To test over Christmas or not?

MrsA2

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Diagnosed 8 months ago and I've been pretty strict lc.
I am relaxing my low carb a little bit over Christmas, the odd proper chocolate, drink, nibble etc.
My dilemma is do I go back to regular testing and see how much damage I am doing and ruin the Christmas feeling, or do I not test and run the risk of falling off the wagon totally and letting the cravings and carbs creep back in?
 
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JoKalsbeek

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Diagnosed 8 months ago and I've been pretty strict lc.
I am relaxing my low carb a little bit over Christmas, the odd proper chocolate, drink, nibble etc.
My dilemma is do I go back to regular testing and see how much damage I am doing and ruin the Christmas feeling, or do I not test and run the risk of falling off the wagon totally and letting the cravings and carbs creep back in?
Just keep a meter around and wing it. If you feel off after something, test. If you feel it'll ruin the mood, fine... But just have it around, in case you need it. And should you feel fallenoffthewagonish after Christmas, start testing often to help you get back on track. Basically though; go with your gut. The holidays are weird enough as they are this year, so you get to cut yourself a break if you want to. Besides, quite a few people relax their diet this time of year. You wouldn't be the only one.
 

Goonergal

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My first Christmas post diagnosis (a few weeks in) I didn’t even have a meter. I went for ‘eat what you feel like on Xmas day’ and stick to plan the rest of the time. The second year, I stayed lc, but just ate more. Tested just at the end of the day and then started back testing on Boxing Day.

Personally I think it’s good to have a sense of what’s happened - if you’re making conscious decisions about what you eat, it might be interesting to see the response.

Only you know what’ll most likely allow you to relax a bit without going totally off piste. You might be surprised at how you react taste-wise to old favourites - took my brain a long time to catch up with my taste buds!
 

hankjam

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Diagnosed 8 months ago and I've been pretty strict lc.
I am relaxing my low carb a little bit over Christmas, the odd proper chocolate, drink, nibble etc.
My dilemma is do I go back to regular testing and see how much damage I am doing and ruin the Christmas feeling, or do I not test and run the risk of falling off the wagon totally and letting the cravings and carbs creep back in?

I'm like you, going to carb a bit, make some amaretti today, almonds and sugar with stem ginger and orange zest.... sensational with an expresso coffee.... it doesn't happen often...
but I will test and it will go down in the record.
 
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Mrs T 123

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I do relax my rules for eating a bit on special occasions but not too much just a little and yes I do still test - just to keep myself on the straight and narrow. An example today was I had a very little piece of christmas pudding with some cream (probably 15 carbs) but I had it just after steak and salad which I know wouldn't really affect my BS as it usually goes down after eating a steak and just salad. Again, I confess to having a very small bag of Thorntons chocolates (treat to myself over the festive season) which I will have over the next 2/3 weeks and most probably will have just 1 (about 5 carbs) after a lowish carb meal - it doesn't affect me if I eat it with other food but that's just me I know what I can/can not get away with now just through testing over the years. Unfortunately, I could never have say half a box of chocolates nowadays which I probably would have at christmas pre the big D but the odd 1 or 2 now and then doesn't really affect me. I limit myself to 1 slice of pizza and I am fine. Same as with birthdays I can have a small slice of cake but as I say just occasionally not every week/month etc. for small treats. We are all different so if you test you will get to know what you can/cannot get away with. I seem to be ok if I am good possibly 90% of the time and not too bad the rest of the time.

Once the "special occasion" is over - I am straight back on the wagon and for me if I have a little of what I fancy occasionally it is a lot better for me personally than not having it at all and I think that is what keeps me going with the low carb eating plan long term but everyone is different.
 
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Geordie_P

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If I eat something carby, then my blood will go up to double figures, but if I do a good hard walk afterwards, it doesn't go up much, so although it's a bit of a chore, I've done it where I have some birthday cake with my kids, then I go out and blast my way up the flights of stairs outside my home, and my numbers have been good. I think some middle ground might work, where you eat some treats on Christmas day, but try to go for a bracing walk after lunch (if things aren't all shut down over there).
 
