Ralph's Health

Gamma GT is a marker for liver health, and historically it has been associated with liver disease due to alchool consumption. However, it is also useful as a more general marker for metabolic health as indicated in this study. It appears that it is a useful as an early marker for disease. Various studies have also shown that it is a useful marker for showing insulin resistance and other metabolic disease. Gamma-Glutamyltransferase: A Predictive Biomarker of Cellular Antioxidant Inadequacy and Disease Risk A few of the study highlights:   GGT is an early predictive marker for atherosclerosis, heart failure, arterial stiffness and plaque, gestational diabetes, and various liver diseases, including viral hepatitis, other infectious diseases, and several life-threatening cancers. We review literature both from the medical sciences and from life insurance industries demonstrating that serum GGT is a superior marker for future disease risk, when compared against multiple othe...

I don't like fish, can't stand the taste, and I'm supposed to eat fish regularly. Bring on the cod liver oil. I guess this is the next best thing to actually eating fish. It is full of Omega-3 fatty acid which is a good thing. Also it has plenty of Vitamin D and Vitamin A. The main health benefits I take it for are: Healthy cardiovascular system; Reduces triglyceride levels - historically I had high triglycerides levels due to drinking too much; Allegedly helps with depression; Helps fight imflammation. I actually take it out of the bottle. I mix a tablespoon in some juice or if I'm desperate into my protein shake. Beware of buying Fish Oil supplement by mistake. Code lver oil and fish oil are not the same thing.

This graph shows my last 6 months of weight data. Can see it creeping up over time and then I intervene in mid February. I've shown the effect of holidays. My holidays are generally very healthy with plenty of running and trying not to overeat.

I've been off sugar now for about 4 weeks. My diet has mainly been based on a higher protein and higher fat intake and just cut out sugar and processed carbs as much as possible. During that time I've been keeping up my regime of 100+ pressups every morning and then some light running or walking in the afternoon every few days. My mood has been good once the first few days were done, I'm practising being more even tempered. The weight loss, mainly fat has been quite dramatic, given such a simple change. I lost about 4.8kg over 4 weeks. Most of this appears to be fat looking at my Garmin scales data. My stomach in particular has flattened out and generally I'm looking more cut. At the moment my vital statistics are: Age 50 187cm height 88cm stomach 80.6kg Blood sugar 5.5-5.9 Blood pressure 119/71 Resting Heart Rate 63 My diet in more detail: No alcohol - been teetotal since October 2015. This is the biggest change to my health I've ever m...

It is interesting to come back here after 10 months since my last post and see what I wrote last time. All of that still holds true. My physical health is very good, and I feel that my mental health is also mainly held in check. A few physical aspects first: 1. My weight is currently good, very good. I'm keeping trim these days with a combination of running, eating well and some strength training; 2. My weight had crept up over time to over 85Kg, so back in February I decided to do something about it, with GC coming up it was time to get back into good shape; 3. I started doing pressups - 100 or more day. I started on 15 February and been doing them pretty consistently now for 6 weeks. I can do 100 no problem over 4-5 sittings. For example today I did 6 sets of 25. Not bad at all. It is now visible in my physique; 4. Running is still a regular practice, although I do it more slowly as I'm running with L, I still get out and do 5 miles two or three times a week; 5. Cur...

It is a while since I posted anything up, feel like I have lots to say but where to start. Here are a few highlights: 1. Been maintaining my weight at between 80 and 84kg consistently for 2 years now. Currently at 80.6kg. I still weigh pretty much every day 2. Running regularly but not obsessively at the moment, I keep running with my friend L which makes for slower and more enjoyable runs. 3. Been focusing on my mental health with much mindfulness, buddhism and happiness practices 4. My llife is more balanced, with changes at home, with S and L, T and E. 5. Drink is no longer a part of my life, I will never go back to that old life I will post more details at some point soon.

Here are my previous years results: 2010 - 1:00:10 2011 - None 2012 - 1:01:17 2013 - 1:04:00 2014 - 1:00:34 2015 - None Trying for sub one hour tomorrow.

Not feeling great recently due to anxiety leading to other complications. On the plus side I did a new PB for the Kerridge Ridge run on Saturday of 38:37: https://www.strava.com/activities/605780496 I tried a pressup test to exhaustion this morning, only got 38 before failure. I was able to get another 12 shortly after in two lots of 6. My waist measurement this morning was 85cm. It has been stable at that for a little while now. Had a good race last week at Boars Head:

I just had a flashback to Fridays gone by which would have included beer at lunch, then the US Call and a trip to the offie. Not a good memory! I had a good running month in May, totalled over 7500m of climb. Mentally been up and down with a lot of anxiety, stress and guilt recently. I want to get this stuff sorted out. Yesterday I sort of managed 50 pressups, but didnt quite to them all in one go. I took little breaks after number 40.

I was just looking through some old posts and spotted one from 2011 about a 5000m metre challenge and how hard it was. I just looked at my Strava data to see how I have been doing recently and was surprised at how much climb I am logging each month: Oct 15 4558m Nov 15 4281m Jan 16 6696m Feb 16 4317m Mar 16 5609m Apr 16 2827m May 16 6461m So with a few days to go until the end of May I can get my new record for climb in one month!

