Diabetes is my Leprechaun

Dealing with Leprechauns is deceptively simple, in all the stories: you stare at them and they can't get away, and you end up getting their pot of gold.

For me, keeping good diabetes habits is the same way. I focus on them, integrate them into my life, keeping my eye on the diabetes pot of gold - a future without complications.

Then it seems like I blink and it's all scurrying away. My habits turn into mirror images - snacking on carbs instead of avoiding them, and I wonder if those gold coins are slipping through my fingers.

This is less a frustration rant, and more an acceptance that it's time to reel myself in again, and reach for a plate of cheese instead of a granola bar. Maybe I should cut my cheddar into little circles to remind me why it's so important...

No Time for Diabetes

Sometimes, the diabetes just gets swept off by the wayside. This is a luxury, I suppose - I'm able to ignore it when I need to. But I don't like realizing I've unconsciously shoved it aside.

I only have so much time and energy, and so can only handle so many things at a time. Heavy deadlines at work, lots of social stuff, taxes, illness, dealing with the government. Any of these pile up, and I just lose the time to test my blood sugar, do my research, worry about the disease.

I am getting better at not tossing my diet aside at these times, but I don't think I tested at all today. It's been a busy few weeks. Crazy at work, a touch of food poisoning or flu on the weekend, three family events in the last couple of weeks, and my husband's immigration was finalized last week as well. I haven't really settled down and relaxed, and I wake up each morning feeling like I've hit the ground running.

I really struggle in these times to let my diabetes management fall by the wayside. It's the easiest thing to drop (well, after exercise), when life gets too busy, too complicated. But there's no guarantee I'm always going to be able to ignore it, so I'm trying to think of a way to balance it.

I'm not sure how to do it yet, but I think I'll try to work on forming better habits, like always testing before and after I eat lunch, so that I always get at least one pair of tests a day.

Words to live by

A post today over at Diabetes Mine inspired my topic today. She wrote about mantras and best advice. It made me think about the phrases that bring inspiration to me.

A big one has always been This too shall pass. No matter what situation I'm in, no matter how scary or sad or painful, I can hold to that one. Sooner or later, whatever it is is going to get easier. It'll resolve itself, I'll learn to deal with it, I'll heal, or a new opportunity will appear. I've yet to be proven wrong with this one.

For diabetes, this means I remember on the days that I am frustrated and tired that there will be days where it breezes by. I hold hope for new treatments and devices to make life easier, and an eventual cure.

The second thing is less a phrase than a concept - that of a 'big picture' or 'fate'. It's hard to see the silver lining when you're in a bad patch. I try and remember that. I know it's going through a bad first marriage that makes me aware and committed to my second one. Getting diagnosed with and treated for pre diabetes helped me drop the weight I couldn't lose. Early detection is going to save me from a lot of potential complications.

I don't believe that life is meant to be free of challenges and low spots. It's what you learn and grow from. Of course, I'm not turning down any sunny days that come my way either.

True Lemon Hot Lemonade

I'm fighting a nasty cold right now. I hate being sick - don't we all? The fatigue, the sneezing, the runny nose and watery eyes. But the worst has been the sore throat. It's been waking me up at night. Every few hours I'm awake and trying not to swallow.

I broke down on my aspartame avoidance and bought some sugar free lozenges. I've been gargling salt water - not nearly as bad as I thought, though it only helps for a little while. I've been spraying my throat with Chloraseptic when it gets really bad.

And I've been drinking lots, and lots, and lots of Hot Lemonade. It what we were always given as kids when we were sick. My mom would mix up mugs of powered lemonade with hot water instead of cold. Lemon scented steam always makes me feel better. I avoid all those powdered lemonade mixes now - way too much sugar. I've been using True Lemon to get through this cold.

I heard about True Lemon last year as a drink flavoring substitute. Each packet is the equivalent of 2 squeezes of lemon or lime. It's made with crystallized juice - no calories, no carbs. I usually carry a few packets in my purse so I can flavor water when I go out - tap water can be pretty unappetizing at times. I'll also dump it in Perrier or Club Soda if I want some 'pop'.

And when I'm sick, it dump it in hot water and drink it down. It dissolves far more easily in hot water than cold, and I enjoy it without needing to add any sweetner - the lemon flavor is enough on it's own. Plus it's so soothing for my throat.

I'll be so glad when this cold is over with. But the Hot Lemonade is making it easier to get through.

And This Bowl is Just Right

One way I keep my portion sizes under control is to have different sized bowls for different foods. Finishing an entire bowl of anything is satisfying, even if it's a small bowl, and it's easier to resist going back for seconds. It also makes it easy if my husband is putting together a snack - he knows if I ask for a 'bowlfull' to go for the small bowl. We've gotten most of our small bowls in Chinatown - the stores often have a selection of small rice and condiment bowls for reasonable prices. I find them a good size for cereal and servings of fruit, as they hold about a cup. I'll fill them to the brim with berries, and half full for cereal.

The tiny 'ice cream' bowls are actually teacups, and hold single small scoop of ice cream or pudding. Having a tiny cup makes me eat it slower and reminds me to savor the flavor. It was a bit of an adjustment - and every so often I'll upgrade to a larger size - but it really does help re-enforce moderation in sweets and carb heavy foods.

