Sometimes it can be ridiculously unbelievable how easy it is to get all up inside one’s own head. This can happen a lot, especially if one has something on one’s mind. take work for example… I think we can all agree that working is one of life’s unwanted necessities. After all, a household needs income in order to provide food, clothing, amenities and shelter for the average family. For about 99% of the population, that means leaving the house and going to work in order to earn that income. If you’re lucky, you have a job that not only serves you well and provides said income but that you actually ENJOY. That can make a world of difference in the dynamic of one’s life.
Whether you enjoy your job or not, it can often be hard to keep oneself from dwelling about work at the most inappropriate times. Maybe you’re spending time with your children and your mind is focused on the project you need to complete by deadline or the files you’ll have to complete the following week. Maybe you’re dealing with a situation at work that you have no control over and it’s keeping you awake at night instead of allowing you the rest you need and deserve. This is what I mean by getting into one’s own head. It can be disruptive and damaging, especially since it keeps you from being present in the moment.
There are a lot of things one can do to get past this. Obviously, some people will tend to dwell on things more than others. There are some things that can’t be “fixed,” nor should they be as they constitute who one becomes as a person. But if you find yourself staring at the ceiling in the middle of the night when you should be sleeping because you’re dwelling on something you can’t help in the moment, that’s no good for anyone. Especially if that lack of rest will only work to damage your effectiveness at dealing with the issue that’s on your mind.
It can be difficult and it isn’t without some effort on one’s part but it IS possible to overcome this effect. Making a conscious effort to be present in the moment and focus on what you’re doing outside of the situation on your mind, is the first step. Being involved in various activities and interests during your down time is the follow-up step. For example, I’m a big fan of meditation (if you haven’t guessed). Spending time with one’s children and spouse and investing in that time, as well as getting out of the house and doing something for yourself, are all important parts in keeping focused on the better aspects of life.
It’s great to work hard, have goals and strive for them. But not at the cost of your mind being constantly wrapped around everything NOT happening in the moment. Stop. Take a breath. Do something for yourself. It’s one thing to notice the roses but their beauty is lost if you don’t stop to smell them, every once in a while. Such is the importance of life and will go a long way towards lessening the suffering in one’s life. Food for thought…☯️
Nobody likes feeling pain and if you do, you likely run in circles that won’t have you reading a Buddhist blog. But I’m not here to judge. GENERALLY, people don’t like to feel pain and it’s no secret that there are many sources of pain outside of accidental or intentional. I’ve recently written posts about injuries and how they can be aggravated by Diabetes as well as how one shouldn’t ignore injuries or pain if they persist for long periods of time.
One of the body parts that can relate to ALL of those aspects are one’s joints. I don’t know about you but as the years have dragged on, I’ve started to notice an increased amount of joint paint. Not consistent and certainly not debilitating but just enough that it draws my notice.
Now, just to be clear because sometimes I’m not, a joint as it relates to the body is where two bones meet. Joints allow the free movement of the body, which we would be unable to do otherwise. These meetings of bones are held together by ligaments, which are strong elastic bands of tissue and movement is achieved by tendons, which are also a connective tissue that connect to the muscles that create movement.
All caught up? Good. People tend to take their joints and the respective movement they provide for granted and assume that muscles are solely responsible for proper movement. But there are many moving pieces to the process (pun fully intended). The last piece of the puzzle is cartilage. This is another type of connective tissue that serves a number of different functions throughout the body. One of the most important among these functions is coating the bones in a joint to cushion them against friction and impact.
Over time and extensive use, such as one might see from decades of martial arts training, the cartilage in one’s joints can become worn. This wear and tear can eventually cause loss of motion in the joint and pain as the bare surfaces of the bones start to rub together. This grinding of bones is called osteoarthritis, or the “wear-and-tear” disease.
It’s not always as bad as bare bones rubbing against each other. Even mild conditions can have you feeling aches and pains in the joints, especially when moving. It’s important to pay attention to these aches and pains as they can be treated in various ways but it’s obviously easier to do so before it becomes worse. Any joint pain you feel that’s sharp or acute can mean something more serious, like a torn ligament or tendon, muscle damage of bone fractures. None of those should be left untreated and you should have them checked by your medical practitioner.
