Drew's Daily Dose

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Reflections during COVID-19 - it’s time for change

‎Plant Proof - Plant Based Nutrition & Inspirational Stories: Reflections during COVID-19 - it's time for change with Drew Harrisberg on Apple Podcasts ‎Show Plant Proof - Plant Based Nutrition & Inspirational Stories, Ep Reflections during COVID-19 - it's time for change with Drew Harrisberg - 25 Apr 2020

When I got invited to talk in front of 2 thousand people at the world’s largest conference on happiness and wellbeing - Happiness and Its Causes 2019, I immediately got flooded with butterflies. That’s when I knew I had to do it. I had to say yes. Why? Because the moments that give you butterflies are the moments that lead to immense self-growth. Butterflies are a sign that it’s important. A sign that you’re stepping out of your comfort zone. Nothing great comes from your comfort zone. If your instinct is to say no to opportunities that scare you, or your default mode is to shy away, to look for an excuse or a way out, remember this message...your nerves are telling you that it matters and that you’re being given an opportunity to grow! Sure, you could opt for risk mitigation and live a safe, conservative and comfortable existence but you’re just robbing yourself of potential growth. Instead, start saying yes more often. Say yes to signing up for that marathon or endurance event. Say yes to meeting your friend for that tough workout at the crack of dawn. Say yes to that job interview or meeting. Say yes to that public speaking gig. Seek moments that give you butterflies. Seek moments that make your heart race. Those are the moments that take you a step closer to your best you.

PERSONAL STORY: A DAILY DOSE with Drew Harrisberg at Happiness & Its Causes 2019 PERSONAL STORY: A DAILY DOSE | Drew Harrisberg, exercise physiologist, sports scientist and diabetes educator who is happy, healthy and thriving with Type 1 ...

This photo pretty much sums up my New Zealand experience. A moment of pure joy after a workout and a swim at the base of a snowy mountain. Endorphins flowing. Appreciation for nature. Gratitude for being alive and healthy. Embracing the solitude and consequential clarity that inevitably comes with being off the grid. The realisation that life is about collecting moments not things. The satisfaction of sharing them with people. The commitment to being a lifelong learner and to continuously discover new parts of the world and myself 🌍🏔🙏🏼

Today is World Diabetes Day. A day where I can’t help but reflect on my life. When people look at me they see a happy and healthy guy thriving with diabetes but what they don’t see is how I got here. I wasn’t always like this. When I was first diagnosed at age 22, I cried myself to sleep for the first week straight. I mourned the loss of the old me. I had to rediscover my self identity. I had to come to terms with the fact that I now had a lifelong chronic condition that I had to manage for the rest of my existence. I was 13 kgs lighter. I looked and felt sick. I was ashamed to test my blood glucose levels and inject insulin in public. Diabetes is a full time job. Thousands of finger pricks and injections. Constant counting and calculating food and dosages. Worrying about the frightening short-term and long-term complications: blindness, kidney failure, amputations, seizure, coma, and even death. Diabetes doesn’t discriminate. It’s ruthless. Diabetes doesn’t give a f**k about your age, ethnicity, gender, geographical location, SES, or any other demographic measure. Nobody is immune. This message goes out to anyone living with diabetes. Whether it’s pre diabetes, insulin resistance, gestational, type 1, type 2, or anything in between. Nobody asked for this disease. It might not be your fault that you got diabetes, but how you react is always your responsibility! As long as you’re doing your absolute best to manage it every single day, you should stand proud and tall. You’re not alone.
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If you or anyone you know has diabetes, I want to hear your story! Please leave a comment or tag someone that needs to hear this👇🏼🙏🏼 🌎

