Spontaneity is difficult for those of us with diabetes. I suspect all of you at some time have been in a situation where you have just eaten, taken your insulin and the phone rings and a friend who is home for the holidays calls and wants to go out to dinner or maybe engage in some sort of activity. You would love to enthusiastically say yes but you hesitate thinking of what you have to do to make this happen. Thoughts like do I take more insulin, do I need to eat something before the activity, and will my friend understand if I say no and suggest some other alternative to meet. These are just some of the questions and situations we have encountered during our years with diabetes.
One thing is for sure, Christmas and the Holiday Season come every year and maybe you do plan well enough in advance for your activity, your meals, social engagements and the big Christmas dinner. But if you are newly diagnosed with diabetes the holiday season may sound grim. People may tell you, oh you can’t do that, or you can’t eat that because of your diabetes not realizing now the management of diabetes encourages people to live a normal lifestyle as much as possible with few restrictions. Common sense and knowledge are the key factors in promoting a healthy diabetes life. One of my pet peeves as a diabetic is when people say “oh you can’t eat that”, maybe I shouldn’t but nothing upsets me more than those words.
It is for the above reasons that I will write my next two blogs. I want to offer some tips and information on planning ahead for the festive season. I welcome any tips you would like to share that have worked for you over the years.
The holiday season is a time when our normal habits and diabetes management may be easily upset. Blood glucose fluctuations can occur as a result of:
1) Eating more or less than usual
2) Eating more sugar and fatty foods
3) More or less stress due to the holiday season
4) Irregular eating of meals/snacks
5) Less or more activity than normal . Walking through a huge mall for hours definitely can lower the blood sugars.
6) Unexpected situations arise
Ahead of time
1) If you are invited to a dinner, ask when the main course will be served. It may be earlier or later than your usual meal time so you might have to compensate with a snack and/or insulin dose change. You can always offer to bring a vegetable-based dish or an hors-d’oeuvre you are familiar with and know the effect it has on your blood glucose.
2) Be sure to bring something with you to treat hypoglycemia. If you are at a buffet sort of event, take notice of where the juices are located just in case hypoglycemia does occur. Be sure the host knows you have diabetes. I realize many people prefer not to be noticed but if your host is aware she/he can give you an idea of what is in the recipe and you can judge accordingly. There are many apps that try to break down the meal for you and one I have recently downloaded and tried is Spark Recipes. This hint might help you gain some confidence in the app: enter a recipe that you know what the breakdown of food is, for example, I took a recipe form my diabetes cook book which already had the information so I could compare the two results.
3) Wear identification that you have diabetes and who to call and contact if problems arise.
Blood glucose monitoring
1. Bring your blood glucose meter with you. If you have a spare one put it by the exit of your house so it will be noticed when you leave.
2. If you start to feel shaky, sweaty or any other common signs of hypoglycemia check your sugar. If in doubt, always treat. You can check your sugars later and treat if it runs higher than normal.
3. If you plan on driving home, check your sugar before you get in the car.
Mealtime tips
1. If it is a buffet, outsmart it by walking around the serving table to get an idea of what you want. Many times if we stand in the line we just grab a little bit of everything so as not to slow the line-up rather than taking that extra minute to see what is in the dish. For example, a stir-fry with vegetables may be alright but if there is a rich sauce with it then you can’t be sure of what you are eating.
2. Don’t feel you have to try everything and feel pressured into eating more even though you are full. Remember other people may not know you have diabetes and their good intentions aren't meant to be harmful.
3. Start with vegetables which may hamper the appetite a bit. Choose the foods you like the best.
4. Use a smaller plate. Eat slowly since it takes at least 20 minutes for your brain to realize you are full. Eat until you are satisfied, not until you are stuffed. Think of the balanced food plate concept.
5. Enjoy every mouthful. Enjoy your family and friends around the table.
6. It is even ok to try a small holiday dessert, something with no more than 30 grams of carbohydrate. If you have a meal plan you can do the substitution, take additional insulin or do a bit of exercise.
7. If you do go off-track, get back to your normal meal plan and routine the next day. Check your sugars more frequently to make sure the sugars aren’t too high or too low especially if you have taken multiple small doses of insulin. The stacking of insulin doses could result in hypoglycemia. Remember that it takes time for the insulin to work so give it a fair chance before you make changes.
Activity
There is a lot going on, you are busy and physical activity can get crowded out of your routine. Activity can help us with the stress of the festive season and give us a bit of time to ourselves or with a group of people. It can help distract us from all we still have to do.
Activity will also allow you to eat more than usual which can relieve the stress associated with stuffing ourselves. I know I can be guilty of over-indulging and exercise is definitely a benefit.
I will finish for now but stay tuned for the next blog that will talk about Alcohol and Diabetes and more tips for staying healthy during this holiday season.
Remember to share any tips that have helped you during the holidays.
Thank you for your time. Stay safe and enjoy the season.
This blog does not replace medical advice in any form from your professional health-care team.
#diabetes&planningahead
References:
Personal experiences
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