I didn't mean to become a poster child for Type 2 diabetes. I'd really rather be known for my clever writing, vast knowledge of food and gracious manners. But back in August I wrote a story about getting a diabetes diagnosis. (Which was not long after I went public with my face after years of a photo disguised with a hat.) Suddenly, I'm the diabetes lady.
Someone I didn't know at the grocery store peered into my cart and told me it looked like I was doing a good job.
A saleslady at Macy's compared notes with me. People asked my husband how I was doing. A diabetes magazine interviewed me for a story. And I got a lot of very nice emails from people with all kinds of suggestions and support.
So many of them said, "I'm in the same boat."
I'm sure lots of people in that boat have done a better job than I have in managing their adult-onset diabetes. Other people have lost a lot of weight, stuck to a strict carbohydrate regimen, started working out in response to a diagnosis. They could probably share all kinds of useful advice.
If you read what I write, you know I haven't exactly given up paczki and coffee cake and pizza.
But I have, in fact, changed a lot about how I eat: How much, what I choose to try and how I eat when I'm not working. So I am doing a pretty good job. I had lost about 35 pounds or so when I wrote the story. I've kept it off, though it does bounce around a little. I try to take my blood sugar levels on a semi-regular basis to make sure they're within reasonable bounds, which they generally are. Though I have to say, I did not do that during the week of Christmas. I'm just trying to hold steady.
Here are some things I've discovered:
- Watching what you eat is more about planning and being organized than willpower. It's essential to plan the meals, get to the store, pack the lunch ahead of time. You just cannot have days when there's nothing healthy to eat so you order pizza or get fast food.
- I got so many healthy eating cookbooks at the office in January. It's great to have new recipes to try that are designed for your diet and have nutritional counts. If I just think about what I want to make, I usually think of pasta. Then I have to make myself stop thinking about pasta. (See recipes below.)
- I have to create the right environment. The best way for me not to eat ice cream is to have none in the house. If my husband wants it, he has to go to UDF.
- Carbs really add up. It's not until you look up everything you just ate in a book or on a calorie app that you realize you can't pretend another spoonful of brown rice is OK. And I have to be very honest with myself about pizza.
- You slip, you start over. I did have to taste that flan cheesecake at Lalo's the other day and I'm glad I did. I can't afford to think that since I "strayed," I might as well go all the way and finish it. My friends finished it. And that bite was actually plenty for me.
- My eating out is a lot different than your eating out. But it is best with other people. If I don't finish it, someone else will. It's harder when I'm by myself. I try to keep zip-close bags with me because I feel weird ordering a sandwich, eating a bite, and asking for a box. This might not be a problem for people with less weird jobs.
- Fine-dining restaurants aren't the challenge. They tend to serve smaller portions than, say, a sports bar. Fortunately, there are so many fine-dining restaurants opening that I don't often have to evaluate a menu that offers a choice between fried stuff with potatoes and fried stuff with bread.
- Don't let a healthy restaurant lull you into complacency. I've noticed a tendency for restaurants to have a pretty decently healthy menu, and then have big cakes or muffins on display. You don't earn the right to eat those just because you're feeling good about having had a salad.
- Beans. High-fibre, low-carb, filling. Chili, hummus, lentil soup, roasted garbanzos, white bean salad... there are endless ways to use them.
- Avocado. I put them in every lunch I pack. Or I eat them with eggs. Not guacamole, though. That really needs corn chips.
- Nuts. Every bit of nutritional advice about nuts says the same thing: Good for you, but eat in moderation because they're high in fat. Has anyone ever eaten salted nuts in moderation? It's a bit of a struggle, but they are low-carb.
- Cherry tomatoes: To get through the winter until there are local tomatoes. I warm them up in a little butter to eat with fried eggs. They stand up well in packed lunches. I put them in every salad, I use them as a dip for hummus.
- Eggs: Eggs poached in chunky tomato sauce for brunch or dinner, egg salad for lunch, deviled egg for a snack, etc.
- Cottage cheese: (Breakstone or Michigan Brand are the only kind I like) with some fruit, or mixed with diced cucumber, celery, green pepper, parsley and scallion - my mother's favourite snack.
- Raspberries: Not just because they are a higher-fibre fruit, but because a little box of fresh raspberries are expensive, so I never used to buy them. Now they're a justified special treat. Good with cottage cheese
- Coleslaw: So there can always be a salad in the fridge.
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