Life of a traveling type one diabetic

     Although I am a wife and mommy of two, I would say my husband and I have a rather crazy exciting life. We like to get out and be on the go. By get out I don't mean get a brake from the kids and party but more of TAKE the kids and chase our dreams. As many already know my husband is a bareback rider and hits 1 to 3 rodeos a weekend. And I am a fitness model in training and also on a oic5 all-star cheer team. So as far as "getting out and chasing our dreams" id say were doing a pretty good job. But the more and more we travel, the more and more I realize JUST how hard it is to manage my blood sugars while on the road.

       At home Im on a pretty tight schedule that took lots of work to get it down exactly what works with my blood sugars. Like I said EVERY diabetic is different. But as for me, I start off my day with a blood sugar check and taking a shot, I then HAVE to do about an hour of cardio JUST to manage a good blood sugar throughout the day. Then after taking the kids to daycare I make sure to bring two small healthy meals to eat at work and do a blood sugar check a good 2 or 3 times while at work. After work I then go get the kids and the whole family eats supper AFTER I check my blood sugar again and take another shot. We then have some fun family time at the gym so I can go to sleep with a leveled out blood sugar, and after the day ends and the kids are in bed... I once again check my sugar and take a shot. So no.... I don't ever get a break from the whole pricking my finger or taking a shot. Not to mention throughout all these meals I'm counting carbs and making sure to eat enough protein in my day. If your a type one diabetic and your reading this I know you will know EXACTLY what I'm talking about.

       So now that you know kinda what my diabetic hectic schedule looks like you can see why traveling can be a little challenging. This past weekend I had a NCA cheer competition 5 1/2 hours away from home which was an absolute blast and my husband rode 30 minutes away from there at the Fort Worth Texas Rodeo. When traveling you think (its lunch time lets pull through a fast food joint) NOT TOO MANY HEALTHY OPTIONS.... we started the weekend off by of coarse driving in the car which requires SITTING for hours and hours. Which also leads to boredom and leads to snacking while not burning off sugars which then ends up with HIGH BLOOD SUGARS... yuck.... So after getting there your drained from the drive and as soon as you see a comfy hotel bed you just can't help but to relax. We then wake up the next morning to start the day off and if you've ever done all-star cheer you know it takes a good while to get ready. So instead of doing my cardio I exchanged that time for hair and makeup. MISTAKE!!! I show up at the competition with a 400 blood sugar because I  decided one day of changing up my routine shouldn't be that big of a deal. I instantly regreated it because now I have to compete with a high blood sugar and won't do my best. Not to mention I felt like crap. It is now supper time and its time for me to take a shot and eat. I take my shot and simply walk around to find something to buy at all the food stands they had set up. Surly they had something diabetic friendly right??? WRONG.... everything was nothing but carbs, carbs is all I saw. I finally decide a ham sandwich will be the best choice and scarf it down before we hit the warm up room. Not feeling my best right before we compete my blood sugar was 380. eww..... So this all being said for day two, giving myself a nice little break was not an option. I went back to the hotel that night and did some jumping jacks to burn off the high blood sugar that was killing my day. And decided I must eat something carb-less and healthy. So a salad it is. And let me tell you something about that salad (it was amazing).... It had this really good dressing too. No way I will get sick tonight. I go to bed with my husband telling me I'm a cranky mess and realizing the head ache and crappy feeling had not gone away. I remembered the name of the salad and look it up. AWESOME the delicious dressing was made of pure sugar.... ehh FAIL...

      Who would have thought id get sick off of a salad. This fun traveling life is not so easy but my stubbornness perked up the next morning and told myself "I'm gonna kick your butt today diabetes" So I did my morning cardio after checking my blood and taking my shot RIGHT in the hotel room and followed up with my make up and hair. I go to a convenient store and buy beef jerky, nuts, and a protein bar to eat for my meals and take with me to the competition. I check my sugar before the warm up room and WHAT DO YA KNOW my blood sugar read a perfect 115 and I competed that day like a boss. Boy was I proud that day to tell my stupid disease that it can't and won't stop me from anything..... "I HAVE DIABETES, DIABETES DOES NOT HAVE ME" take that pancreas :)..... It is now supper time and my husband wants to go to the waffle house:/ ehh, waffles. I had done so good in my day why would I wanna mess it up now. As he ordered his carb full hash brown and sugary waffles caked in syrup, I enjoyed my eggs and sausage and made sure they didn't sneak in some kind of sugary dressing this time... Self control can be hard but I would take a good blood sugar over a good meal and destroying my body any day. If you are a type one or know of a type one please stop and remind them or yourself that YOU are important and someone NEEDS and LOVES you. Don't let your disease take control of your mind or body and destroy it before your eyes......

check out my latest sexy leg workout at
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J6nIYJTdh0M

WHY drinking water is important!!!!!

