Dragon Journal (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
dragonjournal) wrote2019-12-04 12:21 pm
dragonjournal) wrote2019-12-04 12:21 pm
Entry tags:
How to eat like a diabetic... a story by me.
So, I'm diabetic. I take medications to control it, even though it doesn't always work. I am not on insulin; I take medication to control my sugars. I'm currently on the following:
Metformin 1000mg Twice a day
Tradjenta 5mg Once a day
Trulicity 0.75mg/0.5ml once a week (Sunday)
So, as you can imagine, I also test my sugars... eh, three times a day unless I feel funky and then I double check it.
For a while there, I was getting low. Normal sugars run 90-120. I was in the fifties. But they took away one of my medications and that seems to have helped.
But this is about eating. So, let's get to it:
Eating right is hard. It's hard to do on a day to day basis, and hard to do long term. I do it, because I don't have a choice. My blood sugars are not good all the time, so I have to eat to maintain them in a healthy range.
I do have some tricks of the trade though.
Meal Planning:
I know, everyone hates it. Because it is limiting. But, it's the best place to start. So, how do I start? I run down the foods that I will/won't eat. I look at things from the "will I try this" perspective. Then, I go looking.
Now, my job isn't physically stressful, but it is mentally, and that means a lot of the time, I just cannot when I get home. I just want to sit and stare at the wall, without being yelled at, without being told I don't know how hard life is in the real world. (This is a real thing that I was told.)
This is where planning comes in. See; I know this about myself, so, planning out what we're going to eat, takes stress off of me, and leads me into my next part:
Meal Prep:
My life has been saved by getting off my ass and cooking on the weekend. Seriously. Firstly, I make several, what I call "dump and go" meals. These are meals that you literally dump everything in a pot and set it to cook and coming back hours later, and voila! FOOD!
However, I'm starting to explore a few more options (and if you have a fave recipe you can recommend, drop it in the comments, and I'll take a look) and techniques. This week's food is from BudgetBytes. She has an entire section on meal prep. That was my first attempt and while it doesn't look as pretty as hers? It tastes pretty damned good!
Other than that, my recent faves have been: Chicken Taco Soup, Potato Chowder and a couple of dump and go crockpot lasagna recipes.
The ability to do the "dump and go" meals is really nice, especially when I know I have overtime (there's a lot right now) and just won't have the mental ability to cook. Because, what I do is portion them out, and then put them in the fridge for our dinners/my lunches. My son likes it because he's not getting take out all the time!
Containers:
Man, I've experimented with a lot of containers. Reusable, dishwasher/microwave safe ones? The best. I don't do glass, because that's asking to be dropped. But finding hardy plastic ones is a bit of trial and error. Currently, I'm using these. They work, but they're not what I want, just yet.
I do want some sort of bento-like box? But I'm not sure I want to drop the money on them if they don't work out as planned.
My lunch box is one that I can throw in the freezer and it remains cold all day. That's great, but it's not very big. I'm seriously considering starting to carry a small cooler with me.
So those are three big ideas. Let me show you what I eat in a typical day:
Breakfast:
- individual sized oatmeal container
- two hard-boiled eggs
- water
Mid morning:
- Navel orange
- Water
Lunch:
- Serving of one of the meals listed above (this week, it's the chicken with tomatoes and pasta).
- Coke Zero
Mid afternoon:
- Granola bar
- 1 package of Twix
- Coke Zero
Dinner:
Tonight it's Taco Bell, because I forgot to prep anything.
That's a typical day, when I work. When I don't work, it's often, breakfast and dinner, and that's it. My son eats more, but we're talking about me here.
But beyond that, I don't really snack much? I try to eat healthily, but it doesn't always work. That's okay! It's okay to have things you won't give up. You can have my Coke Zero when you pry it from my cold dead hands, 'kay?
But changing all you're eating, I've noticed for me, cannot be an all or nothing thing. It can't be. I don't do well with all or nothings. So, I've changed a little.
