A Test You Can't Fail, Part One

The whole idea of having to test my blood twice everyday was a huge challenge to me...just the idea of lancing my finger to get a drop of blood kind of made me a bit scared.  Looking back on it, I don't know why it was like that, but it was.  I just did not want to prick my finger.  Why make yourself bleed?

Why indeed?  Well, first, I have to tell you that pricking my finger was no big deal.  Yes, there is a bit of pain, but if you read the directions on how to use your glucose meter (which I strongly suggest you do), you will learn where to use the lancet so it really isn't painful.  I won't kid you, there is just the tiniest bit of discomfort once in awhile.  But, if you prick the side of your finger - yes, the side, and not the tip, you may not feel a thing.

Wait, that's important enough to repeat - prick the side of your finger!  Somewhere between no pain and very, very, very little pain.  Got it?

And, while I am at it - you only need a little drop of blood.  The scientists have figured out how much you need to give up and it varies from meter to meter.  For me, it's just a bit bigger than the head of a pin.  I'm serious.

Meanwhile back at glucose testing - which is what you do at home with your meter - it's suggested that most Type 2 Diabetics test twice a day.  Once in the morning just after you get up and then once at night before bed.  That's it.  Twice a day.  Now, when I was just figuring things out in the beginning, I was fortunate because my doctor prescribed enough strips and lances so I could test three times a day.  The truth is sometimes I tested three times, other days two times and sometimes even four times a day as I was learning how to manage diabetes.  I got so much good information from doing this.

I tested in the morning, before lunch, two hours after lunch or dinner began, and at night.  I knew what my body was doing when; I knew about what my glucose reading would be within 10 points after a few months even as it was going down and stabilizing.

What did I do with this information?  I wrote it down in my food log.  Learning what I ate and seeing my reading gave me invaluable information and immediate feedback.  I very quickly learned what I could and could not eat.

For example, some folks can eat wild brown rice.  Not me.  Any rice no matter the color or type causes my readings to go up.  And, I loved rice!  But, I learned that if I wanted to control diabetes, rice did not love me and became a 'has been' in my diet.

then, again, I learned that a basic (stressing the word BASIC) hamburger really didn't hurt me.  You know the kind - a basic hamburger from In N' Out.  Not a lot of dressing and the bun is not huge.  Although, I found that any number of french fires - any number - were off my menu.

How did I learn this?  By frequent testing and comparing the results to what I ate.  Recording everything - food and test results in the food diary helped me so very, very much to begin to gain some sense of control.

The message here is clear, I hope.  Test.  Test often  Keep a food diary.  And, use the results to learn how to best manage diabetes.  That is the first step to gaining control.

Remember, to manage diabetes you have to give yourself a glucose test at least twice a day; more often during the first few months if possible.  It's a test you cannot fail, but you will fail to manage diabetes if you don't test.

Your Best Friends in the Kitchen

If you are at all like me, after being diagnosed with diabetes, you are kind of afraid of the ktichen.  Afterall, that is where it might have all happened.  there is no need to be afraid of the ktichen - it's one of the best rooms in the house to win the war on diabetes. 

I remember before I heard those words, "You have diabetes." I loved kitchen tools.  Why?  I had to make sure I was putting enough sugar in the cookies...and butter.  Can't forget the butter, can I?  I am not kidding.  Measuring cups were used most of the time to measure sugar.  In just about everything.  I even found out a little bit of sugar made pasta sauce better!

Well, now I have new uses for the measuring cups, spoons and even a scale - to make sure I am getting the right portions.  I know, you can eyeball what three or four ounces of meat look like without a scale (kind like a deck of cards), but if you have a scale you will know exactly.  Okay, I am going on about a scale, but to tell you the truth, I learned the visual clues on some items, which can be found here.  I am actually a bit too lazy to weigh my food.

However, I have used measuring cups from Day One for a lot of foods like berries and cereals.  Look at cereal boxes to determine what a real portion size is - or at least what they use to base the nutrition information.  I have found it to be somewhere between 1/2 and 3/4 of a cup.  Measure it out and put it in a bowl - and that's it besides a bit of milk.  You don't get to add more cereal.  Add a piece of whole wheat toast (I never, ever thought I'd be advocating whole wheat anything!), if you need to add food, or add a 1/4 cup of berries.

Whatever you do read labels, know what you are getting nutritionally and get in the habit of measuring everything until you can eyeball it.  But, beware of CREEP.  What is creep, you ask?  It's when you subconsciously make the portion sizes bigger as you eyeball portion sizes.  I found I need to check the portion sizes every couple of weeks just to make sure I am still adhering to the portion guide lines.  It's way too easy to make them bigger than they should be if you aren't using a measuring cup.