Why am I writing about this? Well, the reality is that when one studies a contact art like karate, one’s joints take a terrific beating, figuratively and literally. I know that after the many decades of training hard, my joints certainly aren’t what they used to be and I would be lying if I said my knees don’t swell up like balloons on rainy days. The important thing is to keep stretching, warming up the body and ensuring that you don’t ignore consistent, chronic pain when it becomes known. Your body will thank you. ☯️
Yesterday marked the lifting of all COVID-19 pandemic-related restrictions, here in Saskatchewan. It’s been an interesting run of things, considering that even after two years of wearing a mask, I still occasionally forget to slip one on. Last weekend, Nathan and I went shopping at Walmart and I agreed to get him a happy meal since the location had a McDonald’s. Ironically, he had just received his second dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, so I agreed to reward him with a purchased lunch since I was going to make him sit through doing groceries.
We walked in and I had ordered his food and waited for it, for almost ten minutes. We got his happy meal and I loaded him into the cart so he could eat comfortably. It wasn’t until we walked into the store proper that I realized my face was bare! I was wondering why some people were giving me sideways glances. I had my mask on me, of course. I’m usually in the habit of getting as much fresh air in my lungs as I can before slipping on a mask. In this case, I must have simply forgotten.
The wearing of a mask has long been a debated restriction over the past two years. I write about it now because it was my most disliked. I hate wearing a face mask. I honestly don’t know how medical professionals do it. My hat’s off to them. Considering I’ve found myself having to train and do karate with a face mask, I’m well aware that once the skin gets a bit sweaty, that’s all she wrote! The mask basically sticks against my face like someone trying to choke me with a plastic bag. Not least of which is the fact that wearing a mask makes it difficult for me to wear my glasses. Anyone who wears glasses will totally understand the struggle. I know, I know… First world problems.
The thing is, a face mask will block some particles from spreading. This makes logical sense, since surgical staff wear them to prevent the spread of germs during medical procedures and surgeries. The logical part of my brain understands this. The “semi-logical” part of my brain suggests that it isn’t as overall effective as the professionals may think it is. When was the last time you walked past someone while wearing a face mask and were able to smell their cologne or perfume? Or caught a smell of a local restaurant wafting in your direction through the mask?
This would seem to suggest to me that particles are making their way into my nose, regardless of the mask. This wold SEEM to suggest that if COVID-19 particles are being blown in my direction, I could potentially be breathing them despite having a plate of cotton armour across my face. Doesn’t that make sense? On the flip side, smelling particles known as “odorants” and having active virus particles make their way into your body may be two different things. I don’t know, I’m not a doctor. This post is purely speculative and simply an example of me thinking out loud.
Some believe the lifting of COVID-19n restrictions is too early. Maybe it is. Some believe that we all need to collectively reopen the world and let nature take its course in order to move on with life. Perhaps we will. In the meantime, it will be nice when the impulse to slap on a mask has passed, although I must confess that it’s my intention to continue to carry one with me in my pocket for some time to come. The world isn’t done with this bullshit, yet. Food for thought…☯️
Alright, this post will be a bit of a rant so I’m warning all of y’all to buckle up. Next week, I’m schedule for my bi-yearly visit to my endocrinologist where we examine my state of existence as it relates to Diabetes and how I’m managing. For the most part, I tend to make things pretty boring for my doctor, with level blood test results and a blood glucose log that you could easily cross-country ski on. My last visit, which was back in September, wasn’t as good as previous ones by virtue of having come off of CGM. This was mainly the fault of my insurance company, which put a cap on how much they would cover and I couldn’t see clear to pay the hundreds of dollars each month for them, myself. But I digress…
My point is that for the first time, my A1C’s were off, my blood sugar results weren’t as pretty as usual and I had some ‘splainin’ to do. I always find it hilarious when a doctor picks out one random bad reading off my blood log and asks, “What happened here?” Dude, I have difficulty remembering what I had for breakfast YESTERDAY… You really think I remember why I may have suffered a high or a low at that particular time? And that’s the caveat, that these appointments usually require a bunch of steps on my part prior to showing up. These steps including getting extensive blood work where I’ve been fasting for 10 hours or more as well as uploading my insulin pump to a database, which always seems to be an issue (apparently because I use an MacBook).
