Throwing Punches: Beating Diabetes

Here's a link to my first piece on MadMike'sAmerica.

http://madmikesamerica.com/2011/08/throwing-punches-beating-diabetes/

Enjoy, and be sure an leave a comment.

The Danites

Here's a link to my latest upload on ScribD. http://www.scribd.com/doc/61651283/The-Danites It's an old essay I did for a History class when I was in school. No groovy formatting, and a somewhat scholastic tone, but that's to be expected. I uploaded it, because Warren Jeffs, the former head of the FLDS Mormon sect, was found guilty today - at long last.

I thought it might be interesting for some people to get an idea of where this group got its early beginnings.

The Danites were a fundamentalist group of polygamists, gunfighters and murderers who terrorized Utah, Colorado and Arizona in the late 19th century. To this day, the Mormon Church disavows any knowledge of their existence.

Enjoy, and PLEASE let me know what you think. I eat attention. 

New Toothbrush

http://www.scribd.com/doc/60908236

Fight Fight Fight!!!

Wanna see me get my ass kicked? It's here!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iFhtn-TJCRg

Recapping a Blackface Fender Bassman

http://www.scribd.com/doc/56600488

All My Links

Here's the new website. It's still under construction, but you can see the updated magazine on it.
http://nu30.com/

My Twitter page:
http://twitter.com/DavidPGreenberg

Here's the base page on ScribD. From here you can find everything I've written on there.
http://www.scribd.com/david_greenberg_12

This is the official Blogsite for Nµ30 magazine
http://new30magazine.blogspot.com/

My YouTube channel - which is now primarily dedicated to Nµ30.
http://www.youtube.com/user/BitcoDavid?feature=mhee

My contrib site - where visionaries who respect what I'm trying to do can contribute to this ever so worthy cause.
http://www.gofundme.com/New30-Magazine

This is an alternative Blogsite, where you can find copies of what's posted elsewhere.
http://blogs.alternet.org/bitcodavid/

This is the FaceBook fan page for Nµ30.
http://www.facebook.com/pages/N%C2%B530/201793856513929?sk=wall

Our e-mail
new30magazine@gmail.com

The list page on Blog Catalog.
http://www.blogcatalog.com/user/Nu30Magazine

This is a new site, created by the people who did my contrib page. Don't be intimidated by the mercenary aspect of it, it's just a little something new, I'm trying.
http://www.paygr.com/DavidPGreenberg/11099

Here's my Yuppie page on Linkedin. Of course, since I'm a jaded fuck who's decided to try making a living as an internet rock star, there's some good jokes on there.
http://www.linkedin.com/in/bitcodavid

A lot of what I write about is my diet. 1200 Kcal, 120g protein, NO SUGAR, no starch carbs and no saturated fats. The food is potent enough, that even at 1200 calories, hunger isn't really an issue. Where the challenge came in, was the privation. I realized early on, that I wouldn't be able to keep it up if I had to deny myself all my favorite foods. I needed to develop foods and cooking methods that would allow me to enjoy what I ate.

That's where all the chemistry comes into play. Learning how to utilize alternatives to things like sugars and fats. The first actual creation for me, was cheesecake. I scoured the internet looking for a basic cheesecake recipe that I could make. I then had to figure out which alternative ingredients I could use to replace the sugars and fats. The recipe is available in the April issue of the magazine, so I won't go into it here, but suffice to say, I can eat cheesecake - the bane of dieters, world wide - that's almost pure protein with no sugar and only trace amounts of SATURATED fat.

Now, I should point out that although this kind of diet COULD be done in a vegan form, mine is not. I eat food with faces. I'm not saying that with any great pride. I wish I knew of a way to avoid it. Eating meat is a real dilemma for an ardent animal lover. I AM discovering new food sources that are not flesh based, but I don't see a complete transition in the immediate future.

As a final note, I would say - to anybody who's willing to listen - READ THE LABELS. Know what's IN the foods you eat. If you don't understand something, get on the internet and LEARN what it is. This is so critically important, I can't stress it enough. Food manufacturers spend millions on creating obfuscating packaging and deceitful labeling. My favorite example is when a package has "0g Trans-fat" stamped all over it, but the number two ingredient is "Hydrogenated oil." Er... Uhm... hydrogenated oil IS Trans-fat. The serving size gimmick is another. Who eats a half a hot dog? "Only 45 calories per serving!" Yeah, right.

