jstanlick needs to answer some questions

[jstanlick]

Last challenge was about surviving a hectic April and May. While I survived, I managed to raise a lot of questions. This challenge will be the first steps towards getting those questions answered.

 

Question #1: Reducing carbs has been great for my blood sugars. Could a ketogenic diet be even better?

I've read numerous studies on the subject now. All of them seem to suggest that keto is a great way for folks with diabetes (and everyone in general) to control their blood sugar. The downside as I see it, is trying to stay on such a diet in the Western world while everyone around is no where close to it...including your own family. So, my goal is to begin transitioning to keto and see how it goes. If it goes well, I will continue down this path as long as things continue to go well. The first step, will be to watch net carbs and work on getting them lower. I will most likely be eating too much protein and not enough fat to get to ketosis. It will likely look very Paleo. There are a couple of apps I'm going to try out on my phone to see if they are more helpful than MyFitnessPal has been. Not that it hasn't been helpful, but it is lacking in this regard. My goal is to be under 60 net carbs by challenge end.

 

Question #2: I love running, so I don't want to give it up. I also really like lifting heavy things. Notice the difference? Guess which one wins out when time gets short? Lifting heavy things has a better long term effect on my blood sugar numbers. Can I figure out a way to make it a habit as much as running is? Another case for technology perhaps?

Well, maybe not quite like that. There are a couple of apps I'm looking at trying out this/future challenge(s). The first one is going to be an app called FitBod. I've always done my own lifting routines. I'm going to try to follow someone else's. I like how this app takes into account your goals and recent progress and comes up with the next workout in the progression for you. Kinda feels like having a personal trainer. My goal is to get 3 strength building workouts in per week (and however many miles I can fit in between, last week was 12 the week before was 6.5)

 

Question #3: Quiet time and stress relief seem hard to come by. Can I come up with a way/schedule to allow for the time?

I should probably turn to technology for this as well. We'll see. But, for now, I'm going to work on giving myself 15-30 minutes a day of time to just reflect. That's it. That's the whole goal. 15-30 minutes a day.

 

Question #4: I've had a lot of people asking me questions over the last few months, thanks to my appearance change. There are a lot more people with diabetes than I ever knew, and a lot of them have no idea where to start or begin to make lifestyle changes. Is there something I can do to help them out?

I've been toying with the idea of a blog specifically for this. The problem is there are a lot of blogs out there. To the point that they seem to add to the confusion. When everyone seems to have an opinion that runs counter to everyone else, who do you trust? I think my best answer to that is to simply answer the questions people have been asking me in person. What do you eat now? What does your exercise regimen look like? How did you find something that works for you so well? In truth, these are questions I got from both of the doctors as well. So, I'm going to start something and see if it has any legs.

[Sloth the Enduring]

Here for the fit bod.

[jstanlick]

Here for the fit bod.

I see what you did there. [emoji16]

===============================

I realized that I owed people a recap of the 5K race against the co-workers.

First, due to construction, the route was changed slightly which made it a 5.3K race. The reigning champ is still the reigning champ. 3 years in a row. We hate that guy. He finished in 22:10 in 87 degree temps. The heat was brutal. Sadly I was not the top finishing old person. Our new CEO who is 2 years older than me to the day, finished 2nd with a time of 22:23.

I finished 7th at 25:13. A whole 3 minutes behind those two and according to Strava it was my 4th best time on that course. It was the 2nd best time in the over 40 category. We just had to get a new CEO a month ago. Haha! I do like him though, when he looked at a bunch of the other runners and said, “Wait, 2 old guys out ran you guys? See you next Thursday [tomorrow] for a group run.” The heat was pretty brutal though, and I thought I prepared for it. Many of them thought they’d just run. It beat them down.

First 1 1/2 miles were okay. I was right on my best pace. The remainder was just a grind. I did beat many people who finished ahead of me the last two years. In fact, for the first time ever, I finished ahead of the walkers who start after the runners and only cover 1 mile and usually spend a lot of time congregating at the water table. Each year this race has been moved up a month to avoid the heat. (July, then June, now May). Each year the heat has found us.