One of the biggest issues with visiting my endocrinologist is the need fr scheduled blood work. This blood work needs to be collected no later than 10 days before the appointment but I’ve had instances where I’ve gotten it two full weeks prior and been told that the results were too old. So not only do I have to time it as closely to 10 days as possible, I can’t really get a leg up and do it earlier. Fun times. If you haven’t guess, this post is a rant against getting my blood work done. Like I said, buckle up.
In order to understand my frustrations, we need to go all the way back to the early 80’s, when Diabetes treatment was a joke (at least in my home town) and they still operated on babies without anesthesia because they thought infants felt no pain. Yeah… THAT decade! Anyway, any time I needed blood work, it would always require showing up at the hospital first thing in the morning. There were no other times to get it done. No appointments and no “save my spot.” You needed to show up, get registered and sit and wait. Here’s the clincher: you’d rarely ever wait more than 15 minutes.
Fast forward to February 25, 2022. I was slated to go to a local blood collecting lab, which seems to be the only way to have your blood work done in Regina unless you’re actually admitted in the hospital. And it’s not that this is a new thing. Even just ten years ago, I would STILL go to the hospital to get blood work done in New Brunswick. So, I don’t know what the problem is out here, but I digress… I woke up in the low 3’s, so there was no way in hell I could keep fasting and make it through the inevitable long wait at the blood collection lab.
I bolused with some fast-acting carbs but the damage was done; I had broken my fast and my test results would be tainted. I also felt like a freight truck hit me, so I ended up calling in sick for work. It wasn’t a great day and when i had my levels up, I fell back asleep and surprised myself by waking up past 11 am. I can’t remember the last time that happened and it only happened because my blood sugars bottomed out. Brutal. Anyway, my chances of getting my blood work done was out the window and I faced a unique problem. If I waited until Monday to get the blood work, I would be below the 10-day requirement.
That wouldn’t be a lot but I know it would be enough to elicit comment, especially if the lab didn’t have enough time to analyze the results. Luckily, we live in the modern era and I was able to check online and discover that my closest blood lab was open on Saturdays. Score! It also opened at 7:30 and was open until 3 pm. Bonus! I wouldn’t have to get there at the butt crack of dawn and wait in line in the cold with everyone else in the city who were rushing to get their blood work done. Or so I thought… getting it done on Saturday also meant that it would be over ten days to my appointment but not so long before as to elicit comment. Alright, let’s do this…
Given that it was Saturday morning, I apparently thought it was a good idea not to set an alarm, the night before.I awoke just after 8 am and my first instinct was to grab a can of energy drink and go sit on the couch to enjoy some weekend silence before everyone woke up. But as I made my way to the fridge, some post-sleep clarity kicked in and I remembered my blood work. I grabbed the requisition form, jumped into some clothes and bolted out the door. Everyone was still asleep.
I got to the blood lab and noted that there were two people in line outside the door. This wasn’t as bad as compared to other days but as I stepped out of my car, I noted that a few people were walking towards the line as well. I didn’t want to make a scene by running ahead of anyone, so I continued at a normal pace, which resulted in having four people ahead of me outside instead of two. It was only -16 degrees before the wind factor, which was a lucky thing. Had it been in the -30’s before the windchill, there’d be no human way in hell I’d be standing in line outside.
The time was 8:46 am, which is important to note. Some chairs in the waiting room were empty, which made me wonder why some of us were waiting outside. There were no restriction notices on the door, nor any explanation around why we were made to wait outside like pack animals instead of inside the warm lobby. By the time I got inside the lobby, it was about 9:20 am. Some of the people who got in ahead of me overheard one of the technicians saying it would be at least an hour’s wait. At least four people stood up and indicated they were leaving as they didn’t have an hour to wait. I felt this thinned out the herd and made it so that I cold potentially get through faster. I was wrong.
My name was finally called at about 9:40, almost an hour after I first stood in line. The only consistent part of their process was the truth behind the hour-long wait. Despite being caffeine-free and on an empty stomach, I was surprisingly patient. maybe it was the perspective of seeing everyone else getting angry, frustrated and making a scene, that helped me to recognize how I sometimes tend to fly off the handle. I was ushered into a stall and asked to remove my coat.
