Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] You are listening to episode number 281 of Better Blood Sugars with Delaine, Maryland. Welcome to Better Blood Sugars with DelaineS, Maryland. Where you can learn strategies to lower your blood sugars and improve your overall health. I'm your host, Dr. Delaine Vaughn. Ladies, if you know you're capable of doing badass things at work and for your family, but you're confused and frustrated with why you can't seem to stop eating the chocolate cake, this podcast is for you. Let's talk.
[00:00:28] Hey there and welcome to the podcast. I'm so glad you're taking some time today for you and your health. Today we are going to talk about holidays and how to manage and navigate the holidays and how to maybe even mitigate or decrease some of the negative impact of the holiday treats that we have during the holidays. I think we all find that we are around a lot of desirable foods. We're feeling a lot of desire. We're having a lot of cravings.
[00:00:57] We have maybe some urges for food. We have a lot of fear of missing out. We're around the food that we only see during the holiday season. And we have all these stories and beliefs about why we want this food. And then, of course, we tend to indulge more during the holiday season. And when we do that, we also, our brain then just tends to send us more messaging about eating foods that really aren't great for our health that kind of create more of these desires, more of these urges. We have more hunger cues. We just have a lot of increased input about food during the holiday. We're seeing things, we're hearing things. We're in stressful situations. We're maybe sleep deprived. We're, you know, office holiday parties. We're at family dinners. We're seeing our family that maybe don't only see once or twice a year. All of these things kind of accumulate or mixed together to give us the perfect storm to make the holiday season very, very challenging for most women who are struggling with type 2 diabetes.
[00:01:59] If you are one of these women, many times we find ourselves really leaning on a lot of diet mentality that hasn't gotten us the health we looked for long term and does not really get us through the holiday season without worsening health effects also. So today I want to talk about strategies for managing that. I know it's actually kind of late in the season. I feel like I usually do a podcast about this sometime in November, sometimes even in the end of October.
[00:02:28] I was busy doing other podcasts on other topics, but I do think it's really important. It is December 13th. It's Friday, Friday the 13th, but it's mid December, so I still think it's applicable. And the holiday is come, you know, the main holiday of Christmas. And then of course the week between Christmas and New Year's is coming up. So I do think this is really applicable and appropriate as far as timing. So I want to go through that. I want to talk about plans, I want to talk how do we handle food pushers. I want to talk about self advocacy. I want to talk about self care during the season. I want to talk about some tools to help mitigate some of the effects of food. And what do I mean by that? I mean I like my grandma's fudge recipe and I tend to eat my grandmother's fudge during the holiday season. And that means I need to make sure I am using tools that will help offset some of that negative impact of that food. My cellular function has actually normalized. My insulin resistance has resolved. So I don't have to worry about working on continued resolution as much as I have to really focus my energy on not redeveloping insulin resistance because I'm enjoying some of these treats so frequently. So I want to talk about some tools for doing that. And then I do want to talk about gratitude and the importance of making your holidays as enjoyable as really they're meant to be. So many women, I think, put off the work of fixing their health and fixing their diabetes and fixing their insulin resistance and this may even be you. This probably has passed through your head at some point that you don't want to do it because you're not willing to live uncomfortably, right? Like it's going to be so uncomfortable to do this that I just can't possibly even consider not being diabetic. I'll just go on the meds because I can't be that uncomfortable. And so I think it's really important to see how you make your holiday season amazing and meaningful and memorable and all of the things that are important to you. How do you make it that way without becoming more sick with your type 2 diabetes and even maybe reversing your insulin resistance and healing your body and allowing that diabetes to resolve. Because the choices and the action actions that you're taking. Let's talk about plans. I always promote a plan and I will tell you why. Because plans are made from a part of your brain that considers your goals your long term benefits. It's not looking just at instant gratification. It is looking at long term goals, desires and the things that you value and are important to you. When we make a plan, you start to choose actions that consider the things that you truly want and the things that are valuable to you in your life.
[00:05:18] Recognize the human brain will always have conflicting desires as far as their health is concerned. Your brain will always have the desire for your health and the desire for holiday treats. As far as finances are going, your brain will always have the desire for new shoes and the desire to save money. As far as things like social media, your brain will have the desire to scroll aimlessly and check out and the desire to do something meaningful within an hour in the evening. Your brain is always going to have conflicting desires when you make plans.
