Apologies and Wellness

One of the best things about being a type 1 diabetic is when people apologize about eating junk food in front of me. I normally explain that I can eat whatever I want because I can cover the food with insulin. I then explain the difference between T1D and type 2. I guess I should be used to it, but it always surprises me. 

Situations when people assume that I am a T1D due to a poor diet always reminds me of the day I came home from being diagnosed. My grandmother said its because I ate too many cookies. That crushed me at 12 years old. I didn't know if she was joking or what at the time. I didn't know at the time T1D is an autoimmune disease. It would be interesting to know if the average person knows this.

It's not the public's fault. Most of the diabetes information out there is regarding type 2. T1D doesn't seem to get a lot of attention. When I was younger, I should have be more active in fighting to bring attention to my disease. At least once a week, I will wear some type of "fighting diabetes" or "cure" shirt. It does spark up conversation some times because people don't believe that I am a diabetic. Yet again people are thinking of type 2. The public needs to know the difference.

For children with T1D being lumped together with type 2s must be very difficult. It was for me as a kid. I knew I had some obstacles ahead of me as a child, but being active and eating well helped me distance myself from the diabetic label. 

Acceptance

Having this blog has caused me to think very hard about how I treat my diabetes. It has been an enemy for the majority of my life. The more I fight it, the worse it treats me. There's no denying the fact that I am a type 1. Life is different for me compared to a person with a fully functional pancreas. That's a fact. 

Once I accepted the fact that I must work with my diabetes, the better is has treated me. More of a controlled and consistent diet, planned out exercise, better sleep, and tracking my blood sugars have helped out immensely. For me, working with rather than against my diabetes has been very beneficial. 

I wish I would have known what I know now about food and health compared to what I didn't know as a teenager. Life would have been easier and healthier. Athletic performance would have been better. The major struggle I have now is all the different opinions out there about how to treat type 1. It can be very stressful and frustrating. Education is key and finding out what works for an individual is best. 

Food and Fitness Musical Chairs

My last post I mentioned eating a more rounded diet along with a balanced fitness routine that included much more conditioning than I have done in quite awhile. Due to my blood sugar control, I am switching back to a low carb meal plan and heavy lifting routine with small bouts of conditioning. 

One of the major switches is due to what the most responsible thing is for my life. Can type 1s be active in running, biking and CrossFit? Yes, but at what expense? These athletes that are type 1 don't always have very good control. I am at a stage in my life where I am not willing to put selfish wants of trying to be an athlete in front of my health anymore. Some people may think I am taking an easy route or I am not tough enough. That's fine. My whole reason to workout is to help my overall health and lifting with a tiny touch of conditioning is the way for me. 

I have gone back and forth with this for quite a while. In fact, I have probably changed my mind a thousand times if not more. To quote my more than supportive wife,"You need to just make up your mind. This is ridiculous!" I can only imagine what my workout partners think of my wishy washiness. Sorry guys! 

The hardest part is knowing that I am more than physically capable of doing what many people are able to do. The problem is the recovery. Chasing the high blood sugars and then bringing up the lows makes for an awful feeling. When I am strict with lifting heavy, this doesn't normally happen. 

High protein and power lifting. November 30th USPA Powerlifting meet in Corvallis  is the next competition. 

Back to Work/Type 1 Design

So this summer has been an interesting one on the diabetes front. I have tried different ways of eating, exercising and my weight fluctuated quite a bit. Starting a new school year will help with my consistency with a lot of aspects in the everyday life. One thing that gets added to the mix is stress.

Stress seems to really throw the blood sugar levels on a roller coaster. No stress and things are pretty good. A bit of stress and things are upside down. I wonder if I eat more when the stress is present. It is just time to tight things up again.

Nutrition wise, I am going to try to stay with a low carb way if eating. My best control is when I do this. Unless I am going to do some very strenuous activity, I am going to keep the carbs in the 30 to 70 gram range. For those more strenuous days, I will probably be around 100-150 grams. It seems the more I read about the diabeetus, the more conflicted I become. 

On a different topic there is a company that makes shirts for type 1 research that donate proceeds to the JDRF. The company is called Type 1 Design. The shirts are quality shirts with some creative designs. I received the two I ordered yesterday. Prices are good and the money goes to a cause I care about. http://www.type1design.com/

Here's my shameless plug: I can be followed on Instagram through breakingdiabetes. I post my workouts along with blood sugars and post workout meals. 

A Big Directional Change

After a lot of thought and frustration, I started up with a new endocrinologist that is local. 

The main reason I went was to get a meal plan figured out. What my doctor told me was to keep veggies and fruit the main source of food. Protein and carbs should fill out the rest of my diet. 

The confusing thing here is how I read all the time that insulin is such a bad thing from so many sources. As a diabetic, I know I need it. It is all so confusing sometimes.

On a training note, I have decided to let go of powerlifting for the moment. This summer I have only been lifting heavy and I feel less athletic and very beat up. I have introduced more CrossFit style workouts and I feel pretty good. The addition of more carbohydrates is a huge piece to this as well. 

To be successful with the new way of eating I have decided to use the Zone as a guideline. I am eating far more veggies and fruit as I was before. It's all about keeping the food choices as natural and healthy as possible.

Here are the workouts I have done this last week that have made control very easy.

Daily Doubles Flashback

I can't help but to write about football daily doubles this time of year. Balancing an immune disease with the amount of exertion that is required to handle daily double practices or other similar activities is very difficult. 

When I was in high school, the knowledge that I had of my disease was very limited. Talk about a lack of control! I probably averaged around a blood sugar of at least 200. As my control has improved over the years, I could not physically handle that. I look back and wonder how my performance could have been better if my numbers were better. I dealt with highs and lows on a daily basis. 

In college, I was a bit better because I tested more often. I still wasn't where I should have been. Practice was more strenuous and this beat me down. Staying illness free was very difficult. I just assumed that it was due to the difficulty of the practices. I always thought that everyone was in better condition than me because they didn't seem as run down as me. This is not supposed to be a pity party. Did my disease hold me back? Maybe, but I can't think like that. 

Diabetes was my motivation in these times of my life. I was out to prove people wrong. I was out to prove my disease wrong. 

As an adult, my mindset is different. Instead of proving my disease wrong, it's about working with it. No matter how bad I want it to just go away, it's not going to anytime soon or ever. What I can do is be diligent about the choices I make physically and dietary wise. The better I treat my disease, the better it will treat me. 

Back to Control

This summer it seems I have tried everything under the sun diet wise to try and keep control of my blood sugars. Unfortunately, it has not worked very well. 

Not being strict has caused me to increase insulin levels, energy lagged and body weight increased. These three things are important to be able to control. When they are I feel better. As simple as that. 

Every time I seem to change or try to change things, I always revert back to a  minimal   carb diet. The ultra low carb diet makes control much easier.

On the exercise arena, I have switched from nothing lifting to a more rounded routine that includes all realms of fitness. The CrossFit Games was a major influence. I like to feel athletic and that's what CF did for me in the past. 

I have to make sure I stay consistent.