Blast from the Past
I present to everyone wandering randomly to this part of my page, the first 139 minutes of MTV's broadcast debut. Please enjoy this throwback to your youth that also defined a generation.
An Hidden Gem of a Microsoft Asset
There is a great asset anyone should have if they ever have to trace through an XML file. Microsoft has an old application that is spectacular called XML Notepad 2007. This is a native and easy tool to edit XLM files, especially if you haven't done it before, or have only done it with Microsoft Notepad. Just click here (https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=7973) to view the download page that also has some basic instructions. This requires a Windows OS platform.
Random Comedy That I Can't Fake.
Face-Plant Recognition
Here is a link about an iPhone X / Xs phone case that I wanted to research. The reviews I found here (www.amazon.com/product-reviews/B07NY64LCB/ref=acr_search_hist_5?ie=UTF8&filterByStar=five_star&showViewpoints=0) might not be what I was expecting.
Here is a link about an iPhone X / Xs phone case that I wanted to research. The reviews I found here (www.amazon.com/product-reviews/B07NY64LCB/ref=acr_search_hist_5?ie=UTF8&filterByStar=five_star&showViewpoints=0) might not be what I was expecting.
My Nutrition Narrative
“You are officially a diabetic.” That’s what my doctor said to me in June 2018. I thought to myself “great… now how is my life going to change for the bad?”
I was thinking “needles.” I need to carry medicines and needles. And I knew better. I’ve been a pre-diabetic for the majority of the previous 12 years (on and off). I’ve been in average to below average health over the years, and my diet and inconsistent exercise was the most to blame. This was 100% on me.
Prior to this diagnosis, I started having a tingling problem with my left foot. A prior visit to the doctor’s office was that the diagnosis was “neuropathy due to elevated sugar.” I knew that wasn’t good at all, and the symptoms were evident for about 2 months until it was too much for me to endure.
The big issue for me was my feet would get very hot, especially riding my motorcycle in the summer time with the sun beating down on my boots. Pain, tingling, and incredible itchiness was persistent. Now that same doctor, on the same visit, also prescribed me a cream for my foot to relieve athlete’s foot. I’ve had this in the past, but usually I can tell it’s there when I get that clammy, slimy, and itchy feeling between my toes.
A week later I went back to the same office to see the doctor that was assigned to me (she’s actually a nurse practitioner) and we did the blood work. That’s when my A1C crossed into the “diabetic zone.” I told her about the other doctor’s diagnosis, and she read it. She was in disbelief – as in she wasn’t believing the doctor’s diagnosis at all. Mainly because of the whole athlete’s foot diagnosis as well. In short, she confirmed that my athlete’s foot diagnosis was detected very early, and the neuropathy diagnosis was wrong.
This is when the “oh shit” mechanism in my brain said to me “you really got to pay attention right now!” I asked about the neuropathy diagnosis, and she told me that’s not realistic because you have to have a long history of undiagnosed type 2 diabetes before that manifests into a real issue, measured in almost double-digit years. She assured me that wasn’t where I was at.
This was when I learned that I’m not going on insulin pills. Instead I had to go on a “round 1 drug” called metformin. I understood it suppressed blood sugar levels in the body. After listening to this, she also told me the obvious foods I need to cut out.
Armed with this information, I scoured the internet like a “deep learning” application. I read, and consumed lots of information until I hit a few awesome nuggets.
NUGGET #1: An internet article posted by Christopher Wanjek, published on 21 March 2011. It’s called “Lifestyle Change Still Trumps Best Diabetes Drug,” and up to the time of this writing, this document posted on Live Science’s website, had no comments (refer to this shortened google link, https://goo.gl/A8cFfK). In all honesty I was looking around for drug side effects of metformin and newer drugs, instead of paying to much attention to the title. After moving all the advertising out of the way, I already consumed tons of content about medications, and lifestyle changed.
To reflect on my life, I was always someone who struggled with weight. I lived in a short, fat man’s world quite often. At this time in my research, I noticed the multitude of websites citing lifestyle changes, and diet to be a very big component on managing diabetes, and I knew that to be true. Call it disbelief, or “going with the flow”, or even an unhealthy, naive belief that I won’t get diabetes. Now with the scare of having neuropathy, and the fact I pushed myself to get to this diabetic stage of life, I said I need to push my way out of this!
