I remember one of my first "diabetic" meals in the hospital. It consisted of french toast with sugar free syrup, unsweetened iced tea, and cream of wheat. Since I can't stand french toast or syrup of any kind, (oh, the gagginess) and I don't drink iced tea, (I sent it back and asked for a Diet Coke) I attacked that cream of wheat with a vengeance. I took a huge bite, and then gagged as I tasted the unsweetened nasty goo. But I was SO HUNGRY, (they hadn't been feeding me, telling me the IV would take care of the hunger - yeah, whatever) and the smell of that horrible french toast was just making me gag worse, and so I hopefully picked up the artificial sweetener that had so generously been provided, poured it on the cream of wheat, and tried again. Now it tasted like nasty goo with chemicals added. Mmmmmmmmm.....SO much better. Diet Coke. The breakfast of hospitalized, diabetic champions.
So I've learned a few things.
First of all, sugar free Jello is a NON-FOOD and it is disgusting. I still eat it every once in a while, though.
Second of all, I found an artificial sweetener called "truvia" that I think tastes better than Splenda, but Costco sells Splenda with coupons.
It's a good thing I already liked diet sodas and Crystal Light.
"Free food" has a completely different definition for me now.
Eating protein with every meal helps a TON. Covering the carbs for oatmeal eaten without an egg and oatmeal eaten with an egg yield two very different results. I'm still not sure what to do if I don't have protein available, though. More insulin? More activity? Anyone have advice on this?
Also, pizza is the devil. Too bad, too. I like pizza.
Fruit seems to send my sugars flying, too, even when I think I've covered it accurately. Advice on this would be helpful, too.
So, I still have a few more (million) things to learn.
My kids have learned I have Starbursts on me at all times. They think this makes me a much, MUCH better mother.
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An insulin pump has allowed me to cover things like pizza and simple carbohydrates so much better. I can program it to give myself a little or a lot of insulin now and then small or large amounts over a period of time. For me, pizza takes about three to four hours to work its way through my blood stream so I give myself insulin over the period it takes. Ice cream is also difficult to cover without an insulin pump thinking for me. You might want to check into that. They are pricey, but so worth the deductible. It is still good to eat protein with everything, but that isn't always possible or fun.
ReplyDeleteI would also recommend you hook up with a diabetes educator. I know a great one who works at Lakeview Hospital in Bountiful, Utah - I don't know where you live, but you should find a helpful dietician to guide you through all the diabetic tips. They know more than the doctors do about diabetes management.
At our house, if I carried Starbursts around with me, I'd not only be a much better mother, but the ultimate wife.
ReplyDeleteLike your blog!