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Maco

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Honestly for me, I’ll be eating what I want when I want. Absolutely no barriers at all, I mean it’s Christmas. Comes round once a year. I’ll be giving myself a full week of eating & drinking what I want from Xmas eve through until the 2nd of jan. Typically after that I go to the gym 6 times a week and eat around 1500 calories a day. I’m type 1 so slightly different I suppose and aslong as I roughly keep on top of my carb count I shouldn’t be too bad. But to answer your question yeah I’ll definitely be testing
 
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Daphne917

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Although I tend to test my FBS most days I only test intermittently during the day - usually to see if my reaction to more carby foods such as pasta and jacket potatoes is the same as usual or if I have something particularly carby which I don’t normally eat and the next week or so will be no different.
 
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WackyJacky64

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I'm eating what I want and will still test , I've eaten pretty much what I have wanted for months now and still get readings 7 or under two hours after food .
Look at the year we've had with restrictions and such , just relax and enjoy yourself .
Just to add , I do eat what I want but my portions much smaller so maybe that's why I get the normal readings .
 
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DCUKMod

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@MrsA2 - I'm a great believer that "it is what it is", coupled with "Knowledge is power".

Whilst nobody wants to see a big number on their meter, it's information, and you decide what, if anything, to do with that information. It is likely after a period of low carbing, and weight loss that your body may be able to cope with more than you think - at least in the shorter term.

If you see BIG numbers, then you maybe know you have to think if you could reduce quantities next time (or leave it to one side), or many folks report that their previously delicious treats are just overwhelmingly sweet, stodgy or whatever. That coupled with a meter reading just helps evaluate whether you want it in your life.

I wouldn't condone making the testing a big thing, just a discreet stab and go. You don't even have to think about the numbers in real time. You could just record the data then review a few days later.

Having been low carbing about 7 years now, and having wrangled my bloods into a generally decent place, I don't test as much as I did closer to diagnosis, but I do still test - particularly on these dietary odd days.

Sometimes I find myself looking at my meter screen through one almost closed eye, expecting a shocker, but I'd rather know than not.

Whatever you decide, it's something you have to be comfortable with. Every year, we have those who manage to stick to their ways of eating like glue, and others who throw caution to the wind for a few days. Sadly, we also always have a few who seem to disappear for a while, having wandered off the reservation, to return a few weeks, or months later, having reawakened all their cravings and in some cases addictions.

Only you will know where you are on the cravings spectrum, and whether one is enough. My OH has a far better off switch than me, although mine is better than it used to be. Clearly he helps me, just by being himself, in that he'll do what he does and I'll think if x is enough for MrB, it really should be for me.

He had his first mince pie of the season on Saturday, and declared it just too sweet.

During lockdown #1, I did a few "Afternoon Tea from Me" for folks around me who were shielding or heavyweight isolating. I may just bake a few scones, knock up a bit of jam, and brew some clotted ream, add a mincepie or two and offload the balance mincepies, which I know he won't bother with.
 
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Pipp

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The only thing that would concern me about relaxing the testing and eating regime, is that the carb foods for me could trigger a carb craving after living low carb for a good while after. So Christmas wouldn’t be just the one day, could extend to a month or more. Once I put the meter away, it tends to stay away. My regime will be to test as usual. Eat pretty much as usual, but with the dinner plate having more of the meat and veg than the spuds. A decent cheese board for dessrt, and a glass or two of red wine. I can do without the cakes, puds and mince pies, but there will be cream, nuts and dark chocolate to make truffles should the mood take me that way.
The lack of socialising, and having no house guests will make it simpler to stick with the programme.
 
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Ronancastled

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One thing to note about the whole <7.8(140) @ 2 hours mantra is that it's based on the 75g OGTT where you chug back a 300ml syrupy solution in about a minute.
Normal eating is played out over a much longer timeframe, especially at Christmas.
Measuring 2 hours after the first bite might be only 1 hour after you've put back the Baileys Cheescake, so you might be catching the carbiest element of the meal at it's highest point.
Non diabetics will have elevated blood glucose for hours as evidenced by CGM data, previous to this we only relied on OGTT profiles or set small meals.
Don't be too hard on yourself, especially thsi time of the year.

