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Music festivals and type 2 - tips needed

V

vaulterrise

Active Member
Messages
25
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Diet only
Hey all,

I'll be going to my first festival as a type 2 this year and, being honest, this diagnosis has really taken the shine off it!

I'm on metformin (2 x 500mg) and I don't know what I can take to eat that's suitable and how I'll manage my drink. I'll be walking and dancing a lot - maybe a good thing?

Previously I ate what I wanted and drank copious amounts of alcohol, but I'll need to reign that in a decent bit now. I'm not a super low carber, on about 100ish grams a day.

It's three days, so more than alcohol management is the food management side for me. Obviously can't take anything chilled or anything that will spoil in heat. Also not sure I can survive on Keto bars and Huel for 3 days.

Any and all tips welcome!
 
Hi @vaulterrise, can't you get something like burgers there? Just have to ask for them without the bun and fries.
For things you take to eat, nuts will certainly keep for weeks. Bottles/jars of Olives have very long use by dates, but need to be used up that day when opened , deli meats should keep long enough until pack is opened, boiled eggs (in shell0 should be OK (unless bought too far in advance, some hard cheeses will keep OK for days without refrigeration.

As a Type 2 on oral tablets, unless they are likely to cause hypos, you don't need to worry about alcohol too much in the short term, since it tend to lower BG spikes and spread them out over a much longer period so the total BG may be higher, but the maximum spike is lower. The best alcohols are spirits (with low calorie mixer), dry white wine, most red wines(since they are usually higher alcohol and so lower in grape sugars). Beers are tricky because there are only a few which are low calorie (which is what you want) versus low Alcohol (which really doesn't help much apart from the fatty liver aspect).

Whatever you do, have a great time!
 
Thanks @ianf0ster

I should have mentioned I'm veggie too! I think I'm just going to have to look for salads, maybe some halloumi fries or something. Also, maybe I'll just have to have something bad a couple of times and write it off.

It's largely out of my control and I don't want to be the mate who stays at home because they're diabetic. Appreciate your suggestions, I'll just have to find a way to eat something substantial. It may be that some of the options, even if they're high carb, won't have as much of an effect as I'll be on my feet all day and moving - could cancel out the rise?
 
How have you been eating to manage your diabetes typically?

Being vegetarian really limits low carb options in the real world let alone at a festival/event which is carb fest galore. That said though there are usually a lot more meat free options these days. try and focus on those with lots of cheeses, beans, lentils veg (curries, chillis) etc and less on the potato bread rice pasta ones.

Ask for more of any veg/salad accompaniment if not taking the potato etc ones. Many places are surprisingly accommodating. Take a fork and spoon (spork?) so you can eat the contents without needing the bread, ask for a bowl maybe even if it’s usually for a different option.

It’s a few days. Do the best you can and make a determined effort to get back to normal asap afterwards to avoid the slippery slope
 
I've been eating fewer carbs, monitoring with a Libre 2 and generally just being aware of what causes a prolonged spike so I can avoid in future.

I was diagnosed less than two weeks ago so it's all pretty new.

Thanks for the advice, think it'll be a case of what you say - going for the least worst option and getting right back on it at home. I travel quite a lot for work and I have family in the US (and I'll be going twice this year) so I'll just have to get used to being the odd one out.

Apart from not being able to eat so much food that I love (and already being restricted by being veggie, which I'm not willing to give up unless it becomes unworkable) the social alienation is my biggest sadness. There's no way to package that either - but it is what it is.
 
It’ll get easier as you learn and get used to what a plate of good food now looks like. If others think it’s odd that’s on them. You don’t need to give up socialising, just do it a bit differently. Eg be willing to ask for variations and to spot the best options. I will often mix starters and side to create a main or ask for items on one dish to be placed as replacements for carby stuff on mine, usually veg, salad, eggs or cheese. It’s all,on the menu somewhere so it’s in the kitchen anyway. The USA has both the best options and the worst for lowering carbs. Depends what your specific destination is. They are however reportedly great at trying to keep the customer happy. Remember to ask yourself if the food you love is loving you back or if it’s an abusive relationship
 
Tbh, I feel like 10 days in I've adapted quite well and accepted this. I cried solidly for two days and then moved on.

Good tip on combining starters and sides. I was going to have an Indian takeaway this weekend and thought of doing that.

I'll be going to South Carolina and Denver. South Carolina is pretty awful for veggie stuff so veggie plus low carb will be interesting. Big salads. Denver maybe a bit easier but I've never been.

I'd love to stay veggie because it's an ethical choice for me, but if I get to the end of one year as a diabetic and find it's incompatible I'll have to make a hard decision - even if it's just allowing myself the flexibility when eating out and not having another option.

What has been interesting over the last 10 days is experimenting. Last night I ate 35g carbs at dinner - mostly from red lentil pasta. That spiked me and I couldn't get down below 7.8 for 3 hours. Today I tried the same amount of carbs, this time having half a wholemeal wrap and a big bag of quavers - got back down to the 6's, where I started, two hours later. I ate a salad first this time, so there could be some truth in that Glucose Goddess stuff too. Who knows.

Maybe if I can get myself out of being obese and into a normal weight range I'll be in an even better spot.
 
