planning Archives - Diabetes Counselling Online

A fresh look at The Christmas Meal

December 1, 2014 by Sally Leave a Comment

My family celebrated Christmas Day a month early this year because we’ll all be in different parts of the world on 25^th December, and we value our annual family get together. I thought it was a good opportunity to remind you how easy it is to provide a delicious and nutritious lunch, especially for us in Australia with the hot weather, that won’t disrupt your usual diabetes routine too much whilst still enjoying your Christmas celebrations. I’ve also included a few of our family recipes for your enjoyment.

Ours was held at my brother’s home in Sydney. We had 20 family members expected, including 7 children under the age of 14. Our Christmas foods tradition follows a Red, White and Green theme to look Christmassy. My Mum is the organiser and she delegates one dish to each of the family groups, so not all the preparation and cooking is left to one person (although you’ll notice that she does more than her own fair share!). Sharing that load really does minimise the stress often associated with these large family gatherings.

The basic idea is to include more plant-based foods, and provide a treat or two that you save for these such special occasions.

We arrived to bowls of pistachio nuts – perfect as each nut must be opened first, thereby minimising overeating potential – and olives. Perfect with a glass of bubbly to get us all in the mood for our Christmas feast ahead!

First course are the cold green and red soups.

I made the green zucchini soup which is so easy (6 zucchini, 1 onion lightly sautéed. Add 1 litre chicken stock, one chopped potato and some fresh dried tarragon with salt and pepper to taste. Simmer for 15 mins or until potato is cooked through. Allow to cool. Blend and refrigerate).

One of my Sister-in-laws made the red tomato gazpacho which is just pureed tomatoes with an onion/ lemon juice flavour added, plus diced cucumber and ham (from the main event).

Both these soups are very popular across the whole family. The children tend to love the zucchini soup the best. I like to indulge in a small bowl of both so I can enjoy both yummy flavours.

Buffet in the kitchen.

Our centre piece is a whole ham that my Mum makes a glaze for and bakes. It’s served at room temperature as there usually no room in the fridge, and that’s where the salt comes into its own as a preservative until there’s room to get it into the refrigerator.

Of course, the ham in your meal could be replaced with any protein source that you and your family enjoy including the traditional favourites of turkey and seafood.

Traditionally we’ve had cold baby potatoes tossed in fresh herbs and olive oil for our carb salad (excellent for resistant starch and glycemic management), however this year Mum found a recipe for a quinoa and cannellini bean salad that was also full of fresh herbs. It was very delicious, but also more work than the potatoes.

Then the non-starchy salads – we have a tomato salad, a green avocado salad and asparagus with parmesan, so there are plenty of plant foods to fill up on.

This year Mum found an unusual tomato recipe that had pomegranate seeds and lots of fresh herbs. Again it was very delicious but I think she underestimated how long it would take to dice up all those coloured tomatoes. It was flavoured with lots of chopped garlic, fresh herbs and olive oil. Usually we do sliced beefsteak tomatoes with mozzarella cheese and fresh basil leaves on top, drizzled with extra virgin olive oil. I don’t think you can beat that one for simplicity and flavour!

Desserts

We don’t really enjoy the richness of the traditional Christmas desserts in our family. This year another of my Sister-in-laws and one of my Aunts were asked to bring a dessert with no guidelines so we ended up with a pavlova topped with lovely fresh fruit, and a light lemon ricotta cheesecake that my Sister-in-Law found on a blog called ‘Marley & Lockyer’ with you as it’s so easy and suitable for us with diabetes.

We served ours with low-fat icecream, but you could also use low-fat Greek yogurt rather than cream.

For those of you who really enjoy the Christmas puddings and mince pies, the December 2014 issue of Australian Healthy Food Guide magazine included a feature called ’10 of the best Christmas treats – enjoy your favourite sweets for fewer kJs!’ which I encourage you to read. In there they rate the ‘Best Mince Pie’ as a bite-size Woolworths Free From Gluten Fruit Mince Bit as a ‘real taste of Christmas’ for only 522kJ (125cal).

Reminders

I hope you found some healthy inspirations here for your Christmas main meal. I’d remind you to have a read of the blog I wrote for Diabetes Counselling Online entitled ‘Five tips for managing diabetes at events where food choices are likely to be poor’ and remember these tips when you’re at your own Christmas food celebration.

I’d also encourage others of you to share your own healthy and special favourite Christmas dishes in the comments below please!