My Resume

Here's a link to my resume, all formatted, on ScribD. If this isn't the most fascinating thing you've read all week, than I just don't know what it would take to excite you.

Groovy, formatted resume

The New Issue

Blogger was down the day I put up the newest issue, so I didn't get to put the links up here.

Normal layout on ScribD

Groovy new state of the art website with actual magazine layout.

A Taste

Still working on the issue, but I thought I'd throw you this bone.

http://www.scribd.com/doc/55106241/Issue3-Vol-1-Page-4

Sorry About the Lateness

3 of my computers died on the same day. Techies, I'll give you the gruesome details, if anybody's interested. Anyway, countless "Chkdsk's" later, and everybody's back to crunchin' bits. The magazine, however had to suffer a delay. The May issue, which by the way, looks to be the best issue yet, is due out on Monday, 4/9/11. Please check back for the link. This month's vid is done, however, and here's the link to that: Wah Lum Kung Fu Basic Warmup

Birthday Emergency

Last year, for my birthday, I did the Marine Corps physical fitness test, and tied it into a Birthday Wish to donate 1000 dollars to Old Fella Rescue. I wish I could do something like that again this year, but alas, I cannot. Here's the thing. By now, you've all seen the magazine, and are aware of what I'm trying to do. Until this project grows its own legs, and becomes revenue generating, I have no source of income. My birthday this year has marked a period where creditors are hounding me, and my program which is so beneficial to my own well being is in jeopardy. I need EVERYBODY who knows me to go to http://www.gofundme.com/New30-Magazine and throw in 5 bucks. I need you to do this TODAY.



I hate asking people for money, and feel that much the worse, having seen all the great birthday wishes posted on my wall, this morning.



But please understand. What I'm doing here is something that I believe in, something that will benefit many people and can actually right a number of wrongs occurring daily, in this society in which we live. I can help people claim their health, their well-being, and their independence. I'm trying to make a living as an independent writer, journalist and publisher. Something that is exceedingly difficult, but will pave the way for so many of you, who dream of doing your own thing, without having to beg for the permission of "authority figures."



So, by way of summation, I want you to go, RIGHT NOW, to http://www.gofundme.com/New30-Magazine and donate 5 bucks. It's an emergency. I need your help. Please.

Twitter Link

Follow me on Twitter http://twitter.com/DavidPGreenberg

The Furnace

If you’ve been reading Nµ30, you’ve probably caught a glimpse of the phrase, metabolic manipulation. Though it might sound obvious, it occurs to me that many of you don’t know what I mean by that term.

During my long and arduous journey back from the old and infirm, I kept one image foremost in my mind. That image helped me to accomplish what I did.

When I was about 26, I was a tournament martial artist and a full time bike messenger. Essentially, I was working out all day, every day. I’d wake up at 6:00AM, run a mile, ride to work, ride all day – for work, and then go to Wah Lum in Chinatown, and train from 6 – 8 at night. When I got home, I’d lift for an hour or so. I’d eat a full pint of Hagen Dazs before bed, because – believe it or not – I only weighed 125 pounds, and I actually wanted to gain weight. 

One day, I was in Cambridge, and I had to wait for a package to be ready for pick-up. Now we rarely had downtime, and I found myself wondering what I would do with the 15 minutes or so, I needed to kill. It’s these times, when one is most likely to do a stomach check to ascertain whether one is hungry. I was, but in those days, I was always hungry. I had three things working, which insured that condition. First, as I say, I was always moving – always exercising. Second, I had the metabolism of a twenty something. Finally, of course, I was dirt poor. Eating was not only a necessity, but also a luxury.

I decided a Milky Way was in order. I jumped on my Chro-Moly war pony, and headed for where I knew there to be a vending machine.

Now, here’s the important part. I’ve only experienced this once in my life, but I never forgot the sensation, and it’s remained as a guidepost for me in my athletic life.

As I ate that candy bar, I could literally feel my body digesting it, and greedily assimilating the calories, instantly.

Let me see if I can explain that statement more clearly. It’s as if, the food wasn’t even making it into my stomach. I actually felt like my body was absorbing the sugars and questionable nutrients without passing through the gastric stage, at all – like my starved muscles were sucking energy directly out of that gooey confection. That junk-food bar was hitting my empty stomach like spit on a hot grille. 

