Diabetes and Food

First they Bagged Fat. Then Sugar. Now Carbs.

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I’m going to go on a bit of a rant today. If you don’t agree with this, I completely respect that. We are all different and have different things that work and don’t work with our diabetes. This is only my humble opinion.

Years ago, the experts were bagging fat. So people stopped eating dairy and everyone hopped on the “low fat” bandwagon. Then people started developing osteoporosis and joint pains from a lack of calcium. People began to put on weight and we discovered that the fat in low fat products was replaced with sugar (thanks, That Sugar Film). So although they’ve done a complete backflip on fat, something else has to replace it in the firing line, right?

Carbs. Yes, now it seems to be the carbohydrates coming under attack. The biggest indicator of this was the changes made to the Food Pyramid last week (click here to read more). Foods like breads, cereals and pastas were demoted to the ‘moderate’ section of the pyramid, despite previously being deemed healthy.

And to a lesser degree, Fruit. Now I have to hear things like “don’t eat more than 2 pieces of fruit per day” on the news. And why? Because apparently fruit has too much sugar in it. Natural sugar, no less.

And while I’m at it, all those caveman style diets – tell me, how long did the caveman actually used to live back in those days?

And all these allergies we seem to have today – I reckon half the problem is children not being exposed to enough of a variety in their diet.

And the liquid diets – please tell me, how do you not go hungry?

My point being, the experts can never seem to get it right. And I’m sick of being told what I can and can’t eat. Believe me, in a few years they’ll be telling us to eat junk food!

Yes, I am conscious of the sugar, fat and carbohydrate content when making my food choices. But I’ve never tried to cut any of them out completely. And for me, its not realistic. I know myself. I might be able to do it for a few days, maybe a week. And then I’ll just end up falling off of the wagon and binge eating again.

So, you want to know what’s my secret? Everything in moderation. Good knowledge of the foods I eat and their response on my blood sugar levels. Knowing how to respond with insulin. Having a treat every once in a while. Enjoying that restaurant meal. And trying my very best to eat healthy for the rest of the time.

Because if there’s one thing that diabetes will not stop me from doing, its enjoying my food.

Bolussing For My Birthday

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On Friday I celebrated my birthday. For most of you that would mean birthday cake, a delicious dinner, alcohol and lots of tempting treats. I, however, have type 1 diabetes. And for me, those material things just aren’t important. I like to look at the bigger picture. Having good blood sugar levels. Good control of my diabetes.

I woke up with a blood sugar level of 5.0 and it stayed in that range for much of the day. And I’m very proud of that. For breakfast I enjoyed a slice of toast and an unsweetened coffee. For lunch it was a delicious green salad and a bottle of water. At dinner there wasn’t a drop of alcohol on the table. And to top it all off, a delicious sugar free cake.

Pffft! Like diabetes will ever stop me from enjoying a real birthday.

For morning tea it was Coffees, Peanut Butter Tim Tams and chocolate covered Profiteroles. It was Red Rooster and Boost Juice for lunch. And I had dinner made to order (thanks Mum!) of Pasta Bake and Black Forrest Cake.

Can’t really complain about the presents either (and no, I’m not 21!).

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A jar of Byron Bay Cookies that I’ve been eyeing longingly for months, some unlucky scratchies and a brand new Sony DRX-100 digital camera. I really can’t sing this camera’s praises enough – it took me 5 shots to get the perfect snap instead of the usual 50!

Even though this past year has seemed a little slow moving, I’ve got a lot to be proud of. I’ve finally started a blog, something I wanted to do for years. And in the process I ignited a whole new passion for diabetes that I never knew was there. I work with a great group of people who are like a second family to me. I have my actual family who always believe in me and support me, even through the times that I don’t believe in myself. And I’ve successfully navigated my way through another year with type 1 diabetes. That deserves a gold medal in itself!

Diabetes is a job that employs me 24 hours a day, 365 days of the year. There is no annual leave, no sick days and I can’t leave it on the desk at 5 o’clock and go home. So I think I’m damn well entitled to one day where I can just have a “rest” from it all. And I bolussed. And bolussed. And bolussed.

