Sugar Free Life

 I been living with diabetes for many years now. Unfortunately this also includes some other long term complications that where develop because of the disease.  These other issues have been hard to live with in general. It is not easy physically because it takes a toll on your body over time. Need to balance the good with bad and try to stay stress free to over come the obstacles it can create in your daily life.

There are also many obnoxious people that will see your physically limitations as a target for unruly behaviors toward yourself. Causing unneeded stress to further increase the effects of the disease itself. 

Stress is one of the things than can increase undesirable effects and more harmful things to occur for the health and well being of those with diabetes and other long term complications. Most people think diabetes is just food, drink and exercise. It is not. However the diet and exercise part is the most easiest aspect to control for most living with diabetes. 

Thankfully my healthcare team has put me into a path of success. They monitor and treat any bad effects the disease can deliver. Gave me a dietitian and physical trainer to give me every opportunity to succeed going forward. 

I been through several surgeries in the past from complications developed by diabetes. It was unsure for a while if I would ever walk again. Thanks to my healthcare team for all there help. All the treatments did work. The recommended for rehab was bicycling and most notably using a e-bike. I personally did not know much about e-bikes then. But I wanted to succeed and walk again. It was a hard journey with many different obstacles to over come.

There is a light at the end of the tunnel but it at times is hard to see with so many negative unruly people standing in your way. Wish I could say the journey I lived while getting treatment was easy, it was not. 

I had to move to the big city for the best treatment. Most smaller towns would have just ended all hope and done the extreme. I am thankful for all the doctors, nurses and specialist that believed in me and did the right thing. Not all medical people are good at there jobs, found dozens of lazy ones that wanted to do extreme things that would have ended my life long ago. So you need to take control of your own wish to succeed and find the team that is best suited for you.

I was living in the western suburbs of the city. It was 10 minutes away from 3 different hospitals that gave great care for several complications from diabetes. I went through several surgeries that needed weekly treatments for what seem to be forever. 

The neighborhood I was living in at the time Oak Park, was very nasty and mean toward me because I had physically limitations. These obnoxious people that lived there disliked anyone that was disabled like I was at the time. Spent many of months in great pain as I was recovering from treatments. Also dealing with neighbors that where harassing and attacking me because I was disabled at the time. They made up lies about me that were untrue. They destroyed and vandalized our property. They even told me to my face, they wanted me to leave. And that disable people like me bring down their property value. 

Seriously it was insane having to deal with these nasty people while going through medical treatment. The stress level was off the charts. The stress help fuel the diabetes to have bad out of control effects on my health. I had to move away from these people and this behavior soon or I would never overcome the disease.

Luckily I did move and to a much better overall community. Life is a journey, while I would have like to stay near my original health care team, I had to go were my body and mind would excel for many more years to come. I since meet many more people living with diabetes. It is not normal life but it all becomes routine after a while. Some days are worst than others, but as long as you stay true to the plan on diet, exercise, low stress, checkups and treatments. Life goes on. 

Not all living with diabetes have the same treatments or diets either. I meet many people that can eat things I can not. It has much to do with the extra complications one can develop to change your diet or not more than others. Also many type 2 diabetics do not always need insulin like Type 1 diabetics. 

If you or a family member or friend has it. Listen to your health care team. Also if you do not have a diabetic dietitian have your primary care doctor prescribe you one. All insurance plans pay for a few visits a year. They will look at your health records and give you a plan of action what you need to eat. What you eat and drink may be different than other with diabetes so it is important to have one set you on a path of success.

I happy to say since moving out the city. my health has majorly improved. My last 7 A1C have been under 5.6 My rehab from leg and foot surgeries has gone awesome. The bicycling has worked great. I can stand without cane and walk better with the cane. I average 12-20 miles a day on my bike. 

The new place I live has people that are not nasty and do not attack people who have a physical disability like many people in city did. 

Where I live now I can freely go ride my bike without much problems. The biggest issues I have now biking is running into wild animals like deer, bear etc. My stress is now near gone and living with diabetes is so much easier when you live in a good and friendly environment. 

I know the United States say it has laws that protect disabled from such crazy people. However, No one actually does anything to enforce those rights. Which is very sad because no one who is going through medical treatments. And dealing with major pain or has a physical disability should have the deal with such nasty people on a daily basis.

