In this free 3-week challenge, a team of top diabetes experts and I will take you through some of the most important things you need to know about diabetes and exercise, healthy nutrition, and weight management with diabetes.
How the Fit With Diabetes Challenge works
The Fit With Diabetes Challenge consists of five things:
- Daily activities or “challenges” that take you through everything you need to do in a step-by-step fashion
- Articles covering the most important topics on diabetes and weight management
- Weekly meal plan
- Workout programs that you can do during the challenge (home and gym workouts)
- A Facebook support group for challenge participants in which you can ask questions, share your experiences and connect with other people who want to be Fit With Diabetes
The challenge is sponsored by Eversense Diabetes, the first and only 90-day Continuous Glucose Monitoring (CGM) system. To learn more about how Eversense can help your diabetes care, please visit the Eversense website.
Oh, and did I mention that it’s totally FREE to take the challenge?
The challenge is for all fitness levels and is based on my own experiences regarding diabetes and exercise, as well as the knowledge and insights of other diabetes and exercise experts. I’m excited to announce that there will be posts by:
- Ginger Vieira (Author of Dealing with Diabetes Burnout & Emotional Eating with Diabetes & Your Diabetes Science Experiment)
- Dr. Mark Heyman (Diabetes Psychologist and a Certified Diabetes Educator. Founder and Director of the Center for Diabetes and Mental Health)
- Ben Tzeel (Registered Dietitian, Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist)
Here is what people had to say about the previous challenges:
“I just want to put out there how much I love all the learning and support this challenge offers. In my 40 years with diabetes, I have never experienced anything like this before. I love this!! Thank you so much, Christel!”
– Carol, 2018 challenge participant
“I have said many times over the last few weeks how grateful I am for Diabetes Strong and the Facebook support group. The diabetes articles and meal plans changed my life! Before, when people would ask me how my diabetes is going, I would often reply that I never have a good day but I do have good hours. How depressing is that statement? Great days are now the new normal and not so great hours are rare.”
– Laura, 2017 challenge participant
If you are ready to join me on this journey to learn more about diabetes, weight management, and exercise, then sign up for the challenge in the form below. Let’s get Fit With Diabetes together in 2020!
The 2020 challenge has started and is now closed for sign-up!
I am 62 and type one for 36 years. I have gained weight and been too inactive so want to use this as a push ti kise weight adn shape up.
That’s an excellent motivator. Welcome to the challenge
Hi Christel, would the challenge be helpful for non-diabetic friends and family? I just signed up, and I’d love for my non-diabetic boyfriend to join so he can learn more about type 1 and hold me accountable for making good choices!
It can’t hurt. We have a lot of general diabetes management in week 2, he’d probably learn a lot there. And you guys could do the daily activity/exercise together. Might be nice to have somebody to do the challenge with
I just signed up to hopefully learn more about type1, exercise, and weight loss.
I am 53, and gained 30 pounds years ago when I first got Dx with LADA. Too much insulin and low corrections caused a 30 pound weight gain in one month from correcting lows. I finally took control and cut down the long acting insulin. I am now on TSlim and use a G6!
I workout 4-5 times a week and can now lose weight but still trial and error on suspending pump, getting through 5 miles on treadmill, cycle, and keeping bg within a decent range and catching post workout high?!?!? Trial and error says my DE.
Maybe this program can teach me even more?! Thanks.
I do not do FB, will there be other forums for information/discussion?
Thank you for signing up for the challenge. I hope you’ll find it fun and educational. We only use Facebook for the peer group component as we don’t have a forum here on the website. You can of course still do the challenge without using Facebook or simply create a blank “dummy” Facebook account and use that during the challenge
Hi, I’m 54, just had a total knee replacement. I have been type 1 since age 7. For my 50th birthday I lost 50 lbs. I put all and more back on in the last year due to my knee issues. I’m on a Tandem pump and G5. I’m going back to work as an ICU nurse in January and need to loose this weight to protect this new knee, as well as my other knee. Hoping to see the 150lb on the scale again in 2020. This program will, I hope, help me succeed. Then I can get back into 50-70km bike rides with me husband.
