Your Body’s Response to Food Intake

As we all know, everyone is different.  We look, speak, act, think and do things differently from each other.  So, it stands to reason that our bodies will react differently to things as well, such as the food we ingest. 

My body sends me various signals such as, it’s hungry, my blood sugar is low or it doesn’t tolerate a certain food.  Now, I’m not a scientist or expert, but I can tell you that when I eat too much or eat too much sugar, whether from processed sugar or carbo loaded foods, I feel sick, fatigued, or tremble and feel a bit hyper.  These are not good feelings. 

If you recall, my last post included a chart for putting together your meals and snacks.  The chart is from Quick & Easy Diabetic Menus, Betty Wedman, M.S., R.D.  The only way I’ve found to avoid the yucky feelings after I eat is to follow this chart.  (See post of June 15, 2015, Food Choices and Meal Plans)  When I eat meals and snacks following this chart, I‘m not hungry for at least 2-3 hours, I don’t have episodes of low blood sugar, and I don’t feel yucky. 

So, how do you know when your body is giving you a signal?  There are a couple things you can try.  The most important way is to simply start paying attention to how you feel during the day, especially in the time after you eat a meal or snack.  It’s about becoming self-aware.

 

The way I find most helpful is to keep a food journal.  For some, this can be a big pain in the rear, yet the information you gather about yourself is priceless.  A journal kept for a week or two will give you a sense of what’s going on in your body without journeying inside, like in that movie Fantastic Voyage.

If you track your blood sugar throughout the day, journaling can be done at the same time.  Here’s a pattern you can try for your journaling:

          Before breakfast – test sugars

          Eat breakfast - write down what you ate

          Before lunch – test blood sugars, write down how you felt after breakfast

          Eat lunch - write down what you ate

          Before dinner – test blood sugar, write down what you eat

          Eat dinner - write down how you felt after lunch

If you eat snacks between meals, like I do, simply adjust your journaling to include what the snacks are and how you feel 1-2 hours later.  If you snack before bed, make note in the morning with your blood sugar reading of how you feel before breakfast.

You will want to use a schedule that works with your daily patterns and a journal style that is comfortable for you.  I’ll put a few examples together for my next post so you can get a feel for how simple the journaling can be.  In the meantime, be good to yourself and pay attention to those strange signals from your body.

Reference my previous blog: 
http://newdiabeticlife.blogspot.com/2015/06/food-choices-and-meal-plans.html

Food Choices and Meal Plans

I know, and have known, quite a number of diabetics, including family members.  Each one has a differing view on how to eat properly with their disease.  

One friend would take his blood sugar whenever he wanted to eat then dose himself with insulin to accommodate whatever he was about to consume.  (I don’t recommend this method)

I have also found many who learn about eating as a diabetic then develop their own pattern and never change the way they eat.  One friend, a type 1 since childhood, is constantly changing what she eats based on how her body acts in processing food.  For myself, I prefer to vary what I eat and keep finding new things to try.  This gives me new or better ways to think about my food.

For instance, a book I referenced in an earlier post (Quick & Easy Diabetic Menus, Betty Wedman, M.S., R.D) has a wonderful chart that gives how many fats, starches, proteins, veggies, milk and fruits should go into your meals.

Breakfast - 350-400 calories Lunch - 450-500 calories

2 - Starch.bread 2 - Starch/bread

1-2 - Fruit 1 - Fruit

1 - low fat protein or milk 1 - Vegetable

1-2 - Fat 2-3 - Protein or 2 - Protein + 1 - Milk

1-2 - Fat

Dinner - 550-600 Calories Snacks - 100-125 Calories

2 - Starch/Bread 1 - Starch/Bread

1 - Fruit 1 - Fat

1-2 Vegetable OR

3-4 Protein 1 - Fruit

1-2 Fat 1 - Protein or Milk

Substitutions - breakfast, lunch and dinner

1 - Fruit for 1 - Starch/Bread

1 - Starch/Bread for 1 - Milk

1 - Starch/Bread for 1 - Fruit

1 - Milk for 1 - Protein

1 - Protein for 1 - Milk

Using this chart from Betty Wedman, I find my meal and snack planning is so  much easier.  It makes me feel more confident about what I’m eating each day.  When you pair this planning chart with healthy choices you will find you’re better able to control your blood sugar and, in turn, your weight.  At least that’s what I’ve found.

I used be get frustrated about eating as a diabetic, but making a few new habits with the chart above has made a big difference for me.  Take a good look at the chart and think about the foods you like and eat everyday.  You’ll probably find that there are only a few changes you need to make to your current habits to meet the parameters of the chart.  

Find the book by Betty Wedman from Amazon or other booksellers and read it.  The menus and recipes are delicious and her nutrition information is priceless.  More on nutrition in future blogs.  Take care of yourself.  There is only one you!

Find the book referenced in this blog at:

Christian Book Center: http://www.clcbookcenter.com/product.asp?sku=0809238535
Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Quick-Diabetic-Menus-Betty-Wedman-St/dp/0809238535/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1439590312&sr=8-1&keywords=quick+and+easy+diabetic+menus
Barnes & Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/quick-and-easy-diabetic-menus-betty-wedman-st-louis/1103661963?ean=9780809238538