Becoming a Pro Carb Counter

The first thing many people think of when they hear “counting carbs” is diets.  I guess Diabetes does correspond with diets in a way, but not the kind of diet that many people just decide to go on.  Counting carbs is THE key to figuring out how much insulin a Diabetic needs to give in order to “cover” what they eat.  For me, counting carbs is second nature now.  When I eat lunch or dinner I don’t need nutrition labels or nutrition facts, I just sort of guess.  But… my guess is definitely an educated one!  Since having to know the carb content for everything I’ve put in my mouth the last 11 years, I must say, I have become pretty good at it!  The only way to become adept at knowing food nutrition is practicing, and piecing things together. Also knowing which foods are “free” or have zero carbs is a must!  Eggs, meat and cheese are considered free.  There are many other foods that are very low carb.  Free foods are good to know about in the case that you have high blood sugar but are hungry!

For example…

I eat a turkey and cheese sandwich, an apple and pretzels for lunch one day.  Here’s the breakdown:

Sandwich ≈ 24 carbs

• ·      Each slice of bread usually has 12-15 carbs
• ·      Meat is “free”
• ·      Cheese is “free”

Apple ≈ 22 carbs

• ·     18-25 carbs depending on size

Pretzels ≈ 25 carbs

• ·      Here’s where you have to actually count… 20 pretzels usually have about 25 carbs.  Serving size is also one of those things that you memorize over time!

Voilà!

When you feel like throwing in the towel...

Here’s to a little inspirational spill…

Since putting a conscious effort toward being more active and getting in shape lately, it seems to be doing more harm than good.  It is absolutely the most frustrating thing ever, getting done with a really good workout, or having to stop mid-workout to eat the equivalent of a fourth meal due to a low blood sugar.  Or… those lows causing you to eat a midnight snack that you otherwise would be avoiding. 

There is a lot behind the brain of an insulin pump, but recently I’ve been outsmarting it.  After having so many lows, I started messing around with some numbers and tweaking some things, attempting to eliminate them, but nothing seemed to be helping.  Two Sundays ago before lunch, my blood sugar was 38.  There was no rhyme or reason to that one and it scared me.  That moment was when I really got frustrated! 

I went to my endocrinologist last Thursday and told them everything.  My exact words were, “I need help!”  Beth who I have seen for 10 years worked her magic like usual.  She could tell that the whole low blood sugar, trying to get in shape combo was discouraging and told me everything I needed to hear!  I was put on a continuous glucose monitor device for several days that tracked my blood sugar every 5 minutes.  Since making those changes, things have been a lot better!

It’s amazing how far technology has come in the past decade or so!  Right now, there is such a thing as an insulin pump and a continuous glucose monitor.  Once scientists figure out how to connect the pump to the continuous glucose monitor to where blood sugars will be automatically fixed… BAM, close to artificial pancreas!

Keep on keeping on

I survived horseback riding!  My horse Max was just about the most stubborn animal I have ever met.  He wouldn’t go when I wanted him to, would try to eat bushes when he was supposed to be walking, and would put down his hooves when I was trying to clean them.  I had my hands full but was determined to win over this horse! 

For my first lesson, it was rainy and cold.  In my rain jacket pocket, I put two packs of fruit snacks in the case that I would go low while riding.  Where that didn’t happen, I think Max smelled them! 

After several weeks of nagging and nagging him to just move, I finally felt a connection!  The last lesson was so much fun!  We played a game where each horse and rider team would take turns trotting in a straight line and somewhat trot jumping over pole obstacles.  The other horses were run by the instructors, but Max automatically knew what to do!  He was having fun and that made me happy!

Through my horseback-riding interim, I learned a lot about patience!  I learned that persistence is often key to success, and if you give up after every first time that you fail, you will get absolutely nowhere in life!

Connection:  Diabetes… persistence…. success!! 

“Never tell me the sky’s the limit, when there are footprints on the moon.”