Beating Diabetes and Running Down Dreams
For the past couple of years, I’ve been trying to beat back type-2 diabetes. Either that or I’ve been trying to kill myself. Until a few weeks ago, I wasn’t sure which.
When I first started, I quit junk food cold turkey and began a workout routine that would’ve given Clark Kent cramps. After a few months, it worked; I was taken off medication and given a clean bill of health. Of course, being my usual self-destructive self, I decided to celebrate by falling off the wagon. The result was dangerously high blood sugar levels that landed me in the emergency unit on two occasions.
On top of all that, I wasn’t getting much done on the writing front. I was up half an hour before I was to be at work, pausing only to shave and pack breakfast. I would eat a bowl of sweetened fruit for breakfast (at work), and drink about three gallons of coffee to get through the day. I would tell myself that I would accomplish whatever herculean task I had planned that night. The problem was, I was so wiped out by the time I came home that I would often promise myself that I would get to it “tomorrow”. Then, inevitably, the week would come to an end, all of those ‘tomorrows’ would catch up to me and I’d end up cursing myself every Friday for allowing myself to get buried in work. Sometimes I could dig myself out of it, others not, and I rarely wound up satisfied with the end result.
Then, I tried this ‘balance’ thing that everyone kept talking about.
A few weeks ago, I altered my routine. Nothing drastic, mind you, just a few changes here and there to accommodate the dual purpose of keeping my blood sugar in check and writing every day. It turned out to be one of the best decisions I’ve ever made; I accomplish about three thousand words a week, I stay on top of my social networking, and I haven’t registered a high blood sugar reading in almost three weeks. As an added bonus, my girlfriend doesn’t complain (as much) about me taking time away from her. To give her credit, she puts up with a lot. I’ve tried to ensure she knows I appreciate her sacrifice.
I thought I’d share my routine, since it works for me. If you take something from it or want to pass along advice, feel free.
7:00am-7:45am: Up; check blood sugar, light workout that includes pushups, situps, shadowboxing, and pilates, shave, prep breakfast. Automatic coffee maker makes life so much easier.
7:45am-9:00am: Breakfast; this has become my favorite part of the day, because this is when I do my best writing. Breakfast is Honey-Nut Cheerios, coffee with cinnamon, and a bowl of strawberries/blueberries. My writing goal is five hundred words a day and one completed chapter a week. So far, I’ve made that goal.
9:10am-9:30am: Walk to work. It’s about a mile, one block of which is an annoyingly and increasingly steep hill.
11:30am-11:45: Mid-morning snack, usually something sugary, I won’t lie. I also try to do ten laps around my office at break, and I owe the people I work with a hug for putting up with the consistent pacing. They’re all very much aware of it. 
This is critical; the ten laps I do reduce my blood sugar by maybe ten or fifteen points, which can make the difference between a high and normal reading.
1:30pm-2:30pm: Lunch (usually). It’s either a salad (lettuce, tomato, green onion, jalapenos, sliced chicken and roast beef, shredded sharp cheese, Italian seasoning, and ranch dressing), or, if I didn’t feel like making lunch, the Subway Club. Every so often I slip and get the Big Philly. Considering that the sandwich makes me woozy, I try to stay away from it. I also try to get in twenty laps here.
4:30pm-4:45pm: Final break, ten more laps.
I would like to point out that time ceases to move after the final break when you work in a call center.
6:30pm-6:45pm: The walk home.
I turn into a whirlwind when I get in, showering, making lunch, and doing the dishes by seven or so. I spend a little time on the phone with Molly and the kids, and then dedicate the night to research, twitter, and taking notes. It may not be a perfect system, but it works for me.
Thanks for reading.
Expect an update soon.
(c) Avery K. Tingle for Modern Magic Enterprises LTD and Nomadic Productions LLC
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