Episodes

  • ‘I treated myself like a science experiment’ with personal trainer Tony Coffey

    ‘I treated myself like a science experiment’ with personal trainer Tony Coffey
    Jul 11 2024
    ‘Stop looking for yes and no answers, and start trying to see the nuance. Pay attention to you and knowing yourself.’

    Tony Coffey, also known as @trainbloom to his 400,000 instagram followers, is a personal trainer and co-host of the Fitness Stuff (For Normal People) podcast living in San Diego, California. When he’s not at Chipotle, Tony dedicates his time to combatting the mountain of fitness and nutrition misinformation out there with his no nonsense, informative and very funny evidence-based videos online.

    Diagnosed with type 1 diabetes through primary care as a college freshman, it was very much suggested that diabetes would be a defining part of his identity. Already a fitness enthusiast, Tony’s diagnosis cemented his professional path, and he has used himself as his own science experiment ever since to defy the definition of diabetes he was given at the age of 19.

    ‘You’re going to go through some crappy, crappy days,’ he says of taking responsibility for your own condition. ‘But once you get a handle on it, I don’t know that anything else could build your confidence as much as type 1 diabetes does. All of the other problems in your life start to seem quite small, and it’s stuff no-one else in my life has had to deal with.’

    In this episode we chat about diet, nutrition, taking on and standing out in the fitness industry, and stepping back from the frustrating moments of life with type 1 diabetes. As data driven and research focused as they come, Tony reveals the single easiest thing you can do to help your blood sugar management (and it’s NOT running marathons or becoming a bodybuilder), as well as what Tony thinks of the rising popularity of glucose sensors for those who aren’t living with diabetes. Hint: He’s not a fan.

    Please do yourself a favour and take a look at Tony's Instagram account. In a sea of fitness noise and nonsense, his data-driven, research-led content and very clear, very funny delivery really cuts through.

    CONNECT WITH TONY:
    Follow Bloom Training on Instagram.
    Take a look at his TikTok.
    Listen to Fitness Stuff (For Normal People) on Spotify.

    JOIN THE TYPE 1 ON 1 COMMUNITY
    We’ve got an Instagram account! Come and say hi @studiotype1on1.

    SPONSOR MESSAGE:
    Thanks to my episode sponsors Dexcom.

    Pioneer and leader in Real-Time continuous glucose monitors, Dexcom's goal is to simplify and improve diabetes management for every possible person with diabetes.

    They have a choice of systems, so you can find the right one for your lifestyle at https://www.dexcom.com/
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    1 hr and 3 mins
  • 46 years with type 1 diabetes: 'I went through pregnancy without a glucose meter' with Maryann Croft Maloney

    46 years with type 1 diabetes: 'I went through pregnancy without a glucose meter' with Maryann Croft Maloney
    Jul 4 2024
    'You’re more than a blood sugar, and that’s your excellence.’

    Today we meet certified diabetes royalty! Maryann Croft Maloney has lived with type 1 diabetes since 1978 - the same year she also got married and became pregnant with her first child. Maryann went through a large part of that pregnancy without a glucose meter, but has always moved through life handling whatever it - and diabetes - has thrown at her without an ounce of self-pity.

    Through the incredible lens of living with type 1 diabetes for almost 50 years, we discuss the advances in diabetes management Maryann has witnessed after starting out with only long-acting insulin, but conversely the anxiety that has been prompted by having so much data at her fingertips.

    It was 20 years before Maryann met anyone else with type 1, and we really dig into the perspective that living with the condition has given her. From not worrying about the small stuff, to life as a test of resilience, to her quest for perfection and the importance of asking questions in the pursuit of a better quality of life, Maryann's honesty and insight makes for an extraordinary listen.

    We also talk about her life-changing experience at Diabetes Training Camp, and the wisdom and relief it has offered her.

    CONNECT WITH MARYANN:
    Follow Maryann on Instagram.
    Find out more about Diabetes Training Camp.

    JOIN THE TYPE 1 ON 1 COMMUNITY
    We’ve got an Instagram account! Come and say hi @studiotype1on1.

