Bravest Podcast

This episode is a little different than the typical health and wellness conversations we've had so far on the show. That said, there are significant ties to our health, living well, and ultimately making a significant positive impact on the world.

Our guest for today, Laura Pavlakovich, is a creative at heart, but her true path was not presented to her until she, as she describes it, "escaped the bubble" of life in a comfortable Southern California town. And while Laura was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes around the age of 4, for many years she worked very hard to not allow it to define her. I think that most of us would agree that we should not be fully defined by something such as an autoimmune disease, but it's interesting how the very thing she turned away from, would ultimately be her calling card that would allow her to empower others to share their own voices of strength, hope and inspiration.

The path to the non-profit organization she founded, started during a year-long educational trip that took her around the world to witness how children lived in areas like Africa and Southeast Asia. And what Laura experienced on that trip altered her mindset permanently and served as the foundation for her non-profit called "You're Just My Type".

Laura and I dive a little into the time after her diagnosis and the incredible support she had from family as well as the lasting relationships she developed in diabetes camp. Laura then take us on a journey of how photography entered her life and how she used it to travel to some of the most interesting places on the planet. She also talks about how those experiences completely shaped her mindset. We then zero in on how art can be used to create a healthier life through storytelling, connecting others from around the world with similar conditions, and helping to educate and motivate the world to make change for the better.

This is a super interesting conversation about the arts, about being human, and about being part of something greater than ourselves.

What does it truly take to stare a challenge in the face and push on no matter how deep you have to dig? According to today's guest, it's not only about physical strength, although he is arguably one of the strongest guys out there. It's really about purpose, and it's about mindset.

My guest for today's show is powerlifter and strongman, Rodney Miller. Rodney was born to a cattle rancher family in southern Oklahoma. Not to long into his life's journey, he was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes and spent over two weeks in a coma as a result of dangerously high blood glucose levels and DKA, or diabetic ketoacidosis. Although Rodney was only 4 years old at the time, he believes his inherent stubbornness was the key factor that kept him alive.

A self-described "runt" standing 4 feet 9 inches tall, and weighing in at 90 pounds, Rodney was the smallest person in his class all through school. It was only after multiple hospitalizations as a young adult that Rodney started to gain significant weight. But that was only because he burned out and stopped taking care of himself.

During that time Rodney was less than consistent taking his required insulin, and his diet was massively out of control. He was on a dangerous roller coaster ride and it wasn't until his wife shared the fact that she was pregnant that a switch flipped in Rodney's head. It took the realization that he was soon to be responsible for another life to push him on a course to health and wellness.

Rodney's story is one of inner strength, perseverance, and purpose. What you'll learn in this conversation is that he has an unusual ability to push himself through pain and discomfort, which stemmed from a single discussion with his father when Rodney was a young boy. What he has turned himself into physically as a competitor, being someone who lifts truck axels, pulls fire engines and lifts cars, is nothing short of amazing.

We can all learn a lot from this interview and maybe even start to consider our own strengths, and how to overcome any real or perceived barriers life might present to us. So, from self-described "runt" to inspirational strong man, this is my conversation with Rodney Miller.

As I started to develop the foundation for the podcast, I wanted to make sure I was not just about talking about change and overcoming obstacles in our lives. While conversations can be inspiring, I wanted this to also be about giving you real world opportunities to challenge yourself, and to be uncomfortable. I've found that it's only in those moments of challenge that we have a fighting chance to make positive changes to our mindset, our physiology, our health and wellbeing. That all rolls into our ability to make a dent in the world.

So, this week we're going to experiment by launching the first episode of segments we'll call 'Your Bravest Life' which are dedicated to helping you take your game to the next level. This one will require that you find a quiet space, so if you listen to the podcast during your commute or during a run or workout, press pause and come back to this when you're not required to be active in your world.

We had such an amazing response to last week's podcast featuring Lauren Bongiorno. I hope you caught that interview, but if you haven't listened to that episode yet, do yourself a huge favor and check it out. Lauren was such a dynamic guest and we got pretty deep on topics including nutrition, exercise, yoga and the focus for today's podcast, which is meditation.

I've spoken previously about my history with meditation and mindfulness. If you're interested, check out the interview I did with Cyrus Khambatta on the Mastering Diabetes YouTube page. But, the reality is that meditation and mindfulness holds tremendous benefits for all of us.

There's a growing body of scientific literature exploring the brain and how it actually has the ability to change for the better through the practice of meditation. And not only does the brain change, but a consistent meditation practice will also positively impact your blood pressure, your heart rate, and even lead to changes that will positively impact your blood glucose levels.

