It doesn’t control me. I’m in control of it, and I know exactly what’s going on. Everything is predictable. Even as a type I, diabetes does not have to predominate or dominate our lives.

Compared to what I was coming from, I was coming from a high fat approach where I was eating, taking still similar amounts of insulin, and eating basically no carbohydrates. That ratio was really terrible. I can’t say the exact numbers right now, but I’ve read-

Whereas in the past, people were telling diabetics don’t eat carbohydrates. You have to eat this.You have to eat that. It was of this researcher mindset, and you just don’t really enjoy food that much. You’re trying to find weird ways to enjoy your food, whereas with this diet it’s so simple and it’s so easy. It just tastes incredible.

You can explain it a lot better than me, but the whole science behind eating less … all the carbohydrates your body needs. Your brain functions better. Everything physically functions better. You’re just a happier person. You’re more productive at work. It’s just, I don’t know. Like you said. It’s almost a silly question, but it’s 100% worth it.

It’s not that hard. Once you get into the systems and figure it out, it just becomes a part of life. As a type I diabetic, you just got to do it no matter what, so why not just do it with the best foods?

I had a relative who was a diabetic when I was a kid, and he just wasn’t allowed to eat sweets. I think of him every now and then and go, “how sad,” when I’m eating sweet and juicy at meal after meal after meal. I guess maybe when your food options get taken away from you, that’s when you first start to really appreciate how much you enjoy being able to eat what you want to eat.

Do you find there’s food, Robby, now that you want to eat that you just know you can’t?

Give me an idea: if you were to say, typically nowadays, how high your blood sugar gets when it’s just like: “Whoo. It really got high,” and how low it gets when you go, “Oh my goodness, I didn’t mean for it to get that low.” What would you say are your biggest swings these days?

In the past, when you’re doing a diet, you don’t really understand some of the principles around the diet anyway, and don’t even understand the connection between fat and all that stuff. The diabetes community will say, “Oh, you got a high blood sugar and it’s just because there’s so many factors, and you can’t figure out. You don’t really know.”

In this case, every time it’s off, I’ll know. I’ll know exactly where I made the mistake. Yeah, I’ll see some high blood sugars, but it’s totally in my control. I’m totally got it dialed in as long as I know the carbs. I know the insulin to carb ratio. It’s very, very rare that I would let it get above 150, 160 or so, which I think is actually normal for most people.

You eat, your blood sugar’s going to go up. It’s going to come down. That’s fine.

Conquering diabetes is a retreat we’re going to run in Sedro-Woolley, Washington for a week in September. We’re orienting the entire thing to the 80/10/10 lifestyle with gearing the food, the fitness, and the lectures. Of course all the social time as well to help people get into a situation.

If you know someone with diabetes. If you’re care-taking someone with diabetes. If you’re the person with diabetes, you want to get them into a healthier situation, or you want to get to a point where diabetes becomes part of your past. Everything about this entire conquering diabetes week is going to be focused on helping you master and control what’s going on from when to eat which foods, from when to do what type of exercises, how and when to take insulin in order to get the best effects, to how much of a role sleep and exercise and even your thought process make in affecting your blood sugar levels.