Up until recently I never understood why drinking water was so important. Its boring, and if my body isn't craving it at the time.... I'm not going to just sit and drink a cup of water. I would say I've spent my life on a cup or two or maybe three of water a day. The more I get into the fitness world or even just the word of health, I notice a lot of people saying "drink more water" so out of curiosity I began to research just HOW much water a body should be consuming in each day and WHY its so important to drink more water.
      Ive read a lot of different opinions as too how much water you should drink each day, but they all really seem to be about the same amount. I stick with the 8x8 rule. Health authorities commonly recommend at least eight-8 ounce glasses of water each day. So roughly two liters or half a gallon. At first this was hard for me to do. But after the way it made me feel and all the benefits from it I now look forward to drinking water. I start my morning off every morning with a glass of water then drink one with every meal and also before bed. Yes I count and yes I make sure to get at least eight in a day. So now that we know how much we should drink lets get back to the question of WHY its so important. 


     10 benefits from drinking water 

1.)  Calorie and weight control
Numerous studies have found a connection between water intake and shedding a few pounds. Lets be honest we ALL want to be at our best weight, ESPECIALLY us women. How does this work though? water simply makes the body feel full, and as a result from that you will consume less calories. Staying hydrated can serve as a appetite suppressant. Sometimes we think we are hungry when really were just thirsty.

2.)  Fluid balance
About 60 % of our bodies are made up of water,  without drinking enough our bodies will not function properly. Drinking enough maintains the bodies fluid balance, it helps transport nutrients into the body, digest food, regulate your body temperature etc. 

3.) Prevent cancer
Many studies show keeping yourself hydrated can reduce bladder cancer by 50%, colon cancer by 45% and possibly even breast cancer.

4.) flush out waist and bacteria
Nobody wants their body to have a bunch of yuck in it. However most of the time we dont even know just how much yuck is in our body. All that waste is flushed out with urine and sweat. If we don't drink enough water, we are not flushing out all the waste and it will collect in your body causing various problems. Also staying hydrated adds fluids to the colon and allows things to come out more often and more smoothly :)... nobody wants to be constipated. 

5.) Clear, healthy, glowing SKIN!!!
Our skin is the largest organ in our body. Keeping your skin hydrated not only fights off the toxins in the body that causes your skin to inflame, resulting clogged pores and acne problems, but it also improves the color and texture of your skin by keeping it building new cells properly.

6.) prevent headaches
NOBODY likes suffering with headaches. It can ruin a perfectly good day along with a perfectly good mood. Sometimes dehydration can cause horrible headaches. If this is the case, try drinking a glass of water next time you have a headache. 

7.) perform and focus better
We all like to stay focused in our day, more water can help stay concentrated and more alert in your day. Dehydration can lead to weakness, fatigue, dizziness, and more.

8.) joint pains
Aching joints and muscle cramps can occur if the body is dehydrated . Drinking water reduces pain in your joints by keeping the cartilage soft and hydrated.

8.)less cranky
Dehydration can really affect your mood and make you confused and grumpy. Make yourself and those around you happier by drinking more water to enhance your mood....

9.)stay alive
You will simply die without water. Its THAT important. Studies show you can only live a few days without water, MAYBE a week. So imagine what your doing to your body by not keeping it hydrated daily. Most of us need to consume more water than we actually do but just don't realize it. Love your body enough to keep it healthy and hydrated. 

10.) sickness fighter
Who wants to be sick? not me. Water helps with decongestion and of coarse dehydration, helping the body bounce back after being sick. 

   

shape, color, or size, YOU ARE BEAUTIFUL!!!!

           I would just like to start this blog out by saying "LIFE IS BEAUTIFUL" why??? because this world is full of different people. That is the beautiful and unique part about us humans. We all have that certain look that we feel happy and beautiful in. For instance I wanna be as muscular and fit as possible, I like my hair blond and big, I like my skin tan, I like to wear cowgirl boots and bling jeans, etc.... but YOU might feel beautiful being curvy, your hair black, you don't like to tan, and your happy playing piano and not running. AND THATS ALL OK, BOTH OF THEM.... because the most important thing is that YOU ARE COMFORTABLE IN YOUR OWN SKIN AND YOU ARE HAPPY WITH WHAT YOU DO!!!!!!!.

