Saturday, December 10, 2005

Saying Goodbye To A Friend.....

What a week this has been for me! I have been dealing with some tough issues since the beginning of this week - and yesterday I finially discovered part of what was causing them. So, in order to get some things back on track in my life I am going to have to say good bye to a friend ~~ a friend that I have grown closer and closer to over the last few months....and now I know we've grown too closer.

Who is this friend, you ask ~ and what has happened to turn the relationship into one that is no longer a healthy one? Well, I will tell you......

My friend is Coffee-mate Flavored Coffee Creamers!! Oh, how I have grown very attached to them over the last few months, so attached that my coffee intake has increased greatly. Now that isn't much of a problem because 75% of the time I am drinking decaf coffee anyway.

I discovered there was a problem on Wednesday though, when I tested my blood sugar levels. I was diagnosed with Diabetes alomst 4 years ago, but I have always been able to control my levels with proper diet and exercise. I've never even had to take medication for it. Over the last 6 months or so I have to admit that I have really slacked off on even monitoring it anymore, because it hasn't been an issue in so long.

Lately though, I haven't been feeling that great and I have been EXTREMELY thirsty. Finally, on Wednesday, I checked it ~~ 244!!!!! Wow, it has never been that high in my life. I immediately cut all carbs and sugars out of my diet, increased my water intake, and made sure Jeff and I were getting our 2 mile walk in each day.

Since then it still hadn't really come down much and I admit that frustrated me. I wanted it fixed immediately ~ but I think God wanted me to do some searching and get some things fixed...that probably wouldn't have happened if my levels went down right away and things went back to normal. Last night I did just that.

While talking with a friend on the phone, her and I began talking about what could have changed to cause my levels to change so much. I started going over a typical day of eating and that was when I realized the coffee creamer problem.

Coffee-mate has come out with some GREAT flavors - especially over the holidays!! I have been drinking (on a average) about 10 tablespoons of creamer a day. When I grabbed the bottle and looked.....that was at least 50 grams of carbs a day ~~ just in creamer!!!!!!! That didn't even count food throughout the day!!!

That meant for months I have probably been averaging anywhere from 70 - 90 grams of carbs a day - that is horrible, since I know I shouldn't have any more than 25 - 30 a day!!

So, today I bid a fond farwell to my friend - GOOD BYE COFFEE CREAMER. YOU WILL BE MISSED, BUT MY HEALTH IS MORE IMPORTANT TO ME THAN YOUR WONDERFUL TASTE!!!

5 comments:

Sarah Joy said...

AWWW! I'm sorry Tami! That stuff is bad for all of us, and I don't want to tempt you to stop a healthy step you are taking, but I found a sugar-free hazelnut CoffeeMate creamer last month and got it. I really enjoyed it, if you like sugar free things you might like it. A friend of mine who tried it said it was nasty, but he's biased against sugar free things. I'm used to it, because that's all I can have.

Carolyn said...

Awww Tami, I love Coffee Mate too!

Jamie said...

awww after our "talk" I decided I would try and cut back I imagine all those calories arent helping me much either!

Susan said...

Tami, you really might try the sugar free Coffee Mate. We found some when we shopped at Wal Mart in WA on the way home the other week, and I got it. Only 2 grams of carbs in 1 tablespoon (I got the powdered kind). It does have a little fat, though, so you still wouldn't want to overdo it.

I hope you can get your levels regulated soon! It's time for my one-month test, and I know it's not going to be any better than last month's, because I haven't been watching what I eat. Keep looking up and working on it!

Jamie said...

Tami are you still in mourning??? Dont you know your supposed to keep up with your blog so I dont have to sit here and hit refresh all day?

LOL
Love you!