[00:05:55] Your plans will help you balance these conflicting desires in a way that gets you the treat that you want and supports the health you desire. Okay, so there most people as far as the food is concerned and even as far as money is concerned and even as follow far as social media is concerned, like social media, I want to spend some time catching up and seeing what my friends are doing. I don't want to spend hours on a social media wormhole about something a girl from high school's daughter has done in college. I don't know that I want to spend a wormhole on that, right? An hour looking, diving deep into that. I don't want to spend the hour, but I do want to catch up with my friends. So there's again, there's like planning is going to help you balance. Like I'm not willing to sacrifice an hour for this, but I do want to have this time where I can catch up and see what my friends are doing. I don't want to spend the mortgage payment on a shopping spree, but I would like to spend maybe $150 on some new clothes or something for the house or a new pair of shoes, whatever it might be, right? We have these desires. If I want to shop, like it's easy to lose control and spend the mortgage payment and shop all the things, but that doesn't really treat or it doesn't really take into consideration the things that are truly valuable and my goals. Okay, same thing is usually true about the food. I want to enjoy grandma's fudge and I don't want to re stimulate insulin resistance in my body. Remember, insulin resistance is a normal response to human beings eating food that is not normal to them.
[00:07:39] Insulin resistance is a biologically normal response. And insulin resistance is the root cause of your type 2 diabetes.
[00:07:48] Insulin resistance is a normal response to the human being eating foods that are not normal to them. If you lived 10,000 years ago, human beings would not have insulin resistance because we there weren't foods available that weren't natural to us. We had to eat what the earth made for us because there wasn't anything else. Insulin resistance develops when we are not eating foods that the earth makes for us and that just doesn't match our body.
[00:08:17] So I want to eat grandma's fudge and not restimulate insulin resistance with me, I want both. And making a plan allows me to weigh the pros and the cons and take an action plan that supports both. Okay? So if you can make a plan, it will allow you to weigh how much of the treat you want you can indulge in without negatively impacting your health. This is why a plan is so important. So, my friend, please make a plan that is the most important thing. If you're going to a holiday party, have a plan for how you're going to manage that party. If you're going to your family dinner, have a plan for how you're going to manage that dinner every day that you know snacks will be in the break room. Have a plan for how you're going to handle that. Make a plan. It is a gift to you. You do want some of the treats. You don't want so many of the treats that you're making yourself sick though. And you must have a plan. Your brain in the moment will always tell you more of the food is the right answer. If you do not have a plan, you're not going to have a clear way to manage that part of your brain that tells you to have more. When you make a plan, you're making it from a place that weighs the pros and the cons and takes into consideration your future self and your future goals. And it makes the actions that come from that are going to support the things you want in the future.
[00:09:46] But I want to tell you, the second you develop a plan, there will be a human being out there who's going to try to hijack that plan. And they're not doing it because they're bad people. It's just because so many humans out there are totally ran by that primitive brain, and they just allow that primitive brain to make all of their decisions, and they can't possibly understand where the rest of the world isn't doing that. Also, these are the people who cannot possibly understand why you're not interested in trying the latest, greatest food.
[00:10:13] If you make a plan, there will be somebody Coming to tell you about that latest, greatest food that you never even thought of. You knew you were going to a party and you planned for how many cookies and that you weren't going to have Chex Mex. These would be my plans, by the way. I'm going to have a cookie, but no Chex mix. I would plan for how much fudge I'm going to have, but no cheese ball dip. You know that. That cheese dip that ends up in a ball, whatever they're called, I'm not having that. I would plan for pie at my family dinner, but no rolls.
[00:10:41] These are the things that are important to me versus the things that aren't important to me. And I make a plan.