In total, there were 73 runners and 47 walkers. Not bad participation for an office with 180 people working out of it. Together we raised over $1,200 for the Make-a-Wish Foundation, and that’s really the most important thing. There’s a local kid we’ve adopted this year and we’ve been raising money to send him to Cooperstown for the MLB Hall of Fame.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Xena]

I love that you are trying to share what you've figure out and learned to help others. I think the blog sounds like a good idea.

 

I know it's a completely different thing, but I write a monthly blog in association with my job (I head a small research lab). I've found it to be really helpful, not just because people stumble across it on their own, but also because when people ask me certain kinds of questions, I have some content I can point them to.

 

I'm sure your blog will be good because you've done a lot of research already, even going to primary scientific literature. You'll be able to link to other sources that you've found useful and help other people to sort through the whole sea of content. I say go for it!

 

So as far as keto, definitely try moving in that direction if you want to. I'm wondering if you really need to reduce your blood sugar further? It sounds like you already have it within healthy guidelines. Is lower better? (I literally don't know, just asking).

 

Thanks for the race report too!!

[jonfirestar]

16 hours ago, jstanlick said:

I love running, so I don't want to give it up. I also really like lifting heavy things. Notice the difference?

 

That is exactly my problem right now! I'll have to checkout that app too. I need something to actually get myself lifting again. 

 

 

[jstanlick]

14 hours ago, jstanlick said:

I see what you did there.

Hmm, the emoji that showed up here was not the one on my phone's keyboard. He's supposed to be smiling. Looks like he's having a colonoscopy.

 

14 hours ago, Xena said:

I love that you are trying to share what you've figure out and learned to help others. I think the blog sounds like a good idea.

 

I know it's a completely different thing, but I write a monthly blog in association with my job (I head a small research lab). I've found it to be really helpful, not just because people stumble across it on their own, but also because when people ask me certain kinds of questions, I have some content I can point them to.

 

I'm sure your blog will be good because you've done a lot of research already, even going to primary scientific literature. You'll be able to link to other sources that you've found useful and help other people to sort through the whole sea of content. I say go for it!

 

So as far as keto, definitely try moving in that direction if you want to. I'm wondering if you really need to reduce your blood sugar further? It sounds like you already have it within healthy guidelines. Is lower better? (I literally don't know, just asking).

 

Thanks for the race report too!!

It seems like there is an information overload on the subject and people don't know how to absorb it. I'm hoping just by sharing my experience (what went right, what were the mistakes, etc.) it might make more sense to folks.

 

6 hours ago, jonfirestar said:

 

That is exactly my problem right now! I'll have to checkout that app too. I need something to actually get myself lifting again. 

 

 

I used it for the first time last night. I liked it so far. But, they give you 3 "trial workouts" and then you need to upgrade to the Elite version. We'll see if cheapstake me is willing to fork over the cash for it. There are also other apps I'm looking into because...well, see previous sentence.

[Salinger]

How you doing? x

[Sylvaa]

I missed that you started a new challenge! 

 

I am obviously here for the solidarity when eating differently than the rest of the family!

[TGP]

16 hours ago, jstanlick said:

I see what you did there.

===============================

I realized that I owed people a recap of the 5K race against the co-workers.

First, due to construction, the route was changed slightly which made it a 5.3K race. The reigning champ is still the reigning champ. 3 years in a row. We hate that guy. He finished in 22:10 in 87 degree temps. The heat was brutal. Sadly I was not the top finishing old person. Our new CEO who is 2 years older than me to the day, finished 2nd with a time of 22:23.

I finished 7th at 25:13. A whole 3 minutes behind those two and according to Strava it was my 4th best time on that course. It was the 2nd best time in the over 40 category. We just had to get a new CEO a month ago. Haha! I do like him though, when he looked at a bunch of the other runners and said, “Wait, 2 old guys out ran you guys? See you next Thursday [tomorrow] for a group run.” The heat was pretty brutal though, and I thought I prepared for it. Many of them thought they’d just run. It beat them down.

First 1 1/2 miles were okay. I was right on my best pace. The remainder was just a grind. I did beat many people who finished ahead of me the last two years. In fact, for the first time ever, I finished ahead of the walkers who start after the runners and only cover 1 mile and usually spend a lot of time congregating at the water table. Each year this race has been moved up a month to avoid the heat. (July, then June, now May). Each year the heat has found us.

