Calories influence energy levels and body fat.

Protein influences everything from muscle growth, appetite control right through to hormone production.

Fiber feeds the bacteria in our guts which play a role in the health of our immune system.

Carbs influence blood glucose and exercise performance.

Vitamin C protects against the damaging effects of high blood glucose and oxidative damage.

Salt influences water retention.

etc… We could go on forever.

The nutritional components of food serve many different roles within the human body.

This article aims to highlight 5 key nutritional aspects of food which have been shown to improve the action (or sensitivity) of insulin, resulting in improved blood glucose management in people with diabetes.

Before we go into details – it is important to understand a few key terms surrounding insulin and diabetes.

Key Terms

Insulin is a key hormone involved in the use and storage of fuels within the body.

Insulin sensitivity refers to how effective the hormone insulin is at doing its job in the body. This varies between individuals and is reduced in people with diabetes.

Insulin resistance is when muscle, liver and fat cells do not use insulin properly. As a result, glucose builds up in the blood, overflows into the urine and is excreted out of the body, never fulfilling its role as the body’s main source of fuel.

Diabetes is a group of metabolic diseases characterized by different degrees of insulin resistance, where not enough insulin is produced, or the current insulin produced does not work effectively.

Disorders in insulin production and signalling can have widespread and devastating effects on the body’s organs and tissues if left uncontrolled. Therefore, it is important that people with type 1 diabetes (who produce next to no insulin) have an uninterrupted supply of high-quality insulin medication to replicate their own natural insulin production.

Individuals with type 2 diabetes may also need to take medication to improve the effectiveness of their natural insulin production.

In both cases of diabetes, certain lifestyle factors are advised to support medication therapy. Nutrition is one of them.

5 Incredibly Powerful Eating Tips That Boost Insulin Sensitivity Naturally

Consume Foods That Have Been Scientifically Proven to Boost Insulin Sensitivity.

Scientific research has demonstrated foods like vinegar, lemon, lime, walnuts, almonds, green tea, cinnamon, and turmeric have insulin-sensitizing properties. Including nutrient-dense foods like these in your diet may help improve the body’s sensitivity to insulin and ability to store consumed carbohydrates within muscle glycogen stores instead of as fat. That’s why I included all these kinds of foods inside the Ultra Lean and Muscle Building Cookbooks. If you haven’t checked these cookbooks out already, you’re missing out on over 200+ mouth-watering diabetic friendly recipe ideas that will help you get you in shape without giving up the foods you love.

  Consider Supplementing with Magnesium and Vitamin D.

Magnesium and vitamin D have been shown to improve the body’s sensitivity to insulin. Low magnesium levels are common in people with Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes.

Magnesium is an essential dietary mineral and the second most prevalent electrolyte in the body besides sodium. Magnesium has a strong relationship with insulin and thus plays an important role in carbohydrate metabolism _1,2.

Research has shown that subjects who supplemented with oral magnesium improved their fasting blood glucose levels and increased their insulin sensitivity.³

The standard dose for magnesium supplementation is 200-400mg.⁴

Vitamin D is a fat-soluble nutrient essential for human survival.

Vitamin D is known to aid in improving insulin receptor function, prevent islet cell death, as well as improve beta cell function.

Research in both type 1 and type 2 diabetes have shown positive results in that supplementing with vitamin D has the potential to lower haemoglobin A1c compared to baseline.^5,6 Much of this may in part be due to improving insulin resistance.

Individuals with diabetes should get a 25(OH)D blood test to assess their current vitamin D status. The Vitamin D Council recommends a blood level between 50–80 ng/mL year round.

If needed, 1,000-2,000 IU (25–50 mcg) of Vitamin D per day is more than adequate. ⁷

Both magnesium and vitamin D may be consumed via supplements. However, they can also be obtained from food.

Magnesium rich foods include green leafy vegetables, pumpkin seeds, cashews, and broccoli.

Vitamin D is easily received by getting sun exposure daily; however, people who live further away from the equator or experience harsh, cold winters are at a disadvantage and may need an additional vitamin D supplement. Also, foods such as fatty fish like salmon, dairy, eggs, and cod liver oil may be consumed to achieve adequate vitamin D levels.

 Prioritize the Essential Fatty Acids, especially Omega-3.

The human body can synthesize most of its fat needs from the diet. However, there are two essential fatty acids, known as Omega 6 (linoleic acid) and Omega 3 (alpha-linolenic acid) which cannot be produced in the body and must be consumed from food. Both of these fats can be found in plant and animal foods.

Consuming a healthy balance of omega-6s and omega-3s is very important for human health.

However, in today’s modern society many populations at risk of obesity and diabetes have an imbalance in their consumption of omega 3s and 6s, whereby too much omega 6 is consumed at the expense of omega 3.

While both of these fatty acids are essential for good health, the stark imbalance is pro-inflammatory and detrimental to insulin sensitivity. The imbalance is a result of the world’s growing food intake, particularly increased consumption of processed food cooked in processed polyunsaturated fats like sunflower oil.

The first line of defence in rectifying this imbalance involves eating fewer calories and improving energy balance with physical activity. The next step is to increase omega 3 consumption from cold water fatty fish or use of high-quality Omega 3 food supplements.

Ideally, 340-453g (12–16 oz.) of cold-water, fatty fish such as salmon, sardines, and mackerel each week, if personal taste allows for it. Otherwise a good quality fish oil supplement.

 Avoid Trans Fats.

There is nothing positive or healthy about man-made trans fats. They are well established to cause insulin resistance, resulting in a decrease in insulin sensitivity. Additionally, trans fat may increase abdominal fat storage.

Food products that contain trans fat include, cakes, vegetable oils and margarine. Substitute these common cooking products for healthier oils like olive oil, avocado oil, coconut oil or real butter.

Trans fats are mentioned on nutrition labels.

Strive to purchase and consume foods that contain 0g Trans Fats.

Food over Macronutrients.  

Carbohydrates have the greatest effect on blood glucose levels, protein has a moderate effect and fat a relatively small effect.

However, when it comes to mealtimes, we mostly consume mixed macronutrient meals comprised of different food sources.

Think about it. You rarely eat a potato on its own. Rather, a combination of potato (carbs), meat or fish (protein) and a good dab of butter (as fat).

If you keep consistent with the amounts of carbs, fat and protein at meal times, you’ll have a much better chance at working out a reliable insulin to carb ratio.

This is great, but what happens when you make an extreme change and decide to consume a food dominant in one macronutrient? Or, vary the composition of your set meal in favour of a certain macronutrient such as a pepperoni pizza which is super high in fat?

When the time comes, you must be willing to increase or decrease your insulin accordingly. This requires an in-depth understanding of how to dose and spread your insulin for mixed and, or, single macronutrient-based meals.

Dosing your insulin accurately is extremely important for avoiding hyperglycemia and further insulin resistance.

Want to put this learning into practice?

I’ve taken all of these principles and incorporate them into Diabetic Shred Guide – a 112-day fat loss system for men and women living with diabetes. It contains everything you need to know about eating, training and living to get lean. You get weekly meal plans tailored to your metabolism and over 50 challenging workouts.

If you want to learn more about flexible dieting you can check out my body transformation diet and training guides created exclusively for people with diabetes.

Diabetic Shred –  112-day Advanced Body Transformation Guide Built for FAT LOSS.

References

1. Paolisso G, Scheen A, D’Onofrio F, Lefebvre P: Magnesium and glucose homeostasis. Diabetologia33:511–514, 1990
2. Nadler JL, Buchanan T, Natarajan R, Antonipillai I, Bergman R, Rude R: Magnesium deficiency produces insulin resistance and increased thromboxane synthesis. Hypertension21:1024–1029,
3. Mooren FC, Kruger K, Volker K, Golf SW, Wadepuhl M, Kraus A. Oral magnesium supplementation reduces insulin resistance in non-diabetic subjects-A RCT. Diabetes, Obesity, and Metabolism. 2011;13(3);281-284
4. http://www.nap.edu/read/5776/chapter/8#223
5. Aljabri KS, Bokhari SA, Khan MJ. Glycemic changes after vitamin D supplementation in patients with type 1 diabetes mellitus and vitamin D deficiency. Ann Saudi Med. 2010;30(6):454-458.
6. Mitri J, Muraru MD, Pittas AG. Vitamin D and type 2 diabetes: a systematic review. Eur J Clin Nutr. 2011.65(9):1005-15.
7. Example.com The Supplement-Goals Reference Guide

• Insulin and amino acids play an important role in assisting with muscle growth.
• Glucose and amino acids are both insulinogenic and have the potential to increase blood glucose.
• When glucose and amino acids are consumed together they require more insulin, than if consumed alone.
• Adequate medication must be given to accommodate the blood glucose increasing effects of these two macronutrients.
• Hyperglycaemia is highly detrimental to muscle protein synthesis.
• Besides focusing on carbs and protein alone, it’s important to see the bigger picture and consider all the other important factors that influence rate of muscle growth, of which there are many.

What you’re in for?

• 600 Words
• Reading Time ~ 8 minutes

  SHOULD TYPE 1 DIABETICS EAT CARBS AND PROTEIN TOGETHER IN AN ATTEMPT TO BUILD MORE MUSCLE?

Insulin is considered an anabolic (constructive) hormone. When protein is consumed the B-cells of the pancreas secrete insulin to shuttle amino acids into cells for anabolism. Insulin has been shown to play a role in the creation of new proteins across the body as well as inhibiting muscle protein breakdown ¹.

All the amino acids that make up protein impact insulin secretion differently. Certain amino acids are more potent at stimulating insulin secretion than others, especially leucine ². This explains why whey protein, one of the richest sources of leucine, increases insulin secretion more than any other protein source ³ , and, why the food insulin index considers the insulin requirement for foods as a whole (inc. protein and fat) rather than just their carbohydrate content ⁴.

The synergistic combo of glucose and amino acids signifies a high energy state (compared to one macro nutrient alone) leading to elevated insulin secretion. This is what promotes anabolism, glycogen storage and synthesis of fat tissue (if excess energy is available). Eating protein alone would not yield as much of an insulinogenic or anabolic response compared to a matched meal of protein and carbs.

