Tuesday morning and the Baltimore trip is behind me - phew! Mostly uneventful with a good outcome for Henry. His progress is ahead of schedule - in the booth test he was able to hear sounds at 20 decibels - not sure what that means but it's very good and he's well on his way to have the same ability to hear as any kid his age. The drive was grueling at times with him - mostly he was a gem but there were times when he shrieked sometimes for an hour at a time, playing around with his voice like a one year old would, sounding sometimes like a rooster, sometimes like Tarzan. It was at those times I put earplugs in (pretty cool that I thought to bring them!) Yesterday (Monday) we left Baltimore at about noon central time and I drove straight through with only a short half hour break for dinner. Stupid me to speed in Indiana - second time in my life I've gotten a ticket on that stretch of I-80 that hugs the lake. Remember that! Do NOT speed in Indiana! Now, Indiana wants me (remember that song?) - or my money anyway and I have a ticket on my record.
So the date with Luke! It was so much fun! We have everything in common: love of jazz, the music I sing, science, history, Landmark, we were both in the financial industry, weight loss, and an avid love of reading. Turns out he's not down on his luck and the fact that he doesn't work is because he doesn't have to (having sold his trading firm years ago). He liked that I was willing to go out with him even when I thought he might be living with his mother and delivering pizzas while he looked for a real job. Anyway, I like him. He's fun, interesting and sexy. I plan to take it slow and savor the delicious "getting to know you" stage, assuming he is similarly interested. And if he's not? Then it was the first time since breaking up with Patrick that I felt myself surrendering to someone else. It's a wonderful thing to know there can be life for Sarah beyond that difficult breakup. Just that is a gift.
Just read an article about some surprising results arising from an experiment on people with Type II diabetes. Turns out that diet and exercise had little effect in improving their health. For instance, people with Type II diabetes are more than twice as likely to have heart attacks and strokes as the rest of the population Took all the professionals by surprise because patients have been counseled that lifestyle changes could make a big impact on their health with the thought, I believe, that the disease could be turned back. Not so, it turns out. Seems, once a person has crossed that terrible threshold and the body has given up the fight and succumbed to the disease, there is not a lot that can be done other than manage it. And, those with diabetes should expect higher mortality from secondary causes such as heart disease. What WAS encouraging, though, is that lifestyle changes are effective in turning the course so that people who are headed for the disease, can stave it off - can keep the diabetes switch from being flipped if they take some immediate corrective steps.
Here's the link to the article entitled, Diabetes Study Ends Early. First paragraph:
A large federal study of whether diet and weight loss can prevent heart attacks and strokes in overweight and obese people with Type 2 diabetes has ended two years ahead of schedule because the intensive program did not help.
Here's my takeaway from this. If you are overweight, eating poorly, not exercising, you are a good candidate for Type II diabetes (over 25 million Americans have it). And if you are middle aged or older and have engaged in that lifestyle for years, don't be fooled into thinking you have dodged a bullet - there is a cumulative effect to your bad habits. Your body may have fought the good fight for years but, chances are, it will finally give up the battle and one day, you'll start experiencing the symptoms of diabetes - your body can only withstand the insult for so long. And if that happens - the switch is flipped, it's too late - diabetes and related illnesses are not reversible. You don't get a DO OVER! You can turn over a new leaf, manage the disease, do things to extend your life, but you can't fix it. You broke yourself! Humpty Dumpty!
Bummed? Here's some good news! If you're reading this and recognize yourself at risk - you're middle-aged, overweight and sedentary and eating a high glycemic diet you can IMMEDIATELY eliminate the risk. The very day you start eating low glycemic, reduce your caloric intact, get some activity (and it doesn't have to be much) is the day you dodge the bullet. I haven't seen it in writing (info from my sister), but I believe that, no matter how overweight you are or out of shape, the benefit is immediate - your body will not flip the diabetes switch as long as you are eating properly. Think of that! What other health decision is there that results in immediate better health? None that I can think of! Also, remember my recent blog post on the new thinking about Alzheimer's - it's now being called Type III diabetes. If you're headed towards diabetes it's not just your organs at risk but you also stand a good chance of descending into dementia, being a burden on your family and dying a terrible death in a facility. So, understand this to be true, know you have the power to rescript the future and start looking at the sweets case at Starbucks with different eyes. That sticky bun or piece of pumpkin pound cake? Weapons of self destruction - Trojan horses.
Challenge today, if you are at risk, is to understand this and take immediate action. Get a book on eating a low glycemic diet and put it into immediate practice. By the end of this week you could be on a totally new trajectory with diabetes no longer a foregone conclusion. It's a disease you don't want to get and one that you can immediately head off at the pass if you decide to make changes. And....if you are wondering about me and my interest in this topic? My doctor tells me I have the blood work of a 20 year old: all my levels are perfect, my standing heart rate is in the low '50's, my blood sugar low and my cholesterol levels wonderful. I attribute it all to eating for health. I still have a bunch of weight to lose, but ironically I'm healthier than most people, even with 50+ too many pounds on me. It will be good to get the weight off (especially a relief for my unhappy knees), but what I want to stress is that you can be healthy and overweight if you eat well and get activity. And you can, with a quick lifestyle change, immediately eliminate your risk of diabetes. Eliminate it!!
Peace,
Sarah
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