Do You Need a Motivator?

Sometimes motivation is hard to come by because of excuses, low or high blood sugars, tiredness and general laziness. I find that when I am lacking in motivation I need something to pull me back and a motivational quote usually does the trick. So here are my top motivational quotes. Pick out your best one and put it somewhere you can see it. Maybe on the fridge or the screensaver of your phone, you could even set a reminder to flash the quote up on your screen. It will work if you choose one that is closest to your set goals.

Don’t give up what you want most for what you want now.
Give yourself a bit of time and ask yourself this “is that cake going to satisfy me more than fitting into that dress” I think not.

The stronger you are the better you feel.
It’s true.

It’s not about having time, It’s about making time.
You can always make the time for exercise. Lunch breaks, taking the kids to the park, gardening, house work, the list goes on…

It took more than one day to put it on; it will take more than one day to take off.
How long did it take before you had noticed you had put weight on? Think about this when you’re taking it off. Don’t overanalyse because this can create a lack of motivation.

No matter how slow you go you are still ahead of the people on the couch.
You might go for a jog and you are feeling tired after one minute, who cares, you’re still doing one minute more than you did before.

If it doesn’t challenge you it doesn’t change you.
You shouldn’t stay in your comfort zone if you want to see results.

Instead of giving myself reasons why I can’t, I give myself reasons why I can.
Write a list of reasons why you can’t and why you can. You’ll know why this quote is good.

The hardest step for a runner is the first step out of the front door.
It really is. Once you push yourself past the excuses you are ready to take on anything.

You might regret skipping a workout, but you’ll never regret taking part.
When was the last time you felt bad after a workout?

When you feel like quitting think about why you started.
I find that it’s good to make a list of reasons why I started a challenge to make sure I finish it.

You’re only one workout away from a good mood.
I saved the best till last. This is my absolute favourite. Exercise is my therapy and it could be yours too, if you let it.

Let me know if you have any really motivating quotes that you refer to when you’re feeling less motivated than usual.

Three Types of Stretching

I’ve been stretching a lot lately, mostly because I want to keep my flexibility in tact and because I find that it’s the easiest way to wind down after a workout. I find that it has a positive impact on my blood sugars too, so stretching is a plus in my book.

I know that a lot of people just stretch for the sake of it and they have no idea why, so I am going to tell you.

Let’s start with why we stretch after exercise, and sometimes before. I will put this as simple as possible. When you lift weight, use resistance or even just carry your own body weight your muscles become accustomed to a certain action and the muscle begins to shorten. We stretch to do the opposite; to lengthen the muscle.

Now, let’s look at the different types.

Static Stretching
This is the most popular form of stretching; you have most likely used static stretching during a P.E. session at school or even before a short jog. Static stretching involves taking a muscle to the end of its range of movement and holding it in this position. Example: standing quadriceps stretch. This is safe for beginners. A pre warm up stretch will last 8-10seconds and a cool down stretch will last 15-30 seconds.

Dynamic Stretching
This discipline allows you to strengthen and stretch during the same action. Example: a dancer would do front kicks; this would stretch the hamstrings whilst strengthening their quadriceps. The use of dynamic stretching is often used as part of a warm up in an aerobics class.

Ballistic Stretching
I would not recommend this to beginners. Ballistic stretching uses bounces and forceful movements to stretch a muscle. This will take the muscle beyond its natural range of motion. It stimulates the stretch reflex allowing you to go that bit further than you would with any other stretch. Ballistic stretching is used in martial arts, gymnastics and karate.
There are lots of arguments for and against each type of stretching so if I were you I would try them all and see what works best for you? I use a mixture of them all during my stretching routines and I always have done.

Let me know your favourite stretches in the comments below or your can tweet, instagram or facebook me @type1active #type1active

Happy Stretching.

My Diabetic Honeymoon

I think it’s time for me to accept that my honeymoon period is coming to an end.

Having been put on an insulin pump 2 weeks after diagnosis I felt that I was managing my diabetes really well until last week where I was experiencing a few more hypos than usual. The lowest was 2.6 and I felt vile. So, in order to prevent these lows it was suggested that I remove my pump as I was only taking 2 units per day (basal/bolus combined) anyway.

Four days without having to carry the pump was great. I had no readings above 9 and no ketones above 0.3. However, on the last day without it I ate some more carbs than usual and this sent my meter into double figures and rising. In response to this I immediately chose a site, put a cannula in and administered a correction dose. It didn’t do the trick at first so I had to do the same again in the morning.

The headaches and dry mouth are enough to tell me that I am high I don’t even need to check. I have been feeling like this the past few days as the basal rate (0.1) and insulin/carbs (1/15) ratio doesn’t seem to fit well with me anymore as I am seeing unusual highs. I think they may both need increasing? I have emailed my diabetes nurse so we’ll see what she says.

Anyway, honeymoon period or no honeymoon period I have been keeping up with my training. Lots of dance, yoga, running, circuit training, painting, walking, pole dancing and generally moving about. I plan to write a different blog post for all of the above and show a few pics of my skills.

I would love to hear about your honeymoon period. How long did it last? Did you still need to take your insulin? Were you sad when it ended? Tell me all about it in the comments below?

Type 1 and Active

Who fancies reading about my addiction to exercise? I love anything that keeps me active and fit. That’s the way have been as far back as I can remember. I have always managed my fitness really well and I am pleased that I can complement my strength and flexibility. For me, managing exercise has always been fairly effortless as I have a genuine enthusiasm for it. However, 3 months ago I was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes. Not the best news, I know, but rather than seeing it as a burden, I believe this has given me an extra challenge towards my training. There is no way in this world that this condition will stop me from doing anything active and I hope that it won’t ever stop anyone else. Since diagnosis I have been able to perform (contemporary dance), dance, pole dance, run, cycle, swim, yoga, golf etc. I do everything I normally do and I plan to keep it that way.

My fascination has grown in response to the physiology of the body and how it all works when you exercise. I always thought of exercise to be a release, an improvement tool, a calorie burner and a strength builder. Now I know that a lot of other things are mixed into the equation, especially when combining it with insulin doses. When I calculating my meal time insulin I have to consider how active I will be whilst the bolus is active. For example, if I eat 40 carbs for breakfast and I know I will be still for a few hours afterwards I will take 1unit:15carbs. However, if I know I am going to be very active straight after the breakfast of 40 carbs I will half my dose thus having 1unit:30carbs. I might even have to keep a snack handy (10-15grams of CHO to be exact). I have learned that I am very sensitive to insulin around exercise. It’s as if I am diabetes free, if only.

This blog is for me to ramble on about my experiments and my achievements. I love setting goals for myself and doing anything that I can in order to reach them. At the moment I have upped my weight training and kept my cardio at the same level. In terms of diet I am planning to look into my macronutrients in order to reduce body fat and gain lean muscle. As a vegetarian I am looking to find good sources of protein that are not too high in carbohydrate. So, if you fancy reading about a vegetarian, type 1 diabetic dancer who never sits down then I suggest you hit the follow button 