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Diabetes pro tip: Eating healthy during the holidays with diabetes

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Whichever holiday(s) you celebrate, the end of the calendar year is a time to get together with family and loved ones to reflect on the last year, look forward to the year ahead and to celebrate with food and festivities. Although having a child with diabetes can introduce some challenges, some planning in advance can go a long way in minimizing the stress of navigating the holidays.

Tips for maintaining glucose levels from our team

"Stay active! Having friends and family over is a great excuse - especially in Texas - to throw a ball around, go on a walk together, play football before watching the game on TV or whatever else gets you up and moving," says Angie Burris, RN, CDE. An active schedule ahead of big meals is a great way to counteract some of our natural holiday eating habits and to help keep blood sugar levels in check. "Don't focus on just the child with diabetes, the exercise is great for the whole family!"

"Plan ahead for the meal. If you're cooking this year, that can be easy enough, but if you're visiting a relative, ask them what will be on the menu. Then talk about the menu with your child and plan ahead for what they're most likely to eat," says Vandana Kumar, RD, CDE. There's a number of resources available to help stay on top of carb counts for the most common holiday foods, including this carb chart from BeyondType1link icon.

Mealtime strategies

  • Drink a glass of water before you fill your plate

  • Avoid sports drinks and sugary sodas

  • Choose a smaller plate

  • Try some new lean meats and nuts

  • Don't forget the veggies

  • Plan ahead for dessert so the carbs are part of your game plan as you think about how much insulin you will likely need

If you know your child will be indulging a little, utilize the temporary basal rate function on their insulin pump or allow them a slightly higher dose of long-acting insulin for just the day to help keep numbers in range. Encourage your child to test more often during the "indulgent" days. And set reminders so that insulin doses are not missed in the excitement of the day.

Finally, schedule time for unwinding and relaxing. A little advance planning can go a long way to keeping the holidays enjoyable, even with diabetes.

You may also be interested in:How to encourage healthy eating habits during the holidays