During my initial 'wellness' visit, December 24, 2014, my blood was tested. I will confess that I was concerned when the results indicated that my glucose levels were elevated. The report that I received from my doctor last December had my '
fasting glucose' level at
114 mg/dL. The initial report came with the advice to visit www.diabetes.org for more information. If I was not officially pre-diabetic, I was on the wrong track and headed in that direction.
Two months later, after I had dropped more than 50 lbs, my blood was tested again. I was most interested in this glucose level.
This time the reading was 74 mg/dL (normal range is 70-99)
I am no longer speeding down the tracks headed into a diabetes or pre-diabetes. I successfully switched tracks.
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I was speeding straight towards pre-diabetes, my efforts
over the past two months, had me 'switch tracks' and now
I am on a very different path headed in a new direction.
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However, my blood tests, show a new minor problem, '
Mild Anemia.' All of a sudden my Vitamin D level is 'insufficient.' (Maybe McDonald's McChickens, Burger King hamburgers, Hershey's chocolate milk and Klondike ice-cream have lots of Vitamin D!) The recommendation is to eat foods rich in Vitamin D, or foods fortified with Vitamin D or increase Sun Exposure. Sun Exposure might be problematical while it is 10 degrees outside. Considering what was going on with my body and by body chemistry two months ago - this report was very satisfying.
I consulted the 'Vitamin D Council' website to find out why people might not be getting enough Vitamin D
For a number of reasons, many people aren’t getting enough vitamin D to stay healthy. This is called vitamin D deficiency. You may not get enough vitamin D if:
- You don’t get enough sunlight. Your body is usually able to get all the vitamin D it needs if you regularly expose enough bare skin to the sun. However, many people don’t get enough sunlight because they spend a lot of time inside and because they use sunscreen. It’s also difficult for some people to get enough vitamin D from the sun during the winter.
- You don’t take supplements. It’s very difficult to get enough vitamin D from the foods you eat alone.
- Your body needs more vitamin D than usual, for example if you’re obese or pregnant.
I can see that getting enough sunlight might have been a problem for the past few wintry months in Chicago. I had recently been taking a Vitamin D supplement. I have now increased the amount from 1000 IU to 2000 IU. I am still considered obese although I am nearly certain that I am not pregnant.
Next thing to do was get a list of foods rich in Vitamin D - so I know what foods to add to my menu.
I consulted webMD.com:
Foods that provide vitamin D include:
- Fatty fish, like tuna, mackerel, and salmon
- Foods fortified with vitamin D, like some dairy products, orange juice, soy milk, and cereals
To get vitamin D from food, fish is a good option. Six ounces of cooked salmon has more than 600 international units (IU).
MONDAY MENU
breakfast 2 poached eggs, 2 slices turkey 'bacon' cup OAT MEAL, 1 prune 355 CALORIES
lunch Jimmy John's #14 Bootlegger Club UNWICH w/provolone cheese 280 CALORIES
dinner APPLEBEE'S Grilled Chicken Caesar Salad (no dressing) 370 CALORIES
TOTAL CALORIES CONSUMED 1005 CALORIES
CALORIES BURNED
6AM elliptical machine 32 minutes 440 calories
7PM DAYS INN Stairmaster 30 minutes 400 calories
total calories burned 840 calories
NET CALORIES 165 CALORIES
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APPLEBEE'S GRILLED CHICKEN CAESAR
SALAD (NO DRESSING) 370 CALORIES |
