I've flown to Australia and back a number of times (32 hour commute, door-to-door) and have camped in a tent a fair-share and while making a number of mistakes, I have a good sense and protocol for how to pack and prep for travel, keeping my health goals (optimal weight and steady blood sugars) in mind.

Looking After Your Weight-Loss Efforts:

Oh, hormones. Many of us have a love-hate relationship with our hormones because they seem to either be working in our favor or working against us. This relationship becomes even more complicated with diabetes when insulin levels can become unregulated, especially during times of pregnancy and menopause when our reproductive hormones change rapidly.

Hormones are messengers in the body and regulate everything from our body temperature to our fertility health. Rather than being annoyed when we experience symptoms of hormone imbalance such as blood sugar spikes, mood swings, or the dreaded weight gain (especially in the mid-section, arg!), I like to think of these symptoms as a message that our hormones are trying to send us. What a blessing it is that our bodies let us know when something is out of whack!

You’ve probably heard the unfortunate truth before: women have a higher risk of heart disease. Women with diabetes have an even higher risk. As someone who has born with a congentital heart disease myself, (I had open heart surgery when I was just three years old!) I care about heart disease more than most. But as a dietitian and diabetes educator, I also know there are simple things we can do everyday to drastically lower our risk so that we beat those statistics. :)

I choose my meals based on 1) desire, 2) blood sugar control/moderating the carbohydrates in the meal, 3) foods I tolerate (use of an elimination diet and a food sensitivity test), 4) my activity level, and 5) satiety. I aim to allow a meal to keep me full from one meal to the next, or 4-6 hours. On this work day, I came up with a “sandwich” that was so awesome that I had to share the details. I’ll call it the Peach Gobbler.