Well, my 29th birthday is Friday. That gives me 1 year to accomplish the goals listed in the previous post. I think I'm making a little progress. After Thanksgiving, my doctor diagnosed me as being pre-diabetic. It was quite the shock - not that I was pre-diabetic (I knew my genes would catch up with me eventually) but that it happened at 28. And so I started to make changes.

First, I'm aware of what I'm eating. That means, when I eat something bad, I'm at least acknowledging that I'm doing it. I feel like that's the first step! I'm working on making better choices in what I eat.

I also asked for a membership to the Rec Center for Christmas. Marty was hesitant at first, thinking that he'd get in trouble for getting that for me, but I convinced him that's what I wanted! I knew that we'd never spend money on the membership otherwise. And so, just after Christmas, I went for the first time! I've been many times since then. Until today, I've just been walking laps. I struggled with being able to get my heart rate up without the pain of shin splints. Today I found a solution! I tried the stationary bike, and was able to get my heart rate up without shin pain! Their bikes are totally cool, too! I can sit there and watch TV (listening on my headphones) while I bike. And when you hold onto the handles, it monitors your heart rate! So cool!

For my birthday, my parents are getting me a set of free weights. My dad taught me a few exercises I can do with them when he was here for New Year's. My plan is this:

Monday: Bike
Tuesday: Free Weight exercises at home
Wednesday: Walk Laps
Thursday: Free Weights again
Friday: Bike
Saturday and Sunday are up for grabs depending on free time. I should be able to take a few minutes to do the free weights each day, at least.

So that's the goal. I go back to the doctor to recheck my levels at the end of February. If they are where they were at Thanksgiving, we'll talk meds. I'm not interested in that.