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Add Supplements With Caution

As a person with diabetes I have a lot of other people cheering me on and wanting to help me out. It’s not a lot unlike me writing this blog to help any of you who are doing your best to live a normal life with diabetes. Every now and then someone reads something or sees a feature on TV that they pass on to me as helpful information. I have learned that I need to approach any changes to my routine with caution and a plan. I recently went through a situation that reminded me of this. I’m going to share that story with you.

A few months ago someone close to me saw a doctor on TV talking about patients who take statins for cholesterol. If you’ve read this blog you know that my goal is to get off of all meds, but you also know that I have made this little deal with my doctor and at least for now I am taking statins. The doctor on TV said that statins removed some important nutrients from our bodies, and one way to replace them was by taking Co-enzyme Q10.

I did a little research. I read that if anything the CoQ10 may contribute to slightly lower BG levels and had the potential of lowering blood pressure. Neither of those effects seemed like a bad thing in my case, so I decided to start on the supplement. As time went by I started to have trouble controlling my BG. I didn’t connect it to the CoQ10 because at first I had also had some lifestyle factors that I thought were responsible. A vacation, some business conferences, and other situations where I’m not as diligent with my diet and activity as I should be.

Eventually I had a high HgA1c result and decided to increase my testing frequency. I started to find that my morning BGs were consistently about 25% higher than I was used to. I would go out for a run and my BG would increase instead of drop. These kinds of inconsistencies confused me and I started to get very concerned that I may need to add a medication to get my BG under control. I started to think that my body was changing.

Then my wife reminded me of the addition of the CoQ10. We did a little tracking and discovered that the changes to my BG control were consistent with me starting out on the supplement. I stopped taking it and my BG levels returned to what I would consider normal for me in the morning, after meals, and after exercise.

The lesson is pretty clear to me. Most people pass information on because they want to help. Despite those good intentions, nobody, and I mean NOBODY knows your body as well as you do. If you are going to start anything new in your routine follow these simple steps:

  1. Do your research before you start. This could and probably should include a discussion with your doctor.
  2. Document a baseline for you before you make any change.
  3. Increase your testing frequency after the change to determine if the results are neutral, positive, or negative.
  4. Pick a date to review the change and decide whether you should continue or discontinue the new behavior.

Follow those four steps and there’s a pretty good chance you will avoid the kind of confusion that I experienced.

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Stalled on 4HB? Try a Cheat Vacation

Many of us get stalled on our way to our ultimate weight loss goals on the Four Hour Body diet. For me the stall started around Christmas time last year after losing 30 lbs in about six months. That was about 15% of my body weight. 15% seems to be a pretty normal amount for anybody to lose without taking “extreme measures” in dieting according to some articles by nutritional experts that I have read.

Rather than resorting to any so-called ”extreme measures”, why not just take a short break? After all, we normally cheat one day per week to allow our metabolisms to rev up. What about trying that for a week, maybe ten days. What do you think would happen?

I tried this theory out on a recent vacation that my wife and I took. We rented a motorhome and went camping all over the interior of British Columbia for eight days. We took plenty of supplies so we could stay #4HB legal if we wanted to, but we decided we were not going to go crazy keeping “on-plan”.

Here’s how it played out for me:

  1.  We left the morning of one cheat day and returned the evening of the next cheat day. We did not take a scale with us, so my last weigh in was the morning of the first day until I weighed in again the morning after our return.
  2. In general we kept to the diet (except for the cheat days), but every day we had at least one meal that was not #4HB “regulation”. Most of the cheat meals were either breakfast or lunch, although we did have one dinner while we were at Whistler. We didn’t go overboard, just ate regular food from the menu wherever we were. Our cheats were never so extreme that we got that “hungover” feeling during our vacation.
  3. I had two beer each night, never more, never less.

My weigh-in when we returned home was two weeks from the last post-cheat weigh in. I was exactly the same weight. In the weeks following my weight loss has resumed, almost at the same rate as when I first started the program. By the end of four more weeks I had lost another ten pounds.

