Taja Cato
At her core, Taja is a light guiding others living with diabetes. Taja began her transformational career helping hundreds of people living with type 1 diabetes successfully achieve and maintain their weight loss goal through customized macro-nutrition and body-building programs (you can find more about those programs here). As time went on, Taja felt as though something was missing. During Taja’s Saturn return around age 29, she felt lost and confused and she turned to Astrology and Human Design for guidance, which gave her the clarity she needed to know where she was headed in life, and what her purpose was (for info on life purpose you can find more about those tools here).
Taja has been living with type 1 diabetes for over 23 years and lights the way for others who may find themselves lost in the depths of a dark diabetes diagnosis, or perhaps to feel less alone and inspired living with diabetes.
Now, Taja spends most of her time in Costa Rica with her beloved animals, and it’s through Taja’s own life experience and studies that she can confidently help others live in alignment as their brightest self; whether it’s achieving their physical goals, discovering their direction in life, gaining clarity on life purpose, or simply to feel more confident living with diabetes. From fitness turned lifestyle brand, Taja is most passionate about transforming the way we see diabetes.
“I sat on the couch after school, picked up a copy of Cosmo, and flipped through the pages scanning for someone who was living with type 1 diabetes. I was fourteen.
I wished so bad that I could find someone who was beautiful, successful and doing all of the things I wanted to do, someone who was like me, also living with type 1 diabetes, someone who I could look up to.
But I never found that girl.
So, for years growing up I hid diabetes. I didn’t want to be different than the other kids. Yet, by hiding it I was hiding a part of myself, and it wasn’t until I saw people online showing diabetes, that I felt like I wasn’t alone, because for years I felt so alone.
Here’s the crazy thing…
⚡In 2021, there were over 537 million people worldwide living with diabetes (that’s 1 in 10 people).
⚡It’s estimated that by 2045, 783 million people will be living with diabetes worldwide.
We are NOT alone. Even when we feel like we are.”
Taja hopes to be that person for other people who were once in her shoes, feeling alone and ashamed of diabetes, because there’s more of us out there than we know, all going through similar diabetes related struggles; the highs and lows of living with a chronic condition, yet we don’t always talk about it.
Here’s to feeling confident, beautiful and unstoppable even WITH diabetes.
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My type 1 diabetes diagnosis story
I was born on Salt Spring Island in British Columbia, Canada and I grew up on a farm where I was home schooled until grade 6. My parents were always very health conscious and we ate mostly a macrobiotic diet consisting of all organic whole foods. I’ve had Type 1 Diabetes since I was 9 years old.
I was on a family road trip to Edmonton, Alberta when I got really sick. I lost a lot of weight and I remember being SO thirsty and waking up in the middle of the night multiple times to go pee. My parents immediately knew that something was wrong and when we got home I went to the doctor and was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes. I was admitted to the hospital for two weeks and when I could finally come home, my life, as I knew it had completely changed. I went from rarely seeing a doctor my whole life to having a nurse come by and supervise me. I was too scared to give myself my needles at first, so my parents did it at the beginning of my diagnosis and we changed our diet to include more protein.
The Beginning and The End Of An Unhealthy Relationship
Growing up with an autoimmune disease had its challenges and there were times when I would feel insecure about it. I never wanted the other kids to look at me differently because I had diabetes and I felt humiliated when people would automatically assume that I couldn’t eat certain things or that they might “catch it”. I would go to birthday parties and the other kids or their parents would say, “You can’t eat that”. No one really knew anything about diabetes and I hated talking about it. I was always a very active kid and being diabetic I was taught the basics of nutrition at a young age but as I got older I struggled with my weight, which eventually lead me to have an unhealthy relationship with food. People would tell me that I was fat and that I would never be fit because of my diabetes and I started feeling so bad about myself that I wouldn’t eat in front of people. I began a roller coaster ride that consisted of fad diets and bad habits and over time my unhealthy ways negatively impacted my body and my well being and I knew that something had to change.
I started to educate myself on fitness and nutrition but I found very little information on strength training and Type 1 Diabetes so I researched and I learned a lot from trial and error. I was hesitant of lifting heavy weights at first because I was scared it would make me look bulky but once I began a strength training and eating properly, my body started feeling healthy and balanced. I had more energy, my hair stopped breaking and I wasn’t craving anything anymore. I became a stronger person both physically and mentally and my relationship with food completely changed…I learned what respecting my body truly meant.
We are all building better and stronger versions of ourselves as we grow and there will always be something to learn when it comes to fitness and our bodies. Diabetes is a very complex disease, one that has taught me to be more in tune with my own body and I believe that whatever our story is, we can learn from each other along the way. The power of positivity has no limits.