Blog Entries With Tag: Diabetes Daily

Blog: Anna's Blog

From: FatCatAnna

Yesterday on Facebook -  Diabetes Daily had a poll going about the amount of carbs we consume a day.  Going back to it today – the one that seems to be winning out is 50-100 grams of carbs a day – which I personally think I cannot do.  I then decided to go over my past few days (this is after I’d put down my choice of 100-150 grams per day) – and was amazed to see that the last 3 days my average amount of carbs is actually on 90 grams.   I may have to go back to the poll and change my answer.  One of the other higher totals (same as the 50-100 totals) was “I don’t count carbs”.  Either they were folks like myself that just eat based on what they think is alright for them and semi-shoot in the dark for the amount of insulin to cover the carbs I used to be that way and managed to stay in an A1C of 7% - but my blood sugars did yo-yo a lot back then on multiple dosage injections (MDI) – which probably led to the lower number for my A1C. – The other thing is that those that answered perhaps were not on meds at all – but just diet and exercise.  All I know is that when preparing to go onto an insulin pump, I started to look at food labels more closely, not just for the carb count, but for other things like fat/sodium count that I felt was important for me to monitor as well.  I guess I reeducated myself after 40 years of being a diabetic – and just following the guidelines I was brought up on by my Mum and CDA with eye balling the amount of rice I had on my plate, etc.  It did work, but I just wasn’t being as precise with carb counting as I am now.

That’s one thing that I noticed the other day when going grocery shopping with a friend.  I picked up a bag of Bing cherries that are affordable at this time of the year.  They told me that they had bought a bag the other day (about 2 kg) and had consumed it practically in one go.  On top of that she was buying another bag as I picked out the darkest cherries I could find to share with my DH over the week!!  The first thing that went through my head was the amount of carbs they had consumed in that one bag of cherries –it boggled my mind.  Next we stopped by the bread area.  I swear those places pipe out smells of fresh baked bread just to draw you in – resistance is futile to most – but in my case – the constant walking wanna-be-dietician - I resisted the urge to a loaf of cheese bread my friend was buying.  As they teased me with the comment of, “There is one loaf left – buy it!!!”  They then told me … that they would be consuming this WHOLE loaf probably that afternoon.  I just had these flashes of potential diabetes or not being able to fit thru’ the bathroom door in the making.  On top of that they are already have been diagnosed with hypoglycemia – yikes!   All I could say was – “In my next life I come back with a pancreas that doesn’t pack in on me” – and almost added – “and a bank account that can pay for all the clothing / medical bills I may get from becoming overweight”. 

For some of you who are newly diagnosed with diabetes – carb counting is a chore – along with watching the quantity/quality of food you consume.  Trust me, it gets better over the time, and in the end you’ll be doing the calculations without even thinking about it.  For long term diabetics like myself, it’s just something I’ve always done; looking at food with a critical eye and pondering what it’s after effects will be to my health.  I really rarely think about what I doing except when faced with a food that I can’t really access properly – then I just wing it the best I can!

Off to munch on some cherries (not the WHOLE bag!!!!).

Blog: Anna's Blog

From: FatCatAnna

November 14th, 2009 is World Diabetes Day. On that day, at 14:00 hours (2:00 p.m., local time), thousands of people with diabetes will test their blood sugar, do 14 minutes of exercise, test again and share their results online.

The event is called The Big Blue Test because the blue circle is the international symbol for diabetes. The idea of a shared "blood sugar test-in" started with an activity organised back in July 2009 by TuDiabetes.org, a community for people touched by diabetes that I belong to. More than a thousand people participated.  Now, they're hoping  to reach thousands of people with diabetes through various diabetes social networks and Twitter. The activity will incorporate 14 minutes of physical activity to reinforce the importance of exercise.

"People with diabetes have to test their blood sugar routinely. It can be a very lonely activity." said Manny Hernandez, co-founder of TuDiabetes who lives with diabetes himself. "We want people to take The Big Blue Test to shed light on this chronic condition and the importance of exercise on World Diabetes Day."

Currently, more than 250 million people have diabetes worldwide. Millions more have diabetes but do not know it yet.  For those of us in the know, people with diabetes NEED to test their blood sugar levels several times a day and exercise regularly.

Participating in this event to raise diabetes awareness on November 14th is fairly easy:

1.     Test your blood sugar.

2.     Run, jog, walk the dog or do anything you'd normally do as part of your exercise routine for 14    minutes.

3.     Test your blood sugar again.

4.     Go to http://bigbluetest.org (or your preferred diabetes social network) and post your readings and what physical activity you did. If you have a camera, you can also add a photo of your reading(s) or you exercising.

5.     If you have a Twitter account, you can also post your readings on Twitter (use the #bigbluetest hashtag) and link back to http://bigbluetest.org.

"We hope to see most readings posted at 14:00 hours (2:00 p.m.) local time, on November 14th. If you are early or late, it's OK," says Hernandez. "What matters most is that you test your blood sugar often and that you exercise regularly. If you don't have diabetes, you can take The Big Blue Test. Either way, tell others to test, exercise and share on November 14th."

BTW, I'll open up a discussion in the News section of the Forums here at Diabetes1 a few days before hand should you wish to post your readings OR you can go to the following other diabetic networks that you see below.  It really doesn't matter where you post though, just as long as you join in on the celebration of World Diabetes Day by taking part in the The Big Blue Test!  I know I will!

Tudiabetes / Children With Diabetes / Diabetes Daily / Diabetic Connect / Diabetic Rockstar / dLife / Juvenation / Diabetes Central