A bit of an introduction about my diagnosis with Type diabetes and personal journey in which has lead me to the person I am today.

​Diagnosis

I was diagnosed at the age of 6 on Sunday may 12 2002 which also happens to be Mothers Day, the day we as a family were supposed to be going on a cruise ship, sorry mother... For the days and weeks leading up to this day I was having on going occurrences of urination whilst asleep AKA wetting the bed, constant thirst, low energy, weight loss and all the other wonderful symptoms of type 1 diabetes. Myself mum and my sister Melissa had the cruise planned as a mothers day get away for the family in a few days time, but with my re occurring symptoms mum decided to have me checked out by a Dr, which in turn resulted in the diagnoses of Type 1 Diabetes and ruined the entire plan of going on that cruise ship. I was rushed and admitted to hospital where my BGL was recorded at 28mmol/L, and I don't remember much else front that point on from my hospital admittance.

Adolescence 

fast forward a few years to my adolescence and early teens, an insulin pump clipped on my shorts and quite a few kgs heavier 100 - 105kgs to be exact.. which was the heaviest weight that I ever reached. I consumed what I would call the "standard western diet" growing up which i'm sure majority of people also did and still do to this day, That way of eating consists of a large potion of calories coming from animal products and processed foods, with minimal focus on vegetables, quite high in fat and protein and relatively low - moderate in carbohydrate, I continued to eat this way right up until my late teens, I always had ok diabetes control but it was never exceptional. around the time I was approaching 100kg I commenced an exercise routine at the local gym Club Sierra health and fitness, with personal trainer Dan, in the desire to loose weight and eventually get back to an acceptable weight range for my age, which I did eventually achieve. That journey continued on for a number of years while trying to manage Type 1 diabetes which was tough, all though I did get a better understanding over that course of time and found methods that worked reasonably well for me.

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As time goes on, into my late teens and early 20s, That exercise journey that I commenced is what lead me down a number of wonderful pathways and through amazing experiences of growth, I began cycling and that then lead me to participating in the sport of triathlon and eventually to completing a half ironman in Busselton WA which was the greatest personal achievement as a Type 1 Diabetic that I had ever completed. From that day on I knew that I was capable of anything and in complete control of my diabetes and that I could achieve anything with the right mindset. All of those trials and tribulations lead me to the path that I am on today, whole food low fat plant based living, The nutritional framework in which I follow to optimise my Type 1 diabetes management and long term health, after coming across a few Type 1 diabetics following a whole food low fat plant based diet I became intrigued into the physiology behind diabetes and how nutrition has such a vast impact on management of the disease. since I have implemented these major changes in nutritional framework, my diabetes management and predictability has increased drastically, more than I would have even considered possible, I now consume 500 - 700g of carbohydrates per day and require far less insulin than I did when I was only consuming 100 - 300g per day eating the “standard western diet”, how is that possible you may think?, insulin sensitivity! Something I wish I knew all those years ago.  

My sporting interests no longer consist of triathlon and I have reverted back to cycling and going to the gym which I get the most joy and fulfilment out of. Over the last few years I have found a consistent method for managing my diabetes around exercise which I can implement daily with a lot of predictability and confidence.