Dear carbohydrates, I’m sorry for all the years that I blamed you for spiking my blood glucose levels. You were an innocent bystander who was wrongfully accused. You were the victim of somebody else’s crime. My sub-optimal insulin sensitivity was not your fault and I should never have pointed the finger at you. I’m glad to have you back in my life. You’re delicious, nutritious, and ridiculously good looking. I promise to repair your reputation and smash the stigmas associated with you and your effect on diabetes. Please accept my apology. It’s great to have you back 🙏🏼
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My dietary journey has covered expansive terrain...7 years paleo, many months keto (on 2 seperate occasions), and now approaching 12 months plant-based. It still amazes me that I can eat large amounts of carbohydrates without a significant blood glucose elevation. I’ve been using the continuous glucose monitor for the past week or so and it has been an eye-opening experience being able to monitor my glucose levels from my phone in real-time. When I first went on a low fat, whole food, plant-based diet, I thought carbs would spike my BGL, but they don’t. I thought I would require more insulin, but I don’t. My insulin sensitivity and carbohydrate tolerance has improved beyond my wildest imagination. My dexcom report shows that I’m able to stay in range for nearly 100% of the day without a single high reading (swipe across for graphs).
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NOTE: I want to make it very clear that I’m not demonising dietary fat either. Fat is essential and important for optimal health but can impair carbohydrate tolerance if consumed in large amounts in the context of a higher carb diet.

I NEED YOUR HELP! I’m 7 days out from the Queenstown Marathon which conveniently falls 2 days after World Diabetes Day. I’ve decided to start a fund raiser to highlight the message that EXERCISE IS MEDICINE. I set a conservative goal of raising $1500. I know it’s short notice, but let’s see what we can do as a community in 7 days. If we get together, I’m confident we can smash that figure out of the park! I’ve kicked things off with a 10 dollar donation. It would mean the world to me if you could chip in. No amount is too small. If you can’t donate then please share this post and help spread the word. Thanks in advance for your support 🙏🏼

Help Drew Harrisberg x Queenstown Half Marathon make a difference I've created this page because I want to inspire people with diabetes to embrace exercise as an important tool in the management of all types of diabetes. I always say "Exercise is a form of medicine that we can freely and happily administer to ourselves". I'm a proud ambassador for Diabetes NSW & A...

I NEED YOUR HELP! I’m 7 days out from the Queenstown Marathon which conveniently falls 2 days after World Diabetes Day. I’ve decided to start a fund raiser for to highlight the message that EXERCISE IS MEDICINE! I set a conservative goal of raising $1500. I know it’s short notice, but let’s see what we can do as a community in 7 days. If we get together, I’m confident we can smash that figure out of the park! I’ve kicked things off with a 10 dollar donation. It would mean the world to me if you could chip in. No amount is too small. If you can’t donate then please share this post and help spread the word. Thanks in advance for your support 🙏🏼
🔗Link to fundraiser page in my bio.

Back home after a 10-day holiday in beautiful Queensland. I barely touched my phone for the entire time I was away. No scrolling on social media, no podcasts, no Netflix and no emails. Just loads of sun, sea, sand, singing, songwriting, exercising, and eating an abundance of healthy food at every meal. It’s amazing what a dose of solitude can do for one’s clarity. When you escape your routine your values become very apparent. This break confirmed what I already knew about my value hierarchy. My health, my family, my partner, my dog and Mother Nature are what make me feel complete. Everything else comes next. Life doesn’t have to be so complicated. If you can find joy in the simple things like a swim in the ocean, a healthy meal, a daily workout and quality time with your loved ones, you’ll forever be happy. I’m proud to live a life aligned with my values. Need help figuring out your values? Your answers to these questions will tell you a lot about yourself:
1. You wake up tomorrow and there’s 20 thousand dollars in your bank account. What do you do with it?
2. Your boss tells you to take 2 weeks off. What do you do?
3. What triggers you?
4. If you could have any career without worrying about money what would you do?
5. What brings you happiness and fulfilment?
6. What makes you angry, sad and disappointed?
7. What do you want to change about yourself and the world?
I encourage everyone to identify your value hierarchy and consciously live your life in alignment with them 😊🙏🏼

