I think having a great primary care physician–not just a doctor who is smart, because there are tons of those, but someone you can trust and talk to–is really important. I was blessed with a couple of great ones. Some of the things that are pretty likely if you have diabetes is that the physician […]

One of my in-real-life friends, Ashlyn, has now lost over 100 pounds twice. She’s done it without surgery either time, just through good old hard work with exercise and diet. You can see her story–the second time around–in this video hosted over at Bill Phillips Transformation. Ashlyn’s struggle highlights a few things, one being that […]

I just finished up reading this book that I discussed in brief a few posts back: While it is not my favorite beginning diabetic book (that remains the great Type II Diabetes: The First Year), it’s quite useful, particularly for those who read in small doses and want concrete ideas on what to do rather […]

Things don’t always go according to plan–but that doesn’t mean to not have a plan. As I stated the other day, I was planning on doing some early morning bicycling. What I didn’t count on was having a cold that, while not horrible, certainly had me lying in bed at 4:45 am thinking there was […]

If job one of a newly diagnosed Type II diabetic is to lose weight, fixing your diet needs to be job two or three, in other words, way, way up there in terms of what you do. Unfortunately, improving your diet is not quite like improving your lungs if you’re a smoker–if you smoke, you […]

I picked up a copy of What to Expect When You Have Diabetes from the American Diabetes Association when I was at  the library today. It’s a book of 170 “tips” (more like 170 frequently asked questions) for diabetics. On first scan, there are 23 pages–21 questions and answers–dedicated to the chapter on Living Well: […]

While I’m not a copious journal keeper, I have, for years, written down every penny I spent (see my personal finance blog if you want to know why). When I started my diabetes journey, I started doing something similar. I would write down everything I would eat. I was also hoping to manage my diabetes […]

I suspect there are diabetics out there who say that being diagnosed saved their lives. I wouldn’t go that far, but it surely got me to take my health more seriously. Despite the fact that losing weight would have to be job one, I didn’t make any goals with my weight, at least not until […]