Category: Health & Well Being

When You Start Lacking Some Pep in Your Step…

We’re slowly starting to creep into that time of year when it takes the sun a bit longer to decide to grace us with its presence. Just a short month ago, I would leave to work just prior to 7 a.m. and the sun would already be blinding me on my transit down the road. However, if I take this morning as an example, I stepped outside and walked to the car and I felt the distinctive chill of the season seep through my layers and the sky was still dark. That first little while that this starts happening can be disconcerting and confusing, especially if you leave work late enough that the sun has already started to go down.

The view outside my office window

Depending on the environment you’re in throughout your day, this change in season can wreak havoc on your system. And no, I’m not just referring to the presence of pumpkin-spiced everything… I promise I’ll stop picking on those who enjoy those treats eventually; I just need to get a few shots in before the caffeine levels in my blood make me more reasonable. MOVING ON! My point is that some folks are fortunate enough to work in an environment where they can actively see the daylight. Some are not so fortunate and may work in a remote environment or an enclosed office where access to daylight isn’t always possible.

It should come as no surprise that the daylight plays an important role in a person’s health. First and most importantly, access to sunlight helps our bodies to naturally produce Vitamin D. Since I intended this post as an opinion piece and not necessarily an educational one where I’d have to cite sources and shit, I’ll keep it light. But the reality is that Vitamin D is necessary for all sorts of things like good bone health, stronger immune system and certainly not least or last, it helps with managing Diabetes. That last one is a touch important to me, as you might imagine.

Sunlight plays an integral role in the body’s function, including proper sleep patterns and managing your circadian rhythm. That’s your “internal clock,” which helps you to manage getting to sleep and waking up. So you end up feeling all sorts of fucked up, when you wake up for the day and it’s still looking pitch dark outside. Most people don’t have a regular work day where they wake up with the sun streaming through their window while soft violin music plays.

For all the reasons I’ve described above and much more, it’s important to take some preventative steps to ensure the colder weather doesn’t get you down into the dumps. Once you’re in the groove, these steps can become overall good daily habits. Here are a couple of things you can do to try and ensure you keep your energy levels on the up-and-up:

1. Starts Your Morning With Exercise.
This is the best one, and something I wish I had more drive to maintain. I will FULLY admit that I’m terrible at doing anything, first thing in the morning, other than reaching for some caffeine. But doing exercise first thing in the morning gets you or blood flowing and oxygenated and will help you to hit the ground running far better than any cup of coffee you may grab. My wife is an absolute champion at this, usually starting her morning with a rigorous exercise routine she follows. During the pandemic winter, I used to walk my spin to the bus stop then walk anywhere from 5 to 10 kilometres. The result was the cold air woke me up and brutalized me before facing my day.

2. Drink Some Water.
I’m a huge fan of caffeine for a variety of reasons. So I can’t honestly say with a straight face that I do this one, but there are studies that show that gulping down a glass of water first thing in the morning will jump start your system and help to wake you up. I have no idea if it works or not, since I guzzle caffeine minutes after waking. And don’t ask me what studies I’m talking about. I don’t have enough caffeine to remember where I read them…

3. Get Outside And Take A Walk.
If you don’t work in an environment where you can see the sun, then go to where you can access it. Get some fresh air, take a walk and get some natural light on your body (and no, I’m not condoning stripping down and sunbathing while at work). Twice a day, I’ll take fifteen minutes to take a short walk outside, get some air and move around a bit. It makes all the difference and helps greatly with productivity. Most jobs entitle you to breaks throughout the day, so you should take advantage of them.

4. Control Your Blood Sugars.
It’s obvious that you should be doing this anyway, but maintaining balanced blood sugars will help keep your overall energy levels up. Nothing saps your energy faster than having an extreme high or low, followed by balancing it out. I don’t know about the rest of you, but that usually leaves me feeling like all I want to do is sleep. Keeping your blood sugar levels balanced is not only a good idea for Diabetics in general, it can go a long way towards keeping you energized and moving throughout the day. Especially when in conjunction with everything else on this list.

