On the
weekend I was attending the 3-day Friends
For Life Winter 2020 virtual conference.
Even though it’s aimed at parents of Type 1 diabetic children, it is an
event that even grown up Type 1 diabetics like myself can attend. You would think after all these years as a
diabetic, I would know it all, but I don’t.
I learn from both young and old through organisations like this, in
Facebook/Instagram posts/groups that keep me sane and alive at times, especially
during this year of Covid-19, where events like this have now gone virtual.
One of the speaker sessions that I attended was by Constance Brown, RDN on Carbohydrate Controversies: How Low Should You Go? I’ve always been curious about low carb eating, as many of my diabetic mates swear by better blood sugar control, etc. For me, to go under 100 grams of carbs a day, isn’t something that I can do. It takes a lot of dedication and sometimes depending on where you live, a more expensive option of eating for purchasing of keto ingredients . The good thing is that Constance stated that whatever works best for you is all that counts, so don’t feel bad if you enjoy bread like I do!
If you’re new to diabetes, you are maybe finding it daunting
to figure out the carbs in your food, when figuring out the amount of insulin to
cover the carbs you’re about to eat.
There’s so many things that we diabetics have to think about before even
contemplating what’s about to go into our mouth, let alone figuring out what we’re
going to make for our meal. On top of
all of this, taking our fast acting insulin at least 20 minutes prior to eating
a meal that we can’t even maybe visualize yet on our plate before our eyes can
be a daunting feat! I mean, imagine just
digging into your plate of food, not having to think about this number and
that!
So, to at least start off on the right foot, an app was
mentioned at the talk that I’m going to be downloading called “Figwee Visual Food Diary” . It has a library of foods (I think it's at least 8,000), that as you
can see in the video at this LINK , if you just want “x amount” of apple slices,
you pick the amount you are about to eat, and viola you have your carb count
along with calories (great if you’re trying to lose Covid-19 weight like I am)!
As usual, portion control is the most important thing, along with the quality of the foods we are eating, and at this time of the year, if we can make it easier to control our blood sugars, I'll try anything that can help me attain good numbers!
Remember as well, with going low carb ...
To get fat-burning physiological changes, you need to keep your carbohydrate intake exceedingly low (only 20 to 50 grams per day). This is hard to achieve or maintain and runs the risk of limiting important nutrients, phytochemicals, and fiber in your diet. ( taken from https://www.health.harvard.edu/staying-healthy/the-smart-way-to-look-at-carbohydrates )
