Winning the battle against diabetes

Two months into the campaign and a third of the way to the deadline. For some reason I thought that I'd be much further along than I am, was I over estimating my capabilities?

I've lost only half of what I had expected to lose by now, I don't see how I could do any more than what I'm already doing. The doctors I talk to say that I'm losing weight at a very healthy rate, but that doesn't make me feel any better, if anything it makes me feel like I should be doing better.

January has been a tough month. As I had expected the exercise routine shifted into a higher gear. Working with Franky Spencer, my strength and conditioning coach, has been great. He pushes you to the point where you think that it's impossible to do more, and then you surprise yourself when you're able to do it. He makes you push yourself further.

Hard training

My mixed martial arts (MMA) training isn't getting any easier either. Head coach Tam Khan continues to push me, making me the centre of attention in many of the classes (not a position you want to be in). Boxing with Claude has also moved up a notch. He has put me on some new exercises to build more leg muscles; he wants to see me jump.

I also had a chance to train with Abu Dhabi Fighting Championship (ADFC) heavyweight title contender Marcos Oliveira. It was just staggering to see just how hard he trains. It was like watching him do everything I do in a week, at a much higher level, and do it all in one day, and then do that for six days a week.

The highlight of the month was getting a chance to train with MMA legend and Brazilian Jiu-jitsu master Royce Gracie. The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) hall of famer held a few training sessions at Contender MMA Centre, and it was an honour and a privilege to be trained by someone of that calibre.

Just as everything seemed to be going so well I hit another obstacle. A bout of food poisoning took me out of the game. For five days I was unable to train, I tried to work out on my cross trainer but I don't think I did enough.

From there I saw myself fall into my old routine of work and home; I wasn't finding time to exercise.

I missed out on two weeks of training; needless to say that my coaches weren't happy. My diet also began to suffer. I was skipping more and more meals, sometimes breakfast and dinner would be the same meal. It's become more evident to me that I need that meal programme.

Rounding up week eight, I had my second blood test. I was very nervous. Diabetes has been my target from the minute I started this campaign, and now I'd find out who was winning the fight.

Blood sugar

At the start of the campaign my fasting blood glucose was 182.6, well above the 75-115 normal range. And my A1c (glycated haemoglobin) was 7.0, which was considered borderline dangerous. My current fasting glucose is 155.1, a big improvement. My A1c is 5.8, in the non-diabetic range.

When general physician and endocrinologist Dr Abdul Razzaq Al Madani told me that, I felt the weight of the world had just lifted off my shoulders, my hands were trembling and I felt a bit light-headed. And all that was running through my head was, ‘one down, one to go.'

I'm still taking the medication, but according to Al Madani, at this rate, by the end of this campaign I should be free of diabetes.

Heading into week nine and I'm just starting the meal programme. I'm a bit sceptical about how well it's going to work, but to be honest I had a shot at making my own food and I just couldn't keep up with it, so I guess I'll give this a try.

People support

I've always said that the comments I get from people on the Gulf News site, twitter, the people at the gym, those I meet around town, and especially from members of my family helps to keep me going, it really does, and I thank you for it.

To be honest, over the weeks I have also had my share of negative comments; sadly they came from people I'm supposed to look up to. Usually I'd brush them off without a second thought, but when you're under this kind of pressure, they do get tough to ignore, and they have ruined my day and sometimes my week.

But I can't keep looking for motivation elsewhere. It's too late for that. It's now or never, I have to find it in myself, or I won't stand a chance of winning this battle.