Interviewing Dan Ruchames

 Dan-Aug 2007

 

Dan-Sept 2011

Slightly over a year ago I began working at UM Flint.  Since I made this move I crossed paths w/ Dan Ruchames.  His occupation brings him to campus, and into my office a few times a year.  Last time I had run into Dan was Winter Semester 2011.  Dan and I have had some chats regarding Olympic Style weight lifting and he had a bit of interest in one of my passions-Kettlebells.  He recently stopped by and I could instantly tell he had made some extreme lifestyle changes.  Previously Dan was not in the best of health.  At a doctor appt he was told he would need to start taking meds for diabetes.  Dan chose to make better choices, and he has lost 50 lbs since I last saw him.  How you ask?  By eating healthier and doing a bit of walking.  When I say DIET is bare minimum 80% of weight loss, I am NOT kidding.  Dan is living proof.  I am proud of him, and the care he has taken to avoid all these medicines and improve his life.  Please enjoy the interview below!

EM: How about starting off telling us a bit about yourself-where you grew up.

DAN: I'm a native New Yorker, born in the Bronx and growing up in Queens from the age of 3. Came to Michigan 16 years ago, from Minnesota.

EM: How cool. I have never been to New York. Seems there is always something exciting going on there.

DAN: Yes, always tons of things to do but most of it takes place in Manhattan, and getting there from Queens can sometimes be difficult, i.e., traffic, parking.

EM: I can only imagine. What was your childhood like there?

DAN: Fairly conventional, I guess. Grew up in a garden apartment complex in Whitestone called Clearview Gardens, a 90%+ Jewish community (I'm Jewish).  Always lots of kids to play with, and large driveways behind the buildings, where the garages were located, and we played lots of stickball, touch football, and basketball there.

EM: I bet those were fun times! What took you out to Minnesota?

DAN: Well...I hate to burst anyone's bubble, but in all honesty by the time I reached my 20s I was interested in leaving NY, but it took marriage to get me to Minnesota, which is where my ex-wife is from.  I owned a used bookstore there, but sold it after about four years and moved to Hillsdale, MI.

EM: Is that where you live now?

DAN: Yes.

EM: What brought you to Michigan?

DAN: I had this idea, after selling the bookstore, that we'd move midway between our respective homes in NY and Minnesota, on the idea that we'd have equal access to our families. That part didn't really work out well in practice, as we found ourselves with a decrease in the number of family visits overall, but other things, fortunately, did work out well. We moved specifically to Hillsdale because of a desire to send our children to the Hillsdale Academy, a private school run by Hillsdale College. That worked out best of all.

EM: Interesting. Bringing us up to speed:  what were your past hobbies, and what are your more current ones?

DAN: I've always been a sports/music/politics guy. In sports I fancied myself an aspiring athlete and tried my hand at competitive weightlifting, track and cross country running, and later a bit of masters swimming. Musically I enjoy a variety of things, but especially oldies rock from the '60s and original longhair classical music, i.e., Beethoven and Company. Politically I'm conservative, though didn't start out that way, having been one of those who became involved in the student radical movement at the end of the 1960s. By the mid-'70s I moved to being a libertarian, and a few years later evolved toward conservatism.

EM: That's a wide collection of interests! 

DAN: I guess, but I always feel a little self-conscious that I don't seem to have more conventional hobbies such as working in the garage or home repair or hunting, but then I'm a city kid, so that reduced the likelihood of an interest in hunting. 


EM: More recently you have gotten back into your health. Tell us what sparked the interest again. What was your journey, and do you have a destination?

DAN: Yes. The demands of my used bookstore found me neglecting my fitness interests and for the past 20 years I'd just been sedentary and becoming overweight. Just prior to opening the bookstore I had spent the summer swimming and gotten my weight down to 179 from 210, at 5'9.5" on a small-to-medium frame. Through these years--20 by this time--I kept gradually putting on weight. For the past 4 years or so, my doctor warned me that I was in the pre-diabetic stage. With good genes I felt in my gut that while this was something to pay attention to, I didn't really feel it would happen to me. It's easy to agree with the doctor that I need to lose weight and get in shape, but as everyone knows, doing it is another matter entirely. Finally, in April, a new local doctor had me do a blood work-up and I came in with a fasting glucose reading of 209! The cut-off point for diabetes is about 125. If that wasn't shocking enough, he prescribed three medications, all with likely side-effects. Since this was the first time I had tested above the cut-off I thought this was possibly overkill, so I began to investigate, talking to people and reading, and decided to attempt to control my sugar through diet and exercise. During this beginning period I consulted with the dietitian at the hospital, who's also a certified diabetes educator, and she endorsed what I was doing. Five months later I had lost 50 pounds and my readings were in the normal range!

EM: Sounds like you were beginning to make some really good choices for yourself!  That is pretty awesome!

DAN: I'm still a bit over 200 lbs. and would like to get below 180.

EM: And you did all of that through diet and exercise?

DAN: Yes. I've never taken any of the medications he prescribed, including the samples, and actually never returned to his office. I'm returning to my previous doctor in Ann Arbor, who I left only for reasons of convenience and the fact that nothing was happening. Just goes to show.

