Accountable

"Hey, let's do a quick warm up lap then head up the hill, I need to wake up a bit" I suggested.

"Ahh come on, let's just power hike up the hill and begin running from there," my brother nonchalantly rebuttled back.  So we began our "warm up" power hiking up the steepest incline in the park, watching my HR spike into the 150s, "hey dipshit, the key to a warm up is to get the blood flowing, not flirt with going anaerobic to begin a trail run," he laughed and shook his head in between heavy breaths.  

As we finally settled into our Christmas Eve run through Brady's Run, our backyard stomping grounds, the trails were quite Beast Coast beautiful.  Mostly cloudy sky, 38 degrees, a frozen layer crusted the ground from the cold, as we climbed, descended and swung around switch backs for an eventful 7 mile run with 1100 ft of climb.  We solved the world's problems a few times, and tossed out crazy ideas for ourselves to tackle in the near future. 

The holidays present a unique blend of available excess combinations of food, late nights, and maybe a few more drinks than usual.  Likely leaving you a fraction of your former self come January 2nd.  This was my 17th holiday as a Type 1 Diabetic, and while I am never perfect, I have grown tremendously with my own accountability, and just like Nancy Reagan classicly said, "just say no."  

While Nancy may have passed on a J, I have chosen to pass on certain foods, drinks, and deserts. I can confidently say it's made a huge difference in my quality of life come this time of year. 

Maybe some diabetics have learned to cover their indulgences with more insulin, but for me, it's just not worth it.  So I choose one desert piece, one, and one only.  The risk of going hypo with more insulin just to eat 3 more cookies just doesn't add up for any desire.  My Aunt Roxanne makes a peanut butter, chocolate fudge desert, that I am 100% sure of would leave a chocoaholic in a 12 step program.  It sounds boring, but I opt for more meats, greens, and whatever potato dish is being served.  A sweet potato casserole leaves me weak in the knees too.

Fitness has always been a part of my life.  Working out during the holidays is nothing new, it's not a fad I fell into lately, I genuinely enjoy working out, and it helps A LOT.  Helps with life in general.  Everything for me comes together so perfectly after exercising my body and even more importantly, my mind.

A buzzword for diabetics, INSULIN SENSITIVITY.  Each year that passes, I connect another dot to this whole autoimmune derived situation of mine.  Heavy carb loaded meals and sugary drinks, lack of exercise, and necessary blood flow this time of year or any other time are the usual culprits.  My alcohol intake is severly limited too.  I did enjoy a Heinken after my meal on Christmas Eve, yet that was maybe a handful of drinks in the last 3 months. Let me tell you, diabetes and alcohol is not synergistic.  Proceed with caution my fellow diabetics. 

With a few more hours left in the year, take a moment and make it all make sense.  Relatively speaking, think about what 2018 meant to you.  

Maybe you picked up a new hobby, a new exercise program, or you got a new job.  Like many my age, we're beginning families and taking another step further into this thing we call adulthood.  Life's exciting yet insanely unpredictable.  While we all have our own goals and desires, I bet we could all agree without our health and happiness, not much more can fall into place.  If that big move scares you, or ya painfully shuffle into the finish at a race you've trained months for, soak in the moment, count your blessings, and keep it moving.  

Best wishes for a healthy and purposeful 2019,
Andrew




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