                    One hard thing in life for us women to figure out is a mans mind... Well too bad you will never figure it out because they all want love yes, but they all love a different type of body. I have over heard men say they like their women petite, I've heard them say they like them large, I've heard that they like big butt and boobs and I've also heard that they like small chest. I grew up NEVER having boobs, even when I put on weight, was pregnant, nursing, not working out..... NEVER HAD BOOBIES.... I've wondered if that made me "not beautiful" but being a cheerleader standing only 4'10 and weighing under 100, I just thought they didn't belong on me. As I got older I noticed all my friends have these things called "boobs" and I am almost 18 and still wearing a training bra...but what can I do right??? I let it bother me until I got married and moved into a small farm house with very little warm water. So me and my husband had to take a shower together in order to both get a hot one. I didn't really like standing in front of him naked for what kind of man would wanna stare at a flat chest. He all the sudden looked at me in the shower one day and said "I like your boobs, small and perky:) and I think your beautiful" I know it doesn't sound like much but it changed my whole mind set. This man LOVES MY SMALL CHEST!!!!! whatttttt! It just goes to show that no matter what shape, size, or color you are.... their is someone out there for EVERYONE and you are beautiful to SOMEONE.... and man that makes life special...



       
  As I'm training to be a fitness model , I often run across a lot of both respect and hate. Woman will say things like "EWW" or "GROSS HOW MANLY" when in my eyes this is exactly how I wanted to look, this is what makes me feel beautiful, and you bet I worked my butt off to look like this. And I have even seen "I would rather be fat than look like you" no it doesn't hurt me and it is more of a compliment because if I look like a man I must have muscle:).... But it just makes me appreciate the skin I'm in and I hope you appreciate and are happy in the skin YOU ARE IN. Never let anyone make that decision for you. If you are happy fat... be fat. If you are happy skinny, be skinny, If you want purple hair, GO FOR IT... There is no rule book on this earth for HOW we should look. The sky is the limit and you can do ANYTHING you want as long as you let no one stop you. It is YOUR body, YOUR clay... shape it how you want it. #overcomer

I don't have time to workout!!!!!!!

         There are people in this world who live for working out, who get paid for working out, and who have nothing else to do in life but workout. Then there are those who just don't have much in life to do, no job, no kids, and simply have the time to go to the gym and get a workout in. AND LAST there are those who have kids, have a job, have a house to clean, meals to cook, etc. And finding the time to workout can seem impossible.

      Working out and staying fit and healthy has been important to me since I could remember. I didn't have the problem of "finding time to workout" until after I became a mom and a wife. But I decided that making excuses was NOT an option. It was leg day for me one Monday morning and I was at a hotel with my husband 6 hours away from home, we had to leave by noon and be out ALL day for a rodeo then drive six hours to get back home. NO WAY I was going to get a workout in. No gym, no running track, no time. I thought it through before bed and my stubbornness was going to find a way to get my workout in. I'm not a morning person at the least bit but Icardio workout. NO weights I just needed a big enough space to basically jump and squat. But then things happen like a screaming baby waking up and wanting all your attention. I had the choice of stopping or i had the choice to SOMEHOW make it work. So I put the cute little darling of mine on my shoulders while i did squats and she laughed through it all. My husband later woke up and I knew I had to take a shower, feed my family, and get ready for the day. In the shower I knew I wasn't quite done with my workout so between my shampoos and conditioner I got 150 squats in. As my hair was drying I got 50 push ups in and before we left I did 200 abs. Along with getting the family breakfast, getting the kids bathed and dressed, and dolling myself up for the day. I was pretty impressed with all I got done on that busy morning. WHO NEEDS A GYM!!!!!!
set my alarm an hour and a half earlier than I usually wake up, and earlier than i knew the kids and the husband would wake up. I woke up, did a thirty minute self
You would be surprised how much time we really do have.

        So that morning I realized that I could stop making excuses on my busy days and find a way to make it work, and I got to say I'm shocked of how much I can squeeze in to my busy days. You have children so you can't go jog? put them in a stroller. Kids LOVE stroller rides. Make it fun. If they want to stop and play at the park, let them. Stop and pet a cow... let them. Get your kids involved and teach them the impotence of being active and healthy. Learn to love being active and ALWAYS make time. If the shower is the only time you have to workout, do a workout in the shower. If your kids are around, involve them. I found other ways to squeeze a workout in like purchasing a bike and biking to places I need to go. BURN MORE CALORIES PEOPLE!!!!


                                              NO    MORE   EXCUSES !!!!!!

Abs are made in the kitchen

     I often get asked how in the world I have abs after two kids. My usual response would have been " tumbling, running, and working out everyday". And often I get the response back of "I do work out every day and this baby pudge just isn't going away". Or even woman who have never had kids complain about "the pudge". Hardest thing to get rid of ladies!!! I also get "well your young so it just fell off of you" WRONGGGGGG.... here is the the way to a flat stomach.

