Diabetics Doing A Game Plan with Sam Benger

[00:00:07] Rob Howe: Welcome to the Diabetics Doing Things podcast. We've been telling the amazing stories of type 1 diabetics all across the world since 2015, and we have over a thousand years of living with T1D on the podcast. The interviews range from incredible feats to everyday victories, and we celebrate them all just the same. Thanks for listening. And if you want to get involved even further, just send me an email at rob at diabeticsdoingthings.com. This episode of the podcast is sponsored by Diathrive, which I'm really excited to tell you about. And as anyone living with or taking care of someone with diabetes knows, the financial costs of treatment can be extremely high. Diathrive takes some of the guesswork out of that, with hospital-quality testing supplies and testers starting at just $8 per month. No prescriptions, no insurance, just FDA-approved test strips delivered straight to your door. Pay as you go, and if you want to change your subscription, you can. Strips are delivered in just two to three business days from your first order. Replacements are available anytime, and Diathrive has real people working customer service to solve your problems on web, phone, or social media. So if your tester breaks or you need more strips, you can reach out to them and a real person will help solve your problem. Best of all, listeners of this podcast can get their first month free. Just use code DDT, that's D-D-T, at checkout, and whatever subscription you choose, you'll get the first month free. So head to diathrive.com today and check it out. Welcome back to another episode of Diabetics Doing Things. We're telling the amazing stories of type 1 diabetics all across the world. My very special guest today, calling me from, I believe, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Or are you back in Boston? I'm back in Boston now. Massachusetts.

[00:02:09] Sam Benger: I was actually just down in Pittsburgh this past weekend, but yeah, I'm fortunately and unfortunately, I guess, back in Boston for the time being. I'm a big Pittsburgh fan.

[00:02:20] Rob Howe: Well, my guest, before I even introduce him, Sam Benger, thanks for coming.

[00:02:26] Sam Benger: Yeah, it was my pleasure. We had some unfortunate technical difficulties, but now we're ready to rock and roll.

[00:02:32] Rob Howe: I know some previous guests would relate to our technical difficulties. I've had quite a few. Early on, somebody even had to record an entire new episode, but they were gracious enough to do so. So, you know, we've in the podcasting world, and we'll talk a little bit about that, your podcast and website Game Plan T1D is your current project. But before we kind of get into Game Plan T1D, let's talk a little bit about you. Introduce yourself to the community. And remember, you're usually the host. I'm kind of taking you out of the driver's seat on this. So, I mean, I imagine that in interviewing folks that you, that things come up that you want to talk about. So this is your chance.

[00:03:15] Sam Benger: Yeah, no, it's a it's an important chance for me to, like you said, be on the other side of the glass and, you know, try to understand what it's like to be the subject of the interview. But yeah, no, so as you alluded to, I host the podcast and platform GamePlan T1D. So we're trying to use stories of athletic success from different diabetic athletes to prove that diabetes isn't a roadblock to athletic success and success more broadly in sort of all domains of life. But a little bit about me personally, I grew up in the greater Boston area. If anyone's familiar with Hingham, Massachusetts, that's where I went to high school and grew up. I was diagnosed with T1D back at the age of five. So I grew up with that. That's really all I knew of as a child. And we can talk about this later on, but I certainly think there's an advantage to that in growing up with T1D.

[00:04:17] Rob Howe: Sure, because you sort of don't know what you're missing out on.

[00:04:21] Sam Benger: Exactly. And I'm very empathetic for the people that get diagnosed when they're, say, in college because they're used to drinking a can of Coke a day or eating foods that are high in a glycemic index. So it's, for me, I was, I was brought up in healthy eating, always reading nutrition labels, being aware and accountable for what you put in your body. So naturally, you know, I had a, I didn't have to go through any tough transition period like a lot of people do with T1D. So I'm thankful for that. But yeah, I, and I'm sure we'll touch on this, but I played football all through my childhood growing up. I played a lot of different sports, but I was always, you know, on the smaller side and a little speedy guy. And that lent itself to becoming a running back. And I was recruited for college football from a few different schools. I was trying to pursue the Ivy League. That didn't work out. I landed at Carnegie Mellon University down in Pittsburgh and just had an amazing four years. I just graduated this past May 2018 with a degree in business. And, yeah, so that's sort of my brief life story. But, yeah, happy to be here and talk with you.

