How to Prep for the Holidays with Type 2 Diabetes

The holiday season can present a lot of challenges for those with type 2 diabetes. For many of us, the holidays are characterized by special foods that are seen only once a year — and many of those foods are the exact things that people with type 2 diabetes are told to avoid.

If you have type 2 diabetes, is it okay to indulge during the holidays and get back on track after the New Year? And, if you do take a more relaxed approach to your diet during the holidays, how can you keep from totally derailing your health goals?

Diabetes and the Holidays: A Healthy Approach

If you are generally good about eating a healthy diet and exercising regularly, a little extra indulging during the holidays may not be a problem. But for many people, slipping back into old habits is a risky choice. If you are already struggling to adopt healthy habits or manage your weight, it can be difficult to recover from an indulgent holiday season.

Taking control of your health means making healthy habits a part of your lifestyle, not something you do only part of the year. By planning ahead and staying focused on your goals, you can keep your weight and your blood sugar levels under control during the holidays.

What I Should Know About Type 2 Diabetes

Type 2 diabetes is a disease that occurs when your body loses the ability to regulate blood sugar levels. Blood sugar, or blood glucose, is the body’s main form of energy and is influenced by what you eat. If you eat foods that are high in sugar or carbohydrates, the result is higher blood sugar.

Normally, the pancreas produces a hormone called insulin, which is responsible for moving glucose into cells where it can be used as energy. But people with type 2 diabetes either do not produce enough insulin or their bodies no longer respond to it. The result is too much glucose in the blood, which can cause symptoms such as increased thirst and hunger, fatigue, blurred vision, numbness in the hands and feet, and a poor immune system.

Because blood sugar is closely linked to what you eat, eating a healthy diet is important for anyone with type 2 diabetes. Generally speaking, this means limiting foods that are high in sugar and refined carbohydrates. Getting regular exercise is also important.

How to Manage Type 2 Diabetes and the Holidays

The key to sticking to healthy habits during the holidays — and any other time of year — is to plan ahead. It is easy to give in to temptation when you are at a holiday party or event and you are surrounded by sugary, starchy foods. Decide ahead of time which foods you will make exceptions for and which foods are off-limits, and search for alternatives to some of your favorite holiday recipes so you can enjoy them in a healthier way.

Pick a Few Favorite Foods to Indulge In

For many of us, the holidays are characterized by certain foods. Whether your favorite holiday foods give you a feeling of nostalgia or they feel special just because they only appear once a year, depriving yourself of these foods can make you feel like you are missing a key part of the holiday season.

So instead of telling yourself these foods are all off-limits, pick your favorites and allow yourself to enjoy them — in reasonable portions. Do you look forward all year to pumpkin pie? Have a small piece of pumpkin pie for dessert and compromise by skipping the dinner rolls and the stuffing.

Deciding ahead of time which foods you will make exceptions for will make it easier to pass up the ones that you are not as interested in but you reach for anyway out of habit.

##Find Healthier Versions of Your Favorite Foods

Another way to prep for the holidays with type 2 diabetes is to find healthier versions of some of your favorite holiday foods. If you are willing to experiment a little in the kitchen, you can find a healthier alternative for just about anything — and in many cases, they taste just as good as the real thing.

Love mashed potatoes? Try mashed cauliflower instead. Look forward to eggnog? Try a low-carb version. Start searching for recipes early and do a trial run so you do not have to sacrifice the traditional holiday vibe.

What to Avoid During the Holidays for Type 2 Diabetes

Even with the above planning, you will likely still be tempted to reach for traditional holiday treats like candy canes and cranberry sauce. Remember that the most important thing to avoid is high-sugar foods that will spike your blood sugar. That does not just mean candy and cookies, it also means high-carb foods like bread, pasta, and potatoes.

This may sound impossible at first, but instead of focusing on what you cannot have, focus on the foods you enjoy that are better for you and include more of them in your diet. Over time, you may even find that you do not miss the high-carb foods as much as before, but it will take time, so be patient with yourself.

Watch Your Carb Intake

Carbs are broken down into glucose, which raises blood sugar levels. Reducing your carbohydrate intake can help control blood sugar.

Avoid heavy carb-based meals such as pasta. With every meal, try to include a source of clean protein, healthy fat, and non-starchy plant foods. Protein is necessary to help your body build and repair tissue. Healthy fats support cell growth, allow your body to absorb certain nutrients and produce some hormones, and support brain function.

Healthy fats also help you feel full longer, so you are less likely to snack between meals. If you are eating meat, you are already getting some saturated fat. But do not forget unsaturated fats such as those found in plant foods like olives and olive oil, avocados, nuts, and seeds. So go ahead and reach for the nuts — just make sure they are not candied. Anything that is candied means it has been coated in sugar.

###Cut Back on Bread

Bread is one of the starchiest foods around, and for many people, it is part of every meal. If you tend to eat a lot of bread, start cutting back now.

Start making eggs or a smoothie for breakfast instead of toast or bagels. Opt for salads or lettuce wraps at lunchtime instead of sandwiches.

If you find it difficult to give up bread, look for recipes made with almond flour or coconut flour, which do not have the same effect on blood sugar as grain-based bread. Low-carb baking can be tricky, so try some different recipes well in advance to find one that you like.

Get to Know the Glycemic Index

If you are not already, become familiar with the glycemic index, which is a ranking of foods according to how they impact blood sugar levels. Carbohydrates with a value of 55 or less are digested more slowly and have less of an impact on blood sugar.

When possible, choose foods on the low end. For example, if you are at a holiday dinner where you have a choice between candied yams or roasted Brussels sprouts, the Brussels sprouts are the healthier choice. Not only do they have a very low glycemic index value compared to yams, but the candied yams are also prepared with lots of sugar.

Change Your Mindset

Do not overlook the role of a positive mindset when it comes to building healthy habits. Food is a very loaded topic for a lot of people. Many of us have emotional attachments to certain foods, and changing the way we eat can be very difficult, especially around the holidays.

It is easy to feel guilty or beat ourselves up when we do not eat the way we think we should, so decide now to give yourself some grace this holiday season. That does not mean giving yourself the latitude to eat whatever you want, but it does mean not beating yourself up when you slip.

If you slip up and eat too many cookies, acknowledge that you made a choice to eat something outside of your diet plan and that you can always choose again to be healthy. Do not fall into the trap of thinking that since you already blew your diet, you might as well eat more sugar.

What is it you are working towards? Do you want to have more energy? Get off your medications? Get healthier so that you can enjoy your later years?

Recognize that every choice you make is an opportunity to move closer to those goals and that every day gives you a chance to start over — you do not have to wait for the New Year to resolve to get healthier.