P is for Prediabetes #PandemicAlphabet

To be fair, my doctor didn’t call it prediabetes, but I’m calling it prediabetes. What else is it considered when you’re told your blood sugar is elevated and that you need to limit sweets and simple carbs–oh yeah, and also possibly consider going on a medication to slow the progression to diabetes?

If it walks like a duck and talks like a duck, it might be a prediabetic duck.

So, of course, because diabetes (Type 1 and 2) runs in my family, I promptly freaked out and then I had to do some deep soul searching to decide if I was going to take him up on the medication offer or not. The answer, of course, was no. But that does mean, of course, that I have had to make changes to my diet and increase my exercise.

The real question of course is “How does this qualify for the pandemic alphabet?”

I’m so glad you asked. I am blaming this about 70/30 on COVID. When Safer at Home started, I gained some weight and said to myself, “Well, if the most that happens during the pandemic is you gain weight then you survived the pandemic.” Which is fine! And healthy! But getting diabetes is NOT IT. So, yes, I have gained weight. Yes, I spent the first month and a half or so eating more than my fair share of sweet treats. (Like most of America, I did a lot of baking.) Yes, I even upped my intake of white rice–mostly because my daughter is here and she loves rice. Most of that is COVID-related.

You know what else is COVID’s fault? The Y closed, so I couldn’t do my regular workouts. I was at the gym 3-4 times a week doing water aerobics. While I did start walking almost every day during the pandemic, it’s not quite the same as that level of aerobic workout. Oh, and also I got sick at some point (not with COVID, according to the antibody test), which killed my momentum. I mean, that could have happened pre-COVID, but also, I would have gone back to the gym and reestablished my routine. Alas, that couldn’t happen.

See? All COVID’s fault.

What’s not COVID’s fault is that I had started relying on simple carbs for my snacks (mostly pre-COVID, ahem). Instead of eating fruits or veggies, I would eat toast or cereal. And, sure, I got sick and the gym closed and all that, but I also started slacking on walking every day because it was hot outside and I didn’t get up early enough to go in the morning but I also wouldn’t go at night when the sun went down. I was being gentle on myself, sure, but maybe just a little too gentle.

I check back in with my doctor in three to six months, and I am taking his suggestions. Walk (or exercise) thirty minutes per day and cut back on the simple carbs. I want to walk out of this pandemic alive, but I also want to walk out of it with my health intact. I’m not going to miss COVID only to catch the diabetes bus–especially when it can be avoided.