The world is such crazy place at times. All we can hope for is Karma will handle those mean and nasty people who attack anyone.

I often try to help others with diabetes but so many people get very upset when they discover they should not eat or drink too much sugar. So the only advise I now give is get a Diabetic Dietitian. 

A Diabetic Dietitian will set you on the correct path after looking at your full medical history.  People with diabetes can easily get Vascular disease, Heart disease, Strokes, Liver disease, Kidney disease, Blindness, hearing loss, tooth loss, amputations and more. It will all depend on other factors you have what your diet will require. 

For me, I am currently; require between 40 to 45 carbs per meal 5 meals a day (yes 5 meals, it tricks the body to reduce blood sugar levels). I been given the plan of eating a balance meal one serving of protein, one serving of grain or starch, two servings of non starch veggies. 

Most foods have carbs including veggies so 40 carbs add up fast per meal. I also have to watch my sodium intake. Most diabetics should be at under 1500mg a day. Mine is set at 1200mg a day by my health care team so that limits less what I can eat each day. Also cholesterol levels need to be under 200mg a day. Also I am not allowed to eat fatty foods. Lean meats and fish only no processed foods at all. Also only can have 2-3 serving of red meat each week.

It is not hard to do as long as you make all your own food. I try to choose the foods with the lowest carbs in general so occasionally when my blood glucose drops below 75mg I can have something like potato for my starch serving. Potatoes in general are high in carbs and should be avoided unless your blood sugar drops low. Then I can have it as a starch serving and it can be used to push me back into my target range. My Dietitian has set it up to work this way. Unfortunately sometimes I can go for weeks where in never drops that low.

I found several low carb whole wheat bread options that are 1 to 2 carbs per slice. So it allows me to have bread as a grain option. Some fruits also fit into the starch/ grain serving of a balanced meal. In general I stay away from all pasta and rice as they are just to high in carbs. I will use other things as substitute for pasta or rice that taste good and are healthy options and much lower in carbs to have.

Eating out at restaurants is often bad idea as food is to high in sodium, fats and carbs. If you need to eat at a restaurants. be creative and find ways to reduce the carbs and sodium levels first. 

Also watch food and drink that say they are sugar free, many are still very bad for you. As many artificial sweeteners are as bad or worst than sugar. Best to check with your health care team. (As I have also made mistake myself in the past with some Sugar Free products as well. So always ask your dietitian if a certain sugar free product okay to have.) 

I can tell you Smuckers Sugar Free Jams are very bad for diabetes. I Found out the hard way. It has this ingredient called Maltodextrin in it. It is what helps reduce the need for pure sugar. But if you have diabetes Maltodextrin is worst than table sugar and rated much higher than sugar on the glycemic index. If you eat a Sugar Free product with Maltodextrin in it. It can spike your blood sugar.

I also can not have most sugar free soda pop. They also have artificial sweeteners that are bad for diabetes. Many diabetics make these mistakes because we see the words Sugar Free. But we need to check with our health care teams and Diabetic Dietitian first to make sure it's safe to have.

I hope this helps others not give up hope of living the Sugar free life. And maybe answer questions some had to why I moved away from the city in general.

Building a new Model railroad layout

Building a new Model railroad layout.

Many are asking why? Why do you need another model railroad layout.

There is several reasons to why. I list them below.

1. My first layout has water damage and needs repair. 

Thanks to my former crazy upstair neighbors from hell. They left several sinks in there apartment overflowing. Four of my six room apartment had major water damage as it rushed threw the ceiling into my apartment on the first floor.

2. When I moved out of the city my other layout was weird size and not easy to move for one person. Also it had to be moved by a oversized truck which made in expensive to move.

3. I always wanted to have more than one train running on my layout at the same time. Having both freight and passenger rail going at the same time.

4. Many friends and family gifted me model railroad scenery for the past 9 years and I have no space left on my old layout to add it.

5. I wanted to make a larger size layout without making it harder to move.

6. Make larger more detail model scenery that I could build over time.

7. Make something that could be reconfigure no matter where I move in the future.

8. I enjoy building and modeling so much that its fun to do it again.

With all those reasons I knew that I needed to do this different this time. First I needed something easier to move. I decided small modular bits would be best. And if I made those modular bits from a standardized format I could configure the parts to fit many size spaces making the layout future proof.

