> This is just a random log of thoughts and personal things I maintain. At this point of time, this has no real tangible outcome that you might find useful as a reader. I have been really poor at exercising. For years at school, I was the nerdy kid wearing an oversized t-shirt. At that point in time, the taunts and the bullying never really seemed to matter much to me. After all, I really did not give a rat's backside to any of those words that were thrown at me regarding my physical state. Cut to college, I was still the thin, almost invisible kid. Still smart, maybe smarter by the social convention of India where higher your grades the smarter you are deemed to be. The only difference was that in college, I really did not have to put up with bullying. College was kinder and way more fun. So, my brain compensated for this lack of external bullying by resorting to bullying itself. Paradoxical. But, I really did not do anything to try and make better my physique. After all, I was smart. I was running a technical club at college. Most people loved me. So, why did I need to work on my body? Feb 2021. The month I was diagnosed as a type 1 diabetic. The run up to that period was incredibly stressful. It was probably the worst time of my life. Only in September 2020 I had to undergo an open heart surgery. The recovery from that was hell, and here I was less than 6 months from then, fighting for my sanity and normalcy in life, stuck in a kidney ward in a hospital in London where everybody around me were really old men. This was not the plan. I read a lot about type 1 diabetes since then. It all boiled down to this - Sugar levels should be stable. Else I will have a terrible quality of life. The way to make sugar levels stable - Eat good food. Always take insulin to match up the carbs. Avoid everything sugary. Take exercise. Its been about 5 years now since that fateful diagnosis and I have wholeheartedly ignored the last point. Exercise. I tried a gym last year, with a trainer. I was seeing myself eat better, but I did not show up to the gym enough. It was 50 GBP a session with my trainer and while she was really good with what she was doing, I could not justify the cost in my head. Exercise was still not a priority for me. I am writing this now as a log of sorts for the exercise I intend to take from now on. Its 2026 and this is not a resolution of sorts. Its just me trying my best to force myself to come out of this inertia I have and just start doing something physical. I do play cricket over the summer but that does not really count as the exercise I should be taking. I am a T1-Diabetic for no fault of mine. Life has in its most glorious way screwed me over. This is basically me trying to reclaim control of my life. I may not be able to control the final outcome, but I am in no way going to break and give up! ### Okay, great motivational bull crap. How exactly am I going to do this? Here are the things I am not going to do - Join a gym straightaway. Buy some weights. Get a trainer. Signup to a plan. I have an ill-equipped gym in my apartment. I have some weights that I had bought 2 years ago but never touched. So, I have got some "resources". But the main resource I want to follow is the "Get Back in Shape" e-book from Arnold's Pump Club. It looks accessible and simple. So, I am going to use that as my bible. ### What are my goals? Apparently, its better to have goals before starting to keep one motivated. Well, I might be an ADHD-er or maybe I am just a stupid guy who can't stay committed to a goal. Because these "goals" never motivated me. In fact, I just convince myself that a goal is too outlandish and keep lowering the bar until I can completely ignore doing the task itself. I respond a bit more to social rules and requirements (like when I grind my backside off for work). But hey, I am gonna still try and list some minor goals here because I don't want to be directionless. Goals 1. Great sugar level balance - HbA1C < 6% 2. To be strong and fit and fast for Cricket 3. Be pain free and live a brilliant life till 85 years I have no systems set up in place to track any of this yet. But, that is for another day. ## Jan 4, 2026 ### 20-Second Burn (14:30) | Exercise | Duration / Count | Difficulty Level | | ----------------------- | ---------------- | --------------------------------- | | March in place | 20 seconds | Easy | | Squats | 20 | Easy (left knee slight bother) | | Bent over Y's | 20 seconds | Medium | | Incline or Wall Pushups | 20 | Hard | | Step ups | 20 seconds | Easy | | Plank | 20 seconds | Easy (slightly harder to the end) | | Standing calf raises | 20 seconds | Easy | I did 2 rounds. By the end of it, I felt really exhausted and a bit breathless. Not sure if this is supposed to happen, but its the first time I have exercised in forever. So, probably fair! #### AI Consult with Claude Code **What will happen to my blood sugar?** Your blood sugar will probably go up a bit after your workout. This is normal and expected. **Why does it go up?** When you do intense exercise (like your 20-second burn), your body releases stress hormones (like adrenaline). These hormones tell your liver: "Release sugar into the bloodstream!" So during short, intense workouts: - Your liver dumps sugar → blood sugar goes UP - Your muscles use sugar, but not fast enough → blood sugar stays UP **Why is this actually GOOD?