Type 1 Active - Active Living with Diabetes

Training in London and Rollercoaster BG

Travel

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

Blog
Lifestyle

Rowena

August 5, 2015

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?

Are you following me on Facebook, Twitter and Instgram?

Rowena x

Sticking to Your Diet with Type 1 Diabetes

Exercise
Nutrition

Rowena

July 29, 2015

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.

Are you following me on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram?

Rowena x

Managing T1D at a Party

Blog
Lifestyle

Rowena

July 22, 2015

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

July 15, 2015

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.

Are you following me on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook?

Rowena x

Diabetes is No Excuse

Exercise

Rowena

July 7, 2015

After posting on instagram a few days ago about a very strange hypo where I experienced mouth numbness, I woke up the next morning and I experienced an all-time low of 1.8mmols during my early morning power walk to the gym. Here’s what happened…

I woke up at 6am and my BG was 15mmols, I was expecting a high number because of the crappy low I had the night before. Instead of just taking the correction insulin that was suggested by my pump I had to consider the exercise I was going to do; the walk, gym and rehearsal. With cardio in mind I reduced the correction by about 20% rather than adding 20% which is what I usually do for any reading over 15. Anyway, I left the house and as I reached the half way point to the gym (20 minutes into the 40 minute walk) I felt really exhausted so I decided that I would test my bg at the next bus stop. As I got closer to the bus stop it became more and more urgent in my mind. When I got there I sat down, tested and found the result of 1.8mmols. I quickly drank some Lucozade and ate the banana that was in my bag ready for my post workout snack. I was quite confused as to why it dropped so low after only 20 minutes of walking, especially because it was early.

Waiting at the bus stop for 10 minutes was a battle in itself, the internal argument made me doubt my ability to complete the tasks ahead. I was asking myself where the energy would come from and if it might be better to rest instead. I actually considered going home at one point, but I didn’t! I carried on to the gym. The walk after the hypo was extremely slow and it’s funny because I actually don’t remember a lot of it. Does that ever happen to you?
In an effort to stay safe and to avoid another low, when I finally got to the gym I checked again and it was 6.6mmols so I was happy and also I began to feel a bit more energetic. After a heavy lifting leg session that lasted around 40minutes, I was ready to go to my 80 minute pole rehearsal which was only 10 minutes away from the gym. So, again, I checked and it was 4.3mmols. I ate a cereal bar of 17 carbs and drank a protein shake and I wondered why it had gone down again considering how weight lifting usually ups my blood sugar.

During my rehearsal I felt shit about myself and I wasn’t really feeling any of it, but I continued on. I was choreographing a new routine and I got a little bit done but not as much as I had hoped. The rest of the day was bizarre. I felt extremely emotional and not quite myself. I think it was due to the ups and downs of the night before and the time leading up to that point.

I wrote this blog because I want you to know that a workout is possible, regardless of the excuses we tell ourselves. It would’ve been so easy for me use diabetes as an excuse and to say “oh my body is playing up and needs a rest” or “maybe I should go home until my blood sugar is normal again”. The key word here is easy. I knew that that making up excuses and going home would ‘ve been the easy option and that is what gave me the motivation to carry on. I don’t do easy, I take challenges and I complete tasks that I set for myself. If I don’t, particularly when it involves the interruption of diabetes, I see that as me letting this disease win.

Are you following me on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook?

Rowena x

Pre and Post Workout Bolus Tips

Blog
Exercise

Rowena

July 2, 2015

With a lot of trial and error I have come to the conclusion that bolus manipulation pre and post workout is a major player in avoiding those pesky hypos. I will try to explain how I work things out. All examples are based in comparison to my resting carb / insulin ratio which is 1 unit of Humalog to 12 grams of carbohydrate.

Pre Workout

When deciding on bolus for my pre workout I ask myself the following questions…

How long before the workout will I be eating?

