By Guest Blogger on June 29, 2010
Photo Credit: Timtak
By Michelle Sorensen
Exercise has always been an important part of my life. Since being diagnosed with Type 1 (insulin-dependent) diabetes 11 years ago I have remained active. However, I have sometimes felt fearful or anxious and avoided activities I used to enjoy, due to the constant fear of hypoglycemia. This happens when my blood sugar drops below a safe level.
Over time I have learned to appreciate what diabetes teaches me: to listen to my body, to respect my limits, and to continue to work on a holistic approach to healthy living. Last summer I began to make time for running once or twice a week. Running enabled me to really clear my head. It was hard to think about too much other than my breath and the rhythm of my feet hitting the pavement. This was so beneficial for me.
I wanted to do more running. So this spring I decided to motivate myself by committing to a race. I knew that the crowds and the excitement would affect my sugars and that I would feel nervous about going low. I was not sure how much food or juice I would need to fuel a 10K run. But I decided I would learn from pushing myself beyond my comfort zone. I was excited by the challenge and I signed up for the 10K at the Ottawa Race Weekend. I started to run more regularly.
The spring flew by and before I knew it, May 30th had arrived. When I walked into the incredible crowd of people gathered for Race Weekend I felt inspired to be part of something so powerful – thousands of people of all shapes and sizes, each with different strengths and weaknesses, all gathered to focus on accomplishing their own individual goals. My husband carried all of my diabetes gear. I removed my insulin pump before the race and snacked to boost my sugar. I ate more than planned, but I was quite anxious about avoiding a low during the race. Before long I was in my corral and then running, exhilarated, across the start line.
In many ways, the early kilometers of the race were like my early years of adjusting to diabetes. I had to remind myself that I would find a rhythm, and that it would get easier. The first year after my diagnosis it was hard to imagine a time I wouldn’t feel overwhelmed, frustrated, and alone. These days, I manage my emotions differently. Life is long, and I accept that I will have good days and bad days.
When I first started running last summer I would slow down when I felt tired. Now I know that if I push ahead I will usually feel new energy and establish a better rhythm. I reminded myself of this as I ran my first few kilometers. The food I ate right before the race started to digest and I developed a stitch in my side. It slowed me down but I kept going. I told myself it would pass and that the run would get easier again.
Around the 4K point I felt quite tired but my stitch was starting to ease up. It was a bit hard to think that I still had over half the race ahead of me. Then I saw my twin sister on the side of the road cheering me on. I called out to her and we waved happily. Support is so important. In my first five years with diabetes, I had support around me but I didn’t know how to use it. I was too accustomed to gaining self-worth by doing for others. I made it difficult for people like my mom and sister to support me. When I started to date my husband four years after my diagnosis he pointed this out many times. I began to feel safe opening up and letting someone take care of me.
As I entered the second half of my 10K I thought about the second half of my decade with diabetes. Life is much better now, but I can’t deny it is still difficult at times. The month before the race, I was unable to train for about three weeks. I was sick and struggled to regain control of my diabetes. It took me a while to get the message, but I finally realized my body was telling me to slow down. I took two days off and focused on recovery. Soon, I felt much better and I was able to go for a few runs the week before the race.
As I ran past the 6K, 7K, and then 8K markers, I pushed myself a little harder. I had been pacing myself to avoid tiring out, but I thought I could speed up for my last few kilometers. I was almost there. I felt a surge of emotion. My goal was to run a 10K in under an hour and it was within reach. Thoughts of all I had accomplished in recent years drove me to the finish line. I live a healthier lifestyle… not just because I eat well and exercise but also because I love myself more. I give myself the opportunity to accomplish goals and to live life more fully.
Some children on the side of the road held out their hands and I gave me high fives as I ran by. The cheering grew louder as I entered my last kilometers. The best moments in life are those we work hardest for. If I had never been diagnosed with diabetes would I be running this race? Or would it have seemed like one of the many things I didn’t have time for?
As I crossed the finish line I felt elated. There was a time, less than a century ago, that being diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes meant you would not survive. Now we can thrive. My sugar was sky high at the end of the race, but it didn’t stop me. Only my own negative thoughts can hold me back from living the life that I love.
Michelle Sorensen lives in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. She is a mom to two little girls and makes time for running, yoga and playing with her kids whenever she can.
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By Guest Blogger on April 19, 2010
Jessica Apple & husband, Mike
By Jessica Apple
In 2008, while pregnant with my third child, I felt unusually tired. I reasoned that taking care of my two sons and growing a third was more than my body could handle. But then I noticed something else—my exhaustion peaked just after meal times. If I ate pizza, pasta, or a bagel, not only did I feel drowsy, but I felt like I had weights attached to my body. Every movement was sluggish, almost impossible. I couldn’t keep up with my daily routine, and my kids were spending time in front of the TV instead of with me. I went from one doctor to the next and did one blood test after another. I finally received a diagnosis of type 1 diabetes from an endocrinologist at a clinic for high-risk pregnancies.