Besides focusing on carbs and protein alone, it’s important to see the bigger picture and consider all the other important factors that influence rate of muscle growth including, but not limited to,

• Overall diabetes management
• Overall calorie intake
• Body composition
• Stress
• Sleep
• Training frequency
• Progressive overload
• Use of ergogenic aids (PED, Supplements like creatine etc.)
• Other diseases and illness

Should type 1 diabetics pair carbs with protein to maximize protein’s anabolic effect?

The most popular approach to mealtime insulin dosing is counting carbohydrate and applying an insulin to carbohydrates ratio. Most people with type 1 diabetes believe they are only giving insulin for the carbohydrate; however, the insulin dose calculated from the Insulin to carbohydrate ratio actually takes into account the insulin requirement for usual protein portions. Carbs and protein are rarely consumed in isolation. It is much more likely that both macronutrients will accompany each other at mealtimes ⁵.

Provided essential amino acid needs are met across the day, the primary responsibility for someone living with type 1 diabetes is to dose enough exogenous insulin to accommodate any increase in blood glucose.

References

1. K N Frayn and P F Maycock. Regulation of protein metabolism by a physiological concentration of insulin in mouse soleus and extensor digitorum longus muscles. Effects of starvation and scald injury. Biochem J. 1979 Nov 15; 184(2): 323–330. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1161767/
2. Gannon MC, Nuttall FQ. Amino acid ingestion and glucose metabolism–a review. IUBMB Life. 2010 Sep;62(9):660-8. doi: 10.1002/iub.375. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20882645
3. Nilsson M, Stenberg M, Frid AH, Holst JJ, Björck IM. Glycemia and insulinemia in healthy subjects after lactose-equivalent meals of milk and other food proteins: the role of plasma amino acids and incretins. The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. 2004; 80: 1246-53.
4. Bell, K. et al (2016) Algorithms to Improve the Prediction of Postprandial Insulinemia in Response to Common Foods. Nutrients 2016, 8, 210; doi:10.3390/nu8040210
5. Smart CEM, Evans M, O’Connell SM, et al. Both dietary protein and fat increase postprandial glucose excursions in children with type 1 diabetes, and the effect is additive. Diabetes Care 2013;36:3897–3902

It’s imperative to know what diabetes is and the fundamentals of diet, exercise, lifestyle, and medication management. Here are five important points a healthcare or fitness professional should understand before engaging with T1D individuals involved in sport or fitness.

1. High-intensity exercise like weight training can increase blood glucose levels, even without the consumption of carbohydrates. This is a result of counter-regulatory stress hormones that increase in circulation as a result of high-intensity exercise. It is imperative that such increases in blood glucose are anticipated and dealt with.

2. Low-intensity exercise like cardio has the potential to lower blood glucose and cause hypoglycemia.

3. The psychological aspect of managing diabetes is undervalued and not talked about enough. If T1D athletes and fitness enthusiasts were to place a higher value on their diabetes management, they would excel in their fitness or sporting efforts. Poorly managed diabetes will have a highly detrimental effect on muscle building, fat loss, and sporting performance.

4. Whey protein and supplements like caffeine have the potential to increase blood glucose levels and may require insulin.

5. People with diabetes are more susceptible to podiatry problems, which can have implications for exercise program design.

Quick Summary 

• The more emotionally attached you are to your health and fitness goals, the clearer they’ll be and the greater you’ll value them.
• Lifting weights to look better is a sound reason to get started, as the health benefits always come as a byproduct.
• Increased muscle mass can help reduce diabetes medication needs and improve blood glucose control.
• You should never go into a set completely shattered. Each set needs to be quality.
• It doesn’t matter how good your training program is: if you don’t control your blood glucose levels, you’ll never build the body you desire.
• Each session should provide the body with a different training stimulus.
• Rest is equally as important as the training itself.
• A professional coach is worth their weight in gold.

What you’re in for?

4,000 Words

Reading Time ~ 26 minutes

HOW TO SET UP A WEIGHT LIFTING PLAN FOR DIABETES

We get all sorts of visitors on DiabeticMuscleandFitness.com: both men and women, ranging from the everyday gym goer to professional bodybuilders with diabetes, sports athletes right through to newly diagnosed teens who haven’t an ounce of muscle to their name.

If the idea of building muscle, getting stronger and improving whole body definition sounds good to you, then you’re in the right place.

The training information I am about to share with you is grounded on the latest exercise science, thousands of gym sessions and countless hours coaching people with diabetes of all shapes and sizes.

Let’s get started.

Weight Training and Diabetes 101

Weight training, also known as resistance, body weight or strength training is one of the most beneficial forms of exercise you can perform, especially if you live with diabetes.

When performed properly, weight training delivers a host of health benefits including,

1. Increased physical strength.
2. Denser, stronger bones.
3. Increased metabolic rate at rest (allows you to eat more calories, whilst staying lean)
4. It burns body fat and helps prevent obesity.
5. Releases key endorphins that make you feel great.
6. Improves balance and coordination.
7. It can protect against sarcopenia (age-related muscle loss)
8. Increased glucose uptake (it can help manage diabetes)
9. Improved blood lipids.
10. Plus, looking jacked and toned in your favourite clothes feels great!

In this article, I want to discuss the most important principles for building a highly effective weight training program for people living with diabetes, whose goal is to build muscle and simply look better naked.

If you are a typical reader of fitness magazines like Muscle and Fitness, Men’s Health, Women’s Health and Oxygen, this article is for you.

What this article is not.

This article does not focus on the goal of building maximum strength for sports like powerlifting and Olympic lifting. I will cover these specific training goals in another article.

Let’s get started…

The Diabetic Muscle and Fitness Training Pyramid.

The Diabetic Muscle and Fitness Training Pyramid outlines all the most important variables that make up a successful weight training program in order of importance. Similar to nutrition, many people prioritize the wrong stuff like what is the best exercise for arms over more important stuff like sets, reps, weight used on the bar and personal values for health and fitness (the driving force).

Let’s run through each aspect of the pyramid and highlight everything you need to know when it comes to getting the most out of strength training with diabetes.

Feel free to download the pyramids and upload them onto your social media if you wish. It’s important other people living with diabetes see these. If you’re using a PC right click and ‘Save As’. If you are using a mobile, hold your index finger down and saving the image.

Also, (if you haven’t already) get signed up to my insiders’ mailing list. You don’t want to miss an update. Strength training science is constantly evolving. I’ll keep you in the loop with anything worth knowing. So sign up and don’t miss a thing.

THE MOST IMPORTANT ELEMENTS OF SETTING UP A WEIGHT TRAINING PLAN IF YOU LIVE WITH DIABETES ARE…

1. PERSONAL VALUES FOR HEALTH AND FITNESS.

Change your mindset, before you change your behaviour.

Why are you thinking of getting more muscular and healthy?

The more value you see in your health and fitness goals, the more attention you’ll give them. This is why personal values for health and fitness are the most important aspect of the Diabetic Muscle and Fitness Training Pyramid.

If you want to get the most out of strength training you need to identify how it will benefit your life. For most people, the idea of looking better is more important than health.

Girls, you’ll probably see more value in building a great shaped butt, tight core and strong defined legs over improving your bone density.

Guys, you’ll value a well-cut 6-pack, jacked arms and 300lbs bench with more than improved glucose uptake.

Lifting weights to look better is a sound reason to get started, as the health benefits always come as a byproduct.

The more you value something in life, the more energy and focus you’ll put into it. This is your WHY.

Check out these examples of WHY people value strength training.

• I’ll look better naked.
• Have better sex.
• Have more confidence.
• Be able to wear nicer clothes.
• Physical Strength and Fitness.
• Both physical fitness and a great looking body are signs of self-respect and care.
• Working out feels amazing and lets me clear my head.
• Being strong will help me protect myself.
• Lifting weights allows me to eat more food, (if you follow my insta stories you’ll know I love food. 🙂
• Increased muscle mass lowers my insulin needs – it literally resembles a vacuum for glucose.

Setting Realistic Goals Is Important.

Goal setting is a powerful process for mind and body. Clear goals provide you with direction and motivation to turn your vision into a reality.

However, there is a big difference between positive and realistic goal setting.

What is your goal, is it realistic?

Positive goal setting is like flicking ‘Beast Mode ON’ and thinking you’re going to be Arnold Schwarzenegger in 6 months or Monica Brant after you finish your newest tub of pre-workout.

So many of us fall prey to this mode of thinking. They spend so much time scrolling through Instagram and Facebook comparing incredibly jacked and ripped guys and girls on Instagram, thinking to themselves,

‘I’m going to look like that!’

The problem is, not many people come to terms with the backstory to their favourite fitness photos on Instagram.

• Genetics (different parents, ethnicities).
• Years of training experience.
• Expert coaching and mentorship.
• Use of anabolic steroids.
• More free time (giving them the ability to train multiple times a day).
• No kids to keep them up at night.
• The list is endless…

Be realistic when setting your training goals.

Be original, define YOUR own personal success criteria, do not borrow those belonging to an individual whose life bears no resemblance to yours.

Stay focused and make the best of your own unique circumstances, rather than comparing yourself to everyone else, especially the pro fitness models and bodybuilders who have been at it a lot longer than you.  The acronym S.M.A.R.T is a great framework to base your goals off.

Every time you set a goal, ask yourself, is it…

S –  Specific, Significant, Stretching

M – Measurable, Meaningful, Motivational

A – Attainable, achievable

R – Realistic

T– Time-Based

The best way to set a training goal is to acknowledge;

• How you don’t want to look and feel.
• How you want to look and feel in your new body.

You need to get very specific.

Ask the right questions and you’ll come up with great answers.

• How lean do I want to be?
• How muscular do I want to be?
• How strong do I want to be?
• How do I want feel?

Goals will differ from person to person. Some people will want to look better for the beach, while others will want to look like a hardcore bodybuilding monster.

Once you visualise how you want to look, hold that image in your head and think about it constantly.

So, how do you look? It’s not that far away.

Now we have goal setting and motivation out of the way, let’s look at the fundamental building blocks that make up a highly effective diabetes weight training program.

The Diabetic Muscle and Fitness Training Pyramid outlines all the key elements of strength training program design in order of importance. Too many people prioritise the wrong stuff, like the best exercise to do, or the best weightlifting belt to buy over the much more important stuff like managing blood glucose levels around exercise, adequate training volume and sufficient rest.

