Despite travelling for work most of the year, Dario Leveroni manages to keep his Type 2 diabetes in check. He tells us how.
Dario Leveroni (75) lives in Port Elizabeth with his wife. He is a semi-retired marine engineering surveyor.
Dario was diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes in 2015, at the age of 68, after consulting with his doctor as he was frequently thirsty which was out of the norm. He was prescribed metformin and other medication. “When I was diagnosed I weighed 80kg so immediately reacted and dropped to 62kg within one year,” Dario says.
In 2016, Dario was flying to Italy for his son’s wedding (and being Italian, the carbs were aplenty) so his doctor recommended going on insulin too. Since then he has stayed on insulin, which consists of insulin degludec and insulin aspart (Ryzode) and insulin aspart injection (Fiasp) as well as metformin.
Travelling
When Dario is travelling for work, he always gets his supply of medication beforehand and he tries to stick to a Mediterranean diet. A normal day of eating for Dario is as follows:
Breakfast: cappuccino, oats or crushed wheat flakes.
Lunch: mostly salads (except Sundays).
Lunch and dinner: red meat, chicken, fish, vegetables (mostly raw), legumes, vegetable cold soup (Gazpacho), vegetable soup, and pasta (limited to 50g only once a week).
“Sometime my management goes off the track when it can’t be helped due to the airplane food. Plus, the business lounge and hotel meals throw a spanner in works, but otherwise once again self-discipline comes in,” Dario explains.
Luckily, Dario’s work comprises a lot of walking and climbing, helping him to keep moving his body. But he also tries to gym every day, doing cardio and light weights, for at least an hour.
Dario attributes his good management to positive thinking and self-discipline. “I control what I eat and get plenty of exercise and gym everyday, time permitting. I now weigh between a constant 60kg and 62kg.”
Complication free
Dario is an advocate of the flu vaccine and takes it every year to prevent getting flu. He is proud that he has no other complications from diabetes thanks to his good management of his glucose levels and is happy to be involved with DSA Port Elizabeth where he gets good support from a like-minded community.
MEET THE EDITOR
Laurelle Williams is the Editor at Word for Word Media. She graduated from AFDA with a Bachelor of Arts Honours degree in Live Performance. She has a love for storytelling and sharing emotions through the power of words. Her aim is to educate, encourage and most of all show there is always hope. Feel free to email Laurelle on editor@diabetesfocus.co.za
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