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Prediabetes Do you find managing blood sugar takes a lot of effort?

Digger-i-doo

Well-Known Member
Messages
62
Location
Montreal, Canada
Type of diabetes
Prediabetes
Treatment type
Diet only
Hi there,

This is my first post but I've been lurking for a while. Last year my doctor advised me that I'm pre diabetic, and to cut down on the carbs and sugar, and get more exercise. So ok, fine. I did my research and ditched most takeout and processed foods, have been doing LCHF successfully, forced myself to start kickboxing circuit training in addition to a power yoga class here and there, walking, and (once the snow melts) cycling. I'm enjoying my food, I feel good, and my blood sugar levels are pretty much back in the normal range (fasting blood levels have all been below 5.0 for the past 5 days!)

So what's the problem? Doing all this takes up pretty much all of my free time! I work at a great job that requires about 2.5 to 3 hours commuting a day (about 1 hour and fifteen minutes each way, door to door). Since I'm trying to exercise after work most days, I don't get home until 7:00 or 8:00. To avoid having to then cook when I get home, I spend my weekends prepping food for the week. It all works and I'm eating better than ever and enjoying my food. And I even have the hint of abdominal muscles starting to show through, which is pretty cool given that I'm a middle aged lady (43 is middle aged, right?). But I feel like this is my whole life now. I don't have lazy weekends anymore. I'd like to plan a weekend away, but then ... I won't have time to make my food for the week and then what? I'd have to buy pre-made stuff? Or skip exercise? I guess I should get myself a dedicated freezer so I can start cooking in larger batches. Sigh. Everything requires SO MUCH PLANNING now.

I tend to get frustrated on Sundays. This when I get fed up and feel like I haven't had enough fun because I've spent so much damned time ricing cauliflower and shredding kale and making mason jar salads and preparing low-carb baked goods and doing household chores and blah blah blah. Also, I'm feeling guilty because I skipped my yoga class because I felt like my to-do list was too long and I get tired of feeling rushed. I rush enough as it is during the week. Rush to catch the commuter train, rush to the office, rush through my daily tasks, rush to get the train home, rush to the gym, rush home and get my food together because it's already getting late and eating late is bad, then try not to stay up too late otherwise getting up the next day will be a chore ... ARGH!

I'm hoping that I'll get the hang of all this and that I'll get more efficient and better at managing all this. Right?! Please tell me it gets easier! Or maybe this is just life and I should stop complaining and focus on the fact that I'm healthy.

Bleurgh.
 
It does take effort to have good control, and we all have times where we think eugh I can't be bothered with this.. But it's so worth it
 
Hi @Digger-i-doo! 43 isn't middle aged these days. 60 is the new 40, so I'm middle aged not old! But I am glad I'm retired as I have so much more time to find and cook suitable food, I think it would have been a lot more difficult if I had been diabetic when I was working - and having to eat at work.
Even so I am planning to replace my old fridge freezer and get one with more freezer space so I can cook and freeze individual portions.
One thing you might want to think about if it is possible, is to get off your train before your usual stop for work and walk in the last 2-3 miles. I used to do that when I was working, it only added another 20-30 minutes to my commute. If I travelled all the way on underground and buses I had to allow an hour, as I was dependent on the vagaries of delayed trains and traffic disruption. when I got off the train a few stops before the nearest one to work I had to allow 1 hour and 20 minutes. So I got an hour's pleasant walking exercise for the additional time cost of 20 minutes. It was easier for me than setting separate time aside for exercise or going to the gym.
 
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Some of what you decide I would term an investment in myself. When I am home alone, with my OH, who is our main cook away, which can be several weeks at a time, I don't find myself completely absorbed in food prep.

I do like cauli rice from time to time, but to be honest it takes moments in the food processor, then the bits can go in the dishwasher if I don't want to hand wash. If you find things are labour intensive, then you could try to Google "quick whatever". There are some very inventive ways out there.

Others may find differently of course.
 
I also have a commute that is about the same time. What I do is get up an hour earlier and do my exercise on my treadmill/rowing machine/bike before I shower/breakfast/go to work, but then I have always been an early bird
 

I hear you about getting off one stop early, and it's a good idea in theory. But it would take over an hour to walk to work if I did (as opposed to my current 15 to 20 minute walk). Which would mean getting up earlier than I already do, and I'm just not ready for that yet (5:45 is early enough for my non-morning-person self). However, in about a month from now the community bike rental service will be up and running again. This means bike stations popping up around the downtown core. For the last couple of years I've been getting off one stop early and biking the rest of the way, making for a nice 20 to 25 minute bike ride 2x a day. I discovered late last fall that there's a bike station at the next stop too. Even if I don't have time to get off two stops early in the morning, I can make time on the way home to bike to the third station along my route, making for a good 45 minute bike ride after work, and 25 minutes on my way there. Now if spring would only just hurry up and get here ...

I think I'm also sick of winter. I'm in Canada and while this year hasn't been as bad as the last two years, it's still draining. I look forward to going out without boots and coats and mittens and scarves, carrying bags of food to work through the snow. Maybe I should just haul it all on a sled or something. I'll bet that would be be GREAT exercise!
 

Yes, true. I'm giving in to my inner whiner too much. There are lots of quick recipes out there that I'm trying. But I think when I'm trying to learn how to do something new it takes me longer because I'm referring to the recipe and being more deliberate about it. I'm looking forward to a time when I have a repertoire of recipes that I can make in my sleep. And then shove everything in the dishwasher! ;-)
 
Andrew Colvin said:
I also have a commute that is about the same time. What I do is get up an hour earlier and do my exercise on my treadmill/rowing machine/bike before I shower/breakfast/go to work, but then I have always been an early bird
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You are more disciplined than I am! Then again, I'm getting more organized and disciplined as I go. Five years ago I may not have recognized the person I am now.
 

