I've teamed up with Bayer to fight juvenile diabetes.
I've teamed up with Bayer to fight juvenile diabetes.
My simple win? Writing and playing my music.
Knowing how I do it can help you.
My CONTOUR® meter is a big help.
This site is all about how I handle my diabetes.
Now, I want to share that with you.
Before I was diagnosed, I didn't even know what diabetes was.
Now I know a lot about it and how to manage my type 1 diabetes.
I also found out that while some treatments for type 1 and type 2 are different, some are the same. Whether you have type 1 or type 2 diabetes, diet and exercise make a huge difference, as does maintaining a healthy weight and lifestyle.
For example, I'm a huge steak lover, which isn't a bad thing especially since I make sure I eat lean cuts. What's really important for me to manage my diabetes is to be aware of the carbohydrates (or starches) that I eat - things like pasta, bread, cereals, potatoes, fruits. The starches that we eat turn into sugar in the blood. I try to make sure that the starches I eat are healthy choices - like whole grains and fruits and veggies - because they tend to take a little bit longer to break down into sugar. I need to balance the starches in my food with my activity and my insulin. With type 2 diabetes, spreading healthy carbohydrate consumption throughout the day is a big help.
As far as exercising, touring and playing my music is a real workout in itself. But I still get in some push-ups and sit-ups. And I run and play baseball whenever I can. In type 2 diabetes, exercise is also very important. Exercise helps your body use the sugars from your food better – and it helps your body respond to insulin better (whether it is insulin made by your body or injected into your body). In fact, exercise is healthy for everyone – even if they don’t have diabetes.
When I last saw the doctor, she gave me a booklet describing some important aspects of diabetes – hyperglycemia, hypoglycemia and ketoacidosis.
Here are a few things I do to stay on top of my diabetes:
- I watch what I eat and how much activity I’m getting
- I regularly check my blood sugar level
- I adjust my insulin dosage accordingly
I use Bayer's CONTOUR® blood glucose meter, which I personalize to match my lifestyle.
