The first Easter (or other seasonal food-related holidays) as a diabetic

[Adm_Mad]

I was only diagnosed as a type 2 diabetic last week, so I knew Easter would be rough, LOL. I am being especially strict because I want to keep my BG as good as possible for my appointment with my GP on Tuesday.

It's Thursday morning here in Australia and management have laid out the usual Easter morning tea of warmed hot cross buns (both fruit and chocolate varieties!) and butter, as well as a couple of giant novelty chocolate bunnies for anyone to break a piece off if they want. Literally the only two people in the office who aren't party who aren't partaking are me and the very skinny lady who runs marathons and eats a salad for lunch every day. Someone came to my desk with a bun (they thought I was too busy to come to the table) and I politely refused, and they pressed again, and I refused again.

I'm meeting friends for drinks on Saturday night and I know what zero sugar alcoholic drinks I can have, and am banking some calories so I can imbibe (responsibly obviously!) and not feel totally deprived. Easter Sunday lunch with the family is going to be rough, when I get pressured to eat potato gratin, bread, hot cross buns, chocolate, I might say I've had an upset tummy and don't want to eat much.

So I guess this is a solidarity/sharing thread for any new diabetics who need a space to vent and LOL in, and hopefully not succumb to temptation on this very carby holiday.

 

[Jaylee]

Hi,

The places I work. There are cakes & doughnuts on offer.
It's how it goes. Just a little "ray of light" in an industrial environment.

How I handle it. Have you ever read the book "Flowers in the attic.?"The step mom in the story tried to poison the kids, disguising it in cakes.
In the book, the scheme was discovered when the boy gave a bit of cake to a pet mouse & it promptly died? The kids were both ill at this point.

Now I'm not saying employers & managment are poisoning our cake. Far from it.
But I "suspect" they maybe laced with amphetamines to increase productivity.. That's my excuse. I just get left alone on my choice to decline..

 

[Deleted member 308541]

At the last place I worked at in the meat industry, we used to cook up hocks ,trotters, and the corned beef off cuts. After work we used to get stuck into the beer normally 2 x 45 litre kegs, the boss used to shout both at easter and xmas. This was enjoyed buy all of the staff form the other shops he owned, the odd out sider used to wander and have a beer and feed.

When I worked at the mines, no chance of that you had your ten minute smoko and back to work, lunch break was a paid thirty minute break with no set time for it so you did not have time to eat a big feed. At the end of the shift straight home or to the pub.

 

[Adm_Mad]

@Jaylee I have definitely not read the entire Dollenganger Saga series, they were definitely not a formative part of my tweenhood. I have absolutely not seen all the terrible Lifetime movies from a few years ago either.

 

[Debandez]

This link may help. Good luck!

https://www.diagnosisdiet.com/20-low-carb-tips/

 

[Diakat]

I thought Australia didn’t encourage choc bunnies because of rabbit history there. Say you are making an ecologically sound move by binning them?

 

[lovinglife]

Well done for resisting! - you will get through it - I find if I don't "announce" my food choices and just quietly get on with what I'm eating everybody is too busy stuffing their faces and enjoying themselves to notice what little old me is doing.

If I'm pushed at a get together I say something like - that cake looks really good but I'm stuffed after that delicious whatever you made - maybe have a bit later. If they do me a "take home plate" I "accidentally" forget it because I put it down to put my coat on/find my shoes, bag

 

[KK123]

Hi Adm, If I were you I would just say to people 'Not for me thanks, I'm under Drs orders whilst some blood tests are being done' or something like that. You don't have to give any explanation of course but with it being the first few weeks people will wonder why you are suddenly refusing goodies (if you partook in the first place obviously). Have you told your family what is going on?, will they really pressure you to eat those things if they know you have just been diagnosed and are worried? After a while you will settle down and get into the routine that you want and a 'diet' that you want to follow. It's all very new and you will probably find all those well meaning people do not have a clue about carbs and how it affects glucose levels, etc. I would not make a big deal of it to people right now as YOU are still processing it yourself, as I say your colleagues will just say 'Oh' and eat the buns themselves I suspect and your family will simply be concerned. Personally when someone (at work, not family) offer me cakes or something I don't wish to eat, I just say no ta, I don't pretend to be full or anything as I always think why should I have to give an excuse for refusing rubbish. x

 

[lovinglife]

Totally agree @KK123 - I very rarely give excuses other than no thanks or I don't like it but sometimes with a pushy family that OP has said she has its handy to have a bit more in your arsenal- I find flattery works wonders

 

[jjraak]

This link may help. Good luck!

https://www.diagnosisdiet.com/20-low-carb-tips/

What a great read.

Makes so much sense and hit me with a few memorable lines.
"Find your sweet spot"...I like
And " made a commitment to your health"

Simple words, but I think they'll sit at the back of my mind when (and I will ) get tempted by something naughty.

Great post @Debandez...wish I had seen that in my early weeks.

 

[Adm_Mad]

@Diakat many years ago there was a push to replace the Easter Bunny with the “Easter Bilby”, LOL, and a big wildlife conservation org sells them at Easter to fundraise. There was a media kerfuffle last year (I think) because Cadbury’s stopped producing them because it wasn’t profitable. Lots of smaller confectionery companies still make them though.