We’ve already covered the most important element of the pyramid ‘Personal Values for Health and Fitness’. Now, let’s discuss the other factors and their role in building a successful strength training plan for diabetes.

2. DIABETES MANAGEMENT.

It doesn’t matter how good your training program is, if you don’t control your blood glucose levels, you’ll never build the body you desire. One of the most important take-homes people have when reading my best-selling book, The Diabetic Muscle and Fitness Guide is this:

‘OBSESS OVER PERFECT BLOOD GLUCOSE CONTROL 24/7 – 365 DAYS A YEAR.’

While looking after your diabetes may seem obvious, not many people do it (well).

How dedicated are you to perfecting your control?

What does good diabetes control look like to you?

1. Do you check your blood glucose levels regularly?
2. Do you correct high blood glucose ASAP?
3. Do you question ‘WHY’ your blood glucose levels go outside range, and get to the root of the problem?

Call it obsessed, but some of us want to get more out of training and live longer.

Poor blood sugar control (both short and long term) is the enemy to building a better looking and feeling body.

We live in an age with breakthrough diabetes management tools. There has been no better time to have diabetes. Recognise this reality and make the most of what is on offer.

Dedicate your life to chasing perfect control. Get as close to normal (nondiabetic) A1C levels as you can. Your dedication will pay off.

I’ve also covered a tonne of information on the effects different types of exercise have on blood sugar levels and diabetes in my book The Diabetic Muscle and Fitness Guide.

3. TRAINING ADHERENCE.

The term fitness is defined as, ‘the ability to do a task.’

You may be fit enough for one training program, but not another.

Before you consider exercises, sets, reps and how much weight to use, you must ascertain the following key factors:

• What is the maximum number of days you can train per week?
• How much time can you spend training per session?
• What is your training experience? Do you know your exercises?
• What is your current fitness level?

These factors determine how much training you can handle.

Have you ever jumped into a hardcore program without considering what’s best for you? How did that end up?

If you’re new to training, you’ll lack the basic strength and physical fitness to handle high levels of work. You will get a lot out of a little. Less is more. The great thing is, you will progress quickly and will be hungry for more.

If you are thinking of following the training plans of professional athletes, fitness superstars or pro bodybuilders – be warned! These people are fitter than you, and most likely have more resources in their corner including genetics, supplements, more free time and a coach.

If you have a decent level of experience and strength base, you’ll be able to handle more training. However, it still needs to be manageable from a time and recovery perspective.

This is especially true if you’ve taken time out from training, because of injury or needing a mental break. You’ll not be fit enough to jump back into your old ways of training. You’ll need adequate time to get back in and adapt yourself.

YOU SHOULD NEVER LEAVE THE GYM SICK, IN PAIN, ABSOLUTELY SMASHED or asking yourself, ‘Why am I doing this?’.

Focus on leaving the gym tired, stimulated and challenged.

LEAVE SOME FUEL IN THE TANK FOR THE REST OF YOUR DAY.

So many people hold the misconceived notion that a workout must leave absolutely f***ked. If it doesn’t they automatically assume they haven’t worked hard enough.

This way of thinking isn’t smart.

What good is a workout program that burns you out physically and mentally?

There is a fine line between too much, too little and just enough. Your workouts need to be challenging and enjoyable at the same time. This is much more sustainable and you’ll reap far better results.

Follow a training program that stimulates, not annihilates.

Have an intro week, test how certain exercises feel and how well you recover from set number of training sessions.

Your strength training program should keep you healthy and yield long-term progress rather than burn you out, cause injuries and drive you to resent training.

How Long Do I Need to Train For?

Would you say you are a beginner, intermediate or pro?

This is highly dependent on your personal agenda and lifestyle. If you perform other forms of exercise like football, yoga etc. or work a very heavy laboursome job you will need to be mindful of doing too much and cap training sessions at 2-3 times per week.

As an example, let’s assume you were dedicating all your exercise time to weight training. You training frequency would look like this:

Beginners: 30 mins of strength training x3-4 times per week for the first 3-6 months.

Intermediate: 30-60 mins of strength training x5-8 times per week.

Pro: Sports Specific -30-60 mins of strength training x5-10 times per week.

You also need to consider fitting training around your family. One of the most valuable things you can do is introduce them to exercise, especially loaded movement.

There’s nothing stopping you taking time out to show your partner or kids a few simple exercises like body weight squats or weighted carries. If you have really young kids, just get them moving and playing – embracing the full range of human movement.

Why not make it a family ritual to train together one day every week? You can get a tonne of training done with just bodyweight alone.

4. TRAINING VOLUME AND FREQUENCY.

Training volume is defined as the amount of sets x reps you perform over time for a given body part or movement, in other words, the total amount of work you do.

As a general rule of thumb, your training volume should increase over time.

However, this doesn’t mean you should continually add sets and reps in an endless fashion.

Volume increases only work up to a certain point. If you add too much volume you run the risk of overreaching and building high levels of unwanted fatigue.

As fatigue increases, your performance and training effect will diminish.

In a nutshell, you need to perform enough volume to progress, but not as much as possible. Only increase training volume when you have plateaued or feel very well recovered well.

Frequency refers to how often you train a particular body part or movement.

Generally speaking, you should aim to train each body part at least x2/week. If you have a weak part that needs attention, you may consider going to x3/week if you have the time.

How many reps?

Research has shown muscle gain is possible across a range of rep schemes ^1,2. Gains in muscle mass are pretty much equal regardless of repetition range provided training is carried out to muscle failure

Generally speaking, you could have one day dedicated to 6-10 reps and the other 10-20 reps.

Each session should provide the body with a different training stimulus.

You will need to go to failure on reps over 15 Rep Max, whereas reps between 6-15 rep max are probably the most time efficient and don’t need to be taken to complete failure. What would be the difference in time in the gym for these per session, per week, per month, per training block of three months – this would bring it right into the reader’s mind!

5. INTENSITY & PROGRESSIVE OVERLOAD.

You must give your muscle tissues a reason to adapt. This requires challenging your muscles progressively and changing your training program over time.

Increasing weight is one of the most obvious ways to force an adaption.

Other methods include increasing the number of sets and reps you perform or using advanced training variables like bands, chains, drop sets and supersets.

Does this mean my workouts need to get harder and harder, for the rest of my life?

Not necessarily on every set of every workout, it might take you a few weeks training at a particular weight before you acquire the strength and fitness to move the weights up. Generally speaking, you should strive to get physically stronger on a consistent basis, over the course of the month/year.

Learn to measure your training…

When was the last time you kept a note of your sets, reps and progress, honestly?

Track your progress via photos and a log book. If you aren’t getting stronger, look at your diabetes management, total calories, rest and work effort during training. Something will be out of place.

If the idea of manipulating sets, reps, and training loads seems too complicated for you, don’t panic – I’ve done all the hard work for you by creating two complete done-for-you 16-week training protocols that incorporate all the essential aspects of progressive overload needed for optimal strength and muscle development. They also come in 16-weeks of printable log books.

Diabetic Shred is a 16-Week fat loss training guide -> Get Started!

Diabetic Mass is a 16-Week Muscle Mass and Size -> Get Started!

6. EXERCISE SELECTION.

Exercise selection needs to change between training sessions and block phases. This provides your body with a variety of stimuli and helps avoid injury or niggles.

There is no such thing as a mandatory exercise; however, there are mandatory movement patterns you will need to include in your strength training program.

Movement patterns are fundamental to the proper functioning of the body and involve the use of multiple muscle groups at one time. Exercises are drills that allow you to overload each mandatory movement pattern.

Thousands of exercises exist. However, not all are created the same. I’ve outlined some of the most popular and effective exercises for each movement pattern below.

Consider the muscles involved in each movement.

Squatting

• Front Squat
• Goblet Squat
• Back Squat
• Box Squat

Unilateral (single leg)

• Lunges
• Dumbbell Split Squat
• Single Leg Press

Quad Dominant

• Leg Press
• Leg Extension
• Band Exercises for quads

Hip Hinge/Hamstring Dominant

• KB Swing
• Deadlift
• Romanian Deadlift
• Good morning
• Rope pull through
• Lying Leg Curls
• Seated Leg Curls

Horizontal Pressing

• Bench press
• Close Grip bench
• Decline bench press

Vertical Pressing

• Military press
• Seated Dumbbells shoulder press
• Push Press
• Front Raises
• Lateral Raises

Horizontal Pulling

• Barbell Rows (overhand)
• Dumbbell Row
• Chest Supported Rows
• T-bar rows

Vertical Pulling

• Pull Up
• Lat Pull Down

Elbow Flexion Exercises

• Any kind of bicep isolation exercise.

Elbow Extension Exercises

• Any kind of triceps isolation exercise.

Carrying

• Farmers walk
• Single arm walk

Core

• Palloff Press
• Abs Roll outs
• Handing Leg Raises

How many Exercises?

How many different exercises did you do in your last session?

Generally speaking, for most body transformation training, 4-6 exercises per workout is more than sufficient. These should include all the exercises above, unless injury is an issue or there are noted weak points in one’s physique, sometimes common in competitive bodybuilders.

Workouts can be split into both whole body or upper/lower based body workouts. I’ve created some very useful templates you can perform each day you train.

WHOLE BODY TRAINING TEMPLATES

Workout #1

X1 Squat/Unilateral Leg Exercise

X1 Hip Hinge/Hamstring Dominant

X1 Horizontal Press

X1 Horizontal Pull

X1 Carry

X1 Core

Workout #2

X1 Unilateral Leg Exercise

X1 Hip Hinge/Hamstring Dominant

X1 Vertical Press

X1 vertical Pull

X1 Core

Workout #3

X1 Quad Dominant

X1 Hip Hinge/Hamstring Dominant

X1 Vertical Press

X1 vertical Pull

X1 Core

UPPER/LOWER BODY TEMPLATES

Workout #1 – Upper

X1 Horizontal Press

X1 Horizontal Pull

X1 Vertical Pull

X1 Vertical Push

X1 Elbow Flexion

X1 Elbow Extension

X1 Core

Workout #2 – Lower

X1 Squat/Unilateral Leg Exercise

X1 Hip Hinge/Hamstring dominant

X1 Quad Dominant

X1 Core

7. REST PERIODS.

How much rest do I need during training?

