I knew we were up against it as soon as Jacks first meal was brought into him at hospital during his diabetes diagnosis;
This hit home even more so when we were walking into our first diabetic management team meeting after we left the hospital;
I was in such shock, that I had to get photographic proof of these things!
I had absolutely no idea about the diabetes disease itself,
But I knew enough about the human body, and most importantly about how to fuel the body that when you have a diagnosis of a disease that is massively influenced on how your body produces and utilities insulin that your diet and lifestyle habits will play a massive role in how we would manage Jack from this point on.
You hear the word 'NORMAL' a lot when it comes to the diabetes world;
Normal Blood Glucose, Normal Response, Normal Standard Of Care, Normal Life etc....
But we don't want 'NORMAL';
Normal is what got society into this unhealthy mess.
Normal Diet, Normal Lifestyle Habits, Normal Stress Levels, Normal Work Life Balance, Normal Time Spent With Loved Ones;
There's nothing healthy about our 'NORMAL' lives,
and the proof is in the pudding.
In 1990, there were 31mill children with obesity, in 2022, it had grown 416% to 160 mill....
Let that sink in;
over a 32 year period, obesity rates grew 416%, that's 13% / year,
And that's just for children, us adults didn't fair too good either,
Obesity rates more than doubled during this time for woman (8.8% to 18.5%) and nearly tripled for men (4.8% to 14%),
READ MORE ABOUT THIS RESEARCH HERE!
But didn't the worlds population explode during this time period?
No, it did not, it only grew on ave during this same time period by 1.32% / year.
So the 'NORMAL' diet is not what Jack needs, he needs to buck the trend, go rogue, and have an 'ABNORMAL' management approach if we are to get 'ABNORMAL' results for his long term future,
and that's the approach we're taking!
And it's not easy, it's been met with much frustration, resistance and questioning, especially early on;
How will Jack grow if he's not on the 'NORMAL' diet?
How will we be able manage his insulin needs if he's not eating highly processed refined carb rich 'NORMAL' food?
This is not what the diabetic guidelines approach say...
This is not our standard of care.....
These are all valid questions/statements, and it's scary to feel like you're going against the advice of your kids medical care team.
But luckily it's a big world out there, and we've found a whole community of thousands of parents, adults & kids who are taking control of their health, bucking the trend/advice of the 'NORMAL' diet and diabetic management plan,
and you know what....
They are getting extraordinary results!
It's motivational, it's inspirational, and it gives us hope that Jack can have the life we want for him because 10's of thousands of people are living proof that it can be done.
I will leave you with this, if you have goals, dreams and aspirations;
You might need to go against the grain, against advice, and against the 'NORM'
But if other people are doing it, so can you!
You've Just Got To Find Your Tribe!
&
Become 'ABNORMAL'
*hard to believe, but this meal is not diabetic guidelines approved.
This hit home even more so when we were walking into our first diabetic management team meeting after we left the hospital;
I was in such shock, that I had to get photographic proof of these things!
I had absolutely no idea about the diabetes disease itself,
But I knew enough about the human body, and most importantly about how to fuel the body that when you have a diagnosis of a disease that is massively influenced on how your body produces and utilities insulin that your diet and lifestyle habits will play a massive role in how we would manage Jack from this point on.
You hear the word 'NORMAL' a lot when it comes to the diabetes world;
Normal Blood Glucose, Normal Response, Normal Standard Of Care, Normal Life etc....
But we don't want 'NORMAL';
Normal is what got society into this unhealthy mess.
Normal Diet, Normal Lifestyle Habits, Normal Stress Levels, Normal Work Life Balance, Normal Time Spent With Loved Ones;
There's nothing healthy about our 'NORMAL' lives,
and the proof is in the pudding.
In 1990, there were 31mill children with obesity, in 2022, it had grown 416% to 160 mill....
Let that sink in;
over a 32 year period, obesity rates grew 416%, that's 13% / year,
And that's just for children, us adults didn't fair too good either,
Obesity rates more than doubled during this time for woman (8.8% to 18.5%) and nearly tripled for men (4.8% to 14%),
READ MORE ABOUT THIS RESEARCH HERE!
But didn't the worlds population explode during this time period?
No, it did not, it only grew on ave during this same time period by 1.32% / year.