My Diet (On a “Good” Day)

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I’m sorry, I just couldn’t get myself excited about this post. The thought of documenting my day’s food sounded a bit boring. I really needed some inspiration in order to actually get this post up and running. So here goes…

I’ve never really been one to document my every move on Facebook or Instagram my every meal. I just don’t think people would find it interesting. And I think its pretty hard to be honest on social media when all we are really thinking about is the number of likes and “OMG babe” comments that photo will get. (Then again, I suppose I am seeking some form of attention through this blog – contradictory?)

Diabetes Blog Week has been a real challenge for me, because I would never be able to write 7 posts in 7 days – let alone quality ones! So in order to continue to stretch myself creatively, I’ve gone with something I would never do – a photo blog. This would represent a normal work day for me – I hope its not too boring!

Here goes…

When you have to be at work by 6am, the only thing that gets you out of bed is the thought of a good coffee (coffee machines are, like, the BEST thing EVER invented!)

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Followed by a quick bowl of cereal. I was eating Special K (pictured) up until recently. However, I’ve recently switched to WeetBix because it has virtually no sugar and the same nutritional benefits of good breakfast cereals like Iron, Protein, Fibre etc.

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By 10am I’m starving – time for morning tea! Its usually an apple and a muesli bar. Carman’s Muesli Bars are fantastic because they are Low GI, don’t taste overly sweet and have significantly less sugar than most other brands.

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Lunch time and nothing beats a ham and cheese toastie! Plus its super quick and easy to prepare in the morning! I always use Burgen bread as its Low GI and high in nutritional benefits like Iron, Protein, Fibre etc. Its worth the extra cost. And, of course, a nice strong cup of tea (Twinings English Breakfast) – makes for the ultimate comfort meal! Only problem is that by 2pm I don’t want to go back to work!

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The best thing about working is that you have a set routine. You get up at the same time. You eat the same foods at the same time. You don’t have time to open the cupboards and snack, so your blood sugar levels are quite often the same.

That is, until home time hits. I’m usually home by 3pm, giving me a few spare hours to open the fridge and cupboards several times before dinner and snack. Sometimes there’ll be leftover desert if there’s been a special event – that will be an absolute must. Other times it’ll be nuts, chocolate or potato chips from the cupboard. And a coffee, tea or Coke Zero to drink. I’m still struggling with this part of the day. Badly.

I’m pretty lucky to have a home cooked meal on the table at dinner time (thanks Mum!) I’m a pretty good cook myself and help out when I can too. Its usually things like pasta dishes, chunky soup, meat and veg to name a few. We also have stir-frys, tacos, rice dishes and frittatas too. Coming from an Italian family, my diet is a pretty traditional one and I don’t have much exposure to other cuisines (gasp!) or spices (gasp!). My friends couldn’t believe that I’d never eaten a curry until a few years ago! Still not a big fan.

I’m quite good at avoiding after dinner indulgence. I always remind myself of the delayed blood sugar spike that comes from eating junk food that’s high in fat. I don’t want to wake up with a reading of 15. Plus, I go to bed fairly early, so I want a clear indication of my blood sugar levels with most of my rapid acting insulin gone.

Anyway, you now have a good insight into my diet for the day. I hope you’ve found it useful. I’m really interested to see what everyone else writes on this topic today!

I’ve written this post as a participant in Diabetes Blog Week 2015. Follow #dBlogWeek on Twitter for the latest on the event and participants.

I Can…Better Understand My Food Choices

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If there’s one good thing that’s come from my friend Diabetes, its the fact that its made me better understand my food choices.

Growing up, my parents had junk food in the house for us to snack on. We had biscuits in the morning and potato chips, lollies, chocolate, ice cream and soft drink after school (not all in one hit!). I can still remember politely asking Mum if it was okay to open “something special,” which is what we used to call junk food. Don’t get me wrong, its not like we were an unhealthy family. We had home packed lunches during the day and home cooked meals at night. Its just that we never had any restrictions on junk food from Mum and Dad.

And ever since, I’ve had to have “something special” in the afternoons. Its become a subconscious habit that’s been impossible to break away from. Whether I was home at three, four or five o’clock, I still had to open that cupboard and grab a packet of chips. That is, until Diabetes came along.

