|
|
Posts Tagged ‘Type 2 Diabetes’
Friday, July 2nd, 2010
Today I’m switching gears from the charter school advocacy and education reform entries that I’ve been posting all week. Instead, today we take a quick look at the office and see where we can improve the aura of the workplace. A few months ago the New York Times posted an entry on one of its blogs that talked about why you should stand up when you work. What did the blog entry argue as the main reason to get up while working?
So part of the problem with sitting a lot is that you don’t use as much energy as those who spend more time on their feet. This makes it easier to gain weight, and makes you more prone to the health problems that fatness often brings.
But it looks as though there’s a more sinister aspect to sitting, too. Several strands of evidence suggest that there’s a “physiology of inactivity”: that when you spend long periods sitting, your body actually does things that are bad for you.
As an example, consider lipoprotein lipase. This is a molecule that plays a central role in how the body processes fats; it’s produced by many tissues, including muscles. Low levels of lipoprotein lipase are associated with a variety of health problems, including heart disease. Studies in rats show that leg muscles only produce this molecule when they are actively being flexed (for example, when the animal is standing up and ambling about). The implication is that when you sit, a crucial part of your metabolism slows down.
Pretty bad stuff, huh? But wait, the blog entry goes on to talk about how reducing physical activity actually hurts people who are already physically fit. Take a look at this research:
Nor is lipoprotein lipase the only molecule affected by muscular inactivity. Actively contracting muscles produce a whole suite of substances that have a beneficial effect on how the body uses and stores sugars and fats.
Which might explain the following result. Men who normally walk a lot (about 10,000 steps per day, as measured by a pedometer) were asked to cut back (to about 1,350 steps per day) for two weeks, by using elevators instead of stairs, driving to work instead of walking and so on. By the end of the two weeks, all of them had became worse at metabolizing sugars and fats. Their distribution of body fat had also altered — they had become fatter around the middle. Such changes are among the first steps on the road to diabetes.
Certainly not good news by any stretch of the imagination. Part of me believes that the reason why I’ve been hit with an onset of Type 2 Diabetes is because of the dramatic change in lifestyle that I underwent during the latter part of 2006. It was at that time when I graduated from graduate school and began working full-time. Working full-time forced me into a two-hour daily commute (which used to be the two hours I would spend in the gym) as well as to sit behind a computer for the vast majority of my day. Not a good change for a person who is prone to gaining weight, you know?
If you have a chance, click on the link to the article that’s posted above. I think you’ll enjoy reading it.
Posted in Random Entries | No Comments »
Sunday, March 21st, 2010
What a wonderful series of days we’ve had down here at the Jersey Shore, huh? Thursday was beautiful, Friday was absolutely gorgeous, and yesterday – the first day of Spring – was just about as perfect a day as you can ask for with the weather. It is incredible to think that only two or three weeks ago we were stuck indoors because of snowstorm after snowstorm piling multiple feet of snow all around the state. Absolutely amazing.
I’ve been running around like a crazy person since last weekend. In fact, when I look back at my schedule, I’m amazed at how fast the week flew away. I spent last Sunday at my Grandmother’s husband’s wake, last Monday at home in Tinton Falls where I researched and wrote a twelve page paper before heading to the class that I’m taking at night, Tuesday and Wednesday catching up on a variety of work building up at my office, Thursday and Friday at the New Jersey Charter Schools Association’s annual conference (which was AWESOME – stay tuned for more posts about the conference), and yesterday up in New Brunswick having dinner and good times with my coworkers.
I would be remiss if I didn’t briefly mention an odd coincidence during dinner last night. I was in the middle of telling a story to my coworkers when I noticed a familiar face out of the corner of my eye. Turns out that my doctor was at the same bar/restaurant – Old Man Rafferty’s – that my coworkers and I were at! And what’s even weirder is that of the six of us who went out for dinner, two of us use this doctor as our general practitioner! We didn’t draw the doctor’s attention because I was eating fettuccine alfredo and my coworker was drinking a beer – both of which our doctor told us we shouldn’t be doing (we each have different health issues – long story). But it was definitely weird to see our doctor hanging out with his buddies when we were all about 40 minutes from our home area.
