Mike Hoge of Comal CrossFit missed Regionals in 2012 but figured it was because the competition was getting better and better.

When he started losing weight, performing poorly at the gym, waking up with a dry mouth and urinating frequently, Hoge used the Internet to come up with a self-diagnosis of diabetes. Turns out he was right on, and he was hospitalized shortly after that.

“I remember just putting my head in my pillow and just bawling, just crying my eyes out. ‘Why is this happening? Where do I go from here?’” he says.

Faced with a choice about how to live his life, Hoge chose to reject limitations and become an expert on managing his symptoms.

“I started eating a lot cleaner. I check my blood sugar 12 times a day. I kind of made a transformation from decent CrossFitter to could-go-to-Regionals CrossFitter,” he says.

After adjusting his diet and learning how to deal with diabetes after hard workouts, Hoge finished 53rd in the Open in theSouth Central Region, and he bettered that placing by finishing 29th at the Regional. His success was a confirmation that diabetes is not going to dominate his life.

“I have the tools in my life to deal with this, I mean, 100 percent,” he says. “I’ve got CrossFit; I’m surrounded by like-minded people who like to eat the same way.”

Video by Elliot Schrock.