Its been a while

sicne i have been to the blog, lets see we have had halloween, thanksgiving and christmas and have started a brand new year 2012 .. with the 2012 yr i have also started insulin ... there will be many posts now with regards to the insulin .. as i learn how to use how much to learn and all my questions :) thanks for taking the time to read and go through my story :)

Halloween Candy ---- YEAH some choices for me

It is the time of the year when candy is everywhere. I want candy, i don't need candy but my eyes say that i want candy, so with all that candy out there what should i pick????

Choose a Fun Size Kit Kat Bar

Fun Size bars are always a more responsible choice than having full-size candy bars, but having the Kit Kat Bar (a wafer-based rather than peanut butter-based bar) will save you 40 calories and 2 grams of carbs and sugar.  Choose This: Kit Kat Wafer Bars, 1 snack-size bar (0.53 ounce) -- 70 calories, 4 g fat, 9 g carb (7 g sugar)

Choose Almond M&Ms

Regular milk chocolate M&Ms are made from pure milk chocolate, so they are carb- and sugar-dense. Almond M&Ms displace some of the chocolate by adding almonds to every piece, saving you 3 grams of carbs and 3 grams of sugar in each serving while incorporating some heart-healthy fats.
Choose This: Almond M&Ms, 1 snack-size bag (21 g) -- 110 calories, 6 g fat, 2 g saturated fat, 12 g carb (10 g sugar)

Choose Hershey's Dark Chocolate with Almonds

Dark chocolate contains heart-healthy antioxidants, but not all dark chocolate is created equal. Dove chocolate has 7 more grams of sugar per serving than the same amount of Hershey's Special Dark Chocolate with Almonds.
Choose This: Hershey's Special Dark with Almonds Nuggets, 3 nuggets (1.4 ounces) -- 165 calories, 15 g carb (12 g sugar)

Choose Sugar-Free Jelly Belly Gummy Bears
Fruity chewy candies can be fun to munch on, and they take longer to eat than a two-bite candy bar, but these fruity candies can contain plenty of hidden carbohydrates. Sugar-Free Jelly Belly Gummy Bears contain less than half the calories found in Skittles Original Fruit Candy and zero grams of sugar.
Choose This: Sugar-Free Jelly Belly Gummy Bears, 12 pieces, about 1/4 cup (20 g) -- 35 calories, 14 g carb (0 g sugar)

Choose a PayDay Bar

The combination of caramel, peanuts, and chocolate in these bars makes them so decadent that they should be a once-in-a-while treat. If you are going to splurge, choose the PayDay Bar and save 2.5 grams of saturated fat and 10 calories per snack-size bar.
Choose This: PayDay Bar, 1 snack-size bar (0.6 ounce) -- 80 calories, 1 g saturated fat, 10 g carb (8 g sugar)

Choose a Hershey's Take 5 Bar

Choosing a Hershey's Take 5 Bar is a win-win-win situation. Not only does it contain chocolate, pretzels, caramel, peanuts, and peanut butter, it also contains fewer carbs and less sugar than a Milky Way. Choose This: Hershey's Take 5 Bar, 1 snack-size bar (16 g) -- 90 calories, 10 g carb (7 g sugar)

Choose a Caramel Apple Pop

Suckers or pops are convenient treats that take a long time to eat -- which can make you feel like you are treating yourself to even more candy. Either of these chewy suckers will satisfy your sweet tooth, but the Caramel Apple Pops have 60 calories while the Sugar Daddy provides a whopping 170 calories.
Choose This: Caramel Apple Pops, 1 pop (0.6 ounce) -- 60 calories, 0.5 g fat, 0 g saturated, 15 g carb (10 g sugar)

Choose a Jolly Rancher Lollipop

Eating lollipops rather than pieces of chewy candy is a great way to slow down your sweets eating and possibly eat less. Hard candy (especially hard candy on a stick) takes a longer time to eat than chewy pieces of candy, which can cause you to eat less or feel more satisfied with the same amount.
Choose This: Jolly Rancher Lollipops, 1 piece (0.6 ounce) -- 60 calories, 16 g carb (13 g sugar)

Choose a Strawberry Twizzler Twist

Twizzlers Strawberry Twists are sweet, chewy, and fun to eat. One piece of Twizzlers also contains fewer calories and carbohydrates and less sugar than three pieces of Starburst Original Fruit Chews.
Choose This: Twizzlers Strawberry Twists, 1 regular-sized twist (0.4 ounce) -- 40 calories, 0 g fat, 9 g carb (5 g sugar)