If I am eating 2 hours + before the workout then it is very unlikely that I will reduce my bolus. However, if I eat less than two hours before the workout I will reduce the bolus from 1 / 12 to 1/ 20. The reason for this is that insulin works more efficiently when it hits the 2 hour mark. This means that increased insulin sensitivity from exercise would be combined with the insulin at its most effective point and therefore would likely cause a hypo. Are you with me?

What is the length of the workout?

Having considered the time of eating you must also look at the length of time you will be working out. If it is a short workout like a 20 minute hiit routine I would only reduce slightly. Maybe 1 / 15. However, if it is 60 minutes + I would reduce it maximum 1 / 22.

What is the nature of the exercise? (e.g. cardio, resistance, high intensity or low intensity)

If the exercise is resistance training / weight lifting I will NOT reduce the bolus. It will stay the same and it will be met with an increased basal of 20%. Cardio is as mentioned above.

Time of day?

The time of day is also very important. If it is before 9am I keep my bolus 1 / 12 because of dawn phenomenon. This is where your body is releases hormons that cause brief insuling resistance and therefore naturally raises blood glucose levels with or without food. After 9am I will manipulate bolus / basal as above.

Post Workout

Aside from the “before 9am rule” where nothing changes, the post workout carb insulin ratio has to be reduced. For example, as mentioned earlier my resting carb / insulin ratio is 1 / 12, but in order to avoid a hypo with the bolus for my post workout food I have to do a ratio of 1 / 15. The reduction is not as big as the pre workout because we are not as sensitive to the insulin after the exercise as we are during the exercise. The only time I would reduce it further than 1 / 15 is if I am going to workout again within 2 hours of the previous workout (that happens a lot).

I know it all sounds a bit complex but you will definitely get used to it the more you practice. I do all of the above manipulations without a second thought now as I am so used to it from training around 15 – 20 hours per week. Be it choreography, dance, pole dance, weight training, hiit training, yoga, cycling and walking.

Always remember that nothing is impossible and to keep going even when it is tough. If you need that extra kick of motivation you can follow me on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook.

Rowena x

Diabetes is Irrelevant

Lifestyle
Motivation

Rowena

May 13, 2015

Sometimes on Instagram, people comment on my posts and they tell me how much I motivate them, or how much they look up to me. It is really special for me to see those words. It is important that you never let anything come between you and your goals, especially something that you CAN control with added time and patience. Although diabetes is a disease that could potentially be very detrimental to our health, it is something that is very small and insignificant. That’s how I see it anyway. It is something that is part of my life, but it is irrelevant in the decisions I make when I want to improve myself. Whatever happens, I will learn and adapt along the way.

Take this for example; I was talking to a young girl about her upcoming vacation and she was sad that her mum couldn’t travel with her. I asked her why and we had the following conversation.

Girl: My mum can’t travel because she is diabetic and carries needles.

Me: she can take the needles with her on the plane; she would just have to tell security.

Girl: No, she can’t and anyway, she has the type that can kill you.

Me: What type is that?

Girl: Type 2 diabetes and she is really sick.

Me: Although both types are equally dangerous if untreated, it can be managed well.

Girl: No, type 2 is the only one that can kill you and how would you know anyway?

Me: Because I’m type 1.

This conversation indicates how someone can let diabetes dictate the direction of their lives. The type 2 lady could’ve searched for more information to realise that travel is possible when living with diabetes. When I was diagnosed, I told myself that this type 1 would not stop me from doing anything that I wanted. In a year and 2 months of living with diabetes I have moved house, travelled to Stockholm and Las Vegas twice, I have completed a degree in dance and now I am setting up my own business. It is all a matter of trial and error.

If you take anything from reading this blog, just understand that anything is possible.

Don’t forget to follow me on instagram and twitter.

