Any lifters/bodybuilders out there? Phil Graham's Diabetic Muscle & Fitness Guide - any good?

Safi

Well-Known Member
Messages
515
Type of diabetes
Prediabetes
Treatment type
Diet only
It sounds like a lot but it very soon becomes second nature :) I personally prefer to workout on an empty stomach so all I do is add a pinch or two of salt to my morning coffee but there are plenty of recipes for 'Ketoaide' (like a low carb gatorade/sports drink) doing the rounds of the interwebs. This link https://ketogains.com/2017/06/keto-flu-electrolyte-imbalances/ gives a good overview. If you're not fully keto then you may not need as much as recommended but it's a good place to start.
 
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IronLioness

Well-Known Member
Messages
299
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Diet only
Dislikes
Routine
It sounds like a lot but it very soon becomes second nature :) I personally prefer to workout on an empty stomach so all I do is add a pinch or two of salt to my morning coffee but there are plenty of recipes for 'Ketoaide' (like a low carb gatorade/sports drink) doing the rounds of the interwebs. This link https://ketogains.com/2017/06/keto-flu-electrolyte-imbalances/ gives a good overview. If you're not fully keto then you may not need as much as recommended but it's a good place to start.
Yup, I prefer fasted workouts, to be honest, definitely fasted cardio works better for me. I'll give the pinch of salt a go, too. Thanks for the link, too, I'll have a look. So so much to get my head around!
 

Safi

Well-Known Member
Messages
515
Type of diabetes
Prediabetes
Treatment type
Diet only
For what it's worth I've never felt the need to supplement my potassium beyond what I get from food. I do just fine so long as I keep my sodium & magnesium levels up - too low on either & I get migraines.

Anyhoo - for those moments where you feel a bit overwhelmed by all the info (I still can at times) I highly recommend the delightfully sarcastic & fantastically knowledgeable Amy Berger http://www.tuitnutrition.com/2017/12/start-with-atkins.html - she really is a voice of calm & reason in the low carb universe.
 
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Sean01

Guest
You're right it's subjective and generic. For me particularly, when I say body transformation I mainly mean losing weight and body fat. I've been a gym bunny with weights and cardio for 15yrs now, my core is super strong, in terms of core physicality - strong muscles, good recovery, endurance etc. My problem has been (is) **** bad habits and inconsistent diet. Over the 15yrs I've been in various physically fit/not fit states with my weight, so before the diabetes diagnoses I was already on a mission to reduce the body fat and weightloss, quite simply because I hit 40 this year in June and realised I'm not treating my body as I should. Then came the diabetes which really drilled home that message. Personally, transformation wise, I'm more about strength and power, I'd love to do a transformation show, maybe, but more than that I'm aiming at just being the absolute best physical version of myself that I can be. My theory is that the body is a machine, and I've done dedicated a lot of time to building good core inner strength and power but I really need to level up and tackle the outside issues - drop the bad habits and inconsistent diet, to reduce weight/fat loss. If that makes sense?!
Don't worry about the inconsistencies in diet - managing your diabetes will help so much with that. I don't just test before and after each work out. I often test 5-6 more times a day. It will help you understand how each food item/meal affects you and you will soon learn what habits help keep your blood sugar levels in the right range. Early days yet.

Sean
 
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Mbaker

Well-Known Member
Messages
4,339
Type of diabetes
Type 2 (in remission!)
Treatment type
Diet only
Dislikes
Available fast foods in Supermarkets
Good information, thank you for the reply. Body building, as such, is not my aim but I'm not ruling it out. I think I'd have my work cut out, but it's doable. At the moment my target is making sure the inner strength/muscle matches my outer - too many years of inconsistencies across the board. Ironically, the fitness lifestyle and sector is where I feel most comfortable/happy, usually in a gym. I need to test out the BG on tests, as you and others have said. I get the monitor when I'm home later today, and I'll be back in the gym tomorrow, so I hope to start getting some indications of what I can do, when, how much it will affect my blood glucose, or not as the case may be, and also how hard I can push myself. I'm looking forward to learning more about this side of diabetes - how exercise impacts it. Your routine is impressive, I max deadlift at 120 but had to go down the scale as carpal tunnel reared its head, but I adapt now, and it seems to work.
It is a balancing act, go heavy and the incidence of injury increases on the negative side, but the pmus is faster gains....or maybe not. There is a school of thought that lighter weights to failure (one rep before bad form) is just as effective for hypertrophy with less chance of injury. I am testing this now especially with basic calisthenics and sprinting during walks.