Is 7.8 after 3 hours a disaster? Im still learning myself but taht sounds ok to me, someone will come here shortly and clarify...

How much weight do you need to loose? Everyoen talks about weight is the key to remisison so i am trying that too...
 
HSSS said:
Being vegetarian really limits low carb options in the real world ...
Click to expand...
I see this comment too often.
I primarily eat a vegetarian diet (occasionally I eat fish) and whilst I do not focus on a low carb diet, I know there are many many options available from tofu to nuts to seitan to eggs to cheese to ...
In the same way as you can eat a meat curry and not eat the rice, yo can eat a paneer curry and not eat the rice.
In the same way as you can eat a meat burger and not the bun, you can eat a veggie burger without the bun.
In the same way as you can eat fish and chips without the chips, you can eat seitan
In the same way that a meat stir fry can be low carb, so can a stir fry with tofu
The classic full fat greek yoghurt and berry for brekfast is vegetarian
A snack of olives is vegetarian
...

It is a long time since I last went to a music festival but I know vegetarian options are much more prevalent now that when I did.
 
The difference is often exactly what doesn’t apply to you. Low carb. Many of the veggie options you’d choose are a lot higher in carbs than their meat equivalent eg veggie burgers. My other half is veggie and I regularly consider his options v mine. Whilst veggie options are so much wider now than when I watched my veggie father struggle in the 70’s 80’ and even 90’s the carb value of those choices are a lot higher than mine. If you turn out to be the sort that can cope with quite a lot of carbs it’s more manageable. If like me you need to keep them really low much more difficult.

How widely available is seitan? I’ve never seen it on a menu. Rarely seen tofu and even paneer is unusual. Many options being covered in carbs too. Most veggie dishes outside of home are focussed heavily on the rice and pasta or potatoes.

So I stick by what I say. Yes it’s doable but it is a lot more restrictive, particularly outside of the home. Vegan I’d suggest is really hard without the eggs and cheese options etc.
 
I regularly buy seitan, tofu and paneer.
I agree seitan is less readily available but tofu is an option in all Chinese and Thai restaurants and paneer is available in all Indian restaurants I visit.
I know there are parts of menus that I don't look at and am sure the same is true for others. For example, if you do not eat fish, you probably have little idea if sea bass is common in Thai restaurants.
As for veggie burgers having more carbs than meat ones, in the past this was true but now the meat substitute is usually very low carb.
The veggie sausages I favour maybe high carb than 95% meat ones but at least than 5g per veggie sausage, I do not consider them high carb.
Veggie meals in Italian restaurants tend to be high carb (e.g. pasta, pizza and risotto) but I rarely visit them when there are more interesting options like Nepalese and Lebanese and Vietnamese. And that's without considering the common Indian, Chinese and Thai
I confess I live in a city but it is small and not very cosmopolitan.
Just like many who eat low carb, many who eat vegetarian look outside the usual box
 
I do look as my husband is mostly veggie (with a little fish eating). And my comments were mostly directed at eating out rare than home cooking which does indeed give you a lot more freedom and option.

. Ah you’re talking the fake meat ultra processed junk burgers rather than those made of actual veg or beans etc. we don’t do those anyway so perhaps they are low carb.

You seem to have wider option in your area than we do around here. I’m not anti veggie, though I’ll admit I don’t think it’s a great option for a type 2 managing by low carb without junk especially if eating outside the home. My opinion. Yours is different.
 
Alcohol has more or less sorted itself for me. Once my bg numbers were much lowered I found I just can't drink like I used to. 1 is plenty, 2 is often too much. 3 and I'm incoherent /asleep/embarrassing so binges are out of the question, but at least my wallet is happier.
I get by in social situations by watering down what I'm having. A white wine starts with a splash of soda wated that then get continually topped up with more soda water until it is 100% water. No one else notices . I still have fun!
Some no or low alcohol beers can be quite pleasant but do check what they do to your bg.
And watch for alcohol casting all self control aside. 3 or 4 days totally off the wagon may take weeks of hard work to eradicate and aren't really worth it
 
I’m not a huge drinker at all, but I’ve been known to partake in the occasional sesh. My plan for this fest is to limit beer, stick to spirits and just not take the p*ss basically. I’ll be monitoring myself and not being daft while still enjoying a few drinks in the sun.

Interesting that your tolerance dropped when your BG did. I suppose when your levels are lower a couple of drinks can really bring them to the floor.
 
vaulterrise said:
Interesting that your tolerance dropped when your BG did. I suppose when your levels are lower a couple of drinks can really bring them to the floor.
Click to expand...
I think there was a lot of truth in the old tales of lining the stomach before a session, especially with carbs. Carbs must soak up or delay the effects of alcohol.
However eating carbs plus the carbs and calories in the alcohol are a heavy carb assault when put together.

Now I'm low carb, it goes straight to my blood and I get drunk very very quickly. To me the carbs aren't worth it, I'm trying to preserve my eye sight. I do still enjoy a single diluted drink of an evening tho! Moderation can be quite pleasant
 
Re. alcohol - I'm a really cheap date these days. One drink is enough! So I choose top quality and sip slowwwly.
 
Does soda water have bubbles in it? Bubbles can increase the rate at which you become intoxicated
 
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