Mexicans, Midgets and Sensitivity Training: Tips On How to Deal With Type-II Diabetes.

I have a confession to make;  I'm a bit prejudiced against a certain "group" of people.

No, I'm not a racist.  I don't hate Jews.  Hell, one of my best friends is Mexican.  Even though he stole my job and I can't even take him to Wal-Mart without him just randomly breaking into La Quebradita, I still hang out with him.

No sir.  I don't hate the Mexicans.

I do, however, have a problem with people who use type-II diabetes as a crutch.  For most people who have it, it's possibly one of the most curable diseases in existence.  A lifestyle change is required, of course, but the end result is that you're more fit, healthy, and confident.  In fact, I'd say that a lot of people, not just type-2 diabetics, can benefit from the info I'm about to give you in this post.

These are interesting times.  There is more information available about the human body and how to take care of it than ever before,  yet we keep getting fatter.  I shouldn't have to tell you that obesity is the cause of a shit-ton of the major health problems in the U.S..  Food companies that act like they have our health in mind try to sell us boxes of processed "food" that have labels that try to mislead you into thinking it's a healthy choice.  

Holy shit, whole grains!  It must be good for me!

Then of course you've got Big Pharma trying to convince you you've got all these health problems because you're not taking enough drugs (I'm sorry, but you're not depressed because you have a Paxil-deficiency.)  The pharmaceutical companies make billions from keeping us unhealthy and treating the symptoms instead of the diseases.  The health-care system for the most part is a joke, so why do we act like they're the ones who are in charge of our bodies?

Not getting your RDA of anal leakage?  Ask your doctor if Alli is right for you.

Alright, I'm done ranting for now, but before we get into the juicy stuff, I'd like to talk to you a bit about how  a few things work.

Insulin

Insulin is a hormone that is secreted from the pancreas and helps regulate the metabolism of carbs and fat in the body.  In essence, it primes the cells in the body for storage.  Imagine insulin as midgets with potato guns full of carbs.  They're shooting the carbs into muscle cells, adipose cells and the liver in order to control blood sugar. 

Insulin sensitivity and resistance

Insulin sensitivity has to do with the sensitivity of insulin receptors.  When sensitivity is relatively high, less insulin is needed to rid the blood of glucose (sugar) and everything is A-Okay.  However, if you're constantly taking in large amounts of processed carbs and sugar, more midgets, er, insulin is needed to do the job and they tend to stick around for awhile with nothing to do, and the cells become resistant to its effects. This is due to lack of sensitivity, or "insulin resistance".  Type-2 diabetes is developed when insulin resistance gets to the point where the pancreas can't even produce a sufficient amount of insulin for glucose storage.  Bummer.

Lucky for us, the body is perfectly capable of healing itself, and in most cases any damage done is reversible.

Now that we've got that boring stuff out of the way, let's do it to it.

Let's get this pawty stawted.

Food!

It's amazing to me that there are actually people out there who don't understand the importance of food.  You aren't one of them, are you?  ...Good, because I don't think I'm alone when I say it shouldn't be so hard to believe that what put you into your body might have a profound effect on it.

If carbs are fuel, shouldn't we be using up the fuel before refueling at the carb station?  Seems silly to me to try and top off an already-full tank.

"Sooo like, since I'm not running any marathons or anything, couldn't I just like, ya know, eat less carbs?"

Bingo!  Trust me, meat tastes better than bread.  Vegetables, when prepared well, taste way better than chips or rice.  Now before you go all Atkins on me, I'm not suggesting that you completely give up carbs and start eating bacon for breakfast, lunch and dinner.  I'm just saying to set about a 100 gram carb limit for yourself, making sure that the carbs you do take in come from awesome sources like beans, veggies, or possibly oats for breakfast.  It's best to restrain the majority of your carb intake to breakfast and post-workout, as those are the two times of day when they're best utilized.

Fiber is important as well, as it basically slows the rate of which sugar is absorbed into the bloodstream.  It also slows digestion and keeps you satiated for a longer period.  As nutritionist Jonny Bowden says, fiber is the best fat-loss supplement there is.  If you're not getting enough in your diet, it's a good idea to supplement.  However, if you're going to buy Metamucil, to avoid embarrassment it's a good idea to make sure the cashier isn't a hottie. 

The best way to eat healthy is just to keep it simple.  Your plate should consist of something that used to have a name, next to something green.  Easy. I'll most likely be posting my own high-protein, lower carb recipes on here in the future.

Exercise!

Really?  You didn't think it was going to be that easy, did you? For more reasons than I can count (I've never been great at math), if you're a living, breathing being on the planet Earth, physical activity is a must.  Exercise is great for building insulin sensitivity in people who are insulin resistant, and obviously it works for fat loss as well.  Start a strength training program!

Don't worry, it doesn't build that kind of sensitivity

Supplementation!