The oatmeal - instead of going to McDs for a sausage biscuit every morning, I eat oatmeal at my desk. I bring the hard boiled eggs from home.
Lunch - I prep that on the weekends, and just bring it in. Instead of eating in the cafeteriawith their exorbitant pricing.
Dinner is still a struggle. I need to remember to prep more. I need to do more than just one meal of prep on the weekends. Doing two will allow me to pick and choose what I take to work and what we have for dinner. But I've made a lot of changes.
Now, this is cheap eating. I try, anyway. Cheap eating means that you're not shelling out for the organic frou frou or whatever. I mean you can, I won't judge, but you don't have to. Budgetbytes is a good website, and lays out the money for you.
There are a few things I suggest you invest in:
- Crockpot/Instapot. Look, I know the Instapots are expensive, but they're worth the money. Find them on deep sale/discount around this time of year, so that you're not shelling out full price. Same with crockpots. I prefer a digital crockpot and need to buy one to go with my Instapot knockoff that I use. Invest in one to three of them, so that food can be cooked simultaneously and then you can just portion it out for the week!
- Tupperware. Okay, this is a catch-all name. I don't know what you carry your food in, but you need to invest in at least ten or twelve of them, so that you have plenty to make for the week for at least 2 meals.
- Spices/Olive oil. No, really, it's worth it, and keeps the food from being boring. The olive oil is because that's a better fat for you than most other oils, and you'll need it for marinade bases and stuff. I am going to start investing in better spices, because I think the cost is worth it.
- Time/energy. I know, this doesn't cost money, but man the effort. I suggest you pick a day out of the week (mine is Sunday) and just start cooking. Pick a few recipes that catch your eye, and try to make enough to last the week.
- Fresh fruit/veggies. This is a big one. Fruits and veggies are expensive, but if you shop sales, and watch for what's in season, then you can usually get some pretty good deals. And they really do make a difference in your cooking. I'm trying to start modelling my food prep around fresh veggies that are in season. It'll be hard, but I think it'll be worth it.
Anyway, those are the big things when it comes to eating healthy and eating for diabetes. I might do another post like this at a later date... I see my nutritionist/dietician next week. If anyone's interested.
Metformin 1000mg Twice a day
Tradjenta 5mg Once a day
Trulicity 0.75mg/0.5ml once a week (Sunday)
So, as you can imagine, I also test my sugars... eh, three times a day unless I feel funky and then I double check it.
For a while there, I was getting low. Normal sugars run 90-120. I was in the fifties. But they took away one of my medications and that seems to have helped.
But this is about eating. So, let's get to it:
Eating right is hard. It's hard to do on a day to day basis, and hard to do long term. I do it, because I don't have a choice. My blood sugars are not good all the time, so I have to eat to maintain them in a healthy range.
I do have some tricks of the trade though.
Meal Planning:
I know, everyone hates it. Because it is limiting. But, it's the best place to start. So, how do I start? I run down the foods that I will/won't eat. I look at things from the "will I try this" perspective. Then, I go looking.
Now, my job isn't physically stressful, but it is mentally, and that means a lot of the time, I just cannot when I get home. I just want to sit and stare at the wall, without being yelled at, without being told I don't know how hard life is in the real world. (This is a real thing that I was told.)
This is where planning comes in. See; I know this about myself, so, planning out what we're going to eat, takes stress off of me, and leads me into my next part:
Meal Prep:
My life has been saved by getting off my ass and cooking on the weekend. Seriously. Firstly, I make several, what I call "dump and go" meals. These are meals that you literally dump everything in a pot and set it to cook and coming back hours later, and voila! FOOD!
However, I'm starting to explore a few more options (and if you have a fave recipe you can recommend, drop it in the comments, and I'll take a look) and techniques. This week's food is from BudgetBytes. She has an entire section on meal prep. That was my first attempt and while it doesn't look as pretty as hers? It tastes pretty damned good!
