Category: Health & Well Being

Don’t Let The Carbs Get Ahead Of You…

It still amazes me to recognize that carb-counting was never a thing for me until I started on the pump. I remember the look on the dietitian’s face when she asked how I count my carbs to account for my meals and my response was, “How do I count what??? I just estimate an insulin amount…”. I think a little part of her soul died. I’d gotten so used to just guessing how much insulin I needed for certain foods that carb counting never entered the equation. It was definitely not something that was ever brought up during my childhood by doctors or my parents. I just always thought it was normal…. Eating a sandwich? Take 6 or 7 units. Going to a buffet? Maybe take a dozen units instead…

I can’t even remember the last time I ate at a buffet. It’s more trouble than it’s worth, considering the combination of different foods can lead to difficulties in the difference between slow and fast-acting carbs, fats and whatever else…. I either bolus too much, despite my efforts to count how many carbs I’m eating, or I don’t bolus enough. It’s bullshit I don’t need, simply for the purpose of making a restaurant owner cry at watching me go up for my fifth plate of food. Not least of which, is the fact that I have historically ALWAYS felt like crap after eating at a buffet. But i digress…

I posted about this a few years ago, but counting carbs involves a bit of math. Most commercially purchased foodstuffs will have a nutritional label on the packaging that should allow you to have a reasonable idea of how many carbohydrates you should be bolusing for. I say a “reasonable idea” because it isn’t always accurate. But what’s more is, you can’t just read the label and bolus for the carbohydrate total listed on the label. The image below will illustrate:

The image above is what a typical nutrition label on packaged food will look like. AT the very top, you’ll notice that they list a “portion” amount. I put that in quotations because, if you’re anything like me, you’re not counting out 27 pieces when eating chips. So, recognizing the portion you’re eating versus the portion listed on the label becomes important so you can add it all up.

Let’s say this portion says 55 grams but the total box, which may be consumable in one sitting, is 250 grams. This means you have 4.5 portions to account for. Whatever total of carbohydrates is listed will need to be multiplied by 4.5 in order to know the total you need to bolus for. Still with me? Good. Next, look at the numbers I’ve circled. Dietary fibre needs to be subtracted from total carbohydrates, as we don’t bolus for fibre. So the actual amount for one portion of this label is 37g – 4g = 33 grams of actual carbohydrates per portion.

Now, even if your head is totally killing from the math, should you decide to consume the entire package of 250g, which is 4.5 portions, this is the math you’d use:

33g (carbs/portion) x 4.5 (# of portions =
148.5 grams of total carbohydrates

That’s a pretty hefty total. To be honest, I don’t think I’ve ever consumed that many carbs in one sitting. This is mainly to illustrate the math. It works much better when I’m eating something like chicken wings or bites, which are only about 8g per portion. With the same portion sizes as described above, you’d only be looking at 36g total carbohydrates instead, which makes more sense for one sitting. I think the last time I actually tried to bolus for more than 100g of carbs was when I had a full meal of a certain fast-food chain that boasts a creepy smiling clown. Wink, wink…

Estimating how many grams of carbs you’re eating will sometimes be necessary. If someone slaps a plate of rice in front of you at dinner, how will you know the EXACT amount? But knowing how much cooked rice may sit at, you can still make a pretty educated guess. But guessing for the sake of guessing can put you in a position where you may wind up too high or two low. So, it’s important to makes the effort. Yes, it involves a bit of math, but it can make the difference between a balanced day or riding the BS roller-coaster. Anyone else craving a Chinese buffet, now? ☯️

An Experiment That Got A Little Wet…

2015 was an important year for me as a Type-1 Diabetic, as I started a new leg of the journey by starting pump therapy. I remember it clearly; my coworkers were pretty miffed at me, since I had just come back from several months of parental leave after Nathan was born. THEN I start on the pump and my employer’s medical branch opted to throw me on administrative duties for a few months to get acclimated to the pump. It was not well received, haha.

