I am a seasoned diabetes veteran of 34 years. I have noticed in the last several years that my attitude toward the holiday season is less than enthusiastic. Nothing but carbs everywhere one looks. I find it very frustrating and leads to a great amount of stress for me. It does not matter what I try throughout the whole season as my blood sugar always goes sky high.
It really has become a season of frustration. I have a feeling I know what my Dexcom will look like as well as my test results.
The holidays are not about food for me. They are about family, friends, celebration, thankfulness, gifts, kindness, memories, happiness, coziness, lights, music, hopefully snow, and relaxation.
I’ve had diabetes and severe food allergies since I was a kid. It has never been about food for me. The holiday season is still my favourite time of year. (Though I will say, when I feel pressured to eat food and people just will not take “No, thanks” as an answer, that does stress me out. But that can happen any time of year, it’s just that the concentration of food-related get-togethers increases during the holidays.)
I live, thankfully, in Australia and we tend to have cold meats or seafood and salads. Desserts are often fruit salad as well as more carby options. Christmas food is NOT traditional and there is no rule saying you have to eat certain things. If you can’t fix what is on offer consider taking your own options with you.
Compliments of the Season!
I handled thanksgiving with aggressive prebolusing and smaller servings of each carby food that I really wanted and large servings of green beans and turkey. I make my own dessert for special occasions and for thanksgiving I made a low carb pecan pie.
BTW that site has a lot of really good low carb recipes.
If your issue is a matter of willpower when presented with foods you feel you shouldn’t eat then just take a small piece. I know that one small cookie or candy isn’t going to drive me too far off course so I don’t beat myself up when I do indulge a little. I made low carb Christmas cookies the other day and although they didn’t come out as good as I’d hoped (still yummy but just not quite there you know) there are lots of recipes on Pinterest to try.
I am type 1 regarding food and a T1 diabetic. Xmas is NOT about food for me. . So have more turkey and vegetables. Skip the pie, cake, cookies, candy, etc.
Those with a type 2 food attitude will always struggle and if they are diabetic they get the double whammy and struggle more.
“Always struggle” doesn’t apply to everybody. With pre-bolusing, super-bolusing, and extended boluses in my toolkit, I can usually manage higher-carb meals quite nicely. And if I get the dosing wrong and I go high for several hours, I can correct. A few nights a year aren’t going to kill me.
One doesn’t have to eat them. There also tend to be a lot of proteins and usually a choice of vegetables. If other people are going to scrutinize and criticize what you put on your plate, then they have serious issues – ignore them as best you can.
One thing that bothers me about the holidays is the alcohol. It’s everywhere and everybody’s holding it. The desserts and sweets not so much, I’m past thinking about that. But the alcohol, it’s tough to ignore. They say a little bourbon or gin or red wine or sake is best. But come on how hard is it to just have a little alcohol? Well it is for me. I just try to not think about it and try to find things that are good for me and not think about things that are bad for me. But I hear ya, it’s tough.
I understand your feelings very well. My father also got diabetes, maybe it is genetic. My grandfather also has a history of diabetes.
My father rarely drinks alcohol and smokes at all. High-sugar foods are hard to eat. This does not matter. The main problem is that his current mental state is not very good, especially when his condition is aggravated, his mood is very low, and he is not interested in many good things in life. We used to prepare a lot of gifts and parties in advance of Christmas. Now he rarely proposes to eat, drink and have fun.
I have collected a lot of questions about people with diabetes online, and I hope to find some comforting answers here.
A lot of people drive for work or rely on their cars to get to work, I find they do not drink, just water or soft drinks. Being afraid of losing your drivers licence is a good excuse not to drink. Fizzy mineral water with a slice of lemon or lime looks a bit festive and is refreshing.
I was just on vacation in a country with very good food I couldn’t pass up. One technique I tried was to just up my basal the entire day, which worked pretty well.
I’ve just noticed that at www.thedecadentdiabetic.com Ward Alper is putting up recipes for Christmas feasts. His recipes are always worth looking at so take a wander over there.
Maybe you should try to change your attitude to Christmas, and try to enjoy it. Look it is time for you and your family not for food , don’t worry about the carbs just enjoy the food or you can try to find some replacement recipes for traditional Christmas food
Deal with Christmas and the holidays on your own terms. It is up to each individual to manage Christmas and the Holiday season to the best of their abilities to satisfy as many people as possible while still satisfying one’s self. These holidays are some of the most trying times and it is at these times we can reflect on the past, shine a bright light on the future and don’t let the holidays manage who we are or we will just be miserable. Take on simple projects and put a lot of love and effort into your projects and you will be amazed how well your projects are appreciated.
, don’t worry about the carbs just enjoy the food 
or you can try to find some replacement recipes for traditional Christmas food