    SPONSOR MESSAGE:
    Thanks to my episode sponsors Dexcom.

    Pioneer and leader in Real-Time continuous glucose monitors, Dexcom's goal is to simplify and improve diabetes management for every possible person with diabetes.

    They have a choice of systems, so you can find the right one for your lifestyle at https://www.dexcom.com/
    Show more Show less
    58 mins
  • The Diaries Check In: Don't put a glucose sensor on your forehead

    The Diaries Check In: Don't put a glucose sensor on your forehead
    Jun 27 2024
    My dear friend and fellow type 1 Ami Bennett is back to say hello. So obviously this episode is full of mischief, escapades, hypo gremlins, and guess what? We've STILL both got type 1 diabetes...

    We sweep through so much fun (and not so fun) stuff this week, having a good old catch up about everything from turning into hermits of routine by choice, being confronted by security staff about diabetes, dating, shoving Haribo into your face in a public toilet to fix a hypo... it's a glamorous life.

    We shoutout some awesome people doing awesome things in the community, and of course The Diaries wouldn't be complete without an appearance from Ami's lovely dog Milou.

    CONNECT WITH AMI:
    Follow Ami on Instagram.

    OTHER PEOPLE MENTIONED:
    Type One Community's Instagram.
    Temi Olonisakin's Instagram.

    JOIN THE TYPE 1 ON 1 COMMUNITY
    We’ve got an Instagram account! Come and say hi @studiotype1on1.

    SPONSOR MESSAGE:
    Thanks to my episode sponsors Dexcom.

    Pioneer and leader in Real-Time continuous glucose monitors, Dexcom's goal is to simplify and improve diabetes management for every possible person with diabetes.

    They have a choice of systems, so you can find the right one for your lifestyle at https://www.dexcom.com/
    Show more Show less
    50 mins
  • Renza Scibilia: 'I never wanted my diabetes to become anyone else's burden'

    Renza Scibilia: 'I never wanted my diabetes to become anyone else's burden'
    Jun 20 2024
    When it comes to diabetes advocates, few are held in such regard as Renza Scibilia. And rightly so, as for more than two decades she has travelled the world to ensure the voices of people with diabetes are not only acknowledged, but listened to and understood by everyone from world-renowned healthcare professionals to pharmaceutical bosses.

    Diagnosed in 1998, Renza’s activism started out through the Diabetonic blog, published from her desk at home in Melbourne, Australia. But such is her determination and motivation to create meaningful change, she is now Director of Community Building & Communications at Breakthrough T1D (formerly JDRF), Head of Advocacy at #dedoc°, and in her spare time (when she’s not baking or on a plane), she runs a health consultancy.

    As much as Renza works hard to makes sure she has a seat at the table, she works even harder to ensure that there are seats for the rest of us too, shaping outcomes for everyone who has been forced through lived experience to cruelly understand what it really means to live with type 1 diabetes.

    'When insulin has been around for 100 years, lack of access should not be happening,' she told me. 'It’s perfectly ok to feel overwhelmed by the personal burden of type 1 diabetes and what we are living with, but I do also feel the weight of what type 1 diabetes is on a bigger scale. Sometimes I think it’s ok to feel hopeless because of that, because in many ways it’s what drives me.'

    This generous and heartfelt conversation is such a treat, and a reminder of the power we collectively have for change when the right people are shaping the conversation.

    CONNECT WITH RENZA:
    Take a look at Renza’s blog, Diabetogenic.
    Follow Renza on X.

    JOIN THE TYPE 1 ON 1 COMMUNITY
    We’ve got an Instagram account! Come and say hi @studiotype1on1.

    SPONSOR MESSAGE:
    Thanks to my episode sponsors Dexcom.

    Pioneer and leader in Real-Time continuous glucose monitors, Dexcom's goal is to simplify and improve diabetes management for every possible person with diabetes.

