View PDF | Print View
by: JuliaHanf
Total views: 18
Word Count: 865

Most techniques of diabetes management veer heavily towards monitoring and regulating your diet, in view of the fact that the high blood glucose that brings diabetes its much-dreaded notoriety, is a directly influenced by the carbohydrates you consume. Keeping your diet well-within the recommended guidelines also goes a long way in ensuring that you keep away from mindless bingeing and irregular food habits, which pave the way for obesity. And thus, diet plays a predominant role in determining the effectiveness of your diabetes control, both as an immediate determinant of your blood glucose levels and also as a precautionary measure to keep you from the complications to your diabetes that obesity brings about. Here, it is equally important for you to not just track your calorific intake, but also schedule your meals at regular and frequent intervals to allow your body to receive a constant and steady supply of energy.

With such stringent restrictions and meticulously planned meals, the prospect of eating out for a change is very likely to make even the most ambivalent of diabetics shudder. A huge part of this fear stems from the fact that at a restaurant, it is not you who decide everything that goes into each dish that you consume, and also the paranoia that you might eat more than what is recommended for you, consciously or otherwise. Many diabetics also shy away from eating out at social occasions, afraid that social pressures may force them to indulge.

Recent times have seen a remarkable turnabout in this attitude towards eating out, as experts all over the world are rapidly turning away from a rigid, no-nonsense attitude to a more elastic method called exchange lists. Simply put, these lists allow you to base your meals on the recommended nutritional allowance, as opposed to strictly abiding by what the particular food listed on the menu, so that you can make swaps if and when necessary. This method of planning your meals can easily be adapted to meals away from home, as long as you pay attention to adhering to the basic nutritional and calorific framework.

One of the basic rules of the thumb to remember when eating out is 'When in doubtask'. And so, if you are unsure of what the chef's planning to include in your meal or how large the portion size is, ask your server. It also helps to let your server know that you are looking for a diabetes-friendly meal as most eateries now include low-calorie, reduced sodium and high fiber alternatives for a majority of their dishes. Many chefs will also try to customize your food to low cholesterol and low fat versions, if you tell them just what you're looking for.

A majority of diabetics fumble when posed with the issue of portion size, neglecting the fact that most restaurant portions are a lot larger than what is recommended for them. If you find your meal looking a lot larger than what you are accustomed to, don't force yourself to wolf down more food than you usually do. Share the remainder with your dining companions or carry it back home, to make for an appetizing snack the next day. Try to make your meal as nutritious as possible by choosing your food sensibly. For instance, you could replace your white bread rolls with whole wheat ones, a red meat entre with grilled chicken, and even a low-calorie vinaigrette instead of a mayonnaise or cream-based salad dressing.

Eating out may also call for slight modifications to your regular dietary routine, often leading you to eat well past your regular meal time. When faced with such a situation, try to swap your after-dinner snack with your actual dinner, eating the snack at your meal time and your dinner later in the evening. This will keep you from going hungry for extended periods and developing very low blood glucose levels. Consult your physician to check for any alterations to your diabetes medication, to keep away from undulating blood glucose. Making reservations also cuts short the amount of time you have to spend waiting for your meal, thereby making it a lot easier to stick to schedule. At the end of it all, don't be tempted to throw all caution to the winds and indulge in a sugar and calorie-rich dessert - which will effectively undo all the planning and scheduling you have invested in your meal. Ask for a more nutritious fresh fruit salad or compote instead, to further boost the nutritional value of your meal and keep the calories right where you want them.

Once viewed as a forbidden pleasure for victims of diabetes, eating out can be effortlessly incorporated in your diabetic regime if you make sure to stick to these simple ground rules. And if you do happen to go overboard, try to even out the damage done over the rest of your meals, adjusting the calories accordingly. Be flexible and adaptable with your outlook towards diabetes; being too harsh and severe with yourself will only discourage you and lead you to become disillusioned with your condition - letting this disease take over your physical and mental wellbeing.