For those who maybe are reading this and have not got the exercise bug, start small with consistency, do not try to follow others, give your body and especially connectors such as wrists time to adapt. Once adapted push when you can.
 
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IronLioness

Well-Known Member
Messages
299
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Diet only
Dislikes
Routine
Don't worry about the inconsistencies in diet - managing your diabetes will help so much with that. I don't just test before and after each work out. I often test 5-6 more times a day. It will help you understand how each food item/meal affects you and you will soon learn what habits help keep your blood sugar levels in the right range. Early days yet.

Sean
Thanks Sean, appreciate the info. I had my first session since diagnosis last week, didn't totally go hardcore, I thought best to edge into it slowly. All things considered, it went well, I felt fine, and blood post training seemed fine. I'll keep tracking and see how things go.
 

IronLioness

Well-Known Member
Messages
299
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Diet only
Dislikes
Routine
It is a balancing act, go heavy and the incidence of injury increases on the negative side, but the pmus is faster gains....or maybe not. There is a school of thought that lighter weights to failure (one rep before bad form) is just as effective for hypertrophy with less chance of injury. I am testing this now especially with basic calisthenics and sprinting during walks.

For those who maybe are reading this and have not got the exercise bug, start small with consistency, do not try to follow others, give your body and especially connectors such as wrists time to adapt. Once adapted push when you can.
I've trained to failure before, I can handle it, but then again that was when I was super fit in training to climb Ben Nevis. I could go there again with that level of training, I think my head is in the right place, my body will need to catch up, but the key elements are there. Up until recently I was focusing on a 5x5 with mixed hiit cardio to kick start or finish off.

I've taken this diagnosis as a positive - it's pushed me forward in the right direction of understanding the need for consistency and discipline with my training. Boy oh boy, do I get it now, but - I also genuinely love training and gym work, so I'm good with that. I love learning new principles, making sure technique doesn't suffer and its just gotten a whole lot more serious for me in terms of fuelling the body machine to better support it lasting as long as it can, and to get to the best fitness state I can possibly achieve. Totally focused..
 

Alexandra100

Well-Known Member
Messages
3,738
Type of diabetes
Prediabetes
Treatment type
Tablets (oral)
I max deadlift at 120 but had to go down the scale as carpal tunnel reared its head
Carpal tunnel syndrome is a known diabetic complication. According to Dr Bernstein, keeping bg as near normal as possible may at least stop this getting worse.
 
S

Sean01

Guest
Thanks Sean, appreciate the info. I had my first session since diagnosis last week, didn't totally go hardcore, I thought best to edge into it slowly. All things considered, it went well, I felt fine, and blood post training seemed fine. I'll keep tracking and see how things go.
Fantastic. Hope you don't mind me sending you a hug. You've started your journey. Keep going. You are going to learn so many amazing things about what you mind and body can really achieve.
Stay in touch - let me know how you are doing. I have a big anniversary coming up on the 24th October - In 1986 I missed getting hit by a bus but got run over by a car overtaking the bus. Almost written off! But adversity can be turned around. After recovering from that one, I earned my body building nick name 'Phoenix O'Shea'.
 
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IronLioness

Well-Known Member
Messages
299
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Diet only
Dislikes
Routine
Fantastic. Hope you don't mind me sending you a hug. You've started your journey. Keep going. You are going to learn so many amazing things about what you mind and body can really achieve.
Stay in touch - let me know how you are doing. I have a big anniversary coming up on the 24th October - In 1986 I missed getting hit by a bus but got run over by a car overtaking the bus. Almost written off! But adversity can be turned around. After recovering from that one, I earned my body building nick name 'Phoenix O'Shea'.
Absolutely appreciate the hug, thanks Sean! It's all so new, so much to get my head around but in an odd kind of way I genuinely think this diagnosis might have been the best thing to happen to me! Now, I *have* to level up and really look after my body, and fuel it rather than push it into decline mode, doh.. . I feel your anniversary, I didn't have such an epic moment but my life changing moment was the blood clot and Pulmonary embolism in 2015, it shook me to my core because by rights, it was very close to not being a happy ending, couldn't breathe etc. Someone 'up there' has got my back, so with this, I'm not wasting the opportunity to live life to the fullest and get my body working right. I can relate to the phoenix life methodology.

