Student Meal Planners N Tips - Carb Counting On Auto Pilot!

[Littlefootsy]

My son is only 2 yrs diagnosed with diabetes type1 and has just done his 1st yr at unie .( late at 21 due to multiple illness) .... it was hard but he did it and no major health problems. We are very proud of him - regardless of the academic bit. But lots of anxiety along the way.

He is finding it really hard to start the day well ...... he never was a good morning person ... needed a biscuit to kick start his system before he then ate cereals. Now he takes ages to get going .... he feels stressed at facing eating due to the carb counting .. glucose monitoring and injecting , etc .. day after day of more of the same .....as he said ' his life hasn't worked out as he planned'.

So while there other things to help him ... I'm thinking let's start at the basics - eating . . seek ways to make that easier -especially in the morning -then it might oil the wheels a bit better and get the day off to a better start (he is having therapy to gain better perspective as how life has panned out so apart form re-asssure him it will get easier and life will be ok ... the only thing I feel I can do is look at some of the practical stuff ) .

I thought if he could start getting a more meal planner type mentality about his meals - ie a repetoire of meals that he keeps a record of that has all been weighed out and he has the carbs for - then that's one less thing to have to fret about - especially in the mornings - where I suggested he sticks to the same few dishes and so carbs etc .. - just like many of us when we need to be in auto pilot.

Is there a book/site out there that does weekly meal planners where the food is all weighed and carb counted ... or anything that gives easy tips for students with diabetes to help make life easier for them?

E.g mum's get used to main meals without weighing things out - they tell by sight ...... or trusted utensils they know serve up x amount of weight - and no need for getting the scales out ; all sorts of easy no fussing around tips we have learnt over the years s ... ... .
My guess is his struggles are the same as any student away from home ..... like the rest of us they have just got to learn how to feed themselves ..... a realisation that maybe a mum's life in the kitchen has more to it then they ever imagined and now they have do it themselves ..... it takes effort! Nothing to do with diabetes .... just diabetes makes it harder still ... so looking please for any ways of taking the D out of the equation and helping him to see things as an adventure again ... and stop feeling sorry for himself ... which he is right now - he's very unhappy, anxious and lost his confidence.

So I'm thinking let's start at the basics - eating - see what auto pilot type tips can be amassed and tried .... just a few things I think would make all the difference for him ... .

thanks for any ideas!!!

 

[hazedsoundz]

My son is only 2 yrs diagnosed with diabetes type1 and has just done his 1st yr at unie .( late at 21 due to multiple illness) .... it was hard but he did it and no major health problems. We are very proud of him - regardless of the academic bit. But lots of anxiety along the way.

He is finding it really hard to start the day well ...... he never was a good morning person ... needed a biscuit to kick start his system before he then ate cereals. Now he takes ages to get going .... he feels stressed at facing eating due to the carb counting .. glucose monitoring and injecting , etc .. day after day of more of the same .....as he said ' his life hasn't worked out as he planned'.

So while there other things to help him ... I'm thinking let's start at the basics - eating . . seek ways to make that easier -especially in the morning -then it might oil the wheels a bit better and get the day off to a better start (he is having therapy to gain better perspective as how life has panned out so apart form re-asssure him it will get easier and life will be ok ... the only thing I feel I can do is look at some of the practical stuff ) .

I thought if he could start getting a more meal planner type mentality about his meals - ie a repetoire of meals that he keeps a record of that has all been weighed out and he has the carbs for - then that's one less thing to have to fret about - especially in the mornings - where I suggested he sticks to the same few dishes and so carbs etc .. - just like many of us when we need to be in auto pilot.

Is there a book/site out there that does weekly meal planners where the food is all weighed and carb counted ... or anything that gives easy tips for students with diabetes to help make life easier for them?

E.g mum's get used to main meals without weighing things out - they tell by sight ...... or trusted utensils they know serve up x amount of weight - and no need for getting the scales out ; all sorts of easy no fussing around tips we have learnt over the years s ... ... .
My guess is his struggles are the same as any student away from home ..... like the rest of us they have just got to learn how to feed themselves ..... a realisation that maybe a mum's life in the kitchen has more to it then they ever imagined and now they have do it themselves ..... it takes effort! Nothing to do with diabetes .... just diabetes makes it harder still ... so looking please for any ways of taking the D out of the equation and helping him to see things as an adventure again ... and stop feeling sorry for himself ... which he is right now - he's very unhappy, anxious and lost his confidence.

So I'm thinking let's start at the basics - eating - see what auto pilot type tips can be amassed and tried .... just a few things I think would make all the difference for him ... .

thanks for any ideas!!!

