DTF Coaching

06/09/2026

Exercise With Type 1 Diabetes - What You Need to Know

Exercise with Type 1 is incredibly beneficial but it requires more planning than it does for Type 2 or pre diabetics. If you have Type 1 or care for someone who does, this one is important.

Different types of exercise affect blood sugar in different ways. Aerobic exercise like running, cycling and swimming tends to lower blood sugar during and after the activity. Anaerobic exercise like heavy lifting and sprints can actually raise blood sugar temporarily due to hormonal responses. This is why monitoring before, during and after exercise is so important.

Timing insulin around workouts matters. Going into a workout with too much active insulin can lead to hypoglycemia. Going in with blood sugar already high can make things worse before they get better.

The key is knowing your own patterns. Everyone responds slightly differently. Logging your blood sugar before and after different types of workouts over time gives you data to work with. A CGM makes this much easier.

Exercise is one of the best things someone with Type 1 can do. It just needs to be approached with awareness.

06/08/2026

The Link Between Processed Food, Inflammation and Diabetes Nobody Explains

Insulin resistance doesn't just happen because you eat too many carbs. Chronic inflammation plays a massive role and most people have no idea how much of their daily diet is driving it.

Processed foods, seed oils, refined sugars and ultra processed snacks all trigger an inflammatory response in the body. When inflammation becomes chronic your cells start ignoring insulin signals. The more inflamed your body is, the worse your insulin resistance becomes. It becomes a cycle that is very hard to break if you don't address the root cause.

The fix is not complicated but it does require paying attention to what you're actually eating. Whole foods reduce inflammation. Omega 3s from fish, flax and walnuts help. Vegetables, especially leafy greens and cruciferous vegetables, have powerful anti inflammatory properties. Cutting out the packaged stuff even partially makes a measurable difference.

You are not just eating for calories. You are eating for information that your cells are receiving and responding to all day long.

Better food sends better signals. It really is that direct.

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06/08/2026

Your Lifestyle Outside the Gym Is Determining Your Results Inside It

If you're training hard but not seeing the results you want, before you change your program I want you to look at what's happening outside the gym first.

Recovery happens outside the gym. Muscle is built while you sleep. Blood sugar balance that powers your energy during workouts is determined by what you ate, how you slept and how much stress you're carrying. If those things are off, you're going into every session already behind.

For people managing pre diabetes or Type 2 diabetes this matters even more. High blood sugar impairs your ability to recover from training. It affects blood flow, slows tissue repair and leaves you feeling more fatigued between sessions. Low blood sugar mid workout is a real issue that needs to be planned for. Sleep deprivation means less growth hormone which means slower recovery and less muscle built per workout.

The person who trains four days a week, sleeps 8 hours, manages stress and eats consistently will almost always outperform the person who trains six days a week but is running on 5 hours of sleep, high stress and inconsistent nutrition.

Take care of your life and your gym results will catch up.

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06/05/2026

How to Navigate Restaurants and Social Events Without Wrecking Your Progress

One of the most common things I hear from people managing blood sugar is that eating out and social events feel like they have to choose between their health and their life. They don't.

Here are some things that actually work. Eat something small with protein before you go out so you're not arriving starving. Look at the menu ahead of time when you can. Protein and vegetables first, carbs last. This literally changes the rate at which glucose enters your bloodstream. Say no to the bread basket. It is not worth it. Choose water or sparkling water instead of juice, pop or cocktails.

At gatherings, move around. Stand up, walk to different conversations. Movement helps. You don't need to announce to everyone that you're managing your blood sugar. You just make quiet choices that work for you.

The goal isn't perfection at every event. The goal is having a strategy so that one dinner or one party doesn't turn into a week of bad choices because you feel like you already blew it.

You didn't blow it. Just get back on track tomorrow morning.

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06/04/2026

Your Phone at Night Is Messing With Your Blood Sugar

We talked about sleep already but let's go one level deeper because the reason most people sleep poorly is sitting in their hand right now.

Blue light from screens suppresses melatonin, the hormone that signals your body it's time to sleep. When melatonin is low, cortisol stays higher than it should be overnight. Cortisol raises blood sugar. Poor quality sleep raises blood sugar. Late night scrolling that keeps you up an extra hour or two means less deep sleep, more cortisol and worse insulin sensitivity the next day.

It also affects what you eat. People who sleep poorly consume more calories the next day, crave more sugar and processed food and have less willpower to make good choices. It all connects.

The fix is not complicated. No screens for 30 to 60 minutes before bed. Keep your phone out of the bedroom if you can. Use night mode if you have to look at a screen. Wind down with something that doesn't involve a backlit display.

