To Carb or Not to Carb--Diabetes Blog Week Day 4

When I was first diagnosed with diabetes a few years ago, I was really confused about what I was supposed to eat and not eat. During my hospital stay, I was taught about all the restrictions I would have to put on my diet. A nutritionist visited me and completely overwhelmed me with all these new rules. I was given a chart that showed examples of types of meals I should be eating for breakfast, lunch, dinner and for snacks. I was not even allowed to go over a certain amount of calories per week. I was about 88 pounds at this point and the thought of being on a diet confused me to no end. Did the hospital not see me? I was wilting away to nothing! I was completely miserable after leaving the hospital because I was always hungry and was not gaining any of my weight back. During my first visit to my endocrinologist at the time, I was asked why I still weighed around 90 pounds. I told him that I was put on a strict diet that entailed measuring out all my food. He explained that I really could be eating anything I wanted just as long as I gave myself enough insulin to cover the amount of carbs I was eating. I was so excited to eat a cheeseburger right after that appointment! I still don’t know why the hospital made me watch my calorie intake!

Nowadays, I really do eat whatever I want, just as long as I measure out the right amount of insulin for what my meal is. I do, however, still eat as healthy as I can, with some fried foods thrown in there too. If there is a sugar free or “light” option for something, I’ll usually go with that (unless it’s chocolate. I can’t eat sugar free chocolate, it’s just not the same). While lows are never fun, sometimes I don’t mind them because it gives me an excuse to eat some sweets! I would consider my eating habits pretty normal and nothing really out of the ordinary!