I'm Ginger Vieira, Type 1 diabetic, celiac disease, record-setting powerlifter and health coach/advocate from www.Living-in-Progress.com.   I'm here at the JDRF Research Summit of 2011 in Bethesda, MD. I'll be blogging live throughout the day as some of the world's leading experts in diabetes research. These are notes and excerpts from their presentations.    10:15 a.m. - Dan Hurley - Author of "Diabetes Rising" Diagnosed... … [Read more...]

 It’s easy to look at a person with diabetes whose blood sugars are running up around 300 mg/dL and say, “Geez, you need to just stop neglecting yourself!” It's easy to judge, to think, "C'mon, just do it! Just take your insulin and take care of it all!"   But the real question is, “By neglecting your diabetes and purposefully hurting your body, what is that doing for you?"     It must be doing... … [Read more...]

It isn't a rare thing to know your blood sugar before you even check it. If you've lived with this disease long enough, sometimes you feel your lows coming from a mile away and you can feel when your blood sugar is anywhere above 200 mg/dL. Maybe it's because you know you ate something, didn't pay attention to the carbohydrates, and didn't take enough insulin...or because you just know by the way you feel, by that slow-as-maple-syrup feeling,... … [Read more...]

The idea of actually succeeding can be terrifying. To actually become the kind of person we dream about becoming? Often we say that we are afraid of failing, of taking the risk to reach our goals and never making it...but I believe there's much more to it than that.   We are afraid of winning. Of succeeding. Of changing old habits and patterns into new habits that actually support us. We are afraid of changing into the person we want to... … [Read more...]

Rob is 46 years old, a father of 2 boys (15 and 18 years old). He grew up in Northern Virginia/DC area...and "hated it." He attended the University of Virginia, and immediately fled to northern New England where he's worked for LLB and a pharmaceutical company. He is also a registered nurse! He is an avid traveller of Europe and has hit every state in the USA except Arkansas and Kentucky. Today, Rob and his wife live in Burlington,... … [Read more...]

Everyone with diabetes has already proven one level of their resilience on the day they were diagnosed. You were told that your body has a disease, and it will turn your world upside down, and it will last forever. But you left the hospital and now you’re living with that disease one day at time. You have demonstrated your ability to be resilient.   What does it really mean to be resilient?    Definition: (of a substance... … [Read more...]

Ginger Vieira has lived with Type 1 diabetes and Celiac for 11+ years. She holds 14 national, drug-tested powerlifting records and the Vermont State Bench Press record. Today, she is a cognitive health & chronic illness life coach at Living-in-Progress.   Five years ago, the way I ate and the way I exercised and the way I felt about my health was tremendously different. In many ways, I was a much different person. Not only did I... … [Read more...]

Ginger Vieira has lived with Type 1 diabetes and Celiac for 11+ years. She holds 14 national, drug-tested powerlifting records and the Vermont State Bench Press record. Today, she is a cognitive health & chronic illness life coach at Living-in-Progress. Five years ago, the way I ate and the way I exercised and the way I felt about my health was tremendously different. In many ways, I was a much different person. Not only did I... … [Read more...]

  (I also write over at HealthCentral's Diabeteens.com! Also, check out my work as a cognitive-based Health & Chronic Illness Coaching Specialist.)   When it comes to managing Type 1 diabetes, there are things you know about your body better than anyone else. Even if your blood sugars aren’t as “great” as you’d like them to be, even if your A1C is higher than you’d like it to be, even if your diet... … [Read more...]

Ginger  usually writes for HealthCentral's www.diabeteens.com, She's lived with Type 1 diabetes and Celiac disease for 11+ years, and is a record-holding powerlifter, personal trainer and cognitive Health & Chronic Illness Life Coach at Living In Progress.   Don’t let the title fool you; this book, The ABCs of Loving Yourself With Diabetes, is for all ages. In fact, I think its simple presentation is actually one of the... … [Read more...]