In this episode, and first installment of 'Your Bravest Life', Lauren Bongiorno leads us all on a guided meditation that will undoubtedly help you connect with yourself on a much deeper level.

Lauren Bongiorno is a meditation teacher, a yogi and a health coach who is contributing to the world in so many different ways. While she spends a good amount of her energy coaching clients with type 1 diabetes to healthier, happier lives, she is also a busy entrepreneur who is working on some next level projects that will allow her to make an impact on even more people than her day to day schedule allows.

In this episode, Lauren and I talk about her diagnosis with diabetes at the age of seven, and how her parents were instrumental in helping her develop a high level of confidence despite that diagnosis. We also talk about her Division 1 college soccer career and her decision to transition away from law school to follow her passion in the world of health and wellness. Lauren also shares, what she calls 'a difficult relationship with food and exercise', and how common eating disorders are in the diabetes community.

We then shift the conversation to her entry into the world of nutrition, yoga and meditation, and how they helped her transition from being unrealistic at times and very hard on herself, to following a path to a more balanced and healthy life. Lauren believes this has allowed her to become more comfortable in her own skin and that it has positively impacted her energy and clarified her mind so she can better connect with the people around her.

This is a conversation of digging in deep, doing the hard work, and learning as much about yourself as possible, so you can make your greatest impact on the world around you.

Lauren is a perfect example of how we can take the diagnosis of diabetes, fight through life's speed bumps, and then turn the volume up our inner voice to allow our purpose to shine through. She's super energetic and her mission is to help bring joy to the people around her. When you listen to Lauren, it's obvious, she not only talks about how to live a better life, she truly walks the walk. I had a great time meeting Lauren and talking to her about her life story.

I recently had an opportunity to catch up with Adam Sud. Now, if you're not familiar with Adam, he is currently a health coach based in Austin, Texas for Whole Foods Market. But he didn't start out as the healthy lifestyle advocate you might see online or presenting at events like the Esselstyn's famous gathering 'Plantstock'. This discussion goes deep and wide, and we cover much more than just the topic of diabetes. We talk about reaching breaking points and learning what we as humans are truly capable of. It's about hitting rock bottom so hard that the only choice you have is for your life to come to an end, or you make the decision to recreate yourself from the cellular level on up, rewriting your brain's operating system in the process. As you'll see, most of our lives might not be as extreme as Adam's; he's had an unbelievable start to his life. But what we can take from this interview and learn from him will help us remove any power our own excuses and mental barriers may hold. We will also see that improving our situation, our health, and our relationships is a step by step, every day commitment. There is no easy fix at times, and the reality is that old habits are always lurking in the shadows, regardless how far we've put them in our rear view mirror. In this conversation, Adam takes us on a journey through his childhood in Texas and then how he rapidly slipped into an Adderall and fast food addiction. Those addictions resulted in Adam spending huge amounts of time on his couch, surrounded by fast food wrappers, devising his next plan to get cash to feed his prescription drug addiction. It was only after overdosing that he sought help from his family and entered rehab. Luckily for Adam, his family's support was there when he needed it the most. Once in rehab, Adam (who was over 300 pounds at that time) was told that he was a type 2 diabetic, and he had dangerously elevated cholesterol and blood pressure. He was a ticking time bomb, he was massively sick, and he was emotionally broken. Despite his addiction to Adderall, it was actually the diagnosis of diabetes that helped Adam to flip the switch that led him to change his relationship with food and himself, and in turn, it changed his relationship with his family and his connection with the world around him. This is an emotional interview at times, but there is so much to learn from Adam's story. He's a remarkable guy and in listening to him speak, you can't help but root for his continued success.

Is it possible for a 305 pound carnivore football player to reverse course on all of his chronic diseases and completely change the trajectory of his family's life forever? Marc Ramirez grew up in southern Texas wth four brothers and three sisters. HIs father abandoned his family when Marc was eight years old and left his mother struggling to raise an army of children on her own. Marc ultimately rose up and earned a football scholarship to the University of Michigan, where he played right guard for the legendary coach Bo Schembechler. Marc and his teammates went on to play in three Rose Bowls and one Hall of Fame Bowl.

To fuel his 305 pound frame and the countless hours of training, Marc required a significant amount of food intake; he was quite fond of steak and potatoes; by his own account, usually more of the steak. But once the chapter closed on Marc's football career, his dietary habits didn't change, and his body started to fight against him. This came in the form of weight gain, type 2 diabetes, hypertension, high cholesterol, and a host of other lifestyle diseases, all requiring enough medications to line a pharmacy shelf.