[00:05:43] Rob Howe: Yeah, and, I mean, I think there's a lot to unpack. And you're right, we are going to talk a lot about your athletic career. Before we get to that, though, and, I mean, we'll also talk, I think I'm a guy who I'm sure, like you, had a love for sports at a very young age and kind of fell in love with the first sport that I picked up in basketball. But for you, I want to focus a little bit on the first kind of thing you remember about when you knew you were different or when you knew you had, you know, type 1 and how your parents approached that. Because I think that's often a lot of questions that I get from parents of T1Bs or, you know, people who are trying to help people make those decisions. What do you remember about those early years? I think with regard to being

[00:06:31] Sam Benger: different in terms of the T1D, it's funny because you asked that question and it really was something I was raised where it was just who I was. And to me, it wasn't a noticeable differentiating factor versus other kids. It was just an additional thing that I had to deal with. And as it relates to sports, it would just require me to go. And obviously at halftime when, you know, other kids, I remember in youth football, they'd always have these big bags of orange slices and kids would be sucking those down and I'd be checking my blood sugar and drinking water on the sideline. So it's, you know, when you look back, it's little things like that, but it was never this big thing where, oh, you know, I'm so different and woe is me or anything like that. But it was just, you know, little things here and there that made me aware that I was dealing with something that, you know, not a lot of other kids had experience with.

[00:07:31] Rob Howe: And I think that's important, right? Like reinforcing early on that, yes, you're different. Yes, you have to do a few extra things. but it doesn't make you less than, right? And a lot of that is, you know, building that empowerment mindset, I think is so important, whether you have diabetes or not, because inevitably something about your life is going to be different, or you're going to have an obstacle that you need to overcome. And, you know, recognizing early on that there are fixes to those, and you can just kind of roll with the punches, I think is an essential skill for life that people with diabetes, who especially who are diagnosed much younger, get at a much earlier age than kind of the general

[00:08:08] Sam Benger: population. Oh, certainly. And I mean, it's funny. Going back, one of the big factors about people looking at me with my diabetes was, you know, elementary school, before we would go out to recess, I would get like an extra snack period. And all the kids were like, what, like, I want to have diabetes, you get to eat extra snacks. And, you know, I was like the cool kid at that point because of that but um yeah no it's uh you learn from those experiences and then going forward obviously you start to understand the broader implications of what being a type 1 diabetic is um but but certainly and i think i always talk about this on the GamePlan T1D podcast i think the diabetic athletes are stronger because of their diagnosis and because of the path that they have to take in their journey just requires such a higher level of accountability, like I said earlier, and also just, you know, they're going to be really tough days as a diabetic. So naturally, we have to build up an added layer of mental resiliency that not a lot of other people have necessarily. So I definitely like to say that we're always stronger because of it.

[00:09:24] Rob Howe: um but yeah you know it's interesting when uh so I got introduced to you through Brandon Denson um who I believe was episode one of your podcast yes and he he came on my podcast I guess about a year ago he was still living in Detroit uh coaching football and I recognized like really quickly that this guy had a very similar no excuses mentality that I had had as an athlete and kind of carried on into the business world and that he and I were going to see eye to eye. And kind of as I was researching you and some of the articles written about you and your game plan, T1D, you seem like the same type of guy who is just going to find a way. How much of that in your early days as an athlete? Because I think, first of all, I'll back up even further. I think sports are so essential for humans because they teach you how to fail, how to get beat, how to get punched in the mouth and like fight back. And so much of, you know, just the world that we live in today is just pretty safe. You're never really like in serious danger. You have most of the meals for most of us. That's just a great lesson. I mean, just teaches great life lessons, right? So for you, you have diabetes. So there's an obstacle. You, like you mentioned, you're undersized. So people are doubting you. Where did you get that mental strength, that inner kind of psychological mental athleticism that took you to, you know, where you went, which is, by the way, you know, like the all-time leading rusher in Carnegie Mellon school history, if I'm not

[00:11:10] Sam Benger: mistaken. That's correct. Yeah. That's a good question. I'm sorry, did I cut you off there?

