What do Jay Cutler, Gary Hall Jr, Adam Morrison, and Chris Dudley all have in common?
They are current or former athletes that competed at the highest levels who had diabetes. They didn't let their disease stop them from being active and it shouldn't stop you either.
This past Tuesday, March 22, was the American Diabetes Alert Day. It was basically a day to become aware of diabetes and for individuals to take the test to see if they acquired the disease. This type 2 form is spreading rapidly in our country due to the rising obesity epidemic. Hopefully, people took the day seriously because type 2 diabetes is something that can be controlled and potentially eliminated if discovered early in people.
Some signs of possible type 2 diabetes that I have learned from my clients is feeling unusually tired during the day where you nap for 4 or 5 hours and itchiness or blotchiness (some type of rash item) on your skin. If those sound familiar and you are overweight and don't exercise, please be safe than sorry and check to see if you have diabetes.
The athletes I mentioned all have type 1 diabetes. Basically, it was something they were going to get and it was beyond their control. You usually get it early in life and those athletes have learned to live with it and make the most of their physical gifts in their sport. Not letting diabetes be a hindrance.
A lot of people are getting the type 2 and this can be controlled because these people are acquiring the disease through a poor lifestyle. Eating foods that aren't good for you and high in processed sugars is the start. Combine that with inactivity and weight gain and you get the recipe for a type 2 disaster.
Once you acquire the disease, hopefully that is your wake-up call to change your life around (unfortunately for some people it still isn't). The diabetes can be controlled, not just a little, but a lot, with exercise and proper eating. Taking out those high calorie, processed sugar foods, will do wonders to your sugar level. It will keep it more even keel and then allow your body to burn more fat.
Combine that with exercise and you will use any excess sugar for your energy for the workouts. As you develop more lean muscle and burn off bodyfat, research has suggested that this will control your diabetes about as well as medication. But, first you have to begin and get to that point. Just cause you are starting off doesn't mean all this will miraculously change. It didn't take you overnight to acquire diabetes, so don't expect it to leave overnight.
The biggest reason I wanted to name those athletes is because they perform at the highest level possible. They have managed to do what they need to do to control their diabetes. You can do the same thing. Don't let this be something that lingers on and on and you don't get better. If gone untreated, there are irreversible side effects such as blindness and poor circulation that could lead to limb amputation.
Diabetes is something that is touching more and more people. We all know someone who has diabetes. But, life is not lost at that time. Become aware and take the initiative to eating right and exercising. And maybe you can be as successful in your endeavors as those athletes are in theirs.
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