So the 'NORMAL' diet is not what Jack needs, he needs to buck the trend, go rogue, and have an 'ABNORMAL' management approach if we are to get 'ABNORMAL' results for his long term future,
and that's the approach we're taking!
And it's not easy, it's been met with much frustration, resistance and questioning, especially early on;
How will Jack grow if he's not on the 'NORMAL' diet?
How will we be able manage his insulin needs if he's not eating highly processed refined carb rich 'NORMAL' food?
This is not what the diabetic guidelines approach say...
This is not our standard of care.....
These are all valid questions/statements, and it's scary to feel like you're going against the advice of your kids medical care team.
But luckily it's a big world out there, and we've found a whole community of thousands of parents, adults & kids who are taking control of their health, bucking the trend/advice of the 'NORMAL' diet and diabetic management plan,
and you know what....
They are getting extraordinary results!
It's motivational, it's inspirational, and it gives us hope that Jack can have the life we want for him because 10's of thousands of people are living proof that it can be done.
I will leave you with this, if you have goals, dreams and aspirations;
You might need to go against the grain, against advice, and against the 'NORM'
But if other people are doing it, so can you!
You've Just Got To Find Your Tribe!
&
Become 'ABNORMAL'
*hard to believe, but this meal is not diabetic guidelines approved.
HEALTH
I've had a few people reach out regarding my 'Win The Day Checklist' from
The Leap #23
So I decided to make it available for everyone that reads this newsletter, FREE OF CHARGE,
click HERE to make one for yourself!
But the checklist solves only part of the puzzle;
The second and most important part is how do we make sure we achieve the things that are most important in our days?
The answer is quite simple.... Schedule it in;
Adding and sticking to a daily schedule is a sure fire way of getting shit done,
I know from past experience, that when I've been the most
healthiest & productive I've been sticking to a schedule and for me to get back to my 'healthiest' version of myself, I need to back into using one.
It's so easy for me/us to find excuses as to why we are not achieving the things we want that make us happy inside and around our busy working/life schedules, but it's near impossible to NOT do these things if we allocate the time to fit them in each and every day,
Because at the end of day, we all have the same amount of hours to play with, it's how we use them thats the key.
Remember, 'excuses are lies only you believe'
Below is the schedule I've created and will be using;
This is available for my readers as well if you click HERE!
How you fill your day is everything, it really determines your success or failure;
You can tell so much about a person by how they allocate their 3 most important resources;
Their Time, Their Attention, & Their $$$
How do you allocate yours??
The Leap #23
So I decided to make it available for everyone that reads this newsletter, FREE OF CHARGE,
click HERE to make one for yourself!
But the checklist solves only part of the puzzle;
The second and most important part is how do we make sure we achieve the things that are most important in our days?
The answer is quite simple.... Schedule it in;
Adding and sticking to a daily schedule is a sure fire way of getting shit done,
I know from past experience, that when I've been the most
healthiest & productive I've been sticking to a schedule and for me to get back to my 'healthiest' version of myself, I need to back into using one.
It's so easy for me/us to find excuses as to why we are not achieving the things we want that make us happy inside and around our busy working/life schedules, but it's near impossible to NOT do these things if we allocate the time to fit them in each and every day,
Because at the end of day, we all have the same amount of hours to play with, it's how we use them thats the key.
Remember, 'excuses are lies only you believe'
Below is the schedule I've created and will be using;
This is available for my readers as well if you click HERE!
How you fill your day is everything, it really determines your success or failure;
You can tell so much about a person by how they allocate their 3 most important resources;
Their Time, Their Attention, & Their $$$
How do you allocate yours??
FAMILY
Young kids are like puppies...
They need food & water, they need guidance, they need love, leadership, and they need to feel safe;
and in time, hopefully, they'll stop shitting on the floor.
But what they need most,
Is connection!
Connection To Their Environment, Connection To Others, and Connection To Themselves;
My wife and I have really tried to cultivate these massively important moments in our kids young lives.
I heard a dad on a podcast once talk about the 4 most important times we have to connect with our kids each and every day;
1) When they wake from their sleep
2) When they're picked up from school/daycare
3) The Family Dinner Table
4) When you're putting them to bed
And it's in these times where foundations are set, memories are made, and joy is to be found.
