2021 Diabetes Meal Plan (Updated)

It has been over 10 years since I published my Diabetes Meal Plan so it seems appropriate to update this blog to show how I have progressed.  This had been one of my most popular posts!  It is still relevant and easy to understand as well as follow for those that are seriously trying to improve their health through diet.  It is easy to adjust to one's personal calorie needs and food preferences using the chart from the 2011 post.  It had been a guide for me to get to the initial goal I set for myself and what was acceptable by my health care team.  It was followed for one year.  After that, I returned to it when I got off track for an extended time.  For me this was many times!

There are several factors that can cause this to happen.  My nemesis is mainly stress along with the nature of this chronic disease to progress no matter what I do.  I am fortunate to live in a time of life that allows me to retire comfortably from the stress of making a living where my time was owned and controlled by others.  I am also very fortunate to live in this time of amazing medicine and a health care team that helps me manage diabetes the best way possible with hope that I will continue to have a long and fulfilling life ahead! 

As the theme of this blog implies, I intended to live my life trusting my intuition in my retirement years.  Intuition can only be trusted after trial and error of experience combine with current knowledge.  I am very pleased to report that my Endocrinologist has congratulated me on a good job of managing my diabetes just yesterday at my yearly appointment!  

I have reached and maintained my weight loss goals which puts me in the range for a healthy BMI (Body Mass Index).  My blood glucose is in the good range as are my cholesterol numbers..all at the same time!  Even my body fat and water ranges are good as I use the Weight Watcher's Scale once a month to keep track and do my calculations.  Starting the first of the new year (2022) I will begin using a new blood sugar meter by OneTouch Verio Reflect.  It personalizes guidance and encouragement utilizing my new iPhone 13 which I just purchased last month for the first time by using blue tooth technology.  I also will use some food nutrition/calorie calculation apps to make the work easier when I need to get back on track.  I have a recommended list of useful apps from professionals to check out.

I am in a good place now and want to share my current knowledge with others.  There is nothing that I cannot eat.  It is all about eating what you want and wanting the right foods in the right portions.  It takes time and practice but it can apply to everyone who wants to fuel their life and live it fully.  You can adapt this chart to your own numbers by knowing your BMI.  The calculations below will help to customize the rest.  These numbers are for me.  Weigh yourself.  It takes 15 calories times body weight to maintain that weight.  If you want to lose weight, try reducing those calories to lose a realistic 2-3 pounds per week.  Always apply the total percent range of carbs, proteins, and fats daily. Exercise helps to build your muscles which is a good tool to burn calories.  Exercising to burn calories just makes you hungrier so watch that. 

My Vitamins and Supplements include: 

Alpha Liponic Acid - decreases insulin resistance while augmenting the body's antioxidant  defenses for any degree of metabolic syndrome and/or Type 2 diabetes.

Biotin - for a healthy energy metabolism as well as healthy hair, skin, and nails.

Calcium-Magnesium-Potassium - nourishes muscles including heart to function at optimum level.

CoQ10 - ubiquinone, produces adenosine triphosphate (ATP) in the body, antioxidant; statins severely        deplete the body's natural levels of C0Q10 which supports an aging heart, boosts energy and stamina, supports cognitive function, healthy vision, hearing, and oral health.

Multi-Vitamin - High Potency; iron free for me.

Reveratrol Complex - source of flavonoids: red/purple pigments that recycle and extends the antioxidant power of vitamin C & E for age-related diseases.

Fish Oil - Omega-3s are naturally loaded with EPA & DHA which benefits the brain, eyes, cardiovascular system, joint health, and other vital functions.

Super B-Complex - contains high levels of vitamins B, Riboflavin, Thiamin, Folate, Biotin, Niacin, D-Calcium.

Tumeric - Curcumin blocks rheumatoid arthritis, a potential glucose lowering agent and antioxidant for Type 2 diabetes management.

Vitamin D3 - prescribed by my health care professional for general health.

Vitamin E - Mixed tocopherols.