There are a lot of strategies out there to help recharge your weight loss. I’ve never gone crazy on the kettle bell swings or Occam’s Protocol, etc. The cheat vacation is a simple, no frills thing that anyone can use to return to your weight-losing ways.

 

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Remember to Be Kind to Yourself

A few years ago one of my running mentors had entered the Ironman Triathlon in Penticton. He was a real student of running and fitness. He had undergone a substantial lifestyle change several years earlier and is still a real inspirational person in our neck of  the woods. Because of his extreme interest in triathlon he chose to go to Penticton a day early to attend a clinic that was conducted by several world class triathletes. I asked him for the most important thing he learned at the clinic.  His answer was, “Be kind to yourself”. The advice came from World Champion Lisa Bentley. She said that the biggest mistake she sees among most “amateur” Ironman participants is that they are so hard on themselves that they forget to enjoy the experience.

The same advice can be so true for any of us who are in the fight to manage Type 2 Diabetes. The parallels between managing diabetes and training for an event like a marathon or a triathlon are striking:

  1. Both require you to develop an intimate understanding of your body.
  2. Both require planning.
  3. Both require a great deal of discipline.
  4. Both present obstacles and set backs that must be handled for you to meet your objectives.
  5. Both are demanding enough that you should celebrate your victories.

It can be pretty easy to get so caught up in the drive for lower BGs, solid control, and great A1c numbers that we forget that we are human. The human body is unpredictable. We don’t always understand why it reacts the way it does. Stress, illness, and fatigue are just a few of the things that give your body a hard time when trying to control BG.

Don’t get me wrong. Sure the  goal is to be in control and continue to improve to ensure you live a long and happy life. Just remember that when life throws you a curve, sometimes you just have to take it, re-group, and move on.

Celebrate your life and be kind to yourself!

 

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Quick and Tasty Cole Slaw

When I was younger I loved the cole slaw that my Mom would make. Loaded with Miracle Whip, oh it was yummy. I would take as much as I could. The problem for me now is that it’s not Yummy 4HB Cole Slaw4HB compliant, or healthy for a person with diabetes. My wife has stumbled across a way to make cole slaw that is 4HB legal, is very tasty, and is a lot more of a healthy alternative. Like so many of the dishes that we make for ourselves we make this in large batches. It’s even better the next day and works equally well as a side dish for dinner, or packed into a lunch.

Adjust the dressing portions to suit your taste. To give you a benchmark to start with, we make three tablespoons of the dressing for 1-1/2 pounds of the shredded cole slaw mix.

To make the dressing mix equal amounts of Dijon mustard, lemon juice, and oil in a bowl. We use grape seed oil because it has less flavor than olive oil, but whatever works for you is fine. As I said earlier, we use one tablespoon of each.

Next add the dressing to your slaw mix and mix it all up.

For a little garnish cut up some pickled sushi ginger, and add some sesame seeds and some pumpkin seeds. The result is an amazingly tasty cole slaw that will keep in your fridge if you don’t gobble it all up at the meal you prepared it for.

Enjoy!

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Dressing Up Green Lentils

We eat a lot of green lentils. They are packed full of fiber and nutrients, and they even help lower my blood glucose level when I eat them for breakfast. After a while though, it can become a little boring to eat these gems plain. In his book The 4 Hour Body Tim Ferris recommends that repeating the same meals over and over again is the secret to success on the 4 Hour Body (4HB) slow carb diet. My problem is that after seven months of it I do crave some variety. Better to design a new 4HB compliant dish than to risk slipping off the diet, so I have experimented with a little more flavorful lentil dish.

We go through a lot of lentils because there are three of us following the 4HB, so we make most things in large batches. Lucas Starbuck wrote a great blog post on How to Save 4 Hours in the Kitchen Every Week on the Four Hour Body Couple Blog to help in this area.

