Episode 182 - Triathlon with Type 2 Diabetes: Tony Hampton’s Journey to Weight Loss & Blood Sugar Control

Triathlon with Type 2 Diabetes: Tony Hampton’s Journey to Weight Loss & Blood Sugar Control

Picture this: you're a dedicated triathlete, passionate about your sport and you’ve got a chronic condition that complicates every step of your training. 

My guest today is Tony Hampton and I’ll admit, he joined Triathlon Nutrition Academy (TNA) doubting whether I could help him at all. Spoiler alert - I did.

After navigating the complexities of Type 2 diabetes for over 25 years, Tony had tried everything to lose weight and get his blood sugar under control. He experimented with all sorts of diets and training regimens, but inevitably kept crashing when he hit the 2 hour mark.

Since working together in TNA, Tony’s results have been outstanding and in this conversation, we talk about his journey to weight loss, blood sugar control and what he’s learned about fuelling his body properly as a triathlete with type 2 diabetes.

Links:

Check how well you’re doing when it comes to your nutrition with our 50 Step Checklist to Triathlon Nutrition Mastery

Start working on your nutrition now with my Triathlon Nutrition Kickstart course 

It’s for you if you’re a triathlete and you feel like you’ve got your training under control and you’re ready to layer in your nutrition. It's your warmup on the path to becoming a SUPERCHARGED triathlete – woohoo!

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Episode Transcription

Episode 182 - Triathlon with Type 2 Diabetes: Tony Hampton’s Journey to Weight Loss & Blood Sugar Control

Welcome to the Triathlon Nutrition Academy podcast. The show designed to serve you up evidence-based sports nutrition advice from the experts. Hi, I'm your host Taryn, Accredited Practicing Dietitian, Advanced Sports Dietitian and founder of Dietitian Approved. Listen as I break down the latest evidence to give you practical, easy-to-digest strategies to train hard, recover faster and perform at your best. You have so much potential, and I want to help you unlock that with the power of nutrition. Let's get into it.

[00:00:00] Taryn: Today I had the pleasure of speaking with dedicated triathlete of 15 years, Tony Hampton, who's also a member of the Triathlon Nutrition Academy program, and he has had a pretty remarkable transformation that I would love him to share with you.

[00:00:13] He is an American triathlete from Fort Wayne, Indiana has my American accent. But he came into the TNA program, I guess, looking for answers and specifically for him around triathlon and diabetes. It's something he was looking for answers for for many years and couldn't really find what he was looking for, But what he's gained from working on his nutrition goes far beyond what he initially expected.

[00:00:38] and through small sustainable changes in habits, Tony has lost a significant amount of weight, reduced his visceral fat levels, and also has better hba one c Control All of that has been while he has been, injured, not doing a lot of consistent training or racing in the sport that he does love, and he's just itching to get back.

[00:00:58] So in this episode, we're gonna dive into a bit of his journey around the sport of triathlon and some of the lessons he's learned about fueling for endurance sport, specifically with diabetes, and some of the things that have really helped him train hard and race smarter and perform to the best of his ability.

[00:01:14] So if you are wondering about. Maybe how nutrition could be the missing piece of your endurance puzzle. Then Tony's story I think is going to give you some great insight and maybe inspire you to do a little different and eat a little different as well. All right. Welcome to the podcast, Tony.

[00:01:49] Tony: Thanks, love being here. Thanks.

[00:01:51] Taryn: So to kick us off, can you share a little bit about your journey into the sport of triathlon, how you got started and what made you fall in love and head over heels for this [00:02:00] crazy sport that we do love?

[00:02:01] Tony: So, I've been an athlete my whole life. it's always been, you know, team sports, but when I got out of the military and had a bunch of young kids running around my house, the sports kind of went away, but the competition level was still there.

[00:02:17] So I'm like, what am I gonna do? My neighbor happened to have just done an Ironman and I was talking about it, to him and it was always one of my goals was to complete an Ironman, which I still haven't done, but 

[00:02:30] Taryn: There's always time. There's still time.