Green Tea - 4 cups/day

Black Coffee - 1-4 cups/day

Various Herbal Teas as needed to drink 

Essential Oils applied or infused as needed

Water - 8-9 cups/day

My Current Medications Include:

Rosuvastatin

Aspirin

Metformin

Ozempic

Invokana

I have been advised that I may be reducing my meds in the future should I maintain my good numbers for a reasonable time to be reviewed by my Endocrinologist each year.  My new med update has eliminated the Invokana because my insurance just notified me that they will not cover it after the first of the year 2022 and have advised several other similar meds that my Endocrinologist says are just as good.  As a matter of fact, I will be replacing the Invokana with one that combines with the Metformin which will eliminate my taking it twice a day to just one time a day and the amount of Metformin will be less.  I am a little anxious about changing what works well but that's part of this game where the path to useful meds includes winners and losers.  

I have even been told that it may be possible to manage my diabetes without any meds sometime in the future if I keep up the good work!  I could use some prayers for that but it does give me some hope and motivation to go on!

I hope the reader finds this information useful and adaptable to their personal situation.  Health care is up to the individual to manage to the best of their ability seeking knowledge and professional help when needed.  There's so much helpful information available now that it is easy to be overwhelmed.  I hope you are in a position to trust your intuition and discernment as I am.  Do the work for yourself because you are worth it!

2021 10th Anniversary of My Retirement (Revised)

 

View from my front yard

The dawn of a new decade begins as I come upon the 10th Anniversary of my retirement after working 30 years as a General Certified Real Estate Appraiser and Ratio Study Manager of the State Tax Commission of Missouri.  I had far exceeded any goals I made in my career and have wrote about those extensively in this blog in various posts since I created this blog about six months before my actual retirement date of 12/1/2011 when I was 56 years old.  

The main purpose of this blog was to use the experiences and skills I developed during my career to help me prepare and enjoy my retirement.  I hope my journey to get to this point has been an inspiration to others or at least entertainment.  I very much have enjoyed the process and now look forward to many more years of an active interesting life.  I may continue to add posts on this blog at least until the end of 2021 or as I feel the need to update old posts.  There will be no more notices when a new post is completed so check back at least at the end of the each year if you are still interested.  This blog and all the posts will stay here forever as far as I know although many of the links have disappeared over time.  There continues to be regular views worldwide as people Goggle different subjects that may have key words in my posts.   There has been 43,900 views!

Rainbow on Veterans Day

2021 - Settlers Village Harvest Festival

I became a Missouri Master Gardener in May of 2012, the first Spring after I retired.  I participated in all the classes required initially and all the required continuing education hours each year after.  This program is sponsored by the University of Missouri at Columbia.  

According to the bylaws:

Purpose

The purpose of this Association is exclusively for horticultural education to supplement the effort of the University of Missouri Extension Program and thereby provide education and information on horticultural and environmental stewardship to the residents of Missouri. The Association will:

1. Support local Master Gardener Chapters.
2. Provide a centralized method for information exchange among the members.
3. Facilitate Missouri Master Gardener educational opportunities, partnerships, training sessions, fundraising efforts, conferences and association meetings; as well as coordination with other agricultural associations, gardening associations, and public and private gardens as determined by the board.
4. This organization is organized exclusively for charitable and educational purposes within the meaning of Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code.

The Hickory County Chapter has various community projects throughout the county located on public property and is mostly about beautification.  The greenhouse and vegetable garden projects at the McCarty Senior Center in Wheatland are one of many outside sources that the center uses to feed the elderly of our community.  Primarily, the greenhouse is used to grow plants for a fundraising plant sale each spring.  Funds are used mostly to support the greenhouse expenses and provide what the other service projects may need.  