** This is the best-case scenario for you: 1. **No hypoglycemia risk** - Unlike long cardio workouts where you crash low, your intense short bursts keep you safe from dangerous low blood sugar 2. **More stable blood sugar** - Your glucose stays more predictable and controlled compared to longer workouts 3. **You needed fewer insulin adjustments** - Research shows people doing HIIT (like your workout) need way fewer carb snacks to stay safe **The Bottom Line** ✅ **Expect a modest blood sugar rise** (say, 10-30 points) ✅ **This is normal and healthy** ✅ **It's actually safer than other types of exercise** ✅ **Just keep an eye on it over the next 2-3 hours** (that's when your body adjusts) Your 20-second burn approach is exactly what doctors recommend for Type 1 diabetes now. **Sources:** - [Physical Activity/Exercise and Diabetes: A Position Statement of the American Diabetes Association](https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC6908414/) - [The impact of brief high-intensity exercise on blood glucose levels](https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC3587394/) - [High Intensity Interval Training reduces hypoglycemic events compared with continuous aerobic training in individuals with type 1 diabetes](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35714884/) - [American Diabetes Association Standards of Care in Diabetes—2026](https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC12690167/) - [Exercise, type 1 diabetes mellitus and blood glucose: The implications of exercise timing](https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/endocrinology/articles/10.3389/fendo.2022.1021800/full) - [ADA Exercise & Type 1 Guidelines](https://diabetes.org/health-wellness/fitness/exercise-and-type-1) ### Sugar Anomaly >[!danger] >Had 110 grams (~30 gms of carbs) of white long grain rice with 200 gm chicken and 200 gm carrots and beans. Initial level was around 8.4 mmol/l. Took 3 units of insulin and ate food about 20 mins later. The post-meal spike was really fast as it hit 16.1 mmol/l in less than 45 mins. I panic-corrected it with 5 units more and the whole thing crashed later. This sudden rise is due to the white rice (no pun intended!). > >**Lesson** - Leave 45 mins next time after taking insulin to eat. Eat only when the sugar level is under 6 mmol/l. ### Stretching, foam rolling and cricket before sleep (20:00) Just did a bunch of stretching. Full body stretches. also used the foam roller under and over my legs. About a 15 min session. At the end of it, I did feel quite good. I also picked up my cricket bat and practices some backfoot punches in front of the mirror. The bat is not really light given how I do not possess enough muscle in my arms. So, it was a good workout to try and play my cricketing shots without losing my balance. ## Jan 5, 2026 ### 20-Second Burn (04:55) I woke up at 04:30. The sugar was 8.4 mmol/l. In the last 25 mins it has become 9.4 mmol/l. I have taken 6 units of long-acting insulin and 4 units of short-acting. The latter is to control my dawn phenomenon. I have a black tea with me which I will be drinking shortly. | Exercise | Duration / Count | | ----------------------- | ---------------- | | March in place | 20 seconds | | Squats | 20 | | Bent over Y's | 20 seconds | | Incline or Wall Pushups | 20 | | Step ups | 20 seconds | | Plank | 20 seconds | | Standing calf raises | 20 seconds | 2 rounds complete. 20 minutes. Exhausted. ### Breakie at 07:30 2 eggs, some fajita veggies frozen, half an avocado, 2 biscuits (10gm carbs). 2 units of insulin. In hindsight, I probably didn't need those 2 biscuits and maybe not the 2 units of insulin too. Not sure. Need my body to recalibrate over this week with some consistent sleep, exercise and schedule. ### Sugar rise at 08:30 It seems like my sugar is rising now. All I had is a coffee (latte). Probs the milk. Rise from 6.6 to 9.6 now and climbing slowly. Not entirely sure why this is happening. ## Jan 6, 2026 Down with the flu. Started as a throat ache the previous evening. No exercise. Just some light stretching. However, a day where I showed up in the kitchen and absolutely loved myself for it. Things that were wins. 1. Went to the Morrisson's beneath to grab myself groceries (layered up well because it was 1 degree outside) 2. Cooked a nice prawn soup (veggies and prawns were both frozen; cooked in ghee) - Had about 3 large servings 3. Cooked a spectacular fish curry (cod) and had it with 100gm of white rice ### Big sugar win Remember the sugar anomaly on Jan 4, 2026? Sorted that this time. Took 6 units of insulin for the 100 gms of rice and waited about 30+ mins to start eating. My pre-meal sugars were at 6.4 or something and the post-meal (after 2 hrs) was around 6.6. Pretty stable! ## Jan 7, 2026 The flu remains. Food from yesterday's cooking remains with me. ### Dumb-bell curls (21:15) Really abrupt. Wanted to just move my body a bit. Picked up my 4.5 kg x 2 dumbbells and did some curls. - 10 reps, 4 sets (weight - 4.5 kg in each hand) (this was my limit i,e could do only about 2 more reps) Then some stretches. Hopefully, do a bit more like this consistent going down the line. But, I am happy with showing up.