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Carbs after 10am

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Rowena

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March 9, 2016

If you follow my blog you will know that I have been reverse dieting for many months now which means I have been increasing the carbs and fats in my diet whilst aiming for minimal weight gain. I went from eating an average of around 80 carbs per day, to now eating 250. This has made such a significant difference in my energy and strength, but it has also forced me to consider the way I manage my food with regards to diabetes. Mainly because when food intake increases, so does insulin. This is not a bad thing as I know that this is the amount of food I am supposed to be eating in order to support other parts of my health. It’s not just about diabetes.

As a fan of reflective practice when it comes to experimenting with diets and exercise I have been comparing blood sugar trends to my daily food intake which has prompted me to make some decisions. A week or so ago, after consistently eating the same amount of carbs for breakfast for around 1 month, I noticed that if I ate more than around 40grams of carbohydrate with my breakfast, no matter what the food was or if I increased the bolus, it would usually spike my blood sugar. Starting the day with a hyper made me feel hungrier throughout the day which made it much harder to sticking to the reverse diet. Also, hypers really affect me mentally which causes anxiety and depression. As a result of this I decided to play around with the timing of my macros so I would eat a breakfast that focused more on protein and fats whilst factoring in the missing carbs to a later meal during the day. It really helped my mindset knowing that I wasn’t cutting food from my diet, I was just changing the time.

Playing with the timing of food is known as nutrient partitioning and it can be very beneficial to even the non-diabetic. The main reason for it is to reduce the morning insulin spike or to utilize it post workout; the body can really utilize carbohydrate for strength and recovery so I used the carbs that I cut from my breakfast and added them to my post workout meals. So rather than cutting the carbs which is not part of the plan, I just eat them at a higher quantity where they are more effective. I’ve only been trialing this for one week and I can already feel the benefits from my less chaotic blood sugar. My mind feels much more peaceful and I feel satisfied.

Just in case you’re curious, my current macro breakdown is 250 carbs / 140 protein / 55 fat and I am training 6 days per week with a combination of weight lifting, dancing, pole dancing, yoga, 1 session of kettlebell circuit training and walking. Within the next couple of weeks I will add in some HIIT cardio to experiment with my calorie intake.

Do you feel any difference with the time of day you are eating the main bulk of your carbs?

Rowena x

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Should Diabetics Have a Day Off From Carb Counting?

Rowena

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March 1, 2016

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Should Diabetics Have a Day Off From Carb Counting?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W86jiYtR-OM

My first response to this question would be “I wish”. It’s not an easy thing to have to calculate the carb content of every portion of food you put into your mouth whilst making decisions based on several other factors including insulin dose, blood sugar and activity levels. I often joke with my friend about how great it would be to have a day off from carb counting. You know, like on my birthday or something? I wouldn’t have to be so obsessive about calculating insulin or how I spread my carbs throughout the day, it would just happen. Whilst this is a great scenario, it would be difficult to have the full day off because we need to calculate the carbs in the meals and snacks in order to match insulin. So instead of having the day off, we can give ourselves a break from being so concerned about the amount of carbs that are in certain foods.

I’m not referring to everyone who is living with diabetes, but I’ve seen it so many times on instagram, YouTube and in real life. There is almost a fear of eating more than 30 carbs at once. Whilst I think moderation is a good thing I think restriction is bad; it leads to all sorts of weird eating habits such as binge eating and crash dieting. An example of what I mean by carb restriction would be to only eat half of a chocolate bar because you’re afraid that it has too many carbs in. This would be fine if you’re in a caloric deficit and are trying to lose weight, but if you’re not dieting then there is no problem in eating the whole thing providing you bolus for it. Furthermore, I’d also like to point out that before I was diabetic, 70-100 carbs would easily have been a typical meal for me. It wasn’t bad food either, it was stuff like rice, potatoes, lentils and beans etc. During my first year of diabetes, when I was restricting my carb intake, I almost found myself denying the carb content of certain foods unless I weighed them. However, now that my current carb intake is back up to a healthy amount of 260g I am working much better and as long as I am honest with the amount of carbs in the meal I can bolus for the carbs and avoid a hyper.

I’ve learned that it’s actually a good thing to not be so restrictive because that is how I have been able to eat the foods I like whilst learning how to calculate the insulin properly. I remember when I first went onto pump therapy, my diabetes nurse told me that I was still allowed to eat and drink what I wanted and that I shouldn’t change a thing because it will give me the chance to experiment with how to get my insulin right. She went on to tell me of a man who would not give up his Friday night takeaways and because of this he has absolutely nailed his combo bolus for it. Probably not the best example but the practice worked well for him.