Once I was seated, I was still made to wait for fifteen more minutes before a technician came over and mechanically asked for my name and date of birth, followed by drawing the blood and dropping a container in my hands to collect a urine sample. I went and peed in the little cup and walked out of the blood lab at about 10:05 am, ironically right at the moment when my wife asked me what my ETA was. I could sense the tension in the room as I walked out and couldn’t help but feel that there’s got to be a way for this process to be moved along faster.
That first gulp of caffeine went down smooth, like the very nectar of life was infusing my body with the ability to face the day, despite the first couple of hours having elapsed already. I don’t work as a lab technician and I don’t collect blood samples for a living so I can’t put myself in their shoes. But from the outside perspective looking in, it seems to the common person that this process can see that there should be something done to make the process smoother and quicker. The only saving grace is that my next appointment will likely be in September and waiting outside won’t be such a big deal. Small favours… ☯️
“It’s never too late…” How often have you heard that saying throughout the course of your life? It’s a well-known utterance, usually accompanying someone who is doing something said to be beyond the social or physiological limits of their current state. I’ve often read inspirational stories of people in their 70’s getting their PhD’s or parent and child graduating from the same college at the same time, together. Imagine how awkward THOSE frat parties would be? But to some, age is just a number and time seems infinite. I recently read a story about how Willie Nelson earned his fifth degree black belt at the age of 81. You can read that article here.
The big problem with this concept, and trust me when I say that I’m not TRYING to be negative, is that eventually it DOES become too late. Exceptional accomplishments much later in life are the exception, not the rule. This doesn’t make them impossible, simply improbable. And doing so is extremely subjective. Perhaps one person’s specific factors won’t allow for the same level of accomplishment as another. This is true of any point in life, not just the latter part. But eventually, the rigours and responsibilities of life start to accumulate one can find themselves at the mercy of responsibility instead of enjoying the freedom of their own potential. What’s possible becomes a fevered dream, to be dwelt upon during fleeting moments drowned in a cloud of reminiscent drunkenness.
I know that some of this likely sounds negative as hell and once again, it’s totally not meant to be. But since I’m throwing out sayings and utterances, another important one to keep in mind would be, “life is short.” And it is. None of us have any idea when life will take a turn towards that dark tunnel with the light at the end of it, so we should take full advantage. If you spend your life saying that it’s never too late, eventually, time will run out and it WILL be. Although one can always try their best to shoot for the stars, it’s important not to wait on the things that matter to you. Want to train for your black belt? Today is the day you should get started. Want to get on a diet and start losing weight? Don’t wait, get at it. Tomorrow is one more day that you haven’t done what you need to do. “It’s never too late?” Sure, until it is…
Never forget that life should be a pleasant experience. But that takes effort. Happiness should be the first and last thing on every person’s mind in a day but we cause our own suffering, and feeling a sense of loss over the “what if’s” only contribute to that suffering. Despite the pleasantness, life also wasn’t meant to be easy. And one shouldn’t mistake an easy life with happiness. One is not synonymous with the other. One can easily find happiness while still navigating the difficulties of life. What one should never do, is put off the things they want to accomplish. Because eventually, inevitably, the time will come when it WILL be too late. Food for thought… ☯️
One of the big things I enjoy doing for fitness is cardio. There’s something pleasant about pushing oneself to go farther and faster, all while burning calories and fat. Given that my knees are pretty shot from three decades of fight training, I usually opt for cycling because it allows maximum distance while still getting a good burn without all the impact on my knees. This is why I opt for the elliptical during the winter. But despite having the centre of gravity equivalent to a rock, I can run. I usually choose not to, but I can.
During the late autumn and winter months, I’ve taken advantage of using the gym located in my office building. I’ve posted videos of what that location has to offer and it’s served me well. But in recent weeks, I’ve come to find out that circumstances may take this location away and I’ve once again found myself in a position where cardio will take a back seat. I mean, let’s be honest… I have free weights at home. I have a punching bag at home. And I now have a dojo at my disposal. This means that cardio is very literally the only reason I would use the gym location in question.
