Type 1 Active - Active Living with Diabetes - Page 15 of 20

Training in London and Rollercoaster BG

Travel

Rowena

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August 12, 2015

If you follow me on Instagram you may have noticed that I had a trip to London at the weekend. The primary purpose for this trip was to audition for a workshop, but when the dates were released for the workshop I realised that it clashed with a commitment I had already made (watch this space). So, rather than letting the trip go to waste I went online and booked myself some classes at Ecole De Pole. I always find it interesting to train with different people. Every teacher has the different approach to training which is great because it means I find many more ways to progress at a quicker rate. This particular class was challenging in terms of strength training and was pretty fast paced. In total I took my pump off for 1.5 hours. My starting bg was 8.3mmols and my end bg was 4.3mmols.

Other news is that I am still trying to get my head around the psychological effects of the rollercoaster bgs. My internal moods are horrendous and I am really struggling to be ok in my body. Right now my bg is 8.3 and that is enough for me to feel uneasy and anxious. I don’t remember it being this difficult before. I think I am just going through a bad patch, but I am trying to remember that a patch is all it is. I will get it together soon enough. I know it! Rather than trying to be a hero and figure it all out myself I have booked an appointment with my endo who will hopefully be able to help me with the insulin adjustments etc. The only thing, for me, that is majorly different is that I am doing a lot of weight training. I know to increase my basal at the time of lifting, but should I increase it for some time after too? Does it effect you more in the morning? If you have any insight on this please comment below so we can all benefit.

The easy option would be sticking to what I know which is dance, yoga, pole and cardio, but that is no fun is it? I want some muscle! I’m trying to be superwoman don’t you know?

What are your current fitness goals?

Talk to me on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.

Rowena x

I’m Not Myself When I’m Hyper

Rowena

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August 5, 2015

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Generally, I like to think I am a confident and positive person who is always striving to progress in everything I do in life, including the process of keeping myself feeling healthy through the management of type 1 diabetes. However, sometimes I find it very difficult to stay calm about high blood sugar. This is mainly because I try so hard to keep it within a healthy level and because of how it makes me feel. I have spoken about this before in my “Irritated When Hyper” post. I was very honest when I wrote that blog which is why I think it is one of my most popular ones.

Each month of being diabetic has given me a few days of hypers. It doesn’t matter what I eat or how much I exercise, the bg sort of lingers somewhere above a level that I would like. So what do I do? Do I get mad with myself? Sometimes, yes! I’m a perfectionist and I always want to feel good so I tell myself to get over it and take some insulin. But the thing is, that is not always so effective. I find that if I have had an upward trend of shit blood sugars I actually start to feel really depressed and I doubt myself in pretty much every area of my life. I become uncertain about who I am and how I feel. I question if my emotion is real; am I really sad or is this just because of the bg? I feel that because I am miserable no one will want to be around me and that I would be better off on my own. This then leads onto a lot of other self-destructive thoughts that are of a similar pattern.

Luckily I don’t shut myself off from people. I force myself to get on with things and to carry on. And by force, I mean it takes every ounce of motivation I have to be able to carry out a simple task. Once I have done one thing, I move onto another and then I begin to feel “normal” again. The act of keeping busy is a distraction technique from the horrible thoughts. Another way that I have learned to deal with a negative train of thought is to read motivational books that focus on adjusting mind set and making sure we know we are in control of our thoughts no matter what. This helps to a certain extent and I find that I can manage my thoughts a bit better than I could, say, 6 months ago.

Can anyone relate to the above?

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Rowena x

Sticking to Your Diet with Type 1 Diabetes

Rowena

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July 29, 2015

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Sticking to Your Diet with Type 1 Diabetes

There is an array of information out there on topics linked to controlling diabetes, losing weight and eating clean. Sometimes there is so much information that it is a bit overwhelming, so I decided to gather some relevant points to get you started. Hopefully knowing that this information has been trialled and tested by another T1D, it might make more sense to you.

Plan ahead with food

Ahh, food. I love food, so I am the first to admit that it is sometimes hard to stay on track. I have found though, that if I plan what I am going to eat I will stick to it. Like, usually before I go to sleep I will plan the meals that I am going to eat the next day. I usually go shopping and buy things in bulk so I have an idea of what is available in the house for me to eat. Also, the other day, I was speaking to a fellow t T1D on Instagram who says she struggles with hypos when dieting and exercising. As a remedy to this I suggested that she should plan to eat around the exercise with pre and post workout food. That way, the calories are already accounted for and won’t break the calorie bank.