I have always considered the Settlers Village in Wheatland as my primary service project and my husband joined me after he qualified in 2014 and had more time for it after he retired in 2019.  This is what we do together and it is just the two of us as we have made it low maintenance over recent years.  There is another organization that takes care of the restored log buildings and the landscape in this city park as we do the gardens only.  My purpose has always been to replace the established non-native plants with Missouri natives and pollinator-friendly plants to establish and support a variety of bees, bugs, and butterflies.  Together my husband and I have made this project one that is basically self-sustaining and low-maintenance that is primarily to improve the natural community while pleasing to the public.  We especially try to choose plants that will be in bloom during the fall festival in early September which is also the best time for monarch butterflies!  

May of 2022 will be my 10th year.  I will no longer have to complete the required service project or continuing education hours but will be allowed to retain the title of Missouri Master Gardener as an honor with emeritus status.  I will support my husband as the project manager until he gets his 10 years completed and then we will see if we are still interested.  We have much satisfaction with our own home landscape and that may be enough in our Golden Years!

I have included many posts in this blog over the past 10 years about my service with the Master Gardeners.  It is easy to search using the tools provided to see the progression. Just type in search words such as Settlers Village and Master Gardeners.  Below I have included the 2021 Fall Harvest Festival event from September that coincided with the 20th Anniversary of 911 so it was a larger participation from the public this year than recent years.  Photos show what we had in bloom mostly at that time.  I find most pleasure these days chasing the butterflies which are plentiful and fun to photograph!

This area faces the north city street and Hwy 54.  It is out of the way of most of the foot traffic.  It is basically my project and I enjoy a large selection of native plants and annuals to support mostly the bees, bugs, and butterflies.  

Overview of Settlers Village at the corner of the north city street and the east city street; basically the city square park area.  We've lost a few buildings over the years but I think there's about 8 now still standing.  They were originally built around 1840s and were moved and reconstructed on this site from the area about 20 years ago.

Mid-view of the native garden area I maintain mostly by myself facing the north city street.

A very showy native aster!

Highly fragrant vine next to these gardens that joined us on its own.  I think it must be related to wild jasmine.
 

Central garden area between all the log buildings

American Beauty Berry

Flag pole area is located in the middle of the center garden 

Blue salvia 

Mexican Sunflower in with the blue salvia

Various annuals are planted from the excess greenhouse plants.  Many have reseeded themselves such as marigolds and zinnias.

American Beauty Berry is my favorite!

This 3rd central garden Has had non-native crepe myrtles in the center that are in the process of removal this year because they are very high maintenance.  They are Japanese beetle magnets and grow too tall for the security cameras.  There's some ajuga ground cover and succulents remaining.

A pleasant surprise found this year are several honey vine milkweed plants showing up on their own in this 3rd garden.  It is a host plant for monarch butterflies!

So hard to choose just a few of the many butterfly photos I took this day!  This is the time for the monarchs to come through and I'm so happy to have what they want to help them on their long journey south!

Getting ready for the parade on the main street of Wheatland is showing a larger crowd than in recent years.  Population of this town is less than 400.  

To each there is their season...young and old alike!  Good to come together in a place that allows time to stand still for a little while.  Time moves forward and nothings stays the same but the memories are what you make of them when you capture a moment.

2021 - An Enchanting August

The world around me was full of beauty and enchantment.  There was so much to be thankful for beginning with daily enjoyment of our home landscape we cultivated for over 30 years.  Everything seemed to come together at this time and I didn't have to go far to find what puts a smile on my face and joy in my heart!  What begins at home seemed to radiate to the rest of the world around me.  Such a turn-around from the events of 2020 which were upsetting and turbulent!  Come join me as I highlight my world in photos...

Gnome Home under a backyard swing trellis covered with coral honeysuckle and hyacinth bean vines is where I claim as "My Happy Place."  It is surrounded by many varieties of lilies, lemon balm, catnip, cat grass, sunflowers, a variety of succulants, and hibiscus.  I can view all the vegetable and native plant gardens from here yet have the privacy I need from the public areas in the front yard.