Over the past six years, I’ve gone through a number of concerns and issues as they relate to the insulin pump. Although I can say that I’ve enjoyed some of the best blood sugar levels of my life and my last A1C result almost moved me to tears, it stands to reason that any technology is only as good as the user and the environment that it’s in. And that’s why on occasion, things go a little haywire,

On Saturday, I decided that it would be a good idea to bring my son Nathan to the public pool. My wife and I usually prefer the splash pad, since it allows Nathan not only to run around and burn energy, it just happens to be free. But considering that the temperature was expected to be disgustingly hot and I didn’t want either of us sitting out in the sun for an extended period of time, I opted to pay the entry fee and make use of the actual, indoor swimming pool.

As we got ready to go in, I brought my backpack along with our towels and belongings poolside, where I would be able to indulge in my paranoia and keep a passive eye on them. Among those belongings would be my insulin pump. Despite the fact that the manufacturer boasts the device being waterproof, I wasn’t taking a chance. As I took my first steps into the pool, I had a sudden realization: this would be the first time I entered the water and submerged my CGM. Although that was also said to be waterproof, my Patchabetes adhesive was a mystery and if that came off, the CGM would follow suit. Uh oh…

I started running numbers through my head, how long the current sensor had been attached, how many I had left at home and whether or not I wanted to potentially sacrifice a sensor just to go swimming. Since I’m cheap and had already paid my entry, I decided to throw caution to the wind, suspended my pump (since it would be left in my bag) and hit the water. I checked the adhesive occasionally, and made sure to keep it out of the water when I was in the hot tub.

We were in the pool for about three hours. I had to basically drag Nathan out, he was having such a good time. When we reached the backpack, it had any alarm going off with such volume and frequency that it was a wonder that no one was evacuating! Turns out the pump didn’t like the fact that it couldn’t read my sensor (because I was too far) and had started vibrating, then setting off an alarm, then increasing the volume more and more…

I silenced the alarm, hooked back up and it only took a minute for the pump to pick the CGM up and start monitoring again. All things considered, it was nice that the CGM held on and the adhesive lasted for several hours worth out peeling off. At time of writing this, the adhesive is still firmly in place. So, kudos to the CGM for roughing it out in the water, but also to Patchabetes for lasting through all that, as well. ☯️

It Isn’t ALL Rough Waters…. But Calm Waters Still Require Navigating.

I’m usually a hot mess in the morning…. Until last year, I had the benefit of having a structured method to my mornings. Get up, hit the washroom, grab an energy drink and head downstairs. Once there, I could take my meds, test my blood sugars and begin the shave and shower routine that would get me ready for the day. Of course, my basement still had furnishings back then, which included a home office where I could have everything laid out and ready.

These days, my basement is in mid-renovation, which means that my neatly laid out routine is broken up into smaller, less manageable pieces. I wake up in the morning and pull the pills out of a drawer next to my bed (when I remember to take them) and make my way to the kitchen to grab an energy drink to wash them down. This is before hitting the washroom, mind you. And I think we can all agree that this is usually the first step that the human body screams for, first thing in the morning.

Once I’ve tested my blood (again, when I remember to do so) I may shave depending on my need and then start the delicate process of picking out my clothing for the day and getting dressed in a dark room where my wife may still be sleeping. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve grabbed the wrong colour tie to go with a shirt, because I thought it was a certain shade but couldn’t tell in the dark. First world problems, am I right?

My point for this post is that habit and routine are integral parts of a morning. If you have Type-1 Diabetes especially, it can mean the difference between taking much-needed medications and testing your blood, or heading into work without it. Although the meds may not be a HUGE issue, depending on why you take them, knowing your blood sugar levels prior to leaving the house can have an impact on your safety and the safety of others. Speaking from experience, there’s nothing worse than trying to drive when your blood sugar is low.

Once our renovations are done, I will once again enjoy the benefit of a home office where I can lay out my clothing, medications and morning requirements, which will eliminate the chance of forgetting certain key steps to my day. Plus, it’ll go faster, making it more likely that I have time to grab breakfast before I leave the house. Skipping meals is never a good idea. One doesn’t necessarily need a home office to accomplish a good routine. Any corner committed to oneself will do. I simply don’t have any other space in our small bungalow, at the moment.