[00:02:32] Tony: but I do have one on the schedule, so I, I'm, I'm gonna get there.

[00:02:35] But through that process of starting to run and then get into the triathlon, I had to, I had to start running because I didn't have a bike and I had no place to swim. And then, picked up the bike, picked up a place to swim, started small in my journey, uh, sprints and Olympics. I. Couple of half marathons and everything was great.

[00:02:58] But then problem started when I, when the, training started lasting longer than two hours, I got to a point where it was like I had no energy left. I didn't know what to do. Thinking that diabetes was the problem. You know, everybody's like, oh, just take a gel.

[00:03:14] Well, a gel is carbs and carbs is bad, and therefore I didn't do it. So, that made it really, really tough. I stumbled around for years trying to find how to get past that two to three hour mark and had a few injuries, uh, neck surgery, back surgery shoulder surgery and arm surgery. And so after all that, or during all that the Triathlon Nutrition Academy came across my feed and, uh, I was intrigued and you and I had a couple of discussions around whether you would be able to help for my diabetes and I was thinking, no, but you told me you could. And I said, [00:04:00] well, okay, I'll give it a try, but I'm not really, I am not really sure it's gonna work the way I want it to, but, well, I'll give it a try, whatever. And did the program and absolutely loved it. I've learned tons about carbs and diabetes. I'm not afraid of carbs now. I was a little carb phobic when I joined. you know, I tried keto and it worked for a little bit.

[00:04:25] I lost a lot of weight, then I gained it all back and it was unsu unsustainable. But after joining the program, starting phase three, you put down a challenge to me, that I had to accept. And it was no junk food, no alcohol. the benefit was that it was February and it was the shortest month of the year, but it was also a leap year.

[00:04:45] So there was an extra day. But I said, okay, fine, I'll do it 29 days. It can't be the end of the world. And that started me on, uh, weight loss journey. You also gave me a target for race weight, which was about 25 pounds lighter than what I was at the time. But I had lost a couple of pounds right before that started, so I count that.

[00:05:07] As 30 pounds that I lost, as part of that challenge. And that challenge is still ongoing.

[00:05:13] Taryn: I love that you shared that. You're like, I'm gonna do this program, but I think it's gonna be not as good as you expected. And this chick

[00:05:21] says she can help me, but I don't think she can.

[00:05:23] Tony: I, I was skeptical. Uh, it's, uh, I mean, nobody else has been able to help me and everybody's put their 2 cents in. So, it's been a long journey. Obviously, so, uh, you know, almost 15 years. It was, I was probably at the 13 year-ish mark when I started the TNA program.

[00:05:41] So, a lot of failures before that. I say there's a lot of trial and error and the more air than there was anything else? So.

[00:05:49] Taryn: Oh, I'm, I'm glad you got a lot out of the program and I could actually help you. I'm not one to over promise and not be able to deliver. I'd much rather go the other direction. [00:06:00] When were you diagnosed with Type two Diabetes. How long ago was that?

[00:06:03] Tony: So I was diagnosed in 1999. my daughter was having a birthday party and one of her friends was a diabetic. And that, girl's mom gave us a sheet of paper that said, these are the things you have to look for. You know, blah, blah, blah, this, she can't do this, she can't do that.

[00:06:20] Well, on that sheet there was a bunch of symptoms of, diabetics and I was reading it down through the list and I'm like. That's me. That's me, that's me. That's me. That's so, I happened to have had to take one of my other daughters to the doctor a couple days after that and I said, you know, I might be a diabetic.

[00:06:40] And the doctor's like, oh, there's no way, you know, whatever. You know, and he took my blood sugar and, uh, he's like, when did you eat? I was like, I don't know, two, three hours ago. He is like, yeah, your blood sugar's fine. It's right in the normal range. It's like, okay, fine. And then I had some blood work done for some insurance that I was, going through for, uh, family and all that stuff. And they sent me a letter back saying, take this to the doctor. That's all it said, and it was right at the time of the internet not being the internet.