I have been feeling very overworked and exhausted lately and through writing this post it has just confirmed that I need a day off. It’s my birthday soon so I may do a continuation of this blog and share all of my food and blood sugars for that day so you can see that it is ok. It might make the carb counting a bit easier for me.

Rowena x

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Why I Follow a Vegetarian Diet

Rowena

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February 23, 2016

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Oftentimes people use animal cruelty as a reason to give up meat and to follow a vegetarian diet. Whilst this reason is strong and extremely valid, it was never my motivation and it still isn’t today. I kind of just fell into it. It wasn’t planned at all and if you’d have told me when I was 17 that I would be a full vegetarian by the age of 20 I would’ve laughed at you. I have no problem with other people eating meat and I would never try to push vegetarianism onto anyone because it is not my place to do so. I can only say why I feel it has made a difference to me.

When I did eat meat, up until the age of about 19, my diet didn’t really contain a whole lot of good nutrition. I ate a lot of processed foods and I don’t remember ever eating any veggies because I had told myself for years that I didn’t really like them. I went through phases as a child of only eating rice pudding or custard, oh and there was a spaghetti hoops on toast phase too. On the rare occasion that I ate something marginally healthy it would’ve been a piece of fruit such as a banana, an apple or an orange. Later on in my teenage years I ate things like chicken nuggets, oven chips, tinned beans, crisp and chocolate. I also ate weekly at McDonalds, Burger King and KFC.

So how did I make the transition from meat eating and poor nutrition to vegetarian with a full nutritious diet? The first indicator towards becoming a veggie was that I didn’t like touching meat in its raw state, it felt creepy to be messing around with a dead animal. It was fine when it was cooked by someone else and I was oblivious to any thoughts relating to its previous state. I enjoyed chicken, lamb, duck etc. So, with this block of not wanting to cook meat and living with my partner who is vegetarian, when I moved out of my parents’ house my meat intake dropped drastically. As time passed throughout the first few months of changing my environment I was only eating meat in restaurants or at friends’ houses who had prepared meat. Eventually, I started to try new foods and I gradually phased out the meat and replaced it with more vegetables and meat free options that I really enjoyed. 7 years down the line I am now eating vegetables with every meal and I am prepared to try new ones as often as possible.

I can’t really give you an exact difference of how I feel now in comparison to how I felt when I was eating meat because I can’t remember, but I can say that I feel good about the food I put into my body and I never have to worry about undercooking food and poisoning myself. (I did this once when I was younger). I rarely crave meat and if I do it is not actual meat that I am thinking about, it’s something a bit more processed like a hotdog or a chicken nugget. It usually passes within minutes and I go on to think about all of the delicious Quorn and meat free products there is available today that are much healthier protein sources for me that I can happily cook for myself.

I think the point of me writing this post is that it is common practice for people to tell themselves “I don’t like this” or “I don’t like that” when they haven’t even tried it. I was one of those people, so unbelievably fussy with a block between healthy food and me. However, when I explored a new environment I was able to open up and experiment and try new things. So I suppose that is the reason why I am sticking to the meat free life. It’s easy and it allows me to eat so much more than I ever did.

Rowena x

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Pump or Injections Pros and Cons

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Rowena

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February 17, 2016

2

When I first changed over from injections to pump therapy, my endo told me that I could go back to injections at any time if I didn’t feel that the pump was right for me. Every so often I wonder what it would be like if I took him up on the offer of going back to injections. How would I manage injections around exercise and eating? Would I have the control I have now? I only really think about it when I’m having a bad time with the pump. Take this week for example, I have literally changed my cannula ten times either because it has been bent or it has been inserted into a site that is no good and has clogged up the cannula with blood. At one point, there was also an air bubbles in the lining, which I struggled to see because of the cloudy texture of the new design from Animas. Combining a few of those errors with the feeling of hyperglycemia is a recipe for a change. I think I have to weigh up the pros and cons.

Injections

Pros

No pump or cannula attached to me.
I would know that insulin has definitely been delivered.
Less to carry around when travelling.

Cons

More injections could potentially be more painful than the once every two days insertion of the cannula from the pump
When I was on injections last time I didn’t feel in control over it at all, but I suppose it was only two weeks.
Less flexibility
Sudden lows from long lasting insulin

Insulin Pump

Pros

Very flexible, I have full control over my basal / bolus as any time of the day.
I’m less likely to ever forget to take it anywhere with me.
I like that it doesn’t look like a needle.
Less injections.
When it is working, I know how to use it quite well when I exercise so fewer hypos and hypers.
The carb / insulin ratio is a very useful setting.
I can take it off for an hour or so each day if I want to.
The fact that the pump stores over 100 units of insulin has really come in handy for lost / stolen baggage.