@KK123 Telling people just isn’t an option right now, I can’t deal with the stigma, shaming, questions, food policing. My mum has very fixed ideas about type 2 diabetes and how only lazy gluttons get it, and would consider it vindication for having badgered me about my weight all my life (I’ve been a BMI 19, 27 and everything in between). On top of that she wouldn’t cope with how I’m eating to lose weight and lower my BG, as she’s the sort who think diabetics can only eat rabbit food and “good carbs” and if you take one bite of anything else you’ve sentenced yourself to blindness, amputations and death.

Also, my dad died of stomach cancer (I’m adopted, no genetic link) so she’s HYPER aware of cancers of the digestive system. I could cite studies about lower carb-higher protein and fat diet for managing type 2 diabetes until I’m blue in the face but all she’ll ever hear is “meat and fat cause bowel cancer”.

Plus there’s been a LOT of terrible stuff happening in our family lately, I’m not adding to it.

 

[DCUKMod]

I'd just have said, "No thanks. I'm giving those bad boys a rest for the time being. I'm saving myself for my days off".

They have no idea that your deliciousness on your days off will just be a bit different.

For the family, I'd just say "I'm giving those a rest for a while. Feel free to have tuck in." Your plate won't have any gaps where the carbs would have been if you have a bit more meat and a few extra veggies.

My family are usually too interested in their own roasties to spend any time wondering where mine are.

Much of the reaction you receive comes from how you communicate it. Be upbeat and they'll be upbeat with you. Be sad and rueful, and they'll linger on it.

 

[Brunneria]

I try and have NICER STUFF on hand as an alternative.

Back when I was working in an office, surrounded by crisp munching DairyMilkoholics, I used to have 70% cocoa solids choc bars and a jar of peanut butter in my desk drawer. Just break off a piece of choc and pile a teasp of peanut butter on top and you have a VERY SUPERIOR peanut butter cup thingy.

There there are all the fab low carb recipes for brownies, cakes, puds, bars and desserts.
I know they take a bit of prep, but most of them freeze very well.
There is no deprivation or martyrdom at all if you have something nicer, guilt free, and making THEM jealous.

The things that used to really get my goat about office life were the charity days when we were all supposed to dress up in silly colours or costumes, and pay for the priviledge, while being force fed charity cakes, in order to support charities fighting cancer, heart disease, diabetes, etc. Oh the irony. Especially the cakes.
I ended up being the resident Grinch, always willing to donate to charity (in private), but not willing to wear pink bows in my hair and eat cakes made from white flour, sugar and marge. That would be supporting the charities in a completely different way!

 

[kitedoc]

Nothing like a chocolate intolerance (my way of declining sugary things at Easter) and
milk allergy to make people doubt the wisdom offering me anything like Easter eggs.
And it helps avoid the stirrers who wish to tease those on a diet or for being 'good' and' healthy''.
Hot X buns ? - 'I'll just have the butter please' - that gets them thinking !!
Or "Sorry - nothing X-rated for me thank you" !!

 

[Chook]

I just smile and say 'no thanks' nowadays. You don't have to mention diabetes, if you feel that someone (your Mum) needs an explanation just say you are overhauling your life and diet and are on a mission to get healthy. No one can argue with that.

 

[Jaylee]

@Jaylee I have definitely not read the entire Dollenganger Saga series, they were definitely not a formative part of my tweenhood. I have absolutely not seen all the terrible Lifetime movies from a few years ago either.

Hi,

Lol, it belonged to my younger sister.. I picked it up one day & read it about 35 years ago?
It was to my mind at the time a cheesy comming of age alienation from the folks. it even had a "wicked step mother." The book ending was better than the subsequent film adaptation, the movie ending had a rushed "Murder she wrote" reveal with a dead rodent...

Donuts & arsenic..

Alienation paranoia with the folks.. The movie "Society." Did a better job.. (Though not for the faint hearted..)

Just like the old peer pressure NO to (recreational.) drugs campaign..
We all have our individual ways of tackling the situation..

Kind regards.

 

[Resurgam]

I shall be having my eggs hard boiled and dyed pretty colours, as usual.

 

[derry60]

I am so glad that chocolate does not bother me. I prefer a gooey cheese omelette lol

 

[Sweet_Sophie]

When offered cakes I say can I wrap it and have it later. Take a napkin, wrap, put away, and dump. There is a strong element of satisfaction when you realise the good you are doing yourself compared to the people eating all the sugar.

 

[mazza 2]

I just say thank you but no thanks, I'm trying to be healthy. I always think that people feel awkward when they are indulging in things which they know isn't particularly good for them. For example, if you go out for a night with friends or family and you decline a drink they try to persuade you by saying, 'oh, just have one, that will be alright', I think it's because they feel they shouldn't be drinking maybe. But, after they've had a few, they soon forget about what your'e doing. Just be honest and say 'you don't feel like a cake, bun etc and ignore any comments, they will soon forget about it. And when you've lost weight and look really good they'll all be jealous lol