There you have it. I’m no genius and none of this is reinventing the wheel, it’s simply common sense. But not everyone thinks about these things so maybe this will spark some ideas for the cold weather ahead. Especially here in Saskatchewan, the morning blahs tend to hit all that much harder once there’s snow on the ground and the weather reaches -50 degrees Celsius. That almost guarantees wanting to stay curled up in bed, despite whatever steps you may take. But life happens and facing the day is a necessity. May as well try to make it a energized and motivated as possible. ☯️

It’s Not About The Sugar…

It can be hard to teach an old dog new tricks. And before everyone swamps my comments section (not that any of you ever do), I’m not necessarily calling my parents old dogs. But sometimes we learn something during a time when it’s relevant and important, only to have it disproven or updated decades later. Most people will hold true to the previous knowledge they had learned, especially if the results were quasi-positive. When I was diagnosed as Type-1 Diabetic, or “Juvenile” Diabetic as it was inaccurately called back in the early 80’s, my parents were told that combatting Diabetes only required two things: take insulin and don’t eat sugar.

Obviously, we now know that this isn’t correct. It’s about the proper balance of insulin use and carbohydrate-counting, not sugar intake. You can have something with no sugar indicated on the label but will have lots of carbs and will require a dose of insulin. This was something my parents didn’t recognize, way back when. You’re thirsty? Sure, have a glass of milk. There’s no sugar in that… Not only is that incorrect, milk has approximately 12 grams of carbs per cup depending on the brand. Oh, you’re hungry? Sure, have some a piece of toast. toast doesn’t have sugar… Although wildly incorrect and a slice of bread has anywhere between 10 to 25 grams of carbohydrates, depending on brand, thickness, etc.

I hold no malice against my parents, as they did the best they could with what they knew. But it explains a significant number of issues I’ve had to deal with, such as suffering through a number of Diabetic comas in my youth, as well as having damage to my eyes throughout my 20’s and began requiring eye injections in my late 30’s (as opposed to my 60’s or later). I’ve always fought very hard to be as healthy as possible, and I like to think I’ve done a pretty god job since I still have a clean nervous system, no amputations, good circulation and I can still outrun many people of equivalent station in life who AREN’T Diabetic. But I can’t imagine the different it would have made in my youth, had carb counting been a part of my childhood.

I was reminded of this recently when I was on the phone with my mother and we were talking about how Diabetes and how the total number of people with some form of it in Canada was continuously increasing. Then she made a comment that it was because these people were “eating too much sugar.” Although certain dietary and lifestyle factors will contribute to Type-2 Diabetes, this isn’t the case with Type-1. But try explaining that to someone who was taught and truly believed that “you just shouldn’t eat sugar” as a means of treating ALL Diabetes.

There’s a lot more to Diabetes than avoiding sugar. It requires proper diet, which includes carbohydrate counting. It requires frequent blood sugar testing to ensure you’re remaining “in range,” if you happen not to be wearing a CGM. you also needs regular, consistent exercise, control over cholesterol, blood pressure and ensure good oral and cardiac health. Diabetes is a rich mosaic of crap that one needs to stay on top of, in order to have a full, healthy life. ☯️

Some Cold, Hard Facts…

I’ve noticed in the past week that the weather seems to be at single digits in the morning, prompting a lot of pain in my old joints and signalling that the warmer, summer months are gone for another year. With that comes the need to recognize that one’s fitness routine may be altered or NEED to be altered in order to accommodate the colder weather. We all know what’s coming next…. That wonderful white stuff that makes getting to work ion the morning an absolute nightmare.

But we aren’t going to talk about THAT, since we still have time before it starts hitting the ground. Hopefully. Today, we’re simply going to talk about colder weather as it pertains to fitness. For the most part, our brains tend to tell us that comfier and easier is better. This means that when we notice cold winds or a drop in temperature, we may be less inclined to step outside to do something physical. But there’s some inherently good and bad aspects to working out in the cold.

On the positive side, doing something physical outdoors will help with blood circulation, will wake you up better than a cup of coffee and will leave you feeling even cozier once you DO decide to hit the couch with a blanket and a warm cup of joe. Working out in colder temperatures can improve your mood and provide a somewhat different challenge than working out in the warmer weather.

For me, I’m slowly falling into the season where cycling for long distances is becoming less-favoured as a form of working out. Besides being cold, the colder wind whipping my face while cycling is a definitely no for me. I prefer to work up a sweat than try and defrost myself, so I look to different workouts, such as punching bag workouts or karate in my garage. I’m still outdoors, but without the Prairie winds taking advantage of my award-winning face. Kidding.