Not sure what type 1 diabetes is? Here’s a primer: Type 1 diabetes (also known as juvenile diabetes) is an autoimmune disease which leads to the destruction of the insulin-producing beta cells in the pancreas. Insulin is a hormone whose most important job is to carry nutrients, particularly sugar, from the blood into the body’s cells. Since the sugar molecule is too big to enter the cells by itself, insulin helps it. When a cell does not see insulin, sugar cannot get into it, the cell gets no energy, and it starves. In order to survive, type 1 diabetics must inject themselves with insulin.
If you think that sounds like a lot for a pregnant woman to process, you’re right. But it wasn’t as complicated for me as you might guess. While I was a newly-diagnosed diabetic, I was not at all new to diabetes. In fact, I knew the disease very well, since my husband, Mike, had been diagnosed with type 1 just six years earlier. (Note: this is a highly unusual coincidence). As much as I thought I knew the in’s and out’s of managing type 1 diabetes, however, I only truly understood what Mike was going through when I felt it in my own body. In my own struggle to try to find the correct balance between food intake and the amount of insulin injected, I experienced what I’d been observing with Mike for six years—the blood sugar highs that make you so groggy you can barely function, and the terrifying lows—the sweaty, shaking, almost-passing-out lows.
Type 1 diabetes definitely takes the (sugar-free) cake when it comes to diseases or conditions that can make a person conscious of food intake. It’s not an illness that necessitates 100% avoidance of certain things, but rather it’s a disease of (imprecise) calculations. The bottom line with type 1 diabetes is that you can’t eat without calculating (or guessing) how much insulin you need to give your body. And the more sugar and carbohydrates you eat, the more insulin you need. When you eat protein and vegetables, you need very little insulin. For me, understanding this was the key to getting my diabetes under control. Mike and I talked about this constantly. In fact, we talked about diabetes constantly. Diabetes had taken over our bodies, and it was threatening to take over our household too. Instead of letting diabetes depress us, Mike and I decided to take charge of our health as best we could. We began to incorporate more raw food into our diet. We never sat down to eat without vegetables on the table. We began to see improvements in our blood sugar control right away. And as we worked together and cheered each other on, we saw how well we managed as a team. So we decided to go one step further, and we created a website called ASweetLife, so we could reach out to others in the diabetic community. Rather than think about diabetes in the negative sense of an illness, we’ve come to think of it as our lifestyle.
As part of this lifestyle I’ve almost completely stopped eating refined carbohydrates and sweet foods. Instead, I eat nuts, vegetables, small amounts of whole grain carbohydrates, and lots of my favorite – avocados. I’ve found that my insulin requirements have dropped, and the more controlled my blood sugar is, the better I feel. My skin is clearer, too. And despite not getting a lot of sleep, I still have energy.
Rather than feel sorry for myself about all of the things I can’t really eat because of diabetes, I’ve decided not to have a negative attitude. I focus on all of the things I can eat. In fact, I actually get excited about fresh, green vegetables. They are not something I have to force myself to eat, but something I really want. Salad with fresh spinach leaves, pomegranate seeds, and almonds – not spaghetti – is a meal. Brazil nuts, not toast with butter, is a snack. And I’ve come to realize that by eating a healthy diabetic diet, I am actually doing exactly what I should have been doing for myself all along. (What we should all be doing for ourselves). The greener and cleaner my diet becomes, the better I feel.
There is no cure for type 1 diabetes, but eating right is certainly the best way to keep insulin requirements to a minimum. Mike and I know that diabetes is a very serious and frightening disease, but we also know that life with diabetes can be manageable. It can even be sweet.
Below is one of my favorite recipes.
Oven Roasted Acorn Squash
You really can’t go wrong with acorn squash since it’s naturally sweet and delicious. We’ve seen so many acorn squash recipes that call for the addition of brown sugar or maple syrup, but it doesn’t need sweeteners to enhance its flavor. Our recipe is one the simplest and healthiest ways to eat acorn squash.
Ingredients:
2-3 acorn squash, quartered and seeds removed
1/2 cup olive oil
Salt to taste (optional)
Preparation:
Combine the olive oil and the squash in a bowl so the squash is completely coated with oil.
Place the squash in a baking dish skin side down. Preheat oven to 450 and place the squash in the oven. Bake for 30-40 minutes until the squash is brown and soft.
Salt and serve.
Serves 4-6
Carbohydrates per serving: 25g
Jessica’s work has appeared in The New York Times Magazine, The Financial Times Magazine, and elsewhere. She is the diabetes correspondent for The Faster Times. For more information, visit ASweetLife, where she serves as editor-in-chief.
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