[00:07:13] So, you know,

[00:07:14] Taryn: What did we do?

[00:07:15] Tony: There was no Google then. Right. so I took it to the doctor and he is like, yeah. You remember a few months ago when you told me you were a diabetic? Yeah. You were right. You're a diabetic. 

[00:07:24] Taryn: Oh man. 

[00:07:26] Tony: that was, that was 1999.

[00:07:27] Taryn: And how did that change your approach to nutrition and even training and exercise back then?

[00:07:32] Tony: oh. So I had to go through a nutrition class and they gave me a bunch of targets. Uh. All my meals had to be 60 carbs or under. And 

[00:07:44] Taryn: That's quite a lot. I. 

[00:07:45] Tony: was it was a lot more than what I ended up actually eating for a good portion after that. But the typical serving size, you know, your fist of, you know, your piece of meat to, you know, all that stuff.

[00:07:57] and just monitor your blood. [00:08:00] And I wasn't even on medicine. And a little bit after that, they put me on medicine and then they took me off for a long time. I was off of medicine for probably a good 10 years. And then. 2020 my blood sugars and A1C started to go a little high and they put me on, uh, medicine at that point.

[00:08:21] And that's when it really started to become real stuff that I needed to change and to, to look for change. Since that's when the program really for me was like, okay, I gotta find a way To stay healthy. 

[00:08:35] Taryn: And so before you joined the Triathlon Nutrition Academy program, what did you know about nutrition and training for diabetes? Like what, what was your baseline that you were coming in from?

[00:08:45] Tony: uh, yeah, there was none. I did a 70.3. In 2021 and the whole race, I took in 60 carbs 

[00:08:56] Taryn: Wow.

[00:08:57] Were you fat adapted at that point though?

[00:09:00] Tony: Not really. I mean was dabbling in keto at the time. but I was training harder than, you know, a zone two workout, which that's all keto iss good for is zone two workouts.

[00:09:13] And I probably only had a liter of water through the whole six hours and 15 minutes that I was out there. And very little salt. And shortly thereafter, I learned I was a heavy sweater. In fact, I lose a liter on the bike, a liter and a half on the run of water. And uh, my sweat content is 1,760 milligrams of sodium.

[00:09:40] So I wasn't even anywhere near those for one hour, let alone six hours. So,

[00:09:49] Taryn: Yeah, that's craziness. So I remember really vividly the way that you eat or ate before was very low carb. And I think that's a lot of the messaging that you get as a [00:10:00] diabetic is carbs are bad, carbs are evil. Just stay away from them all together. And when you layer in triathlon training. To that piece, like that's just gonna set yourself up for failure.

[00:10:10] But then you become scared of eating carbohydrate because you don't wanna increase your blood sugar levels. And so it's a really big, like catch 22 vicious circle that you get into that you become afraid of them, but you need more, but then you don't wanna put them into your life. So it's, it's really.

[00:10:25] Really difficult and it's one of the reasons that I guess I put you on the challenge 'cause you're stubborn af sometimes it does take me a little while to figure somebody out. But once I figured you out, I'm like, right. I've got Tony figured out. Yeah, push his buttons and get him to actually make some change.

[00:10:42] And I'm so glad that we did that because yeah, set him a challenge and he had, I the support and camaraderie of the group and the cohort that he was going through which you know, each week and Power Hour and stuff as well, which was so much fun. 'cause everyone was your accountability buddy inside that group as well.

[00:10:59] It wasn't just me checking in, everyone was like cheering you on as well, We started in February and I set your kind of race weight for an event that you were planning on doing in November, I think it was. So it was, you know, small, steady, gradual change in, in body fat loss.

[00:11:17] Do you remember your DEXA scan numbers from like before and post the challenge 

[00:11:23] Tony: So I remember my weight was I. around two 20. And my body fat was around 30%. And it was phase three of the challenge. and I think I was the only guy that stayed around for phase three.