I’ll keep this ultra-simple and to the point.

You should never go into a set completely shattered. Each set needs to be quality.

• Big Bang Exercises like squats, deadlifts etc. 2 minutes is adequate.

• Moderately Taxing Exercises like pull ups, barbell rows, close grip bench etc. 1-1.5 mins rest is sufficed.

• Isolation Exercises like curls and cable work 30-60 seconds is more than enough.

If you’re new to weight training – take a little longer.

Is it ok to take a break from weight training?

Yes, and I highly recommend you do.

Milk every training session for as long as you can, then take a self-assessed break or period of detraining to recharge your batteries. You can’t just keep adding more.

Have you ever got bored with same the routines, frustrated you’re not progressing?

Generally speaking, every 4-8 weeks of consistent training should be followed up with 5-10 days of detraining or complete rest. The more stress you are under (like poor sleep, stress, illness, not eating enough and high or low blood glucose levels) the shorter your training cycle and the longer your detraining/rest periods should be.

During a detraining period, you’ll need to manipulate:

• Training Volume – Reduce training volume by 50% of your normal routine. So instead of 4 sets, do 2.

• Intensity – This includes the load and how hard you push to failure. Reduce your training load by 60-80% of what you normally use. Don’t bring your sets to exhaustive failure, work with around 60-70% of the effort.

• Frequency – Reduce frequency from 2-3 times per week to 1.

Tempo refers to the speed at which you are lifting across different parts of the rep.

It’s one of the least important factors when it comes to training for a better-looking body.

I’ll get straight to the point with this one.

• Perform all your reps in a safe and controlled manner.

• Maintain consistent control and speed during the negative (lowering) and positive (pressing/pulling) parts of the rep. Generally speaking, 2 seconds is a good speed to go at.

• Pause at the bottom and top of each rep for around 1 second.

• Repeat again until the target number of reps has been achieved.

That was long but worth it.

You’re now equipped with more knowledge than most personal trainers when it comes to designing a strength training program.

I hope you enjoyed what you read and take action on the tips I have shared with you the next time you pick up a barbell.

What key things do you remember, what are you going to take action on?

Here’s some you will want to consider…

Take Home Points

• You must follow a weight training plan that suits your current fitness level and personal schedule.

• Obsess over perfect blood glucose levels pre, during and after exercise.

• Train using a variety of exercises.

• When performing an exercise, do so with intent. Focus on complete quality and putting your body into the most favourable mechanical position.

• Don’t be stupid and train through pain. Get it looked at.

• Perform a range of 6-20 well-controlled reps.

• Progressively increase the weight you use over time. If you don’t have the fortitude to turn double, treble or even quadruple your lifts, then take up fishing.

• Never start a set exhausted. Wait until you have properly recovered.

• Train using a range of movement patterns and exercises.

• Weightlifting belts, squat shoes and heart rate monitors are the least of your worries.

Safe to say, you’re pretty serious about building muscle, aren’t you?

As you know strength training is only a piece of the puzzle when it comes to getting in shape.

There’s so much more to it, especially when it comes to managing blood sugars with diet, supplements and lifestyle to achieve greater fat loss and maximise muscle growth.

But, I can only cover so much in these articles.

If you want to learn more (much more) and master everything there is to know about strength training science, managing your diabetes and becoming your own personal strength coach and nutritionist, then you need to check out The Diabetic Muscle and Fitness Guide.

With over 400+ pages of evidence-based theory on how to build a stronger, better-looking body with diabetes, this is an absolute must for any dedicated gym goer living with diabetes.

IF THAT SEEMS LIKE TOO MUCH INFORMATION FOR YOU…

I HAVE TWO MORE PRACTICAL GUIDES FOR YOU.

If your goal is fat loss -> GET DIABETIC SHRED   

If your goal is lean weight gain –> GET DIABETIC MASS

References

1. Schoenfeld BJ et al. Muscular adaptations in low- versus high-load resistance training: A meta-analysis. Eur J Sport Sci. 2016;16(1):1-10. doi: 10.1080/17461391.2014.989922. Epub 2014 Dec 20.https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25530577
2. Schoenfeld BJ et al. Effects of Low- vs. High-Load Resistance Training on Muscle Strength and Hypertrophy in Well-Trained Men. J Strength Cond Res. 2015 Oct;29 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25853914

Quick Summary 

• Everyone who goes to the gym with the goal of getting stronger and leaner is technically bodybuilding whether you like it or not.
• Competitive bodybuilding is fat loss taken that little bit further.
• The best diabetes bodybuilding diet plan is the one you can stick to the longest.
• Bodybuilding involves set periods of eating a calorie surplus and deficit.
• Bodybuilding is more challenging for people with diabetes. There are many important nutrition considerations.
• 99% of people looking to lose weight or gain muscle mass prioritse the wrong things when it comes to diet.
• If you don’t assess your diet you won’t reach your true potential.
• You need fewer supplements than you think. Both whey and creatine are valid options for people with diabetes.

What you’re in for?

3,500 Words

Reading Time ~ 20 minutes

If you live with diabetes and love bodybuilding, this article is for you.

I’m all for building muscle and shredding fat as fast as possible. However, to achieve this, your diet MUST be set up correctly.

There is a fine line between…

• Eating too much vs. eating too little.
• Taking too much insulin vs. taking too little.
• Training too much vs. training too little.

Overlook one detail and you run the risk of burning out, losing muscle, gaining body fat and looking the same (or worse) from year to year

Sound familiar?

Bodybuilding with Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes, is more challenging than you think.

That’s why so many people living with diabetes fail to look and perform their best in the gym.

It’s taken me ten years of academic learning, 1000s of blood glucose tests, 1000s of hours in the gym and over 700 clients later to develop, The Ultimate Bodybuilding Cutting and Mass Building Diet Plan for people living with diabetes.

BEFORE WE BEGIN:

WHAT IS BODYBUILDING?

When you hear the word bodybuilding what comes to mind?

Most people, conjure up images of overly tanned men and women hitting muscle poses on stage in their underwear.

While this represents the ‘competitive bodybuilder’, what about the vast amount of everyday gym goers who have no intention of getting on stage, but simply want to look better naked?

Like it or not, anyone who goes to the gym with the intention of looking better is bodybuilding.

Male, female, young, or old – it doesn’t matter. Bodybuilding is about building muscle, minimising body fat and looking your physical best.

Competitive bodybuilders train year-round in an attempt to increase their muscle mass and strength. They dedicate set periods of time (usually 20 weeks) to ‘MASS GAIN’ followed by another 10-20 weeks of fat loss, doing what is commonly termed CUTTING. When the time is right, the competitive bodybuilder steps on stage with other competitors to be judged.

The judging criteria is based on overall aesthetic development which includes muscle size, muscle symmetry, level of body fat and presentation skill (i.e. posing).

What is required to compete and look your best?

Nutrition, the right training stimulus and dedicated periods of rest are essential in every bodybuilder’s journey to building the perfect looking body (competitive or not).

This particular article focuses on the nutritional aspect of bodybuilding, specific to people living with type 1 and type 2 diabetes. I will cover the training aspect in another article.

Bodybuilding with Diabetes

Bodybuilding and Physique sports are becoming increasingly popular nowadays. Just look at the increased availability of protein supplements, meal prep services, and healthy eating restaurants.

Bodybuilders who live with diabetes are few and far between. The fear of low blood glucose, the frustration of high blood glucose, lack of support and not knowing how to eat are the main reason so many people with diabetes fail to pursue their bodybuilding or physique body transformation goals.

Does this mean bodybuilding with diabetes is out of reach?

Living with diabetes doesn’t mean you can’t partake in body building or transform your body.

Just look at the likes of IFBB PRO Anth Bailes, IFBB PRO Jason Poston, IFBB PRO Collete Nielson, Aidrian Brodlell and other leading diabetic bodybuilding stars.  All of these individuals have won trophies and graced the front of many muscle and fitness magazines, all while living with type 1 diabetes.

While it’s great to see so many people take an active interest in their health, it’s a hard push to find good quality, evidence-based diet information for bodybuilding and diabetes. As a result, many individuals end up following sub-optimal advice that jeopardises their health and bodybuilding results. You may have experienced this yourself?

The diabetic body is governed by a different set of rules and requires a much more tactful approach to diet than would be advised by the mainstream fitness media or your local gym hero.

Let’s look at the challenges a bodybuilder living with diabetes faces in their quest to build a better-looking body.

• Increased levels of muscle protein breakdown.
• Reduced strength.
• Decreased joint and muscle mobility due to glycation.
• Increased potential for injury.
• Increased fatigue.

These challenges are real.

However, they only become a serious problem to building muscle when blood glucose levels are not controlled. You can safely say diabetes is not an advantage to bodybuilding, BUT, with the right knowledge, plans and guidance, diabetes DOES NOT have to be a disadvantage.

The more you know about diet, the better you will control your blood glucose levels.

Getting Started:

The Diabetic Bodybuilding Diet Plan.

When it comes to creating your own diabetic bodybuilding diet plan a number of factors need to be considered. Some are more important than others and must take priority. It’s easy to get excited and place more attention on the small details like the newest supplement, diabetic special food or the best time to consume your whey protein. Rather than prioritizing the more important (yet sometimes boring) aspects like your ‘WHY’ behind eating better, overall calorie intake or diabetes management.

The Diabetic Muscle and Fitness Nutrition Pyramid

The Diabetic Muscle and Fitness Nutrition Pyramid (pictured below) outlines all the nutritional aspects of building a successful bodybuilding diet for fat loss or muscle gain with diabetes, from most important (at the bottom) to least important (at the top). Structure your nutrition like this and you can guarantee high-quality results.

This is the exact hierarchy of importance I have incorporated into my new 112 Day Body Transformation Guides, Diabetic Shred and Diabetic Mass, developed exclusively for people living with diabetes.

1. PERSONAL VALUES FOR HEALTH AND FITNESS.

Your personal values for health and fitness are your WHY behind your HOW TO.

Find as many reasons as you can to support why improving your diet will enhance the quality of your life. These answers are the driving force behind your daily attitude and actions.

