We’ll get healthy when health is the easy choice

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New Year’s resolutions be damned, we’ll get healthy when health is the easy choice.

Yet again this morning I heard on the CBS Morning Show a segment from medical correspondent, Dr. Jennier Ashton, listing how to stay younger. You know how, you’ve heard these rules a zillion times. Don’t smoke. Eat healthy foods in smaller portions. Exercise, both aerobic and weight training. Wear sunscreen. Get 7-9 hours sleep. Get 1,200 units of calcium for bone loss. 

OK, I listened to hear if anything was new. It wasn’t. Then I went to do my laundry and while shoving shirts in the washer thought, how am I supposed to follow these guidelines given my day? How are you supposed to follow these guidelines with your busy life? Is your boss making time for you to go to the gym? Is your cafeteria or ubiquitous corner deli, fast food place, family chain restaurant or airport kiosks offering more healthy choices than unhealthy ones? For the same price?

Can you enjoy peaceful slumber in these recessionary times? Can you sleep 8 hours if you’ve got little ones or a job you’re trying to hold onto? Can you even find 30 minutes to get outside to wear your sunscreen?

As I’m typing the same show is now doing a segment on “How to jumpstart your oops, missed it, either weight loss or exercise.” As if I had room in my tiny apartment for a treadmill. Or even the space to lie on the floor with dumbbells as they’re now showing. 

It amazes me, again and again, that we preach what we should be doing out of one side of our mouths and do nothing to create the infrastructure to support people doing it. Food manufacturers have powerful lobbies to keep making artificial food-like substances. The government continues to fund farmer’s over production of corn so high fructose corn syrup is in most things you eat, including the burger you can buy for a buck. No wonder people are chowing down at McDonalds and not on apples that also cost nearly a buck. So tell me, talking heads, what do you really expect people to do? 

Or is it because a big corporation owns the TV station, the newspaper, the magazines and profit rules what people say but not do.

Finland’s capital city, Helsinki, has a mysterious high population of type 1 diabetes – more people in Helsinki have type 1 than anywhere else – and they now have a growing epidemic of type 2s. What did Helsinki do? They redesigned the city to create more parks for free outdoor activity, they created more bike lanes and more walking paths. What are people doing? Playing outside (hopefully with their sunscreen on), biking and walking on a regular basis. 

Without the infrastructure to make it easy to make healthy choices, it takes enormous commitment and effort to stay healthy in America. It takes learning about the health quotient of different foods, being able to afford them and packing your own wherever you go. It takes waking up early or sacrificing time with your family to get those 30 minutes of exercise. 

I’m not saying it can’t be done. I do it. It’s important to me so I’ve worked it into my life as best I can. Don’t ask me how frustrated I am when I can’t find something healthy to eat at an airport. Thus the photos. I’m just saying when are we going to admit that we tell people what to do to stay healthy and do next to nothing to make it easy for us to do it. 

Oh wait, gotta go, NBC’s weight loss guru, Joy Bauer, is about to share her Slimdown program.

Happy New Year, Hurrrrrrrrrrrmmmmmmmmpppppppphhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Lifelong Exercise Institute provides health tips and support

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UnknownAuthor & exercise physiologist,  Dr. Sheri Colberg-Ochs

 

I’m noticing a trend already in 2011. That’s how much more available diabetes education is and much of it is right here online. In my last post, I told you about Gary Scheiner’s new online type 1 universityfor insulin users.

Sheri Colberg, exercise physiologist, PhD,  founder of Lifelong Exercise Institute and a type 1 patient herself, opens the doors of Lifelong Exercise Institute for a new 52-week “Fit Brain, Fit Body!”diabetes management email program based on her book, The 7 Step Diabetes Fitness Plan.  

We all know how difficult it is to get all that exercise we keep hearing we should get. But having weekly info, support and guidance may be just the thing to get you off the couch.  

Each week through Sheri’s program you’ll receive an email answering fitness, exercise, nutrition and overall health questions. The 52 week program costs $25.

Some key topics include:

·         Weekly diabetes management tips from experts

·         No dieting–ever!

