After a routine blood test, I received a letter from my GP saying I was now pre-diabetic and would need to be monitored.
It was a moment that forced me to stop and think about more than just diet.
For years I had been pushing through stress, long hours and poor sleep, assuming I could just carry on.
Improving my health changed far more than my blood sugar.
It changed my energy, my sleep, and the clarity with which I think about my life.
This video touches on the moment I started paying closer attention to my health.
For years nothing felt dramatic enough to force a change. Work, stress and routine made it easy to assume everything was broadly fine.
A routine blood test showing I was now pre-diabetic changed that. It made me realise that the issue wasn’t just the numbers, but the way I’d slowly
normalised long hours, fatigue and low-grade stress.
This video is simply a reflection on that period and the small changes that started to shift things in a better direction.
“Thank you for giving me a boost… I’m walking regularly, cooking proper food and already feeling better.”
— Youtube comment on I Thought I had Time - My Health Disagreed
“The secret is there is no secret. Consistency is the key.”
— Youtube comment on I Thought I had Time - My Health Disagreed
Most people separate health from the rest of their life.
But in my experience the two are closely connected.
When your sleep is poor and your energy is low, it becomes much harder to think clearly about work, decisions and life direction.
As my health improved, I noticed changes in several areas:
better sleep
more consistent energy
clearer thinking and concentration
less background fatigue
more motivation to actually act on ideas
This is one of the reasons health became such an important part of my reset.
None of these were extreme. Most were simple habits that gradually became part of my routine.
Daily walking and morning light
Getting outside early and moving most days helped reset my energy and sleep.
Strength training three times a week
Nothing heavy or complicated. Just enough resistance work to keep muscle and metabolism active.
Extending the fasting window
Most days I now eat within a shorter window, usually around 4–5 hours, which works out to roughly 19–20 hours of fasting.
Prioritising sleep
Going to bed earlier and protecting sleep made a bigger difference than I expected.
Reducing background stress
Changing my working life and pace of life played a huge role in improving my health.
Alongside the bigger lifestyle changes, there are a few smaller habits I’ve experimented with that may also help with blood sugar control.
Apple cider vinegar before eating
Some research suggests this may help reduce insulin spikes after meals. I usually dilute a small amount in water before eating. Using a straw can help protect your teeth from the acidity.
Walking after meals
Even a short walk after eating can help your body process glucose more efficiently and stabilise blood sugar levels.
Tracking trends rather than chasing numbers
Instead of obsessing over single readings, I try to watch longer-term trends in things like blood pressure or blood sugar.
MCT oil for quick energy while fasting
MCT oil is a fast-absorbing fat that the body can convert into energy quickly. Adding a small amount to coffee or tea during a fasting window can help reduce hunger and maintain energy without feeling like a full meal.
These are simply things that have worked for me while improving my own health. They’re not medical advice.
One of the biggest changes for me wasn’t a specific diet or routine.
It was simply paying more attention to the signals my body was sending and keeping an eye on the bigger picture over time.
For example, I’ve been on blood pressure medication for quite a long time. I’ve tried coming off it in the past, but it’s one area where I still need support. The important thing is that my blood pressure has stabilised. For years it was gradually increasing, but now it’s no longer creeping up year after year.
These days I just keep an eye on a few basic things:
Blood pressure checks
I check my blood pressure about once a month at home and usually take two readings to make sure everything looks consistent.
Routine blood tests
I have a blood test roughly once a year now. When I first received the pre-diabetes letter they were more frequent, but since my blood sugar returned to the normal range it’s simply monitored as part of general health checks.
Waist rather than weight
Because I’ve lifted weights for many years my bodyweight has never been a particularly useful measure. I tend to pay more attention to waist size and how I feel day to day.
Watching the longer-term trend
Instead of chasing individual numbers, I try to pay attention to how things look over months and years.
Six months after receiving that letter from my GP, the difference was already obvious. I was walking several miles without getting out of breath, training again in the gym, and generally feeling far healthier than I had in a long time.
The numbers confirmed what I was already starting to feel — my blood sugar had returned to the normal range.
For me the lesson wasn’t about becoming obsessive with tracking or trying to optimise everything.
It was simply about paying attention earlier and making consistent changes before small problems turn into bigger ones.
Looking back, improving my health wasn’t just about blood sugar or fitness.
It changed how I think.
When sleep improves and energy becomes more stable, it’s much easier to step back and look at your life clearly.
For years I had been pushing through stress, long hours and constant pressure. When my health started to improve, it created space to think differently about work, time and what actually mattered.
That’s when the bigger reset began.
Health wasn’t the whole story, but it became an important foundation for everything else that followed.
If this page resonates with you, the health side is often just one part of a bigger picture.
Many people who arrive here are also thinking about stress, work pressure, or whether the way they’re living is still sustainable long term.
You might find some of the other ideas on this site useful as well.
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© 2026 Wayne Phipps. All rights reserved.
© 2026 Wayne Phipps. All rights reserved.
Minimum Viable Income is a simple question: what is the smallest, honest amount of money that would allow you to live a life that feels workable and non‑anxious, for the season you’re in now?
Not a forever number. Not a social‑media number. Just a calm, present‑tense figure that covers your real costs and a bit of breathing room.
When you have this number, a few things often shift:
If you’d like to look at your own Minimum Viable Income, the Clarity session is one place to do that slowly and without performance pressure.
A lot of productive, kind people live with a constant background hum of "I should be doing more." This is noise, not guidance.
Clarity, in contrast, is usually quieter and less dramatic. It often sounds like: "This is enough for now." or "That would be nice, but it doesn’t need to happen this year."
One useful question is: if this thought became permanently true, would my life feel more spacious or more cramped?
In Clarity sessions we’re not trying to silence every anxious thought. We’re just trying to tell the difference between useful signals and old, automated noise so your choices can be a little kinder and more deliberate.
Time Drift is what happens when your calendar slowly fills with things you never consciously chose, until your days no longer look like the life you say you want.
No single meeting, obligation, or favour is the problem. It’s the slow tilt. A few degrees off, sustained over months and years.
A gentle way to notice drift is to compare two calendars:
In Clarity sessions we often map these two weeks side by side and look for the smallest, kindest adjustments that would start to close the gap without pretending your constraints don’t exist.