Cheating Diabetes

Diabetes is very smart. It always seems to know just when I try to cheat it. I decided to eat a 26 carb oatmeal cream pie as my 15-30 grams of carbs snack? Great, let's just make life difficult for Lacy and throw in a 203 BG. Oh, oh, you wanted ramen noodles for dinner because you're a poor college student? Guess again, Diabetes don't care how poor you are. 255!
Diabetes is also a raging hypocrite. I decided not to Bolus for my shell-less taco salad from QDoba? Come on, that guac had some carbs in it. But my BG is a perfect 92 afterwards. I decided to have a 32 carb apple for snack? Won't even send my BG over 120. A non-bolused for steak dinner with vegetables? It somehow seems to break some sort of unsaid law that my BG would be 82, 2 hours later.

The conclusion I have is thus: Having Type 1 Diabetes is not easy for a College Student. The dilemma is the fact that I have limited funds and thus minimal access to healthy foods. A hamburger is 99 cents, yet a salad on the same menu is $6. Apples and peaches are $1.25 a pound, and yet an entire box of Zebra Cakes is $1.50. So how do I manage my Diabetes well, eating healthy food whilst surviving on a small budget? Well, some of the times, I fail. That is the first thing that I have had to come to terms with. Sometimes, no matter how well I attempt to manage my Diabetes, my blood sugars will not always be what I want them to be.  But this doesn't mean that I'm necessarily set up for failure forever. There is some wiggle room for success in there somewhere. Over the past few months I have compiled a couple of tips to add to my Diabetic Survival Guide.

1.) Minimize snacking with 0 carb drinks.
This is a big one for me. I am a snacker, always have been and always will, and my eating habits can often be compared to that of a small bird. I don't necessarily eat much, but I like to munch on all kinds of things. Cookie Dough, lunch meat, peanut butter, you name it - not much is safe from me in the kitchen, or from on somebody else's plate. I've had an extremely hard time combating my snacking habits ever since getting home from the hospital in April. My solution? Drinks. They are both a great way to stay hydrated and prevent mindless snacking. Soda was one of the easiest things for me to give up since getting Diabetes. I was never much of a soda drinker, and liked to try other, healthier alternatives. Thankfully, this was and is easy because there are many other options open to someone watching to lower their sugar/carb intake. Over the past few months I have become something of a drink connoisseur, perusing the store isles looking for new anti-snack weapons. Amongst my favorites are these:

(As well as plain Diet Coke and Coke Zero products)

This much underrated Diet drink is one of the best and most normal tasting I have tried so far.

This one unfortunately is always very difficult for me to find but it one of my favorites.

So, you see, there are many low carb options available whether you're just tired of plain water or would like to try something new and healthy for a change. These options are relatively inexpensive, last a good while, and are great to both minimize the amount of food you eat *and* help me control my blood sugars even better!

2. Eggs

Perhaps this second tip seems strange to you, its being in a category all its own. However, eggs have become so important to me that I feel as if they deserve their own paragraph dedicated solely to their greatness. Eggs have literally been a Diabetic lifesaver for me. The perfect College staple. Now before you go all Diabetes-Police on me and tell me how bad it is for my cholesterol to eat several eggs a day, hear me out. I am of the belief that just because you eat high cholesterol foods, that doesn't necessarily mean that it is going to make your cholesterol high. Smoking gives me a greater risk of cardiovascular problems than eggs do. Eating a sugary cereal is going to have a worse effect on my blood sugar than nutrient-filled eggs. It's always felt wrong to me to limit the consumption of something so simple, healthy and natural as an egg. In fact, there are few studies that can prove that one or two eggs a day have any negative affect on your cholesterol levels. And why the heck would I go through all the trouble of trying to remove the yolk from the egg and only eat the white? Then I'm left with a pitiful excuse for a meal and practically no egg!
The benefits of eggs are thus: they fit into my budget at $1.67 for a dozen large eggs at Walmart, they are full of protein and other good nutrients, and they keep me full and feeling satisfied longer than other less healthy foods. Furthermore, there are so many options for eating eggs! You can make omelets, boil, scramble or fry them, make an egg sandwich, put them in salad, or eat them with toast covered in cinnamon and truvia. Eggs are the best!

3. Lists

When I make lists, my life falls into place. Lists help me keep my life in order and, if you know Diabetics, you know that our whole life seems to be about creating order out of faulty pancreas-induced chaos. Keeping some kind of structure in my life has always been important to me, but since my diagnosis it has become more important that ever. I keep a planner with a list of daily things to do, monthly engagements, and goals. One of the first items that will go in my dorm is a white board and bulletin board to hang important things and make a list of important priorities. I keep a schedule - either on paper or in my head - of meal times, snack times, insulin/medication times, and of course, class times. I make lists of my favorite meals and snacks in order to feel as if I have more options to choose from when eating, such as:

Tomato Sandwiches

Eggs, of course!

Most any form of sandwich

Chocolate rice cakes. 60 calories and 12 carbs, and great with peanut butter or strawberry cream cheese!

Low Carb and in their own bag, so I don't overeat.

Peanut Butter and Bananas is healthy, delicious and filling. Haven't tried it with bread yet but I bet it'd make a great sandwich!

Only 100 calories and 21 carbs... Josh even agrees these are delicious, despite their being "healthy" foods.

4. The Subtle Art of Exercise 

I have gone through many exercise-healthy phases in my life both before and after being Diabetic, most notably when I used to run 10 laps around the track at the school behind my house every day all Summer long. Conversely I also go through phases of sluggishness when I do not wish to exercise at all. This Summer is one of these such sluggish phases, which has not gone unnoticed by my Blood Sugars. But I can't just be a couch potato all day, even with the insane heat outside as my cover-up excuse. Trips to Walmart, whether to grocery shop or just to gallivant and add items to Joshua and I's wishlists, is a great way to get out of the apartment and lower my blood sugar. Taking Coein the Beagle on walks to explore the area around Statesboro is another great way to fit in some exercise. Laundry, vacuuming, washing dishes, moving furniture and other household chores make the Diabetes Gods smile upon me. Swimming is both a great way to work on my tan and get exercise. So, even if I am not necessarily running on the treadmill, I can still manage to fit some activity in and keep my blood sugars in check.

Keeping a tab on my Diabetes can be tough during the lazy months of Summer. Hopefully, with practice and a list of good habits, I'll be able to succeed... and if not, well, no pressure. Summer's end is right around the corner.