Faerie Tree is located in the front yard and can be viewed as I have morning coffee on the patio.  Plants around this tree include ajuga, blackberry lilies, English ivy, lirope, varieties of succulants, various spring bulbs, native plants, and peonies.  It is next to a bird feeder and bluebird house so there's much activity including chipmonks, squirrels, deer, and occasionally a fox who has been seen on several occasions resting near this tree stump!  It is also a favorite spot for Bobi Kitty to sleep under the peonies or watch the birds.

This is a view from the driveway with morning glory vines growing on an oblisk.  There are huge sunflowers, loads of zinnias and four o'clocks.  These plants hide the swing trellis which is directly behind the oblisk.  The driveway is at street level.  The gardens are terraced beginning at this site.  The wooded hills in the background have several creeks that fill when it rains with the rushing sound of water that flows into the Pomme de Terre River at the bottom of the hill our house is atop.

The backyard landscape is boardered by a city street which leads to the river below.  This highly sloped area of our yard has a variety of lilies and crepe myrtle bushes mostly.  It is also the location of many of my favorite irises and many native plants.  We have one large oak that provides some shade for the backyard lawn.

The Chiminea Area located at the rear southwest corner of the house on the walk-out basement level is newly completed this year and used for roasting marshmellows and hotdogs with our granddaughter.  The sidewalk is along three sides of the house and leads to the gardens.  The shade from the big oak tree is great for coleous and creeping jenny.  

The final (?) terraces built are steps from my trellis swing area.  This is the first year for strawberries and already picking a handful most days now.  The adjacent garden will be planted next spring with the newly grown plants from this garden.

View is from the garden shed looking up to the trellis swing area with about a dozen raised terraced gardens on either side.

This view of the terraced gardens is taken from the carport at street level.  It is steep!

Frontyard overview is taken from the driveway at street level on a cul-de-sac. It is sloped with two terraces built to divert the rain water that comes from the street; we are on top of a hill. The pie-shaped double lot is smallest at the front and widest along the backyard along the rear city street.

The frontyard patio is where I spend every morning watching the sunrise with my first pot of coffee beginning when the stars are still out.  My favorite time of day is this "Magic Hour."

Sunflowers of many varieties are planted each year.  This is my favorite.

Prairie Lizard is common as well as the blue-tailed skinks.  Welcomed in my gardens and fun to watch them go in and out the rock walls.  

Clouded Sulfer Butterfly is common now and they love the many marigolds all around the yard.

Pipevine Swallowtail Butterflies are plentiful in my yard because I have two large Dutchman's Pipe Vines well established which is their host plant.  They love the many zinnias I plant all over the yard.

White-lined Spinx Moth loves my petunias planted all along the backyard sidewalk in the sun areas.  There are also Hummingbird Clearwing Moths which are more common.

Here is a Giant Swallowtail on an ashy sunflower which is a native plant growing well along the rear property line.  There are a variety of swallowtails this time of the season.

Our granddaughter comes to visit often and since she turned 4 years old last month, it is all about twirlly dresses and princesses which really bring enchantment to my world!  Here is her Ariel the Mermaid dress.

                                                                       Cinderella

                                                        Unicorn Rainbow Princess

                  

                                                      Princess Elsa from Frozen

There was plenty of enchantment close to home but it was now time to travel to an exotic place for awhile to share a very special family time...our daughter's Florida Beach Wedding!  It was a wonderful time to be together with our new extended family in such a relaxed and beautiful location.  I was very happy that our son and his wife were able to attend with the added bonus of our son officiating the wedding ceremony!  Such great memories were made!  Here is just a fraction of the photos taken with the hard choice to pick my favorites to share....

Arriving in Florida at the first Visitor's Center was a great place to experience what choices we had for our extended stay after the wedding.  This is the home of the U.S. Navy Blue Angels.

Our destination was the Navarre Beach Area close to Destin which is located just across the state line past Pensecola.  Looking forward to seeing much wildlife which is celebrated here with a National Seashore and protected areas.  

Our daughter and six family members arrived first.  We met them on the beach, of course!  We had condos adjacent a short walk from the white sand beach.  