What the f**k are we doing? We are producing over 300 MILLION TONS of plastic every year, 50% of which is single-use. Sadly, it ends up in our oceans and kills tremendous amounts of marine life. We should be ashamed. A moment of thirst does not justify a plastic bottle which will be on earth for HUNDREDS of years. Shoutout to who have created a virtual reality experience in Circular Quay where you can see and feel the effects of plastic pollution on the ocean. I’m warning you, it’s incredibly overwhelming, confronting and depressing, but very necessary. We all need to see what we are doing to our beautiful planet (especially the woman who think this problem is fake news. Go check out my post from last week 🙄)
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Sometimes a complex problem can be solved by a simple solution. Obviously we can do our best to clean up our beaches and dispose/recycle responsibly, but the best way forward is to ELIMINATE single-use plastic altogether. It’s unnecessary and shameful. All you need is 3 main reusables:
👉🏼 Water bottle
👉🏼 Coffee cup
👉🏼 Shopping bag
Those 3 alone will help eliminate the biggest culprits i.e plastic water bottles, takeaway coffee cups, and plastic bags.
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I love the ocean. It’s my backyard. I love everything about it. I love looking at it, swimming in it, listening to it, and just being around it. I’ve made a pledge to do my best to eliminate single-use plastic. I hope you do too.
“Can I really make a difference?” - said 7 billion people.
Yes. You can. 🌊🌎

PLANT-BASED PHYSIQUE UPDATE 🌱
After 9 months on a plant-based diet it turns out you don’t need to eat any animal products (meat, fish, eggs, dairy) to build muscle. Plants contain more than enough protein and all the essential amino acids to build muscle. Don’t believe me? Just ask a gorilla or the cow whose muscle tissue you keep eating because you think it will give you muscles. I did that my entire life. It also turns out carbs don’t make you fat like people say. I’ve been guilty of demonising macronutrients in the past and I’m willing to admit that I was wrong.
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This is the first time I have ever posted a mirror selfie. I posted this because I’m proud of my physique, not just the way it looks, but what it represents. My body is a byproduct of a healthy lifestyle and a reflection of my commitment to my values. If I had to wear my body inside-out I’d wear it with pride. I’m proud of the way I live my life. I’m proud of the way I manage my diabetes. I’m proud of the fact that I can thrive without sacrificing my ethics and morals when it comes to my impact on animals and the environment 🌎🙏🏼

I’ve been talking about macronutrient combinations (i.e how much fat, carb, and protein make up your plate) for years now. Recently, more science has emerged supporting the notion that macronutrient combinations significantly affect glycemic control and insulin requirements. At a recent diabetes congress I was privileged to hear talks from the scientists and researchers who ran the studies.
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In a study by KJ Bell, subjects were fed a given amount of carbs in the absence of fat and protein, or the exact same amount of carbs in the presence of fat and protein. The different groups had significantly different glycemic responses and insulin requirements to the meals.
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The carbohydrate-only meal resulted in a normal glucose curve. When they added fat and protein to the exact same amount of carbs it resulted in a 5.5 mmol delayed elevation in postprandial glucose levels and required 65% more insulin to metabolise the carbs. Let that sink in. 65% more insulin!! The addition of fat and protein impaired glucose tolerance. Another study by S.M Smart had very similar findings.
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There are many conclusions that can be drawn from these studies:
👉🏼Fat and protein alone have insulin requirements.
👉🏼Combining carbs with fat and/or protein in a meal requires significantly more insulin to mitigate the impaired glucose tolerance.
👉🏼 We need to be thinking about our macronutrient combinations on a meal to meal basis not just as an overall daily intake.
👉🏼A truly low fat plant based diet is very effective for managing all types of diabetes. When dietary fat is low, your body can easily tolerate glucose and insulin sensitivity is optimised.
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Finally, I’d like to see similar studies done with real food. Both studies used what I call fake food or food-like products. One study used pizza and the other pancakes but the results were consistent nonetheless.