Hi Julie – you’ve done it before and can do it again. Happy to be part of your journey back to health
I turned 50 in May and I just got diagnosed with type 1 before Thanksgiving so am looking forward to this challenge. Thank you.
Welcome to the challenge. We’ll focus a lot on what I call the diabetes toolbox, so I hope you find it helpful
Is it possible to lose weight with LADA and 4 injections a day of insulin?
Yes, what’s important is that you’re in a calorie deficit. If the 4 injections mean that you’re overeating, you need to talk to your doctor about reducing your dose
Will this work for people with T2?
We always have a group of people living with type 2 diabetes join the challenge so I’d say yes. If you don’t use insulin, there will be parts of the content that’s not relevant to you, but you can always just skip those reads.
I just signed up and I’m Type 2. Diet and exercise is an important component regardless of type.
You are so right! Looking forward to seeing you in the challenge
I’m in!!! Really want to learn how to handle my T1 better with sports – always seems to be such a challenge with eating extra (which contradicts losing weight somewhat), reducing insulin etc. That I have done less and less lately. Not a good feeling, so looking forward to join from Europe 🙂
I am really looking forward to this challenge, i have had diabeties for 27 years and i am excited to get the help and support i need. After all this time i still strugle with my weight and it is effecting my moods. Its hard to see the educators and dietician with my work hours so j am really excited.
I’m glad you’re excited about the challenge. It can never replace a medical team but we’ll give you guidelines and the support you need to reach your goals
I have only had type 2 for less than 2 months want to do everything I can get get healthy and maintained a healthy lifestyle I am really hoping to learn alot from this
So I was wondering is it just a online group support?
That’s a great goal to have. I really do believe that the more we know the more successful we are.
All the challenge components will be emailed to you on a daily basis and we hast the peer support component in our “Fit with Diabetes Community” group on Facebook.
Looking forward to this – I don’t have diabetes but my daughter has Type 1 and my mom has type 2 – looking forward to learning more about exercising with Tupe 1 to share with my daughter and keeping myself healthy to prevent type 2! Thanks for your website – I have learned a lot already!
So glad to hear that! Welcome to the challenge
I’m 61, obese, and ready to give weight loss another try. I joined a Challenge about two years ago but got sidetracked and dropped out. I hope to do better this time. New year, possibly new attitude, and aiming for a new, healthier me.
Welcome back! We’re happy that you decided to join again. Try thinking about what went wrong last time. Did you try to do too much, were your head not in the right place, or something else, and think of how you can change that this time. And please use the Facebook group if you start to struggle, you don’t have to do this alone. You can do this
I’m totally pumped up about starting this challenge. I’ve been diabetic for 30 years (not sure type 1 or MODY) but on insulin nonetheless. And, I hope I can win some prizes and learn about the Eversense system.
I am happy to have found this challenge! Being t1d for 25 years, I am feeling burned out and I just don’t want to do anything. I know that with this kind of mindset, it will only make things worse. I know when I do exercise and eat right, my mood improves. With the new year beginning I hope to get back on track and I get to do it with other great t1ds! Awesome!🙂
I fully understand the feeling. Especially coming off the holiday season. But I know personally, if I don’t react now, I’ll pay for it later. You got this!
Got a call from my doctor Friday and was told my A1C had gone from 7.7 in August to 8.8. She wants to put me on Trulicitry and raise my Janumet. I’m hoping to get some new recipes to try so I can lower my A1C and manage my blood sugars better. Thank you for the offering this program.
Been type 1 since I was 6 (27 years this month) and I just overall feel like I could be doing better. I’m not overweight but have definitely noticed an overall blahness of where I’m at right now. I also focus a lot on my career and starting school so a lot of the time my exercise and taking the time to eat right takes a back burner to everything else. I look forward to trying this out!