It didn't take us long to get our feet wet even though it was a "red flag" day which meant we couldn't go in very far because of rip tides.

Granddaughter was so ready to run and chase the sea birds after the long drive!  I have so many wonderful photos of her joyfully playing on the beach and in the water.

First night dinner was at my daughter and son-in-law's condo with my granddaughter, son and daughter-in-law and new family members.  It had been a coule years since my kids were together before the 2020 pandemic.  My heart was so full!

Early risers the next day went gathering seashells at sunrise!  Included with me were my new son-in-law and his daughter, brother, mother & boyfriend, and my son.

Me and my son at sunrise

Wild Petunias

Some kind of sunflower vine

Blanket flowers grow wild here

I think this is a heron of some kind

Me under the pier where the wedding will take place soon

Pelicans

Granddaughter full of joy!

The Wedding Party is all set

Husband and wife are pronounced at sunset with my son officiating.  Two young girls now become sisters.

New Family joined together

It was a glorious celebration all day ending with an awesome wedding ceremony as the sun set on the beach.  There were a couple events that did not interupt plans such as a near drowning next to us with large rescue team responding.  The groom was helping out less than an hour before the ceremony which was also when a huge hours-long thunderstorm finally stopped and the skies cleared at sunset.  It was magical how everything that could have gone wrong didn't.  What a bonding experience with new family members as we all huddled under one canopy for a couple hours of fierce thunderstorm before moving everything under the nearby pier.  It was clear that this marriage was meant to be and this strong couple has enough love to weather any storm!  I'm so happy to have witness this union in such a natural location!  The storm stopped and the sky cleared just in time for the sunset wedding to begin.  Electric as it was beautiful!

Early the next day everyone left except me and my husband.  We planned to stay several more days and enjoy ourselves.  We started by spending time walking the pier to see what the storm brought in.  We saw so many dolphins, a sea turtle in the water, and several other fish caught by the fishermen on the pier.  It was so fun to watch and then we had the best meals beginning right at the end of this pier.

One of many dolphins I saw looking straight down from the pier was so awesome to watch especially when there are several at a time playing.

The best meal I had was the gulf shrimp, of course!  The shrimp tacos at the pier were my favorite and we came back here several times to eat.

One of the most delicious shrimp salads I've ever had!

There's a turtle sactuary nearby and we saw this old guy.

The Least Terns are protected along the causeway (road to the beach area) and I zoomed in for this pic from the road.  There were dozens nesting!

One of many exotic beautiful flowers landscaped at our condo near the beach

One of so many sunrise photos I took everyday.  Hard to choose because each one is so unique and amazing!  I never miss a sunrise no matter where I am. 

Full sunrise over the bridge

The sun is up and I'm ready for another day on the beach after hunting for seashells

This guy came out to visit us during the many hours we sat in our beach chairs facing the water.  So relaxing to watch the birds and creatures around the beach.  We had a nice set-up with canopy, anchored blanket, and comphy chairs to spend hours enjoying the sun, sights, and sounds.  Perfect.

Our new favorite place to eat was at Destin with a waterfront view and really good food...especially the key lime pie!

Our last morning before driving home had a "red flag" warning due to a hurricane on it's way.  I think it got here a day after we left.  Our luck just keeps coming!

Plans to stop at Elvis Presley's childhood home  in Tupelo, Mississippi was a "Bucket List" thing along with a tour of Graceland in Memphis, Tennessee.  I'm sure glad we did! 

Up on the hill behind his childhood home is this monument of the boy Elvis at 9 years old and the bigger than life Elvis with a description of that journey.  A very nice display in a peaceful place.

We made it to Graceland and took the big tour for 5 hours!  It was truly worth it and I'm glad we did!  I took so many photos to enjoy for years to come.  It had recently opened to the public after the 2020 pandemic restrictions.

A great way to end our road trip but there's no place like home!  This whole month was incredible and I'm so happy to get back to chasing butterflies in my backyard and seeing the world through my granddaughter's eyes.  I am truly blessed!