Rebuild – Part 1

I am on a vacation, a rebuild vacation and the rebuild is only part 1.

Am I ever glad the rebuild, part 1, is occurring during my vacation!

Yesterday, in the heat of the afternoon, my bride (Sharon) and I walked four miles in the heat of the day, the hottest day of the year according to the newscasters. Sharon had a tough time of it – we had walked three miles earlier in the day – and she was worn out.

This morning (7/22/2011), to prove her pluck, she chose an eight mile round trip walk on what turns out to be the second hottest day of the year. This one wore me out. The stops at the bank, at the four mile point, to make a deposit and at the coffee shop, a short distance closer to home, for iced tea did not help me. I am made to sweat and the A/C just chilled me to no end.

When we made it home I had dropped five lbs. in sweat. That is a serious walk. My blood sugar was up, but my body was consuming it at a rapid rate so that was okay. Sharon? She continued walking about downtown to complete two other tasks.

So where am I after two weeks of a rebuild vacation? My blood sugar levels are almost normalized. Before it was difficult to get them to drop below 150 or 176 hours after eating and rising after a night of sleep they were often 140 to 155. Now after sleeping they are generally 80 to 120 and often 90-110 which is a major improvement and seldom over 155 at all.

Exercise (walking) and weight loss? Slowest day was four miles, maximum day was ten miles walking and the weight continues to drop, today I saw 223.2 lbs. after walking eight miles. That’s an overall drop of 21 lbs. in three weeks (started walking a week prior to vacation). Not bad, not bad at all. When I return to work in 8 days the walking will drop to three miles prior to work and two miles after work when our schedule permits the 2 miles in the evening.

Sleep study showed a mild obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) with the two prime improvement areas indicated for me. One – exercise and weight loss, man oh man, am I ever on top of that one! Two - sleeping on my side much more vice sleeping on my back where most of my OSA occurs oddly enough. I can find a number of ways to increase sleep time on my sides. Yep. Plus an oral device to keep my airway from closing off the breathing passage and an oximeter with memory to record my oxygen saturation levels while sleeping. The latter will let me know if more or less OSA is occurring as the saturation levels usually drop during an OSA episode.

Diet? Major improvement. No sweets, none, zero – that is good. Carbs are few and far between – way lower than before, but some carbs are necessary.

Bottom line: I am responsible for my health.

I permitted my health to ‘drift’ and ‘drift’ further and further away from a norm and had quit checking my blood sugar for 2-3 months. Why check? After all I knew I was cheating and then over compensating from time to time. God has given me the gift of type II diabetes which requires I eat healthy (very healthy) and exercise (sufficiently to keep my weight and blood sugar down) and I can live a long and healthy life. If I don’t do that … well, I have had a glimpse of that future and it’s not one I want. Praise God for his discipline

Psalm 94

⁸ Take notice, you senseless ones among the people; you fools, when will you become wise?
⁹ Does he who fashioned the ear not hear? Does he who formed the eye not see?
¹⁰ Does he who disciplines nations not punish? Does he who teaches mankind lack knowledge?
¹¹ The LORD knows all human plans; he knows that they are futile.

¹² Blessed is the one you discipline, LORD, the one you teach from your law;
¹³ you grant them relief from days of trouble … (boldface and italics added).