Can I ask a question, when you were involved in the accident, did you have a moment of clarity at all, as in, did it change you in any way? Make you more determined to achieve goals etc? I find this fascinating because I had a kind of mindset change when I was in hospital back with the blood clot nonsense, made me so much more grateful for just being able to be around another day..
 
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Alexandra100

Well-Known Member
Messages
3,738
Type of diabetes
Prediabetes
Treatment type
Tablets (oral)
Carpal tunnel syndrome is a known diabetic complication. According to Dr Bernstein, keeping bg as near normal as possible may at least stop this getting worse.
I found this on Jenny Ruhl's site:

"Carpal Tunnel Syndrome May Indicate Future Diabetes Risk

By Miranda Hitti
This article is from the WebMD News Archive
This content has not been reviewed within the past year and may not represent WebMD's most up-to-date information.

Aug. 22, 2006 -- Carpal tunnel syndrome may be an early warning sign that diabetes is just around the corner.

The carpal tunnel is found in the wrist. In carpal tunnel syndrome, a nerve in the carpal tunnel becomes pinched due to swelling of the nerve and/or nearby tendons.

The pinched nerve can cause numbness, tingling, and sometimes pain in the fingers, hand, and forearm.

It's well known that people with diabetes are more likely to get carpal tunnel syndrome. But researchers wanted to find out if the risk actually goes up before diabetes develops -- when a person has pre-diabetes.

In pre-diabetes, fasting blood sugar is 100 to 125 mg/dL. Diabetes develops once the fasting blood sugarreaches 126.

The Diabetes Carpal Tunnel Link
So, researchers, including Martin Gulliford, FRCP, of King's College in London, looked at 2,655 patients with pre-diabetes who later went on to develop diabetes. They were compared with nearly 5,300 people without the disease.

Next, Gulliford's team scrolled back through nearly nine years of the patients' medical records.

The researchers found that people who had been diagnosed with carpal tunnel syndrome were 36% more likely to later be diagnosed with diabetes, regardless of other diabetes risk factors.

The study doesn't prove carpal tunnel syndrome causes diabetes."

Full test here: https://www.webmd.com/pain-management/carpal-tunnel/news/20060822/carpal-tunnel-predict-diabetes
 
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IronLioness

Well-Known Member
Messages
299
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Diet only
Dislikes
Routine
I found this on Jenny Ruhl's site:

"Carpal Tunnel Syndrome May Indicate Future Diabetes Risk

By Miranda Hitti
This article is from the WebMD News Archive
This content has not been reviewed within the past year and may not represent WebMD's most up-to-date information.

Aug. 22, 2006 -- Carpal tunnel syndrome may be an early warning sign that diabetes is just around the corner.

The carpal tunnel is found in the wrist. In carpal tunnel syndrome, a nerve in the carpal tunnel becomes pinched due to swelling of the nerve and/or nearby tendons.

The pinched nerve can cause numbness, tingling, and sometimes pain in the fingers, hand, and forearm.

It's well known that people with diabetes are more likely to get carpal tunnel syndrome. But researchers wanted to find out if the risk actually goes up before diabetes develops -- when a person has pre-diabetes.

In pre-diabetes, fasting blood sugar is 100 to 125 mg/dL. Diabetes develops once the fasting blood sugarreaches 126.

The Diabetes Carpal Tunnel Link
So, researchers, including Martin Gulliford, FRCP, of King's College in London, looked at 2,655 patients with pre-diabetes who later went on to develop diabetes. They were compared with nearly 5,300 people without the disease.

Next, Gulliford's team scrolled back through nearly nine years of the patients' medical records.

The researchers found that people who had been diagnosed with carpal tunnel syndrome were 36% more likely to later be diagnosed with diabetes, regardless of other diabetes risk factors.

The study doesn't prove carpal tunnel syndrome causes diabetes."