[00:11:41] So it was me and all these women and yeah you gave me the challenge and I had, Employee appreciation day in the United States, and my boss had given me a candy bar, I had a yellow post-it note on my desk that had 1 94, which was my race weight.

[00:11:59] I had [00:12:00] a a lion, a stuffed animal that came from a different event that, uh, one of the employees threw on my desk and I just left it there. I think they thought I would probably throw it away or give it away or whatever. But I left it there. So I put the candy bar on the lion's lap and I had the post-it note and I posted a picture in, the Facebook group and everybody just jumped on board. You know, they're along with the ride for me, you know, it's like supporting me, encouraging me making sure that I was doing what I say. I don't know exactly what my body fat was, but I did get down to the 1 94. A couple months early, I ended up not doing the race because I'm, I was still recovering from my bicep tendon tear swimming was very difficult. I tried to do a swim and I couldn't even take my hand out of the water. So, that makes it difficult when you do it for 2.4 miles.

[00:12:59] So. 

[00:13:00] so it was not fun. But I don't, I don't know what my actual body fat percentage actually dropped down to, but I think right now I'm probably around 20 ish percent.

[00:13:12] So, and you dropped maybe 10, 

[00:13:14] maybe 

[00:13:14] Taryn: and. One of the values of getting a dexascan for you is that your visceral fat specifically reduce significantly. So that's the fat that sits around your organs, and we don't want that. We want that number to be as low as possible. And for Tony, 

[00:13:27] Tony: that was a lot of that was in my, torso and there's some still there. There's work to still be done, but yeah, it's not, not nearly as bad as it was.

[00:13:39] Taryn: Yeah. Thank goodness. And the other thing that's changed for you, I guess, is your hba one c control. Can you talk to some of those numbers? What's happened over the last 12 months?

[00:13:48] Tony: My doctor always is amazed when I go in because he's like, you know, you're this diabetic that's been a diabetic for a long time and you're in pretty good control. I was, [00:14:00] my numbers were probably in the mid six. For the most part, but after I joined the program it actually dropped down to 5.4.

[00:14:09] It's since risen a little bit, but I'm still at like five six or five seven. So, uh, which is borderline, whether you're diabetic or not, but I'm still taking the medicine, so I can't say that I'm not, because if I didn't take the medicine it might be higher. 

[00:14:25] Taryn: are you looking at maybe going off medication in the future, 

[00:14:29] Tony: I want to, but I am not sure if I'm there yet. I still got a little bit of work to do. In fact, I have a meeting with my doctor next week to discuss that very thing, 

[00:14:41] because I'm, I'm noticed 1 94, which is what the race weight was, is the lowest I could go. Even, If I starved myself it seems like that that's where my medicine is stopping me from losing any more weight.

[00:14:56] So, that's one of the things that we're gonna discuss next week.

[00:15:01] Taryn: that was a like a long journey, right? That's for your entire duration of the TNA program. We're, we're working on that sort of stuff and nutrition is not a set and forget. It's something that you'll always need to work on. So the next phase for you, I. In my mind is increasing your muscle mass and keeping that body fat coming down or at least maintaining itself.

[00:15:22] And if we can get some more visceral fat off, I think that's gonna have huge advantages for you long term, which is really exciting. Tony. So that was a really good shift and really good change. So maybe after your discussion with your doctor next week, we can talk in our alumni Power Hour about what your next challenge is.

[00:15:39] Tony: my goal is to drop some more body fat and hopefully hit the gym and build some more muscle mass. So.

[00:15:50] Taryn: I think that's a great next step. So for you as you were going through, like you joined this program thinking, 

[00:15:55] I don't even know if this chick knows what she's talking about or if she can help me. [00:16:00] Like was there any aha moments or surprises that you were like, oh shit, she actually can help me and this is working.

[00:16:05] Like, is there any, anything that you learned that shifted your perspective?

