Ways to Manage Your Diabetes Through the Holidays
Thanksgiving and Christmas are important festive occasions for many families. While they involve happy celebrations with family and friends, they also offer food and beverage habits that can be difficult for diabetics. Holiday dinners with diabetes can be hard, especially when trying to maintain the discipline of controlling your blood sugar levels when everyone about you is indulging in your favorite foods and there are delicious treats everywhere.
Holiday dinners offer a number of challenges to the diabetic diet and lifestyle:
- They promote over-indulgence
- Meals are often served at unusual times, outside of your routine meal times
- The food is often higher in sugar and fat
- Alcohol is usually prominent
- There may be reduced opportunity for exercise
Knowing and preparing for some of these challenges can help make navigating the festivities easier. Here are some ways to help you navigate through the holiday season, while still enjoying some of your favorite food and beverages.
1. Define Your Holiday Period
While persistent high sugar levels are not good, a couple of days of slightly increased sugar levels will be fine. Allow yourself some leeway for the big days, while staying more conservative for the rest of the holiday season.
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