Chromium Picolinate.

Chromium is a big one.  It works much like the way that certain diabetes medications work.  Chromium picolinate opens the cells for business, allowing the insulin and sugar to get in so that you're not stuck with both high insulin and blood sugar.  1000 mcg a day is usually what is recommended, though you can take more.

Fish oil.

I could list about a thousand reasons to take fish oil, but the relevant reason for doing so here is that it can increase insulin sensitivity big time.  I usually stick with strength coach Christian Thibaudeau's recommendation of one gram of fish oil per percentage of body fat.  If you don't want to spend half the day gagging on 30 cheap fish oil pills from the grocery store, the liquid oil is your best bet.  It doesn't taste like ass or anything as it's usually flavored with orange or lemon, so you don't have to worry about puking on your ice cream (what are you doing eating ice cream?!?!).

Zinc/magnesium.

Both of these have been shown to help correct insulin sensitivity issues.  You can take them separately, or you can just buy a bottle of ZMA and take it before you go to bed.

Alpha-lipoic acid.

ALA has been lauded for years as a blood sugar regulator, 100mg with meals works, and it won't break the bank.


Cinnamon.

Not exactly a supplement, but cinnamon has been shown to have such dramatic effects on blood sugar that I'm almost inclined to say it has magical powers.  In recent studies, researchers found that a teaspoon of cinnamon in water a half an hour before eating could decrease a meal's glycemic index as much as 29%.  According to Tim Ferriss, author of The 4-Hour Body, people who switched the milk in their coffee out for a teaspoon of freshly ground Saigon or Cassia cinnamon have lost 3-5 lbs. in a week.  That's pretty awesome. 


That's really all I've got for now.  I should probably clarify that I'm not a doctor or a nutritionist.  I'm just a guy with a love for fitness/nutrition knowledge and an itchy Google trigger finger.  I really hope this info helps those who need it.  These are actually pretty decent guidelines for anyone looking to live a healthy lifestyle, because honestly, everyone should be living like a diabetic.

Not to say that...I mean, after they...ah, fuck it.  You know what I mean.

Thoughts?  Advice?  Comment!

Welcome to Subshack, Vol. 2: Sabotage.

I like to leave early.

It doesn't matter where I am, what I'm doing or if I'm getting paid to be there; I just love leaving early.

Any friends who have been out to bars or parties with me, as well as co-workers and family members, know that I'm not much for staying anywhere until a designated time or even waiting for other members of the party to put their coats on before I hit the old dusty trail.

It could be a mild case of wanderlust or just a simple fear of stagnation, but most of the time people consider it to be just downright rude.

I tell you this because I want you to know that when something stands in my way when I'm dead-set on getting the hell out of wherever I am, things can get just a wee-bit out of hand.  Outwardly I'll be completely calm.  Cool.  Everything will appear to be normal and there will be absolutely no sign of disdain.  Like Dexter, only my Dark Passenger has more of a yearning to depart than a hankerin' for killin' folks.

 

Even though I wouldn't have had an entirely acceptable reason to leave before, if I've been denied the right to shake the scene, suddenly my surroundings become unbearable.  I'll have the overwhelming feeling of being imprisoned in a small dark room like Jodi Foster in Panic Room.  Only in my case, I'd most likely welcome the heavily armed thugs that are attempting to blowtorch through the steel door and kidnap me.

...I don't know, man.

I'm highly competitive by nature, and over the years have learned that no good comes from throwing a hissy-fit to get my way.  The best way to defeat your enemy is to wait patiently until the perfect moment to strike presents itself.  I'm a cobra.

Contemplate.  Plan.  Execute.

Shove a cucumber in the tailpipe of her car?  Dump a bucket of mayonnaise on the engine?  ...Nah.  I'll just steal her car keys.   

 As anyone who has ever owned a car knows, it's extremely frustrating to lose your car keys.  It almost immediately incites a state of panic in most individuals, as car keys can be the one thing standing in the way of you and getting to work on time, keeping your dinner reservation or even getting laid.  Between having to retrace every step you took since you last used them and having useless morons say things like "It'll be in the last place you look!", it's easy to lose your composure and become overwhelmed by a fiery, Carrie-like rage.

Following through on deceitful plans that are less than well thought-out (hiding a person's car keys, for example)  can be tricky.  You have to ignore all the questionable decisions you've made, avoid letting any sort of guilt sink in and just power through with your head down, as to not expose yourself to the possibility of being found out.  You must keep your cool when the shit hits the fan, or risk having all of the shit scraped off of the fan and then flung in your direction.

Someone wise might say that this is a valuable lesson in why you shouldn't lower yourself to the level of being conniving and evil just so you can go home and re-watch the first season of Arrested Development for the fourth time.

That ain't me, baby.

Final step:


Get out as fast as you can.

You be illin'!

