Diabetes is on the rise in the United States, and particularly in the African-American and Latino populations. According to the Center for Disease Control, there are approximately 24 million Americans currently living with some form of Diabetes, with Type 2 Diabetes being the most prevalent. While genetics does play a role in determining one’s likelihood of developing this disease, it is not the only predictor. Studies have shown that overweight people with excess belly fat (a waist circumference of 35 inches or more for women, 40 inches or more for men) are at a much higher risk for developing Diabetes, as well as a myriad of other health problems.

For many Diabetics, an early warning sign that often goes undiagnosed is a condition called Insulin resistance. Insulin resistance is a pre-diabetic condition that can sometimes be reversed before it progresses into something more serious. Depending on the levels of glucose found in a person’s blood, a doctor might prescribe oral medications to help control the level of insulin production, but in many cases, diet and exercise are the most effective ways to correct the issue before it becomes more serious.

So what is Insulin Resistance and how does it work? When a person is discovered to be Insulin resistant, it means that the Insulin produced by their body isn’t being properly used by their muscle, liver and fat cells. Normally, when you eat, your body converts the sugars in your food into glucose. Your pancreas then produce Insulin, which is a hormone that helps guide the glucose out of the bloodstream and into the body’s cells, where it is used as fuel and converted to energy.

Well, that is how it is supposed to work. With Insulin resistance, however, the glucose taken from food isn’t sent into the bloodstream properly, so it never gets converted into energy for the body to use. The glucose begins to build up in the blood, but the cells still aren’t getting the fuel they need to function properly. Because the body’s cells are lacking the energy needed to carry on basic life functions, it signals the pancreas to secrete more Insulin to try and force the glucose into the cells. The presence of all that extra Insulin in the body brings more of the fatty acids out of food, which ends up getting stored in fat cells, causing weight gain. Trying to shed those pounds later on becomes more difficult as this cycle continues.

Eventually, the pancreas can’t keep up the high level of insulin production, and begin to slow down. When this happens, blood sugar rises to dangerous and uncontrollable levels, and that is usually when Type 2 Diabetes in diagnosed. And, as if all that wasn’t bad enough, a 2008 medical study found that overweight, Insulin resistant women are 50% more likely to be diagnosed with advance stage breast cancer.

Diabetes runs in my family, and I found out I was Insulin resistant a few years ago. I have been taking an oral medication called Glucophage since I was diagnosed. For a long time, I didn’t really take it seriously, and was very nonchalant about taking my medicine, or doing the right thing as far as dieting and exercise were concerned. As I have gotten older, I have seen how Diabetes can ravage and destroy the body, and am finally trying to educate myself and get a better handle on how to undo the damage I have already done, before it is too late.

My battle with my blood sugar is definitely a key factor in why I am finding it so hard to move past the current plateau I have hit in my dieting efforts. I have begun instituting small changes in my diet to try and control some of those spikes and plunges that often lead to me overeating or succumbing to cravings that sabotage my weight loss efforts. I’m hoping that in time, I will be able to stop using the medication and control my blood sugar levels on my own – before I become one of the 24 million Americans living with this disease.

This is an article from FatManUnleashed.com's Healthy Weight Loss and Fitness Blog.

Insulin Resistance – Is it holding you back?

