Diabetes and Low Carb Livin'



My husband Jack


Until now, all of my blog posts have been about sewing.  Not a surprise since the title of my blog is "Sew a Fine Seam", but sewing is not my life, and this blog is about sewing and my life in general. 

Ever since December 9, 2010, one of my non-sewing activities has been counting carbohydrates.  I spend a fair amount of time counting carbohydrates now, for myself, but mainly for my husband who has Type 2 Diabetes.  Jack has had diabetes for over ten years, and for the most part, we pretended that he didn't have diabetes.  That's bad.  Very bad.

On December 9, Jack went to his doctor for a regular appointment and the obligatory lecture on controlling his blood sugars, but what he heard that day were two words that struck fear in his heart.  What two words, you ask?  NURSING HOME  Apparently, Jack told Dr. Z. that he feels good and doesn't see the need to worry about a trifling issue like diabetes.  "What's going to happen if I continue as I have been doing for these past ten years?"  Jack asked.  The answer was not what Jack wanted to hear.

Jack came home from the doctor that day, and he was determined to make a change.  He was ready to take charge of his health and beat his blood sugar level into submission.  How would he do that?  By dumping the responsibility for his health and well-being in my lap, of course.  That's not entirely true, but seriously, at that point, my husband could not distinguish a carbohydrate from a darning needle.  That was all about to change. 

Equipped for this monumental task by a lifetime of reading about and experimenting with every diet known to man, I was ready to shave the carbohydrates from our diet and watch my husband's blood glucose levels return to normal.  

I had a plan based on the advice in this book, The Diabetes Solution by Dr. Richard Bernstein.  Dr. B himself has Type I diabetes, so he knows of what he speaks.  We followed Dr. B's advice to strictly limit the carbohydrate intake in the diabetic's diet, and guess what?  It worked!






Take a look at today's dinner:  roasted chicken thighs, summer squash with bacon, and a fresh tomato. 

It's difficult for most dieters to understand that the  foods on this plate that my husband has to weigh and measure are the squash and the tomatoes.  He can eat freely of the chicken and the bacon.  Believe me, it is not hardship for him to limit his squash intake, but homegrown tomatoes are a different story!  They are one of his favorite foods, but it is true that tomatoes are a fruit, and fruits are high in natural sugars and therefore carbohydrates.  I use my old Atkins carbohydrate counter to determine the number of carbohydrates in a serving of tomato and serve Jack accordingly. 

Overall, the change from indiscriminate eating to a lower carb lifestyle has been a positive change for us.  Jack's blood glucose level is nearly always in the normal range now, and both of us have lost some weight.  It's an adventure that we have been on for over eight months, and we have no plans to ever go back to our old ways!