EM: What does a day in your diet look like?

DAN: In many ways it probably looks very ordinary. The nutritionist advised me that I could eat a certain amount of carbs each day, so I do. A typical breakfast will be bacon (EM suggests turkey bacon) and eggs with a thinly sliced piece of buttered rye toast (EM suggests a light spread or fresh avocado). This morning I had 1/4 cup of cottage cheese and a bowl of Scottish Oats, 1/4 cup before cooking. I'll often have an orange with either, but one thing I've eliminated is fruit juice. For lunch, today I had a 6-oz. hamburger with peppers and onions, pan-fried in some butter (EM suggests skipping the butter). For dessert I had peanuts. For dinner last night I had some chicken breast on the barbie, topped with some really good barbecue sauce that I just discovered on the manager's special table at my local Kroger's. That was accompanied by a smallish sweet potato and a nice helping of steamed cauliflower and string beans. Five months later I had lost 50 pounds and my readings were in the normal range!

EM: Drinking your calories can become an issue. What are Scottish Oats?

DAN: Scottish Oats are a more finely cut version of Steel-Cut (or Irish) Oats. In Trader Joe's they call them Quick Cooking Steel-Cut Oats, but the only difference is the finer cut, which enables them to cook more quickly. The Scottish Oats take about 8 minutes to cook, versus about 35 minutes for the standard steel-cut oats.

EM: Oh, gotcha. That is nice--quickly available always makes a difference!  It sounds like you have a pretty well rounded diet--all things included: protein, carbs, veggies, and fruit.

DAN: Yes, I think so. Sometimes I'm concerned that I'm eating too many carbs, but the readings are consistently good, which is key. My weight loss has slowed down a lot, but in a way that doesn't matter, as the important thing is to make sure the glucose readings remain in the normal range.

EM: Carbs are a great form of energy for the body, as long as you choose good sources, like your oats! Do you have any near future goals other than the 180 you mentioned already?

DAN: In the last few months I've begun walking consistently. The doctor recommended at least a half-hour per day, at least 5 days per week, and I've been doing about 35-40 minutes. Lately I've added freehand deep-knee bends (similar to squats) to my walks, for the purpose of adding some intensity and hopefully eliminating the need to increase the time. Walking isn't terribly exciting, IMHO! I do two sets of knee-bends, but still am in mediocre shape, so only do 13 per set, separated by about 10-15 minutes. I'm adding one rep per week and look forward to reaching 50, which I think will be an indicator of halfway-decent conditioning. And sometime in the next few weeks I'm expecting to join one of the local gyms to work on the rest of my body. Plus, it will be cold, and I may need to resort to a treadmill or an exercise bike, indoors of course.

EM: Yes, the cold always pushes us indoors. The joy of getting creative in the winter!  Sounds like you have some good plans, and have your walk routine down! Where is your favorite place to walk?

DAN: We have a walking/biking path here in Hillsdale, which I often frequent, and then I vary the route a little too. My biggest variation is doing it in the opposite direction.

EM: I have notice lately the direction you walk in can change your perception even though it is a small change.

DAN: So I guess my goal in the next few months is to reach that two sets of 50 reps in my knee-bends accompanying the walk, and also to get into the gym and hopefully being able to do chin-ups once again.

EM: Ahhhh, chin ups! What fun!

DAN: I walk based on my mood, but always knowing that I've got to get in the half-hour+ and the knee bends. Hey-when I weighed 150 (I was 25 at the time) I was able to do lots of them! It's definitely more difficult at 208. And it's always harder for women/girls. But I'm getting ahead of myself. Right now I think I may be able to do one!

EM: Yes, I am lucky to get in 1 unassisted, but it's a work in progress, right?!

DAN: Yes, but it helps to remember the basic differences between men and women.  Meanwhile, just do those lat pulldowns.

EM: What is the best bit of advice you can give anyone that may have be in the shoes you were in when you were faced w/ the diabetes diagnosis?

DAN: Diabetes, or anything, don't regard your doctor as a god. Sometimes they are wrong, and if the advice they give doesn't seem right always feel free to get other opinions. As I mentioned earlier, I regard myself as having good genes, healthwise, so it was truly a shocker to get the diabetes diagnosis. It really lit a fire under me and made me super-motivated, though I have to tell you that for the first day or two after receiving the news I was in a stupor. The doctor got me very upset with his attitude and demeanor, and I was highly motivated to prove him wrong. The great irony is that I've wanted to lose weight for a long, long time, but it took this diagnosis to do it. And there's still a ways to go, though really there is no end, as the low-carb regimen must be adhered to forever for the sake of the meter readings.

EM: You have done an awesome job!  You must be proud!

DAN: I am very gratified, though it's still a work in progress.

EM:  I really appreciate the time to talk to you today, and being able to share your journey as an inspiration to others. Changing your diet can make a huge change in your life and physical results. Adding a bit of exercise to the mix will make you shine!

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If you would be interested in doing an interview with me in regards to a healthful lifestyle journey you have been on please feel free to email me at emily dot manship at gmail dot com!