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June 2009 
A1C Results - Monday, October 27th, 2008
Posted on Oct 28th, 2008
by 
Robby
Robby
Hey everyone,
Yesterday I went to my regular 3 month diabetes checkup appointment in Tampa. My doctor is a very nice man and doesn't really ask me too many questions because every time I come in my A1C number is excellent for a diabetic. He hasn’t asked about the specifics of my diet and I have no desire to start up a conversation about it with him. Most of the time we spend together is talking about our lives
and sports.
Some people may wonder why I go to the doctor in the first place. The reason is because I need somebody to write my prescriptions and my insurance company requires regular checkups. Plus, I think it's a good idea for a person with a serious illness to get regular blood work done, as long as they approach the results through the health model, rather than the medical model. That's a huge distinction which I will write more about in the future.
I don't really understand the whole A1C thing very well. I don't really know how to articulate what is in my head, but I will give a short summary for today’s post.
I want to make clear with everyone, that the reason my A1C number is so good doesn't have all that much to do with my diet. I'm going to repeat that. I want to make it clear to the world, I'm not saying my consistent, excellent A1C numbers are a result of my diet. This is a fact for 2 reasons.
1. My A1C numbers were good when I wasn't eating a clean diet.
2. Other type 1 diabetics have great A1C numbers and most of them eat terrible diets. My older brother is one example. He eats whatever he wants, drinks alcohol, etc....and has A1C numbers that are just as good as mine, if not better sometimes.
As far as I know, the A1C number simply indicates how well a person manages the balance between insulin intake, food intake and exercise. They key is exercise. I'm going to repeat that one too. The key to having good management as a type 1 diabetic is regular, consistent exercise and then adjusting your dosage of insulin based on that exercise.
I'll have more to say on this topic in the future, but I think I made the points I wanted to make for his post.
The picture below is the official piece of paper I get when I leave the doctors office. Relevant comments are in the picture. Click the image to see a larger version.
Click the blue text to see my A1C gallery where you can choose to see the photo in many different sizes. If you have issues using SmugMug or questions on how to navigate SmugMug, please contact me at RobbyBarbaro@PathOfHealth.org
Kane The Plantain Day 4
Kane The Plantain Gallery
Food consumption for Monday, October 27th, 2008
Food consumption gallery for October, 2008
Activities for October 27th, 2008
6:30 - Misc./organizing
8:15 - Drove to Tampa for diabetes appointment
9:30 - Diabetes checkup appointment
10:45 - Ate meal 1 while taking care of phone calls
11:15 - Drove from Tampa to Gainesville
1:25 - Unpacked
1:40 - Biked to class, attended class (got out early), biked home
2:30 - Computer work
4:00 - Ate meal 2 while doing computer work
4:45 - Biked to class, attended class, biked to tennis
6:15 - Played tennis, biked home
8:15 - Ate meal 3 while talking on Skype
10:30 - Computer work
11:30 - Went to bed
All my best,
Robby
Yesterday I went to my regular 3 month diabetes checkup appointment in Tampa. My doctor is a very nice man and doesn't really ask me too many questions because every time I come in my A1C number is excellent for a diabetic. He hasn’t asked about the specifics of my diet and I have no desire to start up a conversation about it with him. Most of the time we spend together is talking about our lives
and sports.
Some people may wonder why I go to the doctor in the first place. The reason is because I need somebody to write my prescriptions and my insurance company requires regular checkups. Plus, I think it's a good idea for a person with a serious illness to get regular blood work done, as long as they approach the results through the health model, rather than the medical model. That's a huge distinction which I will write more about in the future.
I don't really understand the whole A1C thing very well. I don't really know how to articulate what is in my head, but I will give a short summary for today’s post.
I want to make clear with everyone, that the reason my A1C number is so good doesn't have all that much to do with my diet. I'm going to repeat that. I want to make it clear to the world, I'm not saying my consistent, excellent A1C numbers are a result of my diet. This is a fact for 2 reasons.
1. My A1C numbers were good when I wasn't eating a clean diet.
2. Other type 1 diabetics have great A1C numbers and most of them eat terrible diets. My older brother is one example. He eats whatever he wants, drinks alcohol, etc....and has A1C numbers that are just as good as mine, if not better sometimes.
As far as I know, the A1C number simply indicates how well a person manages the balance between insulin intake, food intake and exercise. They key is exercise. I'm going to repeat that one too. The key to having good management as a type 1 diabetic is regular, consistent exercise and then adjusting your dosage of insulin based on that exercise.
I'll have more to say on this topic in the future, but I think I made the points I wanted to make for his post.
The picture below is the official piece of paper I get when I leave the doctors office. Relevant comments are in the picture. Click the image to see a larger version.
Click the blue text to see my A1C gallery where you can choose to see the photo in many different sizes. If you have issues using SmugMug or questions on how to navigate SmugMug, please contact me at RobbyBarbaro@PathOfHealth.org
Kane The Plantain Day 4
Kane The Plantain Gallery
Food consumption for Monday, October 27th, 2008
Food consumption gallery for October, 2008
Activities for October 27th, 2008
6:30 - Misc./organizing
8:15 - Drove to Tampa for diabetes appointment
9:30 - Diabetes checkup appointment
10:45 - Ate meal 1 while taking care of phone calls
11:15 - Drove from Tampa to Gainesville
1:25 - Unpacked
1:40 - Biked to class, attended class (got out early), biked home
2:30 - Computer work
4:00 - Ate meal 2 while doing computer work
4:45 - Biked to class, attended class, biked to tennis
6:15 - Played tennis, biked home
8:15 - Ate meal 3 while talking on Skype
10:30 - Computer work
11:30 - Went to bed
All my best,
Robby
Access: Public
I am glad to hear you are doing well. I think diet helps the whole system, but I know we all have different bodies and some of us can get away with more than others. Thanks for sharing here.
Hey Jessica,
You're welcome.
All my best,
Robby
If you wish to compare the nutrition values of the plantain see:http://www.personalhealthzone.com/nutrition/nutrients/fruits/plantain.html
I often add a plantain to my green smoothies along with fresh pineapple,bananas,greens,and apple juice. Thanks for an informative and very interesting journal.
CB