[00:10:46] But I had no idea a Yule log was there. I don't know if you know that these are what they are called. I didn't always know this, but I just think they're a ridiculous name. The Yule log. Yes. There's the burning Yule log. That is maybe more of a traditional Christmas term. I'm talking about the food that's like a spongy cake that has like, I think it's a Mars Capone whipped filling and it's sugary and it all rolls up and they cut it like sushi pieces and it's a piece of cake and that's a Yule log. And some human is going to come and tell you about the most amazing Yule log and how you must try it. It's so unique, you're never going to see it again. So and so worked so hard on it and you need to eat it. You're going to have somebody telling you how amazing it is and how you must try it. And then you have to start feeling the experience of not having a plan of uncertainty, of, I didn't know about this. I don't want them to think I can't have it. I don't want them to think that I'm out, you know, that I'm so out of control on how I eat that I can't have this one thing because I might lose control or they might know I'm sick or, you know, I don't want them to think I'm a snob and their food isn't good enough. Our brain starts to develop all of these crazy thoughts. And again, this I really do believe on some level this is our primitive brain. Kind of like a child who's going through the grocery store, check out the candy aisle, and they're like, I need a Snickers bar because I haven't had lunch, I haven't had breakfast. Right. The child's brain, the toddler's brain, the, you know, six year old's brain is going to start making very, very clever and compelling reasons for why they need a Snickers bar. In that moment, your brain is going to start making very compelling, clever reasons for why you should go. Try that Yule log that you didn't plan for, didn't even know it was going to be there. And so making that plan and then figuring out what it is about you that makes you not want to have that food.
[00:12:45] I don't need a Yule log. It's okay. I don't need that food. That food is going to make my insulin resistance worse and I don't want that for me. I've made a plan of what I'm going to eat eat and I'm going to eat that I'm full from the plan that I've already eaten and I don't need to eat anything else. All of these things are things that we have to get clearly defined in our brain, like plan for the unknown. We have to get those things clearly defined in our brain so that when somebody says these things to us, we can offer these very easily. No, I'm full already. I had these things. I have no room for that. I'm good, thank you. Or no, that is just not food that I typically eat. You know, it doesn't, it doesn't match my biology, it doesn't make me feel well, it doesn't match what's going on for me right now. And you can always take it and plan it for the next day too. Oh, that's great. I'm full on what I've eaten today, but I think I will take a piece. I'll have it tomorrow when I eat. All of these are on the table, but you have to think of it ahead of time because if you don't in the moment, your brain's going to be like, you need the Yule log, you need it right now. So you have to have some clear understanding about who you are and why this is important to you to avoid that awkwardness.
[00:14:00] Part of this is self advocacy and I think it's really, really important to know and to realize that self advocacy is our personal job. It is an inside job. It is nobody else's responsibility to advocate for what I need ever.
[00:14:16] That's my job. In fact, I want to offer to you there's nobody else in the world who knows what you need. The way you know what you need. And it's our job, our personal job to advocate for what we personally need. And part of this is managing food pushers and managing the unexpected and realizing that I am not a snob because I'm not eating somebody's food. I just don't need that food right now. I am not a, you know, there's nothing wrong with me that this food doesn't match my biology. The fact is it doesn't match anybody's biology.
[00:14:52] And being really clear and advocating for what's important to you, that's what self advocacy is.
[00:15:00] Knowing what's important to you, being willing to have other people disagree about what's important to you and then you fighting for that, that's important to you. All of that is part of it.
[00:15:11] I also want to remind all of us that there's self care that has to happen during the holiday season, right? We're con. We're having to navigate, right? I'm having to navigate this party that is awkward and different. I'm having to have a plan for all of these different situations that I don't ever come up with. I'm having to shop for gifts. I am going to see family that I don't usually see. I have to go to Christmas parties and be social where maybe that's not very comfortable for me. There are all of these things that really do create feelings of discomfort. They're just uncomfortable feelings. They aren't going to harm you. Nobody's going to die. There's no cellular damage from feeling awkward or hungry or desire. There's no damage that's happening to your body, but it is uncomfortable. And recognizing that there needs to be some self care that needs to be scheduled into your life in order to make this experience a little less uncomfortable for you and for you to enjoy the holiday.
[00:16:09] And I want to talk about that again at the end of this. But before we dive in deeper to that, I do want to go through a few tools that you can use to help offset or mitigate some of the effects of these treat foods. These indulgences that we have, my grandmother's fudge, the yule log, whatever it is, These indulgences, indulgences that we will have through the holiday season. There are some things that you can do to offset that negative impact, my friend. My grandmother's fudge is, and I love my grandma and it's a two tone fudge. It's chocolate on top of butterscotch fudge. It is so, so, so good.
