Food

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?

That Sugar Film

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After hearing a lot about ‘That Sugar Film’ over the past few weeks, I finally decided to go check it out on Easter Monday and see what all the watercooler chat was about. And after a few weeks of being in a bit of a diabetes slump, it was just the motivation that I needed.

Aussie man Damon Gameau is a healthy young male with a diet consisting of mostly fresh produce and no sugar. He embarks on a diet of seemingly healthy, low fat foods for 60 days in order to expose the effects of the hidden sugars in these foods. Think yoghurt, breakfast cereals, juices, flavoured milks, muesli bars and lots of other processed products. Its a format that reminds me of the ‘Super Size Me’ documentary several years ago.

Without giving the ending away, the results are shocking. Damon’s health deteriorates significantly, both physically and mentally. Basically, he was eating foods that were stripped of their healthy fats and proteins (that help you to feel full and maintain energy) and replaced with sugar. His calorie intake before and during the experiment was exactly the same, and he didn’t even touch any takeaway, fizzy drinks, lollies, chocolate or ice cream. Of course, I did have a few areas of doubt…

  • Damon was an extremely healthy guy, therefore the impact of his experiment would likely be greater as opposed to someone on a more average diet.
  • He seemed to eat home cooked meals 3 times per day (pre experiment), which is impractical for the busy or working person.
  • Damon seemed to ignore carbs like pasta, rice and low GI breads in his normal diet, which are an essential source of energy and assist diabetics to maintain stable blood sugars.
  • Cereals were presented negatively for their higher sugar content, despite being a good source of Iron, Protein and several other nutritional benefits.

Since I’ve had diabetes, I’ve always prioritised the fat content and glycemic index rating on products without really considering sugar. While I think its unrealistic to cut out sugar and processed foods completely, this film was a real eye opener. After a weekend of Easter binge eating, That Sugar Film has motivated me to cut back on sugar for the sake of my diabetes management and long term health. I also liked the health benefits there were to gain, including more energy, less lethargy, healthier skin and reduced sugar cravings – all without any exercise.

Today I resisted hot cross buns and easter chocolate on the staff room table at work, and I went easy on the leftover desert in the fridge at home. The box of biscuits in my desk drawer will be going once they’re finished, and I will be swapping muesli bars for fresh fruit and nuts. And when I begin to falter again, I will remind myself of this film.

That Sugar Film has plenty of intrigue, investigation, eye openers, humour and cringeworthy moments to easily sustain a feature length presentation. It’s had a huge impact on me, so I can only imagine the impact this film will have if it makes its way around the world.

That Sugar Film is currently screening in selected cinemas around Australia and New Zealand. You can watch the trailer below, or visit www.thatsugarfilm.com to find out more.

Taking a Break From Diabetes at Easter

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I am sitting here on this balmy Easter Sunday with an extremely full stomach after a big day of indulgence.

My day began with an early coffee and some leftover dolcini (Italian sweets) from our family get together last night. After early Mass a Baileys was in order along with plenty of helpings from the chocolate basket on the coffee table (that was my breakfast, in case you were wondering!). On the menu for lunch it was pasta bake (like lasagne but with pasta), which has become somewhat of a festive tradition in our house, accompanied by mini pizzas and red wine. After a brief rest in front of the telly an array of deserts including Rocky Road, Red Velvet Cupcakes, Cannoli and more Easter eggs awaited us.

And let’s just say that this was actually a good year. After failing last year, I actually managed to give up chocolate for the most part of lent (minus two accidents!). I also didn’t have this at home to tempt me this year…

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Its the prize I won at work last year for correctly guessing the 510 easter eggs sitting in that jar! 510! It ended up sitting on our coffee table until about July, tempting the whole family to grab one every time we walked past.

Needless to say I was sick of chocolate by the time it was over. Anyway…

All I really wanted to say today is that even though this behaviour would likely give my doctor a heart attack, diabetes is a 24/7 job, 365 days of the year. Its not something that I can leave at my office desk at 5pm on Friday and return to at 9am on Monday. And frankly, I’m sick of people telling me “oh, you shouldn’t be eating this, should you?” without fully understanding diabetes. So long as I am aware of what I am consuming and how I have to respond, I think I’ve earned a day (or two!) of indulgence.

Cheers for all the fantastic support so far, and wherever you are in the world, HAPPY EASTER!

Bring on the food hangover tomorrow…