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.

Keto is trending and I am enjoying the ride. I've always been low carb, but in the last year I have been increasing my fat and moderating my carbohydrates and protein intake. Why? I want and deserve steady blood sugar control and this way of eating is proving to work for me, and as an added bonus I am leaning out. As someone with type 1 diabetes, I have to calculate everything that goes into my mouth and marry it with insulin.

I test my blood a lot. If I had to put money on it, I believe I average 8-10 finger pricks a day. Even with a continuous glucose monitor (CGM), I double check my levels every time (okay most times) I eat, feel off and/or need to calibrate. However, I find it interesting when I test my glucose seconds apart, my meter doesn't always tell me the exact same readings.