Carb Count Everything

Along with the body fat reduction, we want to look after our HBA1C which is why our carb counting is so important. Everything is accounted for included vegetables and especially fruit. I know that when I was diagnosed some people advised me to just count the main bulk of the carbs such as potatoes, rice or pasta, but that is asking for trouble. Even your green veggies; broccoli, kale, peas etc contain carbs, very little carbs but they should be accounted for in order for our insulin to match up and to keep that blood sugar at a feel good level.

Both of the above lead me on to my next point. My Fitness Pal, use it! It’s free and you wouldn’t believe how much you can learn about the food you eat. You’ll be so surprised.

My Fitness Pal

This app is actually my life saver. It helps me when I am out and about, when I have to calculate carbs, it also has a scan bar where you can scan the label of the packet you will eat from. How cool is that? My Fitness Pal is also handy for people who really want to manipulate their macros. I do this when I carb cycle or if I need to lower / higher my protein depending on my goals. Download it and have a little play around with it. It’s interesting because it really gives you an indication of how many calories you eat per day, week or year and it will tell you what meals you eat the most calories at and how much you eat for snacks.

Gradually Reduce Calories and Increase Your Exercise Slowly

Sometimes people go for gold at the very beginning of their fitness journey and that is great, but it is actually better for your body and easier to sustain this new lifestyle if you introduce it at a slower pace. What I mean is, if you don’t exercise or eat healthy food at the moment I wouldn’t suggest automatically jumping in the gym 5 times a week and aggressively dropping your calories. You will see results, but you will burn out fast! I would suggest doing one or the other first and introducing something new on a weekly basis. For example, go to the gym 3 times per week and consciously make the effort to eat a bit better for 2 meals in the same week. Then add another day at the gym the next week and one more healthy meals choice.

Let me know if you have any questions. There are a million ways you can go about a healthy eating plan or a new exercise regime. You have to learn more about your body and what works best for you. The points I spoke about above have and do work well for me and for people who I have helped lose weight in the past.

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Rowena x

Managing T1D at a Party

Rowena

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July 22, 2015

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I did it. I graduated with a first class honours degree in Dance Practices. I am so pleased about it that I thought I would write a blog post about the whole day… It was an early start so I had a small breakfast (which I under bolused for because I knew I would be walking a fair bit to get my tickets and gown etc). After picking up tickets and saying hello to people, I went for a coffee where I checked my levels and took some insulin. However, I forgot to lower the dose “just in case” and during the ceremony I felt a bit low so I had to eat a Dextrose tablet which I was carrying in my hand bag. Dextrose tablets are small and do the job of sorting out a hypo. I have had the same pack for a year.

After the ceremony had finished I went to meet my family for some photos and to throw my cap in the air with my friends from uni. It was really exciting because I had totally forgotten that this was part of the graduation process. The atmosphere was amazing, so much ambition, achievement and relief. Fantastic!

Next stop, I was being driven home for a quick freshen up before I was going to find out the big surprise. I actually had no clue what it was .I opened my front door, walked in my kitchen and there was my friends and family with balloons, food, banners, champagne, wine, cake, presents and big smiles. I almost cried but I felt a bit shy so I didn’t. There were “number 1” signs everywhere. I felt very special and I am so grateful for it.

So here is the diabetes part. You know what I mean… the food, the champagne and the unpredictability of how much movement I will be doing. i. e. dancing, standing up or sitting down.

The Food

Lucky for me, I have a very understanding group of people who know that I have to count my carbs to take my insulin. With this in mind they saved the packets of some of the food that was in the buffet. This includes things like samosas, crisp, cake and dips. My friend made me some cupcakes and he created a recipe in My Fitness Pal and took a screenshot of carbs per cake. There was 35 carbs in those particular cupcakes in case you’re interested? Also, my mum bought me a custom made graduation cake and she got the full recipe from the cake maker so I could work it out. All of the cool vegetarian people brought amazing salads and hummus too so it was a feast. I didn’t stop to check my levels before I ate, I just tucked in. Who wouldn’t?