...That's supposed to be a thermometer.

I decided to take a load off the other night by watching an episode of Doctor Who and drinking a steaming cup of rooibos tea.  The Doctor was being delightful as always and the tea was delicious, but I started to notice a burning sensation.

No, not that kind of burning sensation.

It was my sinuses.  For those of you who have known me for quite awhile, it shouldn't be a shock to you that I have sinus issues.  My sinuses are my weakness.  My Achilles' heel.  The Band-Aid in my soup of awesomeness.

So I knew what laid ahead of me.  Headaches.  Stuffy nose.  Light-headedness.  That awful feeling of constantly having to roll over on each side when I'm trying to sleep because everything keeps draining into one nostril.

Then of course, it turned into a full-blown cold.


Suffice to say,  I was not amused.

That's not to say I don't somewhat enjoy being sick, though.  I also saw video games, light reading and many hours of Hulu in my future, as well as what turned out to be a much needed break from my training.  I've never been one of those guys who says things like "Train through it!  You'll sweat out the toxins and the antibodies will make you stronger!" Not in my case.  Strength training with a two-day cold is a good way to make it last two weeks.

And so, in between seeing how long I can last with a six-star wanted level in Grand Theft Auto IV and reading Terry Pratchett, I started my very own sickness supplement routine.

I spent years wasting money on herbal supplements that were supposed to work, but didn't.  This could be because I didn't buy a quality brand of said supplements, because I didn't take mega doses of the stuff, or maybe they just don't do what they've been lauded to do;  I don't know.

Mayyyyybe.

Eventually I figured out a routine that works extremely well.  It actually doesn't differ much from what I take every day, but usually I'll increase my intake depending on what it is.  With this, I rarely get sick these days (I used to get sick constantly before adopting a healthy lifestyle) and in turn, less of my friends and family get a sneeze in the face.

1.  Vitamin D.

This is a big one.  Up until a couple of years ago no one gave this bad boy a second thought.  Milk was fortified with it to fight rickets back in the 1930's and it remains there, but it seemed that no one looked into its benefits for 70 years.  Now it's the biggest thing since fish oil and it might just be what the doctor ordered (HA!  See what I did there?) to build up your defenses and fight off disease.  In fact, a recent study in Copenhagen scientists found that D activates our ummune functions and without it, we won't be able to fight off bodily infections.  Yay for D.

2. Decent multi-vitamin.

Yes, there are certain things in multivitamins that just don't go well together and actually inhibit the absorption of one another, but it's still a good way to balance your diet (especially if you're dieting).  When you're sick, being malnourished is just going to make it that much harder for your body to deal with your sickness.

3.  Superfood/greens powder

If you can only take one supplement for the rest of your life, this would probably be my recommendation.  If the world of nutrition was Mt. Olympus, superfood would be Zeus, throwing lightning bolts at free radicals, estrogen and fat spandex-wearing cyclists.

Okay, maybe that last one is just wishful thinking.

Truth is, one scoop of this stuff can yield 8-12 servings of fruits and vegetables.  All you have to do is mix it in a glass of water and chug it.  Simple.  Biotest Superfood is probably the best on the market, but if you're on a budget, Amazing Grass and NSI make some decent greens powders.

4.  Zinc.

This one is fairly obvious and actually has been studied with conflicting results.  The truth is, there's no reason not to take it.  Along with it's possible immune system benefits, it's also important for maintaining normal testosterone levels and Charles Poliquin, a Canadian strength coach with many gold-medalist clients, says that all active men should be taking zinc.  Just don't take it with dairy or anything containing calcium, as it interrupts the absorption.

Plus, if you take it before you go to bed it'll make you have awesome dreams.  Think about it.

5.  Vitamin C.

Yeah, you know the deal.

6.  Cinnamon.

Yes, it's delicious, but it's also been used medicinally for thousands of years.  A 12th century German nun/herbalist named Hildegaard of Bingen recommended it as the "universal spice for sinuses"  and used it as a treatment for colds, flu, and "inner decay and slime".  How can you argue with that?

When I'm sick, I usually just dump cinnamon into my tea and stir in some raw, unprocessed honey.  It tastes as awesome as it sounds.

7.  Neti pot.

Not a supplement, but if you can get past the initial discomfort of flushing your sinuses with saltwater, it'll become one of your most prized possessions.  Try it.  Hate it.  Then love it forever.

Bonus:  Ashwagandha and Rhodiola Rosea.

I'm lumping these together because A.  They do the about the same thing and B.  I don't always have them on hand, so they're not an "official" part of my list.  These two adaptogens decrease the physical effects of stress, boosting your immune function in the process.  NSI makes a decent Ashwagandha and Biotest makes a good Rhodiola supplement.

Oh, and here's a little tidbit for ya:  Legend says that the Vikings used to consume rhodiola to keep up their strength during long campaigns.  How cool is that?

