Blood Sugar Testing On A Schedule

Testing your blood sugar is just a few quick and easy steps to do. Yes, it can be a touch painful, but honestly, I've stubbed by toe way harder than testing my blood sugar or taking an injection ever hurt me.

Despite the fact that it only takes a minute or so to do, blood sugar testing can be painful in the sense that it's a royal pain in the neck to remember to do throughout the day. I used to have days where I'd sometimes test once a day and sometimes 8, even though 8 was my goal. Now it's 10 and that was a lot for me to remember at the start.

I've now put myself on a schedule, because it's the only thing that works. I find that if I don't incorporate testing into my life 100% and try to make it a habit, then it just doesn't happen, even when I have the best of intentions.

Test #1	As soon as my alarm goes off, I grab my testie from my nightstand and test while still half under the covers.
Test #2	I test as soon as I get to work while my computer boots up and then I eat breakfast while checking my email.
Test #3	A 2 hour alarm is set on my pump to alert me 2 hours after breakfast.
Test #4	As soon as I decide what to do for lunch, eat at my desk or order out, I test.
Test #5	Again, a 2 hour alarm is set on my pump to alert me 2 hours after lunch.
Test #6	4:00pm snacking cravings hit me, I test, if low I get to snack, if not I chug a glass of water and get over the craving.
Test #7	While cooking dinner, when I get to the "dinner in 5 minutes!"-mark, it's time to test.
Test #8	Once again, a 2 hour alarm is set on my pump to alert me 2 hours after dinner.
Test #9	Once in PJs, I test before brushing my teeth, just in case I need to munch something.
Test #10	I never test in the middle of the night unless I wake up on my own. Sometimes when I wake up it takes a few minutes before I start feeling shaky when I'm low, so I always test if I wake up at night.

Of course, I have days where I forget to do one of the tests mentioned above, but all in all, a schedule seriously helps me pull in all together. And with the busy lives most people have these days, making blood sugar testing as simple as possible is a necessity.

Snacking on the Job

I recently started a new job. It's awesome. Better pay, better hours, more flexibility, less stress, and an all 'round better environment. It was definitely a fantastic decision to make the change.

With this great job, I've developed a major problem. Snacking on the job. You see, there's this fully stocked refrigerator. And when I say refrigerator I mean a humongous, commercial size refrigerator, where the whole thing is a fridge (no freezer). Plus, there are numerous shelves covered in snacky foods. Chips, nuts, sweets, granola bars, apples, oranges, cookies, candy, sandwich fixin's, guacamole, sodas, galore!

For the first month, I did a great job of resisting the snacking temptation. After having to eat some of the candy to solve a low blood sugar problem, I started having little things here and there. Now, I'm snacking every day, sometimes more than once. For a non-diabetic, my habits probably wouldn't be all that "out of hand". But for me, they are. Every time I give in to the urge I have to check my blood sugar AND take insulin. Even with these obstacles, I somehow still choose snack.

Of course, this type of snacking will pack a few pounds onto anyone who does it regularly. But the long term effects of this snacking on my body will be far more severe. I've got to stop. Immediately!