Vitamin D

For about 4 years now my doctor has been checking my vitamin D level and has me on supplementation to keep my level as close to optimal as possible.  For those that spend the majority of our day indoors, there is typically a vitamin D deficiency.  My doctor wants my level between his preferred range of 40-70 ng/ml.  I find my levels are best during the summer months when I tend to get more sun – obviously.  I’m not a doctor, but would recommend you discuss this area with your regular physician because it could help you too.

Here are some recent articles that support optimal vitamin D levels:

[Men's Health] According to the July/Aug issue of Men’s Health, a study suggested that people with low blood levels of vitamin D are 47% more likely to develop prediabetes.

[Reuters] “Lower levels of vitamin D circulating in the bloodstream are tied to a higher risk of developing diabetes…[type 2]”

[Yahoo News] “For every 5 nanograms per milliliter (ng/mL) increase in vitamin D levels, the risk of developing diabetes [type 2] dropped by 8%.”

Some Possible Benefits of Vitamin D

• Improved balance
• Stronger & healthy bones
• Improved muscle strength
• May lower risk of some cancers
• Decreased risk of osteoporosis
• Less tooth loss
• Better thinking
• Boosts immunity
• Improved Insulin sensitivity

Some of these claims may be stronger than others, but there is evidence of each to some extent.  Do a simple Google search and you will see for yourself.  With all of these possible benefits and almost no downside, why not take vitamin D supplements?  I simply take 1 pill twice a week and it brought my level from the 20s to 50.  With an Rx from my doctor I get a strong dose that is a generic and very low cost.  Seriously, I can’t afford to NOT take more vitamin D.

Tip: Vitamin D supplements are much better than ultraviolet rays (sunshine/tanning booth)

Blood Test: You can suggest to your doctor to test your vitamin D, by checking your 25-hydroxy D

What have you heard about vitamin D?

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I want to sincerely thank you for your continued support. This blog is better because of you.

Playing Defense Against Diabetes is a post from: Blogging Diabetes

Tonight’s dinner was some Nature’s Promise whole wheat pasta with eggplant and a bit of four cheese sauce.  Typically I try to stay away from pasta because of how it impacts my blood sugar, but sometimes it’s just a nice treat.  I go for the whole grain and usually organic versions to try and be extra healthy.  The image below is my base layer of pasta that will be underneath the eggplant.   To me this seems like a good amount of pasta and isn’t like Maggiano’s serving size or anything.  So this begs the question…

How many carbohydrates do you think are in the pasta dish below?

Here is a pic of the brand that I sometimes get from Giant (Stop & Shop).

Just for fun, post your guess as to how many carbs appear in my dish of Rotini below in the comments section.

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I want to sincerely thank you for your continued support. This blog is better because of you.

Can You Guess How Many Carbs? is a post from: Blogging Diabetes

During my dieting I was trying to maintain a daily limit of 2,000 mg of sodium.  The American Heart Association recommends the average person be at 2,400 mgs per day.  I bet if you’ve never tracked your sodium you would be utterly shocked at how much is in different foods. Seriously, there are many foods that will put you at the limit alone never mind the rest of the day’s meals. Want to be really shocked?  Check out the sodium content of a McDonald’s value meal [shudder].

This article below, found in Men’s Health magazine, shows that the average amount of salt consumed daily is 3,466 mg compared to the recommended 2,400.  That’s an astounding 40% over.  Ever wonder why so many people have high blood pressure? It’s in everything. Seriously. The biggest culprits are meats, especially deli meats, and processed foods like crackers, cookies, breads and chips. 

Shockingly [sarcasm], the way to avoid taking in too much salt is to A) avoid table salt and B) eat more fruits and vegetables.  I never use table salt and just about everyone could probably use a little more fruit and veggies in their diet.  For us with diabetes, a diet with more fruits and veggies is ideal.  So when I was trying to lose some weight, it wasn’t until I reduced the sodium and increased water intake that I really noticed some serious progress. Give it a try.

So how does sodium relate to diabetes?  Well, it’s all in the diet.  People with diabetes (PWD) and those trying to limit their sodium intake should both follow the same diet – lots of veggies and fruit.  Also, limiting the complex and refined carbohydrates is key for anyone regardless of a condition.

P.S. Even I was amazed that 9 out of 10 Americans exceed their recommended daily sodium limit.

Does that surprise you?

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I want to sincerely thank you for your continued support. This blog is better because of you.