Hey I’m a type 1 diabetic who’s leaving Home for uni in a couple weeks and diabetes is a struggle that can hinder mental stability and durability, I’ve had my ups and downs and I’ve learned after having this for two years, exercise in the mornings are essential and make me feel way better plus eating tons of fats, even donuts, the more fat you eat slows the carbs which helps to level sugars so they don’t go too high after eating, thins like bacon in the morning and avoiding bagels really helps. He should do everything he can to be more confident and obtain the mindset of “diabetes is my *****” I am not a prisoner or ***** to diabetes, learning to wrteslw with it and use it to make you a better you is the ultimate solution for me personally,

Hope this helps,

Hazedsoundz

 

[DCUKMod]

My son is only 2 yrs diagnosed with diabetes type1 and has just done his 1st yr at unie .( late at 21 due to multiple illness) .... it was hard but he did it and no major health problems. We are very proud of him - regardless of the academic bit. But lots of anxiety along the way.

He is finding it really hard to start the day well ...... he never was a good morning person ... needed a biscuit to kick start his system before he then ate cereals. Now he takes ages to get going .... he feels stressed at facing eating due to the carb counting .. glucose monitoring and injecting , etc .. day after day of more of the same .....as he said ' his life hasn't worked out as he planned'.

So while there other things to help him ... I'm thinking let's start at the basics - eating . . seek ways to make that easier -especially in the morning -then it might oil the wheels a bit better and get the day off to a better start (he is having therapy to gain better perspective as how life has panned out so apart form re-asssure him it will get easier and life will be ok ... the only thing I feel I can do is look at some of the practical stuff ) .

I thought if he could start getting a more meal planner type mentality about his meals - ie a repetoire of meals that he keeps a record of that has all been weighed out and he has the carbs for - then that's one less thing to have to fret about - especially in the mornings - where I suggested he sticks to the same few dishes and so carbs etc .. - just like many of us when we need to be in auto pilot.

Is there a book/site out there that does weekly meal planners where the food is all weighed and carb counted ... or anything that gives easy tips for students with diabetes to help make life easier for them?

E.g mum's get used to main meals without weighing things out - they tell by sight ...... or trusted utensils they know serve up x amount of weight - and no need for getting the scales out ; all sorts of easy no fussing around tips we have learnt over the years s ... ... .
My guess is his struggles are the same as any student away from home ..... like the rest of us they have just got to learn how to feed themselves ..... a realisation that maybe a mum's life in the kitchen has more to it then they ever imagined and now they have do it themselves ..... it takes effort! Nothing to do with diabetes .... just diabetes makes it harder still ... so looking please for any ways of taking the D out of the equation and helping him to see things as an adventure again ... and stop feeling sorry for himself ... which he is right now - he's very unhappy, anxious and lost his confidence.

So I'm thinking let's start at the basics - eating - see what auto pilot type tips can be amassed and tried .... just a few things I think would make all the difference for him ... .

thanks for any ideas!!!

Hi LittleFootsy - It could be helpful for folks to understand a couple of things, in order to make credible suggestions.

What sort of facilities does your son have? Is he in a shared kitchen, with "secure" food storage? Nothing worse than finiding some other devil has snaffled all your food!
Does he have access to a freezer?
What cooking utensils and appliances does he have?
What is his skill level in the kitchen? Can he cook, or follow a recipe?

 

[NicoleC1971]

Firstly I'd say he doesn't have to test/eat/inject if he isn't a breakfast person. Or he could avoid carbs altogether so that no counting is required and no bolus either though when he is more compus mentus he could check the bg to see how that's going. Can he cook some scrambled eggs or have a fry up minus the beans and bread?!
If he does want to make it easier, the 'Carbs and Cals' app is designed for diabetics so that they can eyeball their food and know the approximate number of carbs.

It also helps to be a creature of babit and stick to similar things of similar quantity.
Some meters will perform the bolus calculation for you if you know roughly how many untis you need per 10g. of carb. It cuts down on the mental maths anyway.

The other 2 things that help are the cgm tech (no finger prickign just a swipe of the arm) if he can get that on prescription or have it paid for by his thoughtful parents? A pump is also a great tool because it allows for more flexibility but he may not be eligible for it. The glucometer that comes with my pump calculates how much insulin I have on board and adjusts any bolus dose I need once I have put in factors like carbs, stress and exercise.

I managed to get through uni with type 1 far away from parents and I wasn't perfect at it by any means. I hope your son has a great final year. He's lucky to have you for support behind the scenes!

 

[Littlefootsy]

Thank you all .. has helped .... he is learning routine helps ... taking longer to put into practise though .... those student nights out beckon .. but he is staying in more ( just hopefully not to go the other way and stay in too much!).

 

[MeganTetley]

Hi! I'm type one myself and in my third year at uni, and I've had a really similar problem. Breakfast is the hardest point in the day for me, but I've found planning in advance what will happen in a morning is really useful as well as something that takes very little prep and can be a bit of a 'grab and go' kind of breakfast.
For something smaller I like to have cereal bars, that way I'm used to the carb value and it takes a lot of stress out of the morning. And can mean getting the day going a little easier, if it becomes a habit it is a lot easier to sort it out.

Hope this helps!