My  quote on Facebook  this morning was a Spanish proverb that translates: A man too busy to take care of his health is like a mechanic too busy to take care of his tools.

Someone mentioned how easy it is to lose sight of how important it is to take care of our health.  It is so easy I think we all could use a little reminder most days!

But I think having diabetes, either type one or type two, just complicates the idea.  First of all, do we consider ourselves “healthy” to begin with?  And secondly, we can never escape taking care of our disease so don’t we get credit for that?  (Of course we do!)

I think oftentimes we feel like we “fight” diabetes in our own bodies.  The explained and unexplained blood sugar changes have spent years teaching us that our body really is a battleground.  The weapons on both sides include finger pokes, needle jabs, low sweats, high dry mouths, dropping anxieties, climbing moments of apprehension, expired insulin, scar tissue, beeps, alarms, dried up jelly beans, cans of Coke, old test strips, and a zillion other minute and ever-present aspects of our lives with diabetes.

So isn’t it enough that we fight that fight every moment of every day?  Why should we have to fight even MORE to take care of our bodies?

Well, I don’t really have a good answer for that.  I think the best thing for each of us to do is simply shift our perspective on what life is like when we live with diabetes. 

We have a constant “fight” with diabetes that will never go away.  There are a load of ways we can equip ourselves for the battle, though, and assure our victory.  Most of them are not quick fixes and will take some continual tweaking over the course of our lives, but it’s good to get a start as soon as we can.  Diabetes doesn’t take a break and neither should we if we want to keep the upper hand.

I think first off, we need to learn to accept the disease.  One of the parents in the video about Bearskin Meadow Camp and the Diabetic Youth Foundation said he learned how much better it was for him to see a high and deal with it rather than agonize over the why behind every single one: it’s a high, there will be more, and let’s take care of it as soon as we can so that we can continue with life.  Keep management of the numbers as realistic as you can, and forget the concept of “control”—it isn’t possible to control any aspect of our diabetes.  If you were the boss at your job, would you think you controlled your employees??  Kick the notion to the curb and pick up the idea of “management” instead. 

After that, we need to also take care of the rest of our bodies.  Just because we have this “fight” with our disease doesn’t mean that we can ignore our muscles and bones any more than we can ignore the dirt and grime in the bathroom just because we’re doing a great job at keeping the kitchen clean. 

Life just doesn’t work like that.

We can work together and get your body up to speed when it comes to physical fitness since the strength of your physical body will certainly help you succeed in battle.  You need as good a support team as possible to keep up your fight!  The health of your body depends on it.

I get a fair number of questions from the people in my life about what I eat, what I don’t eat, whether I think X food is good or bad, etc.  It comes with the territory, I think, of being a personal trainer/bootcamp instructor and basically putting myself out there when it comes to diabetes as well.

So I really love when I read something that an expert says that mirrors something I just said last week to someone, or something an expert said that put tactfully something I wish I could have said but didn’t say because I’m not the most tactful person.

Oh, and because I just adore being right.

Today’s example (of me being right, in case you missed it) is found in the September 2010 IDEA Fitness Journal and has to do with using agave syrup rather than sugar. 

So, the expert (Jennie McCary, MS, RD, LD and New Mexico’s 2009 Outstanding Dietician of the Year) shares that as a fructose sweetener, agave syrup has about the same number of calories per teaspoon as white sugar.  It is sweeter than table sugar and honey, so you can save some calories by using less.  Because of its high fructose content, it is touted as a sweetener with a low glycemic index.  But be aware that this may not be true across all agave products.  Agave’s fructose content varies, depending on the source of the nectar and how highly processed the syrup is.

Bottom line?  Sugar is sugar is sugar.  Agave syrup still contains calories, so as with any caloric sweetener, use it moderately and examine product labels to know what you are getting.

Here is what I know about any type of sweetener people are told is the next greatest thing: It’s still the same.  As the expert states: sugar is sugar is sugar.

Sure, the different types of sweeteners may hit your blood stream slightly differently than one another, but overall, we find ourselves again at healthy eating being something requiring moderation every day.

I know it’s a drag in some ways, but is it really that challenging?  How differently do you think we would eat if we didn’t hear the latest infomercial or see the brightest bag on the grocery shelf?  How do you think you would eat if you had never heard the term “glycemic index”?  For that matter, how do you think you would eat if every time you went down the cereal aisle you only looked at the shelves above four feet? 

