Dealing with diabetes can be a problem, especially in the summer time. Too many dips have a lot more sugar than you expect, and barbecue sauces pose their own problems. Finding ways to manage your diabetes in the summer therefore becomes imperative.
The Big Tip is to tell friends that you're in control, and to let you manage your diet. Too many well-intentioned people are going to try and "help you" and invariably they are going to get something major wrong. As such, let them know you have diabetes, but to just be aware of it and you'll do all of the heavy lifting. Otherwise you'll have too many situations where you really want a piece of cake, if just a small one, but they aren't even offering for fear of causing a diabetic coma. Encourage them to ask, but let them know you may say "no". You would not believe how many people like that better than refusing you anything, especially your cooler friends.
One of the things that causes a spike for me is anything with sour cream. This means that I really need to watch how much dip I eat. (Yeahyeah, the carbs from the chips don't help either...) Worse, some of the things people substitute for sour cream-based dips are pure carbs, such as hummus, meaning that what appears to be healthy for everyone is just as bad for you as a couple of sugar cubes. I hate saying it, but either practice extreme moderation with dips in general, or stick to celery and broccoli.
You should always plan for a spike at parties. This doesn not mean exercise twice as much in the morning and eat all sorts of non-carb snacks, but just plan on seeing your blood sugar go up dramatically. You may need a little more insulin later on, but so be it. Remember: You're not trying to control your blood sugar, but managing it, and that means sometimes it will get a little out of hand. So be it.
Unless you have something else going on, avoid anything "fat-free". Some diabetics and others think that anything that has less fat has fewer sugars, and is therefore okay for diabetics. Please note that "Fat free" milk has more sugar in it than regular milk and walk away. You end up trading more sugar for less flavor, and that's a bad bargain in my book. However, "gluten-free" foods may be worth looking into as they have fewer carbs and therefore fewer sugars in them.
As long as you properly manage your blood sugars you can enjoy the summer. Just remember to be vigilant about the well-intentioned and life will be a lot easier.
The Big Tip is to tell friends that you're in control, and to let you manage your diet. Too many well-intentioned people are going to try and "help you" and invariably they are going to get something major wrong. As such, let them know you have diabetes, but to just be aware of it and you'll do all of the heavy lifting. Otherwise you'll have too many situations where you really want a piece of cake, if just a small one, but they aren't even offering for fear of causing a diabetic coma. Encourage them to ask, but let them know you may say "no". You would not believe how many people like that better than refusing you anything, especially your cooler friends.
One of the things that causes a spike for me is anything with sour cream. This means that I really need to watch how much dip I eat. (Yeahyeah, the carbs from the chips don't help either...) Worse, some of the things people substitute for sour cream-based dips are pure carbs, such as hummus, meaning that what appears to be healthy for everyone is just as bad for you as a couple of sugar cubes. I hate saying it, but either practice extreme moderation with dips in general, or stick to celery and broccoli.
You should always plan for a spike at parties. This doesn not mean exercise twice as much in the morning and eat all sorts of non-carb snacks, but just plan on seeing your blood sugar go up dramatically. You may need a little more insulin later on, but so be it. Remember: You're not trying to control your blood sugar, but managing it, and that means sometimes it will get a little out of hand. So be it.
Unless you have something else going on, avoid anything "fat-free". Some diabetics and others think that anything that has less fat has fewer sugars, and is therefore okay for diabetics. Please note that "Fat free" milk has more sugar in it than regular milk and walk away. You end up trading more sugar for less flavor, and that's a bad bargain in my book. However, "gluten-free" foods may be worth looking into as they have fewer carbs and therefore fewer sugars in them.
As long as you properly manage your blood sugars you can enjoy the summer. Just remember to be vigilant about the well-intentioned and life will be a lot easier.
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