[00:16:10] Tony: the one thing I thought I had nailed was my Recovery, nutrition, and that was the very first thing that we covered.

[00:16:17] And I couldn't have been more wrong. 

[00:16:20] I was like, wait a minute. That's the only thing I know. I have dialed in and it's not right. So, it wasn't bad, but it wasn't. To the level that it has become since I've joined the program. So yeah, the very first week, the, the light bulb went off.

[00:16:40] It's like, okay, I don't know as much as I thought I did. obviously 25 years as a diabetic. I've, I've learned quite a bit and I've learned a lot more since just joining the program.

[00:16:52] So.

[00:16:52] Taryn: Yeah. That's so amazing. Thank you. I am glad that I came through for you. we haven't done a lot of racing over this period of time because you've been injured and, and nursing some war wounds, but your race day fueling is, I guess, completely different to what you did before having 60 grams of carbs for an entire 70.3.

[00:17:11] What has changed in that space

[00:17:12] since coming 

[00:17:13] Tony: I, I did, I think it was right after phase two, I had clashed Daytona. And this would've been December of 23, and I successfully took, uh, 60 carbs per hour. And I did that as a, swim bike. So there was no run. But I did 60 carbs an hour on the bike.

[00:17:36] And then since then I've been training at between 90 and a hundred when I do longer rides of two hours or more. And, on my run, I think I'm probably somewhere around between 60 and 75. Just depends on what carb I take with me when I go, what, gels and chews I take. I [00:18:00] predominantly train with Morton and, uh, precision fuel and hydration stuff.

[00:18:05] Mostly because some of it's on the race course and some of it just works really well for me. But I also take others like I'm trying scratch right now and I'm really liking it. So, I also have an, an allergy to Stevia, so I try to stay away from anything that's got Stevia, which is a lot of stuff.

[00:18:25] But I do try to take more so that if. Something isn't available that I would normally take. I'm probably gonna be safe to take it during a race if I absolutely had to.

[00:18:37] Taryn: Yeah. Wow. That is a huge shift, Tony, to go from 60 grams of carbohydrate for an entire 70.3 to doing it sort of per hour. Have you had to get over some mental hurdles and blocks to do that with diabetes or have you been Okay? I.

[00:18:53] Tony: I do wear a CGM and so that helps a little bit. Uh, and I can kinda see my numbers as they go up and down. So it's not as scary. and, And being able to continue going and going hard, is. Mind boggling, I guess. Just because I'm, I'm like, okay, normally I would be like wiped out, you know, like barely turn the pedals, you know? And here I am charging away, like, there's no tomorrow.

[00:19:23] So yeah, it's, it's been a big shift. It if I didn't have a CGM it would be really, really scary. I think. 

[00:19:31] Taryn: And so do you have any advice for triathletes with diabetes then, based on what you've been through? Like for anybody that might be struggling with their nutrition or Not really sure where to start?

[00:19:41] Tony: there, there's not a lot of information out there. I am in the process of starting a support group, through tri dot for diabetics, uh, where we can meet and talk about some of this stuff. But for the most parts you can probably take more carbs Then you think you can.

[00:19:59] And [00:20:00] it's, and it's okay. I mean, a lot of people are wearing CGMs and they're saying the same thing. It's like, well. I tried to take a little bit of carbs and my numbers went up. It's like, well, that's what's supposed to happen when you're working out because you know your body's elevating your glucose levels, your blood sugar levels, so that it will give you the energy you need.

[00:20:21] it's not a bad thing to go a little high while you're racing or while you're putting out an effort. It's bad while you're not doing it. And it's always bad if you go low. which I did have an episode where I had a race that I had to abandon because my blood sugar just couldn't go up, and I still haven't figured out why I crashed so much, but I crashed 20 minutes into my run and I made it 20 miles on the bike and I was out of nutrition and my blood sugar was still going down. So,

[00:20:56] um, 

[00:20:57] Taryn: Good 

[00:20:57] Tony: yeah. So, I made, well, I made it to the, to the one aid station and I said, okay, I've got about a 20. Five, 30 minute ride back, there's cops at every intersection on the way back.

