Sophie Devine

The big-hitting White Ferns cricketer, currently playing in the ICC T20 Women’s World Cup, was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes at age 15. Now 29, she ensures she has the food and insulin necessary to cope with whatever a day of international cricket might throw at her.

What symptoms did you have before your diagnosis? In hindsight, they were pretty obvious: I had weight loss (about 10kg in a month), was going to the toilet a lot (12-15 times during the day and four or five times at night), eating and drinking more than my older brother and sleeping more than usual.

How did the diagnosis change your life? The biggest thing was becoming aware of carbohydrates in food, as that would directly affect the amount of insulin I’d need to inject.

How do you manage the condition? By always being prepared. If I’m training and don’t know how long it’s going to take, that generally means having a few different snacks with me, as well as my trusty jelly beans.

How do you manage on the cricket field? One of the trickiest things about the game is not knowing whether we’re batting or bowling first, and for how long. I always leave my diabetes kit, which contains my insulin, testing strips, blood-glucose meter and jelly beans, on the sideline. It gets brought out at drinks breaks, or if I’m in the middle batting I can call for it between overs.

Does having diabetes affect your social life? I think my sporting career has more of an impact! But, no, 99% of the time I’m like any other athlete who needs to make sure they’re refuelling their body with the right foods at the right times.

What’s your typical breakfast? Today, I had a piece of wholemeal toast with avocado, three poached eggs and tomato sauce. I usually have a cup of English breakfast tea with honey and milk, too.

What about lunch? I had leftover chilli made with lean beef mince, kidney beans, black beans, corn, grated carrot, onion, capsicum

and seasoning.

What is your favourite evening meal? Corned beef with mustard

sauce and mashed potato.

November is Diabetes Action

Month: visit diabetes.org.nz.