    They have a choice of systems, so you can find the right one for your lifestyle at https://www.dexcom.com/
    Show more Show less
    1 hr and 1 min
  • The winding roads to acceptance with Alex Durussel-Baker

    The winding roads to acceptance with Alex Durussel-Baker
    Jun 13 2024
    Everybody’s type 1 diabetes diagnosis is memorable, but Alex Durussel-Baker’s was particularly far removed from her routine as a 30-year-old business owner living in Edinburgh. Alex was on an aeroplane runway, about to take off for a work trip to the States, when her doctor called with the results of a blood test.

    Alex subsequently spent three days in hospital in New York, before attending the work conference anyway. This isn’t a movie, this is Alex’s life, and it was once she returned to Scotland that the reality of both the permanence and the inconsistency of living with this complicated condition took hold.

    Since that diagnosis in 2018, Alex’s path to acceptance has taken many turns. During a period of burnout and depression, she started to process events in the way that she knows best - through creativity, specifically graphic design. A 100-day project to make diabetes more visible by subverting famous posters led to the birth of Diabetes By Design.

    Six years later, today sees the launch of DByD Fest - a 10 day programme of events, a design exhibition and panel talks all led by Alex. It’s all entirely free for you to visit at Custom Lane in Leith, Edinburgh, from June 13th-22nd 2024. This episode is a celebration of the ways in which this event will address the multitudes of misunderstanding that are unfortunately part of life with type 1 diabetes, but also an honouring of Alex’s lived experience.

    We discuss so much in this episode, including motherhood, the effect that diabetes has had on her relationship, and how absolutely messy this all is, no matter how far into the journey you are. You can get involved in Alex’s work by giving your feedback on her soon to be launched Companion Card toolkit, co-designed by healthcare professionals and people living with type 1 diabetes to open up conversations about this undoubtedly messy condition.

    Thank you so much to Alex for speaking to me with such candour and humility.

    CONNECT WITH ALEX
    Find out more about DByD Fest.
    Find out more about the Companion Cards.
    Sign up to the Diabetes By Design newsletter.
    Follow Diabetes By Design on Instagram.

    JOIN THE TYPE 1 ON 1 COMMUNITY
    We’ve got an Instagram account! Come and say hi @studiotype1on1.

    SPONSOR MESSAGE:
    Thanks to my episode sponsors Dexcom.

    Pioneer and leader in Real-Time continuous glucose monitors, Dexcom's goal is to simplify and improve diabetes management for every possible person with diabetes.

    They have a choice of systems, so you can find the right one for your lifestyle at https://www.dexcom.com/
    Show more Show less
    1 hr and 4 mins
  • 'I no longer take my daughter to her diabetes appointments' with Tara Humphrey

    'I no longer take my daughter to her diabetes appointments' with Tara Humphrey
    Jun 6 2024
    Business owner, fitness enthusiast and adventurer Tara Humphrey is a woman of action. As the CEO of a primary care management consultancy, wife and mum of three adolescent girls, life is already a juggling act, but the family have also been forced to adapt to not one but two demanding chronic illnesses in the household. And despite the inevitable challenges, adapt they have - with the help of a whole load of pragmatic organisation, communication, teamwork and a generous dose of fun too.

    Tara's youngest daughter Tahlia was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes on Christmas Day in 2017 at the age of five. Now 12, Tara is balancing steadily letting Tahlia live a little more independently from Mum and Dad, while ensuring she remains safe from the riskier sides of life with type 1 diabetes.

    In this insightful episode, Tara speaks candidly about the family's experiences - from herself being given a diabetes textbook as her daughter was diagnosed (and tested before Tahlia was allowed home!), feeling like a failure when diabetes technology wasn't working for them, to delegating diabetes appointments to her husband Mark after some frustrating interactions with Tahlia's care team.

    We also speak about the interesting dichotomy between the experience Tara has as a Mum with multiple personal touch-points with the health system, and someone who also lives and breathes primary care in her professional life.

    CONNECT WITH TARA:
    Follow Tara on Instagram.

    JOIN THE TYPE 1 ON 1 COMMUNITY
    We’ve got an Instagram account! Come and say hi @studiotype1on1.

    SPONSOR MESSAGE:

    Thanks to my episode sponsors Dexcom.