Over the years, we've really tried to nurture these daily moments, especially during dinner and bed time;
For dinner (when we remember), we like to play 'High, Low, Buffalo' which is a concept we've taken from 'The Barefoot Investor' Scott Pape, where everyone gets to answer 3 questions;
What was the day high? The day low? and what was something random or funny that happened?
Even among the daily dinner chaos we seem to find ourselves in, some gold comes out of these moments.
The other moment where we try to form bonds and connection is at bed time, where we ask them these simple but provoking questions;
What was the best part of your day? What was something kind your did for someone? What made you feel happy inside? What did you learn? What was something you did that was hard today?
You ask these questions, and all sorts of doors will open up!
How are you making memories??
They need food & water, they need guidance, they need love, leadership, and they need to feel safe;
and in time, hopefully, they'll stop shitting on the floor.
But what they need most,
Is connection!
Connection To Their Environment, Connection To Others, and Connection To Themselves;
My wife and I have really tried to cultivate these massively important moments in our kids young lives.
I heard a dad on a podcast once talk about the 4 most important times we have to connect with our kids each and every day;
1) When they wake from their sleep
2) When they're picked up from school/daycare
3) The Family Dinner Table
4) When you're putting them to bed
And it's in these times where foundations are set, memories are made, and joy is to be found.
Over the years, we've really tried to nurture these daily moments, especially during dinner and bed time;
For dinner (when we remember), we like to play 'High, Low, Buffalo' which is a concept we've taken from 'The Barefoot Investor' Scott Pape, where everyone gets to answer 3 questions;
What was the day high? The day low? and what was something random or funny that happened?
Even among the daily dinner chaos we seem to find ourselves in, some gold comes out of these moments.
The other moment where we try to form bonds and connection is at bed time, where we ask them these simple but provoking questions;
What was the best part of your day? What was something kind your did for someone? What made you feel happy inside? What did you learn? What was something you did that was hard today?
You ask these questions, and all sorts of doors will open up!
How are you making memories??
WEALTH
Last week I undertook a financial audit, and to say it was a shock was an understatement;
But I forgot one major part,
Our household burn rate,
Because, if our burn rate is higher than what we bring in each year, we will be on a non-stop ride to broke town!
First things first, some key takeaways from last week;
- 34% of our monthly spending goes to our 'fixed costs' (mortgage & utilities)
- 66% of our monthly spending goes to our 'variable costs' (food & random shit)
So to get our burn rate, we quite simply multiple our monthly expenses x 12, then divide this by our yearly household income;
(Burn Rate = Yearly Spending / Yearly Income).
This burn rate did not make for good reading;
As of writing this, our current household earnings only make up for 66% of what our burn rate is;
In simpler terms, for every $1000 our household spends, only $660 of it comes from money we earn as a family, the remaining $370 has to come from either, savings, investment returns or personal debt (credit cards/personal loans).
This situation is far from ideal, it's not sustainable by any means, and nor should it, if we keep this up we would be out of savings way faster than predicted, so things need to change!
We've just moved country and moving is a big expense, doing odd jobs around your new house are also a big expense, so these last few months have been out of the ordinary when it comes to our spending,
But if we are to become a wealthy household, we need to rein things in!
How does your burn rate stack up?
But I forgot one major part,
Our household burn rate,
Because, if our burn rate is higher than what we bring in each year, we will be on a non-stop ride to broke town!
First things first, some key takeaways from last week;
- 34% of our monthly spending goes to our 'fixed costs' (mortgage & utilities)
- 66% of our monthly spending goes to our 'variable costs' (food & random shit)
So to get our burn rate, we quite simply multiple our monthly expenses x 12, then divide this by our yearly household income;
(Burn Rate = Yearly Spending / Yearly Income).
This burn rate did not make for good reading;
As of writing this, our current household earnings only make up for 66% of what our burn rate is;
In simpler terms, for every $1000 our household spends, only $660 of it comes from money we earn as a family, the remaining $370 has to come from either, savings, investment returns or personal debt (credit cards/personal loans).
This situation is far from ideal, it's not sustainable by any means, and nor should it, if we keep this up we would be out of savings way faster than predicted, so things need to change!
We've just moved country and moving is a big expense, doing odd jobs around your new house are also a big expense, so these last few months have been out of the ordinary when it comes to our spending,
But if we are to become a wealthy household, we need to rein things in!
How does your burn rate stack up?
Until next time
Az
HAVE YOU MADE THE LEAP YET?