·         Easy-to-implement nutrition tips

·         Daily physical movement that doesn’t require sweating

·         Planned exercise that is short, sweet, and habit-forming

·         Effortless and permanent weight loss over 52 weeks

·         Exercise tips for your brain that will make you smarter

·         Health tips that will save (and prolong) your life

·         The nudge you need to make permanent lifestyle changes

·         Other key advice that will energize your body and your life

·         E-mail access to experts for your diabetes, fitness, and health questions

The program includes specific plans for beginners (or returning exercisers) and current exercisers. This may be what finally allows you to succeed in your plan for better health–and for less than 50 cents a week for a full year. That’s about the cost of one Starbuck’s cappuccino a week.

You can also choose 26 weeks of “Fit Brain, Fit Body!” or start with just 13 weeks of this program for $10. 

The shorter programs offer the same diabetes fitness and lifestyle programs weekly via e-mail, with an option to sign up for more of the full-year program later on. Also, you can begin any program anytime during the year.

You can preview and sign up for any program at Lifelong Exercise Institute. 

Just last month the American Diabetes Association issued new exercise guidelines: Get at least 150 minutes a week of moderate-to-vigorous aerobic exercise spread out at least three days during the week, with no more than two consecutive days between aerobic activity.

“Most people with type 2 diabetes do not have sufficient aerobic capacity to undertake sustained vigorous activity three times a week,” says Sheri, “and they may have orthopedic or other health limitations.” So if you fall into that category, give “Fit Brain, Fit Body!” a look. The programs also support getting activity with a mobility limitation. 

A treadmill might be just the thing to put in that lonely corner where you took down the Christmas tree 😉 

 

 

New education for insulin users

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Insulin University Opens

 NewImage

Gary Scheiner, CDE, exercise physiologist, author of 4 books and a type 1 himself for over 20 years, has accomplished one of his dreams – which may also be a dream for you: an online course to achieve optimal control of your diabetes if you use insulin. This is an education you won’t find anywhere else.

Gary asked me to share this with you and I do so with pleasure:

I am proud to announce the opening of Type-1 University: the online school of higher learning for people who use insulin.

Type-1 University (T1U) features a series of courses for those using intensive insulin therapy (pumps or multiple daily injections).  Each 40-60 minute course is available live (via webex).  Pre-recorded versions will be available soon after each live program.  The courses include a powerpoint-style presentation with accompanying audio and video of the presenter, along with an opportunity to post questions. 

Current course topics include:

·                     Mastering Pump Therapy

·                     Advanced Carb Counting

·                     Blood Glucose Control During Sports & Exercise

·                     Weight Loss for Insulin Users

·                     Getting the Most from Your Continous Glucose Monitor

·                     Strike The Spike:  After-Meal Glucose Control

·                     Hypoglycemia Prevention and Management

·                     Fine-Tuning Basal Insulin

Please visit www.type1university.com for more information or to enroll for an upcoming class.  

Thanks, and Happy Holidays to you and your family.

– Gary Scheiner MS, CDE

“Dean” of Type-1 University

Owner & Clinical Director

Integrated Diabetes Services

333 E. Lancaster Ave., Suite 204

Wynnewood, PA  19096

Toll-free:  (877) 735-3648

Please tell anyone else you know whom you think might benefit. It’s a great way to begin the new year.

5 Top Diabetes Myths Debunked

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Screen Shot 2015-02-08 at 6.21.38 PM

Now that the holidays are fully upon us – I know because I can’t seem to stop eating – here’s a perfect gift for yourself or a loved one with diabetes: my book, “50 Diabetes Myths That Can Ruin Your Life and the 50 Diabetes Truths That Can Save It.”

Sure I’m being self-promoting, but I wrote the book so you would benefit. Having the latest, accurate information, recommendations from top diabetes experts, tips and tools, along with my story how I’ve become successful managing my diabetes, and other patients’, is worth gold, let alone $10 in paperback on Amazon. Also available on e-readers.  

Oprah says, “You do better when you know better” and I agree. If you feel in the dark about managing your diabetes, get 5 myths debunked right now in my Huffington Post post. 

Then go for the whole 50. The book is easy to read and getting all the information you need through dispelling myths is a simple, memorable and fun way to start doing better. I guarantee you’re sure to find a few ahas that will make a huge difference in what you do taking care of your diabetes. Really, or I’ll eat this page.

