One of the happy outcomes of participating in #vDM30in30 was running into fellow VMUG leader's Mike Stanley's cool blog https://geekfoodcritic.com/
As you have learned in this blog, IT people are an easy prey to self sabotaging ideas and generally eating unhealthily. As you can read in this blog post where Mike turned around the focus of his blog (from food reviewer to healthy food advocate) the truth of the matter is that we can't sustain the hundreds of extra calories eating out gives you. You either exercise like an athlete or you have to come to grips with reality.
I especially appreciate how hard it is to do a log of everything you eat in a day, like he started doing for vDM30in30. His blog posts are really detailed and they show his thought process and how he counted everything that day.
https://geekfoodcritic.com/blog/2016/11/1/what-i-eat-in-a-day-001
It's imperative for anyone doing real weight loss to track what they eat. I use MyFitnessPal, and I've had some really long streaks - the longest was half a year. But invariably, I miss a few days and I have to start over again. It's difficult - and it's most difficult when you go out, because there isn't a nutritional label to scan in most restaurants (although several chains are in the app, which is the biggest plus it has).
If you are in the same boat as Mike and I, reach out on twitter and help keep us motivated. I know first hand how easy it is to get off the ideal path for days or even weeks. I see it in my blood sugars and my weight scale - every so often we need to remember that this marathon is still ahead of us and all we're run so far doesn't count for today. We have to earn a healthy status with a healthy lifestyle, every day, and make it a habit - a habit to not soften, dull, or self delude ourselves!
Showing posts with label unhealthy lifestyle. Show all posts
Showing posts with label unhealthy lifestyle. Show all posts
Saturday, November 19, 2016
Tuesday, February 2, 2016
Improving Yourself Like in a Video Game @NerdFitness @artofmanliness @Dark_KnightUK
So all us guys/girls that work in IT are for the most part
big fans of gaming! Be it console gaming or PC gaming and we pretty much all
have fond memories of the Sega Gensis/Megadrive/NES/SNES etc.
This blog post came about after listening to The Art of
Manliness Podcast @artofmanliness
(which I have to say I have been a big fan of for over a year) and their
podcast with the guy that runs Nerd Fitness @NerdFitness. I have been a big fan
of Nerd Fitness for ages, esp the Nerd Fitness blog posts.
They covered many topics that I have mentioned previously,
but from a gamers point of view, and I thought this is a way soooooooooo many
of us could relate to.
For example in a game, you will start off with very little
skill, and you have to do various mundane tasks that you may think don’t have
any real benefit, you level up so you
can beat the end of level boss, after which you go on and do some more to fight
the next boss. If you decided to jump right in and go for the end of game boss
(your ultimate goal) you would fail, simply because you hadn’t earnt all the
stuff you needed and obtained the skills you needed to get there!
Also if you get to a boss and you fail, you will restart and
try a different approach. But it is amazing how in real life, so many of us don’t
do this, we fail at the boss fight and then give up, but in the game we try
again, even if it means loading a save from a bit further back so we can try
something different. Why is it we are happy to do that in a game but not in
real life?!
We will spend hours upon hours, playing the game building XP
and moving forward, but we usually are reluctant to do the same in real life
.
The podcast is brilliant and I have also pre-ordered the new
Nerd Fitness book which is out in March.
So if you want to start running, you can start by walking. If
you want to eat healthy, start by eating some fruit, small changes lead to big
things if you keep going and build them up.
I have gone from not being able to run at all and hating it, to doing 5k and now I have managed to run 10k, it has taken time and I have had to level up....my original boss/goal was to start running, next level was to get a decent 5k time and the level after was to get to 10k...and so on.
I rewarded myself along the way, when I reached 10k I bought myself some nice running gear, something that I can reward myself with, but will help me reach my next goal/boss fight, which is getting a decent 10k time!
The podcast can be found here: http://www.artofmanliness.com/2016/01/20/podcast-170-level-up-your-life/
Wednesday, January 20, 2016
What to drink?
Remember the time where you didn't think much about what to drink? Any fruit juice, any soda, any alcohol drink - there wasn't anything that could do you much harm.