Full test here: https://www.webmd.com/pain-management/carpal-tunnel/news/20060822/carpal-tunnel-predict-diabetes
Holy ****!!! Thanks for this, @Alexandra100 - I had/have Carpal Tunnel, had the operation on my left hand last year, good grief! I never even dreamt that it could be prelude to diabetes! Goodness me, so basically all the warning signs were there and adding up! Holy moly, how silly I've been.. There was me thinking it was because I was trying to pull 120 on deadlifts, doh!!! This link is a great help, thanks Alexandra, it's given me yet another kick up the backside to put my health as a priority.
 

Alexandra100

Well-Known Member
Messages
3,738
Type of diabetes
Prediabetes
Treatment type
Tablets (oral)
Holy ****!!! Thanks for this, @Alexandra100 - I had/have Carpal Tunnel, had the operation on my left hand last year, good grief! I never even dreamt that it could be prelude to diabetes! Goodness me, so basically all the warning signs were there and adding up! Holy moly, how silly I've been.. There was me thinking it was because I was trying to pull 120 on deadlifts, doh!!! This link is a great help, thanks Alexandra, it's given me yet another kick up the backside to put my health as a priority.
I'm so glad this interested you. But if you have been silly (and IMO you absolutely haven't) so is the vast majority of the medical profession. I have seen this connection made only by JR and Dr B. When I try to tell doctors and specialists that I have discovered that raised bgs are the link that connects many of my diverse health problems and at last explains them, they just blank me. Regarding those deadlifts, I imagine that your wrists had become vulnerable and therefore heavy lifting upset them, so you weren't wholly mistaken there.
 
S

Sean01

Guest
Absolutely appreciate the hug, thanks Sean! It's all so new, so much to get my head around but in an odd kind of way I genuinely think this diagnosis might have been the best thing to happen to me! Now, I *have* to level up and really look after my body, and fuel it rather than push it into decline mode, doh.. . I feel your anniversary, I didn't have such an epic moment but my life changing moment was the blood clot and Pulmonary embolism in 2015, it shook me to my core because by rights, it was very close to not being a happy ending, couldn't breathe etc. Someone 'up there' has got my back, so with this, I'm not wasting the opportunity to live life to the fullest and get my body working right. I can relate to the phoenix life methodology.

Can I ask a question, when you were involved in the accident, did you have a moment of clarity at all, as in, did it change you in any way? Make you more determined to achieve goals etc? I find this fascinating because I had a kind of mindset change when I was in hospital back with the blood clot nonsense, made me so much more grateful for just being able to be around another day..

24th October 1986 - a Friday.
The night before - my then girlfriend who was T1 fell into a coma at a student disco. Everyone else was drunk. I called an ambulance got her to hospital and stayed with her until I had to go - it was a toga party. I did not want to hang around a central London hospital and travel back to New Cross on a rush hour train in a pink toga.
24th mid afternoon. Students Union. I get a call - pop up. We found your girlfriend's bag with keys, wallet, insulin etc. Mystery solved. Around 4:30 in the afternoon., I was walking from the university main building to her hall of residence with her bag. Two guys thought I was an easy target. next things - in the middle of the road dancing with a bus and then getting run over.

The next 3 weeks:
Internal fixing in the leg (one of the earliest - Barry Sheen had just been done 80+ nuts and bolts. I had 11
Within days my girls friend got bored visiting me - too emotional apparently. I called her one evening - she was out at a night club. By the next morning she had a new boyfriend - They're still married or so I 've heard.

My confidence is based on being big. I lost three stone in the summer to become runner up in the West of Britain championships and lost another 3 stone in hospital, plus about 10 stone of girl friend!!

But here's the change: three weeks in a private room and very little on tv gave me a lot of time to work out who my real friends were and why the not so real ones had disappeared.

1986, 21 years old, very into body building. Me me me me me and sod everybody else. Problem: found it. I needed to change and grow up a bit. The stroppy teenager thing needed to be parked.

A lot of it happened immediately and some took a while to work out but it was a game changer.

Here's a brilliant example. I had a girlfriend at university - prior to the other one. It didn't work. It didn't last. (it wasn't going to help with my body building career so the relationship got shelved. (Me me me me me) She didn't talk to me for years. In fact she even wrote a letter to her very big brother (who was living in Tenerife) ranting on about what a nasty piece of work I was.