Quick hint, you’ll need a lot more reasons than simply wanting to look better to fit in.

I’ll do a separate article on the psychological aspects of getting in shape as it’s a complex subject well beyond the scope of this nutrition article.

2. DIABETES MANAGEMENT.

Even if a diet is comprised of the best quality and freshest food or most expensive supplements on the planet. Poorly controlled diabetes can predispose individuals to malnutrition, a condition where the cells of the body cannot utilise fuel properly.

Malnutrition resulting from poorly controlled (i.e. uncontrolled) diabetes, adversely affects body function and well-being, in addition to predisposing individuals to disease and delaying recovery from illness.

The point of the matter – Your diabetes must be exceptionally well controlled in order to reap the full benefits of healthy eating.

 3. ADHERENCE.

Whether your goal is to shred pounds of body fat, gain mass or maintain body weight, your diet plan must be able to accommodate social occasions, days off, and the odd slice of pizza when you fancy it. Yes, a diabetic just said pizza.

The best diabetes bodybuilding diets incorporate a little give and take. If set up correctly, the total number of calories you consume will allow you to achieve your goal without restricting the foods you love.

Eating ‘clean’ doesn’t mean you’re doing things optimally. This is especially true if you find yourself craving the foods and macronutrients you restricted.

What good is a diet that drives you crazy?

You’ll struggle to get results, never mind maintain them.

Besides nailing your calorie intake and essential nutrient targets, the secret to building a better-looking body is eating a diet you enjoy. Adherence is everything. This viewpoint is also supported by the Journal of the American Medical Association which researched pretty much every fat loss diet on the planet to find ‘adherence’ was the most significant factor behind a diet’s success ⁹.

How many massively restrictive diets have you started, only to stop once your burst of enthusiasm has been replaced by pure monotony? Time to re-think things?

As for training, it’s only the fun part.

I take dietary adherence very seriously in my guides. I’ve even incorporated detailed instructions on how you can eat the foods you love and still get in amazing shape. The breakthrough diabetes bodybuilding diet and training guides are Diabetic Shred and Diabetic Mass.

Forget overly restrictive, dull, boring chicken, broccoli and rice diets, carb cycling, detoxes and super expensive supplements.

Focus on sustainability and killer consistency.

Know Your Goal:

To Cut, Build or Maintain?

Now you’ve got to terms with the foundation of your diabetes bodybuilding diet plan, let’s discuss your goals before going any further.

1. FAT LOSS – Fairly self-explanatory. The goal is to get as lean as possible while maintaining, and where possible increasing, muscle mass at the same time.

2. INCREASE BODYWEIGHT & MUSCLE MASS – When the primary focus is an increase in body weight, muscle size and strength. Successful mass gain involves very little fat gain.

3. MAINTAIN BODYWEIGHT – Maintaining your current level of body fat and muscle mass. Typically reserved for retired bodybuilders or individuals who no longer have the time or resources to commit to a full-time bodybuilding lifestyle. If you want to keep looking great naked, with the minimum effective dose, maintaining is your goal.

Once you’ve identified your diabetes bodybuilding goal you will need set yourself a time frame, measure your progress and get accountable.

Let me elaborate…

1. Set a time frame.

You need to set yourself an adequate time frame for getting in shape.

How long will depend on much progress you want to make.

There is a huge difference between

• Losing 10lbs of fat vs. 100lbs
• Gaining 2lb of muscle mass vs. 20lbs

While building a great looking physique takes years, generally speaking, 16 weeks is enough time to make significant body transformation changes.

2. Measure your rate of progress.

If you aren’t assessing you’re just guessing.

To get the most out of your diabetes bodybuilding diet plan, you must learn to evaluate and measure your food intake.

“Tracking food may seem like a mundane task”

Think again, tracking allows you to build portion control habits, and eat more flexibly in relation to your bodybuilding goals.

Fat loss requires eating less than you burn off. Overeating will hinder your fat loss efforts, while under eating will increase your chances of muscle loss and fatigue.

Mass gain requires eating slightly more than you burn off. Overeating will increase your chances of gaining unwanted body fat, while eating too little will slow muscle growth and prevent you adding size.

Far too often people blindly drop their calories and increase their training when there is no need. You must adjust when the time is right. How will you know? Tracking of course!

Having worked with 100s of bodybuilders and physique athletes, I know only too well how confusing it can be when it comes to making decisions about when to cut calories and where from. I paid great attention to this dilemma when developing Diabetic Shred and Diabetic Mass.

Both guides give you a crystal clear decision process for when and where to adjust your calories, once you hit a plateau. The plateau is usually the time when people give up on their goals. Have you given up when improvements have slowed?

Having a clear set of questions and actions like this saves hassle, gets better results, and most importantly, keeps you progressing not quitting!

3. Get Accountable.

To get the most out of your diabetes bodybuilding diet plan, you must get accountable.

Hiring a coach or personal trainer with a proven track record who understands diabetes management will be worth its weight in gold, especially if it is your first time.

A good coach will give you that much-needed push during training, along with good honest critical feedback on your physical progress, and posing.

Now let’s get into the nitty gritty of nutrition and talk calories, carbs, protein, dietary fat and supplements.

4. ENERGY BALANCE.

The first place to start when building your diet plan is calories.

Calories play a crucial role in everyone’s attempts to build muscle and shred fat ¹.

If your goal is to lose body fat or increase body weight, you must first establish how many calories you need to maintain your current bodyweight, and then work from there.

How do I work out my maintenance calories?

Record your body weight and calorie consumption over 14 days. Total the values up and divide each of them by 14 to get your fortnightly calorie and body weight average. Compare this value to your starting body weight…

• If your body weight has gone up, this indicates a calorie surplus.
• If your body weight has gone down, this indicates a calorie deficit.
• If your body weight has remained the same, this indicates maintenance calories.

Oh, and if the idea of weighing yourself seems daunting, here are some useful tips on how to weigh yourself properly.

Another way to calculate maintenance calories is by using a calorie calculation.

These aren’t 100% bulletproof, but they do get you on the right path.

Once you’ve established a maintenance level of calories, you’ll need to adjust it to your goal.

Generally speaking, for…

• Fat Loss – Eat slightly fewer calories than you need to maintain your body weight.
• Mass gain – Eat slightly more calories than you need to maintain your body weight.
• Body maintenance – Keep eating the same amount of calories.

5. MACRONUTRIENTS.

Everyone gets confused about macros. It’s no surprise considering the vast amount of conflicting and over-complicated information found online and in the papers.

Low carb,

High carb,

High fat,

Low fat.

Which macro split is best for diabetes?

Here’s what you need to know about macros…

Certain macro nutrients are essential, others not.

Protein and the essential fatty acids (Omega-3 and Omega-6) need to be consumed via the diet.

Carbohydrates and other forms of fat are non-essential as the body can produce them itself.

The best diet contains all the macronutrients in the right amounts specific to your overall calorie goal for fat loss, mass gain or body weight maintenance.

What ratio of macronutrients you decide to eat is largely down to personal preference once you have met your essential needs for protein, essential fatty acids and carbohydrates for hypo treatment/prevention purposes.

How much protein do I need?

To keep it simple, 1.4-2.0g per kg (0.6-1.0g per lb) of protein for the majority of people reading this.

In other words, if you weigh 67kg (147lb) you would consume 90-150g of protein per day. Split equally over 3-5 servings of 20-40g each day.

How much fat do I need?

Generally speaking, consuming 20-30% of your calories from fat is a great place to start. You might consume different amounts each day. However, over a period of weeks/months – they should average out.

In respect to your overall fat intake, certain types of dietary fat are essential, others not.

Omega-3s are essential long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids that need to be supplied through the diet

There are three types of omega-3s involved in human physiology: ALA, EPA & DHA. Predominantly of marine origin, EPA and DHA are better than ALA found in plant oils, due to their greater bioavailability ^2,3.

Consuming fatty fish and fish oil supplements have been shown to improve dozens of aspects of health and disease, including insulin sensitivity, blood lipids, depression, inflammation and blood pressure, to name a few ^2,3,4,5,6.

Taking into account the different government and health organisations’ recommendations, 1-3 g of combined EPA-DHA per day suffices. The upper dose of 3g would be more suitable for people with diabetes due to the predisposition of a high triglyceride level and elevated blood pressure.

1 gram of fish oil is the equivalent to around 3 fish oil capsules per day or three to four 112g portions per week of oily fish like salmon, mackerel or sardines.

You’ll want to check how much Omega 3 you can take with your health care professional if you’re taking blood thinning medication.

How many carbs do I need?

Carbohydrate should make up the remainder of your calorie intake once you have calculated your calorie intake from protein and fat. The more carbs you eat, the less fat you’ll eat, and vice versa. The more dietary fat you eat, the fewer carbs you’ll consume.

Think of carbohydrate as a performance fuel, not a recovery fuel – the more training you do, the more you’ll need.

Do I need to go low carb if I live with diabetes?

Not necessarily.

If you are highly active and strength train 3-6 times per week, carbohydrates will help fuel your exercise performance and provide your body with a better training stimulus.

The fiber aspect of carbohydrates has also been shown to play a key role in the health of our microbiome, which has now been repeatedly shown to play a key role in body weight management ^7,8.

Carbs provide a range of different vitamins and minerals. They also taste great and help with dietary adherence.

Provided you manage your blood glucose levels and account for the calories you consume from carbohydrate, there is no reason to exclude them. On a side note, you must account for the carbohydrate calories you use to treat hypoglycaemia. This may vary from day to day.

If you”re like most men with diabetes, trying to figure all this out can get pretty overwhelming. One of the easiest ways to overcome this is to follow simple recipe plans.

That’s why I created the Ultra Lean Diabetic Cookbook for men looking to shred fat.

….and The Diabetic Muscle Building Cookbook for men looking to pack on muscle size and strength.

These books are are jam packed with 200 mouth-watering diabetic friendly recipes. They include everything from beef burgers, tortilla pizzas, tacos the whole way through to protein bars and pancakes. All the calories and macronutrients are outlined for you – they even come with a Myfitness pal barcode for easy food tracking.

6. NUTRIENT TIMING

Nutrient timing is more important for people with diabetes, especially when it comes to preventing/treating hypoglycaemia or preventing hyperglycaemia.