I remember making a mental note about this eerie experience. I called it the furnace – and I’ve chased after it, ever since.

It’s not hunger. It’s something way beyond hunger.

When you begin a diet and exercise program, assuming it’s intense enough, the first stage you undergo is called ketosis. During this phase, your body begins metabolizing the fat that’s been stored around your liver, and in the fatty deposits on your hips, glutes, and abs. In the advanced stages of ketosis, you begin to utilize the fat that’s been stored between the individual muscle fibers.

When all that fat’s gone, you undergo the second phase. This is called glyconeogenesis. During this phase, your metabolism attempts to make glucose out of the protein in your diet. At a certain point, you actually begin to manipulate your own metabolism – hence the term, metabolic manipulation. Here’s where you can begin turning the clock back. Here’s where you can say goodbye to the old sick you, and hello to the teenager inside.

Now quite honestly, this isn’t going to happen if you drop down to 2000 Kcal, and walk around a mall for 20 minutes a day. You’re going to have to quit eating simple carbohydrates all together. You’re going to have to force yourself to get by on something like 1200 calories per day, and above all, you’re going to have to start an intensive exercise program – at a gym, and with a good trainer. Exercise is my medicine.

It’s costly and time consuming. It’s difficult. It requires making extensive changes to your schedule, your social life, and your entire lifestyle. You’ll fight with your spouse. Your friends won’t get it. Your boss will feel put out.

You’ll start shopping at different stores, wearing different clothes and seeking out alternatives to everything. You’ll find yourself taking the stairs instead of the elevator, parking at the far end of the lot and biking – or walking – instead of driving.

But, the payout! Oh, my God! The payout is phenomenal. You’ll feel better than you’ve ever felt in your life. You won’t be all drag-assed at 2:30 in the afternoon, anymore. You’ll be able to say goodbye to the annual cold. Depression? So long. In short, like I say, you’ll be like a kid, again. It’s a long road to tread, but believe me; it’s worth every step.

***

I hope you enjoyed reading this post. I want so much to be able to write for you, and share my experiences in this journey. Won’t you please consider donating a little something to my contribution site?

http://www.gofundme.com/New30-Magazine

If you can’t make a financial commitment, please follow me at my blog site, http://new30magazine.blogspot.com/. Read my work, and please, click on some ads. I hate advertising as much as you do, but why not let some big corporation pay for all this?

Read the magazine http://www.scribd.com/doc/52161036. Leave a comment at http://blogs.alternet.org/bitcodavid/ and join the FaceBook page http://www.facebook.com/pages/N%C2%B530/201793856513929?sk=wall

 

Raise Money Online

An Addendum

A scene in the movie, “V for Vendetta,” inspired this idea. I call it English Breakfast – Un-English-ized. Apparently, the English take white Bread, and fry it in lard, with an egg on top. In order for it to work, you’d have to pretty much smother the thing in saturated fats. But then again, the English consider fat a spice, so…
Here’s what I did. Put about 2 Tbsp. of soy butter on the pre-heated grille, or in a skillet. Take 2 slices of Food For Life Brand Ezekiel 4.9 flourless multi-grain, and toast one side in the sizzling butter.

On the back of the grille, or in another skillet, fry 2 cage free, happy chicken eggs. After about 3 minutes, turn the bread slices over. You might have to add just a touch more butter. Remember, the goal is to make the toast crunchy and delicious, while still keeping the thing non-toxic. Now, just quickly turn the eggs, and flop them – 1 each – onto the sizzling hot toast. Serve open face.

Serving size: 1 sandwich (1 of 2, following above recipe.)
Calories: 250
Fat: 21 grams
Carbohydrates (total): 14 grams
Protein: 10 grams
Two hundred and fifty calories would easily allow two sandwiches to fit into a diet of 1500 – 2000 Kcal. Carbohydrates come from the Ezekiel bread, and are mostly fiber. 0.25 g/Kcal protein means that the calories in this food are about 25% full.

***

As mentioned this week on the FaceBook page, I read an article linking hyperglycemia and Diabetes to the use of statin drugs. Now, doctors regularly prescribe statins to lower serum cholesterol - even more so, in the case of Diabetics. Most doctors want Diabetic LDL to be at about 70, due to increased risk of arterial disease in Diabetic patients. They may in fact, be prescribing the very drug that is making it difficult for them to control the Diabetes. Ok. I promised you the link, and here it is. http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2011/03/28/the-stealth-drug-cause-of-diabetes.aspx

I’ve been going toe to toe with my endocrinologist – although I love the dude – over statin use for a couple of years now, but for different reasons. They severely impact leg muscles, and what kind of fighter / runner has weak legs? Anyway, you don’t need them. You can control cholesterol yourself, without drugs.