I was out for a family meal yesterday, before the restaurants shut down again.
Had salad starter with soda bread, burger & chips main and biscuit cake desert washed down with 3 pints of Carlsberg.
Measured 2 hours after last bite & got a 5.8(104) which made me happy.
 
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Bluetit1802

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This will be my 7th Christmas since diagnosis, and on each one I have relaxed the carbs, eaten a mince pie, proper chocolates, roast spuds, even a strawberry meringue once or twice. I test my fasting when I get up Christmas morning, and test again at bedtime, then continue normal testing from Boxing Day. At other times the meter stays in the drawer.

We are all different, and for the majority of us, this particular Christmas is also very different.
 
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Brunneria

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My suggestion is to go with whatever you feel you WANT to do.

But please give yourself a firm End Date for the Xmas Snaffling.
Every year we get people who go the 'just one won't hurt' route, or the 'whatever I want on Xmas Day', and then they disappear from the forum for weeks or months, and only emerge from the carb craving stupor in March, reappear and start posting again.

It is a v slippery slope!

Personally, I am rather lucky - excess carbs make me feel so ill that I have very little motivation to lose my precious time off work in a zombified state of brain fog sprawled on the sofa, drunk on sugar. :)
 
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Mr_Pot

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Now in my 5th year of low carb I don't test very often anyway, so that won't change. The advantage of only being moderately low carb, about 80g a day, is that I can keep to the same diet over Xmas without feeling deprived. I might drink more though! :)
 

KK123

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Honestly for me, I’ll be eating what I want when I want. Absolutely no barriers at all, I mean it’s Christmas. Comes round once a year. I’ll be giving myself a full week of eating & drinking what I want from Xmas eve through until the 2nd of jan. Typically after that I go to the gym 6 times a week and eat around 1500 calories a day. I’m type 1 so slightly different I suppose and aslong as I roughly keep on top of my carb count I shouldn’t be too bad. But to answer your question yeah I’ll definitely be testing

I'm similar to you (in that I'll indulge more than usual) but I think this post is more to do with type 2 rather than those on insulin which is massively different in terms of do you have the means to quickly bring your levels in line. We HAVE to test whether we like it or not so that's one thing but if I was a type 2 I would be worried about sitting over Xmas NOT knowing whether I was sitting there with high glucose levels, with no real or speedy way to get them back down. To answer the post though, I would have a few extra treats here and there but would always test to see that my levels were within reason, (maybe over any normal target but within reason).
 
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Rachox

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This will be my 4th low carb Xmas. I will do a fasting test on Xmas day, and will check before bed like Bluetit. I will have Xmas lunch along the same lines as a Sunday roast, plenty of meat and veg and one small roast potato, which I know I can tolerate. I have stocked up with low carb treats so when everyone else is in a carb coma having eaten chocolates, mince pies and Xmas pudding, I’ll be wide awake after my DGF Christmas pudding cake with brandy cream!
 
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LaoDan

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Not going to test, I’m only going to have a chocolate Santa and eggnog though
 

KK123

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This will be my 4th low carb Xmas. I will do a fasting test on Xmas day, and will check before bed like Bluetit. I will have Xmas lunch along the same lines as a Sunday roast, plenty of meat and veg and one small roast potato, which I know I can tolerate. I have stocked up with low carb treats so when everyone else is in a carb coma having eaten chocolates, mince pies and Xmas pudding, I’ll be wide awake after my DGF Christmas pudding cake with brandy cream!

Ah Rachox, are you that person dragging us all off the sofa to play charades???? x
 

WackyJacky64

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I will be having Christmas dinner at my son's I'm not a big potato eater never have been , and i shall have some chocolate cake and custard, and i must have some dinky chocolate snowmen that my grandson makes, I don't drink alcohol so I don't expect to have high numbers after dinner .
I'm planning on a health regime after Christmas , starting some workout and even yoga, i already walk lots during the day so wont add to that .
I think its good to let yourself go it is only once a year :)