Type 1 diabetes memes: the ugly

I will try not to rant, I promise I will try not to rant. These three memes represent the worst side of diabetes, and its not even the disease itself. It's the perception that everything is hopeless, and that nothing can be done to improve the situation. Now, I understand that maybe these are meant in good humour, but I hate to think that out there someone might actually believe the message behind these horrors.

In third

It is bad enough when a random person in your life just doesn't get it. The goodness in me wants to cuddle them into an understanding of the differences between two conditions that shouldn't even share a name. But when you go to the doctor/nurse or any medical professional and get given type 2 information or just plain awful advice, the bad in me wants to strangle them with their stethoscope - or show them what an insulin injection feels like and let them deal with a hypo.
Right, bad Sam. That went very dark, lets calm down and move on.

 Right, this one is right in one sense. Type 1 diabetes is an autoimmune disease and so in a sense unpredictable (although there is evidence that some foods do provoke autoimmune diseases e.g. peanuts). But, you can control 90% or more of the condition with diet and exercise. I am down to 5 units of lantus daily, and maybe a single novorapid if i splurge on a meal. But, eating primal and exercising regularly has enabled me to control my condition and my life  rather than riding the roller coaster of more carbs-more insulin. This leads us to my all time worst meme of all.

When I was first diagnosed, I quickly caught on to the idea that if I eat more carbs I have to take more insulin. But, this does not mean that you should up your carb intake. By eating masses or carbs, you get a huge blood glucose spike, necessitating huge doses of insulin which leads to a crash, or hypo at worst. This wild ride causes most of the problems associated with type 1 diabetes needlessly. Eat low carb and you need less insulin, simples. I hope I get some hate for this, because I know its how a lot of type 1 diabetics live, but if I can guide a few towards the primal lifestyle or the paleo diet, then their lives would be greatly improved.

Worst of all, it seems like a lot of type 1's actually think like this. I had been told by a fellow type 1 that carbs are essential for us type 1's. I cant argue against that, but no where near as many are needed as the 200g+ advertised by the mainstream. Oh, and the idea that carbs are essential to prevent hypos I have one thing to say - take less insulin. Its the error of conventional wisdom and misguided medical professionals, but these wild swings expressed by similar memes ("yeah, if my blood sugars could just be in the right range for once, that would be great" and so on) don't have to be the case.

There, those were three of the good-est, baddest, and ugly-est type 1 diabetes memes I found today. I truly hope that more type 1's find the primal blueprint or paleo diet, or in fact any low carb diet that works for them rather than following the convention of type 1 as an unmanageable monster inside us. Put the beast back in its cage so you can focus on the better things in life.

Respectfully,
Sam

Type 1 Diabetes memes: the bad

Last time I talked about the good memes, the kind of ones that keep me happy.

Now for the bad. These are the guilty pleasures associated with type 1 diabetes.

Here in 3rd. A guilty pleasure us type 1's can enjoy - calling out someone on being a wimp with injections. Best response to someone complaining about getting injections ever. Well, apart from telling someone that "its never bothered them having a tiny prick before" - i'm sure there's a female equivalent too. Also, injecting in front of someone who doesn't know about your condition - priceless.

Every type 1 has had one of those conversations where its like banging your head against a brick wall explaining diabetes, or the difference between type 1 and type 2.
Worst (and most terrifying ) question I have ever heard: "so if you're low and pass out I have to inject you with insulin" NO, NO A THOUSAND TIMES NO.

I thought that I couldn't be the only person that had ever done this and I was right. Unfortunately mine was on an essay I had to hand in there and then or lose a grade. I was going to joke it up to the lecturer as a kind of 'you should give me a good mark or I'll bleed you' but I don't think she would have appreciated that. Wow that came out darker than expected.

I am much tidier now when I test my Blood glucose thankfully











So there we have it, the bad - guilty pleasure type 1 memes that i discovered today. Next in line, the Ugly, and a ranting Sam.

Respectfully,
Sam

Type 1 Diabetes memes: the good

I stumbled across some type 1 diabetes memes today. Without thinking I had browsed through a few hundred (I was waiting for a train) and went through a range of emotions. Some lifted me up, some help to bring our collective experience together, and some are just plain funny. But, there are a good amount that make me feel sad for the type 1's that treat them as a truism or an accurate representation of the way things should be. So I'm writing a quick three part-er which will have three memes from three categories; the good, the bad, and the ugly.

The Good

I genuinely love meeting with other type 1's and sharing experiences. I don't get much chance to do this face to face - but that's why I started this blog and actively trying to connect over the internet.

 

Everyone likes to feel bad-ass, and its good to keep in mind that we can in turn - kick our auto-immune disease in the ass.

And first place goes to the minions. Who doesn't like the minions. Don't they just make everything better. Imagine the laugh going along with this meme and you should be smiling all day.











These memes make me happy and that's what people with type 1 diabetes need sometimes when thinking about their condition.

Respectfully,
Sam

PANCAKES!

Had to share pancake goodness, these are awesome.
I love pancakes, though I didn't before going primal. But now there's just something good about that banana and coconutty goodness first thing in  the morning. I got the original recipe from tgipaleo and just tweak it as I see fit.

