Diabetes, Running And Happiness - Reflecting On A Very Transformative Year

2023 has been hands down the most transformative year of my life. It’s been tough, but the process has made me more resilient, healthier, and happier. I am a better type-1 diabetic under all biomarkers (time in range and insulin sensitivity in primis), I enjoy running, and feel much less stressed, more calm, more at ease in life.

As the formal end of the year approaches, it is time for the Curious Diabetic to regroup and meditate on all the things that have happened.

The Curious Diabetic Starts Writing

I published my first blog article on christmas day of December 2022, which means that this the 53rd article going live. 

Setting out the time to write each week and never missing a beat - staying true to my commitment of publishing every sunday no matter what - is something I am really proud of because I didn't know I could be so consistent at something. I discovered I have all the time I need, I simply have to choose how to spend it, observe my actions and stay organised.

The Curious Diabetic Takes One Some Ambitious Health Challenges

The year and the blog began with a “90% time in range challenge”, where I set out to achieve an optimal time in range for at least a week. That challenge alone was extremely powerful and produced a huge mindset shift, providing me not only some hard evidence that an almost non-diabetic time in range is possible even with type-1 diabetes, but that it is perfectly achievable without living miserably: I was eating the food I love (nutritious, whole plant based foods rich in carbohydrates) in abundance, I was training hard, and I was very relaxed. 

The 90% time in range was a mere consequence of eating the food human beings have evolved eating: fruits, vegetables, potatoes and legumes.

The Curious Diabetic Makes Many Mistakes

It was not always that smooth, though. As an average human being living in the 21st century, I am still exposed to the overwhelming excess of hyper palatable processed foods that put our lives at risk. I’ve been on the whole spectrum all the way from incredible insulin sensitivity to a monstrous insulin resistance coming from high-fat and super processed foods that were tempting and at the same time atrophying my tastebuds.

The result of those poor food decisions and of my inability to resist cravings produced some damage, but that was still a formative experience: I understood the impact of excess fats and excess proteins on my life as a diabetic, and developed some more mindfulness around the way I approach food and cravings in general. 

I have also spent a huge amount of hours educating myself, reading books and understanding things under the hood.

The Curious Diabetic Runs

This has also been the year of my official entry in the wonderful world of running. In January 2023, I was told by several orthopaedics and podologists that my body was “simply not made for running” because the arches of my feet and my knees were oddly shaped. I cried a bit, then I laughed hard because I understood that humans as a species are born and have evolved to run - the ability to endure long distances using our legs is one of the most distinctive traits of our species. 

Paleolithics people were too busy chasing animals to listen to “experts” telling them they could not hunt because their hips were not perfectly aligned.

Plus, cardiovascular activity is an absolute game changer for type 1 diabetes management. Since to a not-so-small extent my life depends on this, I could not accept having such a powerful weapon being taken from me.

So I relentlessly invested in my body to enable it to run again, and run efficiently. The first semester of 2023 was all about attending a Running School and crafting my running technique and regaining some basic human mobility. The second semester has been all about harvesting and reaping the benefits of that work: I ended up running a half marathon in November, a marathon in December…and observing my insulin sensitivity and overall relationship with diabetes improve.

Running with diabetes is a journey of many mistakes, constant iteration and experiments to try to figure out how things work.

The Curious Diabetic Figures Out Running And Type-1 Diabetes

It is not easy to run 1300 km in a year, without ever going into hypoglycemia and at the same time not skyrocketing blood glucose to stellar levels “just to be safe”. As the runs were becoming longer and more intense, my strategy and discipline around diabetes management also became much better and more refined week by week.

It really is a scientific thing. How much you eat, what, how long before you run, how much you inject and based on what insulin to carb ratio, how intense is the run, how many carbs per hour should you eat to keep it up and keep the problems away. These things are figure-outable, but they require attention, observation, discipline and some basic maths. And the willingness to take the less comfortable path when it is the right one to take. 

Logging everything and reflecting on my long runs were (and are) critical parts of the strategy. 

Avoid repeating stupid mistakes took care of the rest.

Sleep surrounded it all: running, insulin sensitivity, discipline around food, mood, work...you name it, it’s there. If you want to be a healthy person, a healthy athlete and a healthy diabetic, have some sleep. So I do not compromise on my 8 hours of sleep, or on any other aspect that is crucial for long term health.

The Curious Diabetic Bulletproofs His Type-1 Diabetes Management

Lastly, in November 2023 I took part in the Mastering Diabetes “6 weeks challenge”, a 1 on 1 coaching program designed to maximise insulin sensitivity and educate people about how to keep doing it for the rest of their lives. I am quite satisfied with the journey, because it highlighted the WHY behind many of the good actions I was taking towards my health, and at the same time made me really reflect on the habits that had always held me back, such as my addiction to tasty bread and baked products or fatty dressings such as peanut butter and tahini. They might sound silly, but I just could not find my way out of eating them with no control. Seeing my time in range hit the 99% mark while eating tons of carbs, fruits, legumes and all the foods that I love was enough for me to drop them. I finally understood the long term stakes and am now able to control my impulses and eat foods that are conducive to my long term health. 

I also understood how to strike a balance between me as a diabetic and me as an athlete, because I still have to eat my non-diabetes-friendly running gels from time to time! Turns out that sometimes it is ok to “feed the athlete first”: as long as 90% of your diet and lifestyle is spot-on, you can compromise on the remaining 10% and do what needs to be done for sports performance. That was also a powerful insight, because I was desperately trying to perform well but felt so guilty every time I ate a maltodextrin-based gel instead of one apple. While that is far from ideal food, there can be a time and a place for that, and this realisation put me at peace. And allowed me to do well in my races, both from a performance and a type-1 diabetes management standpoint.

The Curious Diabetic Looks Forward

2023 has been the most transformative year of my life. I have changed as a person, as an athlete and as a diabetic. I am so grateful for having type-1 diabetes, because it has made me incredibly responsible towards myself. I have learned to pace myself and live fully in every area of my life..

There is so much more to come, to learn and to improve. I have ambitious plans for the community of type-1 diabetics, and for everyone else too. I am committed to lead by example and spread a lifestyle based on physical exercise, good food and good sleep. And happiness, which is the natural consequence of all this. I will post updates on my upcoming plans when the time is right.

For now I am closing this 2023 chapter with a lot more optimism, confidence and happiness. I am ready for the next chapter!