The big bowls are regular salad/soup bowls, and I try to make sure I'm not using them for anything but veggies.

I do this with glasses as well. The only time I use a large glass is if I'm drinking water, crystal light or some other sugar free beverage.

Anything carb heavy like milk or juice gets a small glass, usually only half filled. We found the small glasses in a six pack at the dollar store, so they were really inexpensive.

I find it really tedious to pull out the scale or the measuring cups every time we eat, so having our serving dishes in the appropriate sizes really helps.

The only thing I don't use smaller things for is plates: For those I just try to make sure half the plate is covered with veggies, though I'm not always successful.

Blood Sugar 101

After much anticipation, my copy of Blood Sugar 101 by Jenny Ruhl arrived this week. It did not disappoint. The book is full of the best tips, techniques and information from Jenny's site, BloodSugar101.com. I've loved Jenny's site since I first encountered it, so buying her book was an absolute must.

Despite the somewhat alarmist subtitle - "What they don't tell you about Diabetes!", the book is very straightforward and to the point. I think this should be a standard 'Textbook' for diabetics. It's got so much useful information on diabetes itself - all backed up by actual medical studies - combined with information on insulin, oral meds, supplements, plus useful techniques for lowering your sugar levels and A1C. I would have never realized chest pain is a Metformin side effect without her detailed analysis.

She asks and answers a lot of very critical questions: Does Diabetes have to progress? (No), At what blood sugar level does organ damage start? (140-160 [7.8-8.9] post meal levels), What should you eat to reduce your blood sugars? (Fewer Carbs).

She explains how to use your meter to find out what foods you react to - no one size fits all diet plans here - as well as coping techniques to stay on your diet. One of these I really like is the idea of 'off plan' eating instead of cheating. How you think of things, the words you use, have a huge effect on how you feel about them. "Cheating" brings a lot of guilt and shame, but "Off Plan" eating brings the focus back on the fact that it's your choice.

It can be a very scary book at times - Jenny is very straightforward about how the disease progresses and the risks of various complication. But it's enormously hopeful too, because it gives practical techniques for avoiding them by keeping your blood sugars low. There's a very simple progression of techniques - Adjust your diet, adjust/add meds, adjust/add insulin - to help you find the right balance of techniques to meet your own goals. She really promotes the least expensive and invasive techniques (diet) before medication and insulin, without pretending that a diet solution is going to work for everyone.

If you have questions about the different types of diabetes, how insulin and glucose are managed by the body, what causes diabetes, how effective different drugs are and what side affects they have, what supplements actually work, and what your doctor should be doing to help you manage your disease, you'll find answers both in the book and at Jenny's website.

I'd recommend this book for anyone with diabetes, and anyone who knows a diabetic. It's available from Amazon or through Jenny's site. But don't just stop at the book. Be sure to visit BloodSugar101.com for even more incredibly useful information, plus Jenny's blog critiquing the latest published studies.

Sating the Cravings

A post at Ride to Remedy got me thinking today.

Someone very helpfully brought in a bunch of lindt easter bunnies at work. They were on sale after easter and I ate way more than I should have. I've been wondering what happened to all my willpower, and I think he really hit the nail on the head here.

I used to pack a few pieces of chocolate in my lunch every day. Just a few Dark Chocolate Pastilles - a tiny amount of carbs, but I had the taste of chocolate whenever I wanted. I'd go weeks without eating any, but as soon as that craving came back, I could nip it in the bud.

Since I started my new job in January, I've stopped having chocolate on hand. Now, when I do get chocolate, it is so much harder to resist. I think it's time to start a chocolate stash at work again.

It's amazing how easy it is to forget a lesson once you've learned it. Having small amounts of stuff -often- works for me. If I know I can have a couple bites of chocolate every day, then I don't even look at the chocolate bar rack. If I can steal a few fries from my coworkers every few days, then I can walk by New York Fries without a blink.

Today we got cheese bread (one of my personal irresistibles) in the work grocery delivery. I had a slice. Soooooo tasty! But I was able to resist the second. I'll have it tomorrow. It's so much easier to put something off than to deny it altogether. After all, it's not saying "NEVER" it's just saying "Patience".

I must remember this rule!

Giving It Up: Smoking vs Carbs

One of my coworkers gave up smoking a few months back. He's been really happy with it, really proud of the accomplishment. In the past few days though, he's started to fall off the wagon. I've been ragging him for it - after all, doesn't he know how bad that is! Which is silly, of course he does, but I can't help feel like I should do something to 'help'.

It took a while, but it finally clicked today. There's another coworker who, now and then, tries to gently point out that maybe I shouldn't eat something. I tend to get a bit annoyed but try not to show it. I'm making my own choices.

It took a while for me to see it was the same thing. After all, that next smoke isn't going to be the one to start cancer growing any more than that next helping of fries is going to put my pancreas out of commission. It'd be lovely to have a readout somewhere, letting me know that I've got so many hours of high blood sugar before I do irreparable damage. But it's impossible to know how much damage is being done - especially if you can't (or don't) test after every meal.

It's so easy to say, okay, this splurge can't do that much harm. Just like I'm sure my coworker figures just one smoke won't hurt him. I don' t know so much what to do about it. I'm still trying to sort out my own balance.

But I guess I'll try to bug my coworker a little less about his choices.