Learning to Live With Diabetes

I'm hungry. There, I said it. I shouldn't be. My lunch was fairly substantial and very healthy. I shouldn't be this hungry again so soon. A few weeks ago I would have just grabbed something yummy and eaten it and felt full and satisfied until supper.

But everything changed when my doctor reluctantly told me she had to officially diagnose me with diabetes. She said it was BORDERLINE, but the only thing that seems to have affected is whether or not she prescribed medications, which she didn't. She gave me 3-6 months to get it under control myself, through diet and exercise.

It was difficult at first. I immediately started cutting out everything that had sugar in it. And with my trusty little glucose meter, I started testing myself as instructed...before each meal, then again 2 hours after each meal, then again at bedtime...it didn't take long before my fingertips were numb and blue from all the needles!

Road trips were the hardest. Especially in Sept-Iles where it's customary for the hostess to make up the plates, meaning I had no control over portions. Thankfully, everyone quickly adapted to my needs and let me dictate my portions...and they also even changed their menus for me - how kind is that!!!! (thank you, if any of you ever read this!)

But over the weeks, I've been able to notice trends and triggers and have begun to relax into a healthier balance. My brother sent me some useful tips that have helped me both manage my sugar and lose weight. Those tips have been working better than I could have hoped for! So much so that I've been allowing myself to add a few new treats now and then, like a small ice cream cone (only about 2 Tbsp of ice cream in a mini cone actually goes a long way with very little impact on my sugar!).

For the most part, I'm very happy sticking to my healthy regime...especially when I'm also watching the pounds slip off at the same time. I've got it down to a science now...protein and veggies for all three meals, fruit for morning snack, something like plain yogurt with blueberries for afternoon snack, and then at bedtime, I've been eating about 1/3 cup of a cereal mix I made up myself: I combined in a zip-lock bag several cups each of Fiber One (original) cereal with Smart Bran with Psyllium and then added about a cup of a new cereal  I found in Costco which does have some maple syrup added, but includes a yummy diversity of grains and still falls within the recommended Glycemic level. This combo gives me a great serving of lots of different grains and fiber, and helps me to sleep through the night without waking up hungry at 3am (which used to be a big problem before the diagnosis).

I'm grateful that we caught this diabetes so early. To be honest, I think my pancreas was fatigued from all the junk I'd been feeding it - poutine, chocolate Easter bunnies and all that Cuban bread pudding in March!! Poor thing needed a break. It seems to be much happier now, although it still doesn't cope well with pasta and bread (but it does seem to like pumpernickel in small doses). According to my latest glucose testings - and scales - we're doing something right. And for that, I'm happy and grateful.

But I'm still hungry. Time for yogurt. Hubby ate all the blueberries...I might have to use a wee touch of authentic Quebec maple syrup to help get that plain yogurt down. Thank goodness there are rumours "out there" that maple syrup might actually be good for me. Yippeee!!

Onward and upward (well, we don't want my sugar or weight to go upward...but you know what I mean)...I'm no expert on this stuff, never will be, but if I could make some cautionary comments, I would strongly advise to get rid of the white stuff...switch to whole grain breads and foods with a lower glycemic value, eat lots of veggies and fruit, and take that long walk every chance you get...it really does make a difference.