Other than that, my recent faves have been: Chicken Taco Soup, Potato Chowder and a couple of dump and go crockpot lasagna recipes.
The ability to do the "dump and go" meals is really nice, especially when I know I have overtime (there's a lot right now) and just won't have the mental ability to cook. Because, what I do is portion them out, and then put them in the fridge for our dinners/my lunches. My son likes it because he's not getting take out all the time!
Containers:
Man, I've experimented with a lot of containers. Reusable, dishwasher/microwave safe ones? The best. I don't do glass, because that's asking to be dropped. But finding hardy plastic ones is a bit of trial and error. Currently, I'm using these. They work, but they're not what I want, just yet.
I do want some sort of bento-like box? But I'm not sure I want to drop the money on them if they don't work out as planned.
My lunch box is one that I can throw in the freezer and it remains cold all day. That's great, but it's not very big. I'm seriously considering starting to carry a small cooler with me.
So those are three big ideas. Let me show you what I eat in a typical day:
Breakfast:
- individual sized oatmeal container
- two hard-boiled eggs
- water
Mid morning:
- Navel orange
- Water
Lunch:
- Serving of one of the meals listed above (this week, it's the chicken with tomatoes and pasta).
- Coke Zero
Mid afternoon:
- Granola bar
- 1 package of Twix
- Coke Zero
Dinner:
Tonight it's Taco Bell, because I forgot to prep anything.
That's a typical day, when I work. When I don't work, it's often, breakfast and dinner, and that's it. My son eats more, but we're talking about me here.
But beyond that, I don't really snack much? I try to eat healthily, but it doesn't always work. That's okay! It's okay to have things you won't give up. You can have my Coke Zero when you pry it from my cold dead hands, 'kay?
But changing all you're eating, I've noticed for me, cannot be an all or nothing thing. It can't be. I don't do well with all or nothings. So, I've changed a little.
The oatmeal - instead of going to McDs for a sausage biscuit every morning, I eat oatmeal at my desk. I bring the hard boiled eggs from home.
Lunch - I prep that on the weekends, and just bring it in. Instead of eating in the cafeteria
Dinner is still a struggle. I need to remember to prep more. I need to do more than just one meal of prep on the weekends. Doing two will allow me to pick and choose what I take to work and what we have for dinner. But I've made a lot of changes.
Now, this is cheap eating. I try, anyway. Cheap eating means that you're not shelling out for the organic frou frou or whatever. I mean you can, I won't judge, but you don't have to. Budgetbytes is a good website, and lays out the money for you.
There are a few things I suggest you invest in:
- Crockpot/Instapot. Look, I know the Instapots are expensive, but they're worth the money. Find them on deep sale/discount around this time of year, so that you're not shelling out full price. Same with crockpots. I prefer a digital crockpot and need to buy one to go with my Instapot knockoff that I use. Invest in one to three of them, so that food can be cooked simultaneously and then you can just portion it out for the week!
- Tupperware. Okay, this is a catch-all name. I don't know what you carry your food in, but you need to invest in at least ten or twelve of them, so that you have plenty to make for the week for at least 2 meals.
- Spices/Olive oil. No, really, it's worth it, and keeps the food from being boring. The olive oil is because that's a better fat for you than most other oils, and you'll need it for marinade bases and stuff. I am going to start investing in better spices, because I think the cost is worth it.
- Time/energy. I know, this doesn't cost money, but man the effort. I suggest you pick a day out of the week (mine is Sunday) and just start cooking. Pick a few recipes that catch your eye, and try to make enough to last the week.
- Fresh fruit/veggies. This is a big one. Fruits and veggies are expensive, but if you shop sales, and watch for what's in season, then you can usually get some pretty good deals. And they really do make a difference in your cooking. I'm trying to start modelling my food prep around fresh veggies that are in season. It'll be hard, but I think it'll be worth it.
Anyway, those are the big things when it comes to eating healthy and eating for diabetes. I might do another post like this at a later date... I see my nutritionist/dietician next week. If anyone's interested.