Wishing you all compliments of the season with a reminder about enjoying everything in moderation, except the love and goodwill that we can all enjoy in excess across the Christmas season. Sally

Sally is the Social Media Dietitian with Diabetes Counselling Online, owner of her private practice (Marchini Nutrition), and has had type 1 diabetes for close to 40 years and coeliac disease for many years too. You can access a linked list of all Sally’s Diabetes Counselling Online blogs here.

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5 Tips for managing diabetes at events where food choices are likely to be poor

September 22, 2014 by Sally Leave a Comment

With party season well on its way, one of our members has suggested that it would be helpful to have a few easy to remember tips to help him from overeating and spinning out not only his weight that he’s been working so hard to keep under control, but also his blood glucose levels that he also works hard to keep managed through lifestyle measures. It’s such a great topic to suggest! So many of us do exactly that when we go to a party or a reception or even just out with friends to a buffet style lunch.

If you fail to plan then you plan to fail.

As is often the case with diabetes, a little forward planning goes a long way. So if we have a just a few (well 5) top tips to think through, hopefully you’ll find it much easier to manage and will feel so much better afterwards. We all know that post-party feeling of regret for the bad food choices we made.

I’d also like to remind you that diabetes is not a game of perfect. These tips aren’t meant to restrict you from enjoying a little of what you might not have access to in your usual life with diabetes, but more to make it easier to do so without extreme consequences of high BGLs and weight gain.

1) Before you go, eat and exercise

If it’s not a meal based event, such as a cocktail party, then ensure you eat a well balanced meal before you go so you won’t be hungry and can be more mindful of the choices you make.
Give yourself a target of about 5 tastings of food on offer so you don’t miss out.
One of our admins, Helen, suggests going for a big walk before the party to help minimise the BGL impact of birthday cake, as well as being extra careful in the surrounding days – great ideas Helen!
Don’t be afraid of saying ‘Not just at the moment thanks’ or ‘No thanks’ with a smile.

2 ) Look over what’s available before just diving in so you consider your choices

If it’s a buffet meal, don’t just go to the queue to join the buffet, but take a few moments to look over people’s shoulders to see what foods are offered on the table. This will help you to choose wisely and know you won’t be missing out so you won’t have to stack your plate just in case.

3) Memorise what the healthy plate looks like and fill up the veggie half first

After checking out the buffet, aim to fill at least half the plate with salad and undressed veggie options first. This can help to fill you up before you start on the more energy dense foods.
Look for healthier lower fat, lower GI carb sources to keep your BGLs happy, and then go for the lean proteins such as cold meats and seafood for the last quarter.
Try not to stack your plate, remembering that you wouldn’t do that at home and so you really don’t need the extra food.

Choose nutritious and unprocessed foods wherever possible (including avoiding marinades, sauces and creamy dressings that are high in sodium and kilojoules/calories)

4) Take a healthy plate with you to share if it’s a BBQ or private event

Skewered vegetables to go on the BBQ.
A salad contain low GI carbs such as legumes or quinoa or barley and other interesting ingredients.
A hummus dip with fresh veggies for dipping. It’s amazing how popular these items will be. You’ll be the star of the party.
Fresh fruit platters work well for afters.

5) Eat slowly and be mindful of how much you need

Wherever you are, the more slowly you eat, the more awareness you’ll have of when you’ve had enough to eat

If you’re worried that people will call you a party pooper, here are a couple of member suggested tricks so you can still enjoy the party without putting your health at risk.

Excuse yourself then go to the kitchen to fill your beer stubbie with water. Then no-one knows you’re not drinking beer.
Another of our members suggests, “I just get very selective. I hit on the chicken drumsticks and salad which are reliable offerings. Then it depends on how upmarket the buffet is. At our favourite buffet restaurant I gorge on seafood and then follow my nose to the cheese plate. A little bit of potato/rice/pasta salad to provide the carbs.” Go easy on the cheese Tiger!

Hoping this will help you get through the Spring and early Summer party season while managing your diabetes and overall health to the best of your ability. Remember to that it’s important for your wellbeing to be sociable and enjoy the celebrations that life brings.

It’s all about balance and a bit of planning.

Sally.

Sally is the Social Media Dietitian with Diabetes Counselling Online, owner of her private practice (Marchini Nutrition), and has had type 1 diabetes for close to 40 years and coeliac disease for many years too. You can access a list of all Sally’s Diabetes Counselling Online blogs here.