Choose a Hershey's 100-Calorie Crisp Wafer Bar

Just a small handful of Nestle Buncha Crunch will set you back 180 calories and 25 grams of carbs. A Hershey's 100 Calorie Pretzel Bar only contains 100 calories and 13 grams of carbs, an indulgent chocolate and pretzel alternative.
Choose This: Hershey's 100 Calorie Crisp Wafer Bars, 1 bar (0.7 ounce) -- 100 calories, 5 g fat, 3 g saturated fat, 12 g carb (9 g sugar)

Choose Jolly Rancher Hard Candies

It is easy to toss a few pieces of bite-size candy in your mouth and not think anything of it. If you choose long-lasting hard candies with less sugar, they could wreak less havoc on your blood sugars. Jolly Rancher Hard Candies contain only 7 grams of sugar per 3 pieces, while 1 Fun Size bag of Skittles Wild Berry Candies contains 15 grams of sugar.
Choose This: Jolly Rancher Hard Candies, 3 pieces (0.5 ounce) -- 50 calories, 13 g carb (7g sugar)

Choose Sugar-Free Reese's Peanut Butter Cups

Need a sweet and salty, chocolatey and peanut buttery, rich and delicious treat? Look no further. Reese's provides the perfect diabetic-friendly treat in its Sugar-Free Mini Peanut Butter Cups, in which a serving provides only 145 calories and 0 grams of sugar.
Choose This: Reese's Sugar-Free Mini Peanut Butter Cups, 4 pieces (1.2 ounces) -- 145 calories, 22 g carb (0 g sugar)

Choose a Fruit by the Foot

Taffy can bring you back to your childhood with one delicious bite -- but why waste the calories when you don't have to? Try a Fruit by the Foot roll next time you get a craving for this chewy treat, and your sweet tooth will be satisfied.
Choose This: Fruit by the Foot Strawberry, 1 roll (0.7 ounce) -- 80 calories, 1 g fat, 0 g saturated, 17 g carb (9 g sugar)

Choose Sugar-Free York Peppermint Patties
Mint and chocolate treats get their appeal from having contrasting flavors -- sweet mint filling surrounded by a bittersweet chocolate coating. Stop your mint-chocolate craving with York Sugar-Free Peppermint Patties, which contain nearly one-third fewer calories than Junior Mints.
Choose This: York Sugar-Free Peppermint Patties, 2 pieces (0.9 ounce) -- 55 calories, 19 g carb (0 g sugar)

Dr Call

This morning while i was getting ready the dr called, and you guessed it!!! it was not good news apparently my white blood count is extremely high and i need to do a new cbc panel stat ... UGH what a horrible way to start the day ...
the reasons why your white blood count is high

Causes

By Mayo Clinic staff
A high white blood cell count usually indicates:
An increased production of white blood cells to fight an infection
A reaction to a drug that enhances white blood cell production
A disease of bone marrow, causing abnormally high production of white blood cells
An immune system disorder that increases white blood cell production

Specific causes of high white blood cell count include:

Acute lymphocytic leukemia
Acute myelogenous leukemia (AML)
Allergy, especially severe allergic reactions
Chronic lymphocytic leukemia
Chronic myelogenous leukemia
Drugs, such as corticosteroids and epinephrine
Hairy cell leukemia
Measles
Myelofibrosis
Other bacterial infections
Other viral infections
Polycythemia vera
Rheumatoid arthritisSmoking
Stress, such as severe emotional or physical stress
Tissue damage, such as from burns
Tuberculosis
Whooping cough

How to Stop Over eating

In Diabetes Burnout, Dr. Polonsky shares five ways to solve binge eating:




1. Adjust your home environment to support your efforts.

2. Plan a more stimulating evening.

3. Unchain your overly restrictive daytime eating.

4. Schedule a regular evening snack.

5. Seek alternative methods for overcoming difficult emotions.

6. Reach out to your friends and family.

7. Increase your eating awareness.

Do you Overeat

Do you overeat? The key to solving the problem is figuring out *why* you are overeating. Dr. Bill Polonsky shares five triggers in his book "Diabetes Burnout": stomach hunger, eyeball hunger, evening boredom, unconscious eating, and difficult emotions.