Diabetes and Salt Intake is a post from: Blogging Diabetes

First, avocados are listed to help fight diabetes.  I’m not really sure what defines a food as helping to fight diabetes, but I do like me some Guacamole.  I found a really good article on Diabetes Daily that talks about the health benefits of avocados as it relates to diabetes.

Next, I found that Flax battles diabetes and breast cancer.  For the ladies with diabetes that may be reading this is a double win.  I’ve added flax to my diet for the past 8 months or so and enjoy its benefits.[Thanks Mom for the link]

I guess if a food is good on the heart and cholesterol, then they may say it battles diabetes, but I’m not entirely sure.  The website that published this Health Food Chart (here) didn’t have too much information that was readily available.  Some other benefits to foods in the list caught me off guard.  For example, did you know bananas and help quiet a cough?  Or, did you know carrots and cantaloupe help save eyesight?  Bottom line is to eat a lot of the shit in this list and it can’t hurt, right?

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I want to sincerely thank you for your continued support. This blog is better because of you.

Diabetes Health Food is a post from: Blogging Diabetes

On the Facebook fan page, I have been talking about the BodyBugg that I picked up at the beginning of July.  The BodyBugg is a calorie management system that combines a monitor (arm band) and online program that helps you to manage calories intake and calories burned.  It’s truly amazing how accurate it is and I highly recommend it.  It’s not cheap, but if used diligently, can help you lose weight or change your body composition.

As I track my calories, carbs, protein, etc., I have found how extremely difficult it is to estimate the nutrition contents in a salad.  I have been eating salads more often and combine, chicken, lettuce (all different kinds and definitely not iceberg), peppers, carrots, light dressing, cranberries, walnuts, etc. into my salads.  Combining all of these things makes for a difficult time in estimating carbs for my bolus and nutrition contents for the BodyBugg.

For something important to one’s diet, it is so frustrating how difficult it can be to manage for diabetes and calories.  I have recently picked up a kitchen scale to help weight my food contents, which helps a bit.  You try to go healthy with a salad and end up with a high or low blood sugar… sigh.  It’s so much easier to crack open a box of frozen shit that has the obnoxious nutritional [lack of] facts listed on the side or back. 

If you want to be utterly shocked, track your sodium intake for a few days.  Just about everything that comes in a box is loaded with salt.

/rant

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I want to sincerely thank you for your continued support. This blog is better because of you.

It’s Never Easy is a post from: Blogging Diabetes

Diet

I first mentioned that I started the Fat Flush diet back in August of last year.  I think it’s a great plan, but with not without some flaws.  It was never designed for a diabetic and is mostly geared towards women.  I can tell because it talks about being able to reduce and target cellulite on every other page.  However, I definitely think there are some great tips and information that can help a diabetic. So, I have created my own modified version of the Fat Flush diet that helps me control my blood sugar and weight at the same time.

Disclaimer: What works for me may not work for you.  Always consult your doctor before making changes or starting a new exercise routine.

Here is a sample of my daily diet:

Breakfast around 7:00 AM – I will have either a Fiber One bar or Smoothie Shake with a scoop of protein. I usually put some type of fruit in the shake, like a banana or strawberries.

AM Snack – I will have almonds, a Larabar, piece of fruit or nothing if I get busy and miss it.

Lunch – Almost always this is 3 eggs (1 whole egg and 2 egg whites) with a whole grain english muffin or toast.  I can eat eggs any time of the day.

PM Snack – I will have either almonds, a Larabar or piece of fruit

Dinner – This is the key meal in my opinion.  You should go fairly low on simple carbs.  I almost always have a salad with some type of protein like, tuna or chicken.  I put some cut up peppers, carrots, snow peas and a tiny bit of bacon bits and shredded cheese (2% – low fat) topped with a low fat dressing. Virtually no simple carbs.

Workout/Cardio after my girls go down for the night, which I typically start around 9:00-9:30.

Before Bed – Finally, for my post workout drink (not the kind you’re thinking of) I will have a 12oz glass of a mixture of cranberry juice (concentrate), water, ground flax seed and some protein.  For more about the cran-water/flax drink, check out the Fat Flush book or send me an email.

[source]

Exercise

My exercise is nothing all that special.  I usually do one body part using my Bow flex and/or dumbbell set with an 8lb medicine ball or maybe just some core exercises like planks, which are much harder than they look.

After doing maybe 30 minutes of exercises I will jump on our treadmill or elliptical and do about 30 minutes (5 warm up and 5 cool down).

