Christmas brings seasonal joy and the comfort of being with the family.
With a wealth of food available though, it can also be a trying time for a diabetic. I remember my husband was diagnosed just before Christmas one year, it was hell!

Keeping discipline to control sugar levels and portions can be particularly difficult. So for those of us for who willpower dosen’t come too easily, the trick is to commit yourself to a food plan. It’s very easy to get carried away by what’s on the table. To reduce the chance of this happening plan how much you intend to eat and make a point of sticking to it. If you’re not cooking, find out what will be served in advance so that you can work out what you can have.

Yes this can be a very difficult time for diabetics and making an eating plan as Amanda suggested is a great idea. It’s best to make this plan at a time when you’re not hungry as hunger can distort your judgement. Don’t forget to factor in that alcohol contains high calorie content and also causes sugar levels to fluctuate. Plan how much or whether you will drink and stick to this too.

It’s a well drilled family that gets the Christmas meal to the table on time. If the meal is taking longer to prepare, it can lead to an unusually long period of hunger and anticipation. One way to avoid being so ravenous is to break the delay. Protein and/or non-starchy vegetable based pre-meal snacks are a good choice as they are filling and slowly broken down.

Having a glass of water before you start your meal is an easy and effective way of reducing your food intake; it makes you feel full earlier on, thus reducing your appetite.

Base your meal on non-starchy vegetables. Vegetables are the staple of sensible eating. Make sure that vegetables account for a good 50 per cent of your plate. Eating with the family is a nice occasion but if you’re a fast eater, it can make things more difficult. If others are still eating, you may be tempted to have another helping so eating slowly will help with this and will also allow you to savour and better enjoy the food you’re eating.

Have a Good Christmas!

As a diabetic I find that basing my your meal on non-starchy vegetables
helps and veg is after all the staple of sensible eating. Make sure that vegetables account for a good 50 per cent of your plate.

Eating with the family is a nice occasion, of course but if you’re a fast eater, it can make things more difficult. If others are still eating, you may be tempted to have another helping. Eating slowly will help with this and will also allow you to savour and better enjoy the food you’re eating.

Any food you eat is going to end up in your blood stream and on your body so don’t feel shy about turning food down. Feeling stuffed can be quite unpleasant by itself and it’s also worth bearing in mind that the body’s natural reaction to having to digest a particularly large meal is to release extra sugar into the bloodstream.

One can be forgiven for indulging every once in a while. If you’re a pudding person Christmas can be something of a trial of restraint though. If you cannot resist pudding make sure you stick to at most one and keep the serving sensible, remembering that sweet dishes are very fast absorbed. Once again apply the rule about eating gradually.

And make sure you are on top of your medication!

Another thing that I find helps is if after and between meals you put foods away or under cover. Remember the classic Christmas cracker joke about a ‘sea food’ diet – “I see food and I eat it”? Food left out and exposed grabs the eye, therefore grabbing the attention of the mind and this can all too easily lead to ‘small’ indulgences.

A couple of mince pies will typically have over 500 calories, a quarter of a woman’s daily energy, and a fifth of a man’s; not forgetting the 70 plus grams of fast acting carbohydrates. Apply the rule ‘out of sight, out of mind’ and this can help to avoid between meal snacking.

If temptation is proving a taxing task and hard to avoid, it can help to literally walk away from the craving. A 20 minute walk in the crisp air should be enough to increase endorphins and serotonin which can help to overcome cravings.

If you self test, commit yourself to testing your blood sugar more regularly, over the Christmas period, to catch those blood sugar fluctuations early.

Alcohol is an extremely prevalent part of our society, whether you have diabetes or not. The majority of people enjoy a drink of alcohol, especially at Christmas and there is no reason why people with diabetes should feel any different.

Whether it is a pint in the pub or a glass of wine with a meal, there is no need for people with diabetes to give up alcohol simply because of their condition. There are alcohol substitutes for those who abstain.
In fact, diabetes alcohol guidelines are the same as for the general population.
The recommended alcohol guidelines for people with diabetes
are two units for women and three units for men. However, it is worth being aware how many units a drink contains.
In some cases, a glass of wine will constitute two units, and a pint of beer can even reach three units.

If you have diabetes and are wondering how much alcohol you should drink, it is worth reading the following list to see how much alcohol is contained in each type of drink.
One unit (approximate measure):
1/2 pint of standard strength beer, lager or cider
1 pub shot/optic/measure (50ml) of sherry or vermouth
1 pub shot/optic/measure of spirit (25 ml), eg gin, vodka or whisky.

So if you have diabetes can you drink as usual? Well, not quite. People with diabetes need to be extra careful with alcohol. Alcohol significantly increases the risk of hypoglycaemia (low blood sugar levels). If your diabetes is already well under control, a moderate amount of alcohol may be fine either before, during or soon after a meal.
Even if you have a drink, this may not influence short-term blood glucose levels. However, there are some precautions to be taken care of.

Avoid drinking on an empty stomach, as this will quickly increase the amount of alcohol in your bloodstream. Also avoid binge-drinking or sustained drinking, and never substitute alcohol for your meals. All of this can increase the risk of hypoglycaemia.