Diet is a four letter word.

No, I am not dieting!

I hate the word "diet" (a 4 letter word as it turns out). That poor little word "diet" is so strongly related to the goal of weight loss that I can hardly separate its real meaning from the implied understanding everyone has when it is said out loud. And I have already expounded in my Soap Box about dieting so I will spare you that rant now.

But I find myself needing to change my mix of foods for valid medical reasons and I am hoping that blogging about this journey will help me stay focused on this goal.

Recently I heard the diagnosis "prediabetic" used in relation to me! ME! Those who follow my blog will remember that I declared myself as "fine"! And my doctor confirmed that I am fine as well. And my blood work declared that I am just fine - except for one tiny little number - that stupid blood sugar number. That little number called "glucose" just had to pop its little head up over the normal range by a few points!! It couldn't be "just fine" like all the rest of the numbers on the page! No. It had to call attention to itself. So my doctor called and left the message to "change my diet" - that stupid four letter word again! Hey, Mr. Doctor, how about saying ... "change the mix of foods" ... or something!!

OK - "change my diet"! I had to figure out exactly what that meant! I understand "low fat" and "low calorie" - but now do I have to figure out what "low sugar" means as well?

(Insert light bulb going on inside of head ... here)

Buy a book!!! Yes, find a book that will explain exactly what kind of food someone can eat or not when they are prediabetic!!! I just love books. And I just love Amazon. And wouldn't you know Amazon had a book on prediabetes. Stop Prediabestes Now by Jack Challem and Ron Hunninghake, M.D. Actually they had quite a few titles because prediabetes is considered almost an epidemic condition these days.

Hey, wait a minute!! Maybe that is how I got this ... I caught it from someone!!! ... Ok, back to reality. I didn't catch it. I think I may have created it. But wouldn't it be nice if I could just blame this on someone else. Oh, well. Back to boring rational thought.

So I am getting educated. So far it sounds like avoiding bad carbs or too many carbs, eating more vegetables, fiber and lean proteins, exercising more and small weight loss is the key. Boy ... doesn't that just sound like every weight loss program you ever heard of in your whole life? Aren't there any new ideas out there!!! :-)

So we shall see. My body has ambushed my efforts before when I tried to eliminate a particular food item from my "mix of foods". I am hoping this book gives me some insight on how to play that mind game. In reality, I have a valid medical reason to make these changes - rather than just wanting to wear "skinny clothes" - not a reason that "carries any weight" with me!!

:-)