MY LIFE AS; PUDDINFLAPS
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Recording numbers & counting carbs is all part of the game for anyone living with diabetes. Trying to master what to eat & how much insulin to take is an everyday task you can't put off till the weekend but, is that all a diabetics life is compiled of; calculations, shots, & adjustments? Continuously having to change the metaphorical gauze on our wounded pancreas every few hours? I'd like to think not! I would like to think there are other healthy & natural ways of coping & not being so reliant on insulin. It is true, artificial insulin pumps/meters & wearable continuous glucose monitors have developed an easier & self sufficient lifestyle for many battling this disease. Almost allowing for a "typical" life. For some reason, my problem with diabetes roots deeply within many out of control factors, such as; our poor western diet, large food industry, & big pharma. We need to look at what, when, & how we are consuming nutrients, not just taking shots to "cover" what we are nibbling on throughout the day. Taking insulin has always blown my mind, it was only invented 100 years ago. Prior to that, diabetics were only expected to live at most three years with poor sugar control. There must be some sort of middle ground. Five years before insulin was invented, a doctor from Boston named, Elliott Joslin published, "The Treatment of Diabetes Mellitus", which stated that a fasting like diet & daily exercise were proven to lengthen the life of a diabetic.
Full disclosure, I have never tried a pump, I have however tried a CGM meter & must say, it was fantastic! I was able to compare my blood sugar over my heart rate from long rides & see directly how the two correlated. It is not rocket science but, this type of experimenting has led me to other things, such as, affects of fasting on the diabetic body & noticing when my body prefers fat or glycogen for energy. Just being able to tune in & listen to what my body is conveying, has allowed me to push past conventional boundaries a standard doctor may put on a diabetics life.
Less is more
Back to my main focus, to show other type 1 diabetics that you can control sugar levels with activity, & not just insulin. If you want that extra slice of pizza or second piece of cake, you can & you should! We are human & temptation lies all around us. From pop up food ads, to delivery in minutes, we can have prepared food at our finger tips faster than ever. But you should put in the work first, knowing that your hard efforts that day will continue to help blast any carbs that enter your metabolic furnace. I made these videos to show the quality prep that would go into an evening before a long cycling adventure. I try my best to show a perfect set up the night before and execution the following morning but that is not always how diabetes works. Give them a watch & follow along at all the things a person with a functioning pancreas gets to take for granite everyday. The big take away from these edits, is how endurance sports can directly help regulate blood sugar levels by continuously burning carbs with little to no insulin needed during & in some peoples bodies, long after activity is completed. So I encourage you to explore a healthy plant based diet & low glycemic foods for all day energy, & see how far eating fresh & nutritionally dense can take you on your next journey. All advice is based on me, myself, and I, & my daily routines & regiments I have been working on for years. If you have any questions, feel free to ask away! I do advise consulting your endocrinologist before messing with any of your insulin intake or diet. These are all things supported by the endurance sports community, I am just bringing them to light through a diabetics eyes.
If you would like to read further on the subject of myself and how I use cycling, fitness, good nutrition, & heart rate to manage my diabetes, Bicycling Magazine did an interview with me this past November & curated this awesome article. Take a look!