IN TUNE WITH GOOD DIABETES EATING HABITS

 

 

Monitor blood sugar regularly
Consult your doctor, nurse or dietitian on the correct method of checking blood sugar, frequency of checks and your goals. Have your personal blood sugar monitor device to note down daily readings so you can adjust your diet plans accordingly.

 

Journal your daily diet
A food diary helps you connect your eating with the situations in which you eat and helps you discover issues that make diabetes management difficult. Questions to ask yourself are:

• What times of the day do you get hungry or feel like eating?
• How hungry were you? Were you triggered by delicious smells or others?
• Where did you eat? (e.g.- work desk, kitchen, car or sofa)
• What was your mood when you ate? (e.g.- rushed, anxious, happy or tired)
• How fast did you eat?
• What were you doing while eating? (e.g.- driving, on the phone, watching TV)
• What you ate and how much (estimate as close as you can)
• Calories and carbohydrates consumed. This may seem tedious but sharing information with your doctor can improve your treatment.

 

Assess your achievements in meeting your goals
Review your journal once a week and assess your eating behaviours with these questions:

• How many times a day did you eat, in general? Were you following your plan?
• How often did you eat when you weren’t hungry? (TV snacks, tasting while cooking / baking)
• How many meals did you take each day compared to the number of snacks?
• Did you eat differently during the week and the weekend? If so, how?
• Is your daily eating times and food amounts consistent or varied?

You can also evaluate yourself by checking these:

• Are your clothes looser?
• Are you feeling more energetic?
• Are workouts getting easier?

 

Keep tabs on pitfalls
You’re trying your best but some obstacles may come your way and the common ones include:

• Overeating. Try making changes to taste e.g. switch ice cream for tomato
• Skipping meals. A big no-no as it sets you up to overeat later
• Diverted attention. The TV and computer are typical culprits. It’s best to have a dining area, free of distractions to enjoy the eating experience
• Having unscheduled snacks.

 

Reward yourself
It is not an easy task to monitor every single food you consume. It’s great when you achieve a target, so do something that makes you happy! That will motivate you to improve your efforts and gain better diabetes control, and ultimately good health.

 

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