Nothing too fancy here, but it works.  I went from probably 3,000 calories a day to between 1,200 – 1,500 and after a few days/week it’s just like normal.  Sometimes I am starving, but I will snack on something with low carbs and fiber.  Best of all is what you will quickly see in your insulin intake and blood sugars.  Since I don’t eat 3 servings of rice or potatoes, chips, or sugar loaded foods, I am never getting above 250 anymore (like, at all).

Since starting this diet on 1/2/2010 (25 days) I have lost almost 10 pounds and my blood sugars are better than ever.  I can’t wait to go to the Endo now.  I’m actually looking forward to it.  If I can do it with a 9 month old, 4 yr old, full-time job, 2 blogs and little downtime, so can you.  You really owe it to yourself and shouldn’t have a reason not to.  My health and diet is now a priority and will not revert back after seeing these results.

Thank you all for the messages and support – I appreciate you visiting.

Next up is the single biggest thing you can do to help manage your diabetes or diet and you’re not going to like what it is, trust me.

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I want to sincerely thank you for your continued support. This blog is better because of you.

Clean Diabetic Diet and Exercise is a post from: Blogging Diabetes

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Today, candy is the central focus of the spookiest holiday of the year.  In fact, the average American consumes 24 pounds of candy in a year, most of which is eaten right after Halloween according to the U.S. Census Bureau.   But for children with diabetes, it can be difficult to enjoy the festivities when all their fellow goblins are in a frenzy to get their hands on mounds of sweet treats.  Some tips for Halloween are:

• Explain to your child ahead of time that they should not snack on candy until you are home from trick-or-treating. (Parents, that goes for you too!)
• Lots of walking can affect blood glucose levels, so pack a healthy snack that you can rely on to battle lows.  This way, you avoid the temptation of dipping into the treat bag for a quick solution if your child’s blood sugar levels begin to drop.
• Choosing which type of candy to pass out is important because there is a good chance you will have leftovers.  If you select the correct type of candy, you can use leftovers to treat lows throughout the year.  According to the American Diabetes Association, chocolate and other higher-fat treats do not work well for treating lows.  Therefore, if you anticipate leftovers, choose hard candy, gumdrops or lollipops to pass out at Halloween so you can use the leftovers to treat lows.
• Do not feel you have to deprive your child of all Halloween candy.  Instead, allow them to choose a fun size, smaller version of their favorite candy.  Just remember to adjust their meal plan based on the number of carbohydrates in the sweet treat. Visit the JDRF web site, or click here, for a list of common Halloween candy carbohydrate values.
• After trick-or-treat hours are over, sit down with your child and help them choose a few of their favorite pieces of candy they can enjoy throughout the week.  To help your child part with the leftover candy, allow them to exchange it for money, a toy or some other special treat (a special dinner, trip to the movies, etc).  
• If you do not want to waste the extra candy by throwing it away, go with your child to donate the leftovers to a hospital or senior center. Not only will your child learn healthy habits, they will receive a lesson in sharing.
• Take the focus off Halloween candy by encouraging your child to create an exciting Halloween costume.  You can even involve the entire family by designating a day to work on homemade costumes.
• Halloween costumes often require plenty of face paint, body paint and colored hair spray.  When the festivities are over, ensure you give proper attention to skin and scalp cleansing and care.  Products like Diabeti-X Hair and Scalp Therapy Shampoo and Dermal Therapy Body Lotion by Bayer, available here, can help to safely scrub dye out of hair and moisturize skin after removing dehydrating costume makeup.
• No matter what the costume, ensure your child wears comfortable, closed toe shoes and invest in special diabetic socks that will keep feet clean and dry. Whether trick-or-treating or at a costume party, it is important to protect feet from potential cuts and scrapes and prevent blisters and soreness.
• Offer to host the Halloween party this year.  You will be able to ensure your child and all the guests, enjoy healthy Halloween treats rather than experience sugar shock.  Use food coloring to turn your favorite dip or sugar-free whipped topping orange, and pair with fruit and cheese or vegetables for a festive tray.  For dessert, dish out sugar-free chocolate pudding in individual cups and garnish with sugar-free whipped topping and sugar-free candy worms for a creepy surprise.

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Here are some Tips from the JDRF for a fun Halloween.

If you are interested in providing a guest post, please contact me for more information or to submit a proposal.

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I want to sincerely thank you for your continued support. This blog is better because of you.