Decided to use T-Trak as it was small bits that could form a endless layout. It allows for vast more scenery than my past layout. With only draw back in not having grade changes in the track levels.

Here is a video preview on my planned layout: (things still could change)

I enjoyed the hobby of model railroad since I was a kid. Both of my grandfathers had Lionel O gauge trains. While I settle on using N & Z scale trains because I lived in small apartments most of my life. When I was young my father a commercial artist who specialized in three dimensional art. Had a project for Kaulbach publishing in Milwaukee, for Model Railroader. It was for model railroad trade shows. From that project my dad did, he had hundreds of back issues of the model railroader as reference material. I would read those issues every time I visited my fathers art studio. I made plans of several future model railroad layouts as a kid.

My last layout which I built in 2016-2017 I showed on my YouTube Channel for friends and family that no longer lived near me. They could follow along the progress. It was lots of fun doing it as I like the create and build stuff my whole life and doing miniature modeling is fun.

I also plan to use my 3D-Printers (like my flash forge I got in 2018) and scratch building supplies to make custom models as well to using several kits and pre built items to add cool scenery to this new layout.

I already starting getting N-Scale track for several modules

I hope to share my new layout again on youtube.

My old layout videos are still on my YouTube channel and can be seen by anyone. Playlist or View Channel

Lectric XP Lite eBike

 In April 2022 several of my doctors suggested bicycling as a way to rehab from the several leg and foot surgeries I had. They wanted me to only do what they called low impact workouts. This so I would not further injury myself and cause an even worst injury to occur. The options where either bicycling, walking or swimming. unfortunately at the time because I was still part of the wound care program so swimming was not an option. Also my feet where very much in pain recovering from the surgeries and wound care that they wanted me at the time to limit my walking. So bicycling would be it.

 I started off by getting a Nautilus U616 upright bike on clearance at a local store for $180.00 From what I could figure it was on clearance because it had add-on smart phone app that no longer was available that would have extended the amount of workouts by a few hundred. That really didn't matter to me as I was still getting 30 built in rides included for incredible cost savings. This Nautilus U616 bike has worked awesome for indoor rehab and general low impact excising since I got it in May of 2022.

This is the Nautilus U616 upright bike, and the Lectric XP Lite eBike. In my old duplex apartment.

In May of 2022 another doctor of mine suggested, I get outside and ride a eBike. Personally I did not know much about eBikes. A few relatives including my dad had some in years past. From what I recall they looked and felt more like miniature motorcycle. I did not want a motorcycle or heavy bike at all. So I researched 40 or so eBikes at several different cost, weight class, and features over the summer of 2022.

Many of the eBikes out there cost way too much (over $2000). And the ones that where cheap (under $500) Didn't support my weight or height. And many others in the ($500 to $900) range where way too heavy to pick up and carry up and down the stairs of my city apartment. I never thought I was going to ever find one that was going to fit my needs, weight and budget. 

Then one day I got a message from my family to check out this eBike they seen on TV. I was very skeptical on any "As seen on tv product", specially an eBike. This product looked like a cross between of a BMX and folding commuter bike. I instantly knew this was the bike I was looking for. (This was the AD on TV)

It was lighter weight than most eBikes 46 pounds stock (still a bit heavy for a bike, but light enough to carry up several stairs in my apartment.) It has a max cargo weight of 280 lbs which worked great for me. It also supports rider heights up to 6' 7" Had a removable battery that is hidden within the frame and could fold for easy transport in a vehicle. As a added bonus it also came with a large lcd screen that shows the bikes speed, settings milage etc. Most eBikes in this price range didn't have that. The only concern I had with it was, it had only one single gear. All bikes I had since I been adult all had changeable gears. 

Well I decided to take the leap and get the bike. All my doctors wanted me to excise by bicycling. Four months had past then using the Nautilus U616 upright bike, and I seen some major improvements in my health. I knew if I was going to heal from the surgeries, build more muscle and improve my A1C that I needed to keep bicycling every day. When your health is involved and you can get a tool to help improve it, you do it. 

I waited a few weeks for it to be delivered but it finally came in the 1st week of September 2022. At the time I still was having issues walking and did not know if this was going to work or not. I gave it a try and it was awesome instantly and I have not stopped riding it since. 