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Ten dietitian tips for pregnancy in type 1 diabetes

August 18, 2014 by Sally 2 Comments

I’ve been asked to write this blog as a dietitian for the Pregnancy and Parenting with Diabetes closed group for Diabetes Counselling Online. It’s a little challenging mostly because each of us has different requirements and should set personalised targets, so these tips are for a general guide only. I recommend that you should check with your own diabetes health professionals before changing any current plan. Hopefully what you learn in this blog will help you to be the leader of your d-team of health professionals. Keeping track of any questions you have to ask them will be a great advantage to you and your baby.

Having a baby as a person with type 1 diabetes can be a frustrating and scary experience, but it doesn’t need to be if we know how to help our healthcare team to provide us the best support along the way.

Planning

As with most aspects of diabetes, planning ahead is essential for best results. It’s not always possible to plan a pregnancy, but if you have the opportunity to do so then your chances of birth anomalies will be greatly reduced.

Ideally planning will begin at least a year in advance. During this time it’s important to ensure that you:

are taking precautions to avoid pregnancy during this timeframe
have started on a folic acid supplement of at least 0.8mg/day (no more than 5mg/day)
have asked your doctor about the need for iodine supplementation
talk to you doctor about stopping statins and all other diabetes meds except insulin
stop smoking
minimise alcoholic consumption
improve your physical fitness

HbA1c target

Your main diabetes target will be to aim for an HbA1c of around 6% to minimise risk of anomalies in your pregnancy. But you don’t want to get there too quickly as it may affect your own eyesight (retinopathy). This is one area where medical guidance is particularly important.

Once you get there, it’s important to keep it there for at least 6 months to allow your body to stabilise before proceeding to pregnancy.

Diet

When planning the pregnancy, it’s important to get back to basics in many of the issues related to food. It’s worth having a reminder session on your carb counting and to understand more about the glycemic index of carbohydrates. Reviewing label reading is also an excellent idea.

Whereas people with type 1 are ordinarily encourage to eat carbohydrates freely, in this planning stage it’s encouraged that we get back into a strict routine with quite rigid diet patterns. The reason for this is partly to do with stabilisation of the HbA1c for 6 months prior to proceeding to pregnancy, but also to help make it easier for you while you are pregnant as it makes such a difference at that time.

That means we’re looking for regular meals and mid-meals with no more than 2.5-3 hours in between each one across the day. And each meal should contain about 40-45g of nutritionally high low-GI carbohydrates, with snacks at 15-25g.

Another good habit to get into that will help your dietitian to help you better is keeping a food and BGL diary. Although a pain in the *#@* to do, can help not only to work out where you can make improvements but will help you to learn to recognise patterns based on your BGLs and the food you’re eating. And if this is your first pregnancy then such a record will be invaluable for future pregnancies too!

Eating for Wellbeing

Nutritional adequacy is very important to address for wellbeing in any pregnancy, and meeting the Australian Dietary Guidelines for women as outlined in this brochure for Healthy Eating During Your Pregnancy before and during the pregnancy should be a major focus, especially for those of us with type 1 diabetes. This brochure also outlines the foods that pregnant women should avoid for safety.

The helpful hints section at the back of the ‘Healthy Eating During Your Pregnancy’ brochure encourages:

“You can eat well by:

enjoying a variety of fruits and vegetables of different types and colours
increasing your grain consumption to 8-8.5 serves a day – mostly wholegrain (and low-GI) – in preference to discretionary choices
choosing foods high in iron, such as lean red meat or tofu, which are important for pregnant women
Making a habit of drinking milk, eating hard cheese and yogurt, or calcium enriched alternatives. Reduced fat varieties are best.
Enjoying a wide variety of vegetables, legumes, fruit and wholegrains and drinking plenty of water every day can assist with constipation – a common occurrence during pregnancy.”

After all the excellent preparation and you fall pregnant, then what?

Firstly a huge congratulations is in order! Well done for doing all that you can to get yourself into shape to the best of your ability for the health of the precious baby growing inside you.

I hope at this point you’ll have developed a regular relationship with your doctors, dietitian and diabetes educator to help with the hormonal insulin requirement changes through the stages of the pregnancy.

Of immediate concern is learning to deal with your morning sickness. Planning for this is essential as you don’t want to take insulin and then not be able to keep your food down. Personalised advice is essential so I won’t make suggestions here other than to encourage you to ask your team about it.

Being prepared for extreme hypoglycaemic and hyperglycaemic (particularly ketones) is something else to look into. It may not happen to you, but you’re better to be prepared just in case. Also hypo warning signals often change during pregnancy, so being aware of this and testing your BGLs frequently can help you avoid extreme hypos, and to keep you and other safe in activities such as driving!