Beeping in the Bible Belt

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I knew last year when I went on a ya ya sisterhood trip through Mississippi that in much of the South life revolves around church and college football.

Two weeks ago I re-entered that world while visiting my good friend P. P lives in Dallas and is very active in local missions and her Methodist church.

She asked if I didn’t mind accompanying her to her Sunday morning bible class and the sermon that followed. I didn’t mind at all, in fact I enjoy learning about other faiths. So there I was, sitting amongst 20 women while they were discussing Jesus and the meaning of Christmas, and my blood sugar was sliding into dangerous territory. 

I unhooked my meter from my pouch as discretely as I could and discovered  I was 56 mg/dl. I slid a few glucose tablets out of their sleeve and into my mouth, hoping no one would think me impolite for not offering them around. Thirty minutes later, still in class, my heart was now fluttering and sweat was beginning to accrue on my brow. 

Still trying not to attract attention, funny to say being the lone Jew in a barrel full of Methodists, I took the last bite of a peanut butter cookie still in my coat pocket left over from some previous incident. My friend, having type 1 diabetes herself, whispered, “Are you OK”? I assured her, in between the debate whether one should send “Merry Christmas” cards or “Season’s Greetings” cards, that I would be. 

When class ended we walked through the very large, very active church to take seats for the morning sermon in a very large hall. As soon as we sat down, P looked at her CGM and saw she was 70 mg/dl. She began beeping (well her CGM did) as I fished in my coat pocket to retrieve the half a trail bar I’d noticed was there while pulling out my peanut butter cookie dregs. 

We bickered for a few seconds whether she should eat my last batch of sustainable-carbs. I insisted. She did. And as 500 worshippers hushed as the minister strode to the podium, we did all we could to bury our bonded giggles over just another morning with diabetes. 

New study says our genes are not responsible for diabetes

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Here’s a big new revelation: the cause of diabetes is not genetic. A new analysis, published by the public interest science organization, The Bioscience Resource Project, finds little evidence that inherited genes cause common diseases like diabetes, heart disease, autism, cancer, depression and dementia. Fuller story here.

The analysis includes more than 700 genetic studies conducted around the world, covering over 80 different diseases and concludes due to similar results that of the approximately 1,000 genes identified that confer susceptibility to disease, only a tiny handful are of even limited importance.

Geneticists also say the possible hiding places for disease genes to be located are in places distinct from where almost all other genetic information has so far been found. That makes these hiding places scientifically highly implausible. “A genetic basis for susceptibility to common diseases was only ever a hypothesis,” says Dr. Jonathan Latham, Executive Director of the Bioscience Resource Project. Of course I’m surprised having always heard genetics, along with lifestyle choices are the principle causes of diabetes.

Yet, it appears data around patterns of health and illness have always indicated that Western diseases are determined overwhelmingly by diet and other non-genetic factors. Similarly, data has shown that many diseases can be reversed or accelerated by diet and other lifestyle choices. So, researchers say, the crucial importance of the new genomic findings is that it shows that genetic research does not contradict these environmental explanations of disease. Rather, it strongly supports them.

The studies co-author, Dr. Allison Wilson, says it means that for most people personalized genomics is never going to be useful for predicting what diseases they will develop. The good news, Wilson also says is, “Our fate does not reside in disease genes. Our health is in our own hands.” 

For those who are thin and active and get type 2 diabetes it leaves me to wonder. For those who are overweight and sedentary it is good news – if you act on it.

The passing of Elizabeth Edwards

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Screen Shot 2015-02-07 at 5.11.49 PMKeynote speaker at AADE, August 2008

I’ve been saddened by the passing of Elizabeth Edwards this week. Maybe it’s because I actually saw her just two years ago, she was the key speaker at the American Association of Diabetes Educator’s conference. 

Maybe it’s because she dealt with so much hardship and carried it all with such aplomb and peace, or so it looked to us.

I wrote a piece about my experience of her on the Huffington Post. Here’s the full story.  

TCOYD sets patients up for success

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A1cs go from 12% down to 7%

I’m piggybacking today off of Amy Tenderich’s blog post over at DiabetesMine, Inside TCOYD’s Extreme Diabetes Makeover ‘Reality Series.’ The reason being I found watching this trailer of Taking Control of Your Diabetes’ extreme makeover program, extremely moving. 