      I have tried every diet possible to stabilize my blood sugar, and to lose the extra pounds I was dying to lose. The one and only one that worked for me was to eat 6 to 8 meals a day. YES 6 to 8. Sounds like a lot but that's what are bodies like. Our bodies are like fire, you feed a little fuel to the fire continuously it keeps working, you stop feeding it, it stops working, JUST LIKE OUR METABOLISM. In high school I was eating 2 maybe 3 meals a day but they were large meals. I was starving by the time I get to a meal which calls for a bigger meal, and I can't just sit in class or at work and eat my other meals. I get a lunch break then a supper time, and if I was lucky I would grab breakfast. This is a lot of woman's problem, they work and get that 1 lunch break so they get a big meal in to satisfy them tell supper. And that was when I put on 20 pounds. Very frustrating to put on 20 pounds while working out every day. So that being said, ABS ARE MADE IN THE KITCHEN FOLKS...

     When I heard 6 to 8 meals a day my first thought was "awesome, eat a cheese burger and fries every two hours and lose weight"... NO! I count my carbohydrates and calories. Believe it or not I eat less calories and carbs with the 8 meals a day than I did 2 or 3. I make sure to keep it at or below 1200 calories a day and 50 to 200 calories per meal. So if I started at 7:00 a.m. and ended at 7:00 p.m. and make my meals 2 hours apart that is 7 meals a day. And if three of my meals were 100 calories and four of my meals 200 calories than that's 1100 calories. And not to mention I'm always satisfied and never starving because I get to eat every two hours :). When I say 200 calorie meals I don't mean half a snickers, or half a donut, or maybe a small 200 calorie honey bun. Stick with healthy, high protein, low carb foods, but just so I don't leave this important part out, STAY ACTIVE! working out at least 1 hour a day is helpful and what our body needs.

    Some things I make sure to follow through this is 1) this is not a strict diet, its my new life style and the way I live. 2) don't drink your calories, make sure to get all the water your body needs per day. Water, coffee, and crystal light are about the only things I drink. And 3) find the proper foods to cover your meals. Protein is a major element in building lean muscle tissue, and when combined with proper exercise you will get the results you want:). You can find many foods that are high in protein and low in carbs. Get creative with your meals and change your life for the better.

                                                          List of good foods

                                                                   eggs
                                                                   tuna
                                                             protein bar
                                                                  salad
                                                                 veggies
                                                                  fruit
                                                             penut butter
                                                             chicken breast
                                                             ground turkey
                                                                 fish
                                                             almonds
                                                               nuts
                                                           greek yogurt 
                                                             cheese 

Why did I start this blog???

Hello!  I'm Mackenzie McKee. Most of you will probably remember me from MTV's Teen Mom 3. I'm going to explain in a short story a little about myself and why I have started my fitness blog. 

I will never forget the day I asked (more like BEGGED) my mom to PLEASE put me in tumbling. I was only four years old and she wasn't really crazy about the idea. She said "I do not have the money to pay for people to teach you how to roll around. I can teach you that for free!" I walked away and worked for hours on my back handspring on her water bed.. until it broke.... Yesssssss, I BROKE IT. I then moved on to try it on the trampoline until I had it down, then went to the grass and conquered that too. So, at the age of four, I taught myself how to do a back handspring! Everyone pretty well knew at that point that this was my calling in life. From that day until now, I have never stopped (unless I was pregnant but I still did it with moderation).  I LOVE IT!! 

 

HOWEVER, I will also never forget the day not long after that when the doctor freaked out after my mom took me in for a check up. They told her there was sugar in my urine and I needed to give a blood sample ASAP and I did. But they told her that everything was fine...clearly it wasn't. I went on to grade school and was always active and started in first grade all-star cheering. I can't exactly tell you anything I learned in grade school. I was always jealous of the people who could simply listen to the teacher and actually GET what she was saying. I probably made the worst grades out of any grade-schooler around me. My brain just did not function how it was supposed to (due to being an undiagnosed Diabetic) and I hated the fact that all my teachers begged my mom to put me on all this medicine saying I needed it because I was slow. They literally had me convinced I was mentally-challenged even though my Mom knew it had to be something else. It hurt me a lot and I just wanted so bad to be able to understand in school, not feel sick all day, and be able to remember what someone said to me an hour before. I felt there was  simply something wrong with me that no other student had wrong with them. I struggled daily with feeling outcast and alone and incompetent. 

