\u00a0<\/p>\n
With November comes Diabetes Month, turning the focus of the nation, and the world, on diabetes and its related issues.\u00a0 This is the time when we, as a community of people living with and caring for loved ones with diabetes, raise our voices to show society that a diabetes diagnosis doesn\u2019t have to stop us from climbing mountains and raising families and living amazing lives.\u00a0 We can do, be, and eat anything, right?\u00a0<\/p>\n
So why am I using a cupcake, or some other sugary treat, as a symbol of \u201csticking it\u201d to diabetes?\u00a0 What\u2019s the deal with celebratory carbs?<\/p>\n
I\u2019m not anti-cupcake.\u00a0 Quite the contrary \u2013 I think they\u2019re delicious, I love baking them, and I love making them as decadent as possible.\u00a0 They are a treat, and an excellently indulgent one, at that.\u00a0<\/p>\n
But man, they are an absolute disaster for my blood sugars.\u00a0 Rarely do I have a cupcake (or similarly sweet treat) without seeing either a high blood sugar as a result of under-bolusing, or a low blood sugar due to overcompensating for the mountain of frosting.\u00a0 I can\u2019t lie and pretend I have the whole cupcake-to-chaos avoidance ratio figured out.\u00a0 My diabetes simply doesn\u2019t respond well to overly-indulgent treats.<\/p>\n
\u201cPeople with diabetes can eat anything,\u201d \u00a0“they” say.<\/p>\n
Yes, yes they can.\u00a0 They can physically bring a food item to their mouth and consume it.\u00a0 This is true.\u00a0 It\u2019s not a matter of \u201ccan\u2019t,\u201d but \u201cshould.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cPeople with diabetes shouldn\u2019t ever eat cupcakes,\u201d the “other they” says.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I have a hard time accepting absolutes.\u00a0 The absolutes are what make me feel frustrated. \u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cPeople with diabetes shouldn\u2019t ever eat cupcakes, or have babies, or eat gluten, or lick wallpaper, or ride unicycles, or shimmy their shoulders sassily on airplanes.\u201d\u00a0 Or, \u201cPeople with diabetes should always prick the side of their fingers – never the pad! – and CGM sensors can only be worn on the abdomen and if you\u2019re not on an insulin pump, you aren\u2019t trying hard enough.\u201d<\/p>\n
People with diabetes aren\u2019t all the same. There isn\u2019t a one-size fits all model to management, and what works for one person may not work entirely for another.\u00a0 (Actually, what works for one person on one day might not work entirely for her on another day.)<\/p>\n
It\u2019s not that you can\u2019t have a cupcake.\u00a0 You can.\u00a0 You should, if you really want one.\u00a0 But I have a hard time subscribing to the \u201ceat cupcakes to stick it to diabetes\u201d mentality.\u00a0\u00a0 Sticking it to diabetes by way of consuming mass amounts of excessively-sweet carbohydrates doesn\u2019t make me feel like I\u2019m sticking it to diabetes.\u00a0 Instead, I feel like I\u2019m sticking it to myself, creating a tough-to-manage situation.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Can I eat a cupcake to celebrate my diabetes anniversary?\u00a0 Hell yes I can.\u00a0 One year, my husband bought me an ice cream cake and we ate giant slices, ignoring for a few minutes the constant mental burden of diabetes and choosing to celebrate my longevity with celebratory carbs.\u00a0 But should I eat cupcakes all the time?\u00a0 I don\u2019t think so.\u00a0 For me, it\u2019s a mess. I either over-bolus and end up tanking, blood sugar-wise, or I bolus too conservatively and end up higher than I\u2019d like.\u00a0 All for a bit of sugary sweets?\u00a0 Not worth it, for me.<\/p>\n
People with diabetes can eat anything.\u00a0 This is true.\u00a0 But I like embracing the mentality that people with diabetes can do<\/strong> anything.\u00a0 We can excel in school.\u00a0 We can become CEOs.\u00a0 We can find love.\u00a0 We can raise children.\u00a0 We can ride bikes and climb mountains.\u00a0 We can eat cupcakes, or pizza, or chicken, or eggs, or anything they served on Fear Factor (like the goat eyeball \u2013 how many carbs are in a goat eyeball, anyway?).\u00a0 We can drive cars.\u00a0 We can wear out shoes from running so many miles.\u00a0 We can sport bionic pancreases.\u00a0<\/p>\n We can make good decisions.\u00a0 We can live long, healthy lives.\u00a0 Sometimes that good decision comes in the form of a cupcake, piled high with frosting and representing a refusal to succumb to the psychosocial burden of life with a chronic disease. \u00a0And sometimes that good decision comes in the form of declining the cupcake and embracing a long run, or a quiet moment sitting on the deck, or simply saying no to the potential blood sugar bounce that may come as a result of a disease that is relentless.\u00a0 There isn\u2019t a right answer, and there isn\u2019t a set response that works for everyone, or on every day.\u00a0<\/p>\n Cupcakes don\u2019t represent rebellion. They represent indulgence and fun and delicious moments that everyone deserves, in moderation.\u00a0 They are awesome.\u00a0 But I don\u2019t always<\/em> have to say yes to them, or consume them as a way of flipping the bird to my diabetes.\u00a0 I tell diabetes to go screw every time I test my blood sugar, or calculate my insulin dose, or fight for insurance coverage.\u00a0 Healthy decisions make me feel in control of this unpredictable disease, and that\u2019s the kind of power I need to move forward as an advocate this November, and every November.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" I have a hard time subscribing to the \u201ceat cupcakes to stick it to diabetes\u201d mentality. Sticking it to diabetes by way of consuming mass amounts of excessively-sweet carbohydrates doesn\u2019t make me feel like I\u2019m sticking it to diabetes. Instead, I feel like I\u2019m sticking it to myself, creating a tough-to-manage situation. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":62,"featured_media":34502,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"image","meta":{"_relevanssi_hide_post":"","_relevanssi_hide_content":"","_relevanssi_pin_for_all":"","_relevanssi_pin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_unpin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_include_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_exclude_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_no_append":"","_relevanssi_related_not_related":"","_relevanssi_related_posts":"","_relevanssi_noindex_reason":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1429],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\n