Rowena x

Night Time Lows That Turn Into Highs

Blog
Lifestyle

Rowena

May 7, 2015

This morning I woke up with BG of 10.8mmols. This is unusual for me as I normally wake up somewhere between 6 – 7.5mmols. The only thing I can put it down to is that I must have gone low whilst I was sleeping. My BG before bed was slightly out of range, around 8 but I had a bit of insulin on board that would bring that down. I was supposed to wake up and check but obviously that didn’t work out. This has happened to me before and it makes me feel really tired. I am very much a morning person and I frequently wake before my alarm goes off, but it wasn’t that easy today. I really struggled to get up and knew straight away that this was down to the high blood sugar I would soon verify with my meter.

Does this ever happen to you? What do you do about it? How much advice do you get from your doctor? My endocrinologist is pretty good as he tells me to email him if I have any problems and he usually gets back to me fairly quickly which is great. Last time I told him about waking up with high bg because of a potential low he said that “your body releases adrenaline when your blood sugar drops too low in order to save you, this is why you wake up high.” Good to know, thanks body.

Anyway, my plans for the day are good… Breakfast, HIIT / yoga, shower, get ready for the hairdressers (I’m going a little bit darker) and then finally I will go to uni to complete my final day; the teachers are putting a little tea party together for us.

Talk to me here, Tweet me on Twitter or comment on my instagram.

Rowena x

My Rest Week Training

Blog
Exercise

Rowena

April 5, 2015

My rest week training looks like this… On Monday I got up at 5:30am with a BG of 9.8mmols which is unusual for me because I am usually within range. Anyway, I took a correction and a bolus for my overnight oats and coffee (32 carbs) and then I cycled to the gym whilst the sun was rising. At the gym I completed a 45 minute chest and arms workout. I then cycled back home to find my BG was 14mmols. Now, I know weight training raises bg but that takes the biscuit. Antoher correction please…

On Tuesday I woke up at 6:15am with another high BG of 9.1mmols. Again, this is unusual so I decided that I would change my site straight after my workout at the gym which focused on back and biceps. BG went up to 11.9mmols in 45 minutes even though I had increased my basal and had a small bolus. I got back home and changed the site, corrected, did 30 minutes of yoga and I was back down to 6.8mmols. Relief.

Ahh, Wednesday… A fresh new site resulted in a 6.9mmols morning BG. Sometimes it’s something as simple as changing the site. Here is my training for the week. Since I am on spring break I am not dancing as much so that is why I am going to the gym.

Monday

Exercise

Reps / Distance

CycleCross Trainer (easy warm up)Push Ups (close and wide hand)Dumbbell Bench Press

Flat Bench Cable Flyes

Triceps Pushdown

Standing Dumbbell Triceps Extension

Push Ups (close and wide hand)

Cycle

Yoga / Pole Dance

4k0.50k3x123x12

3×12

1 hour

Tuesday

Exercise

Reps / Distance / Time

Cross TrainerWide Grip Lat PulldownOne Arm Dumbbell RowSeated Cable Rows

Upper Hand Cable Pulldowns

Dumbbell Alternate Bicep Curl

One Arm Dumbbell Curl

Standing Biceps Cable Curl

Treadmill

Yoga

0.50k3x123x12 (both arms)3×12

3×12

3×12 (both arms)

3×12

5 Min Uphill Power Walk Incline 11

30 minutes

Wednesday

Exercise	Reps / Distance / Time
YogaPole Dancing	40 minutes1 hour

Thursday

Exercise

Reps / Distance / Time

WalkLeg PressLeg ExtensionWide Stance Dumbbell Squat

Seated Leg Curl

Standing Calf Raises

Seated Calf Raises

Russian Twist

Sit ups

Seated Dumbell Press

Dumbbell Straight Arm Front Delt Raise

Lateral Raise

Seated Bent Over Rear Delt Raise

Walk

5k3x123x123x12

3×12

Friday

Exercise	Reps / Distance / Time
Faster HIIT Running	5k

Saturday

Exercise	Reps / Distance / Time
Faster WalkPole Dancing	5k2 Hours

Sunday

Exercise	Reps / Distance / Time
HIIT circuitYogaCycle	15 mins40 mins10k

Don’t forget to follow me on Twitter and Instagram to keep up to date with my latest workout / food pics.

Rowena x

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