NUGGET #2: The final hard truth for me came from a website that I later stumbled on called A Medium Corporation. The language here (again, after tons of corroborating website information) was the proverbial “fire under my ass” I needed. In all honesty, I couldn’t remember this site at all, and had to re-research this for my write up. This wasn’t all that difficult because I remembered a phrase used in the online document that stuck with me... “Dietary disease.”
Now, I already knew the story of Drew Carry from previous research. It is well documented that he beat a diagnosis of diabetes with diet and exercise, and actually revered it. I thought “f&$# it, if he could do it, I know I will be able to do it too.”
I recalled the initial google search term I then started using called “reversing diabetes.” Now, in today’s internet advertisement positioning, I am conditioned to not even consider the first page of results on Google. After a day of searching reading, following link after link still not finding something specific, I eventually looked at the bottom half of the first page results. There was an article authored by Doctor Jason Fung, entitled “Type 2 Diabetes Reversal -- The Quick Start Guide,” and right on the top of the page, it stated that it was a 10 minute read (refer to this shortened google link, https://goo.gl/BSv8cd and beware - the language and graphics in this link may be disturbing for some people – which I hope it is so you can become as scared shitless like I did). Some of the passages that stuck with me included the following:
In about 6 weeks, I dropped 20-25 pounds (that is a guess because I did not check often). While I was in this mental weight loss mode – which many people said it was the “keto diet,” which in all honesty, I knew almost nothing about – I ended up watching a PBS marathon special that featured Doctor Joel Fuhrman. He is the author of the book Eat to Live, and in his PBS special, he spoke about certain foods that have the highest levels of micronutrients.
This special was designed to specifically discuss ways to eat foods that destroys and prevents cancer, but there was a statement that he made in his special that was quite interesting. If your body can adjust to eating these foods that are micronutrient dense, and you get healthier, your taste in these food sources become better and you adapt (I’m paraphrasing mind you).
Then he discussed his G-BOMBS list, which is a list of foods that fight cancer. They are:
I made sure to incorporate these foods into my diet routine. My favorite go-to dish is a medium cooked, open face, flame grilled hamburger with gruyere cheese, topped with thin-sliced sautéed onions, diced mushrooms, and shredded/diced brussel sprouts, seasoned with a pinch of pink or rock salt, garlic powder, and some paprika, with no french fries, potato chips, or bun.
In five more weeks, I dropped another 12 pounds. I tried to hit the gym but with a significant issue with my left shoulder I had to give up the gym but would later do physical therapy for task #2 which started after I went back to the doctor 13 weeks later for a recheck.
After the initial diagnosis, I spent time on my motorcycle for 26 days travelling from southern New Jersey, to Austin Texas, To Orlando Florida, then back home with the temperature on average 98 degrees Fahrenheit. Travelling over 3,600 miles like this and sticking to my diet plan was not easy, but hearing those words “you are now a diabetic” was all the willpower I really needed. While headed to across the country, Mexican food was my friend. My favorite disk on the road like this was a fajita plate with chicken (sometimes beef) where I did eat some carbohydrates in the form of whole black or refried pinto beans. I made sure to order it always with no sour cream (personal taste thing for me – I never liked it), no tortillas, no rice, and substitute that with more shredded lettuce.
And the results were in! I ended up with an A1C that fell below pre-diabetic levels. When I asked her what that meant, she said “you have no signs of diabetes anymore.” She also saw that my sugar levels were much lower and could tell they were being burned off, and took me off the metformin. My next check is in the second week of January 2019.
Shortly after this, in order to get myself back into the gym, I went for some PT to correct a pinching pain in my left shoulder and a deep targeted ache in my right SI joint, which I am still doing. The idea is to get back into the gym properly before 1 January 2019 rolls around.
Since that visit, I am now down 43 pounds. I am currently diabetes free, and intend to stay that way.
After the next checkup, I am going to have to address the cholesterol thing, and I am hoping that I can get back to gym activities to hyper-focus on that. I will most likely have to change the diet again and remove myself from the fatty proteins of the beef and pork I consume, and like my commitment before – this is something I will do.
I was thinking “needles.” I need to carry medicines and needles. And I knew better. I’ve been a pre-diabetic for the majority of the previous 12 years (on and off). I’ve been in average to below average health over the years, and my diet and inconsistent exercise was the most to blame. This was 100% on me.
