Lab results

Last week I had blood drawn at my holistic doctor's office.  I also had a body comp done.  The results for that came back just fine...everything looks good.  Today I got the results of my blood work back.

Vitamin D is perfect, thanks to the supplements I've been taking (10,000 IU daily).  It came back at 82.1 ng/ml (optimal range 30-100 ng/ml).  My metabolic panel is all in range - liver, kidneys, potassium, sodium, etc. are all great!  No red flags anywhere. 

Still working to bring down inflammation, and the next step is to take a gut health test to see where I need help healing my gut.  That will also aid in reducing inflammation and improving blood sugar control.  The only thing is that the test is $900 and we're still trying to scrape the money together.  I'm not worried about it, though.  I will do everything I can to be as healthy as possible, especially as we plan for the future and having kids.

    "And my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus."  Philippians 4:19

Jesus knows the pain of our diseases

"Mankind was created to walk in divine health as he walked in obedience to the Lord. It is only from his disobedience that sickness and disease came upon him. ...Jesus never sinned and never had sickness until He became sin for us and then took our sickness and disease that we might have His righteousness and health." - Biblical Naturopathy, Rev. Bill Yeary.

Jesus was sinless His whole life.  He never experienced sickness or sin while He walked on the Earth.  He took on our sins and bore them for us as if He had sinned, but He was perfect and holy.  The sins and diseases of the world went with Him to the grave.   

Growing up I never felt like Jesus could understand what it was like to have Diabetes (or Celiac or Hashimoto's). After all, He'd never had them while He walked the earth. I'm amazed everyday by what I learn about Him...and I can see that He DOES understand because He took upon Him not only each and every one of our sins, but also each and every disease when He died for us on the cross. That's how much He loves us...how much He wants us to be free from the disease of sin and death in body, spirit, and soul.

"For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin."  Hebrews 4:15

I love/hate insurance

Insurance.  Everyone seems to have a love/hate relationship with it.  It's been pretty much great for me this year (except for not covering my holistic doctor) but now BCBS isn't going to be offering policies in my area for next year, so I have to find a new company. 

I love BCBS, and I'm really bummed to see them stop offering plans.  But it's not their fault.  Obamacare has completely messed up the insurance market.   

I'm trying to stock up on as many of my meds as possible in anticipation of high out of pocket costs for the beginning of 2017. 

Did you know that without insurance, I'd have to pay $636.99 for 2 vials of Levemir (2 month supply) and $77.78 for a month supply of my Armour Thyroid meds?  (With insurance, I got them for free today!)
I pay $55 a month for test strips, $13 for syringes, and $ for Apidra (when it's not free).  Not to mention all of my holistic supplements ($250+)! 

How do they expect us to be able to afford to live with these unreasonable prices?  We're not made of money, and I don't appreciate being charged an arm and a leg for medications that keep me alive!

Please, Lord, provide us with another good insurance company next year!   

ChocoRite for Days!

While my husband and I were on vacation a few weeks ago, my father-in-law ordered me some ChocoRite bars, since they didn't have any in our local stores.  Unfortunately, they didn't come in time for me to enjoy them on our trip but they came yesterday!  I received the ChocoRite Milk Chocolate Bars and the ChocoRite Milk Chocolate Peanut Butter Bars

I was excited to try the Peanut Butter Bars and I wasn't disappointed!  They taste like big Reese's!  I think they are my new favorite flavor!  The best thing is that these bars don't affect my blood sugar, and they aren't just for diabetics!  Anyone can enjoy them!  I think they're a much healthier choice over commercial chocolate products.  They come in 3 other yummy flavors:

ChocoRite Dark Chocolate Bars
ChocoRite Milk Chocolate Crisp Bars
ChocoRite Dark Chocolate Almond Bars   

Check them out for yourself and let me know what you think!  I hope you enjoy them as much as I do!

(This post contains affiliate links.  I receive a small percentage for each sale.)

Why I Love Low Carb

This was my dinner last night:  Lemon Butter Chicken, Buttered Asparagus, and low carb Cheddar Garlic Biscuits.

Doesn't it look yummy?

I love low carb for so many reasons I don't even know where to start.  Maybe I should make a list...I love lists!
1.  No more blood sugar roller coaster!
2.  Yummy, healthy, real foods!
3.  New foods I've never tried before - asparagus, avocado, cauliflower, flax seed, almond and coconut flour, unsweetened almond milk, etc.
4.  New recipes!
5.  Online support groups!
6.  Reaching out to people who need help!
7.  Empowerment!
8.  Overall health improvement!
9.  Opportunities to make a difference in the diabetes world!
10.  Being a light for Christ by proclaiming His name through my journey!
11.  Being a role model for family, friends, and strangers!

Good health starts with you.  I wish I had realized this sooner in my diabetes journey, but I'm grateful that no matter how long it took me to learn this truth, God was faithful to bring me to this point.  Mistakes are the only way we learn, whether we make them ourselves or we watch others make them.  If you keep doing what you're doing, you'll keep getting what you've been getting.  Don't go insane.  Change what isn't working and try something that others have found to work for them.  If it doesn't work for you, tweak it a bit until it does, or try something else.  If it works, stick with it!  Don't look back except to remind yourself how far you've come, and why you don't want to go back.

Low carb is the only way I'll go from here...high carb can stay in the past where it belongs.  My future's bright and sunny - I know I'm doing what's best for my body.  What is your body telling you to do?  What can you do to change?  Don't be afraid...it might be the best thing you ever did.

I used to eat over 300g of carbs a day.  Now I eat less than 40g.