Today was a balancing act with my blood sugar. it always happens when I jump back into exercise. My goal was to work out at the gym two mornings this week, and I thought I set my alarm for 6:30, but it was 6:50. I probably could have made it, but I decided to stay home and do Level 1 of Jillian’s 30 day shred. I tested my blood sugar, it was 156 – kinda high, but I was okay with that.
In the past, I’ve eaten something small, taken a little bit of insulin and I am good to go. Today I opted to take 4 units of insulin and see what happened. 25 minutes later, after the workout, I was 160. I would have thought it would have dropped to about 100? Any dieticians out there – feel free to respond!
Breakfast was an Un-Biz one. No bacon, no cheese! 🙁
4 ounces of low carb vanilla yogurt, 1 cup diced apple and 1/4 cup Nature’s Path Pumpkin Flax Seed Granola:
It was delicious! But guess what? That whole bowl was only 220 calories, 4 fat, 43 carbs and 6 protein! But it kept me full until lunch! 😀
My friend and I walked today at lunch – we are going to take advantage of outdoor walks as long as possible! Again I tested my blood sugar and it was 166. Nice! I thought that would be fine. 2.2 miles and 40 minutes later, as I was getting changed back into my work clothes, I could feel the sweat start to go down my neck. I know, TMI – gross – but that is the first sign for me of low blood sugar. Sure enough, when I got back to my desk my blood sugar was 55!
Luckily lunch pulled together really quickly! Chicken stir fry.
This generous plate of food was: 397 calories, 2 fat, 62 carbs and 8 protein. Since my blood sugar was so low, I ate half and then took half the amount of insulin I should. By this afternoon, I had leveled out at a nice 112!
But according to sparkpeople, I should be eating around 1200 to 1500 calories a day – and since I did Jillian AND walk today for a total of 65 minute of exercise, I knew I had to get more calories in.
70 calories, 2 carbs, 6 fat and 3 protein. Much to my surprise, while these will never be good as smoked, SALTED almonds, I am really liking these!
I’ve been having a jones for scallops so I had a steak that needed to be cooked and we had a different kind of surf and turf. This time I just used lemon pepper seasoning on the scallops, and seared them on medium-high heat in a tablespoon of butter.
My plate was: 3 ounces of steak, 5 sea scallops, 1/2 cup Trader Joe’s Harvest Blend (Tony thought I made rice-a-roni, so he was a tad bit disappointed!) and about 1 teaspoon of melted butter poured over the top.
Dinner: 405 calories, 8 fat, 37 carbs and 42 protein.
But guess what? Even with my meals, I am only at 1091 calories for the day! I see popcorn in my future tonight! 😀
Stats for the Day:
- 1091 calories
- 20 fat
- 146 carbs
- 84 protein
- 17 fiber
- 65 minutes of exercise! 😀
So here’s my question. I felt satisfied and full after each of these meals, but felt like I had to eat more to meet my 1500 calorie goal since I worked out today. Should I add more high calorie snacks during the day? I found out the hard way that I really can’t eat more than a handful of nuts at one time – so any suggestions would be appreciated!
Biggest Loser is On! Go watch it so we can discuss tomorrow! Fingers crossed Tracy gets the kick to the curb! 😀
Trader Vics looks GOOD!!!
oh my goodness, those scallops are so buttery and good looking! i hope it stays nice for a while longer too, i’m just not ready to stay inside!
Thanks for visiting my blog. 🙂 That is kind of tricky with balancing your calories. Maybe just add more fruits and veggies with some protein– apple and peanut butter, yogurt and a nutritional cereal (Kashi or I found an Ezekiel cereal).
If I was satisfied after 1000 calories I sure wouldn’t eat more. A pound is a pound and it’s 3500 calories…so just quicker to losing.
hmmmm i think that going a little low on calories a couple days a week isnt a bad thing, if it all levels out at the end of the week and you are not feeling deprived or hungry or light headed or dizzy.. OR your blood sugar isnt all out of whack.. you can have a few low days and higher days.. : )
I think you should eat more calories, especially if you are working out before work + walking
Although how does that guy on Biggest Loser lose 100 pouns in 7 weeks??? What’s up with that??