Prior to this diagnosis, I started having a tingling problem with my left foot. A prior visit to the doctor’s office was that the diagnosis was “neuropathy due to elevated sugar.” I knew that wasn’t good at all, and the symptoms were evident for about 2 months until it was too much for me to endure.
The big issue for me was my feet would get very hot, especially riding my motorcycle in the summer time with the sun beating down on my boots. Pain, tingling, and incredible itchiness was persistent. Now that same doctor, on the same visit, also prescribed me a cream for my foot to relieve athlete’s foot. I’ve had this in the past, but usually I can tell it’s there when I get that clammy, slimy, and itchy feeling between my toes.
A week later I went back to the same office to see the doctor that was assigned to me (she’s actually a nurse practitioner) and we did the blood work. That’s when my A1C crossed into the “diabetic zone.” I told her about the other doctor’s diagnosis, and she read it. She was in disbelief – as in she wasn’t believing the doctor’s diagnosis at all. Mainly because of the whole athlete’s foot diagnosis as well. In short, she confirmed that my athlete’s foot diagnosis was detected very early, and the neuropathy diagnosis was wrong.
This is when the “oh shit” mechanism in my brain said to me “you really got to pay attention right now!” I asked about the neuropathy diagnosis, and she told me that’s not realistic because you have to have a long history of undiagnosed type 2 diabetes before that manifests into a real issue, measured in almost double-digit years. She assured me that wasn’t where I was at.
This was when I learned that I’m not going on insulin pills. Instead I had to go on a “round 1 drug” called metformin. I understood it suppressed blood sugar levels in the body. After listening to this, she also told me the obvious foods I need to cut out.
Armed with this information, I scoured the internet like a “deep learning” application. I read, and consumed lots of information until I hit a few awesome nuggets.
NUGGET #1: An internet article posted by Christopher Wanjek, published on 21 March 2011. It’s called “Lifestyle Change Still Trumps Best Diabetes Drug,” and up to the time of this writing, this document posted on Live Science’s website, had no comments (refer to this shortened google link, https://goo.gl/A8cFfK). In all honesty I was looking around for drug side effects of metformin and newer drugs, instead of paying to much attention to the title. After moving all the advertising out of the way, I already consumed tons of content about medications, and lifestyle changed.
To reflect on my life, I was always someone who struggled with weight. I lived in a short, fat man’s world quite often. At this time in my research, I noticed the multitude of websites citing lifestyle changes, and diet to be a very big component on managing diabetes, and I knew that to be true. Call it disbelief, or “going with the flow”, or even an unhealthy, naive belief that I won’t get diabetes. Now with the scare of having neuropathy, and the fact I pushed myself to get to this diabetic stage of life, I said I need to push my way out of this!
NUGGET #2: The final hard truth for me came from a website that I later stumbled on called A Medium Corporation. The language here (again, after tons of corroborating website information) was the proverbial “fire under my ass” I needed. In all honesty, I couldn’t remember this site at all, and had to re-research this for my write up. This wasn’t all that difficult because I remembered a phrase used in the online document that stuck with me... “Dietary disease.”
Now, I already knew the story of Drew Carry from previous research. It is well documented that he beat a diagnosis of diabetes with diet and exercise, and actually revered it. I thought “f&$# it, if he could do it, I know I will be able to do it too.”
I recalled the initial google search term I then started using called “reversing diabetes.” Now, in today’s internet advertisement positioning, I am conditioned to not even consider the first page of results on Google. After a day of searching reading, following link after link still not finding something specific, I eventually looked at the bottom half of the first page results. There was an article authored by Doctor Jason Fung, entitled “Type 2 Diabetes Reversal -- The Quick Start Guide,” and right on the top of the page, it stated that it was a 10 minute read (refer to this shortened google link, https://goo.gl/BSv8cd and beware - the language and graphics in this link may be disturbing for some people – which I hope it is so you can become as scared shitless like I did). Some of the passages that stuck with me included the following:
- Type 2 diabetes is almost always reversible and this is almost ridiculously easy to prove.
- Suppose your friend is diagnosed with type 2 diabetes, then works hard to lose 50 pounds. He takes himself off all his medications and his blood sugars are now normal. … It seems perfectly obvious that diabetes reversed because your friend lost all that weight. And that’s the point. The disease is reversible.