I’ve gotten rather lazy in recent weeks, missing some classes and negating the aforementioned cardio. There are a number of reasons behind this, including but not limited to the increased work load that has kept me from taking time to run at work. And I kind of enjoy spending some time at home, you know? With this in mind, I started looking for something I could do at home. A traditional elliptical machine or stationary bike would be too heavy and cumbersome to get downstairs, not to mention it would cost a fortune.
My GoZone “Walking” treadmill…
Enter: the GoZone Walking Treadmill. I purchased it from a local retail outlet and I usually don’t make it a point to endorse any particular distributor, but it doesn’t take a genius to guess what location I’m talking about, given the brand name. Pricing in at about $250, it’s currently on special for about $160. It supports a maximum weight of 265 pounds but only weighs 40 pounds, itself. it doesn’t boast a handlebar with a bunch of fancy buttons and displays but it definitely serves the purpose for an at-home workout area.
Digital display
I started by plugging it in to a nearby wall socket and set upon my laptop for music/streaming. It comes with a small, handheld remote, which controls speed and time. The digital display alternates between elapsed time, speed (in mph), distance (in miles) and energy burned. There’s a memory key on the remote that allows you to set maximum distance or time, and a rounded button for speed adjustment. Maxing out at 6 mph (approximately 10 kph), it allows for a reasonable jog. It wouldn’t be fitting for someone looking to train at hard running but definitely serves its purpose for some at-home cardio.
I’m not keen on the fact that it looks as though I have boobs…
I hadn’t run or performed any significant cardio in months, so I decided to test the treadmill out by running a simple mile (1.6 kilometres). I had Disney+ playing on the laptop and I was watching “According to Jim.” The mile crept up quickly and I could feel the shin splints building as I neared the end. It was a good burn, albeit brief, and once I stopped, my core temperature decided to catch up and I was sheathed in sweat. my blood sugars also dropped, making me grateful for training at home. Nathan also hopped on and trotted for almost half a mile.
Being old and out of breath is no joke…
Honestly, I was a bit concerned that the track would start to falter with me running on it. But it held up pretty well. I don’t know how long this thing will continue to work as smoothly as it does but it will make an excellent addition to my fitness routine. Given the low, reasonable cost, light-weight design and portability for storage and reasonable speed, the GoZone “Walking” treadmill is definitely recommended. I keep putting “walking” in quotations because I’ll only ever use it for jogging. ☯️
If you’re anything like me, you work pretty hard towards taking care of others. Whether you’ve found your calling by pursuing a career that allows you to help others or you do volunteer work or perhaps simply take that extra amount of time in your daily routine to throw on a load of laundry, do extra dishes or extra cleaning around the house, helping and taking care of others is an important part of one’s life. If there’s anything that life has taught me, it’s that everybody needs somebody and helping to care for them takes many forms and is important.
That is to say, it’s ALMOST as important as taking care of yourself. Great strides have been made in the past couple of decades towards acknowledging one’s mental health as an integral part of a successful, healthy life. Of course, some have been wise enough to acknowledge that, long before it started being well-known. The important thing to remember is that you’re no good to anyone else unless you manage to take care of yourself first. I’ve previously written about the need to take time to do things for oneself, whether that means reading a book or taking a drive on your own.
Your mental health depends on it, which is why it’s so important. Throughout my life, I’ve experienced toxic relationships where I’ve been hindered or prevented from taking proper care of myself. Not only does this make life far harder than it needs to be but the toll it takes on a person is substantial. All that being said, there are three things you should never have to explain or justify. And those three things play an important role in your well-being. In fact, they represent some of the basic needs that all people have. Here they are:
The Need To Sleep
Sleep is an integral part of a person’s health. Without proper sleep, a person can expect difficulty concentrating, blood pressure issues, cardiac issues and a whole score of health-related issues that no one wants to deal with. When you feel tired or sleepy, there’s no reason you should have to explain the need to sleep. There’s nothing worse than being tired and wanting to lie down, only to have someone require an explanation or accuse you of being lazy.
According to Maslow’s Hierarchy of needs, sleep counts as a physiological need, which is the bottom and first layer of needs. At its most basic, everyone sleeps. And the reality is that if one doesn’t sleep, one will eventually succumb and die. Work and familial obligations notwithstanding, you shouldn’t have to explain if you need to lie down and grab a quick snooze.
