Living with Type 1 Diabetes: Pilates Success Story

Lauren Logan was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes at 27 years of age- a life changing diagnosis. Her entire world, from a health perspective, turned on its head. Managing your glucose as an active athletic individual can be more than challenging.

“To me, wellness means mental and physical well-being. I have Type 1 Diabetes which is an exhausting full-time job, so it is very important that I take care of myself the best that I can. This includes eating healthy, exercising, and surrounding myself with supportive and encouraging people. The more ‘well’ I am in the other areas of my life, the better I am able to manage my disease.”

Once she was able to learn about her new life attached to an insulin pump, monitoring blood sugar and counting carbs, she began the process of trying to exercise again. With any new workout, there is always the concern of how it will affect her blood sugar. Weightlifting tends to run levels high, while cardio might drop it way low, but staying active is critical to maintaining a healthy lifestyle.

Lauren met Angela Gage through babysitting and soon became family. Naturally, she was then hired to help manage Angela’s Club Pilates studio. Lauren attended an Intro class in order to speak accurately to prospects about Pilates benefits. It turned out to be a wonderful blessing with community, health benefits, and a great support system.

“T1D can be very challenging as there is a lot that goes into managing it every day. I have to act as my own pancreas, administering insulin for the food I eat while also taking into consideration the other things that can affect my blood sugar like stress, hormones, sleep, exercise – the list goes on!”

By managing her blood sugar, Lauren can live a long, healthy life. Amazingly enough, her blood sugar can stay level throughout an entire class- totally different from other forms of fitness. Another great benefit of attending group Pilates classes is not having to worry about working out alone. The nature of Pilates instruction being very focused also calms her mind and allows Lauren to control her body naturally.

Lauren now practices Pilates 5-6 days a week, and her mom is also a member! They go to all of their classes together. Lauren says that when they began classes, her mom couldn’t get into a plank- and now she can hold it over a minute! Club Pilates is truly for everybody.

Angela Gage, owner of Club Pilates Central Phoenix states, “CP Central Phoenix is working with JDRF Arizona for world diabetes day on November 14th as this is an organization that is very important to both Lauren and us in supporting her. She is an amazing young lady and watching her overcome this obstacle has been life changing for all of us.” They will also be donating donating 10% of any new memberships in the month of November to JDRF!

Here are a few things you can do to raise awareness during Diabetes Awareness Month:

2- Write “Hope” on your hand, take a photo of it, and post it on social media to raise awareness

3- Wear Blue all four Friday’s of November to advocate T1D and the people living with it

4- Take a selfie with the global symbol for diabetes > download