Sugar Turned On Me

One of the first things my doctor said to me after telling me I had diabetes was to not eat something just because “it was put in front of me”. I thought to myself,  What, Lady? Do you think I’m two and I get hand fed spoonfuls accompanied by airplane noises? I already was working on reasonable portion control. Did she think I was just indiscriminate and would suck down anything within reach?

It wasn’t until later I realized there was a bit of conflict for me. I hate wasting food. I’ll get cravings for things I’ve tossed, even if I had no desire to consume it the week before it lost it’s freshness. And while I do try to be good about this when I’m out, I don’t always get to choose a smaller portion when I’m not preparing the food myself.

Economics make it worse, as smaller portions at restaurants usually mean higher prices per unit for what you’re getting. Upsizing is only 20 cents more, but the inital package is three bucks and half the size. It doesn’t help that when I’m broke, my metabolism starts going into overdrive, my body demanding food like I need to build up a layer of fat to survive a winter’s hibernation.

There is an actual struggle in me to not eat what’s available while it’s there as to not be wasteful. I’ve learned answers to this problem. At home, it’s best to prepare my own food, preferably making things I can freeze. When eating out, I try to eat slowly, stop before I feel full (to let my body catch up) and then plan out how much of my meal I’m bringing home. But that doesn’t mean I’m good at it.

Eating safe with diabetes isn’t just about eating less sugar, but by watching the amounts of everything I eat to control my blood sugar more effectively. Most of the time, this isn’t a huge problem but when I remember that there are still starving kids in Asia, I can’t bring myself to waste something still safely edible. I can’t even do it remembering that there will be a mildy hungry adult in my clothes next week.

If I had to advise someone else on how to avoid this pitfall, I’d start by telling them that awareness is key. Know what your body needs versus what it wants. Don’t panic. Eat if you’re hungry and don’t worry too much about overdoing it, but suspect any impulse that starts with “Well, I could have just one more.” Know what you’re putting into your body and why it’s going in there.

Diabetes teaches you a lot of lessons about less being more. The trick is figuring out when less is just right.

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