I was in a shopping store recently () when I heard a lady next to me get into an argument with the lovely staff member at the check out. The staff member said to her that they no longer do plastic bags and asked if she would like a reusable bag. The lady strongly requested a plastic bag (I know, who does that in 2019? 🙄). Anyway, when her request was denied the lady lost her s**t, started huffing and puffing, rolling her eyes and mouthing off. She said “this is a complete joke”. That’s when I chimed in. I told her it’s not a joke at all. It’s a very serious matter. I told her that plastic bags end up in the ocean and kill marine life. She said “Who told you that? The media?” I said: “No, I see it everyday when I take my dog to the beach”. She thought it was a conspiracy theory created by the media.
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Yo lady, if you’re reading this...this photo is the result of 5 minutes of cleaning up my local beach with . We found 2 huge plastic bags on the beach and filled them up with single-use plastic. Mostly plastic bags, water bottles, straws, coffee cups, cutlery and junk food wrappers. There’s a lot of fake news out there, but plastic in our oceans isn’t one of them. The media actually do report on the truth. It’s real. I see it everyday with my own two eyes.
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The solution is so simple! If you get these 4 things you’ll be making a big difference:
👉🏼Reusable shopping bags
👉🏼Reusable coffee cup
👉🏼Reusable water bottle
👉🏼Common sense
Imagine if everyone did that...

🌓 Pain that is not transformed is transmitted
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I’ve been seeing so much anger, hatred, nastiness, cruelty and straight-up bullying on Instagram lately, in particular in the comments section on posts about nutrition. Nutrition is like religion. Criticising someone’s diet is an easy way to start a war. All you have to do is read through the comments section of a post to do with veganism or carnism and you’ll see what I’m talking about. It’s ugly. And quite sad, to be honest.
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Instead of fighting back with these people, I remind myself that they are clearly in pain. Their pain is being channeled into a negative comment and transmitted on to the next person. They’re looking for an outlet. I know because when I was first diagnosed with diabetes I was angry and enraged. I hadn’t yet transformed my pain into something positive so I ended up transmitting my pain on to others in the form of aggression. I was getting into physical fights, verbal arguments, and was just a volatile guy. So now, instead of letting negative comments trigger me, I tell myself that I am responsible for my triggers. These people don’t need me to argue with them, they need my support. They may be suffering in silence like I was.
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I personally choose to ignore the negativity but I think there’s a better way to go about it - diffuse their anger with compassion. Compassion is the ultimate antidote for anger, bullying, and cruelty. Shoutout to who sets a great example when it comes to diffusing other people’s pain with compassion. He has rational, meaningful conversations with complete strangers who are trying to antagonise and provoke him but he ends up (after a long and deep conversation) landing on a pain-point for them which is the root of their nastiness.
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👉🏼 The pain in your life isn’t always your fault, but how you deal with it is ALWAYS your responsibility.
👉🏼 If your pain is not transformed it will always be transmitted.

