Sensible Splurge Friday, Surgery, Exercise and Feeling Good

Lose the weight, lose the problem.  For people who have had bariatric surgery and were type 2 diabetics, the weight loss was assumed to be the reason their diabetes was fixed.  That may not be quite be true.  Pudgy but less than very obese patients who have had bariatric surgery also see their diabetes fixed and lose little or no weight loss.  Why is that? 

First though,

The Numbers. 

• Fasting Blood Glucose Level:  111 mg/dl. What is up with that?
• Weight:  188 lbs. Back down.  2 days to get it, 5 days to lose it. 
• Exercise:  45 minutes.
• Mood:  7.5.  At least Tex-Mex tonight. Sensible Tex-Mex, of course.  

The Menu:

• Breakfast:  The usual fruit medley and a slice of left over pizza from last night. 
• Lunch:  Leftover Pasta Rustica a la Mary & Dave
• Dinner:  Tex-Mex.  Skip the chips.
• Snacks:  None:  This looking for work stuff is a full time job and it happens when the economy is fixing to crash.  Weeeeeeee. 

Curing Diabetes with Surgery. 

This is not a new idea, just an unproven one.  In their literature, bariatric surgeons have claimed in the past that bariatric surgery has cured patients of their diabetes with little or no weight loss.  Endocrinologists don't read bariatric surgeons literature, so this approach never got much attention. 

Talk about you data silos.

That is changing.  While the evidence that this procedure is a legitimate treatment is small, test studies are starting to happen and the results are encouraging.  You can read about it all here.

If this turns out to be a legitimate treatment, this could be a significant approach to controlling a worldwide problem that is getting out of control.  This could be a godsend for the merely pudgy who don't respond to diet and exercise and this treatment could help the "skinny diabetics" who may have a genetic predisposition to becoming diabetic.  Some are hoping this could even cure type 1 diabetics. 

The good part of this is that bariatric surgery is relatively safe.  One big obstacle now is that no one really understands why this good result happens, assuming that it really does happen.  In medicine, doctors seem to make a big deal out of understanding what happens and why it happens.

Who knows, this could be the next lasisk surgery, with bariaric clinics springing everywhere promising the lowest cost diabetes fix in town.  Now that I think of it, that may be happening regardless.  Signs for these places are everywhere around Houston for losing weight.  A diabetes cure will fit right in.

Get Your Exercise Routine Going Again.

If this was the weekend you were going to start exercising and you are already thinking of reason to put it off, get some inspiration here. 

My advice is to take a cue from the old Nike commercials, just do it.  Start this evening, get up Saturday morning and get going, even if you are just going to walk around the block a couple of times.  And if you worry that you don't like to exercise, remember what Jack LaLanne said:  Only a masochist likes to exercise." 

You are developing a habit.  Just give it chance.  Trust me, you are going to feel great.  Eventually.

Have a good weekend everyone.