Maybe it was God trying to send us both a message about doing what our doctor tells us to do!
Anyway, my happy announcement today is that my latest student loan payment check has been processed by the people at the New Jersey Higher Education Student Assistance Authority. Thus, my overall student loan debt has fallen from $90 thousand to $89 thousand. If you ask me, that’s a pretty happy announcement – especially since it means that I’m getting closer to the next milestone in my student loan repayment plan.
In May 2006, I graduated from Rutgers University with a Masters Degree and $120,720 in student loan debt. I currently owe $89 thousand, which breaks down to $34 thousand owed to the New Jersey Higher Education Student Assistance Authority and $55 thousand owed to the United States Department of Education. Follow my student loan repayment story on JerseySmarts.com.
Posted in Student Loans, The State of New Jersey | 1 Comment »
Thursday, February 25th, 2010
Way back in November the New York Times published an article on their Wellness Blog that I found extremely interesting, if not completely obvious. The article talked about the results of a recent study which proved that exercise – even intense exercise – is not the only answer to losing weight. The articles says:
But few people, an overwhelming body of research shows, achieve significant weight loss with exercise alone, not without changing their eating habits. A new study from scientists at the University of Colorado School of Medicine in Denver offers some reasons why.
Sometimes you have to stop and wonder why certain things are studied. I mean do we really need a study that proves working out isn’t the only factor in losing weight? Heck, the researchers could have come to study me (or any one of us, right?)! I think one of the most interesting parts of the article was this revelation:
To their surprise, the researchers found that none of the groups, including the athletes, experienced “afterburn.” They did not use additional body fat on the day when they exercised. In fact, most of the subjects burned slightly less fat over the 24-hour study period when they exercised than when they did not.
Have you ever heard someone tell you that you should work out in the morning because then your body burns more calories throughout the day? Well, turns out that this study claims otherwise. In fact, not only do you not burn more calories throughout the day, but you actually burn less calories after working out! How crazy is that?!
Even though the researchers proved that the essence of losing weight is all about “energy in and energy out” (i.e. burning more calories than you take in), they did come up with some additional, almost common sense findings.
Perhaps just as important, bear in mind that exercise has benefits beyond weight reduction. In the study of obese people who took up exercise, most became notably healthier, increasing their aerobic capacity, decreasing their blood pressure and resting heart rates, and, the authors write, achieving “an acute exercise-induced increase in positive mood,” leading the authors to conclude that, “significant and meaningful health benefits can be achieved even in the presence of lower than expected exercise-induced weight loss.”
Well that’s good news, huh? Who doesn’t want to be a little bit healthier or get better readings at the doctor’s office? Once upon a time I used to work out every morning and then go swimming for an hour every night. I dropped a ton of weight during that time. I also remember being markedly more upbeat during that time, too. I definitely didn’t have this stupid Type 2 Diabetes or the aches and pains in my body. Of course, this was all back when I was in graduate school.
Which begs me to ask the question (again) – where is the study showing the best methods for a working person to lose weight? If you’re busy doing something work-related from 7am to 9pm on most days, when are you supposed to work out? Further, what if you have an extended commute that is exhausting in itself? Where is that study?!
If you get a chance, I would recommend reading the article linked above. It’s a quick, informative read.
Posted in Gym Stories | 2 Comments »
Saturday, January 2nd, 2010
At JerseySmarts.com, I try to avoid adding conventionally-themed content to the blog in matters that most people deal with in their daily lives. With that in mind, I really don’t want to sound like every other blogger out there who is jumping on the bandwagon of not making New Year’s resolutions. In years past, some of you may remember that I posted New Year’s resolutions on this blog and the truth is that I met many of those goals. However, this year I want to do something different and instead of making a series of resolutions, I thought that I would just briefly comment on some broad goals that I have for myself in 2010. Much of the information included below is a whittled down version of more in-depth goals that I am mentally keeping for myself. You’ll notice that my goals fit into three broad categories: health, finances, and professional achievement. Overarching those three categories is a larger goal – the idea of fitness (discussed at the end of this entry).