- [Describing the typical progression of diabetes.] Over a period of years, you went from pre-diabetes, to diabetes, to taking one medication, then two then three and then finally large doses of insulin. Here’s the thing. If you are taking more and more medications to keep your blood sugars at the same level, your diabetes is getting worse! Even if your blood sugars get better, your diabetes is getting worse. ... You can’t use drugs to cure a dietary disease.
- Medications make blood sugars (the symptom) better, but not the diabetes (the actual disease). We’ve been pretending that the symptom is the disease. We can pretend the disease is better, but that doesn’t make it true. That’s the reason most doctors think type 2 diabetes a chronic and progressive disease. We’ve been using the wrong treatment. We’ve been prescribing drugs for a dietary disease. No wonder it doesn’t work.
- Medications and insulin do nothing to slow down the progression of this organ damage, because they do not eliminate the toxic sugar load from our body. We’ve known this inconvenient fact since 2008.
- Once we understand type 2 diabetes, then the solution becomes pretty bloody obvious. If we have too much sugar in the body, then get rid of it. There are really only two ways to get rid of the excessive sugar in the body. First, don’t put sugar in anything. Second, burn off the sugar.
- No sugar
- No fake sugar
- No ice cream
- No chocolate
- No flour
- No corn
- No wheat
- No oats
- No beer
- No hard cider
- No wine – Replaced all alcohol with lime-infused vodka and sparling water
- No processed anything
- No sitting on my ass (and get into the gym)
- No kidding
In about 6 weeks, I dropped 20-25 pounds (that is a guess because I did not check often). While I was in this mental weight loss mode – which many people said it was the “keto diet,” which in all honesty, I knew almost nothing about – I ended up watching a PBS marathon special that featured Doctor Joel Fuhrman. He is the author of the book Eat to Live, and in his PBS special, he spoke about certain foods that have the highest levels of micronutrients.
This special was designed to specifically discuss ways to eat foods that destroys and prevents cancer, but there was a statement that he made in his special that was quite interesting. If your body can adjust to eating these foods that are micronutrient dense, and you get healthier, your taste in these food sources become better and you adapt (I’m paraphrasing mind you).
Then he discussed his G-BOMBS list, which is a list of foods that fight cancer. They are:
- G for greens
- First B is for beans
- O for onions
- M for mushrooms
- Second B for berries (specifically blueberries, blackberries, raspberries, and strawberries)
- S for seeds
I made sure to incorporate these foods into my diet routine. My favorite go-to dish is a medium cooked, open face, flame grilled hamburger with gruyere cheese, topped with thin-sliced sautéed onions, diced mushrooms, and shredded/diced brussel sprouts, seasoned with a pinch of pink or rock salt, garlic powder, and some paprika, with no french fries, potato chips, or bun.
In five more weeks, I dropped another 12 pounds. I tried to hit the gym but with a significant issue with my left shoulder I had to give up the gym but would later do physical therapy for task #2 which started after I went back to the doctor 13 weeks later for a recheck.
After the initial diagnosis, I spent time on my motorcycle for 26 days travelling from southern New Jersey, to Austin Texas, To Orlando Florida, then back home with the temperature on average 98 degrees Fahrenheit. Travelling over 3,600 miles like this and sticking to my diet plan was not easy, but hearing those words “you are now a diabetic” was all the willpower I really needed. While headed to across the country, Mexican food was my friend. My favorite disk on the road like this was a fajita plate with chicken (sometimes beef) where I did eat some carbohydrates in the form of whole black or refried pinto beans. I made sure to order it always with no sour cream (personal taste thing for me – I never liked it), no tortillas, no rice, and substitute that with more shredded lettuce.
And the results were in! I ended up with an A1C that fell below pre-diabetic levels. When I asked her what that meant, she said “you have no signs of diabetes anymore.” She also saw that my sugar levels were much lower and could tell they were being burned off, and took me off the metformin. My next check is in the second week of January 2019.
Shortly after this, in order to get myself back into the gym, I went for some PT to correct a pinching pain in my left shoulder and a deep targeted ache in my right SI joint, which I am still doing. The idea is to get back into the gym properly before 1 January 2019 rolls around.
Since that visit, I am now down 43 pounds. I am currently diabetes free, and intend to stay that way.
After the next checkup, I am going to have to address the cholesterol thing, and I am hoping that I can get back to gym activities to hyper-focus on that. I will most likely have to change the diet again and remove myself from the fatty proteins of the beef and pork I consume, and like my commitment before – this is something I will do.