Reason for overeating #1: Stomach Hunger. This happpens when you eat small meals during the day and become ravenous at night. Are you guilty about eating too much the night before? Is your meal plan too restrictive? Stomach hunger is often triggered by attempts at dieting or other major food restrictions.

Reason for overeating #2: Eyeball Hunger. If you eat unsatisfying foods during the day, you can get eyeball hunger. Even though you ate plenty of food, your body is unfulfilled and craving more. So ask yourself: are you enjoying the food you eat?



Reason for overeating #3: Evening Boredom. Are you feeling lonely or bored at night, mindlessly watching TV, and wishing you had something to do? You may find yourself aimlessly wandering into the kitchen and eating. This is understandly stimulating. But it's not effective at relieving boredom.


Commit to yourself that you won't eat in front of the TV or while doing other activities

Reason for overeating #4: Unconscious Eating. Do you watch TV with a bag of chips and find it suddenly empty? When you link non-food activities like watching TV or surfing the internet to eating, you set yourself up for overeating.


Reason for overeating #5: Difficult Emotions. Difficult emotions like anger, sadness, anxiety, frustration, or loneliness can urge you to seek comfort in eating. Eating "comfort foods" is calming in children and adults. But the calm doesn't last long, and it doesn't solve the problem.

Changing behavior

Stanford Professor BJ Fogg, one of the world's leading experts on changing behavior. Here are three scientifically proven ways to form a new habit:


1. Increase your motivation. (HMMMMMMM what can i do to increase my motivation which as of recently has tanked )

2. Make your desired behavior easier to do. (but i don't like exercise so how do i make it easier to do when i dont' like to do it at all)

3. Achieve a smaller goal first.
(five pounds)


Think about your goals. How can you motivate yourself? Can you announce your goal and put your ego on the line? Can you setup your environment so your goal is easier? Can you take one small step forward today?

Losing Weight -- a great article i found

1.) Focus on a change of heart, not a change of mind. Losing weight through changing what and how much you eat doesn't happen because you rationally decide to lose weight. You have to have a change of heart; that is, you must get in touch with your deepest, heartfelt desires.
Your motivation may not be positive. Indeed, it may stem from a fear of loss. For example, you may not want to get sick. Or you may not want to be ostracized. To get in touch with your motivation, think about the negative consequences of not changing as well as the positive ones. Getting fit must become a priority and your life must be organized accordingly. Nobody can change you but you, and once you've made the changes, you need to stay focused. Successful individuals keep their motivation in the forefront of their minds all the time.
2.) Practice self-discipline. Self-control is a muscle that, like other muscles, needs exercise and strengthening. Change doesn't happen because you want it to happen. Each time you resist temptation, you are developing greater self-control. Success breeds success. Facing down temptations builds strength for future decision moments. Some of my clients throw away their favorite food as a symbolic act that shows they have control over the food and not the other way round.
Self-discipline is required for behavior change, but does that mean that the lack of self-discipline causes obesity? No. That would be like saying aspirin helps a headache go away, so headaches are caused by a lack of aspirin -- which is nonsense!
3.) Eliminate or reduce sugary, fat-laden foods. Such foods create physical changes at a cellular level that alter how our brains and bodies react. When analyzing your level of addiction, consider both physical dependence (changes at the cellular level) and psychological dependence (the habitual repetition of a behavior in an attempt to satisfy an emotional need). For example, how often do you use a sugary treat to lift your spirits?
What is often misunderstood is that these dependences exist on a continuum. You can be mildly, moderately or severely dependent, and the degree of dependence determines how difficult it will be to change.
4.) Make history your teacher, not your jailer. You can learn from your mistakes. Instead of [beating yourself up] when you fail to keep your promises to yourself, seek to gain self-knowledge so you won't repeat the error. No one is perfect. Be sure to acknowledge what you are doing right, not just what isn't working.
5.) Surround yourself with friends, family and colleagues who will support your effort. Getting fit and losing weight absolutely require others. Although you alone can make the changes you need to make, you can't make the changes alone. Not only in terms of eating, but in all areas of our lives, we are much more influenced by other people than we imagine. One of the most potent forces for positive change is the emotional support of the individuals who surround you.
You must, however, ask for the support you need. Don't assume that others know what would be most helpful to you. Similarly, you need to avoid those people who aren't on the same page as you. Social pressure can work for you or against you. Hang out with the right people.