Well, something’s working

I went to England last week. My weight before I left was 210, and my glucose levels were averaging about 110 per week. On the jet, I had chosen “Diabetic” meals when I booked the flights, so that’s what they thought they gave me.

To understand what diabetics need, I compiled the list of things to avoid when you’re diabetic. The key is avoiding carbohydrates which can come from starchy or sugary foods:

1. sugary drinks
2. transfats
3. White bread, rice, pasta
4. Fruits
5. fruit-flavored yogurt
6. Sweetened breakfast cereals
7. Flavored coffees
8. Honey, maple syrup, brown sugar
9. Dried fruit
10. Packaged snack foods such as pretzels
11. Fruit juices
12. Potatoes, especially fries

All of the diabetic meals on my flights included potatoes (12) and bread (3) of some sort. 2 of the snacks consisted of packages of pretzels (10). I had melons and strawberries (4) for lunch and dinner. I had a brown sugar glaze (8) on the carrots and teriyaki sauce on my chicken. The salad had a fruity dressing (4). I got strawberry yogurt (5) as a snack. So the difference between my diabetic dinner and the normal one was that mine tasted like cardboard.

Then I got to the summit location: Stanbrook Abbey near Worcester. The buffet had English bacon which looks like ham, sausages, baked beans, scrambled eggs, smoked salmon (!), mushrooms, grilled tomatoes, hash browns, cheese, cold cuts, and tea. I didn’t have the hashbrowns or the mushrooms (except that 1st day). Then lunch had some sort of small meat dish with potatoes or pizza or pasta. Dinner consisted of either chicken breast and sides, or beef in some sort of casserole.

Needless to say, it was difficult to avoid the carbs. In fact, I messed up on every meal except breakfast. BUT, my glucose numbers were below 100 4 days in a row. Does that make sense? I was eating 3 meals a day instead of 2, and I was eating the wrong stuff, yet my numbers were DOWN. Hmmm. Well, calories are calories. There was no way I was going to get home from England weighing the same as when I left. 😦

But Jennifer and Andra waved their magic wands and declared that anything eaten in England stayed in England. HA! So I had linguine carbonara. I had shepherd’s pie (once with beef, and once with chicken…they have strange flocks here, apparently. I had potatoes, bread, or pasta every day, but even with all those carbs, I was below 100 in my glucose levels all 4 days of the summit! Something was strange. Then I got home and my glucose levels had climbed up to 167 one day. The numbers are below 100 again now, though.

What was the result of that fiasco that was my diet during this week? I was still at 210 lbs. on 4/11. And I was at 205 lbs. yesterday, 2/14. ???!!!!!

I don’t know how to process this information.