SPEAKER_00 0:00

All right. I'm excited to bring on Bill today talking about some really exciting stuff, just his journey with type 1 diabetes and uh everything that has worked and hasn't. And uh Bill, if you could just give people kind of a little context on maybe your story, how long have you had diabetes? Are you on a pump or MDI, that sort of thing?

SPEAKER_01 0:18

Sure. Um, I got diagnosed 30 years ago, uh, literally right after law school. Um I didn't have any diabetes in the family. There was no real explanation. Um the doctors weren't even sure if I was a type one or a type two. Yeah, I know. I I with what you learn now, I asked myself, like, did you look at the labs that you took? But um they started me on medication, uh, which somewhat worked if I was really physically active, but was really hard on my system, especially my stomach. Um, and that changed over to insulin after that. And basically it was, you know, take a unit of insulin for every 50 grams of carbs you eat, and off you go. Good luck. Um, I did as I did a lot of, you know, I'm an attorney and a self-employed attorney of my own business. I've been trying cases for other firms for a long time. So my life is pretty stressful, but um I'm not a stranger to a book here and there. And I started out with as much reading about it as I could. Um, I noticed on your shelf there was the diabetic athletes uh guide. I read that. Um, but I really didn't get a lot of help. I they they sent me to a class on dietitian with a dietitian, and the message there was don't eat ice cream. Yeah, no. Oh man. That was that was kind of it. Don't eat ice cream. I'll never I will never forget that. And the people that were in the class with me were like, wait a minute, what do you mean we can't have ice cream? And I was like, Well, of course you can't have ice cream. I mean, at the time that they was thinking ice cream was in the past, you know, and everything that had been presented with to me was you're gonna have health problems going forward, you're gonna have eyesight issues, you're gonna have issues with your with your with your feet. Um, so it was it was all pretty overwhelming. Um and I think that kind of led to how I handled my own diabetes. I um I was always very active. I was always an athlete, I always ran um and played sports. Running was really my my thing, but I kind of got to the point where I was I told myself I will deal with this later. We talked about your diabetic type last night, and that that's me. I'll deal with it when I have to deal with it. Um, but I was running a lot. Um, I mean, 10 years ago, now you're 20 years into my diagnosis, but 10 years ago I was a run lead at Lifetime Fitness. So I was guiding other runners, and I was running 20 or 25 miles a week and a couple of half marathons every year. And the way I did it was, you know, I would I would eat whether it was a gel or orange juice before the run, and then I would say, okay, I'm gonna run five miles today at two and a half. I'm gonna have something else. And I didn't really, I didn't really think about the numbers. All I was really worried about was don't go low. That was kind of my my take on diabetes. And the other part of it was I didn't really want anybody to know. I kind of a private person, like I didn't want to have to explain to everybody and get the oh looks, you know. I that was something I was really uncomfortable with. So over time it turned into um an insulin pump and a CGM. And even even then, I wasn't really using the devices to their even their ability. I didn't know what to do. Um I would monitor when I got alarms for highs or lows and handle those as they came, but that was really it. Um until until this year, I really started to think about where my diabetes was going. Um I had a couple of injuries. I tore a rotator cuff in my shoulder, uh, playing catch with my son. Um, and I thought I was gonna have to have surgery, and I had a procedure, it was an injection, platelet-rich plasma injection. But um, you have to be completely sedentary when after you do that, so that the injection doesn't move. And I had it done right before COVID hit. Um so yeah, I'm sitting at home during COVID. I can't run, I can't work out. And from my my probably my best point where I was doing all that running, I've gained 35 pounds since then. And I've tried to get back into running, but I was what I we we talked about this in one of the calls. I would start to run and get through the run really well and feel great afterwards, and then that would lead into overnight lows, and I mean like 50 lows, low lows. Yeah. And so then I would get up and eat anything that wasn't nailed down in the kitchen and then be high overnight and wake up feeling terrible. Um, and you know, the couple of times I tried to start running, I was just like, maybe this, maybe this just can't happen for me anymore. Um I like this year, I had a baby. He's seven, he's eight months old today. Um, and I have noticed that over the last year or so, I was starting really not not to feel good when my blood sugar was high and have real issues sleeping. Um, and I would sleep eight, even 10 hours and wake up and feel like I hadn't slept for a minute. And the more looking into it I did, the more I realized that, you know, if you're having these high blood sugars overnight, you're not gonna feel rested. And you know, looking at my my Garmin watch and it would tell me, yeah, you slept 14 hours last night, but it was non-restorative sleep. So basically wasted your time, which is what led me to you.