For this dish you can adjust the quantities, just keep the same proportions. I also change up the flavors my sometimes adding bacon, sausage, or another meat. This is optional, and the dish stands up well as a vegetarian dish with no meat.

Step One: Prepare the lentils – can be done any time

  1. Heat a 900 ml (32 oz) container of soup stock to a boil. While the stock is heating sort through 600 ml (21 oz) of lentils to pull out any stems, rocks, or damaged lentils. Rinse the lentils well in a sieve or fine colander. When the stock comes to a boil add the lentils and stir well. Simmer for 45 minutes stirring occasionally.
  2. While the lentils are simmering dice a medium onion and prepare some garlic for the dish.

Step Two: Making the dish:

  1. Pour a liberal amount of grape seed oil into the sauce pan. Heat to med-high.
  2. Add 2 tbsp of chili powder and cumin and toast (careful not to burn) the spices for about 30 seconds.
  3. Toss in your garlic and mix it all together.
  4. Add the onion and saute while mixing all of the ingredient together. When this step is complete you will have this beautiful browny-red blend of onions and spices ready for the meat (if desired) and lentils.
  5. Add the meat and cook it necessary. Mix everything all together.
  6. Add the cooked lentils and a small can of tomato sauce. Mix everything together well, reduce heat to simmer. Cover and let all of the flavors blend together.

Try this dish, or your own variation for a nice change up on the bare bones lentil dish.

 

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A Diet Change Worth Exploring

If you read my last blog you know that I have been following a slow carb diet for about five weeks now. The great majority of my carbs are coming from beans, legumes, and lentils. Five weeks is certainly not long enough to be conclusive, but I feel great and I’ve had to significantly reduce my insulin use to avoid having lows.

Since I’ve started this program (prefer program over diet) I’ve lost ten pounds. More importantly I have lost 4.5 inches from my waist. I have to believe that this loss of belly fat is having a huge impact on my insulin sensitivity. My goal is to get off of all of my meds. That’s only possible if I still have my own insulin on board. My hope is that the insulin I have been taking for the last four years has been necessary due to insensitivity, not because my body has run out. The last five weeks have encouraged me that this may be true.

Here are the top three reasons I think this change in my diet has been successful so far:

1. Slow Carbs Six Days Per Week:
Prior to making the change most of my carbs came from grains, starchy vegetables, and fruit. These relatively high glycemic index foods convert into sugar fairly quickly. As a diabetic using insulin I was trained to use enough insulin to have an acceptable blood glucose level 1 – 2 hours after eating. The problem is that even rapid insulin is still active for up to four hours after being injected. By changing to a low glycemic index carb source the conversion to sugar is slower and the spike is lower. Less insulin is required to keep blood sugar in an acceptable range.

2. Beans Have Lots of Fibre:
My current diet is extremely high in fibre. Meals are filling and satisfying and include lots of vegetables for variety. When combined with the benefits of lower insulin demand and slow release carbs this means that I never feel like I need a snack between meals. I have four meals every day at about four hour intervals and a light snack at bedtime. By not wanting to eat something to curb that empty, low feeling between lunch and dinner, or to have a huge supper, I’m less likely to yo yo. I only eat the food that I planned to eat in a day. My blood sugars are even and predictable.

3. I Eat Whatever I Want One Day Per Week:
Once a week I abandon the bean routine and eat whatever I feel like having that day. This kind of cranks up my metabolism so that when I return to the slow carb diet for the rest of the week I can lose some more weight. It helps stop the urge to cheat on the program.

This is not a program that someone sold me or that I am trying to sell to you. You do it yourself. The most recent and popular literature on this type of diet is the book The 4 Hour Body by Tim Ferriss, but this diet has been around for a long time. It’s a balanced diet that has also been labelled as “Low GI”. Whatever you call it, I have seen immediate benefits that have already improved the way I feel and changed the way I manage my diabetes.

