Jan 25 – My focus on health
Seven weeks into my focus on health, understanding glucose is my focus.
The state of my glucose tests
Last night, not long after dinner, my glucose measured 125. This morning at 4:52 am, it was 115. And around 9:15 am it was 98. The highest reading I’ve ever seen was 157, and that was an hour after eating bread with unbleached flour.
Glucose testing options
For better or worse, I prick my fingers a few times a day to sample a drop of blood with a glucose testing device.
Would an HbA1c be better? I asked for an HbA1c test, but my doctor said that it is not necessary. He may have been right that I don’t need the test. I’m curious though.
My go-to source of information is Dr. Peter Attia. For $149/year, his podcasts and text notes are helping me to answer questions.
In one of his podcasts, he said that the hbA1C test only predicts average glucose. The Continuous Glucose Monitor directly measures average glucose. Therefore, it is more reliable.
I still want to get the HbA1c test, but I may get a bluetooth Continuous Glucose Monitor (CGM). This would likely be a Dexcom or, at some point, a Super Sapiens when it’s available.
Where I’m at with fasting
I am eating within a 6-8 hour window and am not snacking.
Fasting and calorie restriction at times is important. Attia says that maintaining muscle mass through strength training is important. This is something that I have not done with weights.
i.e. – Lift weights. This is a weakness for me.
Where I’m at with diet
I need more fiber from diverse plants. I need to eat more vegetables and greens.
There are foods I’m avoiding. I’m not eating unbleached flour, vegetable oils and processed sugar substances. I’m eating little eggs, dairy and meat. By minimizing animal products, I’m reducing saturated fats.
I drink water, coffee, decaf teas, and a little wine. And I’m taking 6000 iu of Vitamin D daily.
Notes on Physical activity
Biking – I’m trying to bike 90 minutes when the weather is above 28. I bought power meter pedals and plan to bike outdoors. Yesterday I biked 19 miles and my power output while biking was a 141 watt average. This was my first time using a power meter.
I would hope to bike at an 12 miles an hour with stops. This would get me to DC in 13 hours.
Swimming – My relaxed swimming pace for 4000 yards is 1:48/100 yards for a total time of 72 minutes. Chemicals in the pool hurt my skin. I’ve ordered anti-chlorine cream and shampoo. Swimming puts me into a good space.
Rowing (erging) – I’m not rowing too much. But it’s an option when I can’t do other activities.
Walking – I’m still getting a few miles outside, sometimes during the day and usually a walk after dinner.
Work
I’m having a terrible time dealing with the M1 Mac Rosetta issue. It causes my mac to use way too much memory and things slow down. MAPublisher requires that I use Illustrator in Rosetta emulation mode. My M1 computer has slowed down so much that I am trying to use my old Intel MacBook Pro to get work done.
Finally
And to be healthy, I need to eat right, exercise, sleep, fast, get sunlight and fresh air, and do things for others. It’s amazing that at 54 years old, I’m still trying to figure out the simplest things. There’s always a tension between what needs to get done and what I think I want to do.
Yesterday I cleaned up a Fuji folding bike to give to an 18 year old who recently arrived from Afghanistan. This felt good.
