Keep it to Yourself – Diabetes Blog Week, Day 2

blogweek6

Today’s blog week topic is ‘Keep it to Yourself’:
Many of us share lots of aspects of our diabetes lives online for the world to see. What are some of the aspects of diabetes that you choose to keep private from the internet? Or from your family and friends? Why is it important to keep it to yourself? (This is not an attempt to get you out of your comfort zone. There is no need to elaborate or tell personal stories related to these aspects. Simply let us know what kinds of stories we will never hear you tell, and why you won’t tell them.)

A Secret Society?

There’s a topic which I’m very interested in, something I myself follow loosely, yet something I feel that I cannot mention unless I’m in a group of like-minded individuals. It feels like we’re in a secret society that could really do with its own secret handshake so we know who’s in and who’s not.
Oh how I’d like there to be a word, question or statement you could just say, listen to the reaction and instantly tell whether the person you’re talking to is ‘in’. I think we should turn to Scott Hanselman (T1 PWD too) to create a less techy version of his ‘Fizzbin‘.

Why the secret?

The reason is simple: whenever anyone mentions it there’s a set of people who are not ‘in’ and seek to ridicule or destroy the beliefs of those who are. They come back with statements saying that you’ve told them to follow your beliefs, or to prove that there are other ways to achieve the same goal.
This would of course be fine if any of ‘us’ had ever told the others they must change their ways, but no-one has.
Of course there are other ways.

For the record

I’m a Christian, this does not mean you must be too, other religions are great.
I love Football, but it’s okay if you want to follow Rugby or any other sport.
I hate Marmite, but I don’t mind if you want to eat it…but not too close please.
If I state I like, love or agree with something it doesn’t mean you must too.

Am I in the Illuminati?

What, you might be thinking, is this secret society?
Well if you’re in the world of diabetes you probably already know.
I suppose the point is: does it actually matter?
Am I a member of ISIS? No.
Am I a member of the Illuminati? No.
Am I an axe-murdering-knicker-sniffer*? No.
It’s worse than that.

I believe that a lower carb intake makes managing blood glucose levels easier.

There, I said it.

And finally…the yada

Low Carb is not No Carb.
Lower Carb is not Low Carb.
Of course ‘lower carb’ can mean anything anyone wants it to mean, it could be less than 30g CHO day if you follow Bernstein, less than 130g if you look at ‘normal’ diets or in our case way higher than that. We’re not low-carbing as a family and Amy still eats well above the amount one of the UK’s leading Dieticians is happy with.
It’s not the panacea, it’s not everyone’s cup of sugar-free-tea, but in this house it has worked and when we reduce even slightly the amount of carbs Amy consumes it helps. However – and here’s the disclaimer – it doesn’t rest easy with Amy who’s the one who actually matters, so whilst it is encouraged (by me) it is not enforced, or forced.

* I once heard this line in a Comic Strip Presents show…it kind of stuck with me, it’s not something I came up with.

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6 Responses to Keep it to Yourself – Diabetes Blog Week, Day 2

  1. Kelley says:

    I love your explanation for how a lower carb intake can help diabetes management (it doesn’t mean no carb or low carb) so true, one persons lower carb management can be entirely different than someone else’s. I feel like 200 carbs per day is lower carb for me but someone might think that is way too high

    • Kev says:

      I think it’s an important definition as I hear people say ‘I couldn’t give up carbs’, well that’s okay they don’t have to when going lower carb, just decide what’s right. It’s a bit like people thinking they’re cutting out all the fat out of their diet when they’ll still be getting 30% of their calories through fat.

  2. Yay to low carb! In the beginning, I didn’t have the sense of hush hush about low carb-ing that seems to surround it, and I think that’s because I discovered early on how bad carbohydrates were for me in terms of leaving me feeling really sick and impacting my blood sugar levels badly. Now, even though there’s a lot of resistance against low carb, I’m not going to talk about it any quieter. This is a big deal.

    • Kev says:

      100% agree, I know so many people who it is working for and whilst it may not be for everyone I believe talk of it needs to be mainstream as it can a valuable tool to help living with Type 1, Type 2 or in my case no type. For the first time in my life I have managed to lose the 2 stone I needed and I have kept it off now for 9 months, all through low carb. I spoke yesterday with someone with Type 2 who’s eventually managed to lose 3 stone, how, low carb of course.

  3. Ps. I don’t know if you’ve stumbled across the three videos on the ‘Resources’ part of my website, or if you’ve seen them already, but they are well worth a watch and I think you’d enjoy them! 100% highly recommend them! http://type1diabeater.com/resources/

    • Kev says:

      🙂 yes I’ve watched all those. Troy’s is brilliant, as is Lisa’s although sharing the video is what got me blocked by someone who didn’t agree that a parent should put their kid through it. (Through what? Eating healthy food?! Giving your kid a better day to day life? Lowering your kid’s A1C to a near-normal level?)
      Are you in GRIT?

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