Counting all of those carbs
Sep 11th, 2008 by Cory
I’m not sure if I’ve ever blogged about my type 1 diabetes on here or not. When I was younger, much of my identity was wrapped up in my diabetes. Not only was I the kid that got stickers when the rest of the class got candy, but I was also the only one in class allowed to keep a stash of hypodermic needles in my desk. This seemed to make me intriguing once I was able to convince my classmates that they couldn’t catch it.
As I grew older, my life grew more complicated and diabetes became a smaller part of my identity. I was no longer the diabetic kid. Instead, I was the web analytics guy, or maybe the history buff. Of course, I was always the hilarious guy with the chiseled physique…at least to myself…when I wasn’t looking in the mirror or listening to my own jokes.
For the last several years I’ve been lucky to enjoy relatively good health and so my diabetes has been on autopilot. Sure, I’ve gone through a few new insulin pumps and meters, but I’ve been focused on my career and family life. However, I’m 30 now and I’m keenly aware of my own mortality. When my doctor suggested that I schedule an appointment with the dietician, I readily agreed.
Lisa and I met with Carina this morning and learned a ton. First and foremost, I’ve really been undercounting my carbs. Who knew that a 1/3 of cup of pasta was 15 grams of carbs? The cause of my high bedtime blood sugars is now clear. I also learned how calorie packed some of my favorite beverages really are.
I left the appointment armed with much more knowledge and a few simple assignments (like a basal check) to bring my A1C and weight down in no time.
If it helps, I’ve found that with intense concentration, procrastination can burn up to 12 calories an hour. Stay strong smaller bro…if Lance Armstrong can beat diabetes, so can you.