As I get older I find this same conversation with others in my circle:
"I've stopped drinking beer"
"I've stopped drinking soda"
"I only drink diet coke now"
"I stopped drinking caffeine"
"I've stopped drinking fruit juices"
"I don't drink alcohol anymore"
And many other variations.
The fact is - there is no lone recommendation that works.
Healthy people can basically drink anything, in moderation. If you are healthy today, I'd definitely enjoy more natural things than sodas.
If you are looking to lose weight, this is the normal transition I see:
1 Stop drinking normal soda - coke/sprite/etc have a lot of sugar per serving and that sugar will become fat if you don't spend it
2 Sweet tea is a really bad idea. It has a lot of sugar. Find out how it's made if you don't believe me.
3 Milkshakes are not a good idea either... not only do they have sugar, they also have fat. You will be surprised at how easily fat piles on by drinking milk. Start monitoring and if you just love milk (like me) consider switching to a 1% variety.
4 Be mindful of fruit juices as part of your overall carb intake. That delicious morning orange juice has a lot of sugar. There are plenty of choices so you don't give up the health benefits, but you will have to read labels and incorporate them as part of your overall day plan.
5 Stop drinking sugary coffee. Real coffee is good by itself. Teas also fit this description.
Those were the obvious ones - one that people don't give up as quickly is alcohol. The range of alcohol consumption varies a lot, but I find IT admins to be mostly heavy drinkers (until they see the light). I myself haven't been able to get away completely from social drinking, even though i'll only have one, max two beers on special occasions, and i'll try to make it a low carb like Michelob Ultra.
If your drinking is making you gain weight, you have a problem. If you are drinking every day, or drinking alone, you are clinically an alcoholic and should question your life choices :)
6 Alcohol, whether it's beer or vodka, all are sugar; and you don't normally go to the gym a couple hours after drinking do you? It's very easy to pile on calories which you will store as soon as you go sleep.
If you have been able to get up to here you have made a big difference in your life - your carbs are not mainly coming from liquids. Here are my final optional recommendations:
6 Don't drink diet soda. It's obviously better than normal soda, but you should go for things that naturally don't have sugar in them, and also don't taste sugary. Try to make the taste of "sweet" something that is extraordinary and not common.
7 Unsweetened tea is a safe go-to when eating out - twisting a lime helps out too.
8 Water. Filtered, great tasting water is the best thing you can drink. I really like Zerowater filters. I try not to buy bottled plastic water. You can even get sparkling water if you don't feel like asking for plain water in a restaurant.
If you are diabetic then you follow everything above in the "looking to lose weight" section, but the last part doesn't become optional - diet sodas, unsweetened iced tea and water become your staple. Apart from unsweetened coffee and tea, you rarely deviate. It is not terribly difficult to find a 1% milk that tastes as good as the milk you take today (I like Lactaid 1%). And really try to avoid alcohol.
Alcohol doesn't interact well with diabetes medications. Alcohol can cause a drop in glucose - but at the same time you still have all that sugar in your body. If you will drink, opt for the least harmful. I don't particuarly like this site because it promotes drinking, but it is a very good list of calories per alcoholic drink. Michelob Ultra, Miller Lite or Coors Light are pretty easy to find in any bar.
http://getdrunknotfat.com/
Hit me up on twitter with any questions and remember - I'm no doctor or expert so take my advice with a grain of salt.
As I get older I find this same conversation with others in my circle:
"I've stopped drinking beer"
"I've stopped drinking soda"
"I only drink diet coke now"
"I stopped drinking caffeine"
"I've stopped drinking fruit juices"
"I don't drink alcohol anymore"
And many other variations.
The fact is - there is no lone recommendation that works.
Healthy people can basically drink anything, in moderation. If you are healthy today, I'd definitely enjoy more natural things than sodas.
If you are looking to lose weight, this is the normal transition I see:
1 Stop drinking normal soda - coke/sprite/etc have a lot of sugar per serving and that sugar will become fat if you don't spend it
2 Sweet tea is a really bad idea. It has a lot of sugar. Find out how it's made if you don't believe me.
3 Milkshakes are not a good idea either... not only do they have sugar, they also have fat. You will be surprised at how easily fat piles on by drinking milk. Start monitoring and if you just love milk (like me) consider switching to a 1% variety.
