I have been on a low-carb kick that has food centered in the forefront of my mind. I had a certain misrepresenting perception of low-carb or carb-free eating. It taunted me about the extra hassle and drawn-out time needed to plan accordingly. If most of the country is serving carb-full food, it made sense in my head that eating alternatively would be more troublesome. Why hand pick vegetables from the produce section when they would automatically put on top of my salad and tacos from the Mexican restaurant? It turns out though, consciously eating carb-free makes life much simpler from this diabetic's perspective.

"Duh", you're saying. This is the cornerstone of a diabetic lifestyle. I know I know... I have heard that. I have just never lived it. I tend to put my stomach first when it comes to food choices, and have just been extra diligent on matching insulin needs. But who knew that avoiding carbs completely could actually be a mini vacation from the diabetes chaos? Not me, until now.

I spent a whole day filling my carnivorous needs with practically carb-free food choices. Breakfast came on loftily with bacon, eggs, and a heap of tomatoes with onions stirred in. Lunch sailed through delivering a huge salad, covered with salsa, corn, chicken, sour cream, and cheese. Followed later by a sheet pan of roasted squash, peppers, onions, and parsnips (a vegetable not to be missed out on- if you have never experienced it), for dinner.

How fulfilling to eat delicious food all day and not battle high glucose demons by doing the insulin pump "stay in-range" dance. It took a little extra planning and shopping to attain the foods of little carbs, and a whole lot of chopping to get dinner in the oven. But it was counterbalanced by the lack of blood sugar spikes and not feeling lousy because of them.

This personal food experiment added a little more dynamism to my diabetes control, giving me a new view on the appeal of carb-free lifestyles. Do you consistently eat carb-free to control your diabetes, whether type-1 or 2? It may not be a complete lifestyle overhaul for me but it shined some light on the benefits of this food consumption choice.

Hooray for options!