PUBLIC HEALTH ANNOUNCEMENT 📢 (Part 2)
A low carb, high fat diet (keto) does not reverse type 2 diabetes or insulin resistance, it manages the symptoms. Diabetes is a condition of insulin resistance and carbohydrates intolerance. Therefore, normal insulin and blood glucose levels in the ABSENCE of carbs is not an indication of reversing diabetes. However, normal insulin and blood glucose levels in the PRESENCE of carbs is a true indication of diabetes reversal. You have to challenge the system with carbs to truly test your glucose tolerance.
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For example, if a person with celiac disease removes gluten from their diet they are not cured of the disease, they’re managing the symptoms by removing a trigger. As soon as they eat gluten their symptoms come back. It’s the same with type 2 diabetes. Removing carbs is like removing the trigger of symptoms but that doesn’t necessarily mean you’ve reversed the underlying cause.
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If somebody tells you they went on a keto diet and achieved normal blood sugar levels and came off their diabetes medication they’re not telling you lies, it does happen (very effectively), but it DOES NOT mean they have reversed their insulin resistance! The sniff of a banana might spike their blood glucose levels. There is scientific evidence showing that high fat diets worsen insulin resistance. Keto is great for symptom management but doesn’t address the cause. Let’s stop calling a spade a shovel. Stay tuned for part 3 👀👂🏼
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PUBLIC HEALTH ANNOUNCEMENT 📢 (Part 1)
Whole food carbohydrates do not cause type 2 diabetes. They never have and never will. Vegetables, fruit, legumes and whole grains are not to blame for obesity and diabetes. In fact, blue zone populations who eat a predominantly plant-based diet rich in the foods mentioned above have the lowest incidence of type 2 diabetes and obesity. Blaming whole food carbohydrates for causing diabetes is like blaming ambulances for car accidents. Just because they’re at the scene of the crash doesn’t mean they caused it 🙄 Carbs are the victim of somebody else’s crime (ahemmm intramyocellular and intrahepatic lipid accumulation). Stay tuned for part 2 👀👂🏼
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Here’s a quick and easy plant-based meal I just threw together. This little beauty literally took about 2 minutes to prepare using leftovers.
👉🏼 Bed of leafy greens: Spinach and rocket
👉🏼 Oven-roasted purple sweet potato and pumpkin with cinnamon (Yep, cinnamon. Thank me later 😉)
👉🏼 Lentils and black beans
👉🏼 Roasted broccoli and zucchini
👉🏼 Micro-greens/sprouts: Alfalfa, broccoli and snow pea sprouts.
👉🏼 Dressing (not pictured): Balsamic vinegar and seeded mustard
👉🏼 Toppings (not pictured): Avocado, h**p seeds, nutritional yeast, and last but not least, a big dollop of hummus because...hummus.
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This meal really has it all. Colours, flavours, textures, diversity, fibre, and nutrient density 🥗