The original calls for:

• 2 Really Ripe Bananas, mashed
• 4 Whole Eggs
• 1 t Vanilla
• 1/2 t Cinnamon
• 1 t Baking Soda
• 1/3 c Coconut Flour

I like to play about with the recipe depending on what I feel like on the day - want some more fruit for breakfast? throw some blueberries into the batter and munch down. How about a side of bacon (everything is better with bacon).

So, this morning I made a batch  that would serve as tomorrow's breakfast as well because I'll be in a hurry to get to Uni. I should also mention that  I like  bigger portions, especially on my workout days.

Here's what I used:

• 1 ripe banana
• 3 eggs
• 1t vanilla extract
• 1tbs thick honey

Mash and whisk all of that together into a runny batter

Then whack in:

• about 3 heaped tbs coconut flour
• 1t baking soda

and whisk until thick but smooth. Everyone has their own batter preferences, and that is the beauty of this recipe. If its too thick with the coconut flour, add a teaspoon or two of water and it should get to just the right runny-ness. If its too runny, add a tad more coconut flour. It's all about experimentation with this one and going exactly from the recipe doesn't work 100%.

Now, grease up a non-stick pan with coconut oil and heat to medium - do not put on a high heat or you will kill it dead, no-one likes simultaneously burnt and sloppy pancakes. Take a large spoon and get small pancakes onto the pan. Here's where the judgement comes in, and patience. When the bottom of the pancakes have set, flip them over - obviously the time will depend on your heat. I have tried to do this too quickly and ruined a batch before. With this recipe, slow is good - good things come to those who wait.

Enjoy with topping of choice; berries, butter, melted coconut butter and honey (my personal favourite duo) and side with bacon or more berries. Trust me, you will enjoy.

I ate the batch before I remembered to take a picture, but next time I will make sure I do and add it here.

Enjoy the pancakes!!!

Respectfully,

Sam

Link Love 1

The first link love post should go towards the man who gave us the Primal Blueprint, Mark Sisson.
visit his site marksdailyapple  sign up for the newsletter, read a few of the articles or recipes and just generally feel the love of the primal community. Mark is a super nice dude with experience as a SAD athlete and now the leader of the primal blueprint family. I have a lot of respect for the guy and his science-driven approach to living as our ancestors did.
Check it out, comment and spread the word

Respectfully,
Sam

The beginning of my primal journey

My name is Sam Parsons and I am a type 1 diabetic.

This is my blog will follow my journey and transition into the primal lifestyle. I have been trying to follow Mark Sisson's Primal Blueprint for some time and wanted to share my experience. I hope to connect with other type 1 diabetics who may or may not be part of the primal community and highlight the benefits. We type 1's are particularly in danger from conventional wisdom and the standard american diet, or western diet as I am in the UK, but SAD is such a good way to describe this diet and lifestyle that I like it. I'll write a post on type 1 diabetes in the near future, but for now it should be enough to know that our bodies have ravaged themselves and killed off our insulin producing beta cells. This means that we cannot process carbohydrates (including sugars) which, if left untreated severely messes us up. 

About me. As other T1's know before diagnosis you tend to be pretty sick before diagnosis. Around two years ago I had lost about 2.5 stone and was down to around 9.5 (or 133 pounds for the Americans out there), my skin was grey, you could see all of my ribs and as much as I would deny it, I had lost a lot of muscle mass.  my wonderful fiancee Claire had badgered me to go to the GPs, skip forward a few days and I am injecting insulin and getting used to this whole testing my blood sugars thing. I can tell you one ting for sure, within days I missed my Dr Pepper. But, I was on the mend, or so I thought. I handled everything well, and took the whole thing in my stride. For me, I had to force myself not to wallow about my condition, but just do my best to follow medical professionals advice and keep healthy. I know if I had allowed myself to do anything other, I would have set of to a bad start and hinder my future health. Claire shed a tear or two for me, but I wouldn't let myself.

A year or so on and I had put the weight back on, and was relatively active - biking to work, martial arts, as well as a fairly physical job in support services. I was however on the SAD diet, and this is where problems can arise. My martial arts instructor had introduced me to the idea of paleo eating and suggested I check out www.marksdailyapple.com and I'm so glad I followed his advice. I suggest that everyone signs up for the primal blueprint newsletter and 7 day free beginner introduction to the lifestyle. The basics are covered and I had to read the full primal blueprint (though it would be months later that I got hold of it). Now, I do my best to live by the 10 laws Mark describes and I couldn't feel better. Throughout this blog I'll put forward the benefits of the primal lifestyle as well as some useful exercise plug ins from Scott Sonnon. I have seen a few type 1 diabetes specific blogs of this kind, but everyone's experiences are different so I wanted to add an extra voice.

Anyway, thanks for reading and I'll leave you with the Primal Blueprint 10 laws I try to live by.

1. Eat Lots of Plants and Animals
2. Avoid Poisonous Things
3. Move Frequently at a Slow Pace
4. Lift Heavy Things
5. Sprint Once in a While
6. Get Adequate Sleep
7. Play
8. Get Adequate Sunlight
9. Avoid Stupid Mistakes
10. Use Your Brain

Respectfully,
Sam Parsons