"If you want others to be happy, practice compassion. If you want to be happy, practice compassion."

-- The Dalai Lama

Saturday, February 26, 2005

All About Diabetes, Part II

The second part of Kristine's question was:
are there things you can't do/eat that you really miss?
The eating question is one I get a lot, especially considering that I'm vegan. People are perplexed when they try to figure out my diet. The ironic part is because I am vegan what I eat didn't have to change very much at all. I was already eating an extremely healthy, zero cholesterol, low-fat diet. Now I just eat pretty much the same as before, just fewer desserts and a LOT more carb counting. I have to adjust how much insulin I take depending on how many carbs I will be eating. Sometimes this is a pain, but, hey, better than the coma.

What did have to change, however, was my juice consumption. (By the way, Jugo the juicer now lives at my sister's house.) I can't have any juice at all now, except in low blood sugar emergencies. Even then I can only have 4 ounces, and when it gets to that point I'm in no position to enjoy the juice. I miss it less now, but it was a difficult adjustment. Boy, I sure did love the juice.

Are there things I can't do? Well, I can't make my own insulin. Ha ha! Seriously, though, there's nothing I can't do now that I could do before. Some things are more complicated now, and require more planning. Also, since I lost a lot of weight (down to 105), including muscle mass, some physical activities are more difficult right now but are getting easier as I rebuild my muscles.

Thanks for asking, Kristine!

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