Ok, I love learning new things about insulin/blood sugar. I did a little research and it sounds like if you don’t eat before you exercise, your muscles will release lactose (a sugar) to use for energy, instead of using energy from food. Because of this, your bs will measure high for about an hour after your workout, then become normal after about an hour.
Like you said, if you DO eat before you workout, your muscles will get their energy from the food you eat, therefore your muscle will not secrete lactose and they will instead use the sugar form the food you eat, and your bs should measure normal.
In general I would wait about 30 minutes after you workout to measure your bs, and be sure to eat a meal before. I wouldn’t think you need any insulin, as exercise usually increase the insulin sensitivity of your cells. Increasing your workout intensity will decrease your need for insulin.
THANKS GINA!!!!!!!
The scallops look fantastic with butter! We haven’t had any in a long time because my daughter is allergic to them, but my husband and I really love them!
That lunch looks absolutely fantastic!! Stir fries are so good but I don’t have them enough!
By the way (I’m a little late at mentioning both of these so forgive me!) I’m SO happy that Hannah decided to go to Germany. I think that’s such a great opportunity for her!! Also, I watched Modern Family this weekend and I loved it! Thanks for the heads up to that show 🙂
Happy Wednesday!
Is that the TJ’s Israeli couscous blend? I love that stuff!
Your scallops look mouthwatering…. I dont eat fish like I used to but I’m going to make scallops for my husband’s upcoming birthday, he’s obsessed, so I’m on the hunt for a good recipe!
I had scallops for dinner today too! That chicken stir fry looks amazing!
I DVR’d The Biggest Loser but, I probably won’t have time to watch it until the weekend .Anatomy exam takes priority…ironic, no?
The granola looks fantastic and the scallops , holy cow, delicious!
I don’t know the answers to your question, but those scallops look goooooood!
*spoiler alert* (in case anyone’s not seen it yet)
Gawsh, the biggest loser tonight was gut wrenching. I bawled and bawled.
The scallops look soooo good!
I hope you enjoyed The Biggest Loser. Can’t wait for your recap.
Your meals look fantastic. I finished dinner hours ago and you have me trolling the cabinets.
Interesting. Ok so you gave yourself MORE insulin, yet your bs was still high? And this was after your workout? Did you a) workout a little less intensely, or b) eat a bigger snack before hand?, or c) measure your bs too soon after you work out? (I dunno, maybe there is a point where your bs is high during a workout because your body starts releasing it form the glycogen..yada yada yada, before it gets into the muscle cells).
Ok, I’m out of options!
Gina – I found that if I don’t take insulin before working out, my blood sugar skyrockets.
How long should I wait to test after exercising?
Could you possibly add a bit more calories in liquid form? A nice afternoon ala Biz creation, or maybe a protein shake/bar/chew of some sorts? I don’t really see a need to stuff yourself if you feel content and fulfilled after meals.
The scallops look delish and I have that TJ Harvest blend in my pantry!
wow, that lunch AND dinner look awesome!!!
Hi Biz!
I don’t think being short on your cals for a day or two is bad, but if you kept eatin’ these super filling, relatively low cal meals, I’d worry about it then.
Ants on a log are fun (celery & pb)
Dried fruit
Pieces of fruit
Side salads with lunch
Maybe try energy chews during your walks or workouts to combat your blood sugar drop?
Thanks for the ideas! 😀
I was drooling over the scallops until I saw that you served them with my favorite grain blend from Trader Joe’s! Yum! That’s the best looking dinner I’ve seen in awhile!
I’m drooling over the steak and scallops. I tend to overcook scallops, and they become a bit mushy, but yours turned out perfectly! Were they frozen or fresh?
Haha! That doesn’t look anything like Rice A Roni! My husband would prefer rice-a-roni over something that is healthier too!