I sometimes feel like a juggler with half a dozen balls in the air - trying not to let any drop. That's what it's like to live with Type 2 Diabetes, trying to control it through lifestyle changes - and not medication. My juggling act is a daily struggle: If I let my guard down and "cheat," my blood sugar catches me, keeping me honest. (Yes, I prick my finger daily - not a hard thing for a quilter to do! And my little glucose meter does the rest, telling me how I'm doing. This daily ritual is an essential part of my new way of life.)
The first "ball" I have to balance is diet: I need to avoid white flour, white rice, and other processed foods that have had fiber removed. Digesting fiber takes time, and slows down the sugar rush to the blood.
The second ball is timing - I need to space the food I eat 4 to 6 hours apart, so snacking and grazing are out! This means that whenever I eat, I have to make a mental note of the time, so that I'll know when I'm allowed to eat again!
The third ball is exercise. Exercise burns sugar - the body's fuel (only diabetics have too much). So I go to Curves three times a week and build up a sweat. Walking is also an essential part of the diabetic lifestyle: While burning sugar, walking also increases the body's insulin production in a natural way. Type 2 diabetics should walk at least 10,000 steps a day - which translates into about 45 minutes of walking - in one long walk, or several shorter ones. (This is the ball that I let drop over the past months, first with winters' icy roads, then with this spring and summer's busyness...)
The fourth ball is weight. Diet changes (avoiding sugar and white flour) usually cause people to lose some weight initially. I read somewhere that type 2 diabetics who modify their diet lose on average about 7 pounds. I lost a little more than that, I think, but after a few months, my weight loss stopped. Weight is a particularly hard issue for many type 2-ers. There is the guilt factor - type 2 diabetics are told that if they lost more weight, their diabetes might entirely disappear ... (Hidden Message: It's your fault you have this problem!) But it's possible that the gene that predisposes some to type 2 diabetes may also encourage weight gain. So this may be part of a vicious cycle! ... It often feels that way!
The fifth ball we type-2-ers have to juggle is adequate rest and sleep - and avoidance of stress - which also raises one's blood sugar!
The sixth ball is general health. Illness raises blood sugar as well...
So there they are - the issues I have to think about every day. There are times,I feel like a tired juggler - always focusing on one thing or another to keep my blood sugar down... Don't get me wrong: I'm thankful I know how to control my diabetes - most of the time. But in order to control it, in a very real sense, it controls me!
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