I have an interesting relationship with water.  When I was having my health issues earlier in the year, one of the first things they thought might be an issue was congestive heart failure.  As it turned out, that wasn’t it, but it was still a scary diagnosis.  You can live with CHF but one of the things it does is cause you to retain fluid.  When I was having issues I gained about 30 pounds of water weight.  It was an awful feeling.

After we got things back on track one of the things I was told was to monitor and restrict my fluid intake.  I had always been a person who drank large amounts of water and always had water with me, but I took the doctors at their word and started trying to cut back.   After all, if my body wasn’t back to full efficiency at eliminating fluids yet, I didn’t want to add to it’s burden.

Fast forward six months.  My heart is healthy and functioning perfectly.  I’m losing weight.  I’m exercising almost every day and doing increasingly more demanding work outs.  I’m also still restricting my fluid intake.

One thing you have to understand about me is I’m not one of those women who gets dewy or glows when she sweats.  When I sweat I soak my t-shirt.  After a good hard session of exercise, I’m dripping wet.  I started noticing that after a strenuous session I’d feel crappy the next day.  Nauseous, light headed, just not well.  Finally the penny dropped.  I was exercising and losing a lot of fluid and not replacing it as I was restricting fluid intake.  Completely unintentionally, I was dehydrating myself.

For those of you who may not, as I did not, know the signs of dehydration, I’ve included the following list of common symptoms.  If you experience these symptoms, get some fluid into your system and see if you feel better.

• Abnormal Thirst
• Dry skin
• Flushed Skin
• Dry Mouth
• Fatigue or Weakness
• Chills
• Head Rushes
• Nausea

If you experience any of these symptoms, get some fluids in your system.  Avoid caffeine and sugary drinks.  Rehydrate with water or a sports drink like Gatorade.

I know I’ve written about this here before, but I wanted to update everyone on how my new diet is going. I’ve been working to pay more attention to the glycemic index of foods, and I’ve been trying to eat so that I balance my blood sugar. I know, from my last doctor’s appointment, that my blood sugar was high. I’m not diabetic, but my blood sugar was apparently heading in that direction. I convinced Regular Doc to give me a few months to try and control my blood sugar with diet and exercise. She, as usual, wanted to stick me on another pill.

Since that appointment, I’ve been reading and studying and trying to figure this all out. I used to have what I called “jittery” days, where I’d feel shaky and out of sorts. As I read more about diet and blood sugar I realized that my jitters might well be caused by my blood sugar being out of balance. I decided to modify my eating habits based on what I’d learned in my research and see if that made a difference.

I started by pairing any carbs I ate with a protein. The idea is that the protein helps regulate the burst of insulin that the carbs inspire. Carbs tend to cause your body to release a big rush of insulin, which your body might not handle well if you’re insulin resistant. Eating a small bit of protein helps regulate that rush.

I also started eating more frequently. I now eat every two to three hours. I eat three regular meals, breakfast, lunch and dinner and then a small snack in between. Snacks are nothing major, maybe a slice of deli turkey or a small handful of almonds or an apple. The idea is to balance the blood sugar by never getting too hungry.

Finally, I started doing more strength training. Apparently lifting weights helps build muscles and muscles that are stronger are less resistant to insulin. I’m not sure I understand the entire process behind this yet, but study after study has proven it works. So, in the interest of getting the benefits, if there are any, I’ve upped my strength training to three times a week.

So far, things seem to be working. I’m much less shaky and jittery. My energy levels are higher in the evening. My heart rate seems to be more stable and normal too. I can’t be entirely certain that all this is due to the change in diet, but I’d bet that at least some of it is. Right now, that’s good enough for me.

Every day about 5:30 in the evening I feel like I fall into a sort of black hole. My energy levels drop. I get tired. My interest in doing anything but sitting on the couch is almost nil. The thought of exercise seems like a cruel joke, and not a very funny joke. If someone would roll a cot up to my desk at work I would happily take a nap.

The problem with this energy drain is the fact that I still have a lot to do in my day. I usually work until 6:30 or so. My plan after I leave work is to go home, exercise, eat dinner, clean up and then do whatever work I have to do that night. Maybe I write blog posts. Maybe I work on other projects. The plan is that I put in an additional couple hours of work and then go to bed. Except lately the plan hasn’t been happening.

By the time I get home at night I’m starving and tired. I usually have a light supper which only leaves me tired. I either have to force myself to exercise, which only leaves me more tired, or I skip the exercise. I have trouble keeping my eyes open when I’m working after dinner, but can’t seem to fall asleep when I finally go to bed. The whole thing is most perplexing.

I know that part of the problem is some of the medication I’m on. The pills cause fatigue and drowsiness. I also know that my sleeping patterns aren’t always the best for leaving you well rested and energized. I also have to wonder if my diet plays a part. I have pared back my diet, and I’m wondering if I’ve gone a bit too far. I’ve noticed I generally feel better when I eat something a bit more substantial in the evening. Maybe I need to look into adding a little more to my evening meal.

I would really like to find a solution to this problem. I have a lot I want to accomplish in the evenings and being a sleep deprived zombie just isn’t getting the job done. If any of you have experienced this problem and conquered it, I’d love to hear your solution.

So I went to see my doctor tonight.  This is my regular doctor, not Cute Cardiologist, who recently turned me loose until August.  I had a blood draw last week and my blood sugar came back borderline high.  Regular Doc called and wanted to discuss what the next step should be. 

I did some research before I went so I knew that, should the blood sugar be on the border between problematic and normal, the problem can often be eliminated through diet and exercise.  Unless Regular Doc had a very good reason why I should pursue some other plan, I wanted to try that before I went on any medication.  I’m on enough medication now, I really didn’t see the need for another.

Sure enough, when I got to the appointment, she told me my blood sugar was just above the level that they call problematic, and suggested going on meds.  I presented my argument for exercise and diet.  I told her what I was already doing and she had evidence that I was losing weight right in front of her.  To make a long story short, Regular Doc agreed to try things my way.  I have another appointment in August, so we’ll see where things are then. 

So, it seems everything comes to a head in August and early September.  I do another heart monitor in August.  I’ll have another blood sugar test in August.  I see Cute Cardiologist in early September and will hopefully be taken off coumadin then.  I guess this Summer is my real test.  Can I maintain my new eating and exercise habits?  Only time will tell.  

As I said to Regular Doc today, I’ll never have more incentive to stick to my new resolutions than I do now.  I’m motivated and determined, so here’s hoping all my hard work will pay off when I go to my appointments in August.