[00:11:18] Rob Howe: No, no, no, no. I think I'm ready. I'm ready to hear it.

[00:11:23] Sam Benger: That's a good question. It's not too often we get the chance to kind of reflect on our own, you know, mental approaches to life. But it's certainly an important reflection of that. I think obviously starting off, I have to credit just having and this is something I really emphasize on the GamePlan T1D podcast, but support networks. And, you know, I've been incredibly blessed and fortunate to be raised by the parents that I did and was raised by. And certainly coaches I've had along the way in football and across different sports have believed in me and invested time in me. And I think that was certainly a huge part of it. But, you know, I don't know. it's, I've always kind of had this, this quiet belief in myself. And I would certainly say I'm a bit of a, more of an introverted, quiet person, but at the same time, I think I have a strong belief in what I can do and whether it's on the football field or in the classroom or in trying to give back and from a community standpoint with Game Plan T1D, I kind of know the mission and I, and I don't, like you said, like to take no for an answer. And yeah, I don't know if I can attribute it to a certain thing, but I think I've had a fair bit of positive reinforcement along the way. And I think when you put yourself out there and get outside your comfort zone and you can kind of achieve some success, that's going to create that positive feedback loop for you to go out and try even more audacious things. And fortunately enough, I've been able to have some success in sports, which has empowered me to go and do some things in the academic and business world that I think all of those things were empowered from some early success in sports and just building up that ability to be uncomfortable. And that's something I really like to tell myself a lot is you need to be willing to be uncomfortable because that's the only way you're going to grow as a person.

[00:13:28] Rob Howe: it really is and i think you know as i've gotten older i you know i have a similar mindset you know getting out of the comfort zone i think as you get older especially as an athlete you don't move quite as well as you used to some of the things you used to be able to do just you know not as polished and you start telling yourself things like oh i can't do this or i'm old or i can't can't do this and that self-talk kind of gets you in a real small comfort zone box that's been something that, you know, for me personally, I talked about on the podcast, like banish fear 2018, just like no, no fear based mindset, even like casual, just like having to completely abandon anything that resembles a fear based decision, or a, you know, just accepting what is given to me and not, you know, working for it. So, you know, I think that comfort zone mindset that will serve you well, not just, you know, as an athlete, but I think as a human in general. And, you know, they talk about happiness is just reality minus expectations. So, you know, going in and getting out of those comfort zones really can enhance that for you, I think, because your expectations, you don't know what to expect because you're pushing yourself and taking the risks that and saying yes to opportunities when, you know, a lot of people, I think just let those pass them by just because they're afraid of failing.

[00:14:51] Sam Benger: Certainly. And I think I talked a little bit about the influence of my parents in my life. And we actually had this mouse pad. And it was a little, I think it was a, it might have been a Henry Ford quote, but it was, what would you strive to do if you knew you couldn't fail? Or something along those lines. And be it in sports, business, or just from a personal development standpoint, the mental constructs that we build just by living in our own minds 24-7, and especially that's compounded by social media these days and constant exposure to the fabricated, highly fabricated lives of other people. it just you know it it makes us so timid and unwilling to go and do things that are bold and innovative and um kind of put ourselves out there a little bit but if you can if you can trick your mind into getting into those uncomfortable positions and start to build up some comfort in being uncomfortable then you're really going to start to thrive and um you know that's that's really what life is all about, but not to get too far from diabetes. Just a reminder that this

[00:16:03] Rob Howe: episode is sponsored by my friends at Diathrive. They're making test strips convenient, accurate, transparent, and affordable with prescription-free, insurance-free subscriptions. Use code DDT at checkout to get your first month free at diathrive.com. I want to talk a little bit about it because I think you skirted over it because you're just a humble guy. Carnegie Mellon is no slouch of an academic institution. In fact, quite the opposite, right? So let's just give a little bit of context to, you know, to someone out there who is having trouble with the day-to-day management and feeling discouraged and down of going to work or going to school or playing sports and managing diabetes. What was it like to carry the offensive load on the football field, which I assume was like in the morning, you guys, you know, practice and walk through throughout the week and then, you know, games on the weekend, uh, weights and all that. You got classroom and I'm sure the course load is just, you know, backbreaking. And then you've got, you know, personal life, you know, trying to have, you know, friends, girlfriend, whatever the case is. Uh, and then rinse, repeat plus diabetes was, you know, that's not easy, right? There's so many different pieces to being a collegiate athlete that a lot of people don't see.