In total, there were 73 runners and 47 walkers. Not bad participation for an office with 180 people working out of it. Together we raised over $1,200 for the Make-a-Wish Foundation, and that’s really the most important thing. There’s a local kid we’ve adopted this year and we’ve been raising money to send him to Cooperstown for the MLB Hall of Fame.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

thats  a pretty fantastic race, Jay.

 

I love the fact that you got the 4th best time on the course even more- with all that heat!  the job of beating your own time is always the best mental game.

Apparently you were well prepared for it.

 

Good Job!

[jstanlick]

1 hour ago, Salinger said:

How you doing? x

At the moment?

Just finished 4.3 miles in 86 degree weather. I was promised it would be cooler outside. Well, promised might be a bit strong, but the forecast was supposed to be less heat than yesterday.

 

Anyhoo, good to see you!

 

1 hour ago, Sylvaa said:

I missed that you started a new challenge! 

 

I am obviously here for the solidarity when eating differently than the rest of the family!

Yeah, I took @Elastigirl's advice and waited until other people had published their challenge to see if there was good stuff to steal borrow copy. So, I didn't create this thread until yesterday.

 

I read your challenge on the food stuffs and just think, "Yep, know that feeling." But, it does help me greatly to know I'm not the only one. Even if our answer to the "Why are you doing that?" is a little different, we seem to be standing on similar paths.

 

34 minutes ago, TGP said:

thats  a pretty fantastic race, Jay.

 

I love the fact that you got the 4th best time on the course even more- with all that heat!  the job of beating your own time is always the best mental game.

Apparently you were well prepared for it.

 

Good Job!

Ya know, I spent most of the track season trying to get my team to think in terms of beating their own best time. And the first real competition I'm in after the season ends, I turned into them and was trying to beat everyone else instead of myself.  I guess I'm more of a "Do as I say not as I do" kind of coach

 

[Elastigirl]

Yay for being fashionably late to the party. I like your plan for just slowly moving toward Keto and seeing how it works. Congrats on the race. Next time you should throw out banana peels in front of the guy who always wins

[Xena]

I don't remember if we talked about this last year or not. Have you tried any of the temperature/time calculators? Like this one:

https://runnersconnect.net/training/tools/temperature-calculator/

 

Depending on what you actually want to calculate, you might have to sort of "reverse engineer" it.

 

They are kind of fun...for the nerdy among us (and around here, that's pretty much everyone)

[jstanlick]

3 hours ago, Elastigirl said:

Yay for being fashionably late to the party. I like your plan for just slowly moving toward Keto and seeing how it works. Congrats on the race. Next time you should throw out banana peels in front of the guy who always wins

We actually teased one of the race attendants to let traffic through when he came by so he'd have to wait for it so the rest of us could catch up

 

I figured I would attempt to get closer to Keto and then try to keep getting closer. I'm hoping the switch will be gradual enough that way so that I can get used to it while other people eat their stuff, and it won't seem like such a big change.

 

57 minutes ago, Xena said:

I don't remember if we talked about this last year or not. Have you tried any of the temperature/time calculators? Like this one:

https://runnersconnect.net/training/tools/temperature-calculator/

 

Depending on what you actually want to calculate, you might have to sort of "reverse engineer" it.

 

They are kind of fun...for the nerdy among us (and around here, that's pretty much everyone)

This is pretty cool. I'm gonna have to bookmark this page. Thanks for the link!!

 

[jstanlick]

On 5/30/2018 at 9:01 PM, Xena said:

So as far as keto, definitely try moving in that direction if you want to. I'm wondering if you really need to reduce your blood sugar further? It sounds like you already have it within healthy guidelines. Is lower better? (I literally don't know, just asking)

I realized I didn't answer this question. So, here's the deal, my blood sugar when I monitor it super closely (both doctors and a nurse said it was good enough that I could probably get by checking it once per day) averages right around to just above 100. 70 to 100 is considered "normal". If you haven't been diagnosed diabetic and your numbers are in the 100-125 range, they call you borderline or pre-diabetic. Unless you are a diagnosed diabetic, then for some reason they change the  rules and say 80 - 130 is normal, or good enough. Since I'm not a Type I diabetic and I don't take any medication, I'm not overly concerned with my numbers going to low as my liver should kick in and create any glucose my body needs from fat an protein stores.

