From the peak of health and becoming a bikini competitor to being hospitalized with DKA and dealing with a life changing diagnosis.

This week I speak with Taylor from Ontario, Canada, and she shares a very honest account of dealing with her Type 1 diagnosis, learning to accept it’s a lifelong condition and getting to grips with managing blood sugar levels around exercise.  

Taylor was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes just 3 months before most of the world went into ‘lockdown’ and although it’s been tough she explains how the lockdown has given her the opportunity to slow down and learn more about managing the condition.

The older generation can probably remember when the only resource available for monitoring blood glucose levels was a basic finger prick test or maybe even just urine testing. 

Diabetes research and technology have come a very long way over the past few decades and there are now so many amazing, advanced ways to help manage this challenging condition. 

In this week's episode I share some 'Diabetes News' I came across this week which includes a new partnership between FitBit and Diabetes UK.

In this week's podcast episode I look at the different ways for people with Diabetes to monitor their blood glucose levels and the options available from finger prick testing to Continuous Glucose Monitors (CGM’s).

I have personally started using the new Freestyle Libre2 Sensors in the past couple of months so I thought I would also share my honest opinion on those and what I feel the pro’s and con’s are.

In this week’s episode I talk about how the current situation could be affecting your immune system and what you can do to help combat it. 

Due to COVID-19, the restrictions and the lockdowns, the past year has been and continues to be a very stressful time for many. Whether its from fear of getting the virus, financial stress caused by the lockdowns or anxiety in isolation, all of these things cause stress in our bodies. 

You may already notice the impact that stress can have on your blood sugar levels but this isn’t the only physical impact it has on our bodies, it can also have a negative affect on our immune systems. 

Listen to this weeks show to learn how stress can affect your bodies ability to fight off infections and viruses and most importantly what you can do to help to relieve that stress and stay healthy.

This is the 50th Episode of the Diabetic and Healthy Podcast.

To celebrate this is a very special episode! 

This week, not only can you learn Charlotte's 5 Fundamentals of being Diabetic and Healthy, but you can also enter our competition which has an amazing prize.

All you have to do is download and listen to this episode which tells you how to enter and you can win -

1 x 1:1 Lifestyle and Fitness Consultation with Charlotte 

1 x Personalised Fitness Plan based on your goals 

AND

2 x Healthy recipe guides including meal plans and shopping lists 

Details for competition page 

www.diabeticandhealthy.com/win 

What are Charlotte's 5 Fundamentals of being Diabetic and Healthy? 

In this week’s episode I speak with Chris McMahon who is a Personal Trainer, Nutrition Coach and Mindset Coach. Chris was also diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes when he was a child and he shares his story, from diagnosis to the present day where he is coaching people to be healthy, energised and active or as Chris calls it ‘Aligned and Alive!’

Chris has a wife and 9 month old son and explains how he manages to stay fit and healthy around busy family life and work commitments. 

Chris has also very kindly gifted a 3 part video series especially for Diabetic and Healthy listeners which covers how to curb your cravings, boost your energy and put a training plan together. Available to download on the Diabetic and Healthy website.

Following some great feedback on last week’s episode, all about motivation and goal setting, we decided to follow it up by digging deeper into what is really holding you back. 

For this I spoke to the wonderful Nic Wood who is a Mind Coach and has been a guest on previous podcast episodes. 

Nic explains some great exercises that you can use today to find your ‘why’ and find what truly motivates you. 

We also discuss what skills we have as Diabetics and how we can use those to help us reach our goals.

As requested by you, in this week’s podcast episode I talk about motivation and goal setting. 

January blues will have kicked in for many and it can make it harder than usual to get motivated and stay motivated. On top of that we currently find ourselves in a challenging and unusual situation to say the least due to COVID-19. This has resulted in many people feeling demotivated and struggling to put many plans in place.

Today I share my top tips for finding motivation, the benefits of goal setting and techniques that you can start using today to help you set your own motivational goals and make sure you reach them!