Controlling the Uncontrollable

As you may know, I am traveling this week. I arrived yesterday and got all settled in. My plane left early and I had not eaten before getting on the plane. They provided me food on the plane and so I chose what I thought was the best option. This meant that I ate some veggie chips, a 100% fruit bar (only ate half of that) and an RX bar. Beef jerky also came with the box but I am not a fan so did not eat that. I drank water. I checked my sugar about an hour later and it was 220! I simply acknowledged what it was and moved on. I have learned not to allow my numbers to control my mood ... that is giving them too much power. Rather, I accept them as feedback and make changes according to what they are.

Prior to getting on the plane I paced the airport knowing that I would be sitting for more than 3 hours and I wanted the movement because I know it is so important to managing my blood sugar. Still, for whatever reason the almost 3000 steps I walked prior to getting on the plan did not help keep my sugar controlled. Maybe it was the stress of flying or the fact that I had gotten up at 2:30am to get to the airport in time for my flight. Lack of sleep can definitely affect blood sugar and in spite of my fun of early rising all week I was tired this morning (maybe because at work I was busy so both mind and body active).

After arriving to the hotel I was contemplating my food options. The hotel has one restaurant which did not appear to be open, although it is where breakfast is served every morning. And a Starbucks. I am doubtful I will find anything too helpful at Starbucks since salad is my favorite way to get my veggies at mealtime. I opened Google Maps and started to search restaurants, grocery stores, etc. I realized that there was a Publix not too far away. Of course the directions were for driving so I was a bit challenged to figure them out but eventually (after walking the same sidewalk several times) I did. And I was delighted to see ready made salads. So I grabbed as many as I could based on their "sell by" dates. Salads, after all, are best when fresh. I again took the scenic route home in the HOT Florida sun with perishables in the two green Publix bags I was carrying. I am sure I got some arm resistance training during this walk!

When I put all the food away in the mini fridge in my room I sat down and ate a salad with berries and vinagrette dressing. It was so delicious! With all this walking my sugar was now 96 (yayyy!) and it remained in range the rest of the day and evening. I am feeling more confident moving into this week of training now that I have food in my room and know that the week will not be a free for all as far as food goes. It took some creative thinking and effort but well worth it.

So my point in all this? In NLP they say, "There is no such thing as failure, only feedback." Let's use that feedback to help make decisions that serve us as we move forward each day taking each day as it comes ... one day at a time.