Oh, by the way. While you’re at the FaceBook link, as the Yidisshe-mama in me would say, so would it kill you to maybe click “Like?”

***

Jack says hi. He really hopes you enjoyed his column this month. Jack ponders many deep questions in life, but most recently, he’s concerned about why – every week – we take all our best stuff and put it on the sidewalk, for men in big trucks to bring home to their dogs.

***

I’m trying to do this for a job. I want to provide my readers with a high quality and helpful resource, and at the same time create an income for myself. I put in much more than 40 hours per week, as it is. So, yes. I need the contribution money, and yes, I’m using it as a personal piggy bank.

Please understand, if a person has a job, they get paid. They use the money to pay things like rent and credit card bills. That’s all I’m doing. I’m trying to get paid for doing a job. Until this thing becomes self-supporting, which is the business plan, I need your help.

Please, please, go to the contrib. Page and consider giving whatever you can. If everybody who reads this magazine could throw in just 5 bucks, I’d be out of the hot water, and the wolf would be gone from the door.
If you just plain don’t have anything at all to give, please, go to the blog site and click on one of the ads. You don’t have to buy anything, just click on an ad or two. You’ll be helping me, and above all, you’ll be helping Jack.

Raise Money Online

Hey, if you want to read this in it's neat magazine formatting, go to http://www.scribd.com/doc/52426434

There's a bunch of really cool embedded links in that version.

Here's the link to the newest issue

I'll be back with more to say, but for now:


April's Nµ30 Magazine! 

Raise Money Online

A Note of Gratitude

Well, the premier issue of Nµ30 magazine went off without a hitch. Actually, I guess there was a hitch or two, but that’s not important right now. What is important is that I’d like to take a moment to thank people for the massive support I’ve received in getting this project started.

My two trainers, Sifu Mai Du and Ilir Ymeri, both of whom have demonstrated patience and support, above and beyond the call of duty. Either of them can beat me up, and neither of them has, yet.

I definitely want to thank all of the people who have contributed to my funding through http://www.gofundme.com/New30-Magazine. Many people can’t make a financial contribution, but those individuals have given of themselves by sharing the link and posting on the FaceBook fan page.

There are the invisible contributions of sites like http://www.scribd.com/, http://www.blogger.com and http://blogs.alternet.org. Without them, this valuable project would not be possible.

The interview subjects, medical professionals and product vendors who all contributed of their time and treasure – not only to the premier issue, but also to this and future issues as well.

A special shout out goes to Image Works for helping me to secure my new domain, on which future issues will be served. Don’t click on that one, just yet. There are a bevy of coders and engineers working ‘round the clock to make it ready, but they’re going to need just a bit more time.

My mother (yes, she has a web site) has been steadfast and overwhelming in her support of me prior to this launch, and her unflagging help, advice and support are still going strong.

Furthermore, lest we forget, I’ve been fortunate enough to have one of Boston’s most talented young writers, Jack. The poor dog has pounded the bricks for the better part of his two years on this planet, and finally signed with Nµ30. You’ll be enjoying his wit and wisdom as a regular monthly feature.

Of course, the real heroes in this saga are you, the readers. This is your magazine, and it couldn’t happen without you. So, keep reading, and above all keep exercising. Exercise is my medicine and I know it can be yours as well.

Raise Money Online

Get Busy Living

“Get busy living or get busy dying.” That quote comes from “The Shawshank Redemption” – one of my all time favorite movies. We’re all faced with that paradox, that dillema. How do we get busy living in this new world? What do we do with talents, skills and dreams that we can’t fulfill? How do we help our fellow Man, while surviving ourselves, when there are so many factors working against us?

These questions provided the impetus for me to create my concept magazine - Nµ30. This project is of incredible importance to me, and I believe, to others grappling with the same issues.

I wanted something that I could do for a job in an economy that no longer provides for people who want jobs. I wanted something that could allow me to use the talents and skills that took me a lifetime to hone. I wanted something that would enable, and provide for me, to continue in my miraculous self-help program that saved my life and got me off the “Big Pharma” jag that was my disease.