Making Halloween Fun for Children with Diabetes is a post from: Blogging Diabetes

2. Caffeine

3. The Diet

4. Progress

So far I have discussed what the plan and goal is, the amount of caffeine I was drinking and the new diet I have started.  This post will discuss the progress I’ve made in a very short time.  Just to recap, I started with a goal of getting my blood sugars more in control and consistent.  Just like in my golf game, I will take consistency [in range] over distance any day of the week and twice on Sundays.

Running & Shins

I’m not a huge fan of running especially for distance.  I played a lot of soccer in my younger days and did a lot of running, but that was much different.  Since high school, a few years back [wink wink], I haven’t done much running.  I will do a little jogging on the treadmill, but nothing that would win races.  The first piece of cardio equipment I purchased and still use was an elliptical, which is much easier on the body than running.  Since writing this post last November, I have wanted to get back into running to be more fit and drop a little weight.  The problem is that I would start with shin splints soon after starting to run regardless of how much stretching I did.  I tried everything, wraps, creams, stretching, exercises, etc. all to no avail.  That is until now… Part of my diet has been no caffeine and at least 8 glasses of cran-water mix per day, which I have been doing with ease and then some.  Well, now that my body is hydrated, I haven’t even had an ache or slightest bit of pain in my shins – none, nada, zip, zero.  It’s such a relief to be able to run, I’ve gone up to 4 miles so far with absolutely no pain in my shins.

Caffeine

After a week of weaning off of caffeine, I went cold turkey on Monday July 27 [3 weeks ago].  I’ve had a few cans of Diet Mt. Dew just to use up the supply I have on hand, but absolutely nothing like before.  Do I have times that I really want some, hell yes.  Does it quickly pass, yes.  I use to never be able to go down the soda isle at the grocery store without buying either a 2 liter or cans of the Dew.  Now, I just walk right by and could care less.  I also miss the Lo-Carb Monster, but not enough to give up how great I feel without caffeine.  No longer do I crash in the evenings.  When my kids are here and want to play, I have so much more energy.  I’ll never go back. Never.  I think people in general underestimate the power that caffeine has on the body and is very addicting.  The last benefit is that even with drinking so much cran-water, I go to the bathroom about half as much.  The soda just goes right through you.

Diet Progress

Remember my goal was to lose a few pounds and start eating more healthy.  I started probably a little more then 200 pounds, but let’s just call it 200.  After two weeks on this diet I was down to 193.5 pounds, roughly 3 pounds a week.  So even at 194ish, I only have less than 10 pounds to go and we’re just 2 weeks into the diet.  I don’t have the stats, but most diets probably fail because people lapse back to their old [poor] eating habits when they reach their target weight.  Not here – I have committed to a lifestyle change.  It’s so refreshing to eat healthy.  I’m not going to lie and tell you that eating salads almost every day is as tasty as a bag of Doritos or a hearty cold cut sandwich, but it’s liberating.  This coming from someone who ate sandwiches every day for years.  I don’t see much difference in the mirror, but feel a lot better. I have also switched to mainly organic and whole foods.  I asked my wife if she thought I look like I lost weight [loaded question].  Her response was, “how are your clothes fitting4″?.  After thinking for a second, I said, “yeah, my shorts are a bit loose and I’m down a belt notch.”  Enough said.

Blood Sugars

For ten years I’ve been trying for consistent blood sugars in the acceptable range [70-140].  I am all over the place and my doctor just says that many of his type 1 patients are all over the board like me.  I do a good job and rarely test less than 5 times a day.  I try to do all the right things, but snacking always kills my blood sugar.  Maybe I tend to underestimate my carb intake, but I am playing the 140, 340, 45, 250 game.  I will say, not proudly, that I can correct the shit out of a 250+ blood sugar without going low.  Put my going to bed sugars at anywhere from 250-400 and I will wake up in the morning between 80 and 150.  Since starting this serious diet 3 weeks ago, my blood sugars have been phenomenal.  I haven’t seen one 300 or even close to it in 3 weeks.  Think about that… I couldn’t go a few days without correcting one of these highs in the past.  Now 3 weeks without one even close.  That’s TIGHT.  The difference is that I’m not eating chips, rice, potatoes, bread or other processed carbs.  I get a ton of fiber and really my only carbs from fruits and vegetables.  Try getting a 300+ blood sugar from eating lettuce, peppers, carrots and sugar snap peas.  You’d have to eat a truck full.   Plus, I get full from these foods because they have very little carbs/calories and I can eat a lot.  I am filling my pump reservoir with about half as much insulin as before and my basal rate is much lower.  Honestly, this has been the most refreshing accomplishment in 10 years with type 1 diabetes.  Now I feel like I can win.  No longer do I feel like I’m fighting with one leg and my arms tied behind my back.