Please don't think I was telling you off. Of course things take longer to begin with, but it doesn't take long before a certain amount of winging it can safely happen.
 
I find I'm taking a "lazy" way out, more often than not. I'll toss together a salad of veggies and call that lunch or dinner. Or I'll grill a veggie burger and dress it without the bun and eat it with a knife and fork.

I used to spend so much time and thought in what I ate - and I think that was a huge part of the problem for me. I always saw a meal as an experience or treat rather than just simple fuel.

I can't imagine ricing cauliflower or other tedious things like that. I would rather simply go without a rice substitute.

Also, on days where I don't feel like working out, I'll call up a good friend I can have a long conversation with, and clean the house simultaneously. Full clean - washrooms, kitchen, etc. That way I'm still moving quite a bit, but I'm distracted while on the phone so it's not boring.

Exercise classes are also great. I know I'll be getting an hour workout whether I want to or not.
 
Hi @Digger-i-doo

Welcome to the forum. Perhaps find a few simple slap together snacks and try buying the occasional lunch from somewhere near work. You can always try and test to broaden your choices.
 
Whatever anybody is doing needs to be sustainable - not just for a few months, but for years.
So if there is any risk that your new regime is going to crumble (like my gym membership, uber strict diets and exercise regimes have ALWAYS crumbled) then I would start thinking now about more sustainable options.

There are a couple of books I saw on Amazon a while back - sorry can't give you the titles - which gave ways of cooking, storing and freezing a full 28 days worth of fresh home cooked food (for a family) - by spending only one day a month cooking.

Blew me away! What a brilliant idea, eh? Of course, you might have to invest in a bigger freezer...
 
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Hi, for me avoiding carbs takes a lot of planning. I don't know whether it takes up any more of my time because I've always been someone who thinks about food a lot (what to make, what to buy, who sells the nicest produce, etc.). These days I have to think outside the box a bit more and it's generally ok apart from times of stress, which is when it risks being overwhelming.

What is good is to have a repertoire of LC "quick wins" for when you don't have a lot of time (bacon and eggs, omelette, salad, frozen berries and cream, steak and salad, fish and salad or make up platters from leftovers, e.g. a few olives, a bit of feta, a bit of jarred pickled pepper, salami, etc.

I'll be honest and add that I work from home and so sometimes have a lot more time in which to do things (but I do also have to do very long days, it all depends on workload). I think it gets easier with time, though. More freezer space is always a good thing, too!

Is it necessary to exercise every day? Not a criticism, just curious. Maybe you could try every other day? Might free up a bit of extra time for you and make your life easier.
 
I found initially managing my diabetes and diet was definitely a lot of effort while I was learning, but then so can learning everything new! But having cut out all high carb foods, my diet is basically much as it was before, and apart from some low carb baking, I certainly don't bother with any fiddly or fancy alternatives. Decent well prepared/cooked low carb meals don't have to be a long winded chore.

I do very little exercise now other than housework, but that's because I'm enjoying a pretty lazy old age. But I've reduced my glucose levels down to lowish pre-diabetic levels by permanently altering my diet, and it's very little extra effort now to keep them there.

The best advice I can give is to be certain that any changes you make can be sustained long term, since you are really making new lifestyle choices now for the sake of your future health. So good luck - and be a little patient and you'll find it will all go smoothly!

Robbity
 

My mother, from whom I inherited my blood sugar issues, has often proclaimed "I eat to live. I don't live to eat." In this respect the apple rolled away from the tree a bit. I do kind of live to eat, actually. I may yet break and start approaching food primarily as fuel rather than ... well, a way to treat myself three (or four, or five ...) times a day. When I first got the diagnosis I was so upset and depressed, thinking that I wouldn't enjoy eating very much anymore. And then I got angry and thought "No. This can't be it." I did a lot of research and a lot of experimentation and have had some hits and plenty of misses. It's been time consuming and there are lots of times when I think that I'm being crazy investing so much time, energy, and money into what I eat. But there have to be limits, right? And it's good to be reminded that not everything has to be a production. A massive bowl of salad does indeed make for an excellent meal.
 

This: "[...] I've always been someone who thinks about food a lot (what to make, what to buy, who sells the nicest produce, etc.)"

Yup, yup, and yup. I start thinking about next week's menu around Wednesday the week before (craaayyy-zeee). Making lists of what I'll need from where so I can start assembling things so that I'm ready to start production on Saturday morning.

And yes to quick wins. I forget about those sometimes when I spend too much time perusing low-carb food blogs ("OMG that looks amazing!"). If I take a moment to think about it, there are reasonable ready-made options out there that I can pick up if (gasp!) I actually went away for a weekend and didn't set foot in the kitchen.

I'm also working out where I can make room to put a dedicated freezer. That is absolutely going to happen.
 

Sustainability is key. What I was doing for a while is not sustainable and I know it. I'm looking for ways to address this. Working from home once a week so I can spend the time I would have spent commuting on something to make life easier. Buying a freezer (as soon as we figure out where we can make room for it). Finding faster and easier things to make. Becoming a better, more confident cook/baker.
 

I was not much of a cook before this. I'm much improved, but I'm still suffering from a lack of experience and it can make for a plodding pace. I had to change my diet completely, because a lot of what I was eating before was high-carb. I've figured out workarounds for everything except maple syrup. O Maple Syrup ... how I miss you. :-(
 
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