Starting Over - Again
April 03,2012
It has been awhile since I’ve posted anything here.
Reasons are many; job change, health changes, both mine and family members, distractions with other things going on in my life and my wife’s life, and a general malaise about life in general and the situation(s) I’ve found myself in.
Then I remembered two major things:
(1) I am a child of God and a believer in Jesus Christ - and I need to start acting like it and begin to live my faith and do more than just talk about it.
(2) My health is in my hands and I need to take charge of it. I’ve ignored it and neglected it to my detriment and now I’m beginning to reap the results (mostly negative) of this inattention to the details of living my life as I should be living it.
An example would be that four years after my last eye exam, I started to see some double-vision and other basic problems telling me I need to get a new exam and an updated prescription.
My exam revealed some other problems. A machine that ‘maps’ the eye and takes a detailed look at it showed ‘cotton wool’ spots and some other problems. My blood pressure (from a wrist cuff unit) was 175/95 - not good. (also, when tested later with a fasted glucose finger stick test, my blood sugar was 185 mg/dl - again, not good.) The eye doctor suggested I see my doctor for a physical (yeah, it’s been about two years or so) and get a referral to an opthamologist.
A result of the high blood pressure has been some damage to the eyes that, if not corrected and taken care of could result in eventual blindness. Mini-aneurysms, thinning blood vessels, flaming hemorrhages, etc., etc. Add to this the high blood glucose reading and you can see their concern.
So I went to the primary care physician (HMO… can’t see the opthamologist without a referral from the doctor, so I can pay the co-pay twice, you know) and in his office, my blood pressure reading was 216/108 - off their charts.
He set me up for getting some blood drawn for a battery of tests, and provided the referral, and a follow-up appointment for a complete physical exam. (04/05, 04/16. and 04/12 - yeah, the eye doc will be after the next primary doc check-up)
It is time to get serious about my health and start over on taking control of my life.
For the rest of April (2012), I will be going on a strict meat and water diet. This is one of the proven ways to bring both the blood sugar and the blood pressure down and to control it. Controversial, yes, but there are those who have done it and who I respect for both their own accomplishments in achieving success in similar situations and because I have always been a bit of a maverick anyway.
Thanks to Steve Cooksey (www.diabetes-warrior.net) and Charles Washington (www.zeroinginonhealth.com), I have decided the best way to quickly knock down the bad (high) numbers is to adopt the strict meat and water diet.
Meats will be defined as beef (both ground and steaks), fish (deep-water, wild-caught, like salmon), fowl (chicken and turkey), and pork (chops and bacon), and sometimes some eggs (fried in butter or scrambled). Water will the beverage of choice, but once in a while I will have some coffee or tea. As I have always taken these with cream and Splenda (coffee) or Splenda (iced tea), it will be an adjustment to doing without either.
No vegetables, no fruits, no nuts, no grains, no sugar or sugar substitutes, no beans/legumes, no dairy (exception: some occasional hard cheddar cheese)… for the rest of April, this will constitute my fare. No soda, regular or diet, no fruit juices, no vegetable juices, no energy drinks, no sports drinks, and no milk - just plain water (filtered or purified), some tea and a bit of coffee.
I can already hear all the nay-sayers and the ‘balanced diet’ people, and the minions at the ADA (American Diabetes Association) trying to tell me how this a dangerous diet, or it’s not nutritionally sound, or how I need these other nutrients, or I just need to take these various medications, and all will be good in the universe.
But again, it’s my life and this is how I’m taking charge of it. You can, if you so choose, follow along as I post the results and progress. If I fail, you can always send me an “I told you so” post… but when I succeed (which I will), you can all stand up and applaud and say, “good job, Chuck.”
A couple of starting stats from around 8:00AM this morning:
weight: 171.4 pounds
waistline (at belly button): 39 inches, relaxed
fasted blood sugar reading: 160 mg/dl
blood pressure: unable to test at this time
Well, there it is. The results, reasons, and the plan. I would, of course, appreciate all prayers and support, but even if I go it alone (with only the internet friendship of Cooksey and Washington), so be it - God is with me.
The other add to this plan is a program of exercise:
Monday/Thursday: push-ups, freehand squats, kettlebell swings
Tuesday/Friday: basic yoga movements, ie: modified sun salutations
Wednesday/Saturday: burpees, jump rope, etc.
He Who Dares, Wins