I went on to my sixth grade year and "HELLO HORMONES"! --Gotta love becoming a teenager. I still could not focus in class and often cheated. OK, the only way I made it through the day was by cheating. In the middle of the year, I OFFICIALLY became a teenager. My monthly cycle hit and things only got worse. I was so skinny if I stood sideways and stuck out my tongue, I looked like a zipper. My skin was so white I blended in with paper. I was so thirsty I would literally drink from the  lake. I could eat 6 honey buns at a time. I once sold a picture of my older hot sister to some desperate sixth grade boy JUST to get another honey bun!! (Hope you still have that, Timothy!!)

When my sister Kaylee's 16th birthday rolled around that year, we all went out to eat at AppleBee's. They brought our drinks and I drank my Coke down before anyone had time to blink. I asked for another one and did the same. Again, I asked for another one and had it down before my food came. During the time we ate, I drank 3 more glasses of Coke. After we ate, we went shopping at the mall and I peed 7 to 8 times in the short time we were there. We went home and I immediately drank 3 cups of water then scarfed down a huge chunk of chocolate birthday cake. I noticed everyone staring at me like I was a freak, then my Mom said she was going to grab my Dad's glucometer to check me (he's a Diabetic).  I said, "WHATTTTTT???? NO WAY!!!! You will not come near me with that!". So, she calmly made all her kids line up to check their sugars and they all read perfect...except for mine. It just read HIGH. I thought, "That's not bad is it?"... I mean, what did I know? But then I looked at my Mom's face and thought, "Oh wait... I'm NOT OK!". I ran to the bathroom to scream the anger and confusion out as I was peeing AGAIN! All my siblings came in after I finished to hold me and tried to console me telling me it's nothing bad and I must have just had some chocolate on my finger and I was gonna be OK. My Mom's actions spoke a whole different language. She was pale and I could tell she wanted to cry. She grabbed my hand and took me to the hospital only to find out my blood sugar was 698 and I would have to live the rest of my life taking shots to stay alive. OK....WORST DAY OF MY LIFE, AND WORST BIRTHDAY PRESENT TO MY POOR SISTER. 

I was put on insulin that day and sent to a hospital for days to learn how to eat, how to take my shots, blah blah blah. When I went back to school I figured it would be the same. However, I sat in Math, listened to my teacher, got what she said, and worked out the problem without the struggle and fog in my brain... I WORKED OUT A PROBLEM, EVERYONE. It was the first time I was able to do that EVER. I was in 6th grade. I lost all those grade school years of learning. So there it was, I had to start in the life of learning from there. It was like moving to an all new country and learning a whole new language and way to learn.  I didn't really get to learn how to spell properly or all that simple stuff. I was sick all through grade school and didn't even realize it.

I took care of myself for about 6 months. Then sadly my brother, who had Down's Syndrome, passed away, and I became so depressed things went back down for me physically. I wouldn't take care of myself. I didn't care to live. I was on depression medication...YOU NAME IT. I again struggled in school-- brain fog and no understanding. This lasted until I hit about sixteen when I made a big "no-no" and got pregnant with my son. The doctor told me if I didn't get things under control my baby would die and I could die too. So I grew up quickly and learned how to take care of myself not just for me, but for HIM. I was able to pay attention in class again and began the learning life all over. People often have rude things to say about how dumb they think I am and especially every time I spell a word wrong. They say things like "you really need to go back to grade school" or "how could you be so dumb". It's taking a lot for me to admit this, but I spent weeks hiding as I cried until I literally wanted to kill myself. I wondered "Why did I have to be sick all those years when I needed to learn the simple basic things in life? If you can't spell, why live right? You're just worthless." This went on until I finally opened my eyes and realized I wanted to go somewhere in life no matter obstacle I had to overcome. I realized, "Why would I cry over a stranger, letting them win?". They got just what they wanted out of me and that was to simply hurt my feelings. I don't need to be a spelling-bee champ to go somewhere in life-- although that would be AWESOME. But I am using what I have been gifted with which is being physically talented and I have a good heart. That's what I focus on now. Today writing this blog I can't believe I even cried and wanted to die over something so silly. Now I don't even get half way through a mean comment or tweet until I'm laughing and moving on with my day.

ALL THAT BEING SAID, I have OVERCOME a lot with my disease. I am happy about the strong woman I am today because of my life's obstacles and now I am HERE TO HELP YOU!!!!!!

I am excited to start this blog and help everyone--diabetics and non diabetics, moms and non-moms, old and young-- to eat right, live right, and workout until you OVERCOME as well !!  I will be making lots of workout videos and nutrition videos. And will be sure to keep everyone updated with all my great plans for my fitness future with YOU!! 

<3 Mackenzie #spellcheckme