There are definitely some things to keep in mind, when stepping outside in cold weather. The first, is that you WANT to feel cold. Don’t believe me? The problem is that if you step outside feeling warm and comfortable, you need to understand that once you start exercising, your body heat will cause an increased amount of sweating, which is a recipe for disaster when you’re outside. Dress appropriately with a layer of moisture-wicking material first, and something insulating and breathable over that. This prevent the sweat from staying wet against your body.

When you sweat, your body inevitably loses heat through the evaporation of that sweat, which can leave you susceptible to being chilled. So, if you start off feeling cold but start working out, your body will take care of itself. The other side of the coin is to know what you’re personal and preferred limits are, and stick with them. Cold is cold, but only you will know what’s TOO cold for you. Is there a weather warning in effect? Maybe work out inside on that day.

Lastly, people tend to ignore a lot of the important steps when training outside, like applying sunblock to your exposed skin if it’s sunny and staying properly hydrated. The cold doesn’t protect you from UV rays and you’ll dehydrate just as easily in the cold. In some cases, easier. Not least of which is the fact that cold weather can have adverse effects on underlying health conditions, like asthma and Diabetes. Although subjective to the person, blood sugars will vary from prolonged exposure to the cold.

Keep an eye on yourself for warning signs of frostbite or hypothermia. Drink plenty of fluids and monitor your blood sugars frequently. And remember that if you FEEL it’s too cold, there’s no shame in moving your workout to the indoors. After all, winter is coming…. ☯️

Supplements? We Don’t Need No Stinkin’ Supplements…

Supplementation can be an important tool for proper fitness, but it’s one of those things that is very specific to the user. What works for one person may not work for the other, and if you happen to have Type-1 Diabetes, you need to be very careful about what you may be putting in your body, as it may inadvertently affect your blood sugars.

So, what are supplements? As they pertain to this specific post, supplements are anything you consume in order to help improve performance, muscle growth and/or energy levels in order to allow one to develop better. They can come in various forms, including pills, powders and even pre-mixed shakes. They vary in their delivery, meaning some need to be taken prior to working out, some after and some don’t really matter and simply need to be consumed on a daily basis.

I think that one of the important aspects to bear in mind, is that there’s no “magic pill” or supplement that will do anything for you. You have to put the work in, even if you take supplements and use them on a regular basis. I’m always reminded of an old friend of mine, from years ago. I stopped in during early morning to go for coffee. before we left his house, I noticed he scooped out a spoonful of some unknown powder and consumed it with a glass of water. When I asked him what the powder was, he said it was creatine, because he was trying to gain mass. When I asked him what workout regimen he was following, he gave me the curious puppy look and asked, “Workout? What workout? That’s what the supplement is for…”

Here’s the thing: a supplement is defined as something that completes or enhances something else when added to it. This means that there’s no supplement that will make you lose weight, help you gain muscle mass or burn fat on its own. The important thing to remember is that ALL of these supplements need to be used in conjunction with proper diet and exercise. It won’t DO the job for you, it may simply help make it a touch easier.

Another important aspect to remember is that most supplements are substances that you either already get from a proper diet or that your body already produces. Creatine or whey protein for example, can be good supplements to help push you along your fitness routine, but these are substances produced by the body and/or can be obtained by consuming certain foods. “Pre-workout” supplements, that I’m aware a lot of people I know consume, are basically just B vitamins, caffeine and creatine, which you can obtain naturally or elsewhere. I would argue that unless you’re feeling sluggish, there may not be a great need to take a pre-workout supplement.

From a Diabetes standpoint, it’s important to recognize that a lot of supplements may contain sweeteners, carbohydrate amounts or simply affect the body in such a way that will cause fluctuations in overall blood sugars. I’ve noticed over the years that almost everything indicates “not suggested for people with Diabetes” for exactly this reason. It isn’t that it will inherently cause issues. But it COULD affect Diabetes, which is why it becomes important to consult your doctor prior to starting any supplementation.

I’ll be the first one to admit I’d be hitting up my pharmacy, should they ever create a pill that will melt the fat off my gut. Otherwise, know what you’re putting into your body, consult your doctor and remember that there are no shortcuts to fitness. It’s incumbent on the person to include proper diet and exercise in order to reap the benefits of supplements. The body is programmed to do what it needs to, but should you feel the need to use a supplement, just be wary. And keep a close eye on what secondary effects you may get from using them. ☯️

Tired Because of Exercise, Or Trying To Exercise When You’re Tired?