(I decided years ago that for me, I don’t need to put more chemicals in my body if I can avoid it.  As a result of that decision, I stopped consuming artificial sweeteners of all types (no Splenda, no NutraSweet, no Equal, etc) and try to only eat foods with ingredients I can pronounce.  I’m nowhere near 100% with that, but I am happy with my decision and don’t regret a thing. 

I’m all for eating real sugar and real butter rather than laboratory invented foodstuffs.  Like I said, I’m not anywhere near 100% but it’s a goal of mine to eat with as minimal factory intervention as possible.)

A lady made a comment the other day about her mother being a “bad diabetic” and herself struggling with living with diabetes.

It made me really sad.

I don’t want anyone thinking they are a “bad diabetic” because they have natural mood swings, food cravings, moments of weakness in the face of temptations, moments of forgetfulness or even denial.

Those are things that make your normal, not things that determine your merit in the face of a complicated and unrelenting disease called diabetes.

 Let me also be clear on another thing: your response to your disease will affect and possibly damage your relationships with those you love and those who love you but it can truly only physically hurt YOU.  There is no second-hand smoke when it comes to diabetes.  No one else can catch it, and in that same vein, no one else can do what you yourself need to do after you’ve been diagnosed.

So it’s up to you, for better and for worse.

But I still cringe when I hear someone refer to themselves as a “bad diabetic” because they want birthday cake, or because they ate potato chips, or whatever.  I know it is most often said in jest but there is real truth and fear behind those words. 

Yes, listen to your doctors and diabetes educators.  Yes, listen to the guidelines broadcast throughout the country and medical community.  Yes, understand what is going on with your blood sugars in response to your food and medication.  Yes, participate in your understanding of your disease. 

Learn what foods make you feel healthier and what foods make you groan an hour later.  Learn how exercise can make you feel physically and mentally.  Learn what it takes to treat yourself well and how that feels.

But relax a bit on your self-criticisms.  Don’t let a number determine how you feel about yourself.  Please don’t let those little gadgets tell you how much you are worth in the world.  Be more than your disease.  Don’t let the fear of failing to be a “perfect” diabetic turn you into thinking you are a “bad” person or “bad” diabetic. 

I don’t even think “perfect” really exists.  And I know there is no such thing as a “bad” diabetic.

Treat yourself kindly and intelligently.  You deserve it.

I am often struck by other people.  Sometimes in a good way, sometimes in a bad way, but overall, I really like learning and observing how other people “work.”

I had an appointment last week with an esthetician I have seen several times over the past two years.  We often talk about bootcamp or running or waking up early or whatever comes up.  Last week I went in wearing a tank top, since it was hot outside. 

She saw my CGM on my arm and asked me what it was.  (I do love that people feel free to ask me; I really see that as a compliment!)  I told her, thinking we must have discussed my pump over the course of our relationship.

She started at me, her eyes big as saucers.

“Do you have type one diabetes?!”

“Yeah; I thought you knew!”

Okay.  Now.  How many people who don’t have diabetes know that there are two types of diabetes and know how to differentiate between the two? 

It turns out, her best friend was just diagnosed with type one three weeks ago.  My esthetician proceeded to ask me a zillion questions and not one of them was dumb.  She had done some serious homework.

It made me so happy.  What a wonderful friend!!

I’ve had several people tell me they know someone with diabetes (either type) but don’t know what some of the ins and outs are with living with the disease.  It made me remember the lady at Intuit who was excited to hear me say “Diabetes Outside” and had several questions for me about how she could best support the people she cares about. 

How fantastic is that; really.

For those of you with diabetes, take a second and think about the people in your life who have cared enough about you to learn what it is like to have diabetes.  Of course they can’t really ever KNOW, but it says something very powerful about YOU that they cared enough to learn what they’ve learned. 

Can you tell them a number and they know what it means?  (If you say 250+ do they run for sugar or do they know “low” is the magic word?)  Do they keep eye contact with you as you check your blood sugar or do they glance nervously at your fingers?  Do they suggest eating nuts when you say you need sugar?

For those of you who don’t have diabetes, I want to say thank you.  Thank you for recognizing that diabetes takes a lot of learning and a lot of guessing and a lot of trial and error. 

It means we aren’t as alone as we sometimes feel.  If that doesn’t show caring, I don’t know what does.