Even though I’ve had Type-1 Diabetes for the past 38 years, it’s amazing how easily I forgot things I’ve been doing for decades. Taking pills or testing my blood sugars seem to take the sideline, even though I’ve been doing it long enough that I should be doing it on auto-pilot. This is where a good routine and structured habit comes in. ☯️

A Quick Weekend Reminder…

I know a lot of people who reuse needles, whether because of the cost or laziness. I’m guilty of this myself, having spent weeks a a time jabbing myself with the same pen needle over and over before switching it out. Usually, I would only switch out the needle when I was switching out an insulin vial, which meant I could end up using a single needle DOZENS of times before finally realizing that I needed to change it.

I’ve written plenty of posts where I’ve shown the effect of using a needle mu;triple times, but I’ve never shown the effect on actual flesh. The above photo shows the hole that a needle makes in your skin. I fogey where I found the photo, but you’ll notice that it doesn’t indicate whether it was a fresh needle or not. Therefore, one is inclined to believe it’s made by a new needle. Under a microscope, that hole looks substantial. I mean, I can just picture cartoon microbes walking in with their suitcases to set up shop inside the tissues.

This photo shows why it’s important, not only to change out your needles after every use, but to make sure you clean your sites and especially during finger pokes, wash your hands before and after. This will prevent a whole batch of issues that I won’t ruin Saturday morning breakfast by describing…☯️

Hungry For Some Facts?

I was having a conversation with someone from work yesterday who had an unfortunate incident involving his lunch. Since he typically works out during his lunch hour, we were discussing whether he would walk to somewhere nearby and purchase some food or if he would simply go to his workout as usual. The conversation led to the benefits and disadvantages of working out on an empty stomach. And as with all things in life, there’s a case to be made for either one.

Sometimes, it’s more about HOW you do something than the actual WHAT. In this case, there are times when exercising on an empty stomach is fine. In fact, I’ve often heard that exercising on an empty stomach can lead to a better fat burn, since the only energy the body has to depend on is one’s fat stores. Unfortunately, this isn’t correct.

According to an article on WebMD, working out on an empty stomach will cause your body to use a source of energy that’s readily accessible, which may include breaking down sugars from the muscle tissue, followed by the production of sugar by the liver. Fat stores simply aren’t the go-to secondary fuel that many (myself included) believe it to be. By that logic, training heavily on an empty stomach may inadvertently cause you to sacrifice your own muscles in order to fuel them.

The article goes on to explain that if you’re doing a consistent form of aerobic exercise like running or cycling, doing it on an empty stomach can work. But the overall risks of a fasting workout aren’t worth it. The article suggests consuming small portions of low-glycemic, complex carbohydrates, like steel-cut oatmeal, apple slices or whole-grain cereal without the milk. Click on the article link for more of those suggestions. I won’t list them all here.

From the Diabetes standpoint, a fasting workout can be difficult at best. This is especially true since different types of workouts will affect different people’s blood sugars in different ways. Ain’t Diabetes grand??? It’s a wonderful kaleidoscope of bullshit. For example, if I head out on a long bicycle run and may blood sugar is normal, I can expect to hit a high before I get home. Unless my ride is wildly inconsistent in terms of speed and resistance. Then I’ll have a low. Working out on the punching bag or doing heavy weights will almost always make my levels drop. Unless I suspend or remove my pump, then they’ll sky rocket.

See what I mean? And those conditions may be different for each person. So if we add an empty stomach to the mix, it makes things all the more complicated. Not least of which is the fact that hunger can be extremely distracting. Try focusing on lifting weights or working the bag properly when your stomach won’t stop rumbling. It ain’t easy. Plus, hunger can cause fatigue, dizziness and/or nausea, none of which are ideal during exercise.

The next perspective is the martial arts. If your karate classes are anywhere near as intensive as mine are, the last thing you want is something heavy sitting in your gut, sloshing around and making the bile rise in your throat. This is where that small portion of complex carbohydrates comes in. Give yourself the fuel you need to get a more intense workout in, without the risk of throwing up all over the dojo. Contrary to SOME opinion, projectile vomiting is not an effective means of self-defence. That’s a story for another time…

Bottom line, fueling up before a workout will still allow you to burn fat. In fact, that WebMD article linked above indicates that “If you’re doing a killer workout… non-fasting is better. You’ll get to the fat burn because you’re going to deplete carb stores quickly by working out so intensely. You’ll start burning fat within 16 to 20 minutes.” Since I average workouts at 30 to 60 minutes, I’m getting a burn no matter what.