SPEAKER_00 6:53

Wild. Yeah, and I mean it's unfortunate, but it's true, right? The blood sugars have uh a ripple effect. It's not just the impact on our microvascular health, it's our sleep quality, you know, our muscle recovery and all these things. Um, as you're talking about a few different of these experiences, I'm curious. Tell me a story about maybe the the hardest moment within type 1 diabetes. What did that look like for you?

SPEAKER_01 7:18

That's a tough question. Um, there have been a there have been a couple of them. There were I had a I had a race one day, and I'm I'm a I'm a run lead at the time. So I'm organizing, you know, 20 people running and right off the starting line, like out of nowhere. I had a pretty good internal clock. I had a pretty good internal warning when it was coming. Like I said, I wasn't really all that overly concerned with looking at the numbers. When I felt strange, I would do something about it, as crazy as that seems now. Um, but I was unbelievably low and literally had to have the race start. And I was like, I can't go. I I I had everybody go, and I was like, yes, you know, making excuses. Yeah, I'm fine, go, I'll catch up, and everything. But you know, sitting there sweating, shaking like three bottles of Gatorade later, and I I had to go do the run, but you know what it's like post-low. Like that's that's so it was it was that was pretty terrible.

SPEAKER_00 8:29

And was that more just frustrating because it was an inconvenience, or was there a fear associated with that as well?

SPEAKER_01 8:35

There's a little fear with it too. I mean, I you know, you're at an organized race, so there's generally food at the finish line, right? But I'm at the I was at the beginning. Now I was smart enough, I had a bag with me, but I drank two Gatorades and I wasn't, and they were and that that was it. That's all I had. So it it ended up working, but it was uh it was a pretty scary moment.

SPEAKER_00 9:01

Yeah, yeah, I can imagine. Um well, and you mentioned just a minute ago of what led you to us. What were you struggling with before working with us? What was the the primary concern?

SPEAKER_01 9:11

Well, a lot, like I said, a lot you you have these moments where you uh you start to realize that if if you don't do something, like like I can stand still all I want. Diabetes is not going to wait for me. You know, I I I had never really come to that realization probably until this year. Um and I like I said, I was having trouble sleeping. I was trying to get more active because I don't I don't want to run just to lose weight. Like it does a lot for me. Like even with work, like if I have to think through a problem on a case I'm working on, like I love to go out and walk or run for a distance, and so a lot of times it'll come together for me. Um, and I wasn't really feeling able to do that. Um, I looked tired, and I had a very I have somebody very close to me in my life who pulled me aside and they said, you know, what's going on with you? And I was like, excuse me, what do you mean? And they were like, he like said, You look terrible. Like you look exhausted, you look heavy, like this isn't you. Like, what's going on? And that was that was one of the moments where I said, Okay, now that I I I have to do something.

SPEAKER_00 10:30

That's a true friend, right there. I mean, that's something that a lot of people don't want to say because it's kind of awkward, you know. Like, hey, you look tired, overweight, you know, like that's that's a harsh thing to say, but out of love, very supporting. Right.

SPEAKER_01 10:44

You know what? And the the the fact that it came from him made me listen. Like if you know somebody else had said that to me, it would be a joke. Yeah, thanks. I'll talk to you later. But right coming from somebody whose opinion you respect and care about, and whatever. I started to look, you know, like and I started to realize things like I don't take pictures of myself anymore. Wow. Like I went, I was looking for to put a profile picture up, and I was like, there's no pictures of me in my own phone. So yeah, a lot of a lot of hard realizations, but that's that started me down. Okay, I better get a handle on this. It's time.

SPEAKER_00 11:30

Yeah, necessary catalyst for change, right? So it's it's good. A good thing. Uh and then you mentioned you found us. I'm curious, you know, some guy on the internet or maybe from a book, I'm not sure how you found us, but what concerns came to mind before jumping in?

SPEAKER_01 11:45

Well, I read I read the blood sugar freedom formula. Um I and I forgot, I forgot how I found out about that. Um, it may have just been a recommendation or a hit or whatever. But um I remember going through it and saying, there's no way this can be this easy. There's no way. And it's it's not. It's not easy, but it's a lot, it's a lot more clear than I expected it to be.

