because we’d gotten in trouble. I remember both of us pretending not to enjoy it, however upon turning the corners on our way back to class, he’d then pull me closer and give me a kiss on the cheek. Every. Corner. Was so damned cute.  I wonder about him a lot.
11. I’ve had a lot of really great first kisses. Every girl has these chick-flick ideas of a great first kiss, and I’ve had some that really were chick-flick quality. Sure, there have been some really awful ones (that in fact, never got better even with 2nd or 3rd or 10th kisses if I ever let them get that far) but I can’t help but blush and smile and get the warm fuzzies when I think of a few key first kisses that literally made my knees buckle.
12. One Spring Break during zoo school, I spent 3 days at the National Zoo in D.C. with a gorilla named Mopi. All my friends were in Mexico or something, and I was hanging out with Mopi. We interacted between an enormously thick piece of glass, but I journaled the entire thing like I would if I were Dian Fossey in the Virunga Mountains. At the end of the trip, one of the primate keepers who had noticed my extended presence took me behind the scenes to an orangutan (I think his name was Willy) and I hand-fed him celery. He would take it and then blow raspberries at me.
13. I fondly remember what I called “Daddy-Daughter Days”. It was usually on a Saturday, because back then Mom was a retail store manager and she often worked those mornings. He’d make me scrambled eggs (with ketchup, which the thought of makes me gag now) and I’d sit in my cardboard-box-playhouse eating them during Saturday morning cartoons. Later in the day, we would go fishing or something cool like that. We’d either head across the street to the creek, or over to a “special fishing spot” we had. One of his favorite pictures of me is when I caught my first fish.
14. A few years ago, my friend Tina and I (with our moms) went to a magazine model search competition. We interviewed at the same time, side by side, with different judges. They chose 7 (there was a mother-daughter team they felt they just had to include, but it was only supposed to be 5 winners) out of hundreds that showed up. I remember sitting in the room while they announced winners, and they got to choosing the last person and we all figured we hadn’t gotten it. The two judges I interviewed with were fighting over who got to announce the next winner, because they were both so excited. I listened as they said, “She’s a volunteer firefighter, a certified zookeeper…” and my eyes widened, my mom and I both teared up, and I finally heard my name. I remember only thinking, “Don’t trip… don’t trip…” on my way up. The next day we had a huge fashion photo shoot, however the issue never made it to print because the magazine sold out to another company that discontinued the model search.
15. I once almost spent the night with Josh Duhamel. (Fergie’s husband now, he played “Danny” on the crime drama “Las Vegas”.) We met at a Make-A-Wish Foundation benefit, and Tina was dating his best friend and then “All My Children” co-star, Cameron Mathison. ‘Nuff said. *blush*
16. When I was in elementary school, I was part of what was then called the “Gifted and Talented Program” (Which has since been demolished because apparently it’s not “PC” to acknowledge smart kids) and we had a kind of science fair. My mission was to build a bridge out of toothpicks, that could withstand 100lbs. of weight. Other kids had a mission to wrap an egg in something and drop it from various heights without the egg breaking, etc. Despite my task having nothing to do with eggs, my mother made me wear a costume, that looked like a fried egg. I was the only kid who showed up in any kind of costume. I think I was a little too young to be truly embarrassed by it, but looking back, it was probably a highlight on a list of embarrassing events in my life. I would’ve won the toothpick bridge contest had I had the guts to put all the weight on it, but I chickened out. Believe it or not, yes, looking back on this memory does in fact make me smile.

I know if I had more time, I could come up with 32, but I figured that half as many would suffice. :) Besides, I’d expect many to be bored reading all that as it is… LOL

Here’s to another year of life, and dammit, this one’s gonna top ‘em all!

Below are some current favorites, all inspired by nature. (Including one copper-dipped maple leaf, and some REAL moss!) Click on the pic and see if the piece of your funky fabulous dreams is still available, or browse the artist’s shop to find something you like!

Cubic Zirconia and Fine Silver Lotus Ring

Glass Pendant - Spring Flowers Yellow on Pink

Banana Leaf Fine Silver Ring with Ladybug

Moss Art Necklace

Speckle Pink Lampwork Ring

Spring in Negative - Maple Shield

Real Butterfly wing double sided pendant necklace, Sterling Silver (Donation from sale to Conservation International)

Fallen Leaf Earrings

Flower garden crocheted necklace

Copper Dipped Sugar Maple Leaf Necklace

(all images © their respective owners – click the images to learn more)