I know this because the letter surfaced one day when I was at my very big brother in law's house - yes - we ended up getting married. We have two amazing daughters and we all lift weights.

I'm a STEM Ambassador - I volunteer to put on science shows at schools.
Between us we have raised a large enough sum for Macmillan for my kids to receive an award at the Houses of Parliament. My kids are the driving force, but I have appeared (as Santa) about 100 times over the last 15+ years and all donations to Macmillan. In the winter, I creep out in the very early hours and sweep the drive ways for all our elderly neighbours etc

Achieving my goals:
I knew I was never going to compete again. I have two ugly scars - one each side of my knee and my tear drop still hasn't grown back.
But I did realise that I needed to be a nicer more considerate person. I'd like to think I've done that. I still have the occasional moment - I don't like being taken advantage of , and I don't volunteer for everything, not by a long shot, but I think I'm a million miles away from the stroppy teenager I was at the age of 21

Diabetes objectives:

It's a war. It doesn't take a day off - not even on Christmas Day. I fight it every day (Except Christmas Day, because Christmas!) I don't think I'll kick it into remission, but at my age now, I'm stronger than I've ever been and I feel better than I felt at the age of 35. It's hard work, but when you wake up the next day and you know you can handle it................................... with bells on, that's a great feeling.
I also had a heart attack in 2006. I have asthma (since 23) diverticulitis and a dead thyroid. I take meds for blood pressure and cholesterol................and I can wipe the floor with most 30 years olds in a gym and I walked the Loch Ness Marathon in 2012 in 7hrs 24...................I'm winning (but nicely, I hope)

but an embolism and a blood clot would scare the life out of me. You've come back from worse. Don't stop.
 
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IronLioness

Well-Known Member
Messages
299
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Diet only
Dislikes
Routine
24th October 1986 - a Friday.
The night before - my then girlfriend who was T1 fell into a coma at a student disco. Everyone else was drunk. I called an ambulance got her to hospital and stayed with her until I had to go - it was a toga party. I did not want to hang around a central London hospital and travel back to New Cross on a rush hour train in a pink toga.
24th mid afternoon. Students Union. I get a call - pop up. We found your girlfriend's bag with keys, wallet, insulin etc. Mystery solved. Around 4:30 in the afternoon., I was walking from the university main building to her hall of residence with her bag. Two guys thought I was an easy target. next things - in the middle of the road dancing with a bus and then getting run over.

The next 3 weeks:
Internal fixing in the leg (one of the earliest - Barry Sheen had just been done 80+ nuts and bolts. I had 11
Within days my girls friend got bored visiting me - too emotional apparently. I called her one evening - she was out at a night club. By the next morning she had a new boyfriend - They're still married or so I 've heard.

My confidence is based on being big. I lost three stone in the summer to become runner up in the West of Britain championships and lost another 3 stone in hospital, plus about 10 stone of girl friend!!

But here's the change: three weeks in a private room and very little on tv gave me a lot of time to work out who my real friends were and why the not so real ones had disappeared.

1986, 21 years old, very into body building. Me me me me me and sod everybody else. Problem: found it. I needed to change and grow up a bit. The stroppy teenager thing needed to be parked.

A lot of it happened immediately and some took a while to work out but it was a game changer.

Here's a brilliant example. I had a girlfriend at university - prior to the other one. It didn't work. It didn't last. (it wasn't going to help with my body building career so the relationship got shelved. (Me me me me me) She didn't talk to me for years. In fact she even wrote a letter to her very big brother (who was living in Tenerife) ranting on about what a nasty piece of work I was.

I know this because the letter surfaced one day when I was at my very big brother in law's house - yes - we ended up getting married. We have two amazing daughters and we all lift weights.

