P & P

In all seriousness, this has CHANGED MY LIFE.

Produce and Protein.

**** This post is lengthy, but I'm telling y'all, this dietary change has helped me to be fuller, feel better, and have MUCH more stable blood sugars. {Beneficial to the endocrine system of non-diabetics as well.} ****

 

Now, let me be clear:  I am not a nutritionist.

I am not an endocrinologist.

But, here's what I am: a diabetic who's been fighting with carbs her whole life and spent countless hours trying to understand how my body deals with them.  

More specifically,

1) CARBS ARE NOT BAD, but some of them are worse than others regarding how our body breaks them down and how our endocrine system handles them.

2) MOST OF US EAT WAY TOO MANY. 

Per my acupuncturist's suggestion, I started eating protein frequently (every 2 hours) and limiting carbs to primarily fruit, vegetables and carb-containing dairy, which also contains protein (organic milk and greek yogurt, for example). 

All other non-produce carbs {grains} are eaten maybe 3 times a week.


I hardly ever eat straight sugar (candy, regular soft drinks, cake, pie, etc)

The result of limiting "non-produce carbs" and eating more protein and produce instead? 

* I am not starving around the clock.

* My blood sugars are A.MAZ.ING. (I still battle monthly fluctuations presumably due to my cycle, but the "effects" of meals on my blood sugar have been much, much milder.)

* I feel full, but not stuffed before I quit eating. Food seems more like fuel now than something that is constantly on my mind (because I always felt hungry before).

* It has also become blatantly obvious to me how much "junk carbs" were making me have cravings for more junk.

For one thing, the "traditional" food pyramid we all grew up with, in my experience, is horse shit. Unless you are a serious athlete, who burns tons of extra calories a day, nobody needs that much grain/bread/rice. Again, these carbs aren't awful, but we don't need that many in a day.


Let's not forget, America is awesome, but sometimes the goverment is not the brightest. And who knows what their motives are when creating these nutrional guidelines.
Anyone remember butter being a food group?

 source


Uncle Sam has come up with My Plate, which is an improvement, nonetheless, over the Food Pyramid I grew up with.

By the way, there are studies supporting the fact that neither low carb nor low fat are ways to keep weight off (if that is your goal). The most effective is the low glycemic index diet.

So, basically, here's what I do and what has worked for me and the diabeetus ...

* meals usually have < 30g carbs total (overall, I rarely go over 100g carbs per day)

* I don't ever eat any carbs without having some type of protein as well.

I try to eat these the most:

* garden products (fruits, veggies)

* tree products (nuts, fruits)

* fish

* lean meat 

* eggs

* protein-heavy dairy (milk, cheese, yogurt) 

* beans heavy in protein/fiber

If I'm hungry between meals I eat protein to tide me over:

* eggs

* lean meat

* nuts

*cheese

* sometimes Greek yogurt 

* peanut butter

I eat "anything else foods" maybe 3x/week:

frozen yogurt

sweets

bread/rice/pasta

* note: bread/rice/pasta isn't "bad", but being diabetic, they aren't "worth" the sugar spike. I'd rather have fruit, which affects my diabetes less.

My personal, main reason for doing this is the positive effect on my hunger and diabetes regulation.

Why it matters:

I can eat the same amount of carbs - 30 g - of  "non-produce carbs" (pancakes, biscuits, fries, fried food, potatoes and gravy) and my blood sugar spikes and stays high for 2-3 hours afterward, no.matter.what.i.do.to.my.insulin.before.or.after. as to where eating "produce carbs" like fruit, with the SAME AMOUNT OF CARBS, has virtually no spike on my blood sugars.

Life. changing. I'm tellin you.

Of course, sometimes I "cheat" and eat fries (carb + fat). But - I pay the consequence of a blood sugar spike, and I'm hungry not even 2 hours later. 