Health. The biggest health issue that I have to tackle in 2010 is getting firm control over my Type 2 Diabetes. In reality, I think that the cocktail of oral medications that I’ve been taking since my August 2009 diagnosis has the situation under control, but I want to begin reducing the amount of medications that I’m taking sooner rather than later. To do that, I really only have one choice – lose a bunch of weight.
In 2010, I have a broad goal to lose some weight. I’m not talking about a gigantic weight loss where I’m losing over 100 pounds in a few months – I’ve done that before when I was a graduate student and it’s not feasible to accomplish that type of goal when I have a great deal of real world responsibilities to attend to these days. However, I’d like to lose between 5 and 7 pounds per month for the next year. I’m starting out 2010 weighing in at 340 pounds, so if I was to lose an average of 6 pounds each month, I could start 2011 weighing in at 268 pounds. Even if I was able to lose just 60 pounds in the next year, I’d be pleased. All I know is that with the onset of Type 2 Diabetes, the need to lose weight becomes very real.
Finances. Some of you might sense the gravity of my health in the words that I used above. Well, to me, it is equally important that I payoff a tremendous amount of my student loan debt in 2010. In total, I’m starting 2010 with $96,680 in student loan debt. That $96 thousand breaks down as $55,129 owed to the United States Department of Education and $41,551 owed to the New Jersey Higher Education Student Assistance Authority (NJHESAA). Yes, I know that owing $96 thousand is disgusting for a guy in his late 20′s, but if you can believe it I actually started repaying my student loans in June 2006 when the total amount that I owed was $120,720. Pretty gross, right?
Some people get busy starting their lives after they graduate college or graduate school. Not me. I graduated from graduate school and started getting busy repaying my student loans. And I’ve actually been pretty successful. I’ve repaid $24,040 in principal since I began repaying these student loans. I don’t have an exact breakout of how much interest I’ve paid since June 2006, but I intend to get that number once I finally pay these damn things off.
But I digress…
In November 2009, I created a financial plan that allows me to make large payments towards the NJHESAA student loan. If I can stick to this plan, I’ll end 2010 owing about $19,000 on the NJHESAA loan. That figure doesn’t account for interest to be paid in the coming year, but it also doesn’t account for any payments over and above the ones I have laid out in my plan. Oh, and to get a head start on the 2010 goals, I began my plan for repaying this loan in early December 2009 and even devoted a large portion of my December 31, 2009 paycheck towards maintaining the head start that I have on my 2010 goal.
The NJHESAA loan is in my crosshairs…
Professional Achievement. After paying so much to get my current Bachelor’s and Master’s Degrees (see above), I decided to put my plans to get a Doctorate on hold until a later time. However, I want to mentally stay in “game shape” so that when I decide to get a Doctorate I am prepared for the rigors of doctoral study from the first class through the final thesis defense. In order to keep myself thinking as an advanced degree student might think, I enrolled in a Graduate Certificate program at the local college where I teach. Why enroll in this college? That’s easy – I get to take the courses for free! Again, see above if you want to know why this might be appealing to me…
I also wrote out an entire list of goals for 2010 for my small website company – Usable Web Solutions, LLC. And as far as being an adjunct professor in the coming year, I hope to continually improve upon the classes that I teach via integrating relevant student feedback into the design of these courses and continuing to refine my course materials (PowerPoint presentations, handouts, and YouTube videos) to better teach my students.
The Overarching Goal: The Idea of Fitness
I specifically chose to write “the idea of fitness” because I want to break everyone’s idea that being “fit” only applies to one’s health. I think that the goals listed above make it very clear that I am striving towards achieving a greater level of efficiency and achievement in these three areas of my life. By doing so, I will have to train myself in certain skills and unlearn some existing habits. The end result of these efforts will be that I am in a better position come 2011 than I am at the beginning of 2010; essentially, I will be more physically, economically, and professional “fit.” And that’s why I chose “the idea of fitness” as the overarching goal for 2010 – because if I can make great strides towards achieving and hopefully achieve the three broader goals that I have listed above, then I’ll be a more “fit” person for the efforts.