Life is exhausting. If anyone says that it isn’t, they’re lying to themselves. I could get into the whole reason behind some of that exhaustion, including the plethora of Diabetes-related issues that can cause lack of sleep or fatigue, even when you are well-rested. But that ins’t really the purpose behind today’s post. I recently wrote a post about the issues surrounding working out when you’re hungry. Therefore, it stands to reason that my next step would include addressing the issue surrounding working out when you’re tired. Buckle up!

Maintaining a fitness routine is difficult at the best of times. Between work, family and home responsibilities and health concerns, being able to say you work out at specific times on fixed days is spotty, at best. So, hat’s off to the folks who manage to be part of fitness clubs with scheduled classes or who go that extra step and manage to maintain consistent fitness at home, because I personally know it ain’t easy. It becomes all the more difficult when you’re tired.

Being tired is one of those things where one needs to find a balance, or perhaps compromise with oneself. On the one side, being tired will often elicit the response that one should take the opportunity to rest. On the other side, sometimes you just gotta push through your fatigue or you’ll never overcome it or get anything done. Assuming you can tell or “feel” the difference, here are some potential effects of working out when tired:

1. You’ll Resent Your Fitness: It’s hard to concentrate and be motivated when you’re tired. If you find yourself “pushing through,” and I’m not saying you shouldn’t, you could find that exercising when tired will do little more than tire you further and possibly make you resent exercising. Much like the bedroom should only be associated with sleep, associations help to form our opinions on certain things;
2. You’ll Make Mistakes: Being tired or exhausted could lead to making mistakes, being inadvertently clumsy or working out improper. Ever drop a dumbbell on your foot? That shit hurts, and can potentially break bones., which leads me into my next point:
3. You Could Injure Yourself: Fatigue can be distracting, and if you’re tired to the point where you’re making mistakes, you may potentially harm yourself as well. Besides dropping random weights on yourself, fatigue may distract you in karate class enough to cause injury. These are just some examples, of course;
4. You Won’t Achieve Your Fitness Goals: This is a big one for me and pisses me off to no end. There’s nothing I hate worse than being out on the bike for a solid 20k, thinking I should push through the fatigue, only to completely drag ass and have it take twice as long to complete my distance AND I’m just further exhausted afterwards; and
5. You May Require Longer To Recover: If you push yourself too hard when you’re tired, it may take longer for you to recover and feel better. This applies both to feeling rested and to recover from any fitness-related healing you may need, including muscle and tissue repair.

So, what can you do to prevent some of this? Obviously, I’m a big fan of naps. If you’re tired and you know that you have a workout coming up, grabbing a quick snooze on the couch can be helpful. One need only be cautious about sleeping for too long, which can have the effect of leaving you groggy and slow-moving, which isn’t the best when you’re about to get into some physical exertion. Keep your naps short, about twenty minutes or so. Just enough to take the edge off.

If your fatigue is light and perhaps just the result of the typical daily grind, this might be where you want o push through. Fresh air and movement will often be an effective means of wiping out fatigue and getting your day back on track. I’ve lost count of how many times I sat on the bike or went to karate class, feeling as though I should be hitting the bed instead, only to be re-energized and rejuvenated once I got through it.

Ultimately, there will be times where you may simply need to take a step back and take a break. Naps and pushing through notwithstanding, there will be times when the best alternative will be to simply acknowledge that you need to take a day and just rest. The key is knowing one’s body enough to recognize whether it’s a “take a nap” scenario or a “push through” scenario. But in there interest of being rested and allowing one’s body to heal, sometimes taking the day and saying “screw it” may what the doctor ordered. ☯️

It’s Hard To Be “Social” When Everyone Focuses On The “Media”

Anyone who’s been following along on my journey will know that I have something of a love/hate relationship with social media. On the one side, participating on social media platforms allows people to connect, communicate and potentially get in touch with some folks they may not have seen or heard from in years. I, myself, recently reconnected with a handful of people from my high school graduating class, which is saying quite a bit although I won’t age myself by saying how long it’s been. But it could be easily argued that this is the intended purpose behind social media: to connect and communicate. To be social, albeit over a digital environment.

