nutrition

“I Be Up In The Gym Just Working On My Fitness”

In the famous words of Fergie, “I be up in the gym just working on my fitness.”  Or, at least I should be for my overall health, as well as my diabetes management.

Admittedly, my exercise regimen has waned in recent times.  During grad school, I was on a mission to do #AllOfTheThings and to do them very well, so I was somewhat of a “gym rat.”  Nowadays, I will meander around the city on my lunch breaks or take a stroll to de-stress after work.  Otherwise, does lifting up a Bud Light and putting it down count as a workout? (Inquiring for a friend…)

Needless to say, when I was asked to review the fabulous Christel Oerum’s eBook, Fit With Diabetes, I realized it was a good opportunity for an exercise and diabetes tune-up, and, perhaps, to help some of my readers/followers do the same.  (See below for my disclosures).*

Christel- Front page

Christel is “one of us,” a fellow person with diabetes (type 1), who clearly has a passion for fitness and healthy living.  She does not come off as “preachy” in the eBook, which is a welcome change to what is customary in literature regarding diabetes and exercise.  Rather, Christel is down to earth and likable.

She acknowledges that there is certainly tough work cut out for us, yet illustrates that our goals can be more attainable through some helpful tips.  As Christel explains in the introduction to the eBook, we each have individualized diabetes and exercise needs, but with a proper framework in place, we can make the process smoother.

From cardio, to resistance training, to nutrition, to workout routines, Fit With Diabetes has us covered.  The various chapters of the eBook are user-friendly in terms of looking up specific areas of focus quickly and easily.  Christel provides real world examples for various scenarios, such as planning effectively for different types of exercise whether using an insulin pump or injections.  From my viewpoint as someone looking to get re-motivated on the exercise front, it was nice to see these firsthand examples.

I believe this eBook is a useful tool for anyone living with diabetes, their support networks, and healthcare professionals, alike.  Christel provides a straightforward guide by which you can generate your own effective course of action.

Please see here if interested in reading the eBook.

Many thanks to Christel for contributing this insightful work to our community!

 

 

 

*My disclosures are the following:

I was asked to review Fit With Diabetes, and I received a copy of the eBook in order to do so.  Opinions expressed are my own.

Thank you to Ginger Vieira for introducing me to Christel Oerum of DiabetesStrong.com and author of Fit With Diabetes.

 

 

 

 

A+ for NuGo Bars

In May I was contacted by NuGo Nutrition in regards to sampling and reviewing their diabetes-friendly NuGo Slim bars.  I respect companies like NuGo Nutrition which value the opinions of their potential consumers enough to reach out and interact with us.  So I thought, Sure, why not? Chocolate-covered bars that are supposedly well-liked by the body?  Yum!  The only way to know for sure was to actually taste the bars and see for myself.

NuGo Nutrition sent me a box of Nugo Slim bars with various flavor samples.  Normally, grocery-store-bought nutrition bars collect dust in my kitchen cabinets.  As for the Nugo Slim bars, though, I liked each flavor and consumed all of the samples with surprising speed.  I plan on purchasing a supply the next time I am near my local Whole Foods store.  For locations nearby which sell NuGo products, you can use NuGo Nutrition’s online search feature (see here).

My #doc friend, Laddie, over at testguessandgo.com also reviewed these bars, and if you would like to read more: please see here.

NuGo Slim bars got the “Ally A+” nod of approval because they performed as they were advertised.  They were yummy, they did not spike my blood sugar, and they, in fact, kept my blood sugar stable when I needed a little boost of carbohydrates through out the day or night.

Being back on multiple daily injections has proven to be a challenge overnight, simply because once that Lantus morning dose of insulin is in you, it’s in you for the whole day and night.  Historically, whether on the insulin pump or on shots, my blood sugar tends to drop quite a bit over the course of the night.  If I was going into bedtime with a lower blood sugar value than I would normally like to see (knowing that I will generally drop more overnight), by eating half of a Nugo Slim bar before bed, I kept the line on my CGM graph stable and pretty as I slept peacefully.

During a visit to Newport, Rhode Island, with one of my siblings and some friends, we were more active than I originally anticipated.  Again, being back on multiple daily injections, this situation is a bit more complicated because I cannot simply reduce my basal, which was already injected into me for the day, like insulin pumpers can do with temporary pump basals.  I needed a snack that would keep my blood sugar at the healthy range that it was in, without spiking me too high while also preventing the impending low due to exercise.  NuGo Slim bars got the job done, and I was able to enjoy my time with my friends without diabetes interrupting our day.

The healthy ingredients, low sugar, moderate amounts of protein and fiber which helped stabilize my blood sugar, low net carbs, and real dark chocolate in NuGo Slim bars were a winning combination for me.  While I disclose that I received sample products from NuGo Nutrition, the opinion presented here is my own.  I am sharing my thoughts with the #doc because I believe that NuGo Slim bars offer a high-quality snack option for diabetics.