It’s important to know that your insulin doses will change throughout your pregnancy due to hormonal changes related to the pregnancy at different stages, so working closely with your diabetes team and keeping regular checks on your BGLs will help here.

A key nutritional focus aside from keep your BGLs in range is also managing your weight through the pregnancy. This is where your food and BGL diary will assist your dietitian to keep you on track.

This leaflet by Diabetes Australia, the NDSS and Diabetes Australia Vic called ‘Can I have a healthy baby? Diabetes and Pregnancy’ is a very helpful resource that I recommend familiarising yourself with.

In summary, my top ten tips to remember are:

Start your planning a year in advance
Learn to work closely with your diabetes healthcare team
Aim for an HbA1c of 6 stabilised for 6 months before conception
Come up to speed with carb counting and label reading
Aim for a strict routine with quite rigid diet patterns (set number of carb serves spread evenly across the day)
Keep a food and BGL diary
Follow the Australian Dietary Guidelines for Healthy Eating in Pregnancy to ensure nutritional adequacy and safety
Managing your weight through the pregnancy
Being prepared for extreme hypoglycaemic and hyperglycaemic (keytones) events
Enjoy the experience!!

Wishing you a smooth and healthy pregnancy that results in a happy, healthy baby and Mum.

Sally

Sally is the Social Media Dietitian with Diabetes Counselling Online, owner of her private practice (Marchini Nutrition), and has had type 1 diabetes for close to 40 years and coeliac disease for many years too. You can access a list of all Sally’s Diabetes Counselling Online blogs here.

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The significance of d-routine for wellness

May 19, 2014 by Sally 7 Comments

I had a friend visit last weekend. She, like me, is aged in her mid-40s, is a working Mum and has type 1 diabetes. She was telling me that she had started to suffer with anxiety or panic attacks and that her doctor had put her on medication for it. Not surprisingly her diabetes control was also not in a good place. For me it was somewhat of a shock to hear this of my extremely capable friend, but also was easy to imagine how it could happen when we reflect on just how stressful and overfull our lives have become. It also reminded me of the importance of having a routine, especially for those of us with diabetes, so that we don’t ‘juggle out’ diabetes as a ball in our busy lives. Diabetes really needs to be a very high priority for both mental and physical wellness, and yet it so often drops to a low one, dragging the rest of lives down with it.

As you know, I’m an Accredited Practising Dietitian, and my speciality is food/lifestyle and wellbeing, rather than psychology. In my blog today I wanted to remind people with diabetes about how having a routine every day can get your day off to the right start as well as helping your diabetes to be better controlled across the day, leaving you to focus on those other priorities in your life.

For myself I have created a routine that allows me that great start to the day, knowing that if you start well there’s a greater chance of continuing along that good line. As a dietitian I also am very aware of the evidence that tells us how important food is for mental health, hence the Australian Dietary Guidelines recommendations for a variety of fresh foods from the five food groups so that we get the nutrients we need for energy and for wellbeing, both physical and mental. The first key point in the guidelines reads:

“Good nutrition contributes significantly to maintaining healthy weight, quality of life,

good physical and mental health throughout life, resistance to infection,

and to protection against chronic disease and premature death.”

Planning is an awesome strategy

My routine starts with ensuring I have enough time to fit it all in – Planning! Drawing on my blog from last week where I quoted Accredited Practising Dietitian Jemma O’Hanlon reminding us that “Failing to Plan = Planning to Fail”.

My thoughts for the next day start the night before, and I do that to ensure that I have a good eight hours sleep before the time I need to wake up, knowing that tiredness will not help me in *any* way. There is a lot of evidence around the importance of a good night’s sleep for wellbeing.

I consider what time I’ll need to leave home to be where I’m going that next day. I know that my ‘d-routine’ takes me an hour and a half to complete, so I set my alarm to wake me an hour and a half before I have to leave, and off to sleep I go. Most days I plan to leave by 8am, meaning a 6.30am start. You’ll need to see how long your d-routine takes to work out your own hours.

My morning routine includes (not in order of importance, but how they occur):

1) Testing my BGL and having my medications

2) Eating a low-GI, high fibre breakfast with a serve of dairy

3) Checking my emails/facebook

4) Going for a 40 min walk/jog/lunge

5) Showering and dressing

6) Planning my snacks and lunch for the day

All six points are important for the success of my day, diabetically, mentally and physically.

