meep

ganked from facebook, titled as a Bucket List survey. i guess i've done a few things...

Fired a Gun = X
Gone on a blind date = (i'm pretty sure no?)
Skipped school = X
Been skinny dipping = X
Gave or Watched someone give birth =
Watched someone die =
Been to Canada = X
Been to Hawaii = X
Been to Europe = x
Been to Las Vegas = X
Been to Washington DC = X
Been to Asia = X (only SE)
Been to Africa = (not yet!)
Been to Florida = X
Been to Mexico = X
Been to Australia = X
Seen the Grand Canyon in person = X
Flown in a Helicopter = X
Been on a cruise = X
Served on a jury = X
Been in a movie = (not a movie, but i acted in a psa against teen drinking. i got to play the bad girl who brought "john" daniels to the party.)
Been to Los Angeles County = X
Been to New York City = X
Played in a band = X
Sang karaoke = X
Swam in the ocean = X
Made prank phone calls = X
Laughed so much you cried = X
Caught a snowflake on your tongue = X
Had children =
Had a pet = X
Been downhill skiing = X
Been water skiing =
Been tent camping = X
Rode on a motorcycle = X
Jumped out of a plane = X
Been to a drive-in movie = (this actually IS on my bucket list.)
Rode an elephant = X
Been on TV = (don't think so, but i might have shown up in a news report)
Been in the Newspaper = X
Stayed in A Hospital = X
Donated blood = X
Eaten snails = (not sure, i might have tried them?)
Gotten a piercing = X
Gotten a tattoo = X
Driven a stick shift car = X
Been Married = X
Fell in love = X
Driven over 100 mph = X
Been scuba diving = X
Lived on your own = X
Rode in the back of a police car =

lj seems to have done away with custom filters. :(

stupid time change is depriving me of precious daylight, and the drier air is making my skin itchier and my sinuses congestier. however, it's still t-shirt weather, and the rain has yet to show up, so i'm still enjoying my lunch hour outside in the sun. november and february are normally the rainiest months of the year here...

- last week i was on the mend, but i guess i had too much fun, and over the weekend i got sicker again. :(
- i'm feeling better now, but still made mostly of pseudoephedrine and guaifenesin.
- haven't had any night sweats since splitting the stimulant meds and taking the bupropion earlier, yay.
- still sleeping like crap though, with the waking up every 2 hrs to hack on the phlegm in order not to suffocate...
- won't take any more blood readings until i'm totally well and done with the cold meds.
- tomorrow is the coyote hills race i was originally planning to do the 10k for. i think i'm well enough to go stroll the 5k, but we'll see in the morning.
- i've been doing _zero_ physical activity for the past month, not even stretching. must rectify asap. i should at least be stretching, even if i feel like utter crap.

so after getting a 97 reading the other before dinner, this morning i took a fasting reading and got 116, which was unexpected and higher than any report i've had before. so now i'm researching what can affect glucose levels.

apparently noradrenergic drugs can increase glucose levels, while serotonergic drugs can decrease them, so that's interesting. having recently starting augmenting my ssri with bupropion, that could be having an effect on my glucose regulation. also, the body secretes stimulating hormones before waking up so that there will be energy available first thing, and some people experience a "dawn phenomenon" in which this is exaggerated. i'd never thought before about stimulants having an effect on glucose, but it certainly makes sense!

also, carb restriction will increase insulin resistance in muscles and liver in order to spare glycogen for the brain. however, maintaining nutritional ketosis should supposedly normalize insulin levels and promote insulin sensitivity.

a combination or any of morning hormones, just this week adding a bedtime dose of bupropion, and just now entering ketosis could be a likely culprit for high fasting glucose. i'm interested now in doing a full day of testing, and we'll see if there is improvement after maintaining ketosis for a while.

when last we heard from out plucky hero, she had grand plans to do a 3-day juice fast, start a low-carb diet, run a 10k, and check out the pilates class at the work gym. well, the diet is going at least...

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i'm doing the juice thing for 3 days again now, then next week i'll start "dieting." at this point i think i just have to accept the fact that if i'm not counting calories, i'm going to eat too much (not to mention that it'll be carb & fat heavy, with not enough protein and fresh veggies). i decided to do one month of the diettogo fresh pickup, lunch & dinner 5 days/wk. (i'll do a protein shake for breakfast.) that should help me get used to lower calorie intake and more balanced meals, then i'll try to do my own thing after that.

i realized i never talked about the last day of the juice thing when i did it before. i didn't really feel any lasting effects from the cleanse; i went right back to eating the crap i was eating before, and didn't notice any change in my cravings. but at least i had 3 days of fresh fruits and veggies! i did try rowing on day 3, and it was _hard_. this time i'm scheduled such that i have weight training today and thursday, and running tomorrow.

i started the ease into 10k program about a week and a half ago, but timing was weird, so i did wk1/day1 twice, then wk1/day2 twice, and tomorrow i'll do wk1/day3. i kept trying to get back into a running routine, but it just wasn't happening. i need outside structure; i don't self-motivate well. this program is 10 weeks and starts out with 3 min run/1 min walk X 5. i already feel like the intervals are helping my speed.

oh, i'm out of physical therapy for now. shoulder range still isn't 100%, but it's almost there, and i can work on the end range on my own. my elbows are still unhappy, and nobody seems to know what to do about it. :( so, i'm going to try ignoring them for a while (and trying not to aggravate them), and see if they improve on their own this time. they just don't want to stop being inflamed! i might end up having to get cortisone shots for them, as they've been angry for many months now, and i'm worried they'll get permanently injured if they don't calm down.

my work gym has a pilates reformers class i'm going to try. this should be excellent for my shoulder. i tried climbing once, last month i think? i was okay on big juggy stuff, but anything even slightly crimpy seemed to aggravate the elbows. i'd like to try climbing a couple times a month for a bit, but i dunno when i'll be ready to start up my gym membership again. i need to take advantage of what my free work gym has to offer in the meantime.

- i was only really at all hungry twice, and no serious cravings.
- i've definitely felt less lethargic, and it's been (slightly) easier to get up in the morning.
- i did some weights, which i had plenty of energy for. (no cardio, but will try rowing today.)

- drinking all day leads to a lot of bathroom trips.
- i was hungry, but less so than expected, especially since the juices are only 1070 calories, and i usually take in over 2000 when i'm not counting.
- after drinking the cashew one, which is last, i was really thirsty for the rest of the night, which i found strange, since i'd been, you know, drinking juice and water all day.

that is all.