Diabetes and Holiday Dining

• Eating is the main focus• Carbs everywhere!

– Breads, rolls, stuffing, potatoes, sweet potatoes, corn, peas, milk, fruit, candy, desserts, sodas, sweet tea, juices

• Everyone all around you is eating• Peer pressure to eat• Find comfort in favorite foods

What to Expect around the Holidays

• Monitor carbohydrate intake

• Maintain consistency• Increase monitoring• Portion control• Exercise• Do not drink alcohol on an

empty stomach

Remember the Basics

• What are carbs?– Milk, sugar, starches

• Breads, juices, starchy vegetables, beans

• One carbohydrate serving is 15 grams

• Carbohydrate servings per meal– Typically 4-5 for men, 3-4

for women• Don’t forget snacks between

meals, too!

• Test your knowledge…– Sixty grams of carbs is

equal to how many servings?

Nutrition Review

• 1st stage: pre-contemplation– “I don’t have a problem.”

• 2nd stage: contemplation– “Maybe I do have a problem.”

• 3rd stage: preparation– “I’m ready to fix this problem.

Maybe I’ll make an appointment with…”

Stages of Change

• 4th stage: action– “After attending that diabetes

class, I’ve stuck with my diet plan for 4 whole months now and I’m not stopping.”

• 5th stage: maintenance– “Now that I’m so used to eating

well, it’s been 7 months and it feels so natural. I have no plans to go back to the way I was before.”

• You may have gone through this before– Completely natural

• Change is a process– Doesn’t happen overnight– Gradually modify your behavior

• Attending this class is actually part of the process– Some of you may be preparing,

acting, or maintaining– KEEP IT UP!

Stages of Change Continued…

Healthy Holiday

Tips!

• Don’t go to a party or get-together hungry– If it’s a dinner party, eat a good breakfast,

lunch, and snack beforehand to prevent overindulging at dinner

• Example meal plans for 16 carb servings:– Breakfast: 4, snack: 1, lunch: 4, snack: 2, dinner: 4,

HS snack: 1

• Or give yourself an extra carb serving at dinner to enjoy– Same as mentioned except an afternoon

snack: 1, dinner: 5

Plan Ahead for Parties or Get-togethers

• Do nutrition research beforehand if you know what foods you’ll expect to see– Take advantage of www.MyPyarmid.gov

(MyPyramivd.gov), www.eatright.org (American Dietetic Association), www.americanheart.org (American Heart Association), www.diabetes.org (American Diabetes Association), www.thedailyplate.com (The Daily Plate), or www.calorieking.com (Calorie King)

• Extremely helpful tools to track your needs for the day

Plan Ahead for Parties or Get-togethers Continued…

• Eat small portions of different things to get a variety, but KEEP TRACK!

• Use the plate method for meals

Watch Your Portions

Watch Your Portions Continued…• Follow serving size guidelines

– 1 tsp butter/margarine = 1 fingertip– 1 tbsp peanut butter = 1 thumb tip– 2 tbsp salad dressing = 1 ping-pong ball– 1-1.5 oz. natural cheese = 3 dominoes– 3 oz. meat = 1 deck of cards– 1 cup salad greens = 1 baseball– ½ cup cooked broccoli = 1 light bulb– ½ cup fresh fruit = 7 cotton balls– 1 medium size fruit = 1 tennis ball– One 1 oz. pancake = 1 CD– 1 oz./1/2 cup cooked pasta = 1 cupcake

wrapper– One 1 oz. piece of cornbread = 1 bar of soap

Limit High-fat and High-carb Foods• Fill up on healthier options

first (veggies are “free!”), then move on to desserts

• Watch intake of high-fat and/or high-carb condiments because they count, too!

• Be careful of… – Anything fried, cream-based,

cheese-filled– Pies, casseroles, processed

meats, pastries, and baked goods

Limit High-fat and High-carb Foods Continued…

• Bring your own favorite healthy entrée– It’s a nice gesture– Can ensure you’re eating

well

• Go ahead and host the party so you can make healthy items– Give some of the leftovers

away

• Easy to snack here and there– Sometimes it doesn’t get

accounted for

• Keep a food diary– A small notepad works

because you can carry it around easily

– Plug your intake into the previously mentioned sites to see how you’re doing

Keep Track of What You’re Taking in

• Don’t graze and/or stand up and eat• Eat slowly and ENJOY your food and see

how full you are– Takes your body 20 minutes to realize you’re full

• Use the hunger scale before or while you’re eating– “1” – beyond hungry with symptoms such as

headache and dizziness– “10” – never want to look at food again

• Avoid this to feel absolutely terrible after eating

– Keep between a “3” and “6” to stay comfortable– Eating until a “5” may help you lose weight

Pay Attention to How Full You Are

The Hunger Scale

• The hunger scale also helps with eating when you’re bored, emotional, multi-tasking, or eating solely for taste or availability– Also, cravings last 20 minutes, but if it lasts

longer than that, just have it!• Helps avoid overindulging later

Pay Attention to How Full You Are Continued…

• Things to do instead:– Call a friend– Work on a project or anything to

distract yourself– Take a bubble bath– Watch a movie– Do something that makes you happy!

