EP 32: Getting Bold with Food While Living with Type One Diabetes with Ben Tzeel RD, CSCS

What happens when you think of the number 62? Did your mind just jump to 62 carbs? 

It’s no secret that living with diabetes can distort our relationship with food. Whether it’s looking at the amount of carbs constantly, the blood sugar trend or just associating your food with a number – it can be pretty damaging. So the balance becomes, how can we enjoy the things we love while balancing the blood sugar strategy?

Meet Ben Tzeel, Registered Dietitian and Strength Coach. Inside today’s episode, he walks us through how to start getting bold with food, one step at a time. 

Inside our conversation, we discuss:
– How diabetes impacts our relationship with food
– The fitness industry and tracking macronutrients with diabetes
– Why preference matters in sustainability with diabetes
– How to get bold with food and enjoy what you love

Resources:
– You can hangout with Ben on Instagram here
– Connect with Ben and his team

SHOW NOTES
⏰ (1:04): Introducing today’s guest
⏰ (3:30): Ben’s diagnosis experience
⏰ (5:54): Did your parents share that mentality of “yes foods” and “no foods”, or was it mostly you making those decisions?
⏰(8:00): At what point were you like, “hey, there has to be more to this”? And “I’m starting to question what I was originally told”?
⏰(10:01): Do you think, from your perspective, did this diagnosis ever impact your relationship with food, especially growing up? And being into fitness?
⏰(13:21): When you started getting more into the fitness industry, how did you stop that or nothing mindset from kind of like leading that journey?
⏰ (16:45): Do you think that the diagnosis of type one influenced your path to become a dietician? Like where did that all start?
⏰(20:52): How did you get over that mindset of like, when things didn’t work to keep kind of pushing through and figuring it out?
⏰(22:59): When you’re working with clients, how do you kind of encourage them to keep on that mentality of “I’m learning or I’m winning”?
⏰(24:24): One size fits all approach vs individualized approach
⏰(28:18): How do you approach that fear around food?
⏰(33:10): What advice would you give to someone who is just kind of getting into that food journey, where they’re realizing that there’s more to this than they were originally told? How would you encourage them to dive in and start getting bold with food and trying new things? 
⏰(35:23): What’s your take on the whole more insulin thing?
⏰(37:20):  I’d love to talk about kind of your coaching practice, um who you work with, what you do, all the good stuff.
⏰(41:31): Where can people find you?
– Website 
– Instagram

Disclaimer: Nothing inside of Keeping it 100 Radio or our resources is intended as medical advice. Always consult a physician before making changes to your insulin doses, diet or general wellness.

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