There you have it; empty stomach = not good. More or less. Some people just flat out can’t exercise with food in their stomach, so there are exceptions to any concept, right? For us Diabetic martial artists, eating the right foods at the right times in the right circumstances is all that it takes. Sounds easy enough… (rolls eyes sarcastically) ☯️

A Little Touch of Life…

With modern life’s fast-paced requirements, sometimes it’s good to take a moment and stop to appreciate some of life’s beauty that may be right in front of you. We don’t always recognize it and even when we do, we often fail to take time to appreciate it. This is a shame, because one should never go through life doing nothing but working and dealing with struggle and strife. This morning, I’m taking my own advice to heart and appreciating the beauty of life as it sits right outside my window.

In previous posts, I’ve joked about having an angry pigeon defecate against my window, birds smacking into the glass and even the sun’s rays turning my office into a makeshift sauna, despite my best efforts to stem that effect through air conditioning. But this morning, I was able to find a few moments of relative peace and tranquillity, despite the fact that I was at work. Sound hard to believe? It’s not. Sometimes, it’s what you make of the situation.

I was reasonably on the ball this morning and managed to be out the door and walking into my office an hour earlier than usual. This put me in there at almost an hour and half earlier than everyone else. No, I’m not an overachiever; I’m simply the type who doesn’t enjoy sitting idle at home during the early hours of the morning. As a result, I arrived at the office early. My typical routine involves using the first hour to catch up on emails and phone calls, followed by a plethora of other duties that quickly consume my morning. But there’s coffee. There’s always coffee.

I have a small coffee machine in my office and on this morning in particular, I brewed a cup of chocolate raspberry truffle coffee. Absolutely wonderful stuff; makes my whole office smell like a chocolatier’s shop. I’m usually working at my computer while coffee brews. But on this morning in particular, I stood at my window and looked out at the horizon. My office is located on the fifth floor of a 16-floor building, so I don’t have the highest view in the city, but it can be a beautiful one nonetheless. My coffee finished up (it’s a Keurig) and I grabbed my cup and stayed at the window.

As I looked out at the horizon, I noticed the sun was rising into a clouded sky. This meant I had a sliver of morning sunlight peeking through, between the ground and the cloud coverage. It was truly a beautiful scene to behold. I tried to take a photograph of it, but the reflective properties of my office windows wouldn’t allow a clear shot without revealing the inside of the office as well. So, I sat there for a few moments and calmly sipped my coffee. As I did, I found a moment of calm as I watched the cloud movement mingled with the morning sun.

It dawns on me that in recent years, I’ve fallen prey to letting time dictate my life. Meditation has taken a back seat to the hustle and bustle of daily life, which should never happen. Finding some balance and inner peace is integral to a happy life, despite the obstacles that are in the way. Although this wasn’t meditation in the traditional sense, it served the same purpose and gave me some focus to get on with my day. All I need now is my next cup of coffee to get through the rest of it…☯️

Don’t Force It…

Sitting at over 900 posts (over 500 of them in a row without missing a day), I’ve had a number of people asking me where I find the inspiration provide content on a daily basis, And yes, that’s a bit of a brag, and rightfully so. Finding moments to write posts while working full time and having a family with two young children vying for constant attention isn’t easy, by any means. Throw in working out and Diabetes-related issues, and you’ve got yourself some effort!

But to answer the question, some of the content writes itself. Considering that Diabetes affects every aspect of a person’s life, all one needs to do is write about all the shit that goes down with Diabetes. As I write this, I’ve had to switch up my CGM. Since it takes a couple of hours to warm up, followed by a couple of calibrations over the hours that follow, it can be DAMNED inconvenient. And as most of you know, I tend to write about this stuff.

The same goes with karate and some of the basic concepts behind Zen Buddhism. When you write about something you know, it makes providing daily content pretty easy. Especially when you’re passionate and committed to what you’re writing about. Not only does this make it easy, it makes it damn hard to shut up. And I’m sure some of you may have noticed that I can be a “little” long-winded.