Also important:

I don't deprive - for example, I love bacon, so I'll use it to sprinkle on a salad, or eat two thin slices with some eggs. 

I also don't avoid fat. I actually don't think about fat at all except try to eat healthy fats like avocado, olive oil, fish, nuts. 

If I want a meal that is going to go over my 30g I allow myself, I go half and half: a sandwich with one slice of bread instead of two, and a small serving of fruit. Then, I can have both. Maybe I want stir fry. So, I eat it, but it's 85% meat/veggies and only 15% rice. Spaghetti? 85% sauce (made with meat for protein) and 15% noodles, and I'm still full, and my blood's not high as hell. Win-win.

Tips:

If you like hummus, it's easy to make at home, and you can dip it with cucumbers, carrots, bell peppers, instead of pita bread or chips to get more produce, and less "non-produce carbs". Beans are usually good for protein and fiber, and although they are carbs, they are "produce" and have a bigger variety of nutrition to offer than bread/rice/pasta. There are also zillions of hummus recipes so that you can tweak the flavor - lemon basil, spicy, etc.

Going out to eat: I often order salads, because I like them, but I also do a lot of "sandwich/burger without the bun" because the meat (protein) and flavor is still there. The bread a) has gluten, which I don't eat, but it's also b) carbs that aren't very fulfilling. Sometimes I order it with the bun just so I have an easy way to hold the sandwich if I don't want to use a fork, but I eat around the bread, pulling it off as I go. Also, ordering a meat dish (parmesan chicken, steak, etc with a side salad, or veggies instead of fries).

** Also - if you are a diabetic reader, a couple things that have also helped a HUGE AMOUNT:

1) I bolus 20-30 mins. ahead, and eat no more than 30g of {preferably produce} carbs in a meal and I hardly have a spike in sugar at all. 

2) I try not to eat until my blood sugar is in target range, at like 100. In other words, if my blood were say, 210, I'd correct that, plus the insulin for the food I'm gonna eat, but give it time to come down, and not actually eat until my sugar is about 100. A lot of times I'm so hungry while I wait for my blood to go down, so I'll have a carb-free/very low carb protein, like cheese, or some slices of turkey, or some nuts.

FOR YEARS - I ACCEPTED that my blood sugar had to spike every time I ate. THIS IS NOT TRUE!!!

WORKS. WONDERS!

Hopefully, someone will find this helpful. I know I've spent YEARS trying to figure out WTH the deal was with my body freaking out about some foods and not others and this is the closest I've come to diabetes making sense. And, I've NEVER known what it was like to not be hungry all the damn time until now.

good luck! please don't hesitate to holla!

Note: post has been updated to link up with Kristen and Raven:

cause i didnt want to, thats why.

Today I had an endocrinology appointment, and then acupuncture right after. I love appointments because they keep me in check. Keep me making healthy choices instead of crappy ones. And this includes more than just vitamins and exercise. I think we forget that our well-being in general is greatly affected by stress - some of which we can control.

My endocrinologist is priceless because I trust her, and she is highly educated, and dedicated to her job. She is also an analytical perfectionist, which is why she is good at her job. I appreciate that she appears to care about me, BUT I don't care if she is good at what she does because she really cares about me, or because she cares about perfecting my basal and bolus rates because imperfection bothers her and she takes it personally. The end result is the same. Maybe that's what makes a good doctor. Being able to keep it impersonal to a degree. Otherwise, I imagine she would be beyond frustrated with diabetics who could give two shits and do absolutely NONE of what she says.

Recently, in a conversation with my boss, I said, "You know me. I will analyze it, and find something to worry over because I am a psycho perfectionist." She said, "You are, and that's why you are good at what you do. But, once you've made your decision and done your best, you have to leave it at that and focus on the positive." Woman is wise.

I got to thinking about all this perfectionism while I was at acupuncture today. Why do we do it? (Some people don't. And, I envy them.) There are theories out there that say oldest children are more likely to be perfectionists. In some cultures, perfectionism is encouraged and any sort of failure is major.