I'm a STEM Ambassador - I volunteer to put on science shows at schools.
Between us we have raised a large enough sum for Macmillan for my kids to receive an award at the Houses of Parliament. My kids are the driving force, but I have appeared (as Santa) about 100 times over the last 15+ years and all donations to Macmillan. In the winter, I creep out in the very early hours and sweep the drive ways for all our elderly neighbours etc

Achieving my goals:
I knew I was never going to compete again. I have two ugly scars - one each side of my knee and my tear drop still hasn't grown back.
But I did realise that I needed to be a nicer more considerate person. I'd like to think I've done that. I still have the occasional moment - I don't like being taken advantage of , and I don't volunteer for everything, not by a long shot, but I think I'm a million miles away from the stroppy teenager I was at the age of 21

Diabetes objectives:

It's a war. It doesn't take a day off - not even on Christmas Day. I fight it every day (Except Christmas Day, because Christmas!) I don't think I'll kick it into remission, but at my age now, I'm stronger than I've ever been and I feel better than I felt at the age of 35. It's hard work, but when you wake up the next day and you know you can handle it................................... with bells on, that's a great feeling.
I also had a heart attack in 2006. I have asthma (since 23) diverticulitis and a dead thyroid. I take meds for blood pressure and cholesterol................and I can wipe the floor with most 30 years olds in a gym and I walked the Loch Ness Marathon in 2012 in 7hrs 24...................I'm winning (but nicely, I hope)

but an embolism and a blood clot would scare the life out of me. You've come back from worse. Don't stop.

@Sean01 HOLY COW!!!! Sir, no wonder you have 'Phoenix' as part of your BB nickname!!! That's epic! You've dealt with a lot, and handled it all like a true warrior, very admirable! Fair play to you Sean... Also, this is hugely inspirational! Thank you for sharing, really. That's totally given me additional motivation to basically handle myself, level up, get on and deal with the now. Genuinely very impressed! Wow, these forums are blowing my mind - they're full of bad@ss folk handling their health and achieving all sorts! It's not often I'm speechless, but I am....
 

IronLioness

Well-Known Member
Messages
299
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Diet only
Dislikes
Routine
24th October 1986 - a Friday.
The night before - my then girlfriend who was T1 fell into a coma at a student disco. Everyone else was drunk. I called an ambulance got her to hospital and stayed with her until I had to go - it was a toga party. I did not want to hang around a central London hospital and travel back to New Cross on a rush hour train in a pink toga.
24th mid afternoon. Students Union. I get a call - pop up. We found your girlfriend's bag with keys, wallet, insulin etc. Mystery solved. Around 4:30 in the afternoon., I was walking from the university main building to her hall of residence with her bag. Two guys thought I was an easy target. next things - in the middle of the road dancing with a bus and then getting run over.

The next 3 weeks:
Internal fixing in the leg (one of the earliest - Barry Sheen had just been done 80+ nuts and bolts. I had 11
Within days my girls friend got bored visiting me - too emotional apparently. I called her one evening - she was out at a night club. By the next morning she had a new boyfriend - They're still married or so I 've heard.

My confidence is based on being big. I lost three stone in the summer to become runner up in the West of Britain championships and lost another 3 stone in hospital, plus about 10 stone of girl friend!!

But here's the change: three weeks in a private room and very little on tv gave me a lot of time to work out who my real friends were and why the not so real ones had disappeared.

1986, 21 years old, very into body building. Me me me me me and sod everybody else. Problem: found it. I needed to change and grow up a bit. The stroppy teenager thing needed to be parked.

A lot of it happened immediately and some took a while to work out but it was a game changer.

Here's a brilliant example. I had a girlfriend at university - prior to the other one. It didn't work. It didn't last. (it wasn't going to help with my body building career so the relationship got shelved. (Me me me me me) She didn't talk to me for years. In fact she even wrote a letter to her very big brother (who was living in Tenerife) ranting on about what a nasty piece of work I was.

I know this because the letter surfaced one day when I was at my very big brother in law's house - yes - we ended up getting married. We have two amazing daughters and we all lift weights.