Nµ30 can and will be that lifeline. It will allow me to employ myself, and to employ my talents.
OK, I get that it’s somewhat rough. I get that the videos didn’t work in this first issue. They will in the second. I get that the “magazine” layout I wanted might be a few months off in the future. I also get that selling a product that has no advertising, no subscription base and no official backing might be difficult – perhaps, at this early stage, impossible.

However, I don’t care. See, I got the idea, and the first priority for me, became making it so. I wanted to get busy living, and I had to take some short cuts to get it out there. It’s a work in progress, and it’s growing and developing every day. It’s an adventure, and an experiment, that requires your help. I need funding. I need following. I need readership. I need people who share my vision – a renaissance vision of self-sufficiency, strength and inventiveness.

I’m writing this note, today, to convince people how important I think this can end up being. Not just for Jack, my poor overworked wife, and me, but also for all the people who read it and take from it the spark of inspiration for them to find their own program to a revitalized youth, and an independence from doctors and drugs.

Here’s some of what you can do to be part of the Nµ30 movement, and to help me realize this pipe dream of mine.

Primarily, I need financing to maintain my support, until I can begin to sell this project to those who will be providing it to you, the readers. That can be accomplished by clicking the following link:

http://www.gofundme.com/New30-Magazine

If you can’t make a financial commitment – and believe me, I understand – you can share this link out. You can e-mail it to your friends. Show it to your doctor, your pharmacist. Put it on your bulletin board at work. I’m doing everything I can to get the word out, but we need eyeballs. We need people to see both the magazine itself, and the promotional pages. We need people who are in a position to donate, to do so. In order for that to happen, they need to see it.

Secondarily, I need “Likes” and readers. You can read the magazine, by going to this link:

http://www.scribd.com/doc/49813702/N%C2%B530-Premier

While you’re there, you can get some of Jack’s wit and wisdom by clicking:

http://www.scribd.com/doc/50063527/A-Little-Help-From-One-of-Boston-s-Edgier-Journalists

In coming months, you’ll be able to join private groups dedicated to this magazine and its broader conceptual idea. You’ll also be able to click on the embedded links, and support us that way. Right now, you can go to:
http://www.facebook.com/pages/N%C2%B530/201793856513929?sk=wall and click “Like.”
So please consider helping me bring this resource to the people who need it. I thank you, and Jack – the Internet rock star – thanks you.

Raise Money Online

Another Way I Need your Help

In 1984, I attended a birthday celebration for Jack LaLanne. He had just turned 70, and was performing a demonstration at Government Center in Boston. I watched that old man pull a tractor-trailer combo – with his teeth. I don’t know that I’ll be able to do anything like that, when I reach that milestone age, but I do know that I won’t be living on a mobility scooter, and eating through a tube.

The “Hawg” Lived in Quincy, Massachusetts. Every morning, he’d encase his ankles in good old-fashioned bald headed women – the obsolete term applied to the ball and chain, as worn by prisoners on work gangs. He’d wear them all day. Once, some constables came to his house to serve him with a court order. The Hawg was preparing to do the engine overhaul on an old Caddie, at the time, and had just finished disconnecting the motor mounts. As the men approached, the Hawg grabbed that 600 cubic inch big block – V8, picked it up in his massive arms, pulled it into his barrel-like chest, and dropped it at the constables’ feet. Wordlessly, they got back into their car and left. He had just turned 60.

I once knew a man who was so fat – a moving crew was hired to move all his possessions and furniture down to the first floor of his home, because he could no longer climb his own stairs. That man is dead now, and we all suffer at the loss, because he was a warm and generous Human being. Or there’s the one about the cab driver I knew, who had to have his cabs modified with truck shocks, because he was so heavy, the standard suspension systems couldn’t support his weight.

I was slogging away on the treadmill, at my old gym. I was maybe 2 or 3 months, post-diagnosis. From the window, I could see a huge man, lumbering through the parking lot, on crutches. As he approached, I noticed that one of his feet had been amputated, and I knew immediately – Diabetes. As I upped the speed on the belt, I heard a voice in my head that said, there’s your future. That’s you in 5 years.

Gratefully, I never got quite that big, but what’s it like to be 400 pounds? How does the world feel to those people? I can tell you how it feels at 205. I can tell you what 30% body fat feels like, to haul around. Yes, I have a story to tell.

