Reprogramming My Routine: Lessons from an Engineer Diagnosed with Type 2 Diabetes

By Cary Boozer, Senior Mechanical Engineer, MOTION

I just celebrated my 49th birthday… which means that I am facing the big 5-O sooner than I’d like. No big deal.  I have convinced myself that 50 is the new 30… and like that George Strait song when he sings “I still feel 25, most of the time” I know what he means, that song speaks to me. But, the other day, I was at the doctor’s office for my yearly check-up.  The results were not what I thought they would be. My blood pressure was a little too high, my bad cholesterol was a little too high, my good cholesterol was a little too low, and my A1c was over seven. I was told I needed to lose about fifteen pounds, which would probably help get the numbers closer to where they needed to be.  But, then the scary part, I was now considered Type 2 diabetic. 

The doctor informed me that the human body is like a very complex machine that requires a lot of maintenance.  I guess she figured me being an engineer, I would understand what she was trying to say. I did. She was speaking my language. I am a mechanical engineer by trade with over twenty-five years of experience. I have engineering degrees from both Auburn University and the University of Alabama.  Over the years, I have spent a lot of time on machine design, studying the effects of preventive and predictive maintenance on the life of equipment. That is because, as you well know, downtime does not come cheap. When a machine breaks down, it is hardly ever an easy fix, usually very inconvenient, and probably in the worst possible situation at the time.  Machines will eventually fail under load because of stress and fatigue.  Lack of any type of maintenance only increases the chances of it being sooner than later. 

The most important machine that I oversee, I am failing to prevent any type of major or eventually fatal downtime.  Without the proper maintenance, certain organs and systems will break down, and when they break down, they cannot be repaired. As the insulin production slows down, glucose from the food we eat cannot be converted into energy. Which means the bloodstream is loaded down with too much sugar, which increases stress and fatigue on the body… and left untreated will eventually kill me.  

But not just me… Apparently, many people have gone without preventative maintenance. According to the American Diabetes Association almost 40% of everyone in the USA is pre-diabetic. Meaning your numbers are just slightly lower than mine… for now. So it is time for us to come up with a new preventative maintenance checklist to keep these machines running.

Before I could even begin my now routine maintenance, I had to be trained. For some reason my doctor did not trust my skill set enough to just give me paperwork to read on my own. So, I had to attend a few classes with other people like me on how to eat in a 24-hour period and how what I put into my “machine” would affect my blood sugar levels. The instructor also went over how to gauge my blood sugar levels when needed. 

So, my new regimen used for my preventive maintenance are eating healthy and physical activity, which in turn will help manage my weight. The right food portions will limit the amount of sugar that I consume, and the exercise will help burn off excess sugar. For instance, I first changed out my daily fuel of sweet tea for water flavored with some lemon. In lean manufacturing this would be referred to as “picking the low hanging fruit first”. Also, fresh vegetables now accompanying my sandwich (on whole grain bread) instead of chips. I even have a spreadsheet to where I can mix and match different food groups for variety. I am also trying to build up to at least 30 minutes of moderate intensity exercise five times a week. If I can do this, then in six months at my next visit to the doctor, I should start seeing better numbers.

So now when I’m the only one at lunch not ordering the bacon cheeseburger, and I’m asked why I try to explain all this in the language technical people understand and advise strongly that they implement a preventative maintenance plan for themselves. Don’t wait.  Because downtime does not come cheap, and it is not convenient.