A Fitness Model... and a Diabetic

John Angelesco is a part-time model living with Type 1 Diabetes. Double majoring in Civil Engineering Technology and Construction Management at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, he still has time for mud runs. With nutrition and exercise constantly being a concern for people with unstable insulin levels, I jumped at the opportunity to get his perspective and any advice to others struggling with the same issue.

 "My exercise plan consists of a 5 or 6 day workout routine for about 2-3 hours. Usually comprising of 3 days on and 1 day off. What I do in the gym everyday is a rotation of muscle group training. That is (1) Back & Biceps, (2) Chest & Triceps, (3) Shoulders, and (4) Legs. Along with that, I do shorter abdominal exercises for around 20-30 minutes, then some type of cardio exercise burning 200 calories.

From a diabetic standpoint, before going to the gym I always make sure I eat any type of breakfast. I would eat enough so I wont feel empty stomached, but not too much to feel bloated. I bring a couple Gatorades every time to make sure I have something to drink if/when my blood sugar goes low. Also make sure I have enough strips and lancets in my meter and insulin in my pump to get me through my time at the gym. Next it depends on whether you take any muscle supplements (pre or intra workout) because some contain carbohydrates. For instance, I recently took an intra workout that contained 40g of carbohydrate in each serving, so before my workout I checked my blood and put in 40g to cover for carbohydrates. Same situation goes for your post workout protein if any contain carbohydrates or not.

When working out, I bring my meter with me to my workout area where I do free weight exercises, then to each machine I use. I usually check about 5 times average. Which are (1) at the beginning, (2) mid weight workout, (3) post weight workout, (4) pre cardio, (5) post cardio. Then of course, if I feel like my blood sugar is low or high I check more. When low I would feel shaky, sweating more than usual, and weak. When high, I usually feel more lethargic, sleepy eye feeling, and have to go to the bathroom.

 For my meals/snacks, I eat all foods that are healthy for you. I eat fruits, vegetables, nuts, then other things like peanut butter crackers and granola bars. Vegetables and chicken are popular dinners of mine that I frequently eat. Also some lunches I make are turkey clubs on whole wheat bread for healthy sandwiches. Leading up to bedtime, for snacks its good to eat peanut butter because it’s a good stabilizer for the blood sugar. So I would eat a banana or apple and slab some peanut butter on it for each bite. Then every night I drink my casein protein shake, which helps muscle recovery/growth for the slow acting proteins."

 There you have it. John recently created a modeling page on Facebook. Check him out, LIKE and SHARE!

 https://www.facebook.com/JaModeling