I'm a STEM Ambassador - I volunteer to put on science shows at schools.
Between us we have raised a large enough sum for Macmillan for my kids to receive an award at the Houses of Parliament. My kids are the driving force, but I have appeared (as Santa) about 100 times over the last 15+ years and all donations to Macmillan. In the winter, I creep out in the very early hours and sweep the drive ways for all our elderly neighbours etc

Achieving my goals:
I knew I was never going to compete again. I have two ugly scars - one each side of my knee and my tear drop still hasn't grown back.
But I did realise that I needed to be a nicer more considerate person. I'd like to think I've done that. I still have the occasional moment - I don't like being taken advantage of , and I don't volunteer for everything, not by a long shot, but I think I'm a million miles away from the stroppy teenager I was at the age of 21

Diabetes objectives:

It's a war. It doesn't take a day off - not even on Christmas Day. I fight it every day (Except Christmas Day, because Christmas!) I don't think I'll kick it into remission, but at my age now, I'm stronger than I've ever been and I feel better than I felt at the age of 35. It's hard work, but when you wake up the next day and you know you can handle it................................... with bells on, that's a great feeling.
I also had a heart attack in 2006. I have asthma (since 23) diverticulitis and a dead thyroid. I take meds for blood pressure and cholesterol................and I can wipe the floor with most 30 years olds in a gym and I walked the Loch Ness Marathon in 2012 in 7hrs 24...................I'm winning (but nicely, I hope)

but an embolism and a blood clot would scare the life out of me. You've come back from worse. Don't stop.

@Sean01 Also, can I just say, I looooove the story of you and your good lady getting together, fantastic love story! Plus also, your whole family lifts, ha!! LOVE that! He lifts, she lifts, they all lift! It's the dream!! :)

You've been through a heck of a lot, and handled it so well. Some folks would crumble after the first part of the car crash, but you went through warrior type experiences. Also, you write very well - ever thought about writing a blog with your experiences and life learning? You should, you'd be great! - I reckon there's a heck of a lot of lifters in the community that would appreciate your toughness.
 
S

Sean01

Guest
@Sean01 Also, can I just say, I looooove the story of you and your good lady getting together, fantastic love story! Plus also, your whole family lifts, ha!! LOVE that! He lifts, she lifts, they all lift! It's the dream!! :)

You've been through a heck of a lot, and handled it so well. Some folks would crumble after the first part of the car crash, but you went through warrior type experiences. Also, you write very well - ever thought about writing a blog with your experiences and life learning? You should, you'd be great! - I reckon there's a heck of a lot of lifters in the community that would appreciate your toughness.
Thank you. When I retire I want to be a full time author. I've written three books so far - one sold 50 copies - Other peoples animals - when me and my family had to look after a friend's farm for a week- 250 rare breed animals from ducks to sheep, pigs and alpacas. At the time, we didn't even have our own pet. We only lost one duck - but top be fair, the owners came home from their holiday and their terrier (who had been away with them) went mad and straight fro the duck. The book ends with a recipe for Duck A l'orange. One of the jobs was for me to maintain the facebook presence. I have a daft imagination. By the end of the day, people were already asking me to keep it up and write a book, so basically, the book is a copy of the e mails interspersed with an explanation of events leading up to the post. I've also read my pirate stories (and other stories) at my kids school. It started in junior school and I got invited back every year for 5-6 years so their class always looked forward to the next chapter of the pirate stories every year. And yes, I've already written my obit. I have a flare for telling stories - and mine has so far been a very normal life with moments of madness and wonderment. Stick around until the end - you'll get an invite. I don't want sadness at my funeral and I'm way beyond just wanting to make people smile. I'm going for a mixture of histerical laughter and shouts of ' Oh my God, I remember that!.'..........my parting gift to my friends and family and I regularly update it. Hopefully, I will have many more updates ahead of me.
 
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Sean01

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@Sean01 HOLY COW!!!! Sir, no wonder you have 'Phoenix' as part of your BB nickname!!! That's epic! You've dealt with a lot, and handled it all like a true warrior, very admirable! Fair play to you Sean... Also, this is hugely inspirational! Thank you for sharing, really. That's totally given me additional motivation to basically handle myself, level up, get on and deal with the now. Genuinely very impressed! Wow, these forums are blowing my mind - they're full of bad@ss folk handling their health and achieving all sorts! It's not often I'm speechless, but I am....
Thank you. It sounds like I've helped a bit. We all hide behind false names. My real name is Sean but I don't look like a Victorian Jew with a penchant for pocket hankerchiefs - I simply chose him because I am reviewing the situation - nothing stands still. I am based in the UK - I train at Like2Lift.. I'm easy to find

Take care - just off to the gym - back, followed by strongman - literally anything could happen in the next two hours - but whatever it is - it will be incredible

Sean
 
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