We’ll be sure to check back in 2011 to see how far along I’ve come on meeting these goals! I’ve got a good feeling about 2010…
Posted in Winter & Christmas Time | 1 Comment »
Monday, December 21st, 2009
While some 8% of the United States population is diabetic there are millions more who do not even know that they have this condition. Lord knows that I had no idea about my Type 2 Diabetes until I went to the doctor for what I thought was an unrelated condition. Talk about ridiculously high blood sugar levels – I was testing at 426! The doctor told me that since I already adhere to a great diet of organic and real foods, it is highly likely that I can get rid of my Type 2 Diabetes by losing a considerable amount of weight. So I have to work on that, but in the mean time I have my condition under control thanks to some medications that I’m on.
Anyway, I didn’t intend for this to be a rambling entry! I ran across the video below that talks a little bit about how to deal with Diabetes during the holiday season. For those of you out there who are dealing with Diabetes or who have family members dealing with the condition, I thought that sharing this video might be helpful.
I hope that the information in this video has been helpful. All of the best for a happy – and healthy – holiday season!
Posted in Random Entries, Winter & Christmas Time | No Comments »
Sunday, September 27th, 2009
Time and time again I post on here about how I am a member of the Food Democracy e-mail list and how they send me some interesting information on healthy food choices, legislation regarding food policy, and regulations regarding the food industry. Well, their latest e-mail is interesting because it deals with these “Smart Choice” labels that you find throughout the supermarket…and in a variety of odd places.
For example, did you know that according the USDA and FDA guidelines, some forms of Keebler’s snack crackers are “Smart Choice” products? How does that even pass the smell test?! Some text from the Food Democracy Now campaign:
The Smart Choices program was dreamed up by giant food conglomerates like ConAgra, General Mills, Kellogg’s, Kraft, PepsiCo, Tyson Foods and Unilever, together with some industry “experts.” They say its purpose is to help consumers make “smarter food and beverage choices,” but you’ll be surprised to see what they define as a “Smart Choice”: things like Froot Loops®, Keebler Cookie Crunch® and Lucky Charms®.
How about the gumption on the folks that decided Lucky Charms are a “Smart Choice” option? Sickening. Through the use of Food Democracy’s online submission form, it took me no time at all to submit a pre-formatted letter to both the USDA and the FDA regarding the use of these “Smart Choice” labels. The text of the message that was sent is listed below. I encourage you to use the link above to send a message that deceptive labeling is unacceptable.
Dear Secretary Sebelius & Secretary Vilsack,
We urge you to investigate a new front of package (FOP) labeling initiative known as the Smart Choices® Program for potential deceptive and misleading claims to American consumers. At a time when our nation’s children are suffering from an epidemic of obesity and type II diabetes, leading food manufacturers should be trying to encourage eating healthier meals and not peddle overly processed foods high in sugar, fat or salt.
Unfortunately, the new program, led by many of our nation’s largest food corporations, has created a set of standards so loose that products like Froot Loops®, Keebler Cookie Crunch® and Lucky Charms® are eligible for the Smart Choices® label.
It’s outrageous that American companies would try to push food products loaded with as much as 44% sugar on parents who are desperately trying to feed their children healthy meals. Please stand up for our nation’s children and only allow healthy, nutritious foods to achieve this type of voluntary labeling. If this administration is serious about children’s health and nutrition they will enforce strict guidelines related to food products geared towards children and will not allow corporations to engage in deceptive or misleading labeling practices.
If you interested in sending a message to the USDA and the FDA (which takes moments to do), then please head over to this link and check it out.
Posted in Sustainable Living | 1 Comment »
|
|
|
| |
|