Thank you for joining the challenge. I hope it will give you the structure to start making the changes you’re after. Life tends to get busy, and we will include content on how to deal with that without giving up on your health journey
I’ve done these before! The January challenge will be a kickstart for the new year🤸♂️
Awesome, so glad to hear you’ll sign up again this year
I’ve been a type one for almost 10 years now. I’m clinically obese and so depressed. This is the first time I’ve seen anything free and related to type one diabetes, specifically. I crave contentment in myself so badly. My marriage is also suffering from my lack of self worth. I hope this is the turning point for me. I look forward to getting started!
LaTasha,
I’m so incredibly happy that you found us and the challenge. Diabetes is not easy to manage on your own and adding in where you are mentally it can be really hard to pull out of the deep by yourself. I hope you’ll also join the Facebook group, that’s where you’ll have a chance to interact directly with others living with diabetes. And remember, you don’t have to do everything in the challenge, just enough to make changes to where you are today.
Christel
I read the Fit with Diabetes eBook, I saved all the meal plans I could find. And, I signed up for the challenge.
I’m in the obese category. When I calculated my daily calorie needs, I came up with 2,668 calories each day. Should I start with a 2,000 calorie diet? Can I start with a 1600 calorie diet? I don’t want to sabotage my success by dropping my calories too far, but 2,600 seems like a lot. Thank you for all the good information on your site. I’m excited to get started.
Hi Laura,
I’m glad you find the information here on the site and in the book helpful. You’re absolutely right to question the calorie formula. It’s not an exact science and is meant as a starting point. I’d suggest you start by tracking your calories (liquid included) for ~5 days. I like MyFitnessPal for tracking, it’s free and easy to understand. Then see how many calories you consume on average per day, that’s your starting point. If you’re eating 2600 already, subtract 200-500 and make that your goal calories. I generally don’t recommend to go too low on calories (1200 minimum), so if you’re already very low, try adding some more activity rather than cutting calories
Hi,
I’ve just signed up and am really keen to do the challenge (if my body is up to it, just had a c section on 14th Dec) but when I checked my email for the info there was nothing there? Tech support to make sure I’m on the list and don’t miss out?
Thanks
Hi Brooke, I can see in the system that you have signed up and the first email was sent this morning. Do you mind checking your spam folder? It may be in there. If you can’t find it, please send an email to contact@diabetesstrong.com so we can help you. Welcome to the challenge 🙂
is this something that t2 can do as well , i am pretty sure my t1 son will not participate.. but i would like to..
Absolutely. A few posts are mainly for people using Insulin but at least 90% of the challenge is relevant for people with any type of diabetes.
I was a T2 participant last year. Learned a lot. Met a lot of people. I was challenged and had a lot of fun
YES!!! I did this last year and I learned so much! It honestly helped kick start me mentally to finally get it together. I’m eating cleaner, low carb, doing HIIT regularly and seeing real results. I feel great and using less insulin. This is a great resource for information. I have a great circle of workout buddies in my life, but none of them have diabetes and THEY DONT understand why our bodies are different. This group is so positive. Definitely join!!
Hi
Are you starting any challenges for 2019. If so, how do I get some information on it? I want to pass on information to a diabetes group.
Thank You
Anne
Yes, we will almost certainly have a challenge in January. A good way to keep up to date on events like this is to sign up for our newsletter. We will also announce it on our social media platforms (Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter)
Hi Anne – The 2019 Challenge sign up is now open. We’d be delighted if you’d support us in spreading the word
Hi Nancy, we haven’t decided exactly when the next challenge will be but yes, you have to sign up again. If you get our newsletter, we will let you know in good time when the next challenge starts.
Thank you so much. I can’t tell you how much this site has helped me. I am taking much better care of myself and getting the results I need.
Thank you, that makes me happy. Glad we can be a good resource for you
Hi Stacey – you certainly have been through a lot!
Diabetes isn’t easy, but you have the right attitude, it gets easier the more you learn. We’d love to have you in the next challenge. If you sign up for the newsletter you’ll be sure to get a notification in your inbox when the next is launched. We’re currently planning on early summer