No.1 – Testing my BGL and having medications – this one is a no-brainer for me. If I don’t know where I’m starting from with my BGL, how on earth can I know or control where I’m going with it? Same with the meds, there’s just no option not to have them. I’m often surprised to hear that people don’t take the medications they’re prescribed, and that’s why these two are the first on my list.

No.2 – Eating a low-GI, high fibre breakfast with a serve of dairy – we all should know the benefits of low-GI carbs as explained in my earlier blog, but when you know that your brain needs glucose to function properly again it’s a no brainer. Even if I’m not hungry, I eat my low-GI breakfast with grains, dairy and nuts to keep me energised for the morning.

No.3 – Checking emails/facebook – As a person who thrives on being organised and needs to be for my business to function smoothly, I need to clear out my inbox each morning and deal with the quick responses, so I can know issues have been dealt with so they’re not on my conscience when my mind should be focussed elsewhere. If I had to leave one point out of my morning routine this would be it, but I can do it pretty quickly in most cases.

No.4 – Going for a 40 min walk/jog/lunge – I know that if I don’t fit this in to my morning routine I will regret it for many reasons! Exercise brings so many benefits to everyone, and especially to us with diabetes. There’s also good evidence to demonstrate that those with diabetes who exercise enjoy much greater glycemic control. Not only does it give me a chance to think through my day ahead so I’m better prepared, but my diabetes control is so much more stable on the days that I’ve exercised first which makes my day run more smoothly by minimising the highs and lows that happen if I’ve missed it. I also enjoy the sunshine on my skin that will make me vitamin D, and saying ‘good morning’ to other walkers. Definitely a bonus from a mental health viewpoint too! You can read more about exercise and diabetes here. I wouldn’t be without it!

No.5 – Showering and dressing – Everyone does this one, so nothing special with diabetes here lol

No. 6 – Planning my snacks and lunch for the day – For me I need to know that I can have healthy low-GI (and gluten free as I’m a coeliac too) options available when I need them, so if pushed the least I will do is make a sandwich and take an apple and some nuts. It really only takes a couple of minutes and is well worth the small effort.

You and Your Routine

Of course my routine will be different to your routine. The main point I’m trying to make is that if you can consider the important things to keep your diabetes on track, your mental health in as good a place as you can, and your physical wellbeing with the good food and exercise then the day in the your life should be easier to manage. Every day is a new day, and routine helps to keep you on track. Routines can change, and if you feel that yours needs an update, then now is a great time to do it!

Mental Health

In terms of mental health with diabetes, if you feel like you’re not coping then it’s advisable to speak to your doctor. Diabetes Counselling Online has recently published an e-book on Diabetes Burnout which may also be helpful, and we offer six free hours per year of e-counselling to Australians who have diabetes and their friends and family – just go here to register.

I would also recommend a visit to see a diabetes specialist Accredited Practising Dietitian, and an Exercise Physiologist to help you get your diet and exercise routines right for your wellbeing.

My friend and I are going to try a meditation class that we found locally too (hence the meditation pic at the top).

We’d love to hear how you try to keep your diabetes day together. Hoping you found this helpful.

Best wishes, Sally

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#sick day #plan with #diabetes- the best laid plans

April 11, 2014 by helwild 3 Comments

without the noodles- for T2diabetic! LOL

I didn’t get my blogpost written for the group blog this week. Nor last week. In fact, I haven’t had my head up out of the sheets much since dinnertime on April 1st, when I went out to dinner to celebrate my son in laws’ 50th. With frog cakes..

That’s because I’m sick. I don’t mean with a metabolic disorder (Type 2 diabetes); nor an auto immune disease-my asthma; nor chronic pain; nor reflux; nor blood pressure; nor cholesterol; nor neuralgia; nor neuropathy; nor arthritis. I have a virus. A drag me down, unrelenting, constantly mutating virus. First it was probably the odd sneeze, next the extreme sore throat + a crushing, debilitating headache. Sweating of course, a cough. I slept. For 3 days. Because I take panadol constantly anyway, some symptoms were dealt with. What was I to do about my diabetes? I knew I should eat some carbs, I should try to exercise. On two days I staggered around the block, feeling dizzy & unsafe. On the other days I briefly wandered in my back yard, in my nightie. Eating was of no interest. Nor was checking my blood glucose levels. But I did keep taking all of my oral medications as prescribed, at the usual times. I cancelled all appointments. I stopped reading & working. I couldnt scroll on my mobile, as that was dizzying, so no Facebooking either. I couldn’t care for my grandchildren. I couldn’t visit my poor, demented elderly mother.

