shawn shepheard is an executive business coach, an avid hockey player and a natural storyteller. he also has
diabetes.as an advocate, he helps people with the metabolic disease figure out how to live their lives to the fullest via his
youtube and memoir,
life is sweet.healthing checked in with shepheard on what it’s like managing type 1
diabetes for more than two decades, and how he stays focused on the more important things in life.
this interview has been edited for length and clarity.what are some of the things you needed to be brutally honest about when it comes to diabetes? well, i couldn’t ignore it. it was a challenge. testing my blood, taking insulin, knowing absolutely everything i do affects my blood glucose, exercise, stress, lack of sleep, diet, you name it. there were no days off with diabetes. t’s 365 days a year, for life. but the flip side of that is there are so many things that we can do now. technology and everything has come such a long way. i’m just really, really grateful for the tools that we have now.
what’s the difference between managing diabetes today compared to a few decades ago? so when i was first diagnosed in 1997 , i was testing my blood anywhere between eight to 12 times a day. so you can imagine a) the physical pain b) the inconvenience, and just how that would hamper your day-to-day. even if you tested your blood often, it was still incomplete information because it gave you a snapshot in that particular moment, but you had no idea if your blood sugar was going up or down, which is critical, especially if you’re taking insulin. fast forward to now and i wear the
dexcom g6 (an adhesive patch that i wear on my abdomen that measures glucose readings). going from from eight to 12 fingersticks a day to zero is unbelievable.
what inspired you to write a book about your journey with diabetes? the book is called
life is sweet. is my diabetes journey in there? yes. is every story about diabetes? no, but it’s connected. to live life to the fullest, i need to take care of my diabetes. and so the two things that came out of that was writing the book and doing the
sugar free shawn show, profiling people around north america who are living well with diabetes. people need to hear those stories. all they hear is the stats and the doom and gloom. but it’s important to hear and meet those people that are doing amazing things while living with type 1.
how important is diet in the management of diabetes?when people refer to a “diabetes diet,” they mean just a healthy diet. it’s a mixture of all the food groups — eating your fruits and vegetables. it’s no different than any other healthy diet. there really isn’t a diabetic diet, you just really need to be good at calculating your carbs, knowing your insulin-to-carb ratio. at least now my insulin pump and my cgm (continuous glucose monitoring) make it a lot easier.
how do you define 2022年世界杯名单猜测? for me, 2022年世界杯名单猜测 doesn’t start with diet. it starts with attitude and vision. you need to be in positive energy every day — that’s challenging, especially since covid began. but nothing good grows in negative energy. i meditate every morning, i write in a gratitude journal. i really take care of my internal game. if you’re in good energy, and you have a vision for the future, you’re probably going to make better food and exercise decisions because it’s all tied to something bigger.
what questions do you wish people wouldn’t ask?oh, there are lots of them, but, “can you eat that?” is probably at the top. i can pretty well eat whatever i want — i just have to count carbs. this is a question that usually comes with people who have really good intentions. so if my wife and i are going to a friend’s house for dinner, they will often ask what they should prepare for me. i know they are asking because they care — i’m touched. but a part of me wants to say, “just make whatever you are going to make. i know how to take care of my diabetes.”
what questions should people be asking more? if your friend has diabetes, check in with them and ask them what it’s like, or how you can be a better friend. sometimes people want a lot of check-ins and sometimes they don’t want you to do anything. i worked with someone years ago who would be checking on me every 10 minutes, and it drove me nuts. but that’s going to be different for everyone.
if you or someone you care about is living with diabetes, connecting with a support network can help to not only learn ways to better manage their health, but also share experiences with others. some canadian resources include diabetes canada and my heart matters.don’t miss the latest on covid-19, reopening and life. subscribe to healthing’s daily newsletter covid life.
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