85% isn't so bad

Can you define healthy?

What does it really mean to be healthy?

That your blood test results come back in the acceptable range when you are tested for cholesterol, vitamin b12 levels, A1C and other things?

That your blood pressure falls in the acceptable range?

That your BMI falls in the acceptable range?

That you can run to the corner and back without collapsing? That you can run a half marathon?

That your colour looks good?

That you don't have dark circles under your eyes? That your hair is shiny? That your nails aren't brittle?

That you eat a variety of fruits and veggies every day as well as grains and legumes and kefir and chia seeds?

That you don't smoke? Or drink too much? Or overdo the caffeine or the salt or the sugar?

That you get enough sleep? Or that you don't get too much?

Is healthy about what you do?

Or what you don't do?

Or what the blood test results, the blood pressure results or the BMI results say?

I have been thinking lately about all the things I try to do to be healthy. And all the things that I don't do in order to be healthy.

I was wondering which choices have a greater impact. Does staying in bed an extra 90 minutes make more sense than getting up super early in order to exercise before work? Does sticking to one coffee a day and then switching to herbal tea really make a difference in the great scheme of things?

And does my body know how many times I crave chocolate and yet don't eat it and does that knowledge somehow help justify the times that I do eat it? Kinda like buying something expensive on sale and talking about how much you saved rather than how much you spent?

The other day I downloaded two weeks worth of readings from Rose. Insulin information, continuous glucose monitor information. Basal changes and bolus correction information. I then spent a good amount of time looking at the 40+ pages of information that was generated. I was able to look at every minute of every day to see my blood sugar highs and lows. I was able to look at charts and graphs and everything I looked at seemed to point out all of the times that my blood sugar was below 4.0 or above 10.0.

All I could seem to focus on what the times I was high and the times I was low.

And then, on the last page of the report, there was a lovely pie chart. This pie chart summarized beautifully what percent of the time my blood sugar was below 4.0, above 10.0 and between 4-10.

The results:
below 4.0 = 5% of the time
above 10.0 = 10% of the time
between 4-10 = 85% of the time

I don't know what you think but the fact that I am hanging out between 4-10 85% of the time is pretty damn fabulous in my books.

I think it's too easy to feel bad about the unhealthy choices that we make. The big ones and the little ones. It's easy to feel guilty about having that chocolate bar or going to bed too late or not getting up to exercise before work.

And I think it's important to look at the pie chart. Because while we're busy getting caught up in the unhealthy choices we make, we often overlook all the healthy ones.

And those, my friends, should be celebrated!