What Marc feared was that he was firmly on the same path as his mother and siblings. And just to give you an idea of what Marc's family was experiencing…

His mom underwent kidney transplant, passed in 2002 after 33 years of fighting diabetes.

Sadly, his brother David passed from pancreatic cancer two months later.

Marc's sister Carol struggled with type 2 diabetes for many years.

His twin brother Joe battles with type 2 diabetes, and already has suffered a heart attack.

Marc's youngest sister Sandra, has type 2 diabetes.

And Martin, Marc's youngest sibling, has type 2 diabetes, he's had a pancreas and kidney transplant, he's legally blind and had his right leg amputated. Martin undergoes dialysis 3 times per week, and is on a whopping 25 medications.

Marc was confronted with the very real possibility that he was predestined to suffer the same outcomes as other members of his family.

I'm not going to give away the entire story here, but conversation that follows with Marc and his wife, Kim (aka Chickpea and Bean), truly demonstrates what we are capable of as humans. We cover Marc's slow decline into illness, and then how Kim's support helped him work his way back to health, and ultimately his ability to thrive and help others get their own health back on track. I loved talking to these guys, not only because it's clear they adore each other, but their story is a truly inspirational one. They changed their own lives and, in turn, changed the course of their family forever.

The psychology of diabetes is an important topic and support in this area may be difficult to come by; but we've found a tremendous resource. On today's show we have Dr. Mark Heyman. Mark is a PhD in Clinical Psychology and he completed clinical training at UCSD School of Medicine. He is a Certified Diabetes Educator and the Director for the Center for Diabetes and Mental Health in San Diego, CA, which is a specialty center focused on the psychosocial, emotional and behavioral aspects of diabetes. Mark also sits on the Boards of a number of diabetes non-profit organizations. And while his background is definitely impressive, what I love about him is that he not only speaks from a standpoint of an academic, he's also been living with the realities of type 1 since 1999. So what you'll hear from Mark is not only the words of a psychologist, but also his deep understanding and practical knowledge that's derived from his personal experiences.

Our conversation begins with Mark's entry into a world with type 1 when he was a student at UCLA. He talks about how the physician who initially handed him the diagnoses set the stage for Mark to develop a 'no limitations' mindset when it came to his diabetes. Mark shares how important that was in shaping his optimistic mindset. We then go on to talk about the very heavy topic of depression. Mark also shares a wealth of knowledge on other issues we might face including anxiety, burnout, and how to change health behaviors that simply don't work for us any longer.

We finish up the show with Mark's thoughts on why he believes living with diabetes can actually be a positive in our lives, as well as why he thinks humor and laughter serve as a critical component in our ability to lead a healthy life.

On today's show we have Dr. Cyrus Khambatta and Robby Barbaro. These guys are two significant forces in the world of diabetes nutrition. You might be familiar with Cyrus through his work under the Mangoman Nutrition moniker, and Robby, aka Mindful Diabetic Robby, is known for his super popular Instagram account and Youtube channel. Together they've created 'Mastering Diabetes', which is a philosophy and program designed to help anyone with diabetes reduce insulin resistance and improve their blood glucose levels through a whole foods, plant-based diet.

We start off our conversation covering both of their diagnosis stories, as well as Cyrus's diagnosis with not just one, but three autoimmune conditions within a six month timeframe. Cyrus shares the emotional rollercoaster he was on during that time and how he transitioned to a plant-based diet. Robby also discusses his diagnosis as a pre-teen, and his transition to a 100% fruit-based diet.

When we think about how we're encouraged to eat when we have diabetes, the most common suggestions center around a high protein/ low-carb diet. Based on what Cyrus and Robby tell us in this interview, that particular way of eating might in fact work against us if we're trying to either reverse type 2 or better manage type 1. The core reason, they say, is insulin resistance from fat that builds in our bodies over time. Their answer equates to a higher carbohydrate/ low-fat, plant based diet, and throughout this interview, Cyrus and Robby address misconceptions associated with their approach

What's important about Cyrus and Robby's philosophy is that they not only present anecdotal evidence from their own experimenting, they also focus heavily on the scientific literature to formulate the recommendations they put out into the world. While they admit their approach to diabetes management through a plant-based diet may run counter to popular thinking, they point to the quantitative outcomes they achieve, as well as what their clients experience, including reduced blood-glucose levels and reduced injected insulin needs.