Unfortunately for me and many others who seek a peaceful existence, this is rarely the reason behind people’s presence on social media. Most choose to use it as a platform to argue their views and opinions, which often leads to unnecessary conflict, once again albeit on a digital forum. It takes away from the experience of maintaining contact with those we aim to remain friends with and becomes all the more convoluted when some of the involved parties causing this “digital suffering“ happen to be good, close friends.

About three years ago, certain events took place that altered the course of my life. Although I could arguably say that these changes were in my best interest and that I’m happier now than I have been in a LONG time, it doesn’t remove the fact that these changes came at the cost of great, personal suffering. As many of you know, the elimination of suffering is kind my thing. So, it makes life difficult when others who should be understanding and compassionate cause MORE of that suffering instead of trying to eliminate it.

I’m getting slightly off path here, and the point is that a big part of the difficulties I faced years ago were due, in part, to social media. When the world spends its days living in a way that involves sharing what they’ve eaten, where they’re going and where they’ve been, as well as personal details of their everyday lives online, it should come as no surprise to have those who wish to do wrong use that information against you. When I discovered that this was the case, I made the difficult choice to take a step away from social media and permanently closed all my accounts.

This was a difficult step for me since, like most people, my day was filled with frequent checks of my phone and computer, looking at people’s updates, sending messages and getting a laugh at memes and jokes. What made things worse is that I had a handful of people with whom social media was the ONLY form of contact I had. And even though I spent some time posting the ol’ “I’m leaving social media, flip me your phone number,” there are a number of people that never got back to me. A necessary step, thanks to someone else’s negative actions.

In recent months, life has gotten progressively better, despite the current state of the world. So, I tentatively dipped my toes back into social media, which is where I managed to connect with the aforementioned folks from high school. But it’s in FACT the current state of the world that has now begun causing issues for me, through social media. I’m sure I’m not alone in recognizing that the world is currently divided on the key issues involving vaccination, masking, health requirements and the overall state of the world. It’s pretty much THE hot topic and is hotly debated by even the closest of friends and family members.

I’m not having it. By definition, peace cannot be imposed. It’s up to the people to recognize what’s required in order to achieve peace and sustain it. Understanding, compassion and open communication are part of those requirements, to name a few. But these are things that are in short supply in today’s society. And it’s for that reason that I’ve found myself in a compromised position where I am once again considering stepping away from social media. Then I thought to myself, why am I depriving myself of good communication with family and friends for the sake of the few who choose to use this platform to argue their opinions with others? Rather than eliminate social media, why not simply cut out the negative energy?

I’m tired. The daily grind of life is difficult enough without people making it more difficult amongst themselves. The ideal scenario would be for each person to keep to themselves and exercise their choice without broadcasting it to the world. You do you. I’ll take it a step further and won’t even bother saying which side of the line I fall on, because it doesn’t matter. I don’t care what your choice is, just don’t give me shit if it happens to be different than mine. Vaccinated, not vaccinated, pro-mask, anti-mask, whatever. Do what you gotta do to survive this roller-coaster called life and stop picking on each other. Life’s too short.

For this reason, I’ve made a compromise with myself in order to eliminate some of the negative in my life. Rather than remove social media, I’m removing those who spread negativity, hate and ignorance of the facts. Some people may suddenly be disappearing from my social media. The irony is I started this practice almost two weeks ago and the removed parties have yet to notice. Or at the very least, they’ve yet to reach out and ask why. Maybe they’re too busy arguing “their rights” over “what’s right.” That’s a balance we all have to work on. ☯️

When You Feel Like A Yo-Yo…

One of the biggest issues I face with Diabetes is the occasions where I become exhausted from going above and beyond what’s required for a normal day. For example, when the average person wakes up, they go to the washroom, wash their face and get breakfast going. Likely, they’re including coffee in that mix. Although if they aren’t, the light help them. But for me, my morning start with the consumption of three different medications, testing my blood sugar and depending on the day I may need to change up my insulin pump’s infusion set. THEN I get to use the washroom and potentially consume breakfast. But caffeine is a must. Obviously. Moving on…

Once in a while, I’ll succumb to this exhaustion in the sense that I’ll skip steps in the process that I likely shouldn’t. this was demonstrated last Tuesday night when my CGM sensor decided to expire at about ten o’clock at night. Now if you know anything about the process for getting one’s CGM going after a replacement, it’s a lengthy one. I’ve written about this before and in fact, I’m pretty certain I’ve thrown up a video of the CGM installation as well, but the bottom line is that it takes anywhere between 4 to 6 hours for a new sensor to be up and running.

