Living with Diabetes and Lapband

I’ve already posted this on Facebook, but to be honest, I feel both a bit inspired and a bit of a fraud.

http://www.webmd.com/diabetes/manage-type-2-insulin-16/video-manage-diabetes-kathleen-weaver

First, I haven’t been the person with my diabetes under control for a long time.  One of the reasons I’m retired now, is because the diabetes had been out of control for several years before I left the classroom.  But seeing the video makes me remember that person and inspires me to get it back under control.

More when I get back from Waterworks class.

So I'm looking at some other options.  Nutrisystem has a plan that is $9.82 a day but you have to commit to 4 weeks.  A similar plan for my husband runs $11.25 with the same four week commitment.

The nice thing about Nutrisystem is that they have some meals available at Walmart.   Their 5 day boxes are really inexpensive, running between $25 - $45.00   I've wondered about grabbing one of those boxes when traveling.

There is also Jenny Craig.  I've done that in the past and did well.  They have a 3 day sample kit for $39.99.  It doesn't look like it has changed that much.  Membership fee, monthly feed, plus food.

Still waiting :-)

I am getting quite impatient for my DietToGo food, probably because I got a shipping notice yesterday and it isn't arriving until Thursday.

First I checked Facebook and that is normal and fine. Still something to be aware of.

But in the meantime I decided to try some local services.

The first was Snap Kitchen. I went in and what they call meals don't fit my definition. A single plate with no vegetables. Also higher priced. I left with no food.

The second was MyFit Foods which I tried in the past. Their meals include a protein and vegetables with some exceptions. I bought 9 meals for $77.52 with tax.  That worked out to $8.60 per meal.  They have a nutritionist on staff, supplements and cleanses I think they call them. Obviously their food was more appealing than the other local option. Also drive time to get is fairly far away. They do have house accounts with bonus bucks that saves some money.

As long as the food tastes as good as mentioned on the Facebook, I’ll probably go with Diet2Go.  So I asked about setting up an account, and was directed to the 1-800 number and specifically to Rene.

She was pleasant, and took my credit card information as quickly as her computer would allow.

Nice experience.  I don’t use the phone often to contact companies, usually because I have to go through an answer tree.  Miss having a person answer the phone and direct the call properly.   However, they had already provided me an extension.

I’ll have to do a real call sometime next week.

Looking forward to my first box.

I alluded to some health issues.  Since the first of the year, with the Texas Teacher Retirement System, I’ve been dealing with and resolving as many health issues as I can.

Frankly my husband’s issue was too expensive to use on some of them.

First, I had been dealing with my teeth since the Fall when I was accepted as a patient by the school.  One of my crowns was completely rebuilt and it took from January to June to get it fixed.  I’m chewing MUCH better now.  We’re going to replace a few other crowns as we go, and we’re trying to stop the progression of gum disease.  A well known complication of diabetes.  The chewing helps the ability of doing food the lap band way.

Second, was sleep.  I needed a refresher course.  A lot of that is still choices, but at least when I go to bed I sleep all night and feel good the next day.

Third is diabetes control, and I think it is getting better.

Fourth is physical pain which keeps me from working out and sometimes sleep.  We discovered I was suffering from statin muscle pain and we’re working on getting me on the right cholesterol medication.  Went off it entirely for 6 weeks, pain went away.  I’ve been on Zetia (non-statin) for three weeks and no pain.  I’m working with Parker Chiropractic School on the joint pain.  That is interesting as I make good progress than he has to do a full exam, and I go back a few steps.  Right now my good knee is causing problems.

My latest issue is dizziness, this is my second round and I’m waiting on non-expired Nasonix to see if it solves the problem.  Should be in today.

Nothing serious but all contributing to my weight.

I went out to to the website - http://diettogo.com/ and went through the initial signup process, but stopped at the actual checkout since it was set up to automatically start Monday and I already have that week coming.

That whole process was very easy and straight forward.  If multiple people in the household want to sign up, each has their own account which makes sense because of the support. 

The website is very pleasing to the eye, loads fast and is easy to navigate.  I think my mom could figure it out and she is technology challenged.  They also have a 1-800 number but I haven’t used it yet.

They do give a 10% discount which just about covers the shipping.  Pricing wise is pretty comparable to someone who eats out of the time, about the same if we do a lot of prepackaged meals, which we have been doing lately.

They have a higher calorie level for men, which is probably what I’ll order for my husband if we like it.

For me, shipping FedEx isn’t a problem – I use an attended mail service which emails me when things arrive.  It’s safer since we live on a busy street.

I have been struggling with my weight and at my heaviest for the last two year period.  I tend to stay in one scale decade and I”m at the top end.  I’ve been looking at how to change things, since I’ve got progress on all the medical fronts.

Well, I got an email last weekend with a review offer.  It’s called DietToGo and their main page is at http://diettogo.com/ 

They’ve offered to let me try a free week because they have a new meal plan called Balance-Diabetes.  I get my first food next week.   They have a blog post about it at http://diettogo.com/blog/introducing-our-new-meal-plan-for-people-with-pre-type2-diabetes though it’s designed for both Diabetic and Pre-Diabetic.   

For years I used a service in Dallas called Diet Gourmet but they went out of business.  I’m skeptical of a shipped program, but I’ll see.  I’ve tried some local services but I haven’t been happy with the food (too healthy and either too bland or too heavily spiced).  Also wasn’t happy with the service.

They have lots of online support, including a Facebook page and they encourage people to complain about the food (or not).