I know I’ve said before that I come from a family of Planners. Big time Planners. When I was growing up, we planned what was for dinner. We planned what was for breakfast two weeks from that day. We planned what roads we were going to take to get to the next week’s doctor visit. We planned nearly everything.
Which should tell you, I’m used to making plans.
But it occurred to me that maybe not everyone plans like I was taught to plan. In some ways that is a good thing, and in some ways my planning reflex has served me well.
Which is to say, I’m already planning how to make it through the eating this week.
I know I’m going to feel a need to overeat on Thursday. I think I’ve already been overeating for the past few weeks! And I know there is a month of more eating ahead of me.
So how am I going to manage all of those calories?
How am I going to manage the insulin that cookies, pies, cakes, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, coffee cakes, cranberry sauce, gravy, appetizers, salad with dried cranberries, and nearly every other food imaginable will require?
Overwhelming to list them all.
I learned a number of years ago that I’m just not great at scaling back on the actual food I put on my plate or, most importantly, in my mouth.
That’d be an easy way to do it, sure, but for me it simply isn’t realistic.
When I get overwhelmed, I make a plan. A plan! Da plan, Boss, da plan!!
I’ve increased my cardio this week, and plan for at least an hour of moderate to high intensity every day this week. I’m going to lighten up on my breakfast carbs, because I need much more insulin at breakfast than I do later in the day and I want to keep my daily insulin needs roughly the same. I’ve increased the weight of the weights I’m lifting. I’m doing an extra leg workout this week because the bigger muscles (like my legs) use more energy and continue to burn when I challenge them with heavy weights.
I am very fortunate to be enjoying Thanksgiving dinner at my friend’s house; she lives 2 miles away from me. I’m planning to walk to her house and more importantly to walk home. I think that walk home will help me with my post-feast blood sugars.
I’m going to try to keep my week to an unusual Thursday only; I want to treat the other days like normal food days and only give Thursday the special eating treatment.
We shall see what happens with my plan. I feel much better going into the week knowing that I have retained some control and have a plan to fall back on.
Think about what your plan is right now, and see if you can tweak it to make it even better for you, your health, your sanity, and your enjoyment of the holiday. If you have ideas others could use, post them here or on the Diabetes Outside Facebook page!