This is because once you’ve injected the sensor and installed the transmitter, there’s a 2-hour warm-up period required. then, the pump prompts you for a blood glucose test to calibrate the sensor, followed by another one sometime in the following few hours. Starting this process at 10 o’clock at night when my head should be hitting the pillow doesn’t sound appealing. So, I did the only thing a reasonable and exhausted person in my position would do; I shut off SmartGuard, plugged the transmitter in to charge for the night and went to sleep without it.

That night wasn’t such a huge problem, although I did have a waking blood glucose reading of about 10.4 mmol/L, which is a tad higher than I’m used to. But I could live with that. Since I primarily place my CGM on my triceps, I usually recruit my wife to help install the sensor and transmitter since I can’t see the back of my arm, especially if I’m pre-coffee. Insert whatever nurse-fantasy jokes you’d like, here. But given that she was quite exhausted from dealing with my hyperactive loinfruit the day before and she was still asleep, I figured what the hell…. I’ll go a day without and install it tonight. No biggie, right?

Don’t get me wrong, I love my insulin pump. Honestly, I can’t understand how I survived as a Diabetic for as long as I have without it. It has the potential to make life SOOOO much easier…. Please note that I used the word “potential” in that sentence. I didn’t think I would ever have to admit that I could become addicted to an electronic device, but apparently I have become incapable of managing my blood sugars properly with the use of a CGM. By the time I got home from work, I had fluctuated from high to low at least three times and I was exhausted and just wanted to sleep.

Let me break down why this scenario is a problem…. When you DON’T use CGM, your pump delivers a pre-programmed base rate of insulin, referred to as a “basal rate.” But as your blood sugars fluctuate, the pump doesn’t take that into account until you test your blood sugar to discover that you’re either high and need more insulin or low and need to eat something. Meanwhile on CGM, SmartGuard will begin to trickle in an extra bit of insulin on top of your basal rate in order to stem higher blood sugars and will set off an alarm if you start going low. The result is better time in range, better overall control and less feeling like you just want to voluntarily curl up into a coffin and stay there. Still with me? Good.

Once I had the CGM installed, my evening started to go a little bit better but my blood sugars somehow managed to creep up a bit. So I corrected. This started a yo-yo effect that lasted through the night. My correction caused a low. In my sleep-induced haze, I ate a few too many jellybeans. Fell back asleep. My many jellybeans caused a high and I was woken by an alarm. I treated. Then I woke with my alarm in the early hours of the morning with a low. Bloody lovely.

Despite the fact that some of that can be attributed to human error (too many jellybeans, etc), it stands to reason that this can happen frequently depending on a number fo different factors. I’ve written about this type of this before but once in a while, it’s good to remind people that it ain’t all joy and jellybeans, even with the advantages of an insulin pump. And that complacency can start to have an effect if you get to used to the technology you’ve been given. ☯️

Be Who You Are, You Aren’t Designed To Be Anyone Else…

Here’s the thing, and you may as well buckle up because this one will be a bit of a rant. I am who I am. I spent a good portion of my youth being someone I wasn’t meant to be. And that’s a horrible way to live, even as a child. As we grow into adulthood, there’s always this great expectation that we’ll conform to certain societal norms and kowtow to the masses. But realistically, we don’t live in that kind of world anymore. And with the advent of social media and the internet, it doesn’t take long for anyone who tries to suppress any individual’s thoughts, beliefs or lifestyle to be swiftly and sometimes radically, put in their place.

I take stock of who I was in my youth (my youth includes both childhood and my teens) and I recognize that I had a lot of work to do. Sure, I studied the martial arts and I worked on my health. But there were a lot of hiccups along the way. I was quiet and withdrawn. I didn’t associate with the world very much, which I’ve come to feel has damaged opportunities and taken away certain options I COULD have had in life. I made myself content with staying in my small corner of the world and ignoring the rest of it, all while doing karate and enjoying my few, small pleasures.