SPEAKER_00 12:24

Very interesting. Yeah, I'd say not easy, but simplified. I think there's two distinctions, right? But yeah, totally agree. And and why aren't they teaching this? You know, like why isn't it more widespread?

SPEAKER_01 12:37

Um, I love my endocrinologist, but he doesn't have that kind of time to talk to me, right? Like he's a great, he's you know, he like we have an email portal, and I can get some responses from staff. Like, it's better than any doctor I've ever had before, but it's clear, it's not, it's nowhere near actual coaching.

SPEAKER_00 12:59

And what is that distinction for you?

SPEAKER_01 13:04

I I think the I think the idea of of coaching appealed to me from being from being an athlete, too. Like it doesn't, it doesn't matter how good you are, if you don't have a good coach, you're gonna miss something. And sitting down with you know, with you and and with Lindsay and with Kelly, we kind of came at it from three separate areas from somebody who was a pump, certified pump technician, from the nutrition aspect, and then from the athletes aspect. Um, and that really appealed to me. And the thought process of starting back at the beginning, like, let's go back and let's check your numbers. And I mean, I think the first question that they asked me was like, when was the last time you looked at your basal rates and looked at your bolus rates? And the answer was like 20 years ago when I got a pump, which is pretty common. Yeah, it well, yeah, I don't it shouldn't be, but it is.

unknown 14:04

Yeah. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 14:06

Yeah. So we like we started at the beginning and we went back, and I I wasn't surprised at how off the numbers were. Like I was I reduced my bolus insulin by a third from one to 15 to one to 10 within a couple of weeks. The basal testing took a little bit longer because um I was I was a little bit all over the place, and now I'm trying to get more active. So that's making me more insulin sensitive. So, but um, you know what? I'm learning a lot. I have multiple, I have multiple basal programs in my pump now for the first time ever. And I'm starting to realize, you know, okay, today is gonna be this kind of a day. We're gonna be active. Let's make sure that our numbers are good. And I think when I started my time in range, I I think I think Lindsay asked me to look at that graph, and I was like, Well, where's that graph? I don't know, I don't know where that is, but I went and I think my numbers were like 35, and I'm easily closer to 80 now. And as I had my first 90 in range day about two weeks ago.

SPEAKER_00 15:14

Oh way to go.

SPEAKER_01 15:16

Yeah, really good, really good things.

SPEAKER_00 15:18

That's amazing. And just like to put that in perspective, everybody, it's more than double and almost tripling your time in range. That's incredible. So I mean, obviously you've made massive progress, but tell me about the time when you first realized, oh, this is actually working. What was that first piece of momentum like?

SPEAKER_01 15:36

Oh, you know, the the basal testing is really hard. Um, because it's it's kind of like you when you make the when you when you decide that you want to change things and you commit that you're going to take the steps that you need to take, you want to get going. Like you want to go right now. You want to do everything you can do right now. And I I knew that if I was out and in the gym and running, I was gonna get more insulin sensitive. And there's gonna be there's times for me at work when I'm on trial um that you know I'm not gonna have the right amount of sleep. I'm not gonna be hydrated enough. I'm not gonna have time to get to the gym. So I knew I needed at least a basal program that was gonna set me up for those days. So we did that first. So that that took about the first four weeks of the program. And at times it was frustrating, but I could see glimpses of it working. Um, and it was really when we locked the bolus numbers in on top of it that the graph started to come together.

SPEAKER_00 16:52

Oh, yeah. And with that, too, I mean, was so previously, was it the out-of-range numbers just staying high for extended periods of time and getting stuck, or was it more bouncing up and down and more unpredictable?

SPEAKER_01 17:04

I have mine were unpredictable most of the time. Um, like I would I would go from highs to lows, but I did deal with like getting over 200 and then just no matter what I was doing, you know, it just wasn't coming down. And I didn't I didn't realize go take a walk. Yeah, and that that has that has become a real weapon in my arsenal. Um even even last night, I was after after the after the call, I was up around 200, and I was like, I had I had given a small correction a couple of times, and I was like, okay, and it's recycling day, cardboard tomorrow morning, and I knew I was gonna be up and down the driveway, and I just did it for 10 minutes, and I was locked in range right afterwards.

SPEAKER_00 17:54

Love that.