When I say perfectionist, I mean, to a fault. Not in a cute, "Oh, I'm such a perfectionist, hahaha" way. Perfectionist as in, stressed out, which causes sleep problems, digestion problems, hormonal problems, problems with metabolism and energy, etc, etc, etc. In our culture, we often just accept that stress is part of life, and just keep on keepin on - causing more stress and strain, but just accepting that it is "normal".

For me, my unrealistic goals of perfection are my own creation. Sort of - because some people know when to say "no" and when to draw the line and leave work at work, or drama at so-and-so's house or whatever. Then, there are those of us who like to get involved and try to fix it.

It has taken me a long time to realize that it is impossible to be seen as doing a great job in EVERY person's eyes. IM.POSS.I.BLE. impossible. And, that some people are the way they are and they always will be. You will never make them happy, and the best thing to do is quit trying. What a waste of energy.

I feel truly blessed to have friends of all ages. Friends who are barely out of high school. Friends graduating from college. Friends my own age. Women who have kids in high school and college. And women who have grandkids in high school and college. And guys. One thing I'm working on NOT being: a "yes, yes, yes-er".

There will be a line drawn, friends. Stress and being run ragged is not worth your health. I will not go to every event I'm invited to. If you don't like me as a result, good luck and good riddance and I hope you seek the therapy you need. I will not have kids and force them to participate in a bunch of shit for me - or, because everyone else's kids are doing it. I will not model for them that life means being in overdrive all the time. Sometimes my "excuse" is that I was tired and just wanted to enjoy my morning/afternoon/evening/weekend/whatever in peace. The end. That's it.

I think most of us forget to take time to regroup. If I want or need 9 hours of sleep, then I want or need 9 hours. If I am sick and I want to rest, get over it. If I have raging PMS and I just don't want to be around people, get over it. You should be glad anyhoo.

I don't think it's selfish to take time for you. And, I think women, especially, find this extremely difficult and feel guilty about it more so than men.

But, I'm working hard not to be sucked in. Life's too short to be surrounded by people that get on my damn nerves and be in attendance at a bunch of shit when I could be doing something I enjoy.

That is all for now. Happy Tuesday.

Bike Riding and Breast Feeding - Your thoughts?

No,  I don't have les bebes, but I find this topic interesting ... here are some snippets from Time - what do you think? Should your child ride his bike and then come in and request breast milk? Is it cool for your 5 year old to be sleeping in the bed with you and the hubs every night? How much is instinct? How much is cultural pressure?

 

Grumet - supporter of attachment parenting and extended breast feeding

 .... you can read the Q&A with her here

here's a snippet:

My mother breast-fed me until I was 6 years old, until I self-weaned.
Do you remember breast-feeding?
Yes.
What’s that memory like?
It’s really warm. It’s like embracing your mother, like a hug. You feel comforted, nurtured and really, really loved. I had so much self-confidence as a child, and I know it’s from that. I never felt like she would ever leave me. I felt that security.

Also, her blog: I am not the Babysitter

Here is a related article  ...

 Extended Breast-Feeding: Is It More Common Than We Think? 

here's a snippet:

Several years later, I weaned my youngest because I had an unavoidable out-of-town trip. She was pushing 3 at the time, and I was able to have a conversation with her about what was about to happen. We had a kind of farewell party: she celebrated by munching on a cupcake made to resemble a breast with a gumdrop nipple, and that was it.

My thoughts:

1) I do support breast feeding, or more importantly, a mother's CHOICE to do so, or not - TO A CERTAIN AGE. But, at a certain age, you have to wonder, is this about the kid's needs or Mama's needs?
2) What do these dads think?
3) I'm really confused about how nursing into late toddlerhood {or early elementary school!?!?!} nurtures your child's social development and creates independence.

 Food {Drink?} for thought.