And, that’s what Nµ30 Magazine is all about. My goal – my mission – with this magazine is to help people. To provide those who need information, with the most comprehensive, most up to date, most unbiased and highest quality information available. But, Nµ30 is also about community. It’s about all of us helping each other.

I have a story to tell, yes, but what about you? Most of the people I’m in contact with are writers, and all of us have something to say. I want to hear from you. I want to know your stories – your successes and your failures. I would like to extend the invitation to writers who are struggling with health and fitness issues, and writers who have overcome these obstacles, to help me create this valuable resource.
While I can’t yet offer financial remuneration, I can offer you an opportunity to get your work seen by people who really want to hear what you have to say, and an opportunity to help those in need.
Please – submit your stories, articles, op-eds and research pieces to Nµ30 magazine by emailing

new30magazine@gmail.com
.
The Magazine comes out monthly, on the 1^st of each month. Articles need to be submitted by the 15^th, for inclusion in the following month’s issue. Please submit via Word, in .doc format. Although I only have room for one article per month, I promise to read them all
.
So, be a guest columnist in Nµ30 Magazine. Support others, receive support from them, and help launch the first true quality magazine devoted to athleticism, eating right and living better – in midlife.
You can see the latest versions and updates at

http://www.scribd.com/doc/49813702/N%C2%B530-Premier

And don’t forget to “Like” us up at

http://www.facebook.com/pages/N%C2%B530/201793856513929?sk=wall

I really need you to actually click on this link, and "Like" the page, itself. Clicking "Like" on the posts doesn't appear to translate through.

Also, please keep sharing us out. All of us have friends and relatives that are struggling with weight problems and/or Diabetes. You can help them, and me, by simply sharing this note, or the links for the magazine and its pages.

The Yahoo groups and a YouTube Branded Channel are in the works, and should be ready in a day or so.
Nµ30 – where 50 is the new 30.

Raise Money Online

Nµ30 Magazine

I’m happy. All day, every day, I’m elated. You see – I used to be a Type II Diabetic. I’m not anymore. I can say that honestly. Even my endocrinologist agrees, and he thinks that’s impossible. The fact remains, however, that my A-1cs – with no medication – have been consistent at 4.5 for the past two years.

I’m not managing my Diabetes; I’ve cured my Diabetes. No hype, no Tibetan miracle cures, no magic. I did it through hard work, hard science and some simple, good old-fashioned logic.

I did it with the help and encouragement of my doctors, not in spite of them. Neither of them, however, held out much hope for my success.

I did it with my parents’ generous financial help and emotional support. I did it with the constant driving push of my two personal trainers. I did it by exploring alternatives in both medicine and lifestyle.
And… sadly, I did it by ignoring the ADA and all the dieticians and “web-doctors” who constantly gave me information that seemed to make no sense.

My wife came home, one afternoon, beaming with pride in having purchased the latest ADA cookbook. I started looking through it. Nothing in this book appeared extremely low carbohydrate to me. In fact, they actually had recipes that called for sugar – good old fashioned, white, processed, table sugar! Oh, we fought like two wet cats in a sack, Maureen and I. She wanted me to follow the advice of the “experts,” but something inside me just kept telling me that they were wrong. How can you fight Diabetes by eating sugar? It just doesn’t make any sense.

In fact, the ADA appeared to be more concerned about salt! Oh yeah, right. I just spent 10 and ½ hours in the Emergency room, because I had too much salt in my blood. That must be why they had to give me all that saline.

Here I was, thirsty all the time, and the one element that would allow my body to process and store water, is contra-indicated by the community dedicated to helping me manage my disease.  Meanwhile, the single organic toxin that was turning my kidneys into charcoal, and my hemoglobin into sludge was considered part of a recommended diet.

I was told to exercise. I laugh when I think about it. They told me to go walk around a mall. That’s what they said. Walk around a mall? If that’s exercise, why do I see so many blobs of excess flesh, waddling around in malls?