Hold tight because we take this conversation through a solid amount of science (Cyrus is a PhD from UC Berkeley) but both Cyrus and Robby keep the information completely understandable. Even if you are not ready to jump on the whole foods, plant-based diet train, I'm sure this conversation will open your mind a little more to consider the research and science behind it all.

Music Credits for BRAVEST Episode 003

Intro music - Poddington Bear, 'Sepia' & The Passion HiFi, 'Sweet Revenge'

Outtro music - Joakim Karud, 'That Day'

On this episode we talk with Eric Tozer. Eric is a remarkable person who, while he often gets the spotlight due to his work with his non-profit Diabetes Sports Project, is a super humble guy and really in it to shine a light on others. Eric is specifically interested in helping other type 1 diabetic athletes succeed in their athletic pursuits. But it goes much further than that. He's also focused on how the success of competitive and endurance sports all translates from inspiration to action. What Eric learned early on is that it's one thing to be inspirational, it's another to actually help others take the steps necessary to become better versions of themselves despite having a diagnosis of type 1 diabetes.

Our conversation goes on a journey from Eric's childhood in Sacramento, CA as a competitive soccer player through an NCAA Championship run. We discuss his sudden loss of 20 pounds and the surprise diagnosis with type 1 diabetes at the age of 22. Since that diagnosis, Eric has run multiple Ironman triathlons and marathons. We also discuss the trials and victories he experienced through a 15 day 3,000 mile foot race from San Diego to NYC with nine other T1D runners.

You'll learn that his athletic accomplishments are truly admirable but his work away from competing is even more special. Eric co-founded the Diabetes Sports Project to support type 1 athletes of all ages. Eric's passion for using sport as a tool to lead a healthy and successful life is clear throughout our conversation, and we are grateful to be able to feature him on this episode of the BRAVEST podcast.

Music Credits for BRAVEST Episode 002

Intro music - Poddington Bear, 'Sepia' & The Passion HiFi, 'Sweet Revenge'

Bumper - Joakim Karud, 'Luvly'

Outtro music - Joakim Karud, 'That Day'

This is the very first episode of the BRAVEST podcast. This episode is a short one, but I thought it would make sense to start off by providing you with some personal background, and also spend some time sharing my hopes and my goals regarding the podcast as well as our new website.

Whether you're an athlete or someone just getting started on the quest for health and well-being, BRAVEST is about living the healthiest life possible with diabetes, every day, despite any obstacles that might fall across our path. And there is no doubt obstacles WILL fall across our path. Ultimately, if you're like me, you also want to figure out how to maximize the healthiest version of yourself to make your greatest contribution to the people around you.

In this episode I share details about my personal story of being diagnosed with type 1 almost 20 years ago. I found myself celebrating Thanksgiving in a NYC hospital bed that year after experiencing a sudden hearing loss, a leak under the retina of my left eye, losing 30 pounds in about a month, and hallucinating on the platform for the 6 train. I was admitted to the hospital that day severely dehydrated with a blood glucose level >800.

After almost two decades, I'm still one of those people who's always in search of relevant and credible information, motivation and insights to dial in my nutrition, fitness and mindset. But even before my diagnosis with type 1, I loved personal challenge, and I've always been obsessed with how I can do better today, than yesterday. Sometimes this mindset has worked against me, but I'm also a strong believer in learning through resistance and growing through the possibility of failure.

Over the years, my experience with type 1 has provided me with a never-ending stream of lessons about myself and the world around me. And as I'm sure some of you will understand, the amazing thing about type 1 is that, while there might be patterns in our health that we can observe in how nutrition and exercise interact with any number of other variables, it's all really an ever-changing science experiment and just when you think you have it down, something jumps in your way and all of a sudden you feel as if you're scrambling for control.

So the launch of BRAVEST has been inspired by questions that I think about constantly. I'm really curious about the ever-surfacing choices we have to either view the obstacles we face as actual opportunities to make ourselves better, stronger, faster versus seeing the world covered with insurmountable barriers. Do we view diabetes as something that limits us, or do we see the countless opportunities for growth and contribution the disease offers us? And to take that idea further, once we've shifted to more of a growth mode, how do we dive in consistently to optimize our health so we are the best version of ourselves possible?

Starting with our mindset, nutrition and movement, let's explore how we take the bravest version of ourselves and make our mark on the world in the most effective way possible.

Music Credits for BRAVEST Episode 001

Intro music - Poddington Bear, 'Sepia' & The Passion HiFi, 'Sweet Revenge'

Outtro music - Joakim Karud, 'That Day'