Until there Is a Cure we Cope

"We cannot change our past but we can start now to affect our future by how we handle the present."  -Joan Shivers

Wouldn't it be absolutely phenomenal if we could just twitch our noses to make weight come off, or make crows feet go away, or make an unwanted affliction or chronic disease disappear?  Will it ever happen?  Nope!  Until there is a cure for diabetes, we just have to do the best we can to manage the disease.  

The exciting part about diabetes is that I have this great incentive to start eating right and exercising now, because right now is what I have.  Yesterday is gone and tomorrow is not here yet.  That's how life works.  That's the way it's supposed to be.  We can dream of a panacea of sorts to come along, but the truth is, a lifestyle change - a change I can put into action every day for the rest of my life - involves a lot of self-discipline and hard work.

If I seem a bit circumspect about adopting a new lifestyle, it's because I've gained and lost this same weight a number of different times in my life.  It's my desire to keep the weight off for the rest of my life this time.  I'm tired of entering into the latest weight loss "fad" with careless abandon, just to be disappointed when the weight (plus more) comes right back! 

The first time I heard about high-alkaline foods and that I could lose weight eating these, my mind drifted back in time to all those weird crash diets I'd been on before.  I was skeptical, I admit it.  Then I did my own research and discovered that this is not a "fad diet" - this is common sense.  At that point I was delighted and enthused and I have not looked back.  Eat right, exercise, hydrate and keep a positive attitude.  I can DO this!

Until there is a cure - we cope.  We just do the best we can with the resources available.  If you suffer with neuropathy, maybe this exercise would help you too.

Fall seven times, stand up eight.  - Japanese proverb

I want to share this new exercise I've been doing with you today. All you do is draw the alphabet in the air - with your foot! I've been doing this every day now for several months and the pain of my neuropathy is much better and more manageable. I think the idea is to keep the circulation going by keeping my foot moving. I just know it helps the pain - that's all I care about.

Acceptance doesn't mean resignation; it means understanding that something is what it is and that there's got to be a way through it.  - Michael J. Fox

Draw the alphabet with your foot?  Hey - this is a good exercise for neuropathy!

http://youtu.be/shEmyh2pg_U

 

In passing, I might mention that today is "Do a Grouch a Favor Day". Some famous grouches in recent history include Oscar the Grouch and Grumpy the Dwarf. There are also the Christmas grouches, The Grinch who Stole Christmas and Scrooge.   Does a name pop into your mind? Is there a grouch in your life? Make sure you do him/her a favor today. You might make their day a lot less miserable - you never know!

 

 

 

This is also NATIONAL ALMOND DAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  Enjoy a handful of almonds today for a snack! 

 

The almond contains about 26% carbohydrates (12% dietary fiber, 6.3% sugars, 0.7% starch and the rest miscellaneous carbohydrates), and may therefore be made into flour for cakes and cookies for low-carbohydrate diets. A standard serving of almond flour, 1 cup, contains 20 grams of carbohydrates, of which 10 g is dietary fiber, for a net of 10 g of carbohydrate per cup. This makes almond flour very desirable for use in cake and bread recipes by people on carbohydrate-restricted diets.

Almonds are a rich source of vitamin E, containing 26 mg per 100 g. About 20 percent of raw almond is high quality protein, a third of which are essential amino acids.

 An ounce of almonds contains 12% of necessary daily protein.  They are also rich in dietary fiber, B vitamins, essential minerals and monounsaturated fat, one of the two fats which potentially may lower LDL cholesterol. Typical of nuts and seeds, almonds also contain phytosterols, associated with cholesterol-lowering properties