Food Label

Most of us never look at that food label. We just open it and eat it, however,  if your a diabetic its your new best friend. This label is titled NUTRITION FACTS.

The items listed are per serving.  It will show how many servings per package.  Look for the part that shows total Carbohydrates….example say 17G below that line you will see Sugars maybe fiber count.

My goal is a total of 65 carbs a total meal. Now if you have two servings make sure you double that carb number and write it down.  Now your dietitian will tell you how many carbohydrates per meal that you can have.  Also keep track of how many calories your eating as well. I’m on 1800 calories per day and that calorie number is listed first.

I find its hard to get up to that number of calories if I skip snacks or a meal. You should not be skipping your meals only because your body will make more insulin to make up the difference of no food to burn.  Sometimes I feel like I’m running the hamster wheel tying to get a balance going. But it can be done with a little food planning. After awhile you’ll be keeping track without writing it down.

I keep a food menu on the fridge for the week it shows breakfast, lunch, and dinner. I list at the bottom what my snacks are for the day.  ( I like a small apple sliced with peanut butter on the slices.) This can be worked out with your dietitian because your diet is made just for you. What works for me might not be right for you.  Each of us burn food at different rates then other people, thats why a dietitian is important.

The dietitian

Time for a one on one with the dietitian.  Today I will learn about what foods I can or can not.  I was given about six sheets of paper of the do not eat food. I groaned as I read the list. No cheese steaks, pizza’s, fast foods, no breads, pasta or rice.

I was told that breads, pasta, rice and potatoes turn into instant sugar when its digested.   My stomach will turn this into sugar faster than if I was eating pure sugar on a spoon. Now being I’m Pennsylvania dutch, you know mashed potatoes and gravy go with every meal. so what in the world will I replace those with? More about that at a later date.

I learned that different foods have a glycemic index. How they rate in regards to how much sugar they have. You will be amazed at how much  sugar is in our foods!  Did you know some foods convert to sugar faster than others? We need to know about those foods, because they will raise for sugar faster and might have to adjust your medication to accommodate your insulin doses.  I’ve learned to stay away from them or adjust how much of them you eat.

I had to learn portion control……not to just load up on the potatoes &  gravy. Now this will be the hardest thing to control if your used to large portions on your plate.  I also learned that the side panel with all the fact about carbohydrates, sugar, etc are for each box serving.  If you eat the whole box..ex: cereal box says 8 servings  you times that by the carbohydrate count to figure how many crabs you just eat.  Those numbers on that panel are usually for 1 cup with milk added.

I had to switch my whole milk to 1% low fat. Talk about getting used to that was like drinking milk that was watered down! Go ahead and read how much sugar is in your milk.  I usually drink a gallon a week myself of whole milk. keeping up with that idea of 8oz a day for healthy bones.

Net time: we will look at that food label

Related articles

• The Truth About Glycemic Index (shaunballiah.wordpress.com)

 

Diabetic Class

Went to the class for the first time tonight.  There were six other people there as well.  We introduced ourselves to each other and settled in.  The first thing we learned was about carbohydrate counting and were to find it on the food package. Learned that was per serving and not the whole box.. lol.

Portion control was next. The idea of having to write down everything you eat in a day was going to be a magic trick! We had to write down the carbohydrates number for each food we ate as well.  Nothing like carrying a notebook everywhere I went.

By the next class we went over what I called the food police book. I was amazed at all the junk food I was eating.  NOT ONE FRUIT IN THE LIST!!!! Lots of take out, fast foods and potato chips.

The hardest thing as a diabetic to learn: need to change what you eat. I have to admit I want to kill for a cheese burger and fries that first week. After about a month had past, I didn’t mind it so much.

After the second month I didn’t crave the fast food, as a matter of fact; when I did eat some fast food I got really sick to my stomach. I can no longer handle all that grease. Don’t get me wrong, I still enjoy some fries to this day.

Next post: Meeting the dietician!

Found out I’m a diabetic.

I will never forget the day I found out I’m a diabetic! I had ended up in the emergency room with acute abdominal pain.  Seems I was in the middle of acute appendicitis at 2:30am.  May 5, 1999 was what I called my reality check time.

My blood work came back and show my AC1 to be around 325.  Now what I thought, most of my family is diabetic.  So I knew what was coming, I just thought maybe it would skip me.

I had watch family members die as I was growing up over the years. So fear started to take over, hell I thought I’m only 42 years old! The doctor gave me a list of diabetic doctors so I could pick one to go to.  He advised  me to pick one right away.   I would also need to go to the diabetes class to learn how to  control my sugar levels.

Great, when was I going to find time to fit all this in my work day?

next post will be on the diabetes class.