This past weekend was both Mother's Day and my mom's birthday. I've probably mentioned it before, but it's pretty convenient to have a mother whose birthday lines up so neatly with Mother's Day.
Me and Lee-Anne came down to Guelph. We brought dinner and a few gifts. I got her a backpack from a military surplus store in downtown Kitchener. It's the same place that her last backpack came from. Back when I was in college, my mom was talking to a friend of her's about wanting a sturdy backpack and she mentioned this location in Kitchener, where I happened to be living.
Almost ten years later, the pack is beginning to fray around an arm strap. So they aren't invulnerable, but still have a pretty good longevity. I got a pack from the same place but mine didn't last nearly as long as Mom's. What's the longevity of a backpack supposed to be? I've heard three years with regular use. So both surpassed that length. I'll probably have to get another one for myself at that place.
Going into military surplus stores kind of sketches me out, just because I'm very disassociated from anything military. Generally, they're more "function over fashion" stores and the military grade is supposed to be a guarantee that the product will withstand whatever you require of it because it's built to survive literal war.
The shop owner was the same guy that sold to me the other two times I've been in. He's a very loud, very engaging person that involves himself in your purchases. Seems authentic enough, as one time he talked me into buying something less expensive than what I was looking at, since he thought the cheaper item would better serve my purposes. In general, I don't really appreciate "help" when I'm looking around a store. I prefer to get a lay of the land, think through what I want, and then ask for help if I need it.
We also got some stuff to put in the backpack. Mom loves Bulk Barn, but they don't live near one, so I got some spice mixes that they wouldn't be able to get from their grocery store. I got shawarma, souvlaki, Jamaican jerk, and Korean BBQ. I also put a container of homemade toum, which is garlic sauce, that I made to go with shish tawook. Put it all in a glass jar from the Bulk Barn and gave that to her too.
This past weekend strayed a little from my usual diet. I guess that's okay. I had my quarterly doctor's appointment on Wednesday. I've been having a cheat day the day after my doctor's appointments because then I have three months to correct myself before getting assessed again. My results weren't as dramatic this time around. When I was first assessed I had an A1C of 10.5. In three months it dropped to 6.9, then 5.9, and I've lost 25 pounds. This time my A1C and weight haven't changed much.
My dietician said she suspected that I only became diabetic inside the pandemic, and that's why my body was responding so quickly to the medication. The body tries to return to what it's used to, not what's most optimally healthy. This is because it's programmed to survive to see the next day, not thirty years later, and it knows it has survived in it's "average" state for a long time. So my body probably was eager to return to its pre-pandemic state, but it's reached what it's used to, but I want it to keep changing. So I'll probably have to work harder to change the psychology of my body from here on out.
At least my C reactive proteins fixed themselves. There are a lot of numbers that go on inside the body. Last time, only two of them weren't in target. One was my C reactive proteins and I forget the other one but she didn't even test for it this time around, and if she's not worried about it neither am I. So my C reactive proteins, after not changing much in six months, decided to fully correct themselves these past three. My pulse was also lower than usual, but that must be more psychological than anything as my pulse seems to be a lot higher than my average when I'm at the doctor's office. I suspect I've just been doing this enough at this point that I've become desensitized.
I guess we finally got rid of our last mask mandate. Long after the public mandates were over, you still had to wear one when visiting medical sites. However, when I had my bloodwork done there were a handful of people not wearing masks, even one of the nurses. Going to the medical centre, my doctor and one of the nurses were wearing masks, but the people working intake and one of the nurses weren't.
The biggest lifestyle change I've made since the last time I saw my doctor is implementing a regular body weight workout. I've been trying to implement lifestyle changes between appointments. My first change was cutting out carbs and added sugars. After that I made a daily cardio goal, and now I've been trying to get back into strength training.
My doctor was kind enough to say that even if I haven't lost weight these past three months, some of it might be coming through in muscle. This is the thing everyone trying to get into fitness while in rough shape tells themselves, but it feels a little bit less like wishful thinking when a doctor says it.
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