[00:17:19] Sam Benger: Certainly. Yeah, it was definitely a rigorous environment. You know, CMU is a very intellectual, brainy place. You'll be walking around campus and there'll be a robot lawnmower just making its way around their kids building the next Facebook and Google. So, you know, I was, I would say I was sheltered from that somewhat as a business major, but at the same time, the business program in itself was very rigorous, and I don't want to downplay that at all. But, you know, my buddies would always give me a hard time because they were mechanical engineers and I was a business student. But like you said, it was three to four hours of homework a night. usually after our practice we would get out of class around 4 30 we'd practice till about 7 you'd you know shower get some food in you and then it was off to hunt library the campus library and we'd be there until the wee hours of the morning working on god knows what but no and you know lifting all of those things and like you touched on obviously you can't just go through those motions. You need to have a social life and have that full, well-rounded college experience. But I, I just, I loved it. I've always found that I do well with that structure and, you know, like my grades would always be higher in the football season when I had that structure and when I had that routine. But you throw diabetes into that mix as well and it, you know, it can exacerbate the whole situation. But thankfully, you know, with my diabetes and with football, it was never an issue. And again, I really attribute that to being open and, you know, candid with the training staff at CMU. And we luckily had some great individuals in that space who were willing to help me and make sure that I was ready to perform at a high level when, during practice and obviously during games as well.

[00:19:25] Rob Howe: I'm interested to hear this answer because everybody, I think, approaches this differently. You mentioned earlier about the conversation with Anders Hill and Kyle Kastner. They had different approaches about going through the college recruiting process with trainers and with diabetes. How did you approach that with the trainers kind of from day one at Carnegie Mellon?

[00:19:46] Sam Benger: Yeah, it's interesting. And I'm really surprised by it seems like the answer across the board with regard to recruiting is that it didn't wasn't a factor, didn't come up in the conversation. And that was certainly the case for me, which is odd just because it's such a huge component of our lives and can certainly impact our athletic performance. But I went in as a freshman, and it was one of my looking back regrets in not being more immediately open with the training staff. I think my diabetes control was really dialed in at that point, and I was on – I believe I was on an insulin pump and Omnipod at that point and a CGM as well. but it was dialed in and I was like okay you know what I can do this on my own I've been doing it on my own since I was five um I don't need you guys's help um you know I'll come in and get my ankles taped and other than that we can kind of stay at a distance but you know it was if I could go back I would have been telling them what my number was before every single practice um at halftime, you know, in the fourth quarter. And we eventually got to that point, but, you know, there's nothing to be lost from being incredibly open with a training staff as a collegiate diabetic athlete. You're not going to lose anything. No one's going to think you're any less of an athlete by having an open dialogue with those people. There's really only upside in that, you know, by doing that. So if I could go back, I definitely would have tried to have been a lot more open with them. But by the end of my senior year, we were to the point where it was, I needed to be between 80 and, you know, 150 to get a green light to go in the game. And it might sound a little, you know, too strict or something like that, but it was really to enable and empower me to go out there and perform at a really high level. But yeah, looking back, I wish I had been more open

[00:21:54] Rob Howe: with them from day one. Well, and I think that's an interesting point of view, right? So you're right. Everybody has a different school of thought about it in the recruiting process. I, similar to what you said, had virtually no hindrance from being open about it. And I think my parents pushed me to be very proactive so that I knew that the place that I was going to spend the next four years had my best interests at heart and weren't going to be, you know, looking for excuses or were going to be there to support me. But I really liked your answer because I think a lot of people, especially when you're talking about athletes who don't want to appear like they have a weakness, you know, not being open up front, but then seeing the benefits of what can happen when you can be open and how much ground you can gain. So I appreciate you kind of go into detail with that. It's really helpful.

