Bring your own food.......
I will be competing in a large tournament (Iowa VNEA championships) the rest of this week. It is the first long tournament since I found out I was diabetic. I am not insulin dependent, just oral med, but I was wondering if anyone has any suggestions about how to cope with this condition in a tournament setting. Food options are normally limited at the facility. What do you guys do to get through without getting your levels all out of whack?
I don't know how long ago you were diagnosed and how much you have changed your diet.
Those pills like metformin will make you shaky if you don't have enough food in your stomach. Too much food brain dead.
You can't eat the food there. It is usually pure poison for a diabetic. If you ate the food there all the time you would soon be on insulin or worse in a short period of time. This is the type of food that got you there. Just like trying to eat at a super America or 7/11 or a Kwik Trip. Not good for a diabetic.
I bring my own food. I make chicken sandwiches with mustard and some real cheddar cheese. Gluten free bread with out mayo. Mayo seems to help spike the sugar.
Drink only water. No sodas not even diet. Diet is even worse for a diabetic.
You need to do this all week everyday. It's like practicing controlling your blood sugar all the time.
Kind of like lifting weights. You wouldn't sit around all week and then decide you were going to compete in a weight lifting contest.
A tournament can be very demanding especially if you can't get enough sleep. This makes it impossible almost to control your blood sugar.
During the week you need to ride an exercise bike like your crazy for about 1/2 hour everyday. This will help keep your levels good even without the pills. If mine gets a little high I ride the exercise bike or go for a walk.
When I was taking the pills and ride the exercise bike I would get shaky. Don't know what the answer is there for sure.That's why I wanted to get rid of the pills and control it with diet only. It's the best way but it will take some time to get there. Took awhile to get to be diabetic. .
Go to the diabetic forums on the internet. The people on there that are getting it right will help you. They are diabetic and are successfully coping with it. Some like myself are off the meds.
I struggled for 3 years listening to people that that really didn't know. They were diabetics that kind of knew but weren't doing it as good as they could. They tell you their version of what to do.
Stay out of the smoke. This is really hard on your body. You already have something kicking your ass. You need all you can get out of your immune system.
Stress lowers your blood sugar and so does exercise. Eat small amounts.
Granola bars have too much sugar and will spike your glucose levels.
Read the labels. 10 to 15 grams of sugar. You'll go from low to way too high in a few minutes. Once it's out of wack it's too late.
Eat small amounts and don't eat anything that goes into tour system fast.
Potatoes, bananas, bread, chips, granola bars, no candy, If you've had help with your diet you know what these do already.
Good Luck. You might find out that you'll play much better now that you know but those darn pills are tough on you. That's why I worked real hard to get off them.
Lose weight and eat right and soon no pills. Makes it all so much easier.