The Need To Eat
Another bottom level and basic physiological need, eating is subjective to the person. The rules of survival are pretty simple; if you’re hungry, you should eat. Now, bear in mind that hunger can be attributed to more than simply the need for food. Dehydration can cause feelings of hunger, so it’s important to maintain proper hydration levels by sipping water throughout the day. Emotional issues can also cause a person to compulsively eat, which isn’t directly associated to hunger but can cause a person to eat outside the regular boundaries of one’s three meals.
But if you find yourself hungry for the the old fashion reason, that being that you need food in your system, this isn’t something that you should need to explain or justify. In past relationships, I’ve actually had partners who have commented on my eating habits and have accused me of “eating too much” or gaining unnecessary weight through excessive eating. Although I’m not exactly the skinniest dude on the block, I also know that my weight is consistent with my age, size and activity level.
The Need To Recuperate From Illness
This one is near and dear to my heart, especially since I was diagnosed with Type-1 Diabetes when I was 4 years old. Throughout my childhood and into my teens, I would often have friends and later girlfriends, comment on my mood, health and energy levels as Diabetes took its pound of flesh from me. Even into adulthood, I’ve had difficulties when trying to explain or justify needing some down time to myself when overcoming a cold, flu or something Diabetes-related.
I remember one time, I was dating a local woman in on of the towns I was posted in. We went out to an even this one evening when nausea and stomach pain seized me. I told her I would be going home to rest and I could tell she was clearly upset by my early departure. She even made a passive-aggressive comment to others about how we had to leave because I was “not feeling well.” It wasn’t until she came in to check on me the following day and saw the state I was in, did she realize that I was genuinely sick and wasn’t making excuses.
The experience left a sour taste in my mouth and helped me realize that one should never have to explain or justify needing time to medically recuperate. And taking care of one’s health is the second level on Maslow’s Hierarchy as part of one’s Safety Needs, one step above basic physiological needs. I don’t think I need to explain why it’s so important to maintain one’s health and well-being.
This post is effectively an opinion piece. Perhaps there are other needs you feel would be more important and that you dislike having to explain or justify. If so, feel free to share them in the comments section. At the end of the day, the lesson here is that you have to take care of yourself before you can take care of others. Otherwise, the whole house of cards will falter. And as I said earlier, you can’t help others or take care of them before first taking care of yourself. ☯️
As I get older, one of the big things I notice is the increased amount of pain and discomfort. It isn’t a constant, debilitating pain, of course. But it’s usually just enough that it sits on the present fringes of my consciousness, a steady companion as I make my way towards the latter portion of my life. For example, just twenty years I could get a night’s sleep, whether good or bad, step out of bed and hit the ground running. Now, it takes several minutes for my body to acknowledge and accept that I’ve woken up, everything cracks and settles as I sit up and then my knees and joints scream at me as I get them moving. Such is life.
One of the important aspects about any pain and discomfort that we feel, is recognizing the need to seek medical attention. We’re often ignorant of this, whether due to the inconvenience of trying to get in to see a medical practitioner, which is not an easy in modern days, or the stubbornness of believing that pain is temporary. It often is, but we allow ourselves the indulgence of a far longer wait than we should, in some instances. This can lead to complications that one can ill afford, especially if you’re dealing with Type-1 Diabetes on top of things.
From a martial arts’ standpoint, many injuries will be suffered during training. Bruises, scrapes, blisters, pulled muscles, torn muscles and even broken bones are al injuries that I’ve either suffered or seen during my many decades of training. Most things can be healed with a bit of rest and time, specifically things like bruises and pulled muscles. But even those can lead to complications if left unchecked. If bruising begins to inexplicably spread or change to unusual shades of colour than what your bruises typically look like, there may be something more serious happening beneath the surface.
Pulled and damaged muscles actually take much longer than people assume. If left to heal properly, it can take several weeks for muscle tissue to return to its former state. If it’s been several months and the pain still persists or has worsened, that’s a sign that ice packs or warm baths won’t help any further. Medical examination may be required. Trying to return to your normal activities without allowing your muscles t properly heal will aggravate an existing injury and potentially cause others. Broken bones are a problem all their own. Besides the broken bone, certain breaks can cause a kink of nerves, restricted blood flow and circulatory issues.
