Christel's Story

I was diagnosed with T1D in 1997 right after graduating high school. I never rebelled against my diagnosis or felt that it dictated where I wanted to take my life, but it’s only in recent years that I’ve started talking more about my diabetes. I didn’t realize that being vocal about my diabetes could bring so much value, both to myself and to others living with diabetes.

The big change for me came in 2014 when I decided to compete in my first bodybuilding competition. Taking my training and nutrition to a whole other level made it very evident how challenging exercising with diabetes can be. I tried to find resources that would work for me online but came up emptyhanded. It made me realize that we, as a community, needed online resources for how to manage our diabetes when exercising, changing our nutrition, or just living our best lives.

I did the research and a lot of real-life experiments on how to manage exercise and diabetes and quickly realized that I had something to say and value to bring to the diabetes community. I started to write about my diabetes and exercise experience, and that’s how my website Diabetes Strong came to be. The website has come a long way and is no longer just my stories, but a huge online library of practical guidance on how to successfully live a good healthy life with diabetes.

Christel Oerum