I never used to even think about junk food, or any of the foods I was eating and its impact on my health. And yet now, diabetes has opened my mind to the food choices I make. I liken it to this particular episode of How I Met Your Mother. Everyone had their annoying habits – Lily crunched loudly, Ted over corrected people, Marshall sang about everything he was doing, Robin overused the word ‘literally’ and Barney spaced out when people spoke to him. And nobody ever noticed these habits until an outsider pointed them out, ‘shattering’ the gang’s perfect illusions of each other.

Diabetes has made me far more aware of my food choices than I ever was before. I actually read the nutrition information on the products that I buy in the supermarket. I understand the effects that carbs, fat and sugars in my food will have on my body and blood sugar levels. And after lots of experience, I have learned how to respond appropriately.

Now I only eat salad and drink water. The fridge is full of fresh fruit and veggies and there is no junk food to be found in the house. Ha! Yeah right!

But I really do think about my food choices now. I’ll still open the cupboards most afternoons and stare at the tempting goodies in there. But I’ll also think about the repercussions afterwards – like feelings of guilt and depression, being too full for dinner, and delayed blood sugar spikes by bedtime.

One of the biggest hurdles I’ve overcome thanks to diabetes is the junk foods that I used to eat on a daily basis. Potato chips and ice cream, that I used to eat every day, I might have about once a week. Now, I’ll do my best to satisfy the urge for an afternoon snack in ways other than junk food. Sometimes I’ll have a nice coffee or cup of tea to keep my mouth occupied. Other days I’ll have crackers and cheese with a handful of nuts.

But I’m certainly no Saint. I still nibble on chocolate most days (my biggest weakness), and I buy my lunch from the food court every Friday. I still end up overdoing it on special occasions like morning teas, eating out and on lazy days. More than I’d like to admit.

But I understand what I’m eating. I know how to react. And that’s all that really matters.

I’ve written this post as a participant in Diabetes Blog Week 2015. Follow #dBlogWeek on Twitter for the latest updates from the event and participants.

Falling Off The Wagon

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In all honesty I have kind of fallen off the wagon in the past few days, which I could put down to a couple of things.

Temptation. Mine was in the form of 25 cent Malt-Easter chocolate bunnies and Cadbury Marvellous Creations Easter eggs (seriously, if you have not tried these, what are you even doing with your life?) And even though I had the best of intentions to share them around, not all of them made their way to the chocolate basket at home.

Cooler weather. If there’s one thing I do love at the moment, its the cooler nights and being able to get cozy in front of the telly. But sadly, its also the perfect climate for being lazy and comfort eating. On Sunday I settled down in front of Despicable Me (how have I not seen this sooner?) and ended up chowing down a whole bag of Red Rock Deli Chips (Honey Soy Chicken, of course).

Exhaustion. Mostly work related and just feeling run off my feet all day. By the time I get home I’m ready to flop and can’t really be bothered with much else. Cue the lotto Gods (yeah right). But more realistically, I am perservering with my blog and want to make some sort of career from it in the future.

On Sunday morning I woke up to a beautiful blood sugar reading of 21.0. Not really a suprise considering all the fatty junk food I had eaten (fats raise your BGLs several hours later), but still a scare. I knew I’d gone too far. My blood sugar had been sitting at that horrible level for the past 8 hours (probably more) that I’d been sleeping. I absolutely hate when that happens. Nothing annoys me more. Then cue the feelings of guilt, followed by scary thoughts of possible diabetes complications from the damage I’d done to my body. How could I have been so irresponsible, so stupid?

I hastily jabbed myself with some insulin, before heading to the kitchen. My mouth was left dry from all of the sugar and sodium I had consumed the day prior, and I was dying for a refreshing cup of tea. I refused to eat until my levels went down, although I can’t say I was feeling very hungry anyway. Damn shame too, because weekend breakfasts are my favourite time of week. The two days where I can actually take my time and enjoy something better than a hasty bowl of cereal. And I’d ruined it.

There’s not much of a point to this post other than to tell you that I’m not perfect. Nobody is. And I’ve no doubt you’ve found yourself in a similar situation at some point. Which is why I felt it was so important to share this. While I truly regret what I did, I think it was also the perfect wake up call (or in my case, scare) that I needed to start being sensible again.

Please tell me I’m not alone in this – have you been in a similar situation before?