Swine Flu Prevention Tips
1. Wash your hands every hour, utilize hot water…and especially after touching door knobs, elevator buttons and people’s hands.
2. Keep your hands away from your face at all cost, germs will get inside your body if you fondle your nose, eyes and mouth.
3. Stay home, telecommute and work from home as much as possible.
4. Reduce your errands, knock out your shopping for the month in one shot. Go to Costco and load up on water, toilet paper, Parmalat non-refrigerated milk, toilet paper, hand sanitizer, bathing soap, laundry detergent, Lysol, Oust, rubbing alcohol, hand sanitizer, chicken cutlets and oatmeal.
5. Put off any traveling, especially flights because of the recycled air that is used on all aircraft. And of course no trips o Mexico!
6. Work out, sweat, and let your pores do the cleansing. Moderate exercise lowers stress levels and boosts your immune system naturally. A stronger immune system is your first line of defense against susceptibility to infection.
7. Don’t, hug, kiss or even touch people! Stay away from individuals by creating a mental personal bubble of at least six feet. People are the carriers of the H1N1 influenza.
8. Drink seven cups of Green Tea a day. Superior anti-oxidant beverage with cleansing properties…good to have in your arsenal.
9. Sleep nine hours per night. Rest will raise your immunity and limit your exposure to Swine Flu in terms of time.
10. Drink this special immunity and vitamin potion: Blend two pounds of blueberries, one pound of raspberries, two red apples and 2 scoops of Whey protein.

So basically work out, become a hermit, sleep, and shower often! Oh, and stay away from fat people like me.

This is an article from FatManUnleashed.com's Healthy Weight Loss and Fitness Blog.

Fat People Cause Swine Flu or How to Avoid Swine Flu

I almost forgot to mention my experience right before going into surgery. First off, it was freezing cold in the hospital. They told me that it’s because bacteria has a hard time forming in a cold environment. Sounds smart. They told me to take my clothes off and put on a gown. The prep guys name was Isador. Uncannily similar to Israel I think. They were calling him Izzy, which is what some people call me. He also told me that he had the appendix surgery done and that I wouldn’t remember a thing. He was right. He was also of Spanish decent. Hmmmmm. After saying goodbye to my warrior wife, I was on my way into the white, cold OR (operating room). She came to be with me after I told her I was being operated on and didn’t want to leave my side all night. I love her so much. I finally asked her to go home after my two hour operation so that she could have a good nights rest. In the OR, they were playing some slow jazz music and all six people in the room had vibrant colors on. The contrast with the white, metal room was very apparent. The OR felt good. Nothing like on ER. They then had me slide onto thing operating table and began strapping my arms and legs down. Once they did that, they told me to take some deep breaths and gave my some anesthesia.

The next thing I remember is waking up in the hospital room with my wife saying that I looked pale. She was happy that I was back and looked really worried. You need to understand something. I am not the kind of person to go to hospitals or have any major health issues. I usually heal quickly and without any medications. So when my family sees that I am being operated on, they immediately think the worst. It’s almost like Superman being wounded, it just doesn’t happen. Even my daughter was scarred of me. She is not used to seeing me being sick and wouldn’t come near me the entire time I was at the hospital. The only time she let me hug and kiss her was when she came with my wife to pick me up to go home.

I was at the hospital for four days, from Sunday to Wednesday. I wasn’t able to get online and blog, but was fortunate enough to have some posts timestamped for the week. I was beginning to get used to the hospital, which is not something I like. Whenever they asked me if I had any allergies I would answer with, “Yes, hospitals.” I would say it with a straight face. The overall experience at the hospital was very pleasant. One thing I didn’t like was that there was a funeral home right next door to the hospital. WTF? Talk about inappropriate.

Unfortunately I won’t be able to perform any strenuous exercise for about four to six weeks, but I will be able to continue to regulate my diet. That should help maintain my weight. I actually only lost six pounds throughout the whole ordeal. That’s a lot less than I expected. I was thinking I would lose 20 lbs. They only kept me on a liquid diet for one day. Again, I think it’s because of my inner-warriorness. They kept saying I was in great health and that made me feel good. I was thinking that maybe I did something to cause this, but the journey that I began this summer has paid off. This appendix mishap was just a fluke.

I wouldn’t wish this on anyone, well maybe my worse enemy, but not on anyone else. I am at about 90% health and still feel a slight bit of pain, nothing unbearable, where one of the incisions was made. I suspect that within two weeks time I will be able to get back on my recumbent bike and perform some light exercise movements. It’s up to the doctor though. I plan on following his advice, which I will get when I see him at out appointment next week. Thanks doctor Patel. You da hombre! For those few guys that I was supposed to start a challenge with in December, I am sorry but I may not be able to do that challenge. Unless the doc says I can.

