“The tests confirm that you have Type 2 Diabetes.” These are life-changing words. They affect one of the most basic components of life – what we eat. Our blood glocose level affects pretty much every system in our bodies. Diabetes is a challenging disease that, at least initially, can take over your life. It’s so complicated that it is considered both a disease (a metabolic mechanism) and a condition (with lifestyle changes needed). Medication can help get things under control.

For the past two months, since I was diagnosed, I have thought about food all the time. This is not an exaggeration. Sometimes, I think about what I can eat that will not cause my blood glucose level to dramatically increase – that’s “spike” in diabetes-speak. Sometimes I try to understand unexpected spikes in my numbers. Sometimes I try to think about what else I can safely eat that is not chicken and broccoli. Sometimes I am convincing myself to just cook the chicken and broccoli. Sometimes I am looking up the glycemic index of potential foods – peas, carrots, cottage cheese, cheddar cheese, whole wheat pasta, lentils, cauliflower pizza crust, and so on. It never ends. I think about every bite of food I put in my mouth. I try to tell myself that this phase will not last forever – at some point, I will have a list of foods that work for me.

That last part of that sentence is key – what will work for me. One of the most irritating things about diabetes is that everyone experiences it differently. For example, there is zero-sugar Greek yogurt that lots of people on the internet seem to love. For me, it didn’t work very well. Turns out, it does contain some sugar and that type of sugar really didn’t agree with me. I tried other yogurts and ended up switching to cottage cheese. I have been eating cottage cheese, nuts, and blueberries for breakfast – it’s a little odd but so far this has been my most successful effort.

While breakfast is still a bit of a challenge, I’ve cracked the code on lunch: egg salad on slices of tiny keto bread. I now have this every day. I like egg salad, so it’s okay that I have it every day. It’s filling enough to get me through to 3 or 4 hours, at which point I need to have some whole grain wheat crackers and maybe some cheese to get me through to dinner. Generally, dinner consists of chicken, vegetables, and fruit … and maybe some cottage cheese. It’s not exciting but these meals keep my blood glucose levels in check pretty well.

I still have room to improve, both my food options and my glucose readings, but I’m getting there. This is a marathon, not a sprint … sustainability is important. While I may not be excited over my current culinary efforts, they are working and the food is fine. I’m eating food that I like. Maybe some day, I’ll start to like cooking and will be more creative. For now, I’m focusing on effectively controlling my blood glucose levels.