    Pioneer and leader in Real-Time continuous glucose monitors, Dexcom's goal is to simplify and improve diabetes management for every possible person with diabetes.

    They have a choice of systems, so you can find the right one for your lifestyle at https://www.dexcom.com/
    Show more Show less
    1 hr and 3 mins
  • Avani Ved: 'I felt like I was never going to be good enough, but stigma forced me to figure out what_s important.'

    Avani Ved: 'I felt like I was never going to be good enough, but stigma forced me to figure out what_s important.'
    May 30 2024
    When you speak to 27-year-old Avani Ved, you encounter an intelligent, focused, determined and thoughtful woman whose mission in life is to help people. She demonstrates this both in her professional career as a nurse and via her Instagram page, which spreads encouraging messages about life in general, as well as life with type 1 diabetes.

    But her motivations come from some altogether more challenging and upsetting personal experiences as a child living with type 1 diabetes. Despite facing stigma and feelings of not being good enough since her diagnosis in 2005, Avani has somehow found the resolve to turn her pain into her power.

    ‘When I was nine there wasn’t a lot of people in my culture that understood what type 1 diabetes was. That was a huge challenge and a huge barrier to overcome. I heard a lot of comments at nine… but at that age you’re not going to sit there and explain to a 40-year-old woman what type 1 diabetes is.’

    Running parallel to those difficult experiences, Avani has thankfully always also had an incredible support network around her, and it’s thanks to positive interactions with medical staff in the hospital she was sent to as a little girl that Avani knew from the day of her diagnosis she was going to be a nurse - despite not knowing what being a nurse actually meant.

    There is so much to learn from this uplifting and honest episode, and I’m grateful to Avani for sharing her story as part of her mission to, in her words, ‘become the person that I needed when I was nine years old.’

    CONNECT WITH AVANI:
    Follow Avani on Instagram.

    JOIN THE TYPE 1 ON 1 COMMUNITY
    We’ve got an Instagram account! Come and say hi @studiotype1on1.

    SPONSOR MESSAGE:
    Thanks to my episode sponsors Dexcom.

    Pioneer and leader in Real-Time continuous glucose monitors, Dexcom's goal is to simplify and improve diabetes management for every possible person with diabetes.


    They have a choice of systems, so you can find the right one for your lifestyle at https://www.dexcom.com/
    Show more Show less
    1 hr and 16 mins
  • Diabetes Specialist Nurse James Ridgeway: I was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes on shift

    Diabetes Specialist Nurse James Ridgeway: I was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes on shift
    May 23 2024
    It is apparent from the minute you meet James Ridgeway that he is one of life’s good guys. A Diabetes Specialist Nurse and Education Research Associate living in Leicestershire with his partner Stacey and son Alfie, it was his own type 1 diabetes diagnosis in 2012 while on shift as a student nurse that set him on his professional path.

    James is incredibly passionate about diabetes education, and as well as supporting diabetes patients in clinic through his role as a DSN, part of his job is delivering diabetes education to other healthcare professionals through the renowned EDEN network. He also runs an innovative Podding peer support group to help people connect with others living with type 1 diabetes.

    Through both living and working with type 1 diabetes, James is well aware that on average people with diabetes have just one hour of healthcare professional support each year. With his blend of lived experience, healthcare knowledge and belief in the importance of peer support, this episode offers a unique and encouraging perspective on living a better, less isolated life with type 1 diabetes.

    CONNECT WITH JAMES:
    Follow James on X.
    Find out more about the Eden Network.
    Check out James’s Podding peer support group for Omnipod Users.
    Take a look at the Language Matters framework.

    JOIN THE TYPE 1 ON 1 COMMUNITY
    We’ve got an Instagram account! Come and say hi @studiotype1on1.

    SPONSOR MESSAGE:
    Thanks to my episode sponsors Dexcom.

    Pioneer and leader in Real-Time continuous glucose monitors, Dexcom's goal is to simplify and improve diabetes management for every possible person with diabetes.

    They have a choice of systems, so you can find the right one for your lifestyle at https://www.dexcom.com/
    Show more Show less
    1 hr and 19 mins