"Fetch me my rhodiola!"

Well, that's all I've got.  It works for me and it just might work for you.  Just don't come and spit in my rooibos if it doesn't.

Have any remedies of your own you'd like to share?  Comment!

Welcome to Subshack.

So through a mix of bad decisions, comfort and a general lack of determination career-wise, I've been working at Subshack for seven years.

Okay, it's not that bad.

But it still wasn't the plan.


When I was a wee-child I was pretty set on becoming an architect/boxer/movie star/Arnold Schwarzenegger's best friend.  I also had a brief dream of becoming a Holy Warrior sent from God to destroy all things evil, with awesome shiny Jesus armor and a giant Final Fantasy-style sword and probably some kind of sweet Novembeard, only it would be an ALLYEARLONGbeard because that's one of the perks of being Heaven's finest.  Then I realized at the age of eight or so that it doesn't seem that they have any sort of application process.  Also, the armor they gave me probably wouldn't be quite as cool as I originally had thought.

Not quite what I had in mind.

Fast forward about 18 years, to Veteran's Day:

It's not so bad as long as you can stay detached from it all, though.  It's pretty easy to get sucked into a bad case of tunnel vision where your co-workers become your new family (or arch-enemies.)  To have your entire day ruined because you put too much mayo in the tuna or you found out a fellow employee thinks you smell like a hooker is most likely a sign that you're not keeping your eye on the big picture.

The job can also be pretty fantastic depending on whom you're working with.  Some days it's like a festival of sandwiches, with bread cart rides, cucumber swashbuckling and cartwheel attempts (successful cartwheels:  0).  Other days I feel like I've been tied down and forced to watch an entire season of Maury, except, ya know, without as much DNA testing.

Stimulating.

Overall it isn't a horrible place to work, and it'll do until I get things figured out.  I spent years running in place, all the while making stops to look behind me.  Nowadays it's all about moving from Mediocretown to Awesomeville, which is either going to result in me becoming a huge success or a sensational dud.  Either way, it's going to be one hell of a journey.

Well, at least I'm making some progress.

You Look Fine!

Ed used to be a fat dude.

You know the type.  He was the kind of guy that would play World of Warcraft until three o'clock in the morning, throw on some slippers, get into his car, and venture to McDonald's, excited about the prospect of gorging on two or three Sausage, egg and cheese biscuits.  Mmm.

"SCHWANG!"

 "Sorry, sir.  Breakfast doesn't start until four."

"Schwong."

So what did Ed do?  He would drive around aimlessly for an hour or so, just to come back and get his biscuit fix.  It was bad.

And it didn't stop there, oh no.  Baked goods were Ed's best friend.  What better way to celebrate dinging level 40 than to prepare yourself a nice big bowl of Ben & Jerry's?  Or a bag of snack-sized Nutrageous bars?  Or a 16-inch meat-lover's pizza?

DING!  "Mmm...Coffee cake."

DING!  "Rice Krispy treats!"

DING!  "...Asparagus?  Fuck, I need to go grocery shopping."

Ed was living large.  Too large.

And so after years of not being able to run 17 feet without gasping for air, or fit into the jeans he wore in high-school, it happened.  During one of his coveted trips tot he grocery store, on his merry way to the soda aisle, Ed walked through the magazine department.  One issue stood out in particular, with a chiseled deity of a man, muscles bulging, emerging from water like Beowulf.  He was magnificent!  Thor come to life!

Ed was bitten by the fitness bug, and through trial and error, it has changed his life for the better.   Close friends, family members and acquaintances quickly noticed that Ed's physique was slowly turning from fat, blubbery noob-whale to L33T, jack3d pwn-king.  He was starting to look more like his WoW character than Chris Farley!  Sweet!

That's more like it.

Unfortunately, in a world where chubby is the new thin, you get people who just don't understand the point of training or ya know, being a non-disgusting, semi-healthy person.

It wasn't long before Ed came into contact with these toxic people, hellbent on laying their own insecurities unto him.

The office fatty:

"Come on, you look fine.  You don't need to go on some crazy diet."

The type-2 diabetic aunt:

"I don't know what you have against bread, anyway."

The paranoid, anxious girlfriend who's afraid you might leave her:

"I hate this six-meal-a-day thing.  Just put down that shake and come cuddle with me."

"Wot are ye? Some kanda health nut?"

Some of them don't even realize their own toxicity, which is a shame because it's so easy to fall into their traps.  Sure, maybe you look fine compared to the Klump family you see walking through the candy aisle at Wal-mart.  But is that really something to strive for?  And who wants to be just "fine," anyway?  "Fine" doesn't get you into the history books.  "Fine" doesn't turn heads.  "Fine" doesn't intimidate would-be foes.

"Fine" isn't, in fact, fine with Ed.

What about you?