I highly recommend that if you feel any pain in your abdominal area, or anywhere for that matter, that you get yourself checked out. FAST! You just never know what could happen.

It sucks that I don’t have health coverage. The enormous bill I am going to receive is going to be hard to pay. I guess now is the time to ask for any donations or advertising purchases. They would definitely help with the hospital bill.

I tried asking the nursing staff and doctors what could have caused this or what I could have done to prevent it. The answer was the same: It’s a bit random and nothing. Now, I am the kind of guy that thinks that for every action their is a reaction, but from doing some research and speaking to the docs and nurses, the appendix is just plain stupid. It’s a tiny obsolete thing in the human body. One nurse told me that it was used more before we evolved from eating tree trunks. There are even reports of some children being born without them. But anyway…

Who else do you know that could walk around (go to Christmas Tree lighting ceremonies, drive the family around town, go to the movies, go to dinner, drive himself to the emergency room) with a ruptured appendix for six days and live to blog about it?

The Fat Man Unleashed that’s who!

This is an article from FatManUnleashed.com's Healthy Weight Loss and Fitness Blog.

Does My Appendix Weigh 6 Pounds?

Bad idea! The laxative, which I will never take again in my life, caused my stomach to get even worse. Now I had stomach cramps AND side pains. I was unable to sleep. I slept maybe only a total of two hours in 20 to 30 minute increments. That’s when I decided to induce vomiting to get rid of the laxative that was causing me even more pain. For the next 30 minutes I threw up some of the nastiest stuff I have ever seen come out of my mouth. It helped for a bit, but then the pain returned.

It wasn’t until I did some research on WebMD.com that I narrowed it down to being either Appendicitis or some form of intestinal damage. At around 10 am I decided to wake my wife up (she tried to help but was unable to so I asked her to go to bed and rest) and tell her that I was thinking of going to the emergency room. She recommend I go to the Doctors Walk-In Clinic that was nearby. I thought it was a great idea since I don’t have health insurance and the cost to visit them would be about $90. She offered to drive, but me being a hard headed warrior, asked her to stay home with the baby.

So I drove to the clinic and was told by the doctor there that I had “rebound” pain around the appendix and that I should go to the emergency room. I then drove to the hospital and waited for about 15 minutes in emergency before being seen and taken in by the staff. I was told that I would most likely be operated on, but needed to have a Cat Scan before they would know exactly what my condition was. They immediately connected an IV to me and after three hours and drinking some clear fluid that was supposed to help with the scan, I was finally told that I had Acute Appendicitis. They weren’t 100% sure if they were going to need to cut me open or perform a Laparoscopic Appendectomy (also known as an Appendicectomy). During a Laparoscopic operation they make three small incisions and use a camera to guide them. I am happy to report that they did end up performing a Laparoscopic Appendectomy. The doc scared me a bit because he said that if my appendix was ruptured that they would need to cut me open.

He must be really good because afterwards he told me that my appendix was ruptured. I couldn’t stop thinking about my family and leaving them behind. I am not afraid of dying. But I am afraid of not being there for my family, my wife, my beautiful baby girl. I kept on tearing up as I thought about the possibility of losing them. Even now, I am getting teary-eyed as I think of it. It is one of the worst feelings in the world. When the accounting rep. asked me if I had a living will I almost flipped on her ass. Stupid bitch. I know she was doing her job, but damn. From what I have heard people with ruptured appendixes don’t normally survive, especially when the bacteria enters the blood stream. Which happened to me.

This post has gotten way too long, so I am going to cut it short here. I will post the second part of my emergency appendix surgery experience tomorrow. Take care folks. Peace.

This is an article from FatManUnleashed.com's Healthy Weight Loss and Fitness Blog.

I Walked Around with a Ruptured Appendix for 6 Days

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