Refer to the infographic below and review when nutrient timing is Very Important, Worth Considering and Not Important. It’s the perfect size for Instagram, so please do feel free to share on social media (remember to tag us)

Getting your nutrition timed right has favourable effects on body composition, mood, and diabetes management. However, it should never be prioritised over the more important levels of the pyramid such as energy balance and macro nutrients.

A prime example of this would be the ‘no carbs after 6 dogma.’

In terms of meal frequency, 2-4 meals for fat loss and 3-5 if bulking to add size.

7. MICRONUTRIENTS/FIBER/WATER.

The topic of micro-nutrition may sound mind-numbing but you can’t overlook it.

Long-term micronutrient deficiencies will have a detrimental impact on your health and ability to perform/recover optimally from your training efforts.

Micronutrient deficiencies can result from prolonged periods of low-calorie dieting and poorly controlled diabetes. A varied diet is a great way to get in a range of micronutrients.

If you have any problems with energy levels, hunger, skin, or problems sleeping, you might be short of a few vitamins or minerals. Rather than assuming, the best way to check for micro nutrient deficiencies is by getting a blood test done.

Fiber Intake

First of all, it is worth noting fiber is not an essential nutrient.

1. It makes you feel fuller (helps with fat loss)
2. Slows gastric emptying and nutrient absorption (can help with blood glucose management)
3. Decreases blood cholesterol
4. Decreasing mineral absorption
5. Provides food for the bacteria in our guts which are shown to play a massive role in health and obesity prevention.
6. Helps you go to the toilet.

High-fiber foods like fruits and vegetables contain lots of other nutrients (vitamins and minerals) that are important to health.

If your fiber intake is low, don’t start ploughing it down. The body, particularly the bacteria within your gut need a little time to adapt. Otherwise, you’ll be pretty bloated and be blowing a lot of gas.

Provided you don’t suffer from IBS or any other serious bowel condition, 30-40g of fiber is a great target to shoot for daily.

Water Intake

Water is important for all things: health, muscle building and exercise performance. There isn’t really a fixed water goal you should work to per say, as hydration needs vary widely with body weight, sweat rates and frequency of hyperglycaemia.

Generally speaking,

• Aim for at least 5 clear urinations a day.
• Make sure you’re not dehydrated before training.
• Hydrate yourself well both during and after hyperglycaemia.
• Your hydration needs will increase if you are using the likes of creatine.

8. SUPPLEMENTS.

When it comes to supplements, let’s get five things straight.

1. Supplements are the least important part of the nutrition pyramid.
2. Supplements can be a great nutritional insurance to someone living with diabetes. However, they will not mop up the damage caused by poorly controlled diabetes.
3. Supplements are a healthy addition to a good diet plan, but they will not make up for a poor one.
4. Generally speaking, supplements are not needed, unless you don’t eat oily fish or natural sources of omega 3.
5. Supplements are never to be seen as shortcuts.

What supplements do I need?

Generally speaking, protein powder is a convenient easily digested source of high-quality protein, creatine along with caffeine is useful for boosting strength and cognition, Vitamin D is good for health if you live in a dull climate, fish oil seems to improve many elements of health – which makes all of these a worthwhile investment.

Since I consider the subject of supplements such a non-important topic, I’ll cover them in greater detail in a separate article, as I don’t want them distracting from the more important parts of this article.

In fact, I guarantee some people will have skipped everything I’ve said up until now – if you have – go back and start afresh.

If you’ve read the whole way up until here. Great!

Respect the hierarchy of importance for each element outlined in the Diabetic Muscle and Fitness nutrition pyramid, get focused on building healthy habits over the long term, assessing your progress and just eat real food.

Take Home

Before you pay for another month of gym membership consider these key principles for cutting, bulking or maintenance phases.

• Proper diabetes bodybuilding nutrition is about understanding how to eat healthily and sustainably towards your goals. All diet plans work (for a while), use them as a template from which to adjust according to your results and personal circumstances.

• Never hop from diet to diet. It’s best to measure progress after about 2 to 4 weeks and then continually adjust.

• At all times, whether gaining, losing or maintaining, the ultimate nutritional approach for diabetic bodybuilding is a calorie controlled, nutrient dense diet that supports exercise performance and recovery.

• To get the best possible results an individual’s diabetes must be extremely well-managed through regular blood glucose testing and appropriate amounts of medication. This is essential for the proper absorption and metabolism of nutrients from food.

Since you have made it to the end of this blog, you are obviously serious about your physique, so

I’m going to give you an 85% off coupon for what many have coined the most advanced diabetes bodybuilding diet and training programs in the world. And, yes before you ask you can do SHRED first, then MASS (or vice versa)

They are also both an absolute steal too, at only £13 ($16)

If your goal is fat loss -> GET DIABETIC SHRED   

If your goal is lean weight gain –> GET DIABETIC MASS

References

1. The poor, misunderstood calorie: calories proper: Volume 1 Lagakos Ph.D., Dr. William
2. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28289069
3. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23794360
4. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25278765
5. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4013121/
6. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24117792
7. Le Chatelier, T. Nielsen, J. Qin, E. Prifti, F. Hildebrand, G. Falony, et al. Richness of human gut microbiome correlates with metabolic markers Nature, 500 (2013), pp. 541-546.
8. -P. Furet, L.-C. Kong, J. Tap, C. Poitou, A. Basdevant, J.-L. Bouillot, et al. Differential adaptation of human gut microbiota to bariatric surgery-induced weight loss: links with metabolic and low-grade inflammation markers Diabetes, 59 (2010), pp. 3049-3057, 10.2337/db10-0253
9. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/256290225_A_Call_for_an_End_to_the_Diet_Debates

This article is suitable for anyone interested in improving the look of their body, from a fitness beginner right through to the professional bodybuilder, and athlete looking to improve performance.

How do you build muscle?

Lift weights?

Consume enough protein?

Get enough rest?

Repeat

Yes, Pretty much!

Everyone has the potential to build muscle over the course of their lifetime.

Some people are happy with the level of muscle mass they have while others desire more for performance and aesthetic reasons.

The ability to gain muscle is highly specific to an individual’s genetics, baseline hormone levels and day to day activity. Many of these factors change as we age, reducing our capacity to gain muscle as we age. In other words, Muscle mass increases as we age up until a certain point.

The effect of age on work capacity and muscle growth is a complex and lengthy subject. In fact, there is an hour long video module on the topic on the member’s site.

Anyhow,

The best way to stimulate muscle growth is regular weights resistance training or loaded body movement.

Even though we perform loaded movements daily, such as

Squatting down to pick up our pets,

Carrying the groceries to the car,

Pushing annoying people ‘out the way.’

Pulling the kids around,

Picking things up (hip-hinge) off the ground.

Day to Day Movement Isn’t Enough. None of these movements load our muscles heavily or frequently enough to stimulate gains in muscle mass.

Weights resistance training is an incredibly useful tool for increasing muscle mass, especially with diabetes.  

The intensity (load) and frequency of training determine the stress placed on the body’s musculature and consequently determine how fast muscle tissue is gained.

Training means nothing without recovery.

For the body to get the best adaption, it must have adequate recovery resources available. These include:

– Appropriate calorific intake (the major determinant of weight loss and muscle gain)

– Essential Nutrients (fats, protein and micronutrients)

– Adequate sleep – 7-8 hours per day including naps

– Adequate rest between training sessions (movements or body parts)

When you add something (training wise), you need to add something (recovery wise) from the list above. You can’t keep increasing the training intensity and frequency all the time. There is a cutoff point!

You also need to respect the fact that stressors, like prolonged emotional trauma and illness, especially uncontrolled diabetes can interfere with your muscle building efforts.

You must minimise outside stressors, and take good care of your diabetes. That’s exactly what I teach everyone in DIABETIC MASS and DIABETIC SHRED,  the two most advanced diabetes bodybuilding diet and training programs in the world.

3 Facts About Building Muscle with Diabetes.

Uncontrolled diabetes reduces your chances of building muscle tissue and increasing physical strength. Here are three important points to consider when trying to build muscle with diabetes.

#1 Diabetes is a catabolic disease.

Uncontrolled diabetes is a state of undernutrition. Lack of insulin reduces the body’s ability to utilise nutrients (fuel) properly.

If nutrients can’t get into cells performance (stimulus) and recovery will be negatively affected, limiting muscle growth,

Hyperglycemia increases muscle protein breakdown and limits the protein synthesis – the process of creating new proteins.

On the other hand, hypoglycemia steals energy and mental focus, making training difficult and in many cases dangerous.

Fix

Obsess over your blood glucose control.

Do all you can to keep blood glucose levels in healthy range. This requires dedicated monitoring of blood glucose levels in response to medication and dietary intake.

Instead of tracking aimlessly, feedback the data to your healthcare team and do your best to identify patterns when blood glucose levels dip or rise into unhealthy ranges.  Anticipate and react appropriately next time round.

#2 Be Mindful of the Side Effects of Injectable Insulin.

People who rely on injectable insulin can run the risk of taking too much and too little.

Too little insulin – hyperglycemia.

Too much insulin – hypoglycemia.

Aerobic exercise poses the greatest risk for experiencing hypoglycemia due to its low-stress nature and reduced capacity to increase glucose-raising hormones like adrenaline and cortisol, which are typically produced during higher intensity exercise and responsible for increasing blood glucose.

Hypos during higher intensity exercise are less likely due to increased production of glucose from the liver. However, if there is too much-circulating insulin, hypos are a real possibility.

High levels of insulin (hyperinsulinemia) suppress the action of glucose-raising hormones like glucagon, which normally signal the release of stored glucose from the liver into the bloodstream to rectify low blood glucose levels. This abnormal response doesn’t usually occur in the body of a non-diabetic because insulin production is tightly regulated.

Fix

Learn to dose precisely. Injecting the correct amount of insulin is a fine art and requires constant monitoring. The more consistent you are with diet, training and lifestyle – the easier it is to pinpoint control.

Be mindful of injecting insulin into a trained muscle group. This leads to faster action of the drug and increased risk of hypoglycemia.

#3 Keep your head right.

Living with diabetes can be stressful.

