This past week I have been working with clients who have been recently diagnosed with diabetes (type II) and pre-diabetes.
There is a real food way to balance blood sugar, optimize meal timing and balance meal combinations. The more you learn about balancing blood sugar, the easier it becomes a regular habit and an easy choice. As you master balancing your blood sugar and listening to the body cues as to what you need, the effects on reversing the symptoms is astounding.
I believe what you eat and how you eat, have a huge impact on your health. If your parents had diabetes, you will develop it as well if you choose the same habits, eating and lifestyle they had. But you can change the outcome, if you change the habits and lifestyle!
When I am working with clients, I am not telling them what they cannot eat, but more I teach them food combinations that balance blood sugar and which will spike them. We obviously want to avoid the spiking blood sugar scenarios.
Creating a healthier lifestyle is about working with the client based on where they are, and making simple changes to what they are currently doing. Then they feel empowered to make better choices and they feel better, too.
I had one client who called me asking if it were “OK to have a coke or diet coke” after lunch. They felt like they needed a pick-me-up.
HMM, let me ask a few questions so we can better understand the situation!
I asked what they did have for lunch.
What does needing a ‘pick-me-up’ mean to them?
When was your last meal? And what was it?
I asked what they did have for lunch.
What does needing a ‘pick-me-up’ mean to them?
When was your last meal? And what was it?
It turns out that his lunch was very health – a ceasar salad with carrots, radishes and cucumbers, no croutons, yes, dressing, and chicken.
But this meal combination is not balanced, although it IS healthy.
Breakfast and meal timing were both on point, so skipping meals was not the issue.
They could have added a potato, some shredded carrots and a handful of raisins. There are plenty of carbohydrate options.
That additional energy bar, which is a carbohydrate, would balance the blood sugar and avoid the sugar spike (and subsequent crash) from having the liquid coke which is straight sugar. It would also satisfy the need for a pick-me-up as they called it.
Working through blood sugar balancing issues without restrictions is much easier when you understand how to do it.
So happy my client called me to work through the lunch time challenge so he could stay on track easier! And feel better about his choices.
Guiding clients through their challenges no matter what time of day helps them succeed better! Helping clients balance their blood sugar with diabetes is just one of the real food solutions I offer with the Be Whole program. The first step is to balance blood sugar and mastering how to do it.
The next step will be to address any emotional triggers and mental imbalances that triggered the eating dysfunction, sugar cravings and lifestyle imbalances. Stay tuned as I provide an update on how these clients are doing!
The next step will be to address any emotional triggers and mental imbalances that triggered the eating dysfunction, sugar cravings and lifestyle imbalances. Stay tuned as I provide an update on how these clients are doing!