Weight Update for Aug 23

I feel like I've been eating like crap over the last week or so.  I've had a harder time logging calories (I was going to start again on Monday, but that hasn't really happened - I may be in need of a break before trying again in September).  So I felt a little bit hesitant to step on the scale.  But it was fine: 

weight: 204.0 lbs
fat percentage: 44.5%
hydration: 38.1%
muscle: 27.3%
bone: 10.8%
cal: 2312

Tegaderm Update

As I already mentioned, the tegaderm (and my sensor) survived my adventures paddle boarding! But after that adventure, the tape started peeling a little bit around the edges.  It really degraded over the last few days, so I decided to pull it off of my arm. This is what it looked like just before I pulled it off: 

It lasted five days though - not bad! I'll definitely be using tegaderm whenever I'm planning on doing a lot of activity (especially swimming!)

Libre Survived Paddle Boarding with Tegaderm!

On Thursday I mentioned that I was going swimming this weekend.  Well yesterday I ended up kicking things up a notch: I didn't just go swimming, I went paddle boarding! 

Back in December of 2016, I was in Florida for a couple of weeks and I saw a few people paddle boarding.  It looked like a lot of fun and I wanted to try it.  My sister-in-law and I were going to rent some paddle boards last summer but it never ended up happening.  So I've been wanting to try it for awhile and just never had the chance.

Last Tuesday, the two of us were out at my friend's camp swimming and it came up again.  It turns out my friend was planning on buying a paddle board for fun anyway!  So yesterday I went with him to pick one out and bring it out to the camp.  He let me try the paddle board out while he was fooling around with a windsurfer that's out there, too.  I have to say: the two don't go super well together because every time the wind came up it was harder to stay balanced on the paddle board, but the wind surfer needed the wind to work properly! 

I ended up paddle boarding for about an hour straight.  My glucose actually stayed pretty perfect the entire time (Libre said 6.2 mmol/L at the end of the hour).  And the tegaderm held the Libre sensor in place beautifully!

Weight Update for Aug 16

Whoops, in the middle of all the excitement about my Libre sensors, I forgot to post my weight update for the week:

weight: 206.2 lbs
fat percentage: 44.3%
hydration: 38.2%
muscle: 27.4%
bone: 10.8%
cal: 2324

I'm not surprised that my weight is a little bit higher since I've been eating a bit crappier lately (and not really tracking my calorie intake very well).  Realistically now, I'll probably be doing whatever for the next few days (I work earlier than normal tomorrow, which means I'll be eating more; plus I've got a swimming day out at camp again and won't be tracking calories very well), then try to get back on track at the beginning of next week. Have a good weekend everyone! :)

Hurray for New Libre Sensor + Tegaderm

Hurray - I've got Libre sensors again!

Sensor on my arm + tegaderm

I also got the box of tegaderm that I ordered from Amazon today.  So I put a piece of tegaderm over top of the new sensor (more accurately my mom put a piece of tegaderm over the new sensor - I would never have been able to put it on myself).

I didn't realize just how much I rely on my Libre now until I was forced to go without it.  The last few days have been kind of horrible not having it.  I found myself having to force myself to do glucose - it just seemed like so much effort having to pull out my glucometer and do a test, especially when I was at work or out walking.  The last time I felt like this was when my insulin pump died and I had to go back to injections for a few days.  I actually had a really hard time getting through the hour long warm up period because I was so impatient to get the new sensor working again!  These last few days have really showed me just how amazing and life changing the Libre really is. :)

So now that I've got it paired with tegaderm, I'm hoping I can enjoy some more activity with my Libre!  I've got plans to go swimming again this weekend, so we'll see how well the sensor holds up now!

Fitbit is Gone :(

Well, it's been a few weeks and my Fitbit hasn't turned back up.  So with that in mind, here are my last few months of statistics:

June: 155,080 steps taken, 29 days tracked, 5347.6 average steps a day
July: 117,973 steps, 23 days tracked, 5129.3 average

I had 6 weeks out of 29.5 weeks that I tracked my steps with my Fitbit.  So I definitely failed my first goal of walking 5000+ steps on five days of every week (and was set to fail it even if I hadn't lost my Fitbit).  I found that it was pretty easy to hit that number on four days out of seven, but getting that fifth day was always really, really tough.

I have to say though, being without my Fitbit was really weird for the first few days.  I've had it with me almost every day for about two and a half years, so it definitely took some getting used to being without it.  But three weeks later, I honestly don't really miss it.

It's been an interesting few years, seeing how many steps I've actually been taking.  I've found there are days where I feel like I've been super active but in reality I've barely done anything.  I know that having a Fitbit encouraged me to walk to work more, and even without it I intend to keep walking whenever I can.  But I found that it didn't help me overall be more active - if you're worried about steps, you don't always focus on other activities that are good for you, too. So with that in mind, I don't think I'm going to be replacing it. I may change my mind one day, but for now it's time to move on.

Libre Sensor Fell Off :(

It was a beautiful day yesterday, so I went out to a friend's camp for the day.  I spent the afternoon hanging out at the lake and swimming.  I knew that the Freestyle Libre sensors are only okay in the water for 30 minutes, so I was super careful not to stay in the water too long, and to dry up before jumping back in.

Unfortunately, at the end of the day I was changing out of my bathing suit and I hit the sensor.  The sensor flipped off my arm; I guess the adhesive was weakened from all the time outside.

I phoned the company today, and I am happy to report that they're going to replace the sensor for me.  They also recommended that I get some Tegaderm to put on top of it.  I almost lost a sensor a few months ago (the adhesive started falling off after 5 hours of gardening - I apologize because I forgot to blog about that adventure) and they recommended that I get Tegaderm then; I went to a few local pharmacies and they didn't carry it. :(

So when Tegaderm was recommended to me again, I told the representative on the phone that I was having a hard time finding it in town.  And she suggested that I get some off of Amazon!  I honestly hadn't even thought about getting some from there!  I wasn't sure what size to order, so while looking for more information I ended up watching these two videos, which gave me all the information I needed (including just how durable Tegaderm is when it's protecting a Libre sensor).

and part 2:

So I ordered a box and they should be here by the end of the week. I'm looking forward to trying this set up out over the weekend!

It's been super weird not having a sensor on my arm today (the one that fell off was supposed to last another 8 days and it was my last one - more are on the way, but they won't get here until tomorrow).  I can't wait until I can get myself plugged back in!

Weight Update for Aug 9

Just a quick weight update for today:

weight: 204.6 lbs
fat percentage: 43.7%
hydration: 38.7%
muscle: 27.7%
bone: 10.8%
cal: 2314

I'm happy to see that I'm back on track after my period.  :)

Also this is a bit random, but what's with all the .7's today?  The fat percentage, hydration, and muscle all ended in .7.  It's not a big deal but I thought it was a bit weird.

Weight Update for July 26 and 30

Alright, so last Thursday, here were my numbers:

weight: 204.6 lbs
fat percentage: 44.9%
hydration: 37.8%
muscle: 27.1%
bone: 10.8%
cal: 2314
I was glad to see that my weight continued its trend downwards a bit more on the 26th.  Unfortunately my fat percentage increased a bit; I'm not at all sure why that happened. 

I can't remember why, but I decided to weigh myself on the 30th, too.  And here's what I got:

weight: 207.2 lbs
fat percentage: 44.6%
hydration: 38.0%
muscle: 27.2%
bone: 10.7%
cal: 2329

I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw that my weight jumped up a few pounds AGAIN....but then my period unexpectedly started. This month it's a few days earlier than expected, so that explains the weight gain.  I won't be weighing myself again now until after my period is over.