4 Be mindful of fruit juices as part of your overall carb intake. That delicious morning orange juice has a lot of sugar. There are plenty of choices so you don't give up the health benefits, but you will have to read labels and incorporate them as part of your overall day plan.
5 Stop drinking sugary coffee. Real coffee is good by itself. Teas also fit this description.
Those were the obvious ones - one that people don't give up as quickly is alcohol. The range of alcohol consumption varies a lot, but I find IT admins to be mostly heavy drinkers (until they see the light). I myself haven't been able to get away completely from social drinking, even though i'll only have one, max two beers on special occasions, and i'll try to make it a low carb like Michelob Ultra.
If your drinking is making you gain weight, you have a problem. If you are drinking every day, or drinking alone, you are clinically an alcoholic and should question your life choices :)
6 Alcohol, whether it's beer or vodka, all are sugar; and you don't normally go to the gym a couple hours after drinking do you? It's very easy to pile on calories which you will store as soon as you go sleep.
If you have been able to get up to here you have made a big difference in your life - your carbs are not mainly coming from liquids. Here are my final optional recommendations:
6 Don't drink diet soda. It's obviously better than normal soda, but you should go for things that naturally don't have sugar in them, and also don't taste sugary. Try to make the taste of "sweet" something that is extraordinary and not common.
7 Unsweetened tea is a safe go-to when eating out - twisting a lime helps out too.
8 Water. Filtered, great tasting water is the best thing you can drink. I really like Zerowater filters. I try not to buy bottled plastic water. You can even get sparkling water if you don't feel like asking for plain water in a restaurant.
If you are diabetic then you follow everything above in the "looking to lose weight" section, but the last part doesn't become optional - diet sodas, unsweetened iced tea and water become your staple. Apart from unsweetened coffee and tea, you rarely deviate. It is not terribly difficult to find a 1% milk that tastes as good as the milk you take today (I like Lactaid 1%). And really try to avoid alcohol.
Alcohol doesn't interact well with diabetes medications. Alcohol can cause a drop in glucose - but at the same time you still have all that sugar in your body. If you will drink, opt for the least harmful. I don't particuarly like this site because it promotes drinking, but it is a very good list of calories per alcoholic drink. Michelob Ultra, Miller Lite or Coors Light are pretty easy to find in any bar.
http://getdrunknotfat.com/
Hit me up on twitter with any questions and remember - I'm no doctor or expert so take my advice with a grain of salt.
Tuesday, January 5, 2016
Eating Healthy
Now Now don't just ignore this post!
You don't have to eat like a saint to be healthy...I love eating junk food lol
But it is all about finding a balance. If you are gaining weight that usually means you are consuming more calories than your body needs.
A simple rule about losing weight, eat less and exercise more. Basically if you are taking in less calories than you are burning, you will drop weight.
Managing a healthy diet can be a real pain in the ass, lets be real here. who here has all the time to plan all their meals out properly into nice containers and all the rest?!
If you can great and more power to you, but for me:
You don't have to eat like a saint to be healthy...I love eating junk food lol
But it is all about finding a balance. If you are gaining weight that usually means you are consuming more calories than your body needs.
A simple rule about losing weight, eat less and exercise more. Basically if you are taking in less calories than you are burning, you will drop weight.
Managing a healthy diet can be a real pain in the ass, lets be real here. who here has all the time to plan all their meals out properly into nice containers and all the rest?!
If you can great and more power to you, but for me:
When I am wanting to drop some weight, what has worked for me is upping my exercise routine and using Diet Chef (I am not endorsed by them or anything). Basically you get good quality food delivered to your door, for the month and you just have to heat it up. You get:
Breakfast
Snack
Lunch
Snack
Dinner
Some people say it is expensive, but remember that's your meals for the whole day, and its portion controlled for you off the bat. If you are working out with it, you will defo lose weight, as you will be taking in less calories than you actually need!