I didn't test my bgl.. — I didn’t test my bgl..

On the 8th day, the mutation was sudden. By now my sore throat had eased, the sneezing was still intermittent, & I’d developed what medicos call ‘a productive cough’. I’m a grandma, I know the lingo. But on this day, I actually felt a little better. I did 2 hours of paperwork. Then I stood up. The world swam around me. I felt nauseous, faint. I nearly passed out. I had other symptoms too. The worst was the severe vertigo. I tested my bgl. Steady at 6.2. So it wasn’t low blood glucose. I tested my BP. That was pretty ‘normal’. I rang the Dr’s rooms for advice, the Dr said come here straightaway, or go to Hospital. Now I have never been to an Emergency Department for myself. But I have been many times with Family members. I know you do not want to be in a ‘walk in’ situation in Emergency. I couldn’t drive, I couldn’t even open my eyes for the vertigo, I could barely walk. So my husband drove me. I carried a blue bucket, & a green towel. I was in old ‘trackie dacks’, my hair was a mess. The journey was quick, the Dr terrific. I threw up in my bucket, conveniently, she could test it for blood. She gave me an injection, a prescription, instructions to my husband about blood pressure, & a letter for the Hospital, should certain indications occur. Instructions to “Come back to see me on Thursday”. We set off home. The injection helped very quickly. Although I kept my eyes closed in the car, I was able to walk with eyes open to get to the car, & to have a rational discussion about filling the prescription.

I now had a new regime. 2 hourly Blood pressure checks, to particularly note if the pulse rate climbed & the BP dropped. A new medication, 8 hourly, so unfortunately, to start with, alarms & early morning wakings. My vertigo eased, I slept some more, & suddenly it was Thursday. My husband rang to book me in, of course it had to be a ‘double booking’. My husband said I needed to find something ‘decent’ to wear, as he wasn’t going to take me in as ‘disheveled’ as I’d been on Tuesday. That made me laugh. When the Dr saw me, I was neat, tidy, walking steadily, I was wearing earrings. (Diabeadies by Vivi of course). But when the Dr. examined me, she found another ‘mutation’. Now I have a chest infection, I need an antibiotic. Sigh. My chest does hurt. But apparently it’s not asthma.

Now it’s the next day. The antibiotics are making me nauseous. The metformin is affecting my gut. The stemetil is helping with the vertigo & nausea, but apparently is only ‘masking’ those symptoms, I still have the virus. The family’s long made plans for the School Holidays are ‘on hold’.

Last night my daughter flew from Sydney to Adelaide. Her plane, like most of the traffic to & from the Eastern seaboard yesterday, was delayed by the massive Category 5 cyclone Ita, which is currently approaching North Queensland.

During the delay, she was texting, & suddenly about 40 minutes before boarding, she texted, “I’m low.” A message like that puts my virus into perspective. Managing my type 2 diabetes when I’m sick is not hard, & it’s not life threatening. I might go high, or low. I might have work to do when the virus passes. But when you are insulin dependent, day by day, hour by hour, minute by minute, intensive mathematical calculations have to be worked through, instant decisions made, not always with a fully functioning brain. In either case, systems & plans are crucial in getting through the situation. Knowing that I’d be worried, my daughter texted, “I’m eating lots of glucose, back up to 10 now. Have longer acting carbs on board. Will make sure I’m 14 before boarding”. What a lovely clear, reassuring plan. Mine is to take the medication as prescribed, rest as prescribed, watch for changes as prescribed. Eat when I can, exercise if I can. I have had somewhat of a ‘bonus’. Not eating much other than my obligatory bananas (for the leg & foot cramps, to get the potassium), I have lost around 4kg. So maybe my T2diabetes is cured? Or maybe the chicken soup will cure me. LOL….

Last night I made Chicken soup.

And today, as cyclone Ita bears down upon North Queensland, I am hoping that no lives are lost.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-04-11/cyclone-ita-compared-to-tracy-larry-and-yasi/5383224

Helen Wilde

Helen is a long term Senior Counsellor with Diabetes Counselling Online. She is the parent of someone who has been living with Type 1 diabetes since 1979, & has had Type 2 diabetes herself since 2001.

If you feel you’d like to talk with Helen or another member of our team, please contact us on this link:

http://www.diabetescounselling.com.au/counselling-request/

Or look out for the chatline on the front page of the site, you can chat live when a counsellor is ‘in’, or leave a message for later.

Please feel free to leave a comment after this post!

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