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Three Steps to Survive Holiday Celebrations

 

Don't let your holiday meal derail your diabetes managementMost holiday celebrations involve food that people with diabetes don’t always eat, regardless of your culture. Holidays can be a very challenging time to manage your blood glucose. With a little bit of planning, and by following sound diabetes management principles you can get through a holiday without throwing yourself completely off the rails.

Make a plan. Trying to eliminate all of the temptation that comes along on a holiday is nearly impossible for most people. Remember, you are human. If you decide to completely restrict yourself then fall off of your self-imposed wagon, you are likely to go overboard. Over-eating will not only impact your BG levels, it will likely make you have feelings of guilt and remorse. Nobody needs that. Plan out what you would really like to have that is not in your regular diet and enjoy yourself. If you plan something that you will enjoy the odds are much better that you will be able to stick to your plan, and you will enjoy yourself.

Step up your BG measurement. Here is a protocol I wrote for 4 Hour Body cheat days for people with diabetes. Keeping a little closer eye on you BG will allow you to adjust your injections if you use insulin, or fine-tune what you eat if you don’t use insulin. Allowing a little higher BG level is okay for this day, as long as you don’t let it get way too high, and you don’t let it stay high. Remember that a lot of the goodies you are eating contain more fat than your normal diet. Fat interferes with your body’s insulin sensitivity, make sure you keep that in mind.

Add a little exercise. Even 20 minutes of cardio exercise makes a huge difference in your body’s ability to control blood glucose. It has the added benefit of actually burning glucose, so your after-exercise BG level will be noticeably lower than before your exercise. If you don’t normally exercise, the results you see on an “off-program” day may be so remarkable that it makes you decide to add exercise into your daily management routine.

Three simple things that will help you enjoy yourself on a holiday without completely destroying your management or your self esteem.

Here’s hoping that you all have a wonderful holiday season.

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What’s Up With Test Strips?

I opened my gmail account this morning to find a conveniently-placed (thanks google) ad for Test Strips. That’s a screen shot of it at the top of the post. The deal that is offered is pretty consistent across all of the test meter companies, at least in Canada. Everybody will give you a free meter with the purchase of 100 strips. On top of that there is no shortage of people selling “cheap” test strips on the internet.

Why is there this competition to get your test strip business? Quite simply they are frigging expensive. I am self-insured for my medical coverage, so when I buy test strips I do so without the added cost of a dispensing fee. The best price that I can find around my home is about $72.00 for a box of 100. It doesn’t seem to matter whose strips we buy (here in Canada) they are all about the same cost. I think that their cost is at least partially subsidized by our government because I have access to wholesale pricing, and my wholesale cost is higher than I can get the strips for from a pharmacy.

This is not really a problem for people with diabetes who have extended health benefits. It can be a huge problem though for anyone who has to foot their own medical bills. It’s an ironic fact that those people who have less income often have a harder time with diabetes management. Blood glucose (BG) testing is an important part of any diabetes management plan, so getting the most mileage out of your test strip budget is vital. It’s also an important safety factor for anyone who uses insulin, or any of the diabetes meds that tend to improve insulin sensitivity.

How can you get the most out of your test strips?

Safety First – If you use insulin or one of the drug families that tend to help lower BG please make sure that you test any time you feel that you are going low. For anyone managing diabetes with medications this is the number one concern. The more experienced you get with how your body behaves the easier this will become.

Record Everything – If you are not keeping a log, start! You will learn how your body reacts to food, to drugs, to activity, what to expect first thing in the morning, you get it. This is the second most important part of your ongoing management because the data that you gather will allow you to make more independent decisions, eventually.

Predict – Any time you decide to test your BG make a prediction, an educated guess before the test. This will help you become more aware of your body. We are all human. We react differently to all of the factors that we are trying to balance. In the future the awareness that you gain will allow you to save some tests when you are not in a high risk situation.

Be Systematic – Have an objective for your testing program. Either you want to know your BG before supper because it will tell you something about your basal insulin dose, or do a pre-and-post-meal BG set to see how you react to a certain carb loading, or you have another specific reason for the test. You get the idea. Make sure that you are gathering some useful information about yourself every time you use a test strip. The only exception would be if your test is for safety reasons, but if you think about it, even then you are learning about yourself.