First off hats off to Lectric brand and their support. It has been A+ service since I became a customer of their awesome Lectric XP Lite eBike. The thing works great and have had it now for the last 15 months of owning this bike. I even have rode this in the winter with the snow and ice. It has been awesome. And I have not had one single issue with this bike since.

The Lectric XP Lite eBike is 300 watt motor that peaks to 720 watts. It is a class 2 eBike legal in all 50 USA states. You can also change it into a class 1 e-bikes (no throttle) for use in National Parks, by the settings on the computer. In Class 2 mode you can ride the bike with peddle assist which helps aid in peddling (which is what I use) this helps assist in peddling specially up hills and inclines for people like myself that have a disability in their legs. It also is used by many able body people to extend their travel distance with the peddle assist. By law a class 2 eBike can not exceed 20 mph in the United States. However many states do allow a bike to be riding even without peddling. I normally do not use the throttle at all as I using this bike for excise and peddling is required for that. 

With this bike I have travel up to 30 miles in total distance with the stock 7.8ah battery. Many variables play a part in total travel distance, such as cargo weight, peddle assist setting, weather, terrain and more. When I am riding up medium size hills I average more near 20 miles so different terrain plays a part. I personally never thought I ever travel over 10 miles on a bike ever, but with this bike it is very easy to do so because it's fun to ride.

In October of 2022 I decided to add the rear rack and plastic fender kit to the Lectric XP Lite. Most people booed me on this because they wanted me to turn it into a BMX bike. Seriously I rode a BMX when I was a kid and this is nothing like one. I wanted the rear rack to carry my bike locks, folding cane and use to carry groceries and such. I also wanted the fenders because I planned to ride the bike in snow, with rock salt on the roads fenders are necessity. Adding both only added 2.5 lbs to the total weight and have been awesome addition to my bike since.

Since having this eBike the Lectric XP Lite it has help me lower my A1C to 5.5 multiple times over. Increase my muscles in my legs so now I can stand without a cane ( However still need a cane to walk.) And keep the blood flowing. I am so grateful my doctors suggested bicycling and another to ride a eBike. It has change my life for the better and it is a wonderful thing. If your in the market for a eBike get one. They are awesome even if you have a physical disability, they do work very good. 

I have also got several people with their negative comments about me riding a eBike. Most of these people did not even know I have a physical disability, and I can not ride a normal bike. That is how well this eBike works. That when riding it most people can not even tell I have physical disability in my legs. 

If your interested in this bike. I also have a few videos I made of it that I can share with you here:

My XP Lite E-Bike Show and Ride (From September 2022) View Here

Lectric XP Lite Closer Look (From October 2022) View Here

Lectric XP Lite Accessories (From Nov 2022) View Here

Lectric XP Lite Fenders & Rack (From December 2022) View Here

Lectric XP Lite 1 Year Ride & Talk (From October 2023) View Here

Lectric XP Lite Accessories 2 (From Nov 2023) View Here

My Lectric XP Lite Playlist View Here

more info on the lectric XP Lite similar to the one I have: Info here

What happened

Well I have not login to any blog since 2018. What have I been up to since. Well many things from mobile food vending to doing my music. Working on my model railroad, playing around with alternate power, building things, more app development and lot more. 

I also ended up in hospital and had surgeries. It was not fun but my doctors fixed me so I have many more years to enjoy. I had to change my lifestyle and now eat a very healthy meals and excise daily by riding bikes. My doctors suggested both E-Bikes and standrionary bikes for rehab and excise. I have to walk with cane since the surgeries and both legs are in much pain still. 

I was told I might been in wheelchair for rest of life, but I did not allow that to be an option. I fight every day to keep walking. My doctors want a good healthly diet and non impact excise (which they suggested was bicycling, swimming, and walking) I do not have a pool and while I do walk the bikes are way more fun.  The ebike helps assist me in pending and works really well and is much fun. If I did not change life style the likely hood I still be here is slim to none. 

I now looking at my life in a different way. I don't have time for B.S. and wont even waste my day on people that are here to be trolls, liars and etc. Life is too short to deal with jerks and I will not any more. Not worth the trouble. 

I here to start my next life journey and you may come along for the ride as I post things I do and enjoy. This time I document a lot of different type of things all here in one place.