Alissa was first diagnosed with gestational diabetes in 2000 at 29 when she was pregnant with her son. After the delivery of her son Benjamin, the gestational diabetes never went away and she learned to live with type 1 insulin-dependent diabetes.  Alissa strives to make people aware of the importance of fitness in maintaining Diabetes

Alissa has been featured in 2 DiabetesDaily.com articles.  Most recently the article  "My Journey on Struggling with my Weight to Competing in BodyBuilding" appeared in the May 2015 issue.   Here's an excerpt:

Ginger: What was your nutrition like during the 6 months prior to the competition that helped you get to a very lean bodyweight?

Alissa: Dieting/Training to compete usually requires 14 weeks so my journey started in January. The goal is to be between 6 and 7 percent body fat which is 122-127 pounds at my height of 5’ 7”. People often ask how to lose weight, but what isn’t commonly known is that I follow a competition diet. Although there are common elements with regular diets, this particular diet isn’t advised to follow unless you’re preparing for a competition.  Read the rest at DiabetesDaily

Alissa was featured in a January 2015 DiabetesDaily article "Lean Fit and Strong with Type 1 Diabetes". The following is an excerpt from the article.

Okay, first, tell us a little bit about your diabetes story…

Alissa: People ask me all the time how I became fit again and if I can help them. What holds people back is their belief that they cannot do it because they’re too old, or it’s too late for them — people come up with many excuses. If I can become fit, with diabetes, after being divorced, and with a history of obesity, and decide to become committed to fitness and competing again, anyone can do it if they make up their minds to do so.

I was first diagnosed with gestational diabetes in 2000 at 29 when I was pregnant with my son. After the delivery of my son, Benjamin, the gestational diabetes never went away and I learned to live with type 1 insulin-dependent diabetes