Cons

Bent cannulas
Draws more attention to diabetes.(But, maybe this could be a pro?)
Attached to me all day every day

Maybe I will still speak to my diabetes team at my next appointment in four weeks. However, I think I already know the answer from seeing my comparisons above. It’s obvious that I should stay on the pump if it is working for me 90% of the time. I’m very grateful for the flexibility, but those days when my BG is high, it’s really hard to see the positive in it. Particularly when I have been doing everything I should be doing; checking my blood sugar, rotating sites and calculating insulin etc.

Do you experience anything similar? Are you on pump or injections? What would you do? Can you tell me the pros and cons for you of either one? I know there are text book benefits, but I prefer to hear real experiences from people who are living with it daily. You can email me on [email protected] or you can reach me on social media; Twitter, Facebook, Instagram.

Rowena x

4 Benefits of Pole Dance for Diabetics

Rowena

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February 10, 2016

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After teaching so much pole dance over the last couple of weeks I have really been able to see what a difference it makes to the people who attend class. Oftentimes people come to class after a hard day or a long week at work and are usually feeling quite tired and unmotivated. However, this soon changes and they end up leaving with a gleaming smile that fills the room. As a teacher I find it amazing to see such a large shift in small space of time. It amazes me and fills me with joy every time I see a beginner climb to the top of the pole or if someone nails a new move that they have been working on. Whilst a happy smiley face is an advantage in itself, pole dancing can offer other benefits including variety of training, psychological and physical wellbeing and boosted self-confidence.

You Can’t Get Bored

One of the number on complaints about sticking to an exercise program is that it gets boring. However, if you’re in the right class for you, you can’t get bored. There is always something new to learn, something to perfect, a trick that could be made to look stronger or higher up on the pole. I will be honest, during my first session, I was thinking to myself “I can’t do this” mainly because I was trying moves that were above my beginner level. However, once I learned some basics and got over the initial “pole hurts” mindset I was hooked. Once I had mastered one move it would lead me to another, then another, and before I knew it bought my own pole and started practicing at home in between classes at the studio. There are studios everywhere around the world who host an array of different classes from flow pole choreography, heels workouts, and beginners, intermediate and advanced level classes so you are bound to stay entertained.

Psychological Wellbeing

Like many other forms of dance and exercise, pole dance has a powerful psychological effect. The fun factor really creates an atmosphere that produces a certain level of comfort that enables participants to be themselves whilst working on something new. The sense of achievement from learning a new move is sure to keep you buzzing for a few hours after class. In fact, without actually knowing it, each time you attend a pole class you are exercising something called achievement motivation. Achievement motivation happens when one constantly push themselves to attain success in any activity for greater success. Despite successes or failures, simply trying makes you stronger. Not just strong on the pole, in all aspects of your life.

Physical Wellbeing

It goes without saying that pole dance is hard, physical activity, however, this is not necessarily a bad thing. In order to create change and to improve, the body to be challenged and pole dance can definitely do that for you. A typical pole dance class will burn around 400 calories per hour which is similar to that of an aerobics class. Furthermore, because your muscles are activated on a more regular basis your posture, flexibility, strength and cardiovascular stamina will all improve. Of course, for us diabetics it has the benefit of increased insulin sensitivity and easier to manage blood glucose levels.

Body Confidence

I remember my first class I was wearing a pair of longer shorts and a t shirt because I was a bit shy. However, after some time I am now confident enough with my own body to be able to spin around in bright lights, in front of other people, wearing hot pants and a sports bra. I see it in other people too. Most beginner’s classes are full of t shirts and long shorts, but as the level goes up the clothes become less. Yes, you need skin to grip the pole as the moves get harder, but I think it also has something to do with how confident we feel as time goes on.

Whilst on the subject of confidence I will always say that pole dance is extremely empowering. Pole dance gets a lot of slack for being overly sexualized, but like I said before I don’t think it’s a bad thing if people want to explore their sexuality through movement with the inclusion of a pole. It’s an exciting experience to get to know your own body so if sexy, stripper pole dance is something you want to do then you should go for it. If not, I assure you that you will still feel empowered if you go to a general pole class.

With a combination of all of the above, who wouldn’t want to pole dance? If you are reading this post and have never given it a go I urge you to try. Don’t say “I’ll go to the gym and build up some strength first” because you have to remember, the pole is your gym so just go and you will build up your strength in class. Pole dance gives you the opportunity to progress at an incredible rate if you commit to it like you would a program at the gym or with a personal trainer. Do it and feel the benefits today. Not just for diabetes control, but for YOU.

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