Does It Make Sense To Be So “Strict”? Keep Walking On The Right Path

I have one top priority in life, and that is to be the healthiest version of myself at all time, and for the longest time possible. There is nothing I consider more important than health. Type-1 diabetes already sets me up for a potentially much faster decline and/or a much shorter lifespan than most people, so it is my duty to do anything that is in my power to pull the levers that I can pull: sleep, exercise and nutrition.

Now, I am one who likes to do things for a reason, and I tend to want to live according to certain principles that I know are conducive to my wellbeing in the long term. I call these principles my “non negotiables” and use them as guidelines that inspire my daily living. With time these principles have become hardwired into my brain and they help me clarify in each moment what to say “NO” to, and what to say “YES” to.

Let me give some examples.

I almost always go to bed early and secure myself a sleep opportunity wide enough that makes getting my 8 hours of slumber much easier. There are and will be occasions where I break this principle: sometimes life requires to go all in into something, a friend gets married, an unmissable live concert. In such occasions I will not think twice and stay up all night if needed. But other than selected moments that I believe are worth the time, it is almost impossible to keep my out of bed after 9pm. A Xmas party that goes well into the night? Not worth it. New Year’s celebration? Not worth it. A gathering? I’ll be there for the pleasure of staying with loved friends and family, but after a while I will hug everyone and kindly say that I am leaving.

I move every day. This is not only working out or running, but being active in general. I walk to work, I walk and move while working, I walk to the grocery store and I carry my groceries back home, no matter the weight. I try to do as much as I can while engaging my body somehow. Getting one hour of exercise a day means that I am active for only 4% of my week, what about the remaining 96%? Can I afford being sedentary for such a long time of my life? I can’t.

I eat in a certain way. This means that there are foods I avoid, and unfortunately these foods coincide with what is served at restaurants in nearly 100% of the cases. So, if I am in a group and the idea is to go eat somewhere where I know there is no chance for me to get some “green light foods” (whole, plant based foods that are rich in carbohydrates and naturally low in fats), I either kindly decline the invitation or join the group, drink some water and organize my meal before or after the event. Or I select some specific occasions where I decide it is ok to have the proverbial “cheat meal”, and I’ll make sure I can count those occasions with my ten fingers every year.

Damn Gio, Do You Even Enjoy Life Sometimes?

Now, someone could raise the hand and ask if I ever get to enjoy life. My answer is a clear and convinced “Yes, I enjoy every single minute of my existence”.

You see, type-1 diabetes is a condition I can largely control and almost make disappear through a good set of daily actions. These daily actions are very clear and easy to remember and understand: eat well, move a lot, sleep plenty.

The whole thing is quite simple to understand in terms of blood glucose management and insulin resistance: if I don’t sleep, I pay the price immediately. If I don’t move, I pay the price immediately. If I eat the wrong foods, I pay the price immediately.

And while there will be times where it is acceptable to intentionally take a step out of the path, doing that on a consistent basis is a recipe for suicide.

What are the consequences of chronic high blood glucose levels?

Over time, high blood glucose levels can damage the body's organs. Possible long-term effects include damage to large (macrovascular) and small (microvascular) blood vessels, which can lead to heart attack, stroke, and problems with the kidneys, eyes, gums, feet and nerves.

What are the consequences of insulin resistance? To quote Peter Attia’s book Outlive:

Insulin resistance itself is associated with huge increases in one’s risk of cancer (up to twelvefold), Alzheimer’s disease (fivefold), and death from cardiovascular disease (almost sixfold)—all of which underscores why addressing, and ideally preventing, metabolic dysfunction is a cornerstone of my approach to longevity.

With this awareness, it would be so incredibly stupid of me to not give these areas (sleep, exercise and nutrition) the absolute top priority. Ignoring them is a fast track to a miserable and shorter life for the average person. For a person with diabetes, this is the equivalent of an even earlier death sentence.

Making The Right Choices

I could choose to sleep less and “go out at night”. Then I’d have to accept that good blood glucose control would simply become impossible because sleep deprivation means that I am much more insulin resistance. If I sleep well and enough, I am pulling one of the biggest levers of insulin sensitivity. Logical thing to do for me: I stick to my sleep routine even if that means saying no to a supposedly fun party or other evening event. There are exceptions, but my health is more important than 99% of the cases.

