While adjusting your diet is a major step in preventing and managing diabetes, there is more to it than just laying off the candy and there are some serious side effects that you need to prevent.
Left untreated, diabetes can have serious affects on your body. For example, people with diabetes have a higher risk for blindness than the general population. They are also more at risk for artery disease that decreases blood flow to the feet causing nerve damage, potentially leading to foot or leg amputation.
The good news is that most people can avoid serious complications by properly managing their diabetes.

So what exactly is diabetes? Simply put, diabetes is a disease that affects the way your body uses food for energy. A healthy person can break down digested sugar into glucose, which then circulates in your blood and waits to enter cells as fuel for your body. But, if you have diabetes, this process breaks down, and blood sugar levels become too high. There are two main types of full-blown diabetes, Types 1 and 2. People with Type 1 diabetes cannot produce insulin at all and those with Type 2 diabetes can produce insulin, but their cells don’t respond to it. Of these two, Type 2 is far more common, particularly because it’s a lifestyle disease that is affected by your weight and how much exercise you get.

I have a friend, who is a BMX Racer. She has been trying to get me out to the track for some time now. And I finally went. I had a good excuse for not going earlier, as some of you may remember, I had two broken wrists at the end of last year. I broke them in September, and didn’t get my last cast off until the very end of November. And of course, with casts on for that long, rehab had to take place before I could really do anything strenuous with them. So now that I feel like they have enough strength, I decided to go to the track.

I had such a blast riding around the track, I am seriously thinking of buying a bike and starting to ride regularly. I think it would be a lot of fun, and hey, it’s exercise, and you can’t really go wrong with that! Her brother is quite good, currently ranked 1st in the world in his age category. Not to mention that he is sponsored by Redline, a big name bike company, and Oakley, which I’m sure all of you Continue reading →

As I mentioned in an earlier post, and in my post about my webpage, I broke both my wrists in September.  I have gotten one free, but one is still in it’s cast.

My left wrist was a small hairline fracture, so it had no problems healing within the six week period.  I’m pretty much back to normal, with no pain and very little strength lost.  It has been a pretty smooth recovery.

My right wrist on the other hand, has been a different story.  I broke the Scaphoid Bone.
 Who gets this fracture?

In adolescents and young adults, fracture of this bone is the most common fracture around the wrist. Men are ten times more likely to fracture this bone than women. Although the bone is small, it takes a lot to break it. Oddly enough, twice as much force is required to

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Well, today was the Vancouver Sun Run.  I ran.  I did not plan to run.

I had previous plans to be out of town for the weekend, but they fell through, so I never registered for the run. So, last night, I was chatting with my family, and everyone in my family except me had registered.  So, I thought, I wish I was running it!!  So, I joined them.  With about 53,000 people in the run, catching someone who wasn’t registered was not going to happen, so the only thing was that I won’t have my name in the paper tomorrow morning.

The Sun Run is Canada’s Largest Run, and it quite something to run with that many people.  Not the ideal race if you want to get a good time, simply because there are too many people.  But never the less, its a fun race.

Well, I learned two things today:  1: I am not in shape!! and 2: I need new runners.  The first one, will be hard…the second I think I can probably manage.  So!!  The challenge???  To get in shape!!  I’ll try and post regular updates on how this quest for fitness goes, and would encourage anyone to join me in the quest for fitness.  I encourage you to do this, because I have been quite fit at times, and know that life in general is that much better when you are in shape.

Team Hoyt is a father (Dick Hoyt) and son (Rick Hoyt, b. 1962) in Massachusetts who compete together in marathons, triathlons, and other athletic endeavors. Rick was disabled at birth by a loss of oxygen to his brain because his umbilical cord was wrapped around his neck, and he also suffers from cerebral palsy. Dick carries him in a special seat up front as they bike, pulls him in a special boat as they swim, and pushes him in a special wheelchair as they run.

Thanks to his parents, who ignored the advice of doctors that he would live life in a persistent vegetative state, and Tufts University engineers, who recognized that his sense of humor indicated intelligence, at the age of 12, Rick was able to learn how to use a special computer to communicate, using movements from his head. The first words he typed were, “Go Bruins!”, and the family learned he was a sports fan. They entered their first race in 1977, a 5 mile benefit run for an injured lacrosse player who was a schoolmate of Rick’s.

Dick is a retired Lieutenant Colonel in the Air National Guard. Rick earned a college degree from Boston University in special education, and now works at Boston College. They continue to compete in races, and are also motivational speakers.

As of June 2005, Team Hoyt had participated in a total of 911 events, including 206 Triathlons (6 of which were Ironman competitions), 20 Duathlons, and 64 Marathons, including 24 consecutive Boston Marathons. They also biked and ran across the USA in 1992 — a 3,735 mile journey that took them 45 days.

When asked what one thing Rick wished he could give his father, his reply was “The thing I’d most like is that my dad would sit in the chair and I would push him once.”

This is a truly touching story!!

About 4 years ago, I was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes, and have been taking insulin shots ever since.  I have always had a positive outlook on this, and have never minded it too much.  And have always been keen on educating myself on current control methods, etc.  of Diabetes.

Recently, I decided that I would try out the pump!!  For those of you who are not familiar with an insulin pump, it is what it sounds like.  A pump that pumps insulin.  It is connect to you by a small tube and it usually is on your waste, how many people carry their cell phones, or mp3 players.

When this box arrive the other day, I was super excited!!!

It had been delayed for a few weeks, because of Canada Post losing something, and then some miscommunication, and I wasn’t quite expecting it the day it arrived, which made it even more exciting.

There is the box of the actual pump!

And the pump itself.  It is quite small, and very easy to use.  Almost fool-proof, which you would like, considering that pressing the wrong button could put you in hospital, or even kill you.

To compare size, I decided to take a picture with it beside my cell phone.  I figured that phones are pretty much a standard size, and if not, you may recognize my phone, and know what size it is.

I am getting it “installed” and my official training soon!!  I’ll be sure to update you all on this, and tell you how it goes!!