It goes without saying (despite the fact I’m saying) that broken bones shouldn’t be ignored and require medical treatment. The old belief that you won’t be able to move a limb or use the part of the body if your bone is broken is myth. You’ll still be able to walk on a broken leg as movement is done through your muscles. That doesn’t mean it won’t hurt like hell and cause al kinds of damage, though. I’ve been lucky enough to get through my life with only mild fractures. I’ve only had to be casted once and have otherwise never needed to be laid up.
Numbness and loss of feeling is also an important concern. If you have pain somewhere in your body and start to notice numbness or loss of sensation in the extremities, this could suggest that whatever your injury may be is causing lack of circulation or kinking a nerve. None of that is a good sign and should prompt you to get the injury checked as soon as possible. trying to “tough it out” can lead to nerve damage and loss of extremities if blood flow is hindered.
Having Diabetes adds a whole different flavour to injuries and I recognize that I’ve mostly been speaking about internal injuries that show show a great deal of much on the surface. But cuts and open wounds are especially difficult, since people with Diabetes will have difficulty healing in a timely fashion by virtue of neurological and circulatory issues. Not only will injuries take longer to heal, but T1D’s are prone to infection, which will make matters all the worse. This is why it’s so important to maintain good blood sugars and seek medial assistance if injuries appear red and angry, ooze any kind of fluid and it appears as though they aren’t healing properly. ☯️
Water. Fluid of life. Our bodies are primarily composed of it, we need to drink copious amounts of it on a daily basis to stay alive and maintain our internal bodily functions. In fact, the average adult needs to drink anywhere from 3 to 5 litres of water a day in order to meet that requirement. This is dependent on size, weight and even gender. And I should clarify that we also take in a certain amount of water through food, as well. So it ain’t all about chugging it down from a glass. Wait, whiskey has water, right? Moving on…
When I was younger, I was always discouraged from drinking icy cold water. There were a number of reasons behind this, including the contraction of tissues that could make it harder to digest food properly, shocking one’s kidney and causing bodily cramps. Most of the time, this was encouraged by Sensei, who explained it was preferable to sip water at room temperature; a practice I maintained for years afterwards, thinking that he had a point. Although how you choose to take in your H2O and like most things in life, there’s a good and a bad side to everything. And the temperature of your water is no exception.
I decided it might be time to examine exactly what is so bad about drinking cold water. Is it genuinely bad at all? Turns out a lot of people wonder that very thing. I’ve read a number of different articles and papers on the subject and they’re al pretty consistent in terms of current findings. My preferred one is posted by Healthline.com, which may be bias on my part since it’s one of my favourite websites. But the article addresses some of the pros and cons of drinking cold water.
One of the points the article mentions that appeals to be is how practitioners of Chinese Medicine have a belief that drinking cold water with a hot meal creates an imbalance. On the flip side, consuming hot water is said to improve breathing, which is likely one of the reasons why people are encouraged to eat chicken noodle soup or hot tea when trying to recover from a cold or flu. All that being said, the article suggests that drinking cold water can cause increased congestion and migraines in people who suffer from them.
Cold water can be beneficial during fitness routines. Not only will the cold water help keep your core temperature cooler as you exercise but it may also help you burn more calories since your body will fight harder to warm that same core temperature up. That’s assuming you can actually get your hands on cold water. My current gym doesn’t even have a water fountain available and if I bring cold water, it’s warmed up by the time I get to the gym, workout and finally take a drink, it’s pretty much reached room temperature.
I can easily agree that the consumption of cold water on a hot summer day may SOUND like a good idea in the moment, but it could potentially increase the mucus in your throat and the difference in temperature between your core and your water can cause cramps, pains and shock the body in uncomfortable ways. I’ve also gotten a mild version of brain freeze on days I’ve come back from cycling and chugged water from a refrigerated water bottle. So while the jury may be out, it’s up to the individual person to decide how good or bad the consumption of chilled water could be.