Last time I actively tracked my press-up ability I eventually got to 45 press-ups to exhaustion, back in December 2011. I just thought I'd have a go to see what I could do, and achieved 32 straight off, then a 5 minute break and another 32 which was to exhaustion. Then took a 10 min break and did another 30. 94 total straight off not too bad. See how many I can do to exhaustion tomorrow.

I have recently run a few races and got some PBs. I ran the Rainow 5 in 42:24 which was a few minutes off my PB set in 2012. Here are some charts to show for other races:

In no particular order here are some objectives for the next few months: 1. Get some PBs in my local races, Rainow 5, Bollington 3 Peaks and the Bollington Nostalgia; 2. Run another marathon - perhaps Liverpool, maybe Coniston? 3. Look at dietary changes. I need to reduce my chocolate and suger intake and increase my greens intake 4. Get to the bottom of the issues with my skin 5. Go through the rational recovery book again - Louis Theroux programme worried me

What a long time since I last posted. Lots has been going on, lots of healthy behaviours developed and perhaps now time to take a view on what is happening. Here are a few highlights: Alcohol The Rational Recovery Programme - 'Never drink again' works. I have not had any alcohol of any form since October 2015. That is nearly 7 months. I don't think about it any more (until last night). I am still 100% bought into never drinking again. Last night I watched the Louis Theroux programme about drinking to oblivion: http://www.radiotimes.com/news/2016-04-24/louis-theroux-drinking-to-oblivion-is-an-astonishing-look-at-alcohol-addiction I had to stop it a few times to take a breath, it was difficult to watch and it reminded me just how fragile being sober is, even after a longer period of abstinence. For me this time I am not ever looking for that 'period of abstinence' to end. It ended last time after 1 year when I thought I could drink again. This time I know...

In the past I have had these feelings after getting hammered the night before and then feeling the ill effects the following day. This time round I'm saying Never again... to attending an AA meeting. There are so many reasons why, after only 3 meetings, I can honestly say this. It does not fit with anything I hold dear. Here are just two things I think are important to behaviour change... Personal Insights into the problem . It feels like insights into behaviour are frowned upon, although nobody has come right out and said this to me. If I understand the AA approach correctly one has to hand control over to a higher power rather than think for oneself. To me, getting insights is so important to making changes. Feedback . So is getting feedback from people that are directly affected by my behaviour. I don't need feedback from other people with the problems, I need feedback from the people whose behaviour I affect. I need the positive feedback for the new behaviours I am ...

This is a good article worth reading a couple of times: https://rational.org/index.php?id=253 I particularly like this bit: 'Any moron can decide to never again commit just one, vile act — the act of self-intoxication — and find within himself the ability to stubbornly stick to that decision no matter what.' This is an interesting summary, I wonder why the language seems offensive to me though. WTF is The Beast and the Addicts Voice? http://rational.org/pdf_files/AVntshl.pdf  I like the idea that 'I get drunk and then get stupid' is backwards and that the stupidity starts well before getting drunk :-) edit: it makes more sense on the second read. This made me LOL when I was reading the introduction to the book called Rational Recovery: 'I wondered if I would finally become so desperate that I would "snap" and accept the religious conversion they proposed and devote my life to the spiritual Fellowship. Alcoholism seemed preferable.' ...

Here are some interesting reads: https://www.sciencebasedmedicine.org/aa-is-faith-based-not-evidence-based/ https://www.thefix.com/content/your-experience-aa-too-fundamentalist-or-too-lax I feel able to make up my own mind on this and blend some of the good stuff I have read and heard in the AA meetings and book with other stuff I know.

I had a good run onto Shining Tor yesterday with my running mates. Here is a photo: And here is the data for the run:

I went into Manchester on Saturday night. Had a great time and was not tempted (by alcohol) once. It was noticed that even though I was not drinking beer, I was still knocking the drinks back, it was mostly either pints of tonic water or soda water. So this compulsion to drink quickly is possibly being driven by the desire for alcohol, but maybe more a habit formed with cold drinks in my hand regardless. I must see if there is any other evidence of this and what it could lead to. I am not too worried about it given that my choice of drink at the moment is tonic water which is not too laden with sugar, but it is interesting none-the-less. I plan to have two more meetings this week then take stock of where I am with that. I'm continuing to read the book and the stories in it, there is a pattern of messages in there which are helping. Here are the ones I have taken to heart for the time being, which is helping me in other areas too. These are not necessarily all from AA, but...

I attended my second meeting last night and found it very difficult to say 'I'm an alcoholic' for many of the reasons already written about here. It is still not sitting quite right with me. http://www.smartrecovery.org.uk/about/introducing-smart ​ I may look into this as an alternative/supplement. Unfortunately no meeting points near me so unlikely to be viable for me, but worth investigating their methods. This pages specifically addresses a couple of key issues I have with the AA approach. One of the more significant ones is the use of labels. I wrote yesterday that the NHS never uses the label 'alcoholic', there is a reason for that. I must try to find out more about what their stance is. It goes against the grain for me in terms of behavioural change. Labels are not part of that scientific approach to behaviour change, which is much more focused on the things you say and do. So, still uncomfortable about the AA approach with regards refer...