I can hear you now, "I don't have a measuring cup."  Go out and get one either at a Target or Walmart, or you can even go to your local thrift store.  Wherever you get your measuring cups and spoons, make sure you wash and sterilize them prior to using.  Yes, you will need the spoons, too.

Learn the portion sizes.  Use measuring tools in the kitchen - they will become your new best friends.  Learn visual clues to portion sizes.  Learn carb counts of the foods you eat.  Lots of learning going on, but it will pay-off very quickly as your glucose levels and weight drop.

You are in a war - make you sure have the right weapons.  Your fight starts in your kitchen.

And, if you eat out often, learn what you can eat at the places you enjoy by looking at nutritional guides that most places have easily available.

This is such an exciting time for you as you start your battle in earnest.  You can win the war and control diabetes.



Measuring cups. Measuring spoons. Maybe a scale.

You Never Stop Learning!

You know, I check my blood glucose level twice a day, most of the time, and sometimes 3 times a day.  As a result, I pretty much know where my glucose level is at anytime within about 10 points.  Tonight I got a surprise.

It was two hours after I began to eat dinner and I did a quick blood check.  I thought I would be between 110 and 120 based on what I had eaten and my experience.  I had not walked - got home way too late to do that.  My glucose level was at 147.  Still good for a diabetic, but not good enough - and 20 to 30 points higher than I expected.  By the way, form what I have been told, under 180 is good for a diabetic two hours after a meal is started, just not my goal at this point.  By the way, my fasting glucose was around 300 as I recall when I first started measuring about three years ago.

So, I have to go back and look at what I ate - duh.  The only thing out of the ordinary was about 1/3 of an avocado.  I had not had any avocado in...well, since I was diagnosed with diabetes.  I just learned I need to stay away from them - or have a slice, or make sure I have time to exercise.  Yes, exercise helps that much.

My point is that when you think you know, you are shown you don't.  I know I have to make a little change and I will make it.  You have to stay aware of what you eat, how it effects your glucose levels and learn what you can, and can't eat.  You only get that through checking your blood glucose at different times of the day.

Someone put it very well when they were referring to how the body breaks down food - everyone's body chemistry seems to be unique.  They said the basic rules are great as a starting point, but remember, "Your Mileage May Vary."

Thanks for reading.

(See, I will share all of my lessons!)

Shakes and Quakes

When I was first diagnosed I had no clue how to eat.  It seemed like I could eat too little or too much if I weren't very careful.  Too much and my sugar would be high.  Too low and I could go into a diabetic coma or have the effects of low blood sugar - aka hypogycemia.  Neither of which really appealed to me to say the least.  I wanted to avoid high sugar readings because, after all, I was (am) a diabetic.  And, I really wanted to avoid those low sugar shakes and quakes.

You know what?  I was successful on both counts.  I did have one day where I had a glucose reading of 59 - pretty low in anybody's book, and had only limited effects before I had sense enough to eat.  So, what did I do?  What did I eat?

I started with being having meals of about 60 carbs - give or take 5.  Snacks stayed around 15 carbs.  But - and here is the big secret...drum roll if you please...I ate six smaller meals of about 30 to 35 carbs.  It seemed like I was always eating.

Think about it.  Breakfast at 6:30. Snack at 9:00 or 9:15. Lunch around 11:30. Another snack around 2:30 or 3:00.  Dinner at about 6:00.  And yet another snack at around 8:00 or 8:30.  Each of these meals was 30 or 35 cabs.  Six meals of 35 carbs each means I was getting somewhere around 210 to 220 carbs a day.  That was really enough food for me.

Enough food?  Yes - it's what I needed to live, work and exercise AND lose weight.  Was I hungry sometimes? Well, yeah.  Think about it.  I had been eating what 350 or 400 carbs a day.  That's a lot.  No wonder I had diabetes.  Does not take a brain surgeon, does it?  My stomach needed time to catch up with my lower intake...it had to shrink.

But, I have got to tell you a secret - you can eat enough food and not be full.  You see, somewhere between your stomach and brain there seems to be a lag so that when you have actually eaten more than enough you really won't feel 'stuffed' until 10 minutes later.  That's one reason why we over-eat.  I don't know the science behind that phenomenon, I just know it's true.

Soon I will have to write about what 'enough food' really means.  But, in a nutshell, it's the amount you need to go through your day in a healthy manner.

So, there's a rule for you - start eating with your brain!

Eat six smaller meals as you start to lower your blood sugar.  If you are interested, I will list what I ate in the beginning - just ask.  It's different that what I eat now that I am in maintain mode.

Keep fighting the good fight to manage your diabetes.  It's not easy some days, but well worth it.

Thank you for reading.