Changing our Habits

About two years after Jared and I were married he started feeling sick. Since we were nearing finals of our junior year in college we blamed it on stress and not enough rest. But he wasn’t getting better so (after a little nagging from his sweet wife) he decided to visit the campus clinic before class. I went about my day as normal and came home from school and work to a message on the answering machine. “Pam, I’m in the hospital, come when you can. . . .”

I was. . . freaked out. He had just gone to the health clinic for a quick check-up! We didn’t have cell phones (wow, how did we live without those?!) so I rushed to the hospital (wondering how he even got to there since I had our only car).

To make a long story short, the clinic checked him out and discovered he had appendicitis so they took him to the hospital for an emergency appendectomy. They caught it in time but in the process of the procedure discovered sugar in his urine–a symptom of diabetes. My 23-year-old husband was healthy, fit, and had no family history of diabetes, so it seemed unlikely but the doctors kept an eye on his blood sugars over the next few months.

Eventually the “honeymoon period” that often accompanies diabetes ended and he was diagnosed with Type One Diabetes–the kind that requires insulin. The doctor’s explanation was new to us. They guessed most likely his body tried to attack when he got the appendicitis and ended up killing his pancreas. 

With that diagnosis quite a few things changed in our newly married life. Since I did most of the cooking, I had to adjust most of our favorite recipes. Jared cut out almost all sugar, ate low-carb meals, and exercised more. We rarely went to our favorite restaurants and learned how to order differently when we did. We bought more produce and meat and less pasta and rice. We started drinking less milk and more water and replaced juice and soda with diet versions.  

It’s been seven years now and most of the changes we made back then have become habits. A few years ago Jared switched insulins and is now able to eat more carbs and desserts (moderation is the key). That was a happy day for all of us as cooking suddenly became fun again and we were able to go out for dinner more often (assuming our budget allowed it!). Jared even put on a few pounds, which he desperately needed. (Unfortunately, so did I–which I desperately didn’t need and have been fighting with since having babies. Blech. . .)

Eating healthier became a lifestyle change for us before we had kids and since we now have “family history” of diabetes we’ve been pretty conscious of what our kids eat. Now we aren’t super strict or fanatical but we do limit their sugar and portion sizes, offer lots of fruits and veggies, drink mostly water, cook most of our meals from scratch and encourage activity. Pretty basic, right?

I wish I could say it was easy, but my kids are, typical America kids, and they love chicken nuggets, french fries, cookies and juice boxes as well as others. I’ve tried to teach them about good food choices, but it’s definitely challenging when they go shopping with me and see all the treats, play with friends whose parents don’t follow the same guidelines, or when the sweet grandmotherly neighbor loads them up with a baggie of candy before sending them home. (And truthfully, I’m not the best example either. Some afternoons the only thing that gets me through until they go to bed is my stash of chocolate and diet Dr. Pepper. And shortly after they go to bed Jared and I usually pull out some kind of sugary or salty goodie–like it’s our right as parents to have made it through the day!)

Since it’s not easy and my kids are fairly picky I’ve always tried to sneak healthy ingredients into the foods they already love. As I’ve tried to search for more creative ideas I’ve recently discovered it’s is a really common problem! (You experienced moms are nodding your heads and rolling your eyes about now.) The Sneaky Chef by Missy Chase Lapine and Jamie Oliver’s new show Food Revolution have become my favorite recently-discovered resources.

Gotta ”sneaky snack” to share with me?