 

So, if I'm in what is considered a good range, why would I want it to go lower? While they will never tell you that you've cured yourself of diabetes (i.e. I'll always be a diabetic), but you can reverse diabetes. And ultimately, that is determined by a different blood test called the HbA1c test. The HbA1c measures the glycated hemoglobin in your blood. The A1c really more of an average score for your blood sugar. Less than 5.7% is normal. 5.8 - 6.4 is pre-diabetic and over 6.5% is considered to be diabetic. My last reading was 6%, which jives with the blood sugar readings which measure the blood sugar at that moment in time. Multiple studies have shown that lowering your A1c by 1% can greatly reduce your risk for microvascular complications, cataracts, heart failure and amputations. I'm not sure what dropping it 5.8% does, but its gotta be good I think. I'm shooting to get it under the 5.7% and then I can say I've reversed it.

[Xena]

That's a great answer! I figured you had thought it out pretty well.

[jstanlick]

On 6/1/2018 at 9:30 PM, Xena said:

That's a great answer! I figured you had thought it out pretty well.

Well, I like to think so, but that's mostly to feed my ego

 

[jstanlick]

Time for an update.

 

On Saturday I started using the Carb Manager app in earnest. It's UI isn't as streamlined as it could be, but other than that, I like it. Having it track my carbs, net carbs and diabetic carbs (kinda like net carbs but a little different) makes things easier than doing the math in my head and thinking I'm on target but not really tracking it day to day. So far so good with that.

 

On Sunday I went for a 10K run. The weather was so much better than a week prior. Not only did I not feel like dying, according to my GPS apps, it was my fastest 10K time. I'll take that. Plus, I got to run some trails that I have never run before. I planned to last week but bailed in the heat. This time I got to take the trail around the lake in the county park for the first time. Unfortunately, I am still behind on the lifting. I like the FitBod app and the idea behind it. Just not sure if I'm willing to pay for it.

 

On Monday, I chaperoned the 1st graders annual trip to the zoo. Every school in the Milwaukee area had the same idea for the last week of classes I think. I couldn't have asked for the kids to behave much better that they did. The adults on the other hand...another rant for another day. But the kids were great and they will never see a bald eagle, horned owl or snow leopard any closer than they did yesterday. If I wasn't worried about those beaks or talons, I could have reached out and touched the birds. And the snow leopard usually hides in his hollowed out log, but he was laying up against the glass. He looked at the kids, licked his lips and went back to sleep. I had to laugh. We also went swimming at the municipal pool for the first time this summer, and then 5 minutes after we got there I had flashbacks to my days as a lifeguard when I jumped in to grab my youngest son. The kid is normally a fish, but he jumped in, his goggles slipped around his face so he couldn't open his eyes and then he inhaled a bunch of water and panicked. Did I mention it was also my daughter's first day of working at the pool? She was quite embarrassed with her younger brother. I was a bit unsettled for a couple of reasons 1) It was my kid and he was genuinely struggling and 2) I got to him before the lifeguard made it all the way out of his chair. Granted I had a head start and a ton of adrenaline, but I'm also 46 not 19. Kinda figured he'd at least be in the water by then.

 

Oh well, he's fine, my daughter got a taste of what working at a swimming pool is like, and I went home and worked on my calming down goal. All's well that end's well, right? Speaking of said goal, the start of the week didn't go so well, but it finished out okay and is continuing into this week. Just finished a 4.5 mile run, so I feel pretty good.

[Elastigirl]

Oh my, how scary. Glad you were watching  and able to help your son

[Sloth the Enduring]

Plus now you have a big “you owe me” should you ever need it.

[Salinger]

Glad your son is ok. And great job on all the running!! x

[jstanlick]

16 hours ago, Elastigirl said:

Oh my, how scary. Glad you were watching  and able to help your son

It was more weird than scary because he's normally a strong swimmer. At first I thought he was clowning around and I was starting to get angry because that's not a good joke choice at a swimming pool. Then I realized it wasn't a joke and I hit the water. It's kind of funny how sometimes our brain turns itself off and lets the body just do what it does. Although I thought that muscle memory had long since developed dementia. I guess not.