One way or another, any water you get into your system is good. There isn’t enough evidence either way to suggest total overall benefits or loss of drinking cold or hot water. My older brother, the Light rest his soul, used to enjoy a cup of hot water at supper. Without tea in it or anything. He used to say it helped him digest his food. Maybe there was something to that. As long as you’re getting enough water to stay hydrated and healthy, that’s what’s important. And for my Dia-buddies currently reading, proper hydration can help with proper blood sugar control. ☯️
I made reference in my post yesterday, during my not-so-subtle jab at the current state of the world, how this past week has been a bit of a rough one. There are a number of reasons for this and most of them are the result of compounding effect by virtue of medical issues, scheduling issues, triggering issues as a result of PTSD and just plain old life not caring about my plan.
By the time Monday had rolled around, the weight of the previous week had already caused me to sit in a dark corner holding my knees and rocking like a injured school girl, so I tried to find balance by setting some clear goals for myself. One of these goals included making it to all three scheduled karate classes for the week. Monday night would have been the first, which was scheduled from 8 to 9 pm.
This is a bit of a later class than I’ve ever been used to, with the majority of dojos and schools I’ve trained in ENDING their classes around the time that this one is slated to begin. I got home from work last Monday in reasonable mood and hellbent on making it to this class. I helped with dishes and my wife made a wonderful supper of pizza rolls made with crescent roll dough. They were delicious. They were also difficult to carb-count for…
I took what i thought was a reasonable dose of insulin for the amount of pizza rolls I ate. Although I prefer to err on the side of being slightly above normal than below with my blood sugars before engaging in exercise, I’m also aware that there’s a significant level of grogginess that can accompany high blood sugar (not to mention the damage I’m causing to m self) so it’s often a bit of a balancing act. I often fall off the high wire in these balancing acts, and the results usually fuck my night like a bad prom date.
Since I had arrived home a bit late to start with, my window of time was reasonably shortened from what i would usually enjoy but I partook of a dose of caffeine to give me a boost and ate appropriately to prevent an over-filled or bloating tummy. Within an hour, I noticed I had dropped to about 4.5 mmol/L, which isn’t BAD per se, but I knew I would have to wolf down some fast-acting carbs to compensate so I could make karate class.
Within fifteen minutes, my blood sugars had dropped into the 3’s, leaving me dizzy, groggy and sweating like Peter Griffin during a heavy meal. Bear in mind that this was WHILE I was hungrily downing jelly beans like they were going out of style. I hadn’t actually taken enough insulin to prompt this sort of a reaction, especially in light of the fact that I had basically eaten dough with a bit of meat in it for supper.
I had an hour. I worked towards ensuring my gear bag was packed and ready to go, including a book on techniques I had borrowed from the dojo that I intended to return. I worked through that hour in trying to get my blood sugars to level out. Needless to say, they didn’t. Ten minutes prior to the start of class, I was still sitting in my home office with my head in my hands, munching away and trying to bring my levels up. I had barely grazed the 4.0 mmol/L mark.
My wife came to checks on me and I explained what was happening. She passively suggested that given these things tended to happen on karate nights when i was trying to make my way out the door, maybe my body was trying to tell me something. Maybe it is. Who knows? Once I had successfully made my peace with missing Monday night’S class, I changed into some sleepwear and sprawled on my couch to recover and cuddle my toddler. Within the next hour, just long enough to have completely missed class, my blood sugar levels boomeranged in the other direction.
A part of me acknowledges that this is a prime example of life not caring about one’s plan. I may have planned and intended on getting to class that night, but fate and my body had different plans, effectively destroying the goal I had set for the week before I even had a chance to attempt it. Such is life. But like waking up in a bad mood, this somewhat set the tone for my whole week. Luckily, I did make it so some classes.
Long gone are the days where i could rush off to a fitness class, train like a man possessed and throw caution to the wind as I would neglect to worry about my blood sugar levels until AFTER class was done. As I’m getting older, I need to acknowledge that life has changed. And as I’ve written before, one needs to change with it in order to ensure the proper progression of life. My solution will effectively be to have a light snack in the mid-afternoons on karate days and have supper AFTER class. This will help ensure that my blood sugar levels accommodate what I’m trying to accomplish. I’ve only just started returning to karate. It’s not time for me to stop, as much as my Diabetic body is telling me I should. ☯️
The Blogging Buddhist 