[00:16:47] And I make it once A year. And I really don't. I mean, I can make it any time of the year, but I make it once a year. But I'd have never found that fudge anywhere else in my life. And my grandmother made it and I. I mean, I even have the recipe. The recipe is written in my sweet grandmother's handwriting and I can hear her telling each and every step. I can hear it. I love making it. I love the memories, I love the nostalgia. I send it to my cousins. We all miss my grandma and it's a little gift that really is meaningful, at least for me to make it for them. Knowing that I'm passing on a bit of my grandmother and spreading her memory a little bit, it's really, really important to me to do that. However, there is no alternate universe where all of that really amazing stuff is ever going to be healthy for my body. And so finding some ways to mitigate or to offset the negative impact of my grandmother's two toned fudge is really important.
[00:17:41] So a couple of things that I always recommend to my clients. One, Apple cider vinegar. Apple cider vinegar impacts our gut microbiome in a way that it releases chemicals that cause us to be metabolically healthier and improves insulin resistance is really what it comes down to. What does that mean? It's 2 tablespoons of like raw apple cider vinegar twice a day. Ideally, you're having one of those, you know, servings, those two tablespoons. You're having them before your largest meal and then a another dose per se of two tables of apple cider vinegar at another point in the day. Okay, this stuff tastes awful. Some people will put it into a glass of water. In my brain. You're ruining an entire glass of water. I don't do that. I literally put it in a shot glass and I shoot it like I did tequila in college. I didn't shoot a ton of tequila in college, but whatever I was shooting when I was younger, I use that same technique to get that apple cider vinegar down. It is horrible. It tastes awful. I would never ruin an entire glass of water with it. This is how I manage it. But definitely there's a lot of benefits and lots of data behind apple cider vinegar improving your glycemic control and your blood sugars. So I highly recommend that that lemon water is another thing. One to two tablespoons and a glass of water, definitely there is evidence out there that that impacts, positively impacts your glycemic control, your blood sugars. Berberine is another over the counter Supplement. It's very similar to the effect of metformin on your blood sugar. It works in the same way. You can buy it over the counter. I would. This is a time where I would say, you know, using berberine, especially if your insulin resistance has not normalized, using berberine can definitely improve your blood sugar and your glycemic control. Lastly, another thing that I recommend is using cinnamon. You can get cinnamon tablets.
[00:19:35] They're pretty common and easy to find. I don't know that I would just sprinkle cinnamon into things, but cinnamon tablets, you can find them at any health food store. And there is evidence that that also improves glycemic control and blood sugar management. So those are some things you can add to your life. Other things that you can do is fasting.
[00:19:55] Maybe you increase your fasting window on days that there's a party or days that you're going to really be indulging in. Some of those really quote, unquote, offensive foods, meaning foods that are, you know, they have high fructose corn syrup in them, they have tons of sugar. You know that they're going to be negatively impacting your insulin res resistance in your blood sugar on those days. You may want to have a wider fasting window and a narrow eating window. So that is another strategy to use. The other one is exercise.
[00:20:26] I want you to continue. I did a podcast last week about building muscle. So episode number 280 was about the importance of building muscle. Go back and check that out. So I want you to continue to work on building muscle. However, I also think it's important to get out and do some cardiovascular work. If you know you're eating these quote, unquote, highly offensive foods. These foods that we just know have a negative impact on your insulin resistance, your metabolic health and your blood sugars. Get out and exercise. Allow your muscles to start working and burning that off. Muscles working make them more insulin sensitive. The opposite of insulin resistant, the opposite of diabetes. The contractions of them make them the opposite of that. So they start to work better and they start to need more energy to burn off as fuel. All of these things are really beneficial to normalizing your blood sugars.
[00:21:14] So I do want to talk about gratitude again. Many times women will believe that if I'm going to get healthy, if I'm going to not be diabetic, it's going to be miserable. I'm not going to have any, you know, I'm not going to be able to eat the foods that I like, the foods that I find fun, the Foods that I have memories associated with it, this is going to be miserable. I'm not going to enjoy any of it. And what I want you to get clear on is one, why? Why is the season important to you? What is it about this hol season? And it may change from year to year, but what is it about this holiday season that's really, truly so important to you? If your brain offers you food as the number one thing, that's fine. There's nothing wrong with that. But unlikely it is just the food that's important to you. If you had all the yule logs and grandma's fudge under the sun, but we're on a deserted island with nobody to enjoy it with, is that truly going to be as enjoyable as the holiday that's available to you right now?