Your blood sugar tomorrow morning is being shaped by what you do with your phone tonight.

06/03/2026

Walking Is Medicine and Most People Are Not Using It

I talk about exercise a lot but I want to specifically talk about walking because it is the single most accessible and underrated thing you can do for blood sugar management.

A 10 to 15 minute walk after a meal can reduce your post meal blood sugar spike by up to 30 percent. Not after a 45 minute gym session. After a walk around the block. That is how responsive your body is to movement.

Walking does not stress your body the way intense training does. There is no recovery required. You can do it multiple times a day. You can do it with bad knees, a bad back, after surgery, during pregnancy, at any fitness level. There is almost no barrier to entry.

The research on walking for Type 2 diabetes and pre diabetes is incredibly consistent. More daily steps means better insulin sensitivity, lower fasting blood sugar and better A1C over time.

If you are not getting at least 7000 to 8000 steps a day, that is your starting point. Not a new program. Not a gym membership. Just walk more.

Start there.

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06/02/2026

What Alcohol Actually Does to Your Blood Sugar

Nobody talks about this one enough and it's relevant whether you have pre diabetes, Type 1 or Type 2.

Alcohol affects blood sugar in a way that surprises most people. When you drink, your liver shifts its focus to processing the alcohol and stops releasing glucose into the bloodstream. For people on insulin or certain diabetes medications this can cause blood sugar to drop dangerously low, especially several hours after drinking or overnight.

But it goes the other way too. Most alcoholic drinks are loaded with sugar. Beer, cocktails, coolers and mixed drinks can spike blood sugar significantly. And when you add the fact that drinking often comes with late night eating, less sleep and skipping your next morning workout, the total impact on your health is much bigger than just the drink itself.

This is not about cutting alcohol out completely. It's about understanding what it's actually doing so you can make informed decisions.

If you drink, eat something with it. Never drink on an empty stomach. Stay hydrated. Know your numbers the next morning.

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06/01/2026

When You Eat Matters Just as Much as What You Eat

Most people think about food in terms of what they eat. Calories, carbs, protein. But when you eat those foods has a massive impact on how your body handles blood sugar.

Eating late at night is one of the biggest culprits. Your body's insulin sensitivity drops in the evening which means the same meal you eat at noon will spike your blood sugar more at 9pm. If you're having your biggest meal right before bed and your blood sugar is already a concern, that pattern is working against you every single day.

Front loading your calories earlier in the day, eating a solid breakfast, not skipping meals and then binging later, and stopping eating 2 to 3 hours before bed are all things that can meaningfully improve how your body manages glucose.

Snacking on fast digesting carbs by themselves throughout the day keeps your blood sugar bouncing up and down constantly. Pair carbs with protein or fat. It slows everything down and keeps your levels more stable.

Timing is free. You don't need to buy anything. Just rethink when the meals happen.

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06/01/2026

What You Do Outside the Gym Matters More Than What You Do In It

People get really focused on their workouts. The hour they spend in the gym. The program they're following. The weights they're lifting. And all of that matters. But here's what most people miss.
The other 23 hours of the day are doing more to determine your health outcomes than that one hour ever will.

How you sleep. What you eat throughout the day. How much you move between workouts just going about your life. How much stress you're carrying. Whether you're sitting for 10 hours straight and then doing 45 minutes of exercise and thinking that cancels it out. It doesn't.

For people managing pre diabetes or Type 2 diabetes this is especially important to understand. Your blood sugar is being affected around the clock. It doesn't take a break between your workouts. Every meal, every stressful meeting, every late night, every choice you make during the day is either helping or hurting your numbers.

The gym is a tool. A great one. But your lifestyle is the foundation everything else is built on.

Build the foundation first.

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05/30/2026

You Are Probably Dehydrated and It Is Affecting Your Blood Sugar

This one is simple and most people are not doing it.

When you are dehydrated your blood becomes more concentrated which means the glucose in it becomes more concentrated too. Your blood sugar goes up. Your kidneys work harder trying to filter it out. Over time chronic dehydration makes blood sugar harder to manage and puts extra strain on organs that are already working overtime if you have diabetes.

Water also helps your kidneys flush out excess glucose when blood sugar is high. It supports every system in your body that is involved in blood sugar regulation.

The goal is roughly 2 to 3 litres of water per day depending on your size and activity level. Start your morning with a big glass before anything else. Carry a bottle with you. Reduce the coffee, juice and pop that dehydrate you or spike your blood sugar.

It sounds too simple to matter. It is not. Stay hydrated.

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