I also supplement it with lots of fruit and water/tea. So whenever I feel hungry I have some fruit and drink some tea. It is amazing how quickly your body adjusts. The first week you'll drop a decent amount of weight, as you body flushes out all the rubbish it was storing and no longer needs. You will then continue to loose about 2lbs a week.
Bare in mind, there is no healthy quick fix, it took you ages to get fat (if you are fat) and till take a while to lose it. That is a fact and there isn't anything that can be done about it, so the sooner you start the sooner you'll get there!
Also what I do is when I am on diet chef, 1 day a week I will have a massive blow out and eat whatever I like on that day to excess, from KFC to Burgers to Pizzas. You will be amazed how crap you feel afterwords and how your body hates it, but having that one day a week, wont have a negative impact and will actually have a positive impact. You get to eat whatever you like and your body wont think it is starving so will continue to drop weight at a reasonable rate.
I also mainly eat soups at work in general, easy to make can be stored in my desk and its not unhealthy when compared to a lot of other crap out there!
There is no reason why you cant enjoy food while being healthy. Hey and a lot of people get hung up that they messed up one day of healthy eating. One day wont make a big difference on its own. If you decide to write it all off...then that's bad, but realise shit happens and get back on it the next day....simple. We are only human!
Sunday, November 29, 2015
Diabetes type 2 - the warning signs
Diabetes mellitus type 2 is a life changing condition. If not managed properly, it will cause a premature death and loss of quality of life. Properly managing it requires paying attention to what is eaten and how the energy is spent. If properly managed, diabetes doesn't pose as big a threat, but it still must be accounted for whenever undergoing medical procedures.
Below are some warning signs that I managed to ignore on my way to being diagnosed with type 2 diabetes. If you suspect you are seeing these signs in yourself or someone you love, please consult your doctor.
Early warning signs (before manifestations appear in your body)
- You qualify for the "overweight and sedentary" description.
- You know you are eating too much and not "spending" the calories you eat.
- Flavor or quantity governs your eating decisions, not nutrition..
- You never try to stay within the nutritional label / daily requirements and know that you are probably over in fats/salt/calories if you really counted.
- Frequently over-eating your peers.
Early or starting diabetes
- Changing skin in legs, feet, arms, neck - scaly, darker, just less healthy looking, or small injuries.
- Thirst and consequently frequent urination.
- Worsening vision.
- Waking up in the middle of the night with cramps or pain in feet.
- Gingivitis.
- Urine is bubbly.
- Reaching the bathroom to pee barely in time.
- You actually start losing weight even though you have not changed your habits.
- Your stool isn't a daily solid log, but softer, and abundant following your over-eating.
I was once told that i was pre-diabetic and I could avoid being diabetic by doing diet and exercise, which I did for 3 months and then went back to my old ways. If you have been told you are pre-diabetic, you need to change your life this very instant - once your body gives up and you become diabetic, there's no going back. I'll put all my tips in this blog but if you need to start or have questions please don't hesitate to reach out to me on twitter.
The symptoms above are a short list. I don't claim to possess more knowledge than you would find anywhere else on the internet; I only aim to communicate my experience in case it can help others. The best test is seeing your doctor, before having breakfast, and getting glucose readings in blood, urine, and A1C.
Saturday, November 28, 2015
IT-related unhealthy myths or bad habits
I wanted to make a list of the unhealthy myths and bad habits that I have been guilty of in the past. If you are an IT professional and believe in any of these, I urge you to reconsider. I think this applies to any knowledge worker (person who primarily works behind a desk in front of a computer).
Please note i'm writing all of the below statements as I used to think them or heard them from someone else (these have OH for "overheard"). You are free to call me a dimwit on twitter. I now know all of them to be wrong, but I won't dive deep on explaining them (might be useful for future blog posts though). If you want to contribute any more let me know and I can put your name if you want to. I'll keep updating this post through time as I hear more.
Your energy
Please note i'm writing all of the below statements as I used to think them or heard them from someone else (these have OH for "overheard"). You are free to call me a dimwit on twitter. I now know all of them to be wrong, but I won't dive deep on explaining them (might be useful for future blog posts though). If you want to contribute any more let me know and I can put your name if you want to. I'll keep updating this post through time as I hear more.