[00:21:10] So as long as I can see the next intersection and I'm not crashing, I'm good. I took a couple of gels, which I had never used before. I didn't even know what was in them, so I'm like, okay, I'm just gonna take 'em because I'm out of nutrition. I have nothing.

[00:21:25] So if I crash, I'm gonna take it and whatever happens, happens, as long as I can see the next cop, they're gonna see if I fall off my bike.

[00:21:32] Taryn: Oh

[00:21:33] Tony: So, and I pedaled easy all the way back. I, I wasn't even an arrow. I set up on my bars and just pedaled back easy, made it back and got off the bike and was like, just wiped out.

[00:21:45] No idea what happened, but that was a one-off. but I also raced hard the day before, so I have no idea. 'cause it was, it was Clash Daytona again. And I did the sprint on one day and I was gonna do the, the middle distance on the next.

[00:21:59] [00:22:00] And I, I raced the sprint really hard and

[00:22:03] Taryn: do you know what you did? You didn't top up your glycogen stores

[00:22:05] enough in between. 

[00:22:06] Tony: I, I, no, I did not. But I, I know I carload well for, The Saturday race, I'm not sure I carb loaded well for Sunday's race

[00:22:20] because of what happened on Saturday. I was probably a little under carbed going in and I just, I just couldn't catch up.

[00:22:29] Taryn: Well, the not, not a

[00:22:30] Tony: but that was 

[00:22:31] Taryn: hard way.

[00:22:32] Tony: right. Well, and that was my, really my second attempt at carb loading. So, I kind of knew what I wanted to do, but I hadn't had anything that was. Tested and, and true that I knew would work. So I was kind of playing with fire, I guess, as I, but it was, I was really doing the race for fun.

[00:22:51] It wasn't like I was trying to set a PR or anything like that, so it literally was end of the season, let's party

[00:23:00] Taryn: Well, at least you know what not to do next time.

[00:23:02] Tony: right.

[00:23:03] Taryn: So if you could go back then and give Tony advice, like pre TNA, Tony, what would you say to him?

[00:23:10] Tony: you gotta eat carbs. if I would've known in the early 2010s about how many carbs that I really needed to fuel to get through the training and through the racing, I would, I would've been a heck of a lot better athlete.

[00:23:27] Taryn: That's okay. There's still time. Are you gonna do Ironman when you are 80? What's the plan for you event-wise 

[00:23:33] Tony: Um, hopefully, uh, November I arrive to the start line in Ironman, Florida, healthy and ready to go. That'll be my first attempt at Ironman.

[00:23:44] And I'll be 58. but it's not, I, this is something that I'm gonna do until I can't get on a bike anymore, or I can't jump in the water or I can't run.

[00:23:56] And if I can, if I can swim and I can bike, I'll just have to do [00:24:00] it fast enough so that I can walk so marathon, 

[00:24:03] or do the Ironman shuffle or whatever. But I was never a one and done kind of person. It was like, okay, I know when I get into the sport, I'm gonna stay in the sport cause I am ultra competitive.

[00:24:16] I'll I'll race you, I will race you and mowing the lawn if that's what it takes. You know? I mean, it's, I I'm that competitive, and so I'm going to do it until I can't anymore. So,

[00:24:28] Taryn: So are we racing at Sunny Coast in the swim then? Is it on like Donkey Kong?

[00:24:32] Tony: I have my limits. I'm gonna have to gain about, uh, 20 minutes of speed to compete with you. But you're not in my age group either, so there's that. But,

[00:24:44] Taryn: I'm not in Kelly's age group or Steve's or anyone, but they still wanna race me. They 

[00:24:48] still wanna race the Australian that can swim.

[00:24:51] Tony: yeah, I'm, I'm still recovering from my separated bicep

[00:24:56] Taryn: yeah. Okay. Okay. 

