Just Say No

In the early 1980s, first lady Nancy Reagan launched a campaign to "Just Say No" to illegal drugs. My goal is to also apply that philosophy to prescription drugs as I grow older, and so far it's working.

I received more great news today from another set of labs, this time about my A1C numbers. Without using any prescription medications, my numbers have dropped well below the "prediabetic" range I had crept into. A1C test result reflects your average blood sugar level for the past two to three months. Specifically, the A1C test measures what percentage of your hemoglobin — a protein in red blood cells that carries oxygen — is coated with sugar (glycated).

A1C percentages of 5.6 or lower are considered normal, and anything above that is prediabetic. Anything 6.5% or higher is considered full-on diabetes. 

My A1C numbers over the years look like this:

April 2011: 5.6%

April 2013: 5.7%

April 2014: 5.8%

May 2015: 5.6%

Sept. 2019: 5.2%

The only things that changed during that time-frame were the lifestyle changes I have documented on this blog, with the end result being considerable weight loss:

-- Eating a balanced diet

-- Drinking lots of water (no soda pop)

-- Exercising regularly

-- Reducing portion size

As I stated in a 2014 post, a common misconception is that you need to reduce your intake of starches and simple sugars in order to reverse the trend towards Type II Diabetes; but obesity is actually one of the primary factors, as it stresses your body's cells, which can cause them to suppress the signals of insulin receptors, which then leads to insulin resistance.

With Type II, either your body doesn't produce enough insulin on its own, or your body's cells ignore the insulin. When you eat starches and sugars, your body breaks them down into glucose, which is a basic fuel for the cells of your body. Insulin moves the glucose from the blood into the cells. 

If you aren't producing enough insulin on your own, or your body's cells are stressed to the point that they resist the insulin altogether, then you end up with excess glucose levels in your blood, which can starve your cells for energy, and over time the high glucose levels may harm your eyes, heart, kidneys, and nerves.

If you have been diagnosed as prediabetic, don't accept that you will need to depend on prescription medication to combat this disease. Take matters into your own hands and change your own life for the better! It may not be cutting edge technology, but the divine wisdom of "don't be a glutton" holds true today.

Must be doing something right...

I went to the doctor for cholesterol labs today ("Lipid Panel"), and the results were much improved -- so I must be doing something right! It had been 5 years since I'd had the same labs done -- you can see the difference below:

The results from 2013 were even worse than 2014, with Cholesterol at 211, Triglyceride at 175, HDL at 45, and LDL at 141. Never let anyone tell you that a balanced diet and regular exercise can't improve your health.

My weight has fluctuated a little in the almost 5 years of being "glutton free", as has my level of self control with regard to what, and how much, I eat. If I hadn't picked up cycling after last year's running injury, I don't think I could have maintained this. I'm so thankful for the support of the running and cycling groups that I see on a weekly basis -- they truly are a God-send.

I was curious about my blood sugars (A1C), but my doc didn't order those labs, so he must not be concerned about them since the last result from 2015 had returned to the normal range. Hallelujah!

This is a very simple concept, thousands of years old, and it works. Don't be a glutton. I know, it's definitely not as easy as it sounds, and it's not as glamorous as some of the fad diets; but with a little willpower and hard work, it can be very effective.

Special Kind of Crazy

At one point during my Half Fanatics qualifying string of half marathons, someone jokingly told me I was a "special kind of crazy". I simply replied, "thank you".

Now three years later, I just finished my 11th half on Saturday (my legs have finally recovered), and I will join a group for a metric century (62-miles) bike ride on Sunday. #specialkindofcrazy

The half marathon serves as my old way of setting a challenge to overcome, and the bike ride is hopefully the way of the future for me. #crosstraining