[00:22:49] Sam Benger: Yeah, absolutely.

[00:22:50] Rob Howe: Did you, was there ever a moment for you, whether in college or, you know, as an athlete, where you had a, you know, sort of diabetes failure or were having a tough time managing or does one incident in particular stick out to you that ended up paying off in terms of a learning experience that you were able to, you know, see around those corners in the future?

[00:23:12] Sam Benger: Absolutely. Yeah, and it's a funny story because that situation didn't arise until the beginning of my senior year. Um, so it was, I believe the first game of our senior year, we were on the road at, uh, St. Louis, Washington University, Washington University in St. Louis, one of our big rivals. Um, you know, it's a really hot game. It's about 105, 110 degrees out on the artificial turf there. And, um, you know, we're, we're going out and I'd been training real hard the whole summer. And, um, you know, I'm just like, something doesn't feel right. I'm not, you know, I'm not sharp. in my cuts. I'm missing holes. I'm not making the plays that I usually make. And, um, we end up checking my blood sugar and I was a little bit lower than I was supposed to be. But, um, over the course of the game, my blood sugar just wasn't coming up and I continued to just play poorly. And eventually the training staff was like, all right, we got to hold you out for the fourth quarter. Um, and that had never happened to me before. And I was, I was in tears. I was, um, you know, thankfully we were in a commanding, we had a commanding lead at that point, but, um, it was just this surreal experience. I was like, my team's out here. Like, what am I doing on the sideline? And, uh, we, we continue the game finishes. We're going through the locker room, shower up, we're heading to the buses and I collapsed walking to the bus. My blood sugar had just gone so low. I think I was down in the 30s or 40s walking to the bus. So it was obviously a really scary situation. And any diabetic who's been that low or lower, God forbid, it's an incredibly confusing and scary position to be in. And thankfully our trainers were there. They got some EMTs to come in and I was able to make the flight back home to Pittsburgh but the ensuing changes from that were that policy that I was talking about where I had to be kind of between 80 and yeah I forget what the upper threshold was but they wanted me really dialed in before games and we would check throughout the course of the game to ensure that I was within that range just because we wanted to do everything we could to prevent another situation like that and obviously it was a it was a massive learning process for me um you know i talk about this a lot adrenaline with athletes who have diabetes is just such a it's just such a tough factor to deal with um you can try to eat a really low-carb breakfast before a game and you know no matter what that that cortisol once it gets in your system it'll it'll get you so it's you kind of have to develop and be really hyper aware of how your body responds and try to establish okay here's what I'm going to do here's going to be my routine to combat this but that was a massive learning experience for me and really forced me to dial in my diabetes care in the days and hours leading up to the game even more than I had been well and you know it's something that I was

[00:26:26] Rob Howe: reminded of from a cortisol perspective the other day i was i was doing a kind of a hit workout with some suicides on a 40 yard turf track mixed in there and it's almost like no matter what you do suicides are going to get you i mean that's just like that intensity you're like pushing hard uh there's that anticipation before the clock goes off you know on the starting line um and you know i was i was tracking my cgm my pump my pump was like alert on high alert on high and i was like yep, I get it. We're doing high intensity work here. And, you know, it was different 10 years ago when I was in college when I didn't have that. But, you know, I can, you know, your body as an athlete. I think that's something that was maddingly frustrating for me as an athlete, trying to go from 80 fasting blood sugar to 375 just from the warmups and the starting lineup announcement. But, you know, thankfully, they play the national anthem before American sporting events and you can get a little bolus in and then get yourself right yeah no it's always it's tough

[00:27:26] Sam Benger: too because you're um you just become so sort of uh you know your sensitivity to insulin is just not there when the cortisol is in the system and you'll be bolusing and bolusing and you're not seeing any decrease in your blood sugar then all of a sudden the game gets going and then you're crashing and that was that was a learning experience for me as well a couple cycles of going through that and trying to learn okay don't over bolus um you're going to spike a little bit do a normal bolus and just kind of ride this thing out it's not going to be perfect but um you know again learn just so much from those experiences absolutely so let's uh change shift

