Thursday, December 25, 2014

Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas


4 comments:

elizabeth said...

Merry Christmas to you and your family. Sorry to hear about your frustrating doctor visit.
On another medical note (if you don't mind me asking), how are you handling holiday meals with your diabetes? As a newly diagnosed (last August-- type 1 adult onset), I have been experimenting (read: finding out the HARD way) with food & sugar levels.
Thank you for any advice.

Jeanne said...

Blessings of the Season to you and yours! ♥

FreeDragon said...

Elizabeth- I deal with the holidays the same way I deal with everyday life, I plan as much as possible. I count my carbs (15 per serving and no more than 45 per meal), I never leave the house without my meter, my insulin, and cookies, and I cook as much as possible. People react differently to different foods. You might find there are some foods that don't elevate your sugar quite as much as you'd think. As for all those pies and cakes, ask someone if you can have a BITE of theirs. No, you can't have a bite of every dessert. One bite won't hurt. Plan lots of physical activity before a big holiday meal. Exercise is the one thing you can't skip. I can slack on my diet. I can skip insulin shots. But if I start laying around doing nothing my sugar goes through the roof. And stop worrying about offending someone by not trying a dish. Your life is far more important than manners. A good host will make sure there is food you can eat at the table. As for alcohol, it slows down the way your body uses insulin. If I have been drinking heavily, I will have a low sugar in the middle of the night. I drink hard liquor and light beer, but not wine or sugary mixed drinks. Also, you can eat honey IF it is 100% all natural, pure honey. Read the label, not all honey is the same. Your body processes it like fruit sugars. You can also have the all natural agave. I cook with honey instead of sugar. I use stevia because it is a natural sweetener and it is easier to use than Splenda which always has some weird ratio to sugar (a cup of Splenda is NOT equal to a cup of sugar) and it tends to burn at high temps.

The other thing I can tell you is sex lows sugar levels. So if you really, really want that chocolate cake, have sex afterwards.

elizabeth said...

Thank you for the tips!
Alcohol, little bites of chocolate cake, and sex? The husband will be advised immediately of that delightful combination.
I didn't realize that certain alcohols had that effect on insulin. You always hear that red wine is "healthier" but maybe not for diabetics?
Reading labels has become our new pastime in the grocery store. Carbs per serving minus fiber, sugars per serving, &etc. It has been quite an adjustment. Have you experienced weight gain from the insulin? It is counterintuitive but even though I am eating more consciously than ever (no more than 150 carbs a day, veggies, very little meat), my weight has ballooned. Unfortunately, exercise is an issue due to other conditions. (Oversharing yet? =))

You are absolutely right about particular foods having greater impact than others. White bread? Out of the question. One slice will raise me 100+ points while rye will have a negligible effect. Crazy! What foods trigger you?

Again, thank you for your help.