Thank you for all of your support.  I’m truly grateful for my readers and the feedback I receive.  As I’ve noted before, always consult with your doctor before starting a diet or exercise.

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I want to sincerely thank you for your continued support. This blog is better because of you.

Blogging Diabetes – Progress [Part 4 of Series] is a post from: Blogging Diabetes

2. Caffeine

3. The Diet

4. Progress

So far I have covered what I am doing and the ridiculous amount of caffeine I was drinking.  This post will focus on the diet I’ve started.  Just to recap a little on my current weight situation and goal.  I am 5’10″ and weighed about 200 pounds going into my diet.  My goal was to drop down to around 187 pounds.  From there I can work back on building lean muscle.  About 4-5 years ago I was in the best shape of my life and was weighing about 195.  Right now, just five pounds heavier, I feel so much more out of shape. 

Like many diabetics, I have struggled to keep my blood sugar consistently in the acceptable range of 70-140.  I will be in the range, then high, over correct, then low, etc.  You know the drill, right.  This diet is really more than just a diet.  It’s a life style change.  I can’t be eating the garbage I do [did] all the time and expect to take diabetes head-on.  I mean seriously.  Now, let’s talk about what I did eat.  I was pretty good and only occasionally hit the fast food joints (maybe once a week at most).  My weak spot was chips.  I could devour a bag of Doritos, Fritos or Cheetos without thinking twice.  Almost always, I would under estimate the amount of carbs, probably because I was in denial, and ended up with a high blood sugar.  I have done some research and know that this is the time for a drastic change and not just one to get ready for my vacation in 4 weeks.  A change for good and for the good. 

I have to credit Ann Gittleman’s Fat Flush Plan for the motivation, shopping list, recipes and direction.  I started this plan a few weeks ago and things are going better than I expected in some areas and not so in another.  I’ll talk more about my specific progress in the next post.  Here are some keys to the plan: 

• It’s all about your liver

• Not all fat is bad fat

• Stress

• Sleep

• 3-stage plan [2 week fat flush, ongoing fat flush, lifestyle eating plan]

• Water, Flax, Cranberry, fiber

• Omega-3

• Organic

• Exercise

• Medicines

• Protein

• Cut out all of the high-glycemic foods

• cellulite targeting (women)

At a high level, you start out by loading up on cran-water (mixture of water and pure cranberry juice), cut out all of the processed (white) carbohydrates, most of which are high-glycemic, and maintain high fiber and protein portions for each meal.  I can honestly say that I haven’t eaten one slice of bread in over two weeks.  This coming from someone who A) loves me some Italian bread with olive oil, Peccorino cheese and rosemary and B) ate a cold cut sandwich on the daily for lunch.

Warning – Always consult your nutritionist/physician before going on a strict diet like this one.  What works for me may not work or could seriously affect someone else’s health.  Also, the carb/calorie restriction has a huge impact on insulin intake and could lead to hypoglycemia.  

The last post of this series will outline my results so far with the caffeine cut back and diet.

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I want to sincerely thank you for your continued support. This blog is better because of you.

Blogging Diabetes – The Diet [Part 3 of Series] is a post from: Blogging Diabetes

2. Caffeine

3. The Diet

4. Progress

My Vice

A little while back, I discussed the issue of caffeine possibly causing blood sugar levels to rise.  That post and information inspired me to do a giveaway so others could research diabetes to see what they may not have known about.  For a long time, I have been drinking an obscene amount of caffeine on a daily basis.  I would say I was a casual drinker up until about 5 years ago when my consumption started to spike up.

Having diabetes, I always looked at diet soda as my “free” drink that tasted good, had next to zero calories and wasn’t that bad for you.  I always thought, you can take away carb-loaded foods, but don’t even think about my Diet Mt. Dew.  Hands OFF!  I have sworn to this very day that there is something that Pepsi puts in Mt. Dew that makes it addicting.  Maybe it’s all the caffeine (55 mgs per 12oz.), but the stuff is dynamite.