Follow those four principles and you will get the maximum value out of those pricey little strips that seem to be so over-priced. Don’t let the cost of test strips stop you from getting the maximum diagnostic value from your management plan.

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Make Manny Paint His Hair Blue

 

November 14 is World Diabetes Awareness Day. There are a lot of activities going on to help build awareness of diabetes and ways we can all help support the fight to beat the disease.

One of the most fun yet educational programs is being  promoted at the TuDiabetes website. It’s called the Big Blue Test and anyone can get involved. The goal of the test is to help remind us all that exercise, even as little as 14 minutes, can help a person with diabetes control Blood Glucose.

Exercise also has a profound positive impact on anyone’s well-being, so maybe taking the test can help you feel better. I did the test today. Before I went out for my light run I had a kind of crappy disposition due to something that is going on at work. 30minutes later my outlook had completely changed, and my BG was right where it needs to be.

One of the things that makes the Big Blue Test fun is a promise made by Manny Hernandez to paint his hair blue on November 14 if the campaign meets its goal of 8000. I don’t know about you but I would love to see Manny paint his hair blue on Nov 14.

Anybody can take the test. It’s simple. Test your blood sugar, get active, test your blood sugar again. You can even take the test if you don’t have diabetes, and anybody can take it multiple times. If you don’t have diabetes you don’t have to test your blood sugar, so don’t let that stop you. Visit Big Blue Test and share your results today, and every day until Nov 14.

Everyone with diabetes thanks you in advance for helping raise awareness about the need to find a cure.

Make Manny Paint His Hair Blue

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New to 4HB? Check Out These Great Resources

So you’ve just started the 4 Hour Body diet and you’ve got questions. What to eat, workout questions, Occam’s Protocol – that one still has me guessing. Well, this blog is a list of other bloggers who you can follow and get a good start on almost any topic around Tim Ferriss’ body hack. I’ve included the twitter username and a link to the blog for each of these marvelous 4HB bloggers.

@FMFBlogger – Jason Jacobs blog: http://www.findingmyfitness.com - Jason made a commitment to take control of his fitness level and wants to help you do the same. Jason’s blog features both 4HB and paleo cuisine. Jason also runs, in fact he recently ran a race in a hurricane. Dedication, dude!

@lucasstarbuck – Lucas Starbuck blog: http://www.fourhourbodycouple.com - Lucas is one half of The Fur Hour Body Couple. He and his better half, Kat keep a very informative website up that focuses on diet, exercise, supplements, and more. You can even get music here! What!?

@brian_valentin – Brian Valentin blog: http://www.4hourbodyzone.com - Brian’s a husband and father who also provides tonnes of culinary ideas for both 4HB and paleo taste buds. Great content!

@justhamade – Justin Hamad blog: http://www.myfourhourbodydiary.com - Justin’s blog chronicles his progress as he follows the 4HB journey. Ideal for anyone who wants to see what it will be like for them. He includes blogs on such topics as diet, exercise, reversing injuries, sleep, and on. Bonus section – Justin has recorded his goals, both those he has met and those that he plans on achieving. Great lead if you’re willing to follow.

@4hourlife – Stephen (yah, just Stephen) blog: http://www.4hourlife.com - Really more than a blog. This is a really cool website. Stephen is a Physician Assistant who really lives the complete 4 Hour mantra. Check his site out for his blog, case studies comparing 4HB to popular products, different protocols, and resources. Check out the tracking cheat sheet. Great resource.

@slowcarbfoodie – Laura Dinstell blog: http://www.slowcarbfoodie.com - The lady from down under. Laura’s website is a treasure trove of great food ideas for anyone following either 4HB or paleo diets. A great website. Sign up for the newsletter.

There’s the list. Short but power-packed. Check them all out and get off to a great start with your 4HB program.

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