SPEAKER_01 17:55

Yeah, it's fantastic.

SPEAKER_00 17:57

It's a options, obviously, is one of the huge things, more tools in the toolbox, so to speak, where you can just go for a walk instead of stacking insulin. But with the out of range, kind of bouncing around and then now more in range. How has it affected your like peace of mind? Let's say mental health. Does that give you a lot? Go ahead.

SPEAKER_01 18:16

A lot a lot. No, I mean, I I think like my issue had was always like I was just afraid of lows. Like that, that and now I now I you know we we've come up with tools in the toolbox. I have an alarm set right now at 90. So if it's coming, I have an idea and I can get ready for it. Um, and I I think I feel more confident that even if I'm getting the alarm at two o'clock in the morning. And that we've had a couple of those too, because I started some new medication that made me more insulin sensitive. So that was a little bump in the road, too. We had to come up with some new numbers there. But even when that happens, I have the I have the peace of mind where I know I'm gonna go in, I'm gonna do a small enough dose to make sure that I can get right back to level and not go back all the way up to 200 again. Like that that peace of mind is great because I knew I knew in the past, like if I eat all this, I'm gonna be high and I'd do it anyway. And you know, now it's just not only do I have tools in the toolbox from the discussions that we've had, a lot, a lot of the that it's like you know what the right choices to make are, so just decide to make them. And that's real, that's that's given me a lot of calm in my life.

SPEAKER_00 19:49

I love that. Yeah, it's crazy, at least to me, how so many of us don't realize that we're living in chaos until you experience calm. You're like, oh shoot, I don't ever want to go back.

SPEAKER_01 20:01

Yeah, that I'm that very much there.

SPEAKER_00 20:04

Yeah. Oh my goodness. Well, and you know, you mentioned you went from 35 to 80 and sometimes 90 time in range. Um, what other differences can you show us from start to now? Was there an A1C shift or a conference or other people talking to you about it? Weight loss, anything that kind of stuff?

SPEAKER_01 20:21

Um well no hang on a second. Um, David, can you see that?

SPEAKER_00 20:27

I see 91. Oh, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 20:30

And basically a nice straight line today.

SPEAKER_00 20:32

That is beautiful.

SPEAKER_01 20:33

Yeah. Uh I had an A1C done right when I started the program. Um, I was with a new doctor. I I told them I was gonna start this. Um, and my A1C was over eight. Um, and looking at my my 30-day graph here, it's 6.8.

SPEAKER_00 20:59

Oh my goodness. Right. Way to go.

SPEAKER_01 21:02

Yeah, I'm I'm I'm I'm happy and I'm proud. And like the number that I'm really interested in always is average glucose. Um, I haven't really mastered standard deviation yet, but um I had a period last week where I went four days and it was 120.

SPEAKER_00 21:21

Wow.

SPEAKER_01 21:22

So yeah, it's been great.

SPEAKER_00 21:24

Oh, we're talking in the fives. If we get the A1C down the average glucose down there, that's amazing.

SPEAKER_01 21:30

I I you know it's kind of like you don't talk about traffic, like when you're driving, like you don't say, Oh wow, it's really clear because you know the traffic's gonna come. Yeah, I haven't said the number yet because I wanna I wanna I wanna get there. I I remember when I first started, and um I forget who was that asked me, but they were like, What's your goal or your average time and range, or or your A1C? And I didn't know what the answer was because I didn't know what was possible and then you get on calls and we're in you know in the we're in the I'm in the Warriors Tribe Plus group and everybody's talking and you know a hundred percent time and range and A1C's in the fives and it gives you kind of a goal post. Like I'm going in I have uh blood work scheduled in December and I would really really I was my original thought was let me see if I can get it to a seven and now I'm kind of hoping I can get it to something that starts with a six.

SPEAKER_00 22:34

Absolutely oh it's so exciting and so true you know your environment sets your standards or at least if we're your perception of what's possible you know if everybody else is getting 50 time and range and you're at 70 you're like hey I'm amazing when you get into the other group and you're like oh 90 oh 100 oh nine right oh you know I gotta challenge my own thoughts on this yeah I was walking around like oh I got my 70 and then I got on one of the one of the calls and everybody's like 90.

SPEAKER_01 23:01

I was like I have work to do.