My Routine

I would start the day with a 16oz can of either Monster Lo-Carb or Sugar Free Rockstar  each with close to 200 mgs of caffeine, which would jumpstart my morning.  After the initial energy drink that tastes awesome (Monster blue can is my favorite) I would go Diet Mountain Dew all day long until about 4:30.  That’s when I would quit for the day so I wasn’t kept up at night.  If I had to guess, I’d say that I would drink at least four 20oz bottles during the day.  I would probably put my caffeine intake for one day in the neighborhood of 600mgs.

The other harmful ingredient of caffeine is citric and phosphoric acid that eat away at the enamel of your teeth.  Some say that these acids are nearly as corrosive as battery acid to your enamel. [source]  I’ve always heard that regular soda is bad for your teeth because of all the sugar in it.  My dentist would ask if I drink coffee or soda, which I would answer, “only diet soda”.  I guess both are bad for your teeth.  The bar chart below shows the pH content of different brands of soda.  Interestingly, Diet Mountain Dew is the third best of all the sodas in terms of pH content.  Um, the last thing I want to do is have no enamel left on my teeth.  Plus, I think my parents would kick my ass for having damaged the teeth they spent so much money to straighten.  Don’t even get me started on the artificial sweetener – Aspartame.  Who really knows the long term effects these chemicals can have on your body.

[source]

My Goal

Back in December/January, I made a goal that I would cut WAY back on caffeine in 2009.  I really didn’t define exactly what “way back” would be or how to measure it.  I just knew I needed to start cutting back.  I did some reading and research and found the best way to cut out caffeine is to wean off of it over a period of time.  Cold turkey is difficult to do because of the “hold” caffeine can have on you.  I found myself crashing from no caffeine at around 6-7 PM each night, right at the time I wanted to spend quality family time.  Also, the soda made me have to go to the bathroom all the time during the day.  Don’t get me wrong, there are some positive effects that caffeine can have on you like, increase alertness, decreased fatigue and improved muscle coordination.  So why the headaches when you stop drinking caffeine?

“Low concentration of caffeine may cause a decrease in heart rate, but high concentration increases the palpitations significantly.

If you are consuming high soft drinks and then suddenly you stop drinking, caffeine in brain may constrict the blood vessels causing headache and migraine. These are also known as withdrawal symptoms.” [source]

The next post in this series will discuss the diet I’ve been following and what’s involved.

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I want to sincerely thank you for your continued support. This blog is better because of you.

Blogging Diabetes – Caffeine [Part 2 of Series] is a post from: Blogging Diabetes

Pre Thanksgiving Meal:

• Be sure to get my workout in with about 30 minutes of cardio.
• Try to start the day in the zone (70-120).
• Start with a hearty breakfast, which happens to be my favorite meal.
• Eat light the rest of the day until my main meal, which should be in the early evening.
• Check my glucose often and try to stay in under 150.

Appetizers:

• Try not to overdo it on the appetizers, which tend to be loaded in carbs.  This is where I can make or break my glucose levels.
  • Don’t sandwich cheese with two crackers. Try only one or half a cracker.
  • Vegetables are my friend.  Go the extra mile with the veggie dip.
  • Stay AWAY from the bread.  For the love of God, don’t fall into the bread trap.
• Increase my basal rate starting 15 minutes prior to meal time and until about 2 in the morning to attack the delayed carbs.

Thanksgiving Meal:

• Stick to the 2fer plan – 2 times the protein for every carb you even take on your plate.
  • Start with a salad.
  • Double serving of turkey, ham or whatever the meat – Eat your protein first.
  • Double serving of vegetables – green beans are good with a little butter and are low carbs.
  • Small serving (1/2 cup at most) of mashed potatoes and/or stuffing, which tend to be carb loaded.
• Glass of red wine (good Chianti is my pick).
• Drink at least 8 oz. of water with the meal.

Post Meal – Dessert:

• Go light – hopefully you’re stuffed by this time.
• Immediately after you’re done, pop some peppermint (sugar free) candies/mints.  This will help with the temptation for more food and over “picking”.

Dessert is the deal breaker, meaning that you can kick your diabetes’ ass by being strong here.  Cheesecake is my poison.  I once had cheesecake mini cups (like mini cupcake tins) and they were the perfect size to quench the urge. Best bet is to not even do dessert.  Save money, calories and a diabetic by skipping on dessert.

I hope this helps!  Please share your tips and ideas.

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I want to sincerely thank you for your continued support. This blog is better because of you.

Thanksgiving Day Tips from Blogging Diabetes is a post from: Blogging Diabetes