A Holiday Diabetes Formula: 5 conscious tips to keep your cool, maintain glycemic balance, and feel good this Thanksgiving.

Let's establish that Thanksgiving is not onto itself unhealthy. One large meal will not throw off your A1c, and it's the cumulative result of many days and weeks where we let our hard work and discipline slip. The holidays give people with diabetes anxiety because we're put into situations where it's hard to prioritize diabetes management. 


I am here to remind you that you are autonomous in your diabetes care and personal wellbeing. No circumstance can deter you, not even Thanksgiving, and the truth is, no one is in charge but you. 


This email offers a multi-dimensional formula for maintaining glycemic and emotional harmony during the holiday season. Whether you're traveling, working hard (like me in Aspen), or feeling the pressure from friends and relatives, there's a way to balance pleasure and self-preservation. 


Here are my top five tips for keeping your cool, maintaining glycemic balance, and feeling good this holiday season.


#1. Eat a protein and fiber-rich breakfast - Yes, it's true what they say. Breakfast is the most important meal of the day. As a reformed "coffee is my breakfast" person, I have noticed a dramatic improvement in my energy levels and hunger throughout the day if I just eat a protein and fiber-rich breakfast.  It helps to reduce mindless snacking and stack bolusing throughout the day. I swear by an egg-white, power green omelet or scramble. It's low fat, so I don't notice a spike hours later, and low carb so I can exercise within a few hours of eating. 


#2. Move for 30 minutes a day - You can do it. Moving a little bit every day will increase your metabolism and decrease insulin resistance all day. Just wake up and go, and do it before everyone else is awake. It's as simple as thirty minutes around the neighborhood, on the Peloton, or with a bedroom workout like a HIIT or tabata series. Try this thirty-minute interval core workout. 

Download Workout

#3. Space - Create space for quiet. The holidays are filled with "doing" even if it's empty, like watching lousy t.v. with your brother-in-law. Fit it in mid-day while everyone is lounging and before lunch. 

Here's a simple practice incorporating breath and meditation. 
Time: 15 minutes
Poses: Spend a few minutes moving with your breath - 5 minutes.
a) hip circles in a table-top position
b)Figure eights in a table-top position

Sushumna Meditation - heightens clear perception and removes energy blockages. 
Sit in a comfortable position with the spine long. Visualize an open, hallow line of energy running from the crown of the head to the base of the spine. As you breathe in, sense, feel, imagine the breath descending from the crown to the base. As you breathe out, sense, feel, imagine the breath ascending from the base to the crown. Resolve any tension in the breath, so it is long, smooth and easy. As you sense the breath descend (inhale), hear the sound SO. As you sense the breath ascend (exhale), hear the sound HAM (10 minutes). 

Relax the breath, maintain awareness of mantra riding on the wave of the effortless, involutary breath at the heart for as long as you like. 

#4. Partial Pre-Bolus - There is a fine line between stacking your bolus and partial pre-bolusing. A partial pre-bolus is when you take a % of your bolus anywhere from 10-20 minutes before a meal, following up with a post-meal bolus. The partial pre-bolus will start working when dinner begins, helping to reduce a post-prandial spike and the risk for hypoglycemia when we wait too long to eat. This will give you more freedom to decide what you feel like eating. 
Personally, I find this an easier and more efficient way to take insulin for a large, long meal rather than a "dual-wave" or "square" bolus. Depending on the macro-nutrient density of your meal, it will speed up or slow up your digestion. Keep this in mind when deciding what % of your partial pre-bolus and follow-up boluses to give. The higher the fat, the longer it will take to digest, so you may need another bolus 2-3 hours after dinner. 

#5. Make a healthy dish to share. To be enjoyable and delicious, Thanksgiving does not have to look like stuffing, gravy, and cream pies. Some of my favorite websites for ideas are www.cookieandkate.com www.feastingonfruit.com and www.autoimmunewellness.com (reducing the fat in recipes by 50%). 

P.S. Final recommendation is to eat earlier!! Try having Thanksgiving at 2-3 pm and give your stomach time to digest before sleep!!
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A Holiday Diabetes Formula: 5 conscious tips to keep your cool, maintain glycemic balance, and feel good this Thanksgiving.