No-carb Fun!

Aw fuck!

I know, I know, but it's how I feel.

I'm on day 3 of a no-carb diet and I'm not loving it.

Have I mentioned that I was diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes about three years ago? Well, I was. And in those three years I have been monitoring my blood, trying to eat "a little better" and doing my best to keep it under control.

For those of you not familiar with this little problem, here is a short primer.

First, Type 2 is not insulin dependent. My pancreas is apparently not producing the insulin my body needs to convert blood sugar into energy. It's producing some, but not enough to keep up. Therefore, the glucose in my blood tends to build up if I let it. I try to control this problem with oral medication. Not needles full of straight insulin. Some day I may have to go to needles, if my pancreas craps out entirely, but I'm hoping it's a long way off.

Second, sugar is not my enemy. It is one of my enemies in the army that is carbohydrates. Your body turns carbs into sugar. So a bowl of Kraft Dinner, for example, is worse than a chocolate bar for me.

Stress is my enemy. The flu and bugs like it are my enemy. These things have a major impact on blood-glucose levels.

And recently, I've had a fair bit of them all. (To say nothing of Valentine treats. My bad.) I've been losing the fight.

And so, my best weapon right now is the no-carb diet. I've got to get things back in line. Call it a cleansing.

But one of my biggest problems with this disease, and the "standard" methods for control, is that I am not a "typical" Type 2. To be blunt, I'm not overweight. Never have been. I've been about the same weight and body type since high school more than 25 years ago. If anything, I'm underweight.

And it seems most (99 per cent) books, recipes and advice is geared for those that not only need to control blood sugar, but those that also need to lose weight. I think if I followed most of the advice I've heard and read, I'd disappear.

Anyhoo, the ol' no-carb diet. Breakfast is three eggs and some bacon. No toast, no potato. Yeah, I know, too much cholesterol. Rob Peter to pay Paul? Time will tell.

Lunch has been a salad with chicken chunks and supper has been a salad with steak chunks. They do the job for a while, but I'm usually hungry a little while after meals.

Bah, I'm boring myself here. And I have the disease. If you don't, this must be very boring.

Bottom line is that today I'm pissed off. I have to shop for two entities in my house— myself and everyone else. I'm preparing six meals a day instead of three. And yeah, I know, I could combine things, but I'm feeding a picky 4-year-old, a picky two-year-old (yeah, Sontoo is getting a little more finicky) and a wife that, when on night-shift, has her own list of agreeable food.

And now I'm stressing myself out just thinking about today's shopping trip. So I'm gonna stop. I have to research no-carb snacks to get me through between meals.

Happy Thursday. Survivor night! Yay.