The champagne, Wine and Cocktails

Alcohol is a tricky one for me. When I was diagnosed I was told that I should only bolus for half of the amount of carbs per glass of alcohol. So, for example… if there are 6 carbs per glass of champagne I would only bolus for 3 carbs. However, through past experience I have found that this approach does not work for me. I have to bolus the full amount on every drink. Well, depending on the drink. There are many factors and I don’t drink alcohol often enough to be able to give you a proper run down. Just know that experimenting is good and you will learn a lot by having more parties.

I had dinner at Matou in the evening and there was cocktails and wine involved. I chose Bellini and Rossini which are fairly low carb because they are champagne based drinks with little added fruits. Most of the others would’ve been filled with all sorts of other ingredients in which I would have no idea how to bolus for them and I didn’t fancy being high because of a drink.

Do I reduce the bolus or not?

Aside from the time before the party, I didn’t reduce the bolus all day because I wasn’t concerned too much about going low. There was food everywhere so I could always just eat something. Even during the evening meal, which was stir fried asparagus and tofu, I kept the carb / insulin ratio the same.

It was a fantastic day and I would be lying if I said I was able to keep my blood sugar in single figures the whole day; although I did try. I remember looking at my total daily dose and seeing that it was double the amount that I would usually take on a high carb day. I ate a lot. It was nice to eat for the day without being as strict or as restrictive with the carb amount. Plus, I had a fully fuelled and energetic workout the next day because of all of the extra carbs. Sometimes your body loves a good feed. Sometimes.

How do you get on with parties and managing your BG levels? You can talk to me in the comments below or on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook.

Rowena x

Those BG Feelings

Blog

Rowena

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July 15, 2015

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Those BG Feelings have tauaght me how certain levels of blood glucose make me feel. I’ve put together a list below, maybe you can relate?

-4mmols: Anything below 4 generally makes me feel crap, weak and shaky. And if I am really low, say lower than 2, I actually feel like I’m going to die and feel very anxious. When I am dancing, a major sign that I am low is that I become a little bit unbalanced. This is very unusual for me as balance is definitely a strong point in my body.

4mmols: This makes me hungry! It’s not quite low enough for the shakes and stuff but it’s enough to bring on sudden tiredness and a growling belly.

5mmols: more often than not I don’t feel any different to normal and I always feel surprised when I hit the jackpot, that perfect number of 5.5mmols. Ka Ching.

6mmols: same as 5 really. Nothing out of the ordinary and is a very comfortable level for me to begin any style of workout.

7mmols: a nagging feeling of frustration begins to make an appearance at this stage, but it’s a good number for post meal as it is still within the non-diabetic range of 5-7.

8mmols: this is the absolute worst number and I always know when I am close to this level as I start to feel uncomfortable in my own skin and a bit ratty / slightly depressed. Usually I end up over correcting just to get rid of it asap.

9mmols: Same as 8 but a bit more dramatic with the tiredness, irritability and being snappy. I generally don’t like anything at this point and I have to remind myself that it’s not actually me, it’s my blood sugar making me feel that way.

10mmols: This is the hunger number. When I am above 10mmols I could literally eat the world. I find that nothing, no matter how much of it I eat, will satisfy me at this point. I believe that the hunger is my body trying to tell me that it is struggling to access glucose because of the lack of insulin it has to release it.

15+: apart from the tired feeling, I actually go past the point of irritable, moody and depressed and I feel like everything kind of slows down. It’s as though my mind is a room and the lights are dimming. I know it’s strange, and it is not something I experience very often, but it is a very familiar feeling when it is above 15. It reminds me of being non diabetic, which is actually not great as it makes me wonder how long I was walking around as an undiagnosed diabetic.

So there you have it. How I feel at various stages of blood glucose levels. Are any of my feelings / indicators similar to yours? If you look at the hunger attached to 4mmols you will see how it could be confused with 10mmols. Having mistaken hypos for hypers in the past, and because I don’t want to feel like crap for very long, knowing my levels is good motivator to keep on top of checking as often as I have been advised to. Yes, sometimes this is a ball ache, but if we check often enough we won’t feel uncomfortable for very long.

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Rowena x