Dr. Polansky said in his video chat today that he’d love to hear from us what we do for a ‘vacation’ from D. He gave a few examples. What do YOU do?
My mini-vacation is a chocolate croissant after every endo visit 
Most common thing . . . take a calculated (but huge) bolus and then go out for a totally outrageous dinner -- Lots of sushi, or pizza, or whatever.
I don't really take "D vacations" though I do occasionally eat a food I normally don't have. What I do instead is make sure my life outside of D is full and satisfying and that I treat myself well on a regular basis, enjoying the foods I eat so I don't feel deprived. I have regular little (non-food) treats, like fun shopping, reading in the hammock (got a few months yet for that one!) or bigger ones like planning a trip. To me all the things that give me pleasure are counteracting the daily grind of D which is a different way of accomplishing the same thing.
No vacations here, No Remorse!!
I follow Zoe's plan of sticking to compliance (food & exercise) almost every day.
My idea of a D vacation is to take a break from testing/recording my BGL, maybe for a weekend or often when I travel. I still eat healthy & exercise, but not testing is a nice break. (I'm T2, not on insulin, so its easy for me to keep my BGL in a normal range.)
My mini vacations are from things like housework or chores, or maybe on a rainy day (I'm retired) I'll stay in my cozy bed and read a book, or on a sunny day I'll lay on the lawn and watch the clouds or spend extra time doing something fun. Things like that give me a positive boost. I don't want to encourage a psychological need for things that do me harm. As a diabetic, that would be food my body can't handle, especially food that makes me want more of it. There's no "vacation" from that.
Well put, Jan!
I'll check my BG less often during a day--3 times instead of 7. That's what I do most often. Of course that's easier to do with T2. I'm religious about the 3 though.
But I'll admit to also having days when I eat things I don't normally. On those days I still try to keep the portions small. So I get the taste and texture, but not so much the carbs and calories.
The big thing for me is to slow down and not inhale my food, so I'll "play" with my food. I get a tactile experience without necessarily eating everything on the plate.
Recently I had a warm biscuit with butter for the first time in I don't know when. I put it on a plate and ate it with a fork as if it was cake. Pushing it around the plate and smelling the melted butter was half the enjoyment.
Since I starting taking my D seriously I have not even thought about a vacation. I have the same attitude about D as I did about being smoke free, "You Can Never Go Back". Since food has always been a problem I try to always be in control of what I eat. I do sometimes fail and when I do I don't beat myself up to much.
This idea of a D vacation intrigues. I guess I could plan an occasional failure in my menu or I could think nothing about my D other than the necessary bolus calculations.
id be goin to the endo all the time like that!
wish we could take real d vacations, and leave it at D kennel, yeah ill be back in tw weeks, just keep this for me..
i take d vacations when i cycle at the weekends when i do lots of sport. a couple of friends and i ride to towns nearby or do some beautiful trails and i eat everything in my path-the hours of cycling allow me to eat EVERYTHING! there is more testing on those days, but all worth it for potato, garbanzos and , cheesecake and sugar cookies sold by convent nuns...
even after eating loads, my bg is excellent. long days of exercise makes a massive difference for me.
omg, i know! yesterday i had to fast to get my bloods done and had had a couple of glasses of wine the night before. when i got out i was at 78 and had a 45 minute cycle home so i went to a cafe and got some breakfast there, no bolus necessary. i never get bfast out as its all so carby. but i got a bit of baguette with proscuitto (typical spanish brekkie) and olive oil and tomato. it used to be my favourite thing to eat before D. anyway i started eating it as a normal person would, with the toppings on the bread, but after a bite i took all the ham and tomato off the bread to just savour the bread with olive oil. it was really goooood bread, all crusty and lovely. it took me ages to eat and i must have looked a complete nutter in there, slowly chewing on this bread looking wistful...
Hehe, vacation is not an option and resistance is futile.
OK Holger, that was funny and only too true!
No vacations here either. Too dangerous. I took off my CMG for a couple of weeks and that ended with a paramedic visit.
ALthough I will say that because I wear a pump, and have been doing this quite a while, I am able to eat a lot of things not generally considered part of a diabetic diet and maintain good glucose readings. That is why I love my pump and will never go back to MDI. The freedom I now have is so important to me, and that freedom is a kind of vacation in my brain.
I do the sae thing as Spock, in that I don't avoid anything b/c of diabetes. I try to balance food and insulin carefully but more food= more insulin works, alhtough perhaps I "cheat" a bit by exercising too, which also seems to give insulin some teeth...
My goal is to have close to normal BG and A1c's. I wear a pump, a CGM,and test my BG 7 to 10 times a day by choice . Extreme insulin therapy is my way of life now, I do give in to temptation and eat some foods I should never eat but taking a D vacation is imposable, why lie to myself.
I take a vacation from my life every day and speak to Jesus Christ, he is the only vacation I need. The Holy spirit speaks to me, comforts me , and gives me guidance....Faith is like no other medicine...when your down to your last breath faith is the only comfort you will have ...you could be taking your last breath right now....;-)
I've been thinking about what I do for D vacations since Dr. Polansky talked about it. I decided that I do take them in a way, although it has been more a matter of priorities for me. At home Diabetes is my top priority, in part because I'm surrounded by D stuff: insulin stored in the fridge, syringes and a pen on the kitchen shelf, stuff for lows everywhere, meter on my computer desk, backups in my D bag, etc. When I go out to eat, visit people, take travel trailer trips, D becomes my second priority, because I'm busy enjoying everything else with just my D bag to remind me. Works for me!
I have several planned D vacations each year. Some examplas include: the Lutefisk and Swedish Meatball supper at the church each fall on the fourth Friday in October, the pancake feed in February, the annual Superbowl Party at a friend's home, and other regular outings. Sometimes, I will just get hungry for something and I will eat it. I don't regularly take a D vacation, but sometimes, it just happens.
We can take vacations from D?!? I am a bit confused. Is this post about planned cheating on diets and coping with the fallout?
Hello Sid, that's a great question. If you haven't seen the video of Dr. Polansky's talk/chat here, I strongly suggest you do - the answer to your question and more are there. He talks about a 'vacation' as being anything from testing your blood sugar fewer times on a particular day, to indulging in a favorite food that you usually avoid. It's not at all about cheating ;)
the chocolate croissant idea made me smile! good for you. jacob has a new endo in boston, lots of good food places, we treat him with a burrito after every visit. healthy fresh food but heavy on the carbs and ALL restaurant food is hard to bolus for, we always overshoot in a big way. Well we went thursday had a good visit love his doc a1c of 7.0 best ever and had burritos, trying to let him have control i didnt ask about his bs or his bolus and let him do his thing, before dinner when we got home his bs was over 300! restaurant food is soooo challenging so is letting your 14 year old son use his brain. not to put him down but for the challenging situations i like to put in my too cents and extra insulin or less if the situation calls for it! anyways we are firm believers in allowing treats as a balanced diet and jacob gets a partial vaca everyday as he has me assisting with reminders and helping out. aka mother the nag! he doesnt mind on most days and we are working towards independence! keep having that croissant dear we all need treats lets face it they make us happy especially chocolate and when the stars are aligned the right insulin dose will work out just fine! blessings, amy