Hello. I was diagnosed with T1 July 1st of this year. And I have to say I’m one of the worst about eating what I’m supposed to. I live in New Mexico, which doesn’t help. Everything is breaded, fried, super deep fried, pan fried, has tortillas or potatoes in it and so forth… so I was wondering if anyone has any tips on how to fight off temptation?? Please help!
That's a really short time to be dealing with all this so don't be too hard on yourself. At the same time, I think you can say you're correct in that everything breaded or fried isn't good to eat. It's not really good for anyone, so people with diabetes are not exactly special in that but, w/ all the numbers we get, we probably get much better evidence than "straight" people about why that stuff is bad for everyone.
My main tips were getting really heavy after eating stuff like that for 20+ years and stopping sort of cold turkey to get back to "normal" weightwise. At the same time, it really helped me figure out what to eat to beat up diabetes like it deserves to be beaten up, which is a very good feeling.
I like to think of diabetes as being about "balance" rather than high/ low, up/down, good/ evil or any of the other ways people think about it and the strange ways it can appear in the media. Aiming for balance is a useful framework for me to think about the decisions we have to make all the time. At the same time, I still have a wild streak (mid-life crisis perhaps?) and will occasionally eat things. The data that I get when I make better choices can help me have better results when I go have fried stuff at the Mexican place or chicken wings or various other foods that are horrible in many ways.
Sorry you have joined the T1 club. You don't necessarily have to change what you eat as long as you can keep your bg in range. It might be too much to handle right now to change what you eat. Maybe wait until you master carb counting? Have you figured out your Insulin to Carb ratio (IC ratio)?
The ratio they have me on is 1 u per 15 carbs. My bg doesn't get too bad out of control, only sometimes when I don't calculate enough carbs and guess wrong..
Another thing that makes it difficult to stay away from those things is that I still live with my Mother, at least for another 6 months. And I told her I didn't want her to have to change everything for me. So usually I have tinier portions or I find something else to munch on. But seeing it as more of a balance will probably be easier to handle. And its sometimes confusing because I never really had to pay attention to things like I do know and sometimes I get caught up in everything around me and forget that I'm supposed to be doing specific things and so on and so forth.
It's hard to say precisely about the carb counting ratio thing. This is very hard to get the hang of, even after years of it. I noticed with my pump that very small changes (recently, I tried 9.0 from 8.0 but it wasn't quite enough, then 8.7 and have settled on 8.3...) make a big difference but, like many diabetes "math chores", this is much easier on a pump. The other thing about big food is that bigger shots get absorbed differently, because of variances in the fluid dynamics of the insulin "bubbles". If they're > 7U, they kind of spread out and absorb in a more varied manner than smaller shots. This might be a factor with some of the bigger meals but it's very hard to figure out.
Re your other post is that it may be useful not so much to say "mom, I need to eat something different" but to look at your mom's health. Are all her numbers (cholesterol, BP, etc.) awesome? She must be older than you and, if she's eating that stuff, it may catch up with her. It's very hard to break habits. Some of it was having a kid who wanted noodles all the time and some of it was me being a complete potato chip addict (still!) but I made a lot of choices and, over the years, some of my other numbers drifted into bad areas. After I changed things around and started exercising more and eating less and aiming for better foods (part of exercise oddly, as it's easier to kill yourself if you're eating well...), the other numbers came into line. It's easy not to worry about that stuff but you probably haven't seen your mom's medical records and who knows what they say. If she's healthy great but she'd probably be healthier if she'd rearrange things, aim at veggies/ meat/ some bread but moderate amounts and whole grainy type of things. Maybe you can help her as much as she can help you and you can both benefit from a ghastly disease? I'm just saying it b/c that's sort of been my approach. My daughter is 14 and just hit a spot where her lightbulb has gone on and she's started eating healthier and has made a lot of gains and improvements. It's ***much*** easier to do that when you're younger than when you're 37, which is when I got going!! Sorry to sound all lecture-y as she loathes that but it sounds like the fried stuff may be getting old for you.
Well don’t get me wrong, she has changed many things. Maybe not in her diet but she’s trying to help me with mine. She buys whole wheat bread for me, lots of veggies, plenty of meats, and so on. I just feel kind of singled out since I’m the only one really changing everything. Maybe its just me being snotty or something, but it just makes me feel… I don’t know how to describe it. I hate complaining about what I can’t eat because then I feel like I’m trying to make everyone miserable. So I try to refrain from it. But I’m taking responsibility into my own hands since I’ll be an adult soon and living on my own. Can’t rely on my mommy forever haha
Seeing as you're closing in on a time that you may be living on your own, perhaps you can offer to start doing some of the cooking at home? You can start experimenting with what you like that's lower in carbs. Mom might appreciate the help, and you'll get more self-sufficient.
There are also some swap-out items to try. Tortillas and pitas that are lower in carbs, for example. They're more expensive but might help the occasional craving. But honestly, I've found cooking at home to be easier than restaurants and pre-made stuff. You'll find what works for you.
When first dx'd, the very first thing I figured out was how much to bolus for a pbj and my carb counting started from there. I was so shocked and traumatized by the unfairness of my dx and didn't want anyone to know. Sounds like your Mom is looking out for you but naturally you feel the difference between yourself as T1 and everyone else in the family who isn't. It's a big change so give yourself a break.