It highlights some of what 7 patients discover getting control over their diabetes. On Amy’s blog you’ll find more about what the patients had to say and some advice for your own makeover from professionals like psychologist, Dr. William Polonsky.

While I have sculpted my routine to support my diabetes management, watching people at the beginning of their journey – maybe not at the beginning of their diagnosis, but the beginning of getting on track –  finding the strength within to do what’s necessary with the support of a professional diabetes team, and their patient-teammates, it touched my heart to see their success. I trust it will touch yours too and inspire you if you need to get on track. 

The full series of makeover episodes is on the TCOYD Extreme diabetes Makeover site. Take time while you’re there to also see if a TCOYD health day is coming to your local area next year.

(Double clicking on the video will let you see it larger on YouTube.) 

Life is the way we see it – and make it

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imagesGinger Viera brightening a corner of the world

Funny that my last post said I was full of woe (well, that happens occasionally.) By the way, I am over it, and here it is another Wednesday, yet I feel on the mend and full of possibility.  I’d like to share a post with you I just read that captures that knowingness of possibility, and my own feelings most of the time. 

It’s written by my fellow diabetes blogger, Ginger Viera, “Contagious, Confidence, Endless Possibilities.”Ginger is a fellow type 1, a weight lifter, personal trainer and health coach. 

She writes honestly about the failings we all feel we have and the will and way not to let them foil us, but to find our strength to carry on and see the best for ourselves whether with diabetes, or just in our lives in general. 

An excerpt: 

“Don’t let anyone tell you that you can’t do something.” My twin brother, Pete, said this to me several months ago. I wrote it down on an index card and taped it to my bathroom mirror. Funny thing is, it’s never been other people telling me I can or cannot do something. The loudest voice I hear is my own.

When I was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes in the seventh grade over eleven years ago, the first list that ran through my head was the list of things I probably couldn’t do anymore. I couldn’t eat ice cream without first counting the grams of carbohydrates in the bowl and determining how much insulin I needed. I couldn’t play basketball anymore (at least, that’s what I thought). I couldn’t buy candy and popcorn with my friends when we go to the movies without feeling overwhelmingly guilty about eating such diabetic-off-limits food. The list of foods, activities, dreams and goals I thought were off-limits seemed endless.

With or without diabetes, we allow ourselves to fill our minds with everything we’re sure we cannot do, or cannot have, or cannot ever become. As I grew older, I realized how many things were still within my reach. I used to think I could never become much of an athlete, but today, I’m a health coach, personal trainer, yoga instructor and I’ve set 15 records in drug-tested powerlifting. Clearly, what I needed at my diagnosis, and simply as a young girl growing up in this society, was someone or something to help me learn that my dreams were all still possibilities.”

You’ll want to read the full article at the link above. Thanks Ginger.

Wednesday’s child is full of woe

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DSC00099My parents, still a lot to be thankful for

I was born on a Wednesday and I hope it went better than today’s going. The weather’s pretty crummy and I seem to be under it. 

It’s storming outside, a grey and chilly prelude to winter and inside I woke up with a cold this morning and a sore throat. This just after thanking my lucky stars yesterday that I wasn’t sick because I’m taking off for Dallas tomorrow to spend time with a friend and see her environs for the first time. That includes meeting people and seeming perky.

Then on top of the cold and sore throat I managed to take a piece of my finger off yesterday shutting my tool box. Being a closet handygirl, obviously not so handy, I wrenched my finger out of the hard plastic tool box when it slammed on it, and managed to leave a bit there. The bleeding’s stopped, but I can barely bear to look at it under the band-aid. 

So heading to the airport tomorrow there’ll be slightly less of me (skin on finger) and slightly more of me (stuffed head). It’s times like these I think: Isn’t diabetes enough? And it’s times like this I try to tell myself, I still have so much to be thankful for – family, friends, work, home, hobbies (will have to rethink that one). 

After all, tomorrow will be Thursday and Thursday’s child has far to go which makes perfect sense since I’ll be going to Dallas and then it will be Friday and  Friday’s child is loving and giving. I think I’ll stop while I’m ahead.