It wasn’t until I reached adulthood and took ownership of certain personal choices that I finally began to open up. Most people who know me now would likely be taken aback by the quiet, pliable and compliant individual I was throughout my youth. Considering how loud and larger than life I tend to be now, all thanks to my specific heritage, no doubt, I think it would come as a shock to most people who knew me “back then.”

What got me here? Honestly, I’ve screwed up during my life. A lot. I’ve made mistakes and errors in judgement that I’ll never be able to take back and that have had real and measurable consequences on the way my life has turned out. I’ve made poor and even bad choices. and have lost friends and loved ones due to my inability to say or do the right thing at the right time. Although some of them are dearly missed, their chosen absence tells me that they weren’t meant to be a part of my overall journey.

I’ve done a lot of good in my life. I’ve done charity, made donations and given away possessions and time. I’ve solved crimes and saved lives and tried to make the world a better place in whatever way I could. I have also done some bad in my life. I’ve failed to be there for people who needed me. I’ve ignored the needs of others and have ended friendships because walking away was often easier than fighting it out. Sometimes in the pursuit of eliminating suffering; sometimes not.

Among all of my direct and indirect actions, my words and choices comes one ultimate result: I am me. For better or for worse, here I am. Some people like me. Some people don’t. Hell, some people hate me. And I KNOW that some people love me. And therein lies the secret to life: it doesn’t care about your plan. And by that very fact, it’s important to recognize that one should never live with regret. Regret is insidious and can only lead to suffering. And it gets you absolutely nothing.

Learn to live with the life you have and you’ll never be without happiness. This isn’t to mean that you won’t ever feel sadness. Or loss. It simply means that your life as a whole will be far happier. Once you let go of hate (and the haters), eliminate the suffering in your own life and do what makes you happy, especially with THOSE who make you happy, you’ll always be on the straight and narrow path to a happier, more enlightened life.

I am me. I am who I am. I may be weird, although I prefer to think unique. I’ll always say exactly what I think and what you see will always be what you get. I find myself incapable of ever being otherwise. Those who know me, know this for a fact. I don’t make friends easily and keep them even less easily, especially once folks get to know the real me. But if you happen to be one of the select few in my life who stick around through the good AND the bad, my love and loyalty will be yours. Without question.

The only down side to being open and always saying what I think, is that it works both ways. If I don’t like you or you bring harm to me or my lobbed ones, you’ll discover that little fact quickly. I make no apologies for turning the page on the story that is my life. As the line from hamlet says, “To thine own self be true.” Life will throw you a lot of curve balls. Some good and some bad will always be inevitable. Such is the balance of life. But so long as you remain true to yourself in all aspects of life, you’ll navigate the good and bad without issue. Food for thought…. ☯️

How Buddha Got His Groove Back…

It’s been a difficult couple of years for the entire world and very few people have gotten away unscathed. The pandemic caused a lot of upset and difficulty for most people, causing the closure of businesses, loss of jobs and the loss of key life experiences that one will never get back, like high school graduation. As society begins to lick its wounds and the world re-opens (for now), I take stock and reflect on the fact that one of the biggest things that has affected me, besides Nathan being kept home from school, is the closure of my karate dojo.

For almost fifteen years, my policing career has dragged me all over Saskatchewan, to an extent where the thought of joining a karate class was a moot point. After all, what’s the point of joining a martial arts school just to have them lose me after the 3 to 5 that the Mounties usually required at any given one spot? So, it was an important step in the right direction for me when I transferred to Regina and found the current dojo that i train in. Imagine the irony, when I was forced to step away when the dojo closed due to the pandemic.

Oh, we tried the old Zoom training thing, as I posted about here. It was alright, per se… But karate isn’t a knitting circle. Eventually, you need some physical contact with an actual partner in order to train and practice certain techniques. We closed up shop for the summer, as we usually do. As Labour Day came and went, i got a little concerned when I didn’t get the customary “back to the dojo” email that I’ve gotten every year for the past five years. Five years… I’ve been training with the Regina Institute of Kempo Karate for five years, Still feels like yesterday…

Anyway, I got the email on Monday for class on Tuesday evening. I walked into the dojo and time melted away. it was two years ago, before the pandemic and lockdown. The same faces and the same class. the same energy and the same mojo. We were back. I was back. It was glorious. We were all a little excited to be chatting and catching up, so we started a little late. AND we took things a little easy to start off the season (I may or may not have pulled a bicep during a ridge punch) but it was a fantastic class. Next one is tomorrow night and I just can’t wait to get back.