Your energy
- IT work is stressful so I burn calories from my intense work - I need to replenish them!
- I need to keep my sugar level high for my brain to function and to keep focused.
- I need energy, so let's make that coffee or tea extra sweet. Caffeine + sugar FTW!
- I can't work until I eat/drink X.
- I have an energy drink every morning to start my day (OH).
- I grabbed some mini chocolate candy bars to keep at my desk.
- It's just a small pack of cookies for when I get a craving.
- Granola bars are healthy right?
- A little ice cream never killed anybody.
- Let me go grab a soda.
- I bought a box of donuts for the office.
- You need to have a good, "stick to your ribs" meal so we can get to work.
- It's just a small personal pizza and some bread sticks.
- I ordered fish and chips because fish is healthy.
- Let's just grab a combo and head back to the office. Large please.
- Well I wasn't in the mood for X but the guys were ordering and I said why not.
- If I eat there 6 times I get a free one.
- It's double points if I order a large one.
- I just need something quick so I can get back to work so let's grab whatever's fastest.
- I will never eat raw fish (OH)
- I'm not a cow to be eating grass (avoids salads, OH).
- When you are a big boy like I am you need a big meal.
- Late night change deserves a late night meal (double dinner).
- I'm working overnight shifts now, so I needed to change all my meal times.
- No sleeping makes me hungry. I was literally dying of hunger.
- I switched from normal soda to diet soda. About same test, but much healthier!
- I'd rather save my calories for "good' meals so I do diet soda, diet sweetener...
- It's OK cause it's sugar-free candy/chocolate/ice cream/etc.
- The gym. Who has that much free time? I'm busy.
- I can't cook. Plus it seems like it takes a lot of work and time.
- I can only cook 3 things. I wish I could take cooking classes but i'm busy.
- The guys got together to play sports, I told them I would wait for them at the bar.
- I only play games where I don't need to sweat.
- I need a drink to cope with this stress.
- If I don't have at least a couple drinks I can't really rest well (OH).
- I need a smoke, can't think straight (OH).
- You've got to have a smoke after a meal.
- I'm tired. I'll just have beers until I doze off in front of the TV.
- It's OK, I found these great supplements that take care of everything. (OH)
- So I take this B vitamin which is better than coffee. It has like 1000% of the daily requirement. (OH)
- These supplements are like eating all the fruits and vegetables you need daily. (OH)
- I heard these supplements make you lose weight.
- (When food arrives and it's too much) Dig in! Don't let it go to waste!
- You have to get the X here. It's huge and so bad for you but oh so yummy.
- I can definitely eat a whole X. Wanna bet?
- What do you mean you're only having one beer/drink?
- (When bringing food for several people) I don't think anybody wants unsweetened tea/diet soda.
- You say you are full, but trust me, you really have to have that dessert.
- Are you saying you can't eat that yummy thing? I'll have it if you don't mind.
- It was such a tiring/stressful day at work. Let's go out and eat a lot!
- I'm bored. Let's go eat something.
Monday, November 23, 2015
IT administration as an excuse for not being healthy
This is the story of the life I led when I was an unhealthy IT admin. This could perfectly be the story of any other professional, but I think IT workers will relate to it..
I think it started with pizza, when I was in 5th grade, at the start of my teenager phase. I was a really thin kid, but I remember distinctly that was the first time that I ate not because I was hungry, but because I enjoyed how it tasted. I wanted more, and in these parties, I could have more.
At some point later I started having a belly, and some time later, when someone asked how many slices of pizza I could eat, I was only too happy to state I would not be beat. I remember in my 10th grade, Pizza Hut had a promotion where you could eat as much as you wanted for a fixed price, and I was very proud of my record of 11 slices without feeling bad after it.
Fast forward to college. By now, it practically didn't matter what the food or drink was - i'm pretty sure I can give anyone a decent fight, including alcohol. Thank god I played hacky sack and table tennis practically non-stop and my budget was very limited - I still managed to remain somewhat thin and active, but that bravado was there.