For the rest, it’s important to develop the ability to observe life. If you pay attention to the world around you, it will help to jog one’s inspiration. I never go out to work or to run errands without seeing something, hearing something or having something inspire a thought process that ends up becoming a post. This is what’s important; being able to draw on life to provide inspiration.

That’s all I got. There’s no big secret to it. If you’re riding on the bus, pay attention to the environment and the people in it, as opposed to having your nose buried in your phone. Be sure to write about something you’re passionate about and it will be reflected through your printed words. Then, give yourself a goal. Mine was to post daily. I had almost reached a full year before missing a day and pissing myself off. My new goal became posting for a straight year, which I’ve long surpassed.

Bottom line, make certain to write because you WANT to write. Make sure that whatever you write about, be sure it’s for you. If you do that, you’ll definitely be successful. But lastly, don’t push it. If you throw up a post simply for the sake of throwing up a post, the quality just won’t be there and won’t hook your readers. Let it come to you, naturally. ☯️

Try To Stay Awake As You Read This…

I’m actually pretty dozed as I write this, so it’s an appropriate post for today, I think. Sleep. It serves quite a number fo handy and necessary functions for the proper health of one’s body. Sleep is thought to contribute to overall brain health and allows a better focus and concentration when awake, among other things like letting your body rest and recharge after a long day.

There are quite a number of benefits and functions that take place while we sleep for the night, which I’ve covered in previous posts so I won’t delve into those too deeply here. Although a lot of what I‘ve read and researched tells me that science can’t confirm without a doubt why sleep is necessary for the functions it provides, I CAN say that I like it. A lot. Sleep rocks. I only wish that I had recognized this at a younger age when I could have gotten more of it. this is a lesson I struggle to impart on my 6-year old son. But I digress…

If you have Type-1 Diabetes, you may find yourself having difficulty sleeping at the best of times. In fact, depending on how well your blood sugars are controlled, sleep may be as elusive as trying to grab that stray hair down the back of your shirt that has you squirming and drives you batty. Of course, I don’t have that problem, being bald and all…. Did I mention I was a bit tired, this morning?

On average, sleep helps with energy conservation, elimination of bodily toxins and waste and helps with the body’s immune responses. Not to mention that lack of sleep will lead to lack of concentration and alertness, and will likely leave you moody and cranky. Ever try to deal with someone who hasn’t gotten a full night’s sleep? They usually aren’t all rainbows and sunshine. Add some chaotic Diabetic symptoms into that mix, and you’ve got a recipe for disaster. Here are my top 5 ways that Diabetes usually disturbs my sleep:

1. Diabetic Neuropathy: If you or someone close to you has Diabetes, you’ve likely heard this term before. For Diabetics, neuropathy is nerve damage that can develop over time. Although there are a number of things that can cause it, such as damaged blood vessels due to high cholesterol, the cause for Diabetics is usually attributed to high blood sugar levels over a long period of time, which can damage nerves and cause something known as “restless leg syndrome.” This is usually the bad boy that keeps me up at night. Basically, your limbs feel unsettled and one gets the urge to move and adjust them in order to gain relief. That relief is usually short-lived as the unsettled feeling returns within moments. It can be an excruciating pain in the ass, especially in the middle of the night when you’re trying to sleep.
2. High Blood Sugar Levels: The thing about Diabetes is that multiple sources will site certain symptoms for high blood sugar (like my favourites, WebMD and HealthLine.ca), but symptoms are subjective to the person. For example, most sources will cite aggression as being a symptom of low blood sugar. But I’ve always experienced the bad moods and crankiness when my levels were high. Anyway, if you hit a high in the middle of the night, you can potentially experience cramping, nausea, dry mouth, thirst, urge to urinate frequently and a partridge in a pear tree! Not to mention that annoying “hot but not” feeling where you kind of sweat but aren’t really warm. SO annoying…
3. Low Blood Sugar Levels: If you thought highs were bad, lows can be much worse. At least in my opinion. At least highs will sometimes make you sleepy, which can be handy if it’s the middle of the night. So long as you don’t mind little issues like ketoacidosis or the various damage you’re doing to your eyes and other organs. But you may sleep through the night and wake to correct and bring your blood sugars down. But when you’re low, it requires immediate action. If you’re lucky enough to have a “tell” (a symptom that will wake you due to a low), then you get the pleasure of crawling out of bed to grab some fast-acting carbs to get you back to normal. For me, my body will feel numb and I’ll feel off in general. It’s usually enough to wake me from a deep sleep. the hardest part is the lethargy that accompanies a low, as it urges you to just close your eyes and keep sleeping. But even once you treat the low, it’ll usually take some time for your body to start feeling normal so you can drift back to sleep.
4. Dehydration: Here’s the thing; dehydration isn’t JUST a Diabetes thing, but we’re prone to it. And dehydration will cause a lot of the nasty symptoms that fluctuating blood sugars will: thirst (obviously), pains and cramping, discomfort, nausea, dizziness and confusion…. And of course, dehydration will affect one’s blood sugars. Oh, and blood sugars will affect your level of hydration. Fun, right? That’s why it’s so important to keep your fluid intake steady and drink plenty of water.
5. The Insulin Pump: Last, but certainly not least is the insulin pump. this one is obviously subjective to whether or not you use one in your therapy. But never in my life has an electronic device been such a light-send while simultaneously being a pain in my ass. Blood sugars are steady and normal for more than 2.5 hours? Better beep incessantly and request a BG check, JUST in case! Been micro-bolusing for more than an hour? Better set off an alarm, even if blood sugars are sitting at 9.5 mmo/L! Although I have the best A1C’s I’ve ever had in my life, the pump has disadvantages as there are some alarms that can’t be silenced. And the pump doesn’t discriminate against what time of day (or night) that it may be, so I get woken often even if things are smooth and normal. In fact, often BECAUSE things are smooth and normal. And people wonder why I get testy against technology; even when it helps, it also hinders.

There you have it; my top 5 reasons that Diabetes wakes me up at night. Let’s not forget, as negative as my sleep-deprived perspective may be this morning, that outside factors such as stress, illness and weather will affect blood sugars and cause most if not all of the above-mentioned scenarios. Therefore, this is the part of our day where I remind everyone to eat a proper diet, get regular exercise, stay hydrated and test your blood sugars often. You’ll sleep better at night. Pun fully intended. Now if you’ll excuse me, I need a nap…☯️

A True Warrior’s Bike Runs On Muscle…

Last year, I managed to log almost 1,100 kilometres, over 850 of which were on the bike. The remainder was walking and some foolish attempts at jogging. I hate jogging. It’s bullshit. Prove me wrong… Seriously though, I absolutely hate running. But I lOVE cycling, and thanks to all the free time I had during the pandemic, I logged quite a lot of time on two wheels. Since the snow has disappeared, I’ve been a little slow on starting up this year, but I’m slowly starting to catch up and I’ve decided on some pretty fun goals.

I had grand ambitions to be out of bed by 6:00 am and hit the road after some brief preparation, but as you can see from the time stamp in the image above, it didn’t quite work out that way. Caffeine was singing its sirens song and I couldn’t resist the pull of my arm chair as I sat and sipped while doing my daily crossword puzzles. By the time 10:00 am struck, I recognized that if I wanted to use this particular day to get some mileage in, I would need to get at it.

I should point out that this was last Monday, which was a statutory holiday in Saskatchewan. This meant that my wife and I both had the day off, facilitating my ability to take off on the bile for a couple of hours to try and get a solid sweat in. I peddled my way down to Wascana Lake, one of my favourite spots for cycling. The reasons are quite simple: there are paved paths that allow for a smooth and measured ride. there’s also a lot of trees and water, lending a small reminder of my home Province of New Brunswick.

However, with the recent lessening of restrictions and conditions in regards to the pandemic, the walking path has become less than ideal. During the pandemic, foot traffic was restricted to one direction AND social distancing was required. Now, not only is there two-way traffic, making it more difficult to navigate, but people are walking and filling the paths with impunity. You wouldn’t believe how easily two people can take up the entire width of a public path and seem oblivious to the words “excuse me.”

