Diabetics/Weight Watchers/Health Issues

[jacarape]

I think you have to take a systemic, personal point of view. I eat fatty foods gleefully (not freely), give me a steak, I want butter. My cholesterol levels are fine.

Pasta, nope, Bread, neither. Rice, seldom, oatmeal can do. Test test test to know your body and get professional diet advice.

I only come to the internet for legal advice, never health...hehehe

[jdthor]

I'm type 1, insulin dependent for 28 years. On an insulin pump for 9 years now, which helps. But every single day is a challenge, and of course at age 59 some complications are beginning to show. BUT I have been extremely aggressive in my response to diabetes, which means exercise and eating right. Even when camping. I am VERY fortunate to have a wife that really understands the issues and always does her best to make sure I stay on track with meals and moderation in everything that could complicate this insidious disease.

The biggest problem when traveling?? Having to adjust to much shorter driving days, as I get tired much quicker than even a few short years ago. We've had to delay a couple of planned trips simply because I didn't feel alert enough to drive safely to and from where we might plan to go.

JD

[danalee]

I do plan my meals and precook and then freeze. I pack the frozed food in a special cooler than holds the temp very well. Fresh ice dailyI just don't buy the bad stuff. Try to stay in my routine and actually exercise more. Rarely eat stuff that I have given up because it now makes me ill-like greasy brauts.

[Ganaraska]

Get in the habit of stopping at grocery stores not restaurants. Shop the produce section and keep a cooler full of fresh fruit and veg. With the trailer it is easy to make your own meals. Keep a small cooler of fruit, celery sticks, baby carrots and ice cubes in the car. Ice cubes are very refreshing to munch on and no calories.

[SteSpot]

I would also like to recommend the book "The China Study" by Dr. Campbell. It changed the way I think about our diet. And our Airstream is a blessing in that I have a great kitchen to make the foods that are good for us. paula

[danalee]

Another thought-for the "covered dish" meals I always fix something that I can eat. That way I have no excuse. thats not to say I don't slip up, the temptations are great but it does help.

[ESCAPE POD]

For health reasons, and convenience, we plan breakfast and dinner. Lunch may also in camp, but if we're out for the day, we try (I say try) to agree on something we can split. We also try to include sugar-free snacks (trail mix, veggies, etc.). I also bake a banana bread, using splenda in place of sugar, which makes a great dessert without much guilt (of course, portion control is important, too). Our typical breakfast can be oatmeal one day, and an egg dish the next; cold cereal if we want to get an early start. Dinners can be marinated chicken or beef (frozen before departure). Pre-prepared meals from home make it a lot easier than cooking from scratch. Eating out really adds expense to a trip, too.

[Lily&Me]

We replace sugar with about 2/3 Splenda in banana bread, replace 3/4 of the fat with plain applesauce and half the flour with 100% whole wheat.

You don't notice the reduced fat, the wheat flour adds more texture plus lots of fiber and it all becomes a healthy, quick breakfast. You can use the same formula for any quick bread, such as pumpkin, date-nut, etc.

Maggie

[Mackhopp]

Originally Posted by jacarape

I think you have to take a systemic, personal point of view. I eat fatty foods gleefully (not freely), give me a steak, I want butter. My cholesterol levels are fine.

Pasta, nope, Bread, neither. Rice, seldom, oatmeal can do. Test test test to know your body and get professional diet advice.

I only come to the internet for legal advice, never health...hehehe

The problem with being a diabetic is that you need to have super low cholesterol levels - lower than what's considered normal.

I don't have diabetes, but there seems to be a curse in my family - my mother and sister have each married men who have become diabetics after meeting them (both my mother's marriages ended up with diabetes). My father has been insulin-dependent for 30+ years now, so I grew up with diabetes in essence.

There are pros and cons with Airstreaming and being a diabetic. Being on the road, it's easy to mindlessly snack on junk that you pick up at gas stations/convenience stores. Of course, good planning of healthy foods is key.

But hopefully you're camping in areas where you can take nice walks - the great outdoors are at your doorstep. My brother-in-law tries to keep his diabetes in check as much as possible with exercise - he takes a super walk every night, at least 2 hours. By keeping his activity levels at a higher level, he ends up needing less insulin than someone who is relatively sedentary. So he ends up with less spikes and lows.

I hope you're being followed by a good endocrinologist? As Tom mentioned, a diabetic nutritionist can give you great tips on dealing with the travelling situation.

We try to eat as healthy as possible when we're camping (with the exception of the hot dogs over the campfire - those Ball Park dogs are irresistible to me) - and what helps me is going to Costco and getting those veggie trays before every camping trip. They're already cut up and ready to go, convenient, healthy food. Their fruit is usually really good as well.

Anyhow - good luck - you can do it!

