RESTRICTION

[SassySenior 111]

Recently, I had an unexpected and forced restriction placed on me and experienced for the first time what restriction was like.

I received steroid shots in my knees and was told to watch my blood sugar carefully because steroids tend to make sugars rise. Sure enough, mine rose quickly, so I was forced to remove sugar and reduce anything that might have a lot of carbs or cause my blood sugar to rise. I have diabetes, and it has always been under perfect control, so I never worried much about what I ate. But when my sugar went to 313. it got my attention. I was able to.get it down and keep it lower by restricting what I ate. It was hard, but not terribly difficult to do.

That plus what I did for my pre-op diet will hopefully help me to enter into this new way of eating. For the pre-op diet, my doctor told me I had to lose 20 lbs. in 3 months to qualify for surgery. Initially, I didn't think it was possible, but I went ahead and fashioned a weight loss diet for me. It wound up working really well, and I was losing 10 lbs a month., Basically, I logged all meals at MyFitnessPal.com. I became very conscious of what and how much I was eating. I reduced my portion size a tad, and I reduced my intake of fattening foods. I didn't really give up anything, but just became aware and accountable for what I ate. Up till then, I never wanted to know how many calories were in anything. Now I studied the labels.

I couldn't believe it when I lost the weight. I stopped the diet once I met the requirement. I wish I had kept it up because it's been over a year, and I still don't have a date. Imagine how much weight I might have lost while waiting!

I'm hopefully getting close to a date, just awaiting cardiac clearance. Paws and fingers crossed!