As the morning wore on, the temperature began to increase. The day was blessed with a light overcast, a combination of clouds and smoke from recent wild fires in neighbouring Provinces. The result was that I wasn’t TOTALLy exposed to the sun, but the heat was still mounting enough that I was dripping onto my handlebars. Luckily, I brought along a bottle of sugar-free electrolytes and my glucometer, so I was set in terms of hydration and ensuring my blood sugars were level. Insert a PSA here about how extreme heat can affect insulin pumps and CGM…

By the time I got home, my legs and arms were killing me, my shirt was soaked to the point you could almost see through it and I looked like something the cat dragged in. The mileage shown above is what I managed to complete by the time I got there. I took a short period of time, sitting in my garage and sipping the remainder of my electrolytes and some water before hammering a half-dozen jellybeans to regulate my blood sugars.

Remember in the opening paragraph when I mentioned that I was working on some pretty fun goals? I’ve decided to try this app called The Conqueror Challenges. Basically, (and I’m not endorsing this app, I’ve simply installed it for personal use) these are virtual marathons that you can sign up for, pay a fee and it tracks your distance until you’ve reached the goal. You can choose a package where they issue you a completion medal when you’re done or a package where you get the completion medal as well as a t-shirt. They have some pretty cool ones, like climbing Mt. Everest or crossing the English Channel.

Just about anything can be virtual, nowadays. So, why would marathons be any different. I’ve completed a couple of challenges already, so I’ll keep y’all posted when I receive a completion medal. But for someone try to set goals and achieve them without getting involved in something according to someone else’s schedule, this can be it. And that’s pretty much where I find myself; between work and home life, I don’t really have the time to sign up for scheduled marathons or join public events. I’m just waiting on baited knee for karate to open up again. I don’t know, it’s something different and helps to keep me on track. There’s one medal that’s 4,000 kilometres! That’s crazy! I could basically cycle my way home to New Brunswick! That would certainly be a strange and wonderful adventure. ☯️

Let Time Be The Judge…

If you walked into a karate dojo today, it would be pretty fair to say that you wouldn’t be proficient the following week. If you joined ballet or dance today, you wouldn’t be able to stand on point or start competing the following week, either. Important things take time and this is especially important as it relates to one’s health.

People these days are all about the right here, right now. Immediate gratification is often the expectation, and we live in a society where everyone is plugged in and always looking for something that will help them melt fat, slim down or build muscle. But like endeavour, the results won’t appear quickly. And even when do appear, it’s important to keep at it.

There’s nothing quite like the feeling of getting home after a long day and flopping down on the couch with a cold drink and binge-watching something on television. It’s easy, right? Humans as a whole will usually prefer to take the path of least resistance, much like the course of a river. But health and fitness REQUIRES that you step off the path of least resistance and persevere on the harsher path.

Recently, I started to dislike the way I looked. This can be attributed to a number of things, including indulging in a less-than-favourable diet, consuming beer and alcohol and allowing my fitness trends to slide off the rails, where I would go full weeks without working out. It’s okay to take the occasional break, but not when it’s to the detriment of your overall health and fitness. And not least of all, is the constant adjustment to my system from exercising consistently to being more sedentary and vice versa…. It plays hell on the blood sugars!

My point is, I took a few very simple steps to start doing something to slim down a bit. I don’t think I need to explain that as I get older, weight becomes harder to shed and Diabetes control becomes more important. But all I’ve done is chit back on my carbohydrate intake and alcohol consumption, increase my intake of fluids and have started working a few small fitness challenges. It’s taken a while, but I’ve managed to shed almost ten pounds over the past couple of months, the results of which I’m starting to see (in small doses).

A pair of pants I purchased four months ago that fit decently are now loose enough that the waist band folds over when I cinch my belt. A golf shirt that six months ago pretty much drew the eye directly to my gut now fits comfortably and I’m wearing it right now, as I type. It’s small difference that come from persevering and not giving up. There will always be days when the couch is calling, but if you push through and get that workout in to maintain your consistency, you’ll eventually start to see the difference. Slow and steady wins the race on this one…☯️