[00:28:13] Rob Howe: gears here a little bit. I want to talk about GamePlan T1D. Where'd the idea come from? How did you know that this is what you wanted to do from an advocacy perspective? And, you know, it's a relatively new project for you, I know. And, you know, what's been your favorite part about kind of getting out in the type 1 diabetes community? Yeah, so we are new. We started back in

[00:28:40] Sam Benger: in June. Uh, I believe our first podcast went out in late July, but the idea came back, came to me. Um, it was winter of 2017 going into January of 2018. I was just, I was going around on Instagram and, um, I was just finding all of these athletes with T1D. Um, and I was, I was just thinking, I don't know if their stories are being advocated well enough, and wouldn't it be great if there was sort of a centralized platform, kind of a destination for the intersection of diabetes and athletics? And I felt like I could provide a platform that was that destination, and that was sort of the foundation for Game Plan T1D. And I kind of ran the idea by JDRF. They were sort of the only resource that I kind of really knew from a diabetes perspective and started having conversations with them. And that's sort of how I got in contact with Brandon, who, as you mentioned, was sort of a mutual connection between us. And he was also the first guest on our podcast. He was a former professional football player and also American Ninja Warrior. So he's just a really awesome dude. and has a lot of positivity. He's just a great guy. But, yeah, so we're a younger platform and podcast, but at the same time, I think we have pretty big aspirations, and it's been an awesome experience, really, just reaching out to different athletes. And we're going to have some really cool guests coming up down the – we kind of have them in the pipeline here, So we're going to have another Olympian on the show, another diabetic who's climbed Mount Everest, some younger collegiate athletes as well. So we really want to try to cover the spectrum in terms of the athletes that we're bringing on the podcast. And, yeah, the advocacy goal is to just try to use sports as a vehicle to sort of show people and prove the fact that diabetes doesn't have to be a roadblock. And you touched on this earlier just in the importance of sports, but sports are just – they're just awesome. And obviously, I'm biased as an athlete, but in terms of an advocacy vehicle, sports stories, they just resonate with people, I think, differently. We're just raised in that culture that knows and respects and understands all of the ins and outs and the nuances of sports. So when you get a compelling sports story, someone who's an underdog who's battling a chronic illness like diabetes, it's just people can get behind that. And there's so much to be learned from that from just a practical standpoint of being an athlete, that additional physical burden, and then dealing with diabetes. There's a lot to be learned from these stories, and they're just super compelling and super gripping. and reaching out to these athletes has just been so mind-blowing, and it makes me really appreciate the T1D community because everyone's just been so willing to come on the podcast and share their stories, and it gives me a greater appreciation of just how cohesive this T1D community can be.

[00:32:19] Rob Howe: Yeah, man, if there's one thing, and I talk about this a lot, But one thing I wish I had known when I was in college, when I was first diagnosed, is that there's this amazing community of people out there who know exactly what you're going through and are super supportive of anybody who's trying to help improve anyone's life with diabetes. So, man, you know, I know that you're going to find and continue to find that. And I'm looking forward to see what you and Game Plan T1D continue to do for the community. And, you know, obviously thrilled to have you on here. And, you know, as things continue to go forward, I'm sure we'll be working closer together. Because, as you mentioned, sports is like the great equalizer. Like, you know, it transcends all cultural barriers and, you know, generational gaps. You know, just last Sunday, just like seeing Tiger Woods, that mob of people, you know, following him after he won the tour championship was just unbelievable. It's like, yeah, this is these moments are for a lot of people just super impactful and important. So, you know, when Tiger Woods gets type 1 diabetes at some point by some freak, crazy lightning strike, you know, we'll have him on the podcast.

[00:33:33] Sam Benger: certainly yeah no it's I mean these these stories like Tiger winning um last week yeah I was glued to the tv watching that and it was just so awesome to see and it's like it's what we need right now um there's so much divisiveness out there and um to have these figures and to have these stories that unite us it's uh it's it's important like I said it's I think it's essential to our society right now to have those stories.