MINDFULNESS - the 4th pillar of my 5-pillar approach. To me, mindfulness is about being conscious, present, and awake so that I can live a life aligned with my values and purpose. Mindfulness allowed me to discover my ‘why’ - a deep and meaningful reason to live my life in the way that I do. It’s the bridge between knowledge and action. Mindfulness is the key to extracting the most out of each and every moment. From a morning swim in the ocean to a cup of coffee, a mouthful of food, reps in the gym, or hugging a loved one. Wherever you are, be all there!
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DAILY LIVING - The third pillar of my five-pillar approach to thriving with diabetes. I always make sure to get a daily dose of THE SIX S’s:
👉🏼 SLEEP 😴 - Quality and quantity. I aim for 8 hours unbroken in a cool, quiet, dark room and avoid circadian-disrupting, blue-light-emitting devices at night.
👉🏼 SUN ☀️ - I always get 10-30 minutes of direct sunlight daily. The key is to maximise the benefits (vitamin D production) whilst minimising the risks (sunburn-induced DNA damage) Try not to burn. Find your tolerance.
👉🏼 STRESS MANAGEMENT🧘🏻‍♂️ - The goal is not to be stress free - the goal is to be stress fit! Healthy acute stressors like a tough workout or a cold ocean swim are good for you but chronic low-grade stress is the problem.
👉🏼 STEPS🏃🏻‍♂️- Spend more time on your feet and less time sitting down. I walk at every opportunity. Aim for 10k steps per day but don’t put a cap on it. Tip: It helps having a dog. 👉🏼 SMILE 😁 - Seek joy in life. Immerse yourself in moments that not only put a smile on your face, but allow your soul to smile and flood your body with feel-good endorphins.
👉🏼 SOCIALISE 👨‍👨‍👧‍👦 - The importance of human connection, conversations, and bonding with real people face to face. We need to spend more time looking into people’s eyes than looking at our screens/devices.
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“Enjoy the simple things because one day you’ll look back and realise they were the big things”
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NUTRITION - The second pillar of my 5-pillar approach to thriving with diabetes. Since being diagnosed, I’ve experimented with a number of different diets. From Mediterranean to Paleo, Keto, and currently Whole Food Plant-Based. All of these different ways of eating have had a significant impact on my insulin requirements, insulin sensitivity/resistance, blood glucose control and overall diabetes management. Sadly, there is so much confusion and misinformation around the topic of nutrition and diabetes. I recorded a podcast with my good mate Simon Hill from where we covered in detail the truth about the relationship between nutrition, diabetes, and how to truly reverse insulin resistance. The episode is titled ‘Why Drew Harrisberg Quit Keto’ if you want to have a listen. Strap yourself in, it’s a 2.5 hour ride 😉🎙👂🏼 LINK IN BIO
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The day after I was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes, something amazing happened. I woke up, ate breakfast, and when I checked my blood glucose 2 hours later it was 25 mmol/L (5x the normal range!). Keep in mind, I wasn’t taking any insulin at this stage because I was told by the doctors to collect some blood glucose data for a few days to get an understanding of trends and patterns before implementing insulin (insulin can be fatal at the wrong dose). Anyway, when I saw how high my blood glucose was I was devastated, shattered, distraught, scared, angry...you get the point. I then went to the gym, my happy place, and did the full body workout that I’d normally do. Push ups, pull ups, burpees, squats, deadlifts, rowing, etc. After an hour of a solid sweat sesh I checked my blood glucose again expecting to see 25 but the number that flashed up on the screen blew my mind. My blood sugar was 5! It was back in the normal range! That was the first time in my life that I could actually quantify just how ‘good’ exercise really is for you because I had an objective insight into my health. That moment gave me a sense of hope, empowerment, control but most importantly a sense of responsibility to take care of my health. I haven’t missed my daily dose since.
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That was the day I discovered the first pillar of my five-pillar approach to health and happiness - EXERCISE, which is why I always say “Exercise is a form of medicine that we can freely and happily administer to ourselves”. Over the next week I’ll be sharing the other 4 pillars that make up my 5-pillar approach and why they’re so important.
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I’d love to hear what exercise means to you and the role it plays in your daily life. Comment below👇🏼😊🙏🏼
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If you would have told me a few years ago that one day I would be on stage in front of 2 thousand people talking about how diabetes has changed my life, I never would have believed you.
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When I got the call to speak at this year’s conference, the world’s biggest happiness conference, I immediately got butterflies in my stomach. That’s when I knew I had to do it. I had to say yes and grab the opportunity. The feeling of butterflies means that it must be important and that there’s potential for immense growth. I encourage everyone to chase the moments in life that give you butterflies because they are the ones that lead somewhere great. Don’t let fear or doubt guide you away from opportunity towards a safe, boring, comfortable place.
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Social media is a great way to connect with people across the world through a screen, but there’s nothing quite like connecting with people face to face, looking into their eyes, and feeling their energy. The atmosphere at this years happiness conference is hard to put into words. It was such a thrilling experience and an honour to be amongst the many talented speakers at the event. I’ll let you know when the video is up online. Dennis may or may not have made an appearance 😋

I’ll never forget the day that I first discovered how powerful exercise is as a tool to manage my blood glucose levels. It was day 1 after being diagnosed with type 1 diabetes. My blood glucose level was 25 (5x the normal range). I went to gym and did a full body circuit for 60 mins. After my workout I checked my blood glucose level and the result was jaw-dropping...my BGL was 5. It was back in the normal range AND I wasn’t even taking any insulin at this stage. That was the first time I could quantify just how ‘good’ exercise really is for you. I had an objective insight into the effects it was having on my health. It was the most empowering moment of my life. I felt in control again. I haven’t missed my daily dose since. So, how does it work? Exercise opens the glucose gateway from your bloodstream to your muscle cells. It’s as simple as contracting as many muscles as possible to capitalize on the sponge-like effect to soak up excess glucose from the bloodstream. That’s why I’m such a big proponent of full body circuits to stimulate every muscle to be metabolically active. Whether you have diabetes or not, this stuff works for everyone. Go get your daily dose! 💪🏽😅