[00:22:12] And if the answer to you is no, I would not enjoy it as much, then I want you to really dig into what it is about the rest of the holiday season that is really, really important to you. And then I want you to find a way to exaggerate that, to magnify that, to make it more, to make it more robust.
[00:22:29] So, you know, some things I've done in the years past is I would really get like serious about wrapping paper and like, not only wrapping paper that I would use, but about wrapping the presents and making sure that there is a nice bow and it was a real ribbon bow and that I tied it and that I decorated the gifts. That was one way that I could really make the experience like I could really, I felt like I could pour something of me that was important that I like to do, that I thought made the holiday for me at least a little more special into each and every gift. And in my brain, then that gift was chucked full of just a little bit more love for my family and my loved ones. So deciding what is it about the holiday season that's so important to you that you really do want to give of yourself to the people in your life that are important to you? What is that and how do you make it more robust? Even grandma's fudge, right? Like, as much as, like, I can't eat it all the time and I know that it's not metabolically healthy to me, I send four to five pieces to my cousins and to my aunts and to my family who remember my grandma. And I pray that they have that same memory of this amazing human that was in our life and that I am giving something of myself and of my grandmother to them. And that means something to me that makes it more important. Is food part of it? Yes, food is part of it. Is it the eating of the food that's part of it? No, it's really not. I mean, that's nice and there's a memory associated with that, but it's really the sharing this with my cousins and my brother that really just is really so meaningful to me. So find out what it is. I mean, get real clear, determine what it is and focus on that. It is very easy during the holiday season to feel like there's so much expected of you. The kids always want so much. They're always asking for more. They always have these high expectations. It's so busy. It's all this Christmas music and to get really to a point where you're just ready to be over with it. It's no wonder so many women overeat and indulge in food and alcohol during that time. I would get clear about what it is about this season that's so important to you and what part of it is it that you really want to focus on and that will magnify that in your experience. I want to encourage you to do that. Find some.
[00:24:53] Find out what's important, find some gratitude and start spending some time with that. That's what's going to make this season so important and meaningful for is what I have for you this week. If you have any questions, you know you can always reach me at Delaine Elaine md.com I do want to give you the warning that I always give folks that if you're listening to this podcast and you start making the dietary changes that I recommend in this podcast, you need to be very careful. If you're medicated for your type 2 diabetes, your medications have been started because the way you've eaten in the past and if you change the way you eat, you will also need to change those medications. The best way to do this is to get a line of communication open with your medical provider. Whoever has written the prescriptions for these meds, call their office and find out how they want you to share your blood sugar logs with them and then how you can expect to hear back from them what meds they want you to change. If you don't do this, you can end up very sick. The kind of sick that looks like hospitalizations, ER visits, and possibly even death. And that's not why you're doing this. So if you're making these changes, you need to open that line of communication up with your medical provider so that you stay safe. And that is what I want for you. So make sure you do that. If you're not sure what to eat, you can always go to delanemd.com better and there is a 14 days to better Blood Sugar guide you can download in that time. If you follow that guide, it's a menu. Days one through 14, three different meals. You will very very quickly see your blood sugars drop with that. If you don't, please set up a better blood sugar assessment call with me and again you can send me an email delanelane md.com to set that up. If you again are medicated, please be careful with that 14 day guide.
[00:26:32] Lastly, if you have found benefit from this podcast, if you find it helpful, if you are seeing amazing results with this one, I want to hear from you. I love hearing the results that people get. I mean I love working with women also. But I think that it's even more powerful to see that you can make these changes and see results on your own. And that is the fact of it. So if you're getting these results, if you're seeing changes, I'd love to hear about it it but also like and review this podcast. The more people that I can review this podcast, the more the podcast players put it in front of others for them to hear this information. Recognize 9 out of 10Americans are insulin resistant and on the path to type 2 diabetes. More people need to hear that they don't need to be tied to the healthcare system for the rest of their life. That's what I dedicate this podcast to. So please, please like and review the podcast so other people can hear it. I hope this has been helpful. I will be back next week, but until then keep listening. Keep avoiding foods that make you sick and keep making choices. Your health, your vitality and your longevity. I'll talk to you soon. Bye.
