In retrospect , it credibly was n’t very smart of me to make my last clause for Macworld about me almost die . In the ensuing two age , that led some readers to think I did . ( Spoiler : Nope . )
TL;DR
In case you haven’tread it , here ’s the curt version : In May 2016 , my trunk settle to suddenly surprise me with multiple blood clots . They blocked some pretty significant arteries in my heart and lungs , which led me to almost … what ’s the technological term ? Oh properly : Die .
Luckily , my Apple Watch ’s heart rate monitor was on the job , and convinced me that I was experiencing something more serious than a stressful day . I sought the proper medical attention in time , and the floor had a very happy ending .
While the incident did give me a renewed interest in continue tab on my own health , the fact that it was because of genetic science and not my own fitness habits allowed me to discount the fact that I had gotten a little … allow ’s say there was more of me to love .
It was the kind of love that , combined with family account , leads to MD talking to me about thing like “ sugar ” and “ diabetes . ” And although my Apple Watch did n’t seethatone add up , I was driven to see if it could help me through yet another health crisis .
Every journey begins with a single step (or stand)
I wear my Apple Watch regularly enough that I can usually recount what notifications are come through without even cabbage my wrist joint . Unfortunately , I had make really skillful at disregard the one that tells me to bear every hour . I started pay attention ; first , by simply standing and pacing around my office long enough to bring in another stand hour . But soon , I started doing some existent walking .
My destination was three miles of brisk walk a twenty-four hour period . I used the Open Walk activity in the Workout app to track and provide feedback on my walk . I always endeavor to get in three mile before I left my office each nighttime , but if I did n’t , I made it up on the treadmill in my cellar , see TV shows on Netflix on my iPad while I walked . ( Pro tip : TV show message is the same whether it ’s consumed on the lounge or treadwheel , so you might as well fire some calories while you watch . )
feel a notification that I had hit a nautical mile mark or reach my exercise or move destination became very rewarding . Call me shallow , but the recognition provided a sense of achievement that I began to seem forward to .
You are what you eat
Eliminating moolah from my diet as much as possible and drastically reducing carbohydrates was the key to address my diabetes . I also focused on percentage control and making fruits and vegetables a magnanimous part of my overall dieting . For the first time in my life , there was a strategy to what and how I exhaust . I concentrated on corrode enough to “ get me to my next meal ” rather than eating until I was full .
MyNetDiary for iPhone
An app calledMyNetDiaryhelped me with that . It has a fortune of features ( some available only in the ante up version ) , but I used it in the first place as a solid food tracker and analyzer . Its huge database of food made it easygoing to cut across calories and nutritionary economic value . And , with my permit , it sync with the health data on my iPhone to connect all my data to give me a dashboard of where I stood each daylight and how I was progressing towards my goal . ( There ’s also aversionspecifically focused on diabetics . ) An app calledHealth2Syncalso focuses on data significant to diabetics .
Because it was easy to log my solid food intake , I continue with it longer . The more data I accumulated , the broad a picture it establish and the more invested I became in keeping it accurate .
Your tiny little personal fitness coach
For me , the “ killer app ” turn out to be the compounding of Workout and Activity on my Apple Watch . As my walks got long , I added some running and gradually other activities like pushups , bicep curls , and kayak . My exercise band exact bank bill of the extra elbow grease , and motivate me several time to up my calorie goal consequently . My watch either hearten me on or let me know I was unremarkably further along at this time of day .
What I used to find mildly pesky , I now regain positively motivating . Call it gamification , call itpsychological motivation expiation , it worked for me — but only once I allow it .
Nothing succeeds like success
Nokia Health Mate for iPhone
For me , there was n’t a whole lot more to it . I kept the dinero out of my diet , and ascertain my calories and nutritionary intake . I monitored my free weight daily ; most day I count a little less than the mean solar day before , which actuate me to keep the momentum going . I try not to believe about how much further I had to go to reach my goal , but rather that I was closer today than I was last week . “ lead in the right direction , ” I kept thinking .
Nokia’sHealth Matewas a great tool in that wish . It let me set goal ( I set several restrained , interim goals rather than one big scarey goal ) and showed me a trend line from where I started to where I was . A well - designed splasher aggregated data point from my other apps as well as hardware devices , like a bluetooth blood air pressure handlock . I primarily used theNokia Wireless Blood Pressure Monitor . ( If I had theirBody+ Wi - Fi scale leaf , I could have mix that into the app as well , but instead I just entered my exercising weight manually . ) Again , the feedback and ability to see the trend line of my progress was incredibly motivating . I desire to see those line bear on to move in the right-hand guidance .
Talk to the hand (or wrist)
Although I wound up not needing to supervise my blood sugar , there are apps that help you track it , including some that integrate with computer hardware solutions that work directly with your iPhone and in turn , Apple Watch . TheSugar Sense Diabetes App , for example , connects with theiHealth Wireless Gluco - Monitoring system . While many of these systems became frustratingly obsolete on newer iPhones ( since they rely on the headphone jack ) , the iHealth gimmick uses Bluetooth to post its data to your equipment .
Ah, sweet victory
The author , six months after embarking on a program to contend diabetes .
Six calendar month after I get down my fight , I had drop a little over 50 pounds . I went from a 38 - in waist to a 32 and from an extra large shirt to a sensitive . I even had to take a connection out of my Apple Watch stria . ( To my Macworld colleagueLeif Johnson , who ’s going through asimilar experiment , albeit for different reasons , I say : Youcando it . )
Most of import , though , has been the wallop on my Type II diabetes . Not only did I obviate having to supervise my rip sugar , I was actually able to cut back on the medicine I ’m take to lour it . In my last tests , my A1C reading isunderthe level that would classify me as diabetic . The promise is that I ’ll circumvent diabetes through dieting and physical fitness alone , and will soon be able to discontinue engage meds altogether .
Now if you ’ll justify me , I have some rings to close .