Right after college, when I started working as a Network Operating Center engineer, was when I think my main problems started. It was the combination of
1) Higher spending power - most of people working in IT will accept that salaries start and grow relatively rapidly. Without many obligations, I could spend however and whenever.
2) High pressure nature of IT work - when you're starting in IT, you have to put in the hours, reading, doing, learning, if you are going to get any better fast. This shouldn't be an excuse, but it was part of it.
3) No concept of work-life balance, especially no inclusion of exercise into my routine. I basically viewed doing exercise as a social event, a consequence of meeting friends with which I played a sport.
4) Acceptance of a myth - that I deserved a "good meal" because I worked long hours, or early, or late, or for lunch, or when hanging out after work. The main problem here was a "good meal" was not a healthy meal.
5) Acceptance of another food related myth - that quiet time with my girlfriend/family/friends involved consuming more "good meals".
6) Travelling on the company's budget. My first work related trip was to Belgium, which is a mecca of beer and chocolate, and where I ate all my meals in a very nice hotel. The idea that I had to try everything in order to know and be an informed "man of the world" added to all my bad habits.
The main problem during these years was that I didn't pay attention to the signs. I steadily gained weight; I steadily ate more and more, until I gained a reputation as an "eater". I switched jobs into a coordinator/manager of end user services for a larger company, and being a manager gave me more income and more opportunities to eat socially. The 3 man IT office was synonymous with daily large pizza orders or big fast food combos for everyone at lunch. Celebrations were each at "fancier" restaurants and a larger bill became the norm. I fell into the trap of only drinking diet coke since I would "rather eat the calories than drink them".
When I moved into a systems engineering role, I started working from home. Working from home is a blessing and a curse. You save money and time from the daily commute, you have less stress and it's very convenient in many ways. The negatives are also many, but they are debatable; I'll explore them further in a dedicated post.
One thing I quickly realized when I began working from home was that I needed to figure out what I was going to eat since I no longer had the advantage of going out with co-workers or having someone else with which to think about lunch. What did i turn to? Being the lazy "busy" IT worker I was, I turned to the convenient things: cereal, sandwiches, and lots and lots of pizza, whether from a shop in the corner or bought frozen in bulk.
By this time I had gone from 140 to 200 pounds. Travelling internationally and frequently to foodie cities such as Dallas and being introduced to barbecue, sweet tea, monster burgers and all sorts of deliciousness that were new to me played right into the "man of the world" mindset. Since the "eater" label pleased me, I made sure that it stuck with me with those that met me in my travels.
I moved to Colorado around this time as well. Colorado is also a beer and food mecca. Colorado portions can be huge. The same bad habits I had traveled with me. When I went to get my ID, my weight was 220 pounds.
Around this time we got a small office, around 30 people. It had a little kitchen room which was kept stocked with all kinds of snacks. Another food that I'm a sucker for is chocolate bars. I easily ate two small chocolates (twix, snickers, especially Reese's peanut butter cups) every time I passed through it. Add having lunch with the co-workers and the portions, plus a complete lack of exercise.
I had my first yellow alarm while living in Colorado. I went to the doctor for my yearly checkup and was informed i was pre-diabetic. I didn't give it much thought, but heeded my wife's advice to eat out less, and started going home for lunch. This helped since home cooked meals tend to be much healthier - my wife was at home at the time and she is a great cook, who found ways of making recipes healthier. I also retook my table tennis training and this helped me lose some pounds. However, I still kept doing everything else as I had - going out, drinking with friends, chocolates, etc.
Now comes the final chapter before being diagnosed. I moved to Brooklyn and my wife started working. I continued working from home and faced getting lunch on my own, but living in new york means you have pedestrian access to food. Sandwich shop in the corner, pizza/pasta place a little farther away, specialty shops selling all sorts of stuff. Again, the "man of the world" mindset combined with a foodie city like NYC triggered a "i have to try it all" mission in my head.
