Diabetes

CONTENTS

Health Monitor Living Diabetes

THE BASICS

You can thrive despite diabetes!
Thanks to new types of medications and lifestyle tweaks that can help keep your blood sugar levels in a good range, diabetes doesn’t have to take over your life. Work with your healthcare team to find the treatment plan that’s your perfect fit!

How medicines can help
The good news for people with diabetes? Today’s treatments can help you thrive! Ask your doctor or diabetes care and education specialist if these options are right for you.

TRUE INSPIRATION

“This is your life—and you should be enjoying it!”
Here’s how Michael, Simone and Kate enjoy life fully—despite diabetes.

FEEL YOUR BEST

Quiz: How sugar-savvy are you?
Think you have an eye for sugar servings? Test out your knowledge by clicking on the food or drink option that you think has the least amount of sugar.

Stay in shape like the stars!
For Hollywood celebrities, staying in shape is part of the job. Here, they share the A-list strategies that might just inspire you!

Here’s how Michael, Simone and Kate enjoy life fully—despite diabetes. —by Amy Capetta

“Embrace your new normal”
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MICHAEL T. ROSS
LAS VEGAS, NV

Music has been the love of Michael T. Ross’ life since he was a child. “I’m just a kid who grew up playing piano and now it’s something that has taken me around the world many times,” says the 52-year-old from Las Vegas.

Over the last two decades, Michael has played his keyboard in theaters and at festivals abroad, including London, Italy, Mexico, Canada and Croatia. However, there was a time when Michael’s lifelong dream of being a professional musician was threatened by type 2 diabetes. His health journey began in his early 30s when he decided to take a leap of faith and enter the music world. As luck would have it, he quickly signed his first big record deal with Neal Schon, the guitarist from Journey. Then two weeks before Michael was scheduled to play his first professional show in England in 2002, he passed out.

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“For about a year leading up to that moment, I had been dealing with low energy and feeling lightheaded,” he says. “That progressed to where I started feeling actually dizzy.” One visit with his doctor revealed the cause: Type 2 diabetes with an extremely high blood sugar reading of over 500 mg/dL! Although Michael was prescribed medicine, he wasn’t interested in taking it. “And for the next 10 years, I did my best to ignore the diagnosis.”

“I WAS DOING SOME REAL DAMAGE TO MY BODY”
Looking back now, Michael admits that he spent a decade feeling sick. “We had professional photo shoots and I didn’t want to look in the camera,” he states. “There wasn’t one photo of me smiling. I weighed 200 pounds and hid behind big clothes. Here I was on stage and in the spotlight, yet I was angry. I was struggling and doing some real damage to my body.”

In 2012, Michael moved from Hollywood to Las Vegas after getting the rock musical job. While doing a soundcheck during the first week of the show, the dizziness resurfaced. “The next thing I knew, Tracii Guns from Guns N’ Roses found me passed out and I was off to the emergency room, where they told me my blood sugar was in the 500 mg/dL range again.”

Between 2012 and late 2017, Michael added an endocrinologist to his healthcare team. Michael also knew the time had come to change his lifestyle by getting more movement in, cutting down his portions and preparing his own food at home.

“I LOST 50 LBS.!”
By early 2018, thanks to his new lifestyle changes, Michael weighed in at a lean 150 pounds and now keeps his daily blood glucose levels in the low 100s by taking his medication as prescribed. Today, he is looking forward to the rock show reopening and going on the road again with his fellow musicians.

“There may be obstacles ahead for me, but I know I can take on the new challenges with confidence,” says Michael, who can be found on Facebook @rockkeys and on Instagram @MichaelTRoss. “This is your life, and you should be enjoying it. At one time I let diabetes get the best of me—but now I am a happy and healthy person living the life of my dreams!”

Michael’s take on how to keep diabetes in check

Focus on ‘complete’ meals.
“At first when I made the decision to adjust my eating plan, I figured that meant having only one slice of pizza rather than three or four in a sitting. But I soon came to realize I needed to focus on eating things that were actually nutritious if I wanted to feel better.” So, Michael made what he calls his “master list” of healthy foods, including berries, vegetables and lean proteins. “I stopped buying the pizza and burgers and cooked portion-controlled, healthier versions of my favorite meals, like eggplant parmigiana,” he says.

Plan ahead.
Michael says prep is key when it comes to managing blood sugar levels. “I’ll have a ‘cook day’ where I make meals according to the number of days I will be eating outside of my home,” he explains. “When I’m on the road in the states, I want to eat my home-cooked food as long as possible, so I have lots of containers, ice packs and Igloos.” If a hotel stay is involved, he calls ahead to make sure the room has a fridge.

Don’t dwell on numbers.
While Michael believes in keeping a log of daily blood glucose levels, he cautions against the urge to overcheck. “I enjoy the new convenient technology, but at one point I realized checking my numbers became a habit like picking up the phone—something I could easily do 30 times a day,” he explains. “Even though I’d be in my target range, I’d be wondering why my number jumped ten points, which just wasn’t good for my mental health. Check however often your doctor recommends and resist the urge to test in-between.”

For Hollywood celebrities, staying in shape is part of the job. Here, they share the A-list strategies that might just inspire you!

CONSTANCE WU
...tunes in to these while running
Musicals and podcasts! “When I’m not working, I run, like, six miles a day. I listen to old Broadway musicals, like The Sound of Music or A Chorus Line. If I’m doing a longer run, I’ll listen to a podcast.”

STERLING K. BROWN
...finds a fun workout
“I love basketball because it’s social, and you’re not even thinking about working out—you’re just playing a game, and getting great exercise at the same time.”

SOFIA VERGARA
...strikes a healthy balance
“You shouldn’t do too much of anything—that could mean working out, that could mean dieting like crazy. I mean, I drink alcohol, but like a little bit. You have to live your life and be happy because I think being happy and not stressing all the time also helps you. You know, having your good times and being healthy. But it’s important to go to the doctor, to have your checkups, to workout, eat healthy, everything. Do everything that you can.”

NAZANIN BONIADI
...swaps white rice for this
Quinoa! “I love Persian food, but it contains a lot of white rice (or “polo” in Persian). One of my favorite dishes is Zereshk Polo (rice with saffron and barberries), usually served with chicken. So my mother introduced me to a healthier version, which I think tastes even better than the original—she simply substitutes the rice for tricolored quinoa and cooks it with chicken broth to give it more flavor. It’s delicious!”