Hi from Japan

My name is Taube (Toby) and I am 44 years old. This is my first time to join a forum. I'm happy this is a global forum and there seems to be so much support among members. I'm from the USA but have been living in Japan for 10 years with my husband. I was told that I was pre-diabetic about 10 years ago right before I moved to the land of rice and noodles. I didn't take it so seriously the first 5 years and enjoyed experiencing a new and wonderful culture through travel and food. Since then I've been trying to control it with diet and exercise.

One good thing since moving to Japan is my life is much more active, I dropped about 9kg/20 pounds. I don't own a car and ride a bike to work everyday and I sit at a desk for only part of my day. I also love to do yoga and take classes 2-3 times a week.

My main problem is controlling my diet. I try to eat well during the work week somewhat low-carb but on weekends I want to enjoy life with my friends and family. There are lots of snacks around my house and at my work so I often have some rice crackers, a little chocolate or a cookie. Part of Japanese culture is gift giving and it almost always comes in the form of food/snacks. I give it away to my roommates and husband, but it's still hanging around the house and at work and I often can't resist. Socializing and eating out is also tough and I love to try various foods. Sometimes, I want to take an all or nothing approach but I think moderation might work best for me.

Also within the past year, I realized that my numbers spike and dip right around my period. Hope that's not too much information, but that's been frustrating too because I can't seem to work out how to stabilize during that time of the month. When my numbers get too high or low, I feel dull, tired and sad. I've only been testing myself in the mornings and before or during exercise. Thinking I should test more often. I recently bought some books about diabetes so I'll try to read up on it some more.

The Japanese health care system won't pay for my meter and strips unless I'm diabetic. My doctor was surprised that I wanted my own meter so I had to insist on buying one from his clinic. Recently, I've noticed that his advice has changed and he is now telling me to cut back on carbs so hopefully prevention will become more important in Japan too. I visit my doctor every few months to get my A1C checked and my most recent number was 6.1. The numbers on my meter are different from the numbers for the members in this forum. Not sure how to convert it, but good numbers are below 110 and diabetic is over 126 on my meter. I will look for a converter so I can understand your comments and advice.

Anyway, I think that's everything. Sometimes I wish there was a set way of handling this but our bodies are like laboratories and we need to just keep testing and trying different methods until we can figure it out.

I appreciate your insight and help. Look forward to exploring the forum and meeting you.

Thanks for the advice Mike. Yes, Japan is great. I am very fortunate.

I meant that over 110 is pre-diabetic and over 126 is diabetic based on the US standards. My numbers swing between 110 and 140 in the mornings and it can go way up and down from there the rest of the day. Will research the conversion when I get a chance.

By the way your numbers look great from 8.8 to 5.6 HBA1C in less than a year! What kind of diet do you follow? How about exercise?

Jack 412 - thanks for the info - much appreciated!

Mike - deep respect for that kind of commitment - very impressive. What about snacks? Do you snack between meals?

I have little willpower when it comes to food. However, I think this is a good time of year for me to tighten my control and move towards a stricter diet. There are no big events or holidays and I could start small and try for 2-3 weeks and then go from there - little steps.

Thanks for the inspiration. There's so much diet info out there, sometimes it's overwhelming and I just keep reading and not doing. My way of prolonging what I suppose I don't really want to do, but know is necessary. I have been thinking that I've had my whole life to enjoy all kinds of foods, and it will be ok. When I have attempted a low-carb diet, I always feel great. I have basically stopped drinking juice, soda and alcohol and feel very comfortable going out and not drinking, Hopefully I can achieve that with food with going to restaurants and parties as well as resisting unhealthy snacks.

That's great you've been through most of Japan. It's definitely a place worth exploring. There are still a few more places I would like to visit too. Hokkaido is the only main island I haven't been to yet. I live in a small city called Himeji. It's famous for it's beautiful castle. Which just reopened last month after a 5 year restoration project using old construction techniques. The city has been dead these past 5 years, but within a month it's booming and there are tons of tourists. It's a beautiful city about 40 minutes from Kobe and an hour from Osaka along the main train lines. Hiroshima is a few hours away on the other side of us. Have you ever been to Himeji?

Mike - that's a sweet story. Thanks for sharing. Are you still in touch with your friend? When I was a kid, I lived in Tokyo and Okinawa for a total of five years (about 40 years ago as well). I am still friends with my very first pre-school friend from Tokyo. We lost touch for awhile but we managed to find each other again about 15 years ago.

RRB - Thanks for the encouragement and cute pic.

Angie - thanks for your advice! I'm super excited and happy that I joined this forum. I wondered if other people had discovered a correlation with their period and number spikes. I haven't found a lot of info about it on-line. But I will continue to try to work on it. Let me know if you come up with any good strategies.