It’s common for people with diabetes to suffer from depression and anxiety. The burden of managing blood glucose levels, injecting in public and complications from poor control (both short and long term) add additional stress to an already stressful modern lifestyle.

It’s difficult to get the most out of training when you’re stressed. As a result, the training stimulus is never as good. Chronic long-term stress is detrimental to health and diabetes management. If left uncontrolled stress can manifest into a host of adverse health problems including:

– Not feeling present or in the moment

– Anxiety

– Fatigue

– Digestive Upset

– Reduced immune function – opening you up to other infections

Not ideal for high-quality living or building a strong muscular physique.

Fix

It’s incredibly important to focus on what you can control and surrender to what you can’t. As I always preach, there is always blessing in adversity.

Being self-aware of stressful situations is important.

Take time away from social media, meditate, journal and surround yourself with as many positive people as possible. Doing so will give you a clear mind, and allow for better decision-making.

Health starts from within! As I say in my book, your psychology becomes your physiology.

Take Home

People with diabetes can build muscle. Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise. Your muscle-building potential depends upon the following;

– Age

– Genetics

– Training intensity

– Training frequency

– Recovery resources

– Blood glucose control.

You must stay motivated to learn all you can about your condition and empower yourself with the knowledge needed to understand why blood glucose levels behave the way they do.

Go out of your way to get accountable to a mixed team of professionals including a diabetes specialist, exercise physiologist, sports nutritionist, psychologist and strength coach.

I’ve incorporated all of these important factors (and more) into DIABETIC MASS and DIABETIC SHRED,  two complete diet and training systems designed for individuals looking to build maximum muscle mass and shred large amounts of body fat. All the hard work is done for you as the diet, workouts and supplements are all planned out for you. All you need to do is follow them.

According to Forbes, ‘There are now 11,000 CrossFit gyms, or “boxes” worldwide, up 22-fold from nine years ago. Its adherents have turned CrossFit into a cult whose brand generates some $4 billion in annual revenue.

CrossFit is also enjoyed by millions of people living with diabetes across the globe. In this article, Michael Geale, Type 1 diabetic and Head Coach at CrossFit Ingleburn in Sydney, Australia, gives his insight into training CrossFit with diabetes.

What Is CrossFit?

CrossFit is a fitness regimen designed to improve physical fitness in a meaningful, measurable way.

CrossFit is grounded on training the core movements and modalities of life at high intensity. These include the best aspects of gymnastics, weightlifting, running, rowing and more.

Each modality and movement brings with it a unique fitness and physiological benefit when trained with intensity. This includes everything from cardiovascular fitness, strength, mobility and muscular endurance.

Intensity is essential for dramatic gains in fitness and is determined by:

Work divided by time. In other words, the more work you do in less time equates to more power and higher intensity.

Key CrossFit terms you need to know

WOD = Workout Of the Day

CrossFit utilises a different workout each day (usually 3 days ON, 1 day OFF) Each day you change not only the exercises you do, but the timeframe, loading and componentry

BOX = A CrossFit gym

Picture CrossFit training like this.

You want to be able to run to catch a bus, carry ALL of the shopping bags, defend yourself against a mugger and maintain speed the whole time. <= Pretty fit, right?

The importance on building a balanced self, through the application of elements from gymnastics, powerlifting, strongman, endurance sports like running and rowing and utilising calisthenic movements, is paramount when looking to be as physically ready for any task life, work or sport may throw at you.

CrossFit programming is very often misunderstood and many assumptions are made simply by comparing what you see most prevalent in social media – “The sport of Fitness”,

CrossFit as a sport is vastly different from CrossFit as a training methodology!

Imagine you are considering boxing as a fitness endeavour (something many people around the world do) and watching the infamous “Rumble in the jungle” where Ali and Foreman fought it out in the African heat for 8 rounds and ended in a knockout, who wants that?

The same goes for CrossFit, if you are watching ESPN and see the “Games” you are seeing CrossFit at its extreme, men and women who have built up their training, capacity and strength to a point that allows them to not only undertake such workouts and progressive overloading of mere weight alone) but to perform multiple WODs each day for 5 days straight.

As an example of programming and to highlight some key concepts, let’s look at today’s programming at my Box.

Part A – Every 2 minutes for 12 minutes (6 sets total)

• 3 Front squat @80-85% or “Heavy”

Each client will be advised on a loading scheme, based on their skill, experience, goals and current fitness (are they returning from injury/long break) Percentage work is generally reserved for intermediate to advanced lifters.

Part B –  For time, 5 Rds with a 30min Time Cap

• 10 Box jump 30/24”
• 10 Kettlebell swing 2/1.5 pood
• 10 HSPU (handstand push-up)

Again every movement, time frame, weight and exercise can be modified (and will be via myself or another coach) to suit the above considerations.

This workout covers multiple bases within our program; there is also linear progression and progressive overload with the reoccurrence of the squat for example, over a predetermined micro-cycle. The micro-cycles within traditional CrossFit programming tend to focus on movements as opposed to strength numbers, e.g. if you want to assist the population in improving their overhead stability over 6 weeks, movements you will increase in WODs and accessory strength work

• Pressing overhead
• Overhead carries
• Heavy Bench presses
• Turkish get-ups
• Jerks and dynamic pressing
• Overhead squat

If and when you start CrossFit, you should be assessed, introduced and slowly trained to develop the following essential physical skills:

• CVE (cardiovascular Endurance),
• Strength,
• Speed,
• Flexibility,
• Power,
• Stamina,
• Accuracy,
• Agility,
• Balance and Co-ordination

Pre-Exercise Considerations

• Age
• Gender
• Training Goals
• Previous Injury
• Medical Conditions

Always ensure the gym you are going to train at has understanding/informed trainers, who are ALL mindful and educated (to their best ability/knowledge) on treating possible problems you will encounter.

CrossFit and Diabetes.

I myself have been actively involved in CrossFit for over 8 years now and train almost daily with undulating (ever-changing) volume and skill, but always at high intensity (defined earlier).

Along with the other clients I have worked with in person and online, we have all noticed benefits that not only come from following each style of training that we use, but also cumulatively as a whole (basically the sum is greater than the parts).

Benefits include:

• Reduced insulin resistance (also very helpful for type 2s)
• Weight control via high-intensity training (in conjunction with diet)
• Increased muscle mass and decreased body fat
• General strength & conditioning increases (which benefit anyone)
• Lower Triglyceride levels and overall risk factors for CVD
• Decreased HBa1c through greater overall control

In order to get the most from CrossFit make use of these 3 super useful tips,

1. Test 10 minutes prior to the WOD.

This will allow you to account for a surge in adrenaline (even if you are an experienced athlete or CrossFitter, the pressure you put on yourself and the excitement of the WOD can create a large spike in the flight or fight hormone). Also, if, like me, you tend to spike after lifting heavy and drop slightly within “Cardio” you will also need to test after, +1hr and even maybe +2hours if you aren’t wearing a Dexcom of some sort (this I highly recommend)

2. Expect blood glucose control to differ from session to session

Managing your BSL might seem tricky to begin with, like any other form of exercise there will be “off” days, anomalies and a time needed to test and pre-empt potential spikes and crashes.

During the first few weeks, I suggest you only really go hard on one aspect of each day’s programming (if your gym has multiple components like strength and conditioning separate) and record the effects both time and intensity have on your particular case of diabetes.

3. Placing your CGM (Continuous Glucose Monitor)

I find the best placement for your Dexcom sensor is on your Triceps, almost around the back of the arm, I know this isn’t “recommended” but for everyone I’ve worked with it provides great numbers as well as protection from barbells, ring straps, burpees, running and rowing as well as keeping clean and remaining intact longer. As far as pumps go, what seems to work well is pants/shorts with a tight back pocket and tucking the tubing into your waistband, I will usually just disconnect for short workouts and bolus any missed insulin straight after, and if there are any long runs in the WOD, I will reattach for those.

Hopefully now you have a better idea of what CrossFit is, how it can be done as a Diabetic and how best to manage the logistical and managerial obstructions to becoming the fittest version of a Diabetic you can be.

5 Signs You’re A Member Of A Well Run CrossFit BOX

1. Cleanliness.
2. Ensure the gym has an option to allow you to transition into regular classes either by “Fundamental training” or as we call it, “Elements” and/or Personal training.
3. Dedicated classes (no one wandering around doing their “own thing”)
4. Capped classes (I cannot stress this enough)
5. Knowledgeable, caring staff who pay attention to you and make you feel like the only person in the world when they are engaging you.

About The Author:

Michael Geale is the Head Coach at CrossFit Ingleburn in Sydney, Australia. He is 33 years old and was diagnosed at 8 years old in 1992. He has competed at multiple levels within powerlifting, weightlifting and CrossFit.

Mick’s Website: www.crossfitingleburn.com.au

Contact: mick@crossfitingleburn.com.au

There are many challenges and distractions to getting in shape. The temptation of high-calorie convenience food presents itself everywhere you go and machines are taking your jobs.

It’s becoming easier and easier to overeat, move less and become an obesity statistic.

In this article, I want to highlight 5 useful tips that will help keep you on the straight and narrow with your muscle building and fat loss efforts.

1. Persistence is important, but planned, periodic bouts of “being bad” can actually be a good thing.

This can include everything from holidays, training breaks, sleeping in. right through to portion-controlled food options that lie outside normal ‘clean eating’.

 2. The SMART method is a great way to approach your diabetic body building and fitness goals.

Specific,

Measurable,

Attainable,

Realistic,

Time-Bound

Are your behaviours allowing you to achieve your goals?

If not, what can you do to alter these behaviours or habits?

3. If you keep slipping up (take note)

You either don’t want it bad enough or your diet and training programmes need to be tweaked.

One of the easiest ways to overcome poor dietary adherence is to follow delicious diabetic friendly recipe plans. They remove the stress of thinking ‘what’s safe to eat’ and give you done-for-you meal ideas that can be cooked in a flash.

Thats exactly why I created the Ultra Lean Diabetic Cookbook – it’s loaded with 100 mouth-watering diabetic friendly recipes. They include everything from beef burgers, tortilla pizzas, tacos the whole way through to protein bars and pancakes. All the calories and macronutrients are outlined for you – they even come with a Myfitness pal barcode for easy food tracking

One of the easiest ways to overcome this is to follow simple recipe plans.

