The Movement Menu & Exercise for Real Diabetes Life with Amanda Mueller (@bolusandbiceps)

Exercise is one of the most recommended tools for living well with diabetes and one of the most complicated to actually start. In this episode, Rob sits down with Amanda Mueller (aka @bicepsandbolus), a certified personal trainer, corrections exercise specialist, and CPA who was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes at 26. Amanda's honest about the years she spent afraid to move her body after diagnosis, the roundabout way she fell in love with strength training (spoiler: she married her trainer), and why she thinks the whole "exercise is good for your diabetes" conversation is being framed wrong. The centerpiece of this conversation is Amanda's "Movement Menu", a practical framework for building a sustainable exercise life that actually accounts for bad blood sugar days, low energy, decision fatigue, and the reality that most of us are not elite athletes trying to optimize every workout. The goal isn't the perfect workout. It's the one you come back to. They also go a little deeper and discuss why exercise shouldn't feel like punishment, how chronic stress and blood sugar are more connected than we talk about, and why going low in a Pilates class doesn't mean the class didn't count. If you've ever used a bad diabetes day as a reason to skip a workout and then felt guilty about it, this episode is for you. They close things out with a live "Exercise with Diabetes Draft", each picking three movements they'd want on their personal movement menu, and why. It's fun, it's practical, and you might find your new favorite workout buried somewhere in it. Chapters: 00:00 Introduction and Amanda's background 02:31 Adult diagnosis and the fear that followed 04:27 Losing weight in DKA and what came after 06:22 Meeting her trainer husband and rediscovering movement 08:08 Why the right people are force multipliers 09:45 Wanting to feel strong again: what that really means 13:36 Why exercise is a behavior, not a personality trait 16:04 The Movement Menu explained 18:09 The best workout is the one you actually do 20:13 Releasing judgment around imperfect workout days 24:40 The calorie math trap: why your class still counted 27:48 Exercise as a stress reset in 2026 29:32 You don't need more time, you need less friction 31:22 The Exercise with Diabetes Draft begins 40:27 Keeping it simple, sustainable, and fun Resources: Amanda Mueller on Instagram: @bicepsandbolus Movement Menu Document: Comment "MENU" on the podcast post on Instagram (@diabeticsdoingthings) and Rob will send it to you. Atomic Habits by James Clear: referenced in conversation around small, compounding habits: atomichabits.com

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