Somehow, I was losing weight (people with diabetes type 2 know this is not a good sign). I was eating large sandwiches, or would pick up appetizer, pasta, and a couple slices to go, everyday for lunch. I had discovered Arizona iced teas in Colorado and found even more variety in new york - i would have a couple large cans a day. I was having a big bowl of sugary cereal in the morning and at night, or eggs and bacon fit for a family. I was eating out, trying every cheesecake and doughnut I encountered, almost every night. Meeting new people had me drinking socially - 5 beers an outing was easily the average. And yet, my weight had gone down. I (stupidly) believed this was due to the fact that I had sold my car and was now walking more - like if walking a block spent any calories.
VMworld 2014 was my first big tech conference. Just before that, my best friend was graduating in Boston. I took PTO for 10 days or so (which I had a lot of since I almost never spend it). Here we go - celebration, new city, have to try every lobster roll, Boston cream pie, Sam Adams beer out there. My friend remarked to me that he could not believe I was losing weight with how I ate - another ignored alarm.
VMworld, like everything in life, can be very unhealthy, especially if you go with my mindset. There are opportunities to eat and drink all week. I don't think I've really been drunk in the last few years, but I did drink a lot - that point where you can walk anywhere but know better than to drive. Big breakfast, eat all the lunch sandwich, big cookies and coffee in the afternoon, beer and big meals at night.
My next post will detail my doctor visit where I learned i was now a diabetic, but I wanted to paint as truthful a picture of who I was that led me there. Now I think my result was an amplification of my personality's bad habits and lack of healthy living knowledge.
Reach out to me on twitter if you want to discuss or help me add to any of the things I've described. My hope is that if you feel identified with anything on this post, I will help you correct your habits before you get a life-changing condition. I'll try to post the results and what i've learned since soon.
I think it started with pizza, when I was in 5th grade, at the start of my teenager phase. I was a really thin kid, but I remember distinctly that was the first time that I ate not because I was hungry, but because I enjoyed how it tasted. I wanted more, and in these parties, I could have more.
At some point later I started having a belly, and some time later, when someone asked how many slices of pizza I could eat, I was only too happy to state I would not be beat. I remember in my 10th grade, Pizza Hut had a promotion where you could eat as much as you wanted for a fixed price, and I was very proud of my record of 11 slices without feeling bad after it.
Fast forward to college. By now, it practically didn't matter what the food or drink was - i'm pretty sure I can give anyone a decent fight, including alcohol. Thank god I played hacky sack and table tennis practically non-stop and my budget was very limited - I still managed to remain somewhat thin and active, but that bravado was there.
Right after college, when I started working as a Network Operating Center engineer, was when I think my main problems started. It was the combination of
1) Higher spending power - most of people working in IT will accept that salaries start and grow relatively rapidly. Without many obligations, I could spend however and whenever.
2) High pressure nature of IT work - when you're starting in IT, you have to put in the hours, reading, doing, learning, if you are going to get any better fast. This shouldn't be an excuse, but it was part of it.
3) No concept of work-life balance, especially no inclusion of exercise into my routine. I basically viewed doing exercise as a social event, a consequence of meeting friends with which I played a sport.
4) Acceptance of a myth - that I deserved a "good meal" because I worked long hours, or early, or late, or for lunch, or when hanging out after work. The main problem here was a "good meal" was not a healthy meal.
5) Acceptance of another food related myth - that quiet time with my girlfriend/family/friends involved consuming more "good meals".
6) Travelling on the company's budget. My first work related trip was to Belgium, which is a mecca of beer and chocolate, and where I ate all my meals in a very nice hotel. The idea that I had to try everything in order to know and be an informed "man of the world" added to all my bad habits.
The main problem during these years was that I didn't pay attention to the signs. I steadily gained weight; I steadily ate more and more, until I gained a reputation as an "eater". I switched jobs into a coordinator/manager of end user services for a larger company, and being a manager gave me more income and more opportunities to eat socially. The 3 man IT office was synonymous with daily large pizza orders or big fast food combos for everyone at lunch. Celebrations were each at "fancier" restaurants and a larger bill became the norm. I fell into the trap of only drinking diet coke since I would "rather eat the calories than drink them".