• Recognize what triggers emotional eating and have a plan ready

Avoid Emotional Eating

• Avoid eating when you’re bored (especially all those leftovers!)

• Holidays are a good time to get things done:– Wrap presents, plan a party, visit

friends or relatives, shop for presents, make crafts, volunteer, make Christmas cards, plan a vacation, put up lights, clean around the house (especially good in prep for a party!)

• Instead of planning a lunch date or dinner date, plan a walking date or movie date

Keep Yourself Busy!

Be Smart with Alcohol

• Drink wine, Bloody Mary’s, or spirits with diet mixers instead of Kahlua, Bailey’s, beer, and cider

• Avoid holiday-themed drinks at parties if you don’t know what’s in them (often lots of sugar)

• Always drink with a meal– Otherwise, your blood sugars will drop!

Drink Plenty of Water

• No calories and hydrates you!

• Flushes out excess sugar in your body

• Fills you up• Sometimes thirst can be

mistaken for hunger

Monitor, Monitor, Monitor!• Always remember to bring your

medicine and glucose monitor wherever you go

• Check your blood sugars regularly

• Remember to take your medicine or insulin when you need to in order to avoid dangerous situations– Adjust your medications accordingly

Get Some Exercise

• Exercise before a meal to rev up your metabolism

• Go for a walk after dinner– Fifteen minutes of walking can lower

BG by 15-20%• Cells become more sensitive to insulin

• Play games (Wii is great!)• Go to the mall and shop to

get lots of walking in

Holiday Eating

Myths!

You Pack on 5 to 7 Pounds

from Thanksgiving to New Year’s• MYTH!• TRUTH: average weight gain is less

than a pound during this time period

• Don’t set yourself up and let yourself gain weight because “everyone does” around this time of year

Diabetics are Not Allowed to Have Certain Foods

• MYTH!• TRUTH: even with diabetes, you

don’t have to cut out any foods in your diet– The key is limiting high-cal, high-fat,

and high-carb foods and balancing food groups

You Can Save Up for Dinner and Eat as Much as You Want Then

• MYTH!• TRUTH: especially with diabetes, it’s

important to be CONSISTENT with carbs at each meal– You have to eat a consistent amount of carbs

to control your blood sugars• Don’t want to spike up too high or drop too low

– Also, your body goes into starvation mode when you don’t eat, which is not good for you at all!• Never skip a meal and eat snacks

Healthy Holiday

Cooking!

Use Splenda®

• No calorie or low-calorie (depending on the product)

• 600 X sweet as table sugar• Safe for children• Great deal of products: brown sugar, sweetener

with fiber, granulated sugar (pourable and packets), flavors for coffee, sugar blend (1/2 Splenda® and ½ sugar), flavor accents (lemon and raspberry), minis (for dining out), travel case

• Lots and lots of recipes on Splenda®’s website @ www.splenda.com

• Remember to look for the packetYELLOWYELLOW

Splenda® VS.

Sugar• Splenda® doesn’t affect blood sugar levels

because it doesn’t have calories or carbohydrates while 1 tablespoon of regular sugar has 49 calories and 13 grams of carbohydrates– One gram of pure glucose raises your blood sugar

by about 5mg/dL

• Comparison: one piece (1/8) of pumpkin pie, using Splenda® instead of sugar, saves you 98 calories and 25 grams of carbohydrate

Healthy Substitutes• Splenda®’s website offers a variety of recipes, but

you can also take your own recipes and alter them to make them healthier!

Fatty Ingredient Healthier Substitute

Hard shortening, lard, or bacon greaseOlive, safflower, corn, sunflower, canola, or

soybean oil

Creamy salad dressing like blue cheeseOil and vinegar, lemon juice, or reduced-calorie

dressings

Fat or oils for frying or sautéing Non-sticking cooking spray

Added fat like oil, butter, margarine, or gravyHerbs and spices, onion, garlic, low-fat broth, or

wine

MayonnaiseNon-fat or low-fat sour cream, plain non-fat or

low-fat yogurt

Whole milk, non-dairy creamers, half-and-half Skim/non-fat milk, low-fat milk (1%)

Hard full-fat cheeseLow-fat cheese, low-fat cream cheese, low-fat

cottage cheese

Full-fat ice creamNon-fat or low-fat frozen yogurt, ice milk, fruit

ices, or sherbet

Whole egg Two egg whites or 1/4 cup egg substitute

Fat in baking recipesEqual amounts of fruit puree like prune or

applesauce

Whipping or heavy creamEvaporated milk or one part skim milk and one

part cream

FryingBake or roast on a rack, broil, grill, steam, or

microwave

Overcoming Barriers• Don’t try to change everything at once• Enlist support• If you slip, get back on track and don’t

give up!• Note the benefits of changing your

behavior• Remind yourself why you want to change

your behavior– Goal: “I want to be able to

have enough energy to take my grandchildren to the park.”

• Know what to expect around this time of year

• Remember the basics• Change is a process• Follow some healthy holiday eating tips• Don’t listen to the myths• Try some healthy holiday cooking

recommendations• Overcome barriers

Summing it Up…

Most Importantly…Most Importantly…

““Diabetes doesn’t Diabetes doesn’t take a vacation!”take a vacation!”

Any Questions?