 

16 hours ago, Sloth the Enduring said:

Plus now you have a big “you owe me” should you ever need it.

I suppose. Like I said, I held advantage over him: I wasn't up in a chair and I was closer to my son than the guard was. But, since the pool just opened, I hope it does put him and keep him on his toes. That place is going to be a lot more crowded this summer than it was Monday night. 6 PM with temps around 68 and a 15-20 MPH wind did not exactly bring in the hordes of people that the afternoon sun at 90 degrees with dew points in the 70's will.

 

7 hours ago, Salinger said:

Glad your son is ok. And great job on all the running!! x

Thanks! Although the running is still me being a little lazy and not hitting the weights. But, my body might force me the way of the weights anyway. I woke up this morning with a calf muscle that was so tight it was hard to walk normal. I've got an appointment with my foam roller when I get home from work I think.

[jstanlick]

So far this week I'm averaging 73.15 net carbs per day according to the new app I've been using. Comparing that to my own math and MyFitnessPal, where I was getting 65 for those same days. The difference seems to be mostly attributed to the calculation of sugar alcohols contribution to changing one's blood sugar. Sugar alcohols are rarely included in the nutrition breakdown on MyFitnessPal unless someone created their own entry for net carbs. However, most people use the Atkins model and completely subtract out the sugar alcohols when a more accurate number for its effect on your blood sugar would be to subtract out roughly half of them. So, I feel like the Carb Manager app is more accurate in this regard. It's database is not as large as MyFitnessPal's nor is it indexed as well and I have to do more searching to find stuff and even inputting stuff myself from the labels. That's where I'm at with that question/answer. So, my goal of getting to 60 net carbs is farther off than I previously thought when I set the goal.

 

Today's exercise plan is a bit up in the air. I'm supposed to go for a lunch run with co-workers. But my right calf is still very tight despite lots of quality time with my foam roller. The weather is perfect for a run and I really want to go. I'm just not sure about the calf and am wondering if it would be better to skip it and hit the weights instead. That is probably the smarter play. Knowing myself, I will probably try a run, see how it goes and turn back if its not going well and then feel bad about a "failed" run and not lift anything. Or, I will attempt to tough it out and make the calf worse and have it take longer to heal. This is the situation I'm trying to avoid. If I turned back early and used the extra time to lift something, I would feel much better. That's not what I usually do though in this situation. So, wish me luck on not doing what I usually do

 

[jonfirestar]

9 minutes ago, jstanlick said:

The weather is perfect for a run and I really want to go. I'm just not sure about the calf and am wondering if it would be better to skip it and hit the weights instead.

I'm not telling you what to do because I can't know how your calf feels but I can tell you that ignoring a niggle in my calf ended up knocking me out for a few weeks over the winter. 

[Xena]

Would think the run would be fine if you were going on your own, but the added dynamic of going with other people makes it easy to push too hard. Would have suggested lifting instead. But if you ran, hope it all went well!

[jstanlick]

10 hours ago, jonfirestar said:

I'm not telling you what to do because I can't know how your calf feels but I can tell you that ignoring a niggle in my calf ended up knocking me out for a few weeks over the winter. 

Yeah, I’ve had muscle tightness turn into muscle pulls in the past. Not fun...and super frustrating during the summer months. I decided to give it a go at a slower pace. 

 

19 minutes ago, Xena said:

Would think the run would be fine if you were going on your own, but the added dynamic of going with other people makes it easy to push too hard. Would have suggested lifting instead. But if you ran, hope it all went well!

As it turns out, I had a meeting that ran long and I missed the rest of the group. So, I decided an easy 5K would be worth trying and if things got worse, I’d stop and go back to the gym and lift. After the first half mile, it didn’t feel any worse than when I started. After about 2 miles it was starting to feel better. Now, 5 hours later it’s still okay. Taking the boys swimming after work helped keep it loose I think. But I’ve still got some quality time with my foam roller coming up.