[00:34:00] Rob Howe: Yeah, here's to more stories about coming together rather than splitting apart. That's something I can get behind.

[00:34:08] Sam Benger: Absolutely.

[00:34:09] Rob Howe: All right, as we kind of wrap up, I got to ask you the one question I ask everybody when I come on this podcast. So that's the, if there's any sort of branding to this podcast episode, just that we start a diagnosis and we end with this question. So you ready?

[00:34:25] Sam Benger: I'm ready.

[00:34:25] Rob Howe: All right. So say you're in an airport because context is important and they're about to close the door to your gate and whatever's on the other end, you can't miss your flight. But somebody walks up to you and they've either been recently struggling with their type 1 diabetes or recently diagnosed. What's the one thing you tell them before you have to jump on the plane and go wheels up?

[00:34:48] Sam Benger: hmm that's a great question um i would say i have a a practical tip and just sort of like a mental framework so that's kind of two things but i'll i'll try to be i'll try to be quick as i'm getting on my flight here um so the practical tip is really simple i think the single biggest thing that we can do as diabetics type 1 diabetics um to really dial in our treatment is eat the right foods. Fuel is just fueling your body the right way is just incredibly important. And I am a massive proponent of a, you know, a lower carb diet. And that's something I've really adopted and dialed in as I've gotten more into, as I got later in my football career and in trying to reach the NFL and, you know, starting my life outside of athletics. it's just hugely important. Just introducing less sugar into your body will just serve you wonders and you'll see just way less spikes, way less dips. And that's the practical advice I would give to someone. Just a little bit less carbs, a little bit less sugar, and that'll go a long way. And then the mental approach is just know you're going to be stronger because of this thing. It sucks. It totally does. It's a burden and there are going to be some really tough days, But at the same time, you get to meet people like Rob Howe and you get to meet people like Brandon Denson and you get to be part of this awesome community. And as a result of constantly trying to be better, you build up that resiliency that I talked about earlier. And you're absolutely going to come out stronger the other side because of it. And just know it's not the end of the world. It's something that's going to actually make you a lot more mentally strong. you just have to you know give it its time of day and always be trying to be better in your treatment but yeah I probably missed my flight with that answer but you know that's also an

[00:36:47] Rob Howe: option some people like totally reject the context they're like I'm missing my flight no worries yeah but no I love that I love that you know absolutely being on the coming out stronger on the other side for some people on day one listening to this like that's all you need to hear you know that you're going to be okay. And I think, uh, you know, to, to name drop you in reverse, you know, you know, Sam Benger, dude, you're living walking proof that whatever you want to do with type 1 diabetes, you can do it. So, um, stories like yours, um, and, and so many others out there just continue to inspire, uh, kids with T1D, adults with T1D and parents and caregivers of those people. So thanks for doing what you do and for doing all the things. And thanks for coming on the show, man. Where can people, obviously like your podcast is Gameplan T1D. You're at Gameplan T1D.com and on iTunes and all of the major platforms. Following you on social, where's the, give me your plugs.

[00:37:48] Sam Benger: Just at Gameplan T1D. We've got a Facebook page. We've got an Instagram. We're on Twitter. As you mentioned, Gameplan T1D.com. We have the podcast, obviously, on all major platforms, but also we've got some really cool blog content as well and some video content. We're trying to branch out and make sure that we cover the spectrum and not only high-level athletes but, you know, everyday athletes as well, recreational athletes. So check out the website, GamePlan T1D.com. Got some great stuff on there. And be on the lookout for new episodes coming up soon. Like I mentioned, we've got some really great guests coming on. And yeah, we'd love to have the Diabetics Doing Things community check out Game Plan T1D. We'd love it.

[00:38:33] Rob Howe: Well, I can tell you they're a great community. So yeah, go check out Game Plan T1D. And looking forward to seeing what you guys continue to create.

[00:38:43] Sam Benger: Absolutely. Hey, Rob, thanks so much for having me on, man. I really appreciate it. Love what you're doing.

[00:38:47] Rob Howe: Thanks for coming. And I know this is the last time we're going to talk because we got other talks on the books. but uh you know besides these current projects we're working on can't wait to continue working with you in the future