I’ve been so focused on cycling and training by myself, I had almost forgotten the importance and value behind training with others. Who knows what the months to come may bring? With all the variants floating around and the way the world is treating the pandemic, things may lock down again shortly. And if they do, so be it. But when opportunities present themselves, it’s important to jump on them while we can. After all, you never know what you got ’til it’s gone. ☯️

Six Of One, Half Dozen Of The Other…

That time came once again to visit my endocrinologist. If you read the previous post, my last appointment was last May, when I received news of the lowest A1C reading I’ve had in almost two decades: 6.9. Why is this reading important? For you non-Diabetics, the A1C results basically calculate a Diabetic’s average blood sugars over a period of three months. Although still an important reading, one’s A1C can be manipulated through extreme highs and lows, making it a less efficient means of proper blood sugar control than one’s percentage of “time in range.” Time in range can’t be manipulated; either your blood sugars are good or they aren’t.

I made my way downtown quite early this morning; well before most businesses were open. The air was crisp and the morning had the feeling of autumn. I was only semi-caffeinated but the walk did its job and woke me up properly before I reached the doctor’s office. I was almost half an hour early, which wouldn’t have been an issue, pre-COVID. Now, most clinics and doctors’ offices frown on arriving early, since they try to keep patients from interacting as much as possible. But my laptop was outdated and couldn’t update to support the Medtronic CareLink Uploader, meaning I needed the office staff to do it for me. This did not please them.

Once my pump was uploaded, I saw my endocrinologist and discovered that my A1C had increased to 7.4, which was disappointing but I had expected a rise of some sort. I expected it because I’ve had a significant amount on my plate since the last appointment. Between starting a new job and a new routine in April, we’ve got major renovations happening in the house as well as my son Nathan, deciding to use his bedroom as a public washroom and basically hosing down every corner. This resulted in the removal of the carpet and discovery of asbestos tile, which obviously needed to be replaced. Then, we repainted, put in new flooring and new baseboards and basically dropped some serious G’s into renovating his bedroom far ahead of plan. And budget. FML.

Long story short, added stress and life issues caused some variations in blood sugars that I’m not proud of. What can I say? I’m human and far from perfect. As I said, I expected it. What I didn’t expect, was the increase in cholesterol and blood pressure. To the point that my doctor has increased some of the “preventative” pills that I take. My Endo considered me a bit of a medical oddity, since despite the increase in cholesterol, I somehow managed to lose about ten pounds. Ain’t medicine wonderful? He also added a new pill that would work in tandem with my other medications to help bring my cholesterol and blood pressure in check.

Despite the medicine aspect, we discussed some things that I could do to improve things on my own. The reduction (but not elimination) of sodium in my diet, increased water intake and reduce my alcohol intake (I don’t drink constantly, but everyone could stand to drink less) and ensure I cut back on foods that may be fried or processed. He also suggested trying to eliminate some of the stress in my life. This aspect can be a bit tougher, since some stress is inherent in the course of normal life and can’t necessarily be eliminated.

I left the doctor’s office feeling a little down. It was a strange combination of victory and defeat, considering one of my main goals has been to breach the 200-pound weight level. It was nice to have the doctor acknowledge my hard work in losing ten pounds, even though I haven’t crossed that 200 mark, yet. But the raise in cholesterol is concerning. Certain lifestyle changes will need to take place. I think that first and foremost, and if this wasn’t written here, many who know me wouldn’t believe it, that I need to cut back on the caffeine I consume in a day. I should refocus my efforts towards some herbal teas and water. I can easily recognize that the multiple caffeinated beverages I consume throughout the day easily contributes to my increased blood pressure.

My wife and I have been on a decent salad kick, recently. We fell away from that, somewhat. So tonight’s supper involved some chicken with a very lovely salad. The best part is that there was enough salad left over for me to bring to work tomorrow. The day wasn’t all bad. I got notice today that karate classes will resume tomorrow evening. That’s been a long time coming. I haven’t trained with others since March of 2020, so it’ll be good to get back at it. And last but not least, I’m currently typing this post on my newly purchased MacBook Pro. Since my old laptop could no longer support any updates or sync my phone, I decided it was time. In today’s world of technology, I think that six years is a pretty good lifespan for a computer. ☯️