4. A rigid, all-or-nothing approach to fitness is self-sabotaging to the majority of individuals, especially those who try to do it long term.

Staying in contest or photo shoot ready shape 365 days a year is not practical for 99% of the population both physiologically (physically) and psychologically (mentally) speaking.

Realise most of the incredibly shaped bodies you see on the fronts of magazines and Instagram eat, sleep and breathe fitness 24/7.

It’s their full-time job to look good. And, they usually have more time, money and effort to dedicate towards their goals than the average member of the public who works a full-time job.

There are various reasons behind an ‘all or nothing’ approach. Most people follow what they deem necessary, largely as a result of media influence, yet they fail to question or critique their approach.

Other reasons include habit, deep-rooted insecurity and even a superiority complex of ‘I’m working harder than you.’

Anxiety, depression and loss of opportunity in life and business can often result from being too fixated on your fitness endeavours.

You must find balance, be patient and realise not everything goes to plan.

5. Enjoyment is often more important than progress.

Building a great looking body is a life long journey – it needs to be enjoyable, manageable and most importantly sustainable.

–       Healthy is enjoying your life.

–       Healthy is being able to eat the food you want and at the time you want.

–       Healthy is not stressing if you missed a training day, especially if it’s because you’re doing something better or more enjoyable with your time.

Take Home

How you look, feel and perform right now is a result of what you do on average. If you can’t stick to your approach over the long term, your results won’t last.

If you want to learn the exact science of how to build a diet that is super easy to stick to, and doesn’t leave you feeling miserable you need to grab a copy of The Diabetic Muscle and Fitness Guide.

With over 400+ pages of evidence-based theory on how to build a stronger, better-looking body with diabetes, this is an absolute must for any dedicated gym goer living with diabetes.

I go into great depth on how you can create your own diet principles, incorporate ‘cheat foods’, even if you crave something every single day.

The only food you ever need to feel guilty about is the food you steal.

If you’re into bodybuilding you’ll be aware that injectable insulin is often used in conjunction with anabolic steroids to maximise muscle growth and recovery.

As a type 1 diabetic, natural bodybuilders and the general public can mistakenly assume you have an unfair bodybuilding and muscle growth advantage due to the fact you administer injectable insulin post workout similarly to non-diabetic bodybuilders using insulin as an anabolic aid to facilitate the delivery of carbohydrate, amino acids and other nutrients like creatine into muscle cells.

TAKING INSULIN AS A DIABETIC (OR NON-DIABETIC) DOES NOT GIVE YOU AN ADVANTAGE IN BODYBUILDING.

Bodybuilders with type 1 diabetes can face an uphill battle when it comes to getting in shape. Exogenous insulin is given as medication to supplement their complete lack of endogenous (internal) insulin production.

Check out the short video below. I discuss the common myth that type 1 diabetic bodybuilders are at a muscle building advantage. I also share with you key strategies I use to increase protein synthesis and reduce the catabolic effect of hyperglycemia  – a common side effect of poorly controlled diabetes.

Insulin and bodybuilding are often considered best friends.

Bodybuilders understand the important role insulin plays in performance and recovery by transporting key nutrients into cells, as well as reducing muscle protein breakdown.

Quite often the man-made form of the drug (injectable insulin) is regularly abused by non-diabetic competitive bodybuilders to boost muscle mass and performance.

In this article, I want to discuss the key roles insulin plays in bodybuilding and also dispel the common myth that people with diabetes who use injectable insulin are at a marked advantage for building muscle and strength.

This article is suitable for anyone who is serious about weight training and building muscle.

Nutrients On The Move.

Carbs, protein, fat and micronutrients flood our digestive system after a meal and increase levels of circulating nutrients in the bloodstream.

Once in the bloodstream, our cells have evolved a number of integrated mechanisms that allow for the immediate use or storage of these nutrients; for example, carbs can be stored as glycogen, amino acids can be used to build new muscle, and fatty acids can be stored as adipose tissue under the skin.

For all of this to happen, nutrients must be sensed both in the blood and in the tissues. This includes depletion and surplus.

There are many different mechanisms and hormones involved, many of which are well beyond the scope of this article. However, I want to focus on one of the main players, insulin.

Insulin: Roles and Functions in Bodybuilding

Insulin is a glucose-storage-stimulating hormone made by the beta cells of the pancreas.

It serves a number of important roles in the use and organisation of nutrients.

Insulin is well-recognised for promoting the absorption of glucose from the blood into fat, liver and skeletal muscle cells. The body’s own production of glucose in the liver is strongly inhibited by insulin. It is also recognised as a key hormone responsible for increasing fat storage and inhibiting fat breakdown.

Its role in protein metabolism is more controversial (1). Insulin has been shown to play a role in the creation of new proteins across the body as well as inhibiting muscle protein breakdown (2). It is considered an anabolic (constructive) hormone.

Insulin Deficiency and Insulin Resistance

Deficiencies in insulin production or action (insulin resistance) can cause problems with the body’s ability to process glucose. When insulin doesn’t do its job properly, carbohydrate, (notably glucose) eaten from the diet or produced by the liver, cannot leave the bloodstream and enter muscle cells for use or storage as muscle glycogen. This results in hyperglycemia (high blood glucose) which has widespread catabolic (destructive) effects across the body.

Prolonged hyperglycemia due to lack of insulin is highly detrimental to health, muscle mass and training performance. The higher the blood glucose, the worse things get.

Injectable Insulin – Pros & Cons

In people with type 1 diabetes and severe cases of type 2 where insulin secretion is nonexistent, injectable insulin is needed to regulate blood glucose levels.

Although life-changing, the use of injectable insulin can bring negative side effects if used inappropriately, jeopardising health, muscle building and fat loss efforts.

The most common side effect is hypoglycemia, which luckily, although annoying, can be treated very rapidly. The biggest problems, however, arise when hypos reoccur. These include:

• The need to eat more food to restore blood glucose, which increases calorie intake and the chances of fat gain.
• Hypoglycemia unawareness from frequent events of hypos, decreases an individual’s awareness to symptoms which increase their chances of running extremely low, going unconscious and being unable to self-treat.
• Impaired mental alertness which increases chances of injury during training especially during complex exercises.

Insulin Use/Abuse In Bodybuilding

Insulin is often used as an ergogenic aid in hardcore competitive bodybuilding (3). For those who don’t know what an ergogenic aid is – it is a performance enhancer that gives you a mental or physical edge while exercising or competing.

The common belief is that spiking insulin levels in and around training, via injection and simultaneous consumption of amino acids, creatine and carbohydrate (in liquid form), will increase muscle gains and strength.

Is there any truth to this?

Apparently not.

Injecting insulin will facilitate and intensify the transfer of nutrients and water into muscle cells. While this may cause a temporary increase in muscle cell size and also help generate that much sought after muscle pump, it appears to do very little for muscle growth.

A recent study by Tommelen et al. in the European Journal of Endocrinology found that exogenous insulin administered systemically does not increase muscle protein synthesis in healthy young adults. (1)

I could sum this up by saying injecting insulin for the purposes of bodybuilding in non-diabetics has the potential to produce artificial short-term gains in muscle mass.

A Dangerous Investment for People without Diabetes

The reality is injectable insulin is a potentially lethal drug when used in the wrong hands without medical supervision. It has serious consequences if misused, particularly when usually used in secret without even the knowledge of loved ones. This puts the user at risk of developing hypoglycemia for prolonged periods away from possible medical assistance, potentially resulting in coma and death (4). Just think crashing the car on the way home from the gym.

The individual also runs the risk of:

– Overeating due to hypoglycemia (hindering fat loss)
– Infection from injection sites
– Abnormal sleep (if woken by a hypo)

The risk to benefit for packing on muscle in non-diabetics? – I think you know the answer already. Avoid!

Please appreciate I’ve only touched on the topic of muscle building and hormones lightly here.  There is so much more to it. If you wish to know more about muscle building, insulin and other important hormones like testosterone, human growth hormone, cortisol and oestrogen.

Check out my book with over 370 pages of in-depth muscle building science. 

References

1. Trommelen J, Groen BB, Hamer HM, de Groot LC, van Loon LJ. MECHANISMS IN ENDOCRINOLOGY: Exogenous insulin does not increase muscle protein synthesis rate when administered systemically: a systematic review. Eur J Endocrinol. 2015 Jul;173(1):R25-34. doi: 10.1530/EJE-14-0902. Epub 2015 Feb 2.
2. Frayn KN & Maycock PF. Regulation of protein metabolism by a physiological concentration of insulin in mouse soleus and extensor digitorum longus muscles. Effects of starvation and scald injury. Biochemical Journal 1979 184 323.
3. Elkin SL, Brady S, Williams IP. Bodybuilders find it easy to obtain insulin to help them in training [letter]. BMJ1997;314:1280.
4. P J Evans, R M Lynch. Insulin as a drug of abuse in body building. Br J Sports Med 2003;37:356-357 doi:10.1136/bjsm.37.4.356

Straight answer. YES!

However, this is only true when you give diabetes the two fingers and screw controlling your blood sugars.

Building muscle with diabetes takes a little more than normal.

You need to be smart about it. Really smart.

You need to a firm understanding of what to do, and what not to do – especially with diet and lifestyle.

In this video blog, I go into detail on the complications of poorly controlled diabetes and explain why you must obsess over your blood glucose control if you want to build a healthy, strong and great looking body!

This is a must for anyone living with diabetes who wants to get more out of their efforts in the gym! If you’re a diabetic bodybuilder or fitness fanatic – you need to WATCH THIS VIDEO!

Like What You’ve Read? 

If you love reading this kind of stuff and want to know even more about how to build muscle and get as strong as physically possible with diabetes then you’re in the right place.

Right now, you can join many other like minded individuals in the private Diabetic Muscle and Fitness Facebook group who are following my 112 Day Diabetic MASS transformation plan and also save a MASSIVE 85% OFF with this coupon below.

Backed by a full 100% results guarantee you have nothing to lose and, with this coupon, you can access over 112 days of workouts, 7-day meal plans supplement guides and personal support from Phil Graham and the rest of the Diabetic Muscle and Fitness team all for $16 (£14). Get started here and claim your 85% discount now.