[00:24:58] Tony: um, 

[00:24:58] Taryn: Backpedal. 

[00:24:59] Tony: eventually, maybe, eventually, maybe not this year.

[00:25:03] Taryn: okay. Okay, cool. So for somebody that is not a part of our amazing TNA community, like I love the camaraderie we have. what are some insights, or even some words that help to describe it for somebody that's not a part of it, because it's really for you, it's really helped you stay accountable and motivated through the challenge that I set

[00:25:24] Tony: Right. So everybody knows that the sport of triathlon is accepting of everybody, right? You know, we take everybody and the TNA group just takes that to another whole new level. You know, it's like I've got friends that I haven't met, you know? But yet if they called me up and said, Hey, I need your help.

[00:25:46] I, I'm gonna help 'em. Some of them I have met I've been lucky to meet, uh, a good handful of them. can't wait to get to Australia to meet the ones that I haven't met yet.

[00:25:56] So

[00:25:57] Taryn: Yeah, it's 

[00:25:57] gonna be 

[00:25:57] one big fun party [00:26:00] week, and then with a triathlon thrown in.

[00:26:02] Tony: and I, the day after I get there is my birthday, 

[00:26:05] Taryn: exactly.

[00:26:06] Tony: everybody's gonna have to celebrate my birthday 

[00:26:08] Taryn: Well, when you've got a 70.3 to do in a few short days, maybe you need to save the party. Party for after the race. I.

[00:26:14] Tony: It will still be there. Yep. It'll be there. 

[00:26:17] Taryn: Oh, thank you so much, Tony, for joining me on the podcast and sharing your story. I know that there is a lot of diabetics out there that do triathlon that are the same, like just fumbling around trying to figure it out for themselves.

[00:26:30] And like you said, there isn't really any information out there, which is a good thing in a way, because then you get blindly led astray by generic advice on the internet that may not be right for you.

[00:26:43] Tony: Yeah, but it's also bad in the fact that there's nothing to go off of except for what everybody else does. And all your doctors and, you know, medical care teams and all that are telling you, you know, you can't do this, you can't do this. You can't have carbs. You can't have carbs. So, I mean, it's, it, it's a mess. I, I, I wish there was more information out there, but it has to be the right information, 

[00:27:09] Taryn: Hmm. I think you just need to get the right people in your team, right? Get a GP or a doctor or a sports physician in your corner so that you can have those conversations around, all right, this is the sport that I'm doing and that's not gonna change. 

[00:27:22] Help me get everything else right? Uh, and

[00:27:25] Tony: Right. Yeah. My doctor, My doctor, has finally accepted the fact that I'm going to be doing these long course events, and he's an athlete anyway, so, he says, when you came in here and told me you're a diabetic, my very first meeting with him and you do all these triathlons, I'm like, there's no way this guy knows what he's talking about.

[00:27:44] He's. He's way off base. This is what my doctor thought of me. And then, three or four years later, he's like, oh my gosh, this dude is doing all this stuff. I've gotta help him. So, our next meeting will be an interesting one 

[00:27:59] Taryn: Well, thank you [00:28:00] so much, Tony. It's been great to share your story and I'm very excited to meet you in the flesh at Sunny Coast 70.3 later in the year.

[00:28:07] Tony: Can't wait.

[00:28:08] Taryn: Thank you. 

[00:28:08] Bye.  

 

Thanks for joining me for this episode of the Triathlon Nutrition Academy podcast. I would love to hear from you. If you have any questions or want to share with me what you've learned, email me at [email protected]. You can also spread the word by leaving me a review and taking a screenshot of you listening to the show. Don't forget to tag me on social media, @dietitian.approved, so I can give you a shout out, too. If you want to learn more about what we do, head to dietitianapproved.com. And if you want to learn more about the Triathlon Nutrition Academy program, head to dietitianapproved.com/academy. Thanks for joining me and I look forward to helping you smashed in the fourth leg - nutrition!