[sempi2]

. Thanks to all that have commented on this thread. We have had success with our travels and eating habits. We still will have a "not so good" brat - rarely. I have spent more time making sure we have healthy foods with us. Do also use a camping trip to have a ice cream bar or other treat that we would not eat usually.
****But the really good news for us is *************
we are both off our meds for diabetes.......... A1C under 6. Way cool
We are working on exercising on our trips, got a bike for my 60th bday. Stole our sons bike for Rusty Rivet. So we bike and I am going to pack some weighs (empty milk jugs - to fill with water) for some resistance training.
We are big on salads and soup before dinner and/or with which helps keep our main meal portions much smaller.
All in all we are making progress;.

[transplant]

hello i have to add to these interesting comments. i am a type 2 and do fairly well with meals. snacking on celery gets old after a while. but i must.
i wanted to add a comment on using splenda in foods. i am allergic to most artificial sweeteners. it would be nice if these are used, to let people know that. my reaction to them does not go along with camping very well. ugh anyway ithank you for the thread, it was very neat to hear other peoples brave fight.
thank you pat

[sempi2]

Originally Posted by transplant

hello i have to add to these interesting comments. i am a type 2 and do fairly well with meals. snacking on celery gets old after a while. but i must.
i wanted to add a comment on using splenda in foods. i am allergic to most artificial sweeteners. it would be nice if these are used, to let people know that. my reaction to them does not go along with camping very well. ugh anyway ithank you for the thread, it was very neat to hear other peoples brave fight.
thank you pat

I think that applesauce can help in baking - to reduce sugar. I make my own and can control the sweetness, but I do use splenda. There are also a few newer natural sweetners, have you tried stevia?

[Ahab]

Originally Posted by transplant

hello i have to add to these interesting comments. i am a type 2 and do fairly well with meals. snacking on celery gets old after a while. but i must.
i wanted to add a comment on using splenda in foods. i am allergic to most artificial sweeteners. it would be nice if these are used, to let people know that. my reaction to them does not go along with camping very well. ugh anyway ithank you for the thread, it was very neat to hear other peoples brave fight.
thank you pat

I use Stevia, which is natural, for sweetening (tea etc). Blue Agave nectar is a great organic syrup with a low glycemic index.

[pattimarty]

Health issues are what got us into Airstreaming. It became too hard to travel any other way. With our AS in tow we can easily stop to rest and food is no problem, we can bring what we need. It is much easier to take healthy food along then to struggle to find food on the road traveling. We prepare and freeze in advance and let it thaw out in the fridge. We also cook meals from scratch in our AS kitchen, just takes a tad of advance planning to pack the right stuff. You can find great and easy recipes on line, e.g. Mayo Clinic provides many. We even modify theirs to make them healthier. They have a great peach cobbler recipe (which can be made with any fruit you happen to have -- we make it most often with apples). Heating up apple cinnamon cobbler..... The entire trailer smells like heaven -- 1/4 the sugar of most stuff, all whole wheat flour, oats and apples! Pot lucks are a challenge, so we bring our own food and cook enough for others to share.

[Snowey BC]

With regards to lifting weights or resistance training. I've got my resistance bands packed and a laminated exercise sheet to go with it. It takes up very little room (one large ziploc baggie). Some of the exercises are done in the seated position. I had a personal trainer last year to jump start some weight issues, and she put the exercises program togther for me knowing I was going camping.

DH and I are not diabetics but are very consious of eating healthy. I agree it is easier with the A/S kitchen facilities that just the car. We try to plan our camp spots to include hiking/walking trails.

[sempi2]

Since I first posted this thread, we have made many changes for our diet and exercise while on trips.
We have gone back to our everyday menu, maybe a brat in there somewhere. But for the most part we are continuing to do well. Actually I have lost some weight after our trips, since the food is only what we pack.
We are still off our meds for diabetes, but continue to work on what is working.
Recipes, life style changes, and any other thing that will helpn us diabetics are greatly appreciated.

[Elvie]

We'd like to put in a plug for the Weston A. Price Foundation's advice on diabetes (also HBP, hypertension, and heart disease) because it makes so much sense to us. We've been following its recommendations for some years, are both retirees in great health, no high cholesterol, no weight problems.

Its emphasis is on getting away from all the processed and junk food, of course, but much more. Nutrient-dense foods, traditional fats, non-toxic farming, pasture-fed livestock, community-supported agriculture, and close examination (in the quarterly journal) of all the current (and often scientifically questionable or even false) food and supplement studies and propaganda bombarding us daily.

We eat a LOT of good fat (butter, coconut oil, olive oil, bacon grease, lard, skin on chicken, well-marbled beef), a goodly amount of protein (meat, poultry, fish, eggs, cheese, nuts), lots of fresh fruit and veggies. What we really watch are the grain carbohydrates, sugar sources, and over-pasteurized dairy products. That means much less bread, pasta, and desserts and portion control on same. We've found that when we get enough of the good fats, our cravings fall to nearly zero for the sweet stuff.

Our latest motto: Never eat a carbohydrate without butter on it.

Bon appetit!