70% of Americans are overweight. 40% of us are actually morbidly obese. 26 million people in this country have Type II Diabetes. What used to be called “adult onset,” is now commonly diagnosed in 11 year-olds.
I sat in the waiting room of the Massachusetts General Hospital Diabetes Care clinic. A very nice man, also a patient, was telling me how he had effectively cut down from 12 Cokes per day, to 6. That’s a half a pound of sugar a day! Half a pound! Oh, perhaps I should mention that the primary sugar source in Coke is High Fructose Corn Syrup, which carries with it a 4 – 1 molar ratio over regular sucrose. So – basically – convert that ½ pound of sugar into the chemical equivalent of 2 pounds of table sugar.

That’s OK. Just avoid too much salt, take your Metformin religiously, and maybe you should consider a Statin to lower your LDL serum cholesterol.

I’m sorry if this post sounds angry, bitter, and perhaps even hateful. I apologize for any tone of judgmental meanness. I understand how frustrating and emotionally crippling this disease can be. I’ve been there. I remember the embarrassment, the isolation, and the frustration.

I remember the confusion. I remember how sick the Metformin made me feel. I remember the prognoses of dialysis, amputation and pre-mature death. I remember my endocrinologist, pronouncing sentence. “You will take this medicine for the rest of your life.”

Moreover, I remember when I decided to take back my life. When I decided to grab the reigns, and stop this merry-go-round. Eating a drug that makes you incontinent, nauseated, and dizzy, while trudging around a mall for 20 minutes, as your blood glucose peaks and dips, isn’t the answer.

Metabolic manipulation is. Re-teaching your body to work like the machine it was designed to be is. It’s hard, and it takes a long time. I’m not offering anybody a magic bullet. I’m not peddling a false panacea. I’m trying to tell you that you don’t have to be a Diabetic. Essentially, you’ll be trying to accomplish something that is generally considered impossible, so you can’t expect it to be easy. It takes massive sacrifice. It costs massive amounts of money. It requires massive amounts of time.

If you ask me, though – if you ask someone who can, again enjoy the life he was given, free of this overwhelming penance – it’s a great trade.
Check out the premier issue of my e-mag, Nµ30
 .
http://www.scribd.com/doc/49813702/N%C2%B530-Premier

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My Idea Unveiled

Those who know me know that I have an active sense of humor. It was for this reason, that I joined a FaceBook group whose free and irreverent joking has made it a mainstay for several thousand users. Of the many types of jokes commonly posted on this group, are photos of naked fat guys, sitting at their computers. They put up the pictures, and we all have a good laugh, and make comments about these anonymous individuals, whose suffering is their celebrity.

Reality shows now rely on the couch potato who needs to be hoisted via crane, from her home to the doctor’s office for what must be an exercise in frustration and futility for both.

A part of me, however, finds this cavalier entertainment, quite painful. Statistics are commonplace, stating that 70% of Americans are overweight. I’m told that as much as 40% of us are actually morbidly obese – that’s almost half of the population.

From my early adulthood, up until my late 30s, I was quite athletic. My body ran like a Ferrari, and my metabolism ticked like a Breitling. After I was married, and I was bogged down in trying to run a business, I blew up like the Hindenburg. We’re talking “Orca-fat,” here. When I was 49 I was diagnosed with Diabetes, and the reality came crashing home, that I was to spend what little time I had left, as one of the old and sick.
The very people I had so arrogantly sneered at and snubbed, were now a club reserving a “gold” membership, in my name. I was “fat guy.jpg.” Maybe, I didn’t need a crane to haul my carcass to the doctor, but I did barely have the strength to make it in on my own power. A simple drive into town, park in a public lot, and walk all of two blocks to his first floor office – and it felt like I was Jesse Owens trying to single-handedly win the Olympics.

Being sick is no fun – and it’s certainly no source of pride.

Deep inside me, two figures were squaring off. A ghost and a goner were getting ready to go toe to toe in a steel-cage death-match. David the martial artist, bike messenger, speed skater, mountain climber vs. David the tub o’ guts – was on, and the purse was nothing short of my life.

Well the challenger took it in a KO. The old, fat and sick David was carried off the mat – belly up.
A few weeks ago, as I was struggling to find a worthwhile form of viable employment, and having some maintenance performed on my new “split window Corvette” of a body, an idea came to me. A way I could help my friends, and others struggling with health and well being issues – and pursue a career at the same time. I could create an e-magazine. I’ve talked about this idea in the loosest of terms, on FaceBook, and to a few select individuals in RL.

Well, the Premier issue is online. Check it out. Let me know what you think.

http://www.scribd.com/doc/49813702/N%C2%B530-Premier

Raise Money Online