I could say I don’t have time to exercise or be active. You know, work, socializing, and all the rest… truth is, if I don’t move, I deprive my body of the foundation to maintain insulin sensitivity. On the opposite side, when I run, exercise, and even more importantly keep my body in a constant, never ending active state throughout the day, my body becomes much more efficient at maintaining a stable blood glucose and maximizing the use of insulin. Logical thing to do for me: I move a lot. I exercise before work, even if that means arriving 10 minutes late at the office (unless there’s vital stuff to do early in the morning, that is). I stand up and take a few steps every X minutes while at the office. I do as many of my chores as possible using my body, even if that means it takes a bit longer. I sit on chairs as little time as possible. If I fancy, I even throw a few pushups here and there. I take the stairs at any given occasion. Sometimes people have weird looks for me, and perhaps think I am doing everything to avoid work. The truth is: if I move, I have a much easier time staying focused, I get more done in less time and…my diabetes management improves significantly. Double win.

I could accept all lunch or dinner invites at restaurants or pizza places, where I know I’ll be eating foods that are full of oils and refined carbohydrates, and where even simple salads will be drenched with dressings full of fats. A normal person maybe doesn’t care much (they should), but if I take this lightly I pay the price immediately, and the effects last for days on end. One big fatty pizza will screw me over for at least 36 hours. That is enough for me to say “thanks but no, I’ll eat my potatoes & beans salad”. A cheat meal is ok maybe once every two weeks or once a month, but if eating out becomes a habit, I know I am actively feeding my insulin resistance.

Sleeping only a few hours without a regular sleep schedule, being sedentary and keeping movement at a distance, eating junk foods, at restaurant or from delivery are all choices.

Sure, I could choose to just comply with societal standards. At work I stay sit on a chair. Then I go to lunch and dinner with friends or colleagues, because if I don’t go they might get offended. Then I stay out in the evening because that’s just what everyone does, and I’d be that one guy who “is never there when we have fun”. And on and on and on.

Then I get at the end of the day, and I’ve never moved my body (except for going from the chair in the office to the chair at the restaurant), I’ve eaten food that compromises my health, and it’s super late in the evening and I have to be up early to work tomorrow, no time or energy to workout before that. Is that a good routine? Are you really really sure you can do that and pretend you’ll be a healthy old man, Giovanni? Nope. I know that living like this will shorten my lifespan and health span, every day being a signature to anticipate my death sentence a bit more. It sounds dramatic, but that is what it is, and that is why I chose to NOT live like this.

Living The Way I Have Evolved To Live

Sleep, move, nourish. As a species, we humans have evolved doing that, and to do that. In the last 50-100 years we’ve decided to go against evolution, closing ourselves into small rooms in front of screens, sitting on chairs for hours instead of being in motion, and eating foods that our ancestors luckily never had to see.

So I could chose to do what is right and stick to the evolutionary process, even if today’s society doesn’t resonate with it anymore: eat real food, move your body, sleep. As a type-1 diabetic, that is also the most efficient way to secure the best life possible. It is curious that by today’s standards, choosing such a natural path of living makes me a “strict person who doesn’t enjoy life”.

The questions I ask myself everyday are two:

1) Is a party, an office work with a comfortable chair, a tasty restaurant, a rejection of sleep or any other social standard worth an aching body, a stressed mind, and a rapidly degrading physical and emotional health? Hell no.

2) Is it worth being obsessed with good sleep, movement, and good nutrition? Hell yes.

The I just act accordingly. This does not mean living like a monk: I travel, I hang out with people and love having a great time with my friends. Making experiences out there in the world and human connections is two absolute sources of joy for me. I simply draw a clear line on the sand to make sure that a live worth living does not come at the cost of my own health. That, in fact, would be far from a life worth living.

With diabetes I simply cannot afford these luxuries. In a parallel universe where I do not have diabetes, I hope I have the awareness to still make the right choice. Doing what I am designed to do as a human is my best bet for a life well lived, in good health, and since I can control these factors, I will continue to say no to what does not promote my health and put what boosts it first.

I am not strict, I am just living the way I have evolved to live, and enjoying being the healthiest version of my self. For me and for those I care about.