When I moved into a systems engineering role, I started working from home. Working from home is a blessing and a curse. You save money and time from the daily commute, you have less stress and it's very convenient in many ways. The negatives are also many, but they are debatable; I'll explore them further in a dedicated post.
One thing I quickly realized when I began working from home was that I needed to figure out what I was going to eat since I no longer had the advantage of going out with co-workers or having someone else with which to think about lunch. What did i turn to? Being the lazy "busy" IT worker I was, I turned to the convenient things: cereal, sandwiches, and lots and lots of pizza, whether from a shop in the corner or bought frozen in bulk.
By this time I had gone from 140 to 200 pounds. Travelling internationally and frequently to foodie cities such as Dallas and being introduced to barbecue, sweet tea, monster burgers and all sorts of deliciousness that were new to me played right into the "man of the world" mindset. Since the "eater" label pleased me, I made sure that it stuck with me with those that met me in my travels.
I moved to Colorado around this time as well. Colorado is also a beer and food mecca. Colorado portions can be huge. The same bad habits I had traveled with me. When I went to get my ID, my weight was 220 pounds.
Around this time we got a small office, around 30 people. It had a little kitchen room which was kept stocked with all kinds of snacks. Another food that I'm a sucker for is chocolate bars. I easily ate two small chocolates (twix, snickers, especially Reese's peanut butter cups) every time I passed through it. Add having lunch with the co-workers and the portions, plus a complete lack of exercise.
I had my first yellow alarm while living in Colorado. I went to the doctor for my yearly checkup and was informed i was pre-diabetic. I didn't give it much thought, but heeded my wife's advice to eat out less, and started going home for lunch. This helped since home cooked meals tend to be much healthier - my wife was at home at the time and she is a great cook, who found ways of making recipes healthier. I also retook my table tennis training and this helped me lose some pounds. However, I still kept doing everything else as I had - going out, drinking with friends, chocolates, etc.
Now comes the final chapter before being diagnosed. I moved to Brooklyn and my wife started working. I continued working from home and faced getting lunch on my own, but living in new york means you have pedestrian access to food. Sandwich shop in the corner, pizza/pasta place a little farther away, specialty shops selling all sorts of stuff. Again, the "man of the world" mindset combined with a foodie city like NYC triggered a "i have to try it all" mission in my head.
Somehow, I was losing weight (people with diabetes type 2 know this is not a good sign). I was eating large sandwiches, or would pick up appetizer, pasta, and a couple slices to go, everyday for lunch. I had discovered Arizona iced teas in Colorado and found even more variety in new york - i would have a couple large cans a day. I was having a big bowl of sugary cereal in the morning and at night, or eggs and bacon fit for a family. I was eating out, trying every cheesecake and doughnut I encountered, almost every night. Meeting new people had me drinking socially - 5 beers an outing was easily the average. And yet, my weight had gone down. I (stupidly) believed this was due to the fact that I had sold my car and was now walking more - like if walking a block spent any calories.
VMworld 2014 was my first big tech conference. Just before that, my best friend was graduating in Boston. I took PTO for 10 days or so (which I had a lot of since I almost never spend it). Here we go - celebration, new city, have to try every lobster roll, Boston cream pie, Sam Adams beer out there. My friend remarked to me that he could not believe I was losing weight with how I ate - another ignored alarm.
VMworld, like everything in life, can be very unhealthy, especially if you go with my mindset. There are opportunities to eat and drink all week. I don't think I've really been drunk in the last few years, but I did drink a lot - that point where you can walk anywhere but know better than to drive. Big breakfast, eat all the lunch sandwich, big cookies and coffee in the afternoon, beer and big meals at night.
My next post will detail my doctor visit where I learned i was now a diabetic, but I wanted to paint as truthful a picture of who I was that led me there. Now I think my result was an amplification of my personality's bad habits and lack of healthy living knowledge.
Reach out to me on twitter if you want to discuss or help me add to any of the things I've described. My hope is that if you feel identified with anything on this post, I will help you correct your habits before you get a life-changing condition. I'll try to post the results and what i've learned since soon.
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