SPEAKER_00 23:04

But it's amazing right it's a stretch goal and I think that's exactly how it should be treated is it we're not trying to sprint there in a week like how can I get there by December like you said.

SPEAKER_01 23:13

Amazing uh way yeah I think I think the first the first eight weeks for me it it it came together very nicely because I I said this is going to be a time to learn and to get ideas and now I'm kind of into the phase where I feel like I'm executing what I learned. So yeah we'll see in December.

SPEAKER_00 23:37

That's very exciting I mean average glucose already coming down I think you're gonna get there earlier than December even I'm just very excited to think about.

SPEAKER_01 23:46

So and I'd like to kind of shift gears here and talk more towards the person who's watching this maybe they're on the fence looking in right and they're like should I take care of myself use this as the catalyst what would you tell that person who's on the fence kind of pondering if it's worth it I think I would say to them that if I had any regrets at all it would be that I didn't start this years ago like the the the the plan your blood sugar plan is literally right there in front of you if you're willing to put in the time and put in the work and if it's something you really want like you can wait but diabetes isn't going to wait for you. That that's kind of that was kind of the mantra that I had in in my head and I think if I think if you're on the fence you have to ask yourself like how important is it to me and my family and the people around me that I'm around I you know I just had a seven month old baby and I'm like I want to be around I want to I want to be able to play with him I want to be able to run with him um so if if if you're on the fence you have to ask yourself what do you want and if it's I want to feel better and I want to be around and I want to I want to get to a point in my life where I feel like I can handle this and still have normal life still be able to function without every minute of it being about your blood sugar then this is something that you want to do.

SPEAKER_00 25:27

Couldn't agree more yeah and the way that you said that um you know you can wait but diabetes won't remind me of you're either growing or dying there is no in between. You know we think that we're in maintenance mode just coasting but yeah if blood sugars are not well controlled they're causing damage and if we're moving towards progress then allows us to reverse you know the the future possible damages. So I love that thought. Right um so as we wrap up then anything else that is worth sharing or uh a golden nugget that you'd like to leave with our audience?

SPEAKER_01 26:01

Oh a golden nugget um I think I think what I would say is I you know as a somebody who is private like I said I didn't really I don't really need to tell everybody in the world what my medical issues are. Um I think that having a community around you that is going through the same thing that you've gone that that you are going through and that you've gone through it it affects you two different ways like just small things like oh I tried this app on my watch and it's terrific or you know these glucose tabs are delicious you might want to try those like it's all little things and then you start to realize that you've had experiences where you can help them too and that that dynamic really changes how you look at diabetes in general it's like instead of diabetes controlling me like maybe I'm controlling it a little bit that's a huge shift well and I think what you're sharing too is uh maybe at a a certain degree an impact right because you can help others whether it's through example or through sharing what works or what didn't or product placement where you're like hey this glucose tab right uh 100% it gives you purpose behind managing diabetes in addition to what you're doing for your son right and for your family and all of that.

SPEAKER_00 27:32

That's absolutely yeah absolutely love that uh well I want to just uh take a step back and really just appreciate your journey uh I mean truly we can put whatever info in front of you but if you don't do anything with it it doesn't work so kudos to you for implementing and actually putting the work in you're right it's tough work and I think that it helps for us to be abundantly clear about that there is no silver bullet you have to actually put the work in and you have Bill and proud of you that 90% soon to be 100 I'm sure is because you're doing the work.

SPEAKER_01 28:08

We're gonna we're gonna get there. We've got to have CGMs at work all the time too but but that would help we're we're gonna we're gonna get there. Thank you.

SPEAKER_00 28:18

Oh man absolutely yeah um and uh like Bill was saying obviously there's the book behind me it's the blood sugar freedom formula you can find that if it's of interest if you like to read or listen to audio books. Uh but what I'd recommend anybody who's watching this and curious about how we have such high standards and and can get to 90% 100% we actually have a free train you can watch online that you we'll put in the description for you guys. It's called diabetesinaction.com so we'll drop that one down you can click the description link uh but Bill thank you so much for your time today and just sharing your your story inspiring others and uh in challenging your own limiting beliefs right and just stepping up to the plate really excited for you and for what thank you thank you you know it was my pleasure to be here and thank you for the whole the whole program absolutely my pleasure you guys are doing amazing I get to just be part of the journey uh everybody else thanks for watching again diabetesinaction.com and we'll see you guys in the next one and keep up the fight