Now that the holiday is fast approaching, a lot of diabetes patients are concerned about its impact on diabetes management. Many are worried of not being able to resist festive treats and gaining weight, both are not ideal if you have diabetes. Aside from controlling your blood sugar, you must also try to control your weight if you are diabetic.
Over indulgences during the holiday cannot be avoided. But you need to be mindful of the food that you eat in order not to compromise your health. Here are some ways on how you can keep both your sugar and weight in control during the holidays.
Maintain A Schedule
If you ended up overeating, skipping meals afterwards will not do you any good. Therefore, even if you’re on a holiday, you must still try to live healthy. Do some exercises and always eat on time. Above all, take your diabetes medications on time, including insulin injections, when necessary.
Check your Blood Sugar Regularly
If you’re taking insulin and other medications that can help to control your blood sugar, then observe your sugar level. Check your blood sugar level before and after eating and adjust your insulin doses if needed. You should have allowances for any changes in your exercises and eating habits.
Limit the Treats and Sweets
To prevent your blood sugar level from skyrocketing, limit your consumption of sweets and other treats. Instead, eat a lot of salads and vegetables. Choose your meat well and most especially the desserts.
Watch Out your Alcohol Consumption
Moderate intake of alcohol can have effects in your blood sugar level, so be watchful of the amount of alcohol you consume. There’s nothing wrong with indulging on some holiday drinks. But remember that the amount of sugars and calories will vary significantly among these drinks. It is a good idea to find out the nutrition information of a particular drink before you decide to drink it.
Medical experts recommend that diabetics should not consume more than one alcoholic drink in a day. This is equivalent to 12 ounces of beer, four ounces of wine and an ounce of distilled spirits.
Take Advantage of Mobile Apps
There are mobile apps for diabetics that you can download in your phone to help you in managing your blood sugar. These include apps that can help you in determining the amount of carbohydrates of certain dishes. There are also those that will let you know how much insulin you will need to take before or after meals.
Order Smart
If you are eating out on restaurants, be smart enough with your orders. You can find lots of restaurants that serve healthy options for diabetics. Go for foods that have less saturated fat, less sugar and avoid fried foods at all cost. Instead of butter, opt for olive oil and fresh pepper. For the sides, go for boiled or baked potato. Steamed vegetables are also much better than mashed potatoes.
