Episode 15: Managing Holidays with T1D

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November and December seem to derail a lot of healthy efforts among people, specifically when it comes to food. Since there’s a ton of multicultural holidays between Halloween and New Year’s, these two months spell doom for a lot of healthy habits, including for type 1 diabetics.

Fortunately, there are a few things we can do to make sure we don’t completely go off the rails for two whole months. These are also good tips for everyday life with type 1 diabetes, not just during the holiday season.

Listen to get all the details about these tips:

Planned exceptions
Alternate basal profiles
Increasing bolus ratios
Sticking to routines
Not beating yourself up for mistakes
Taking each day individually
Keeping supplies on-hand
“Know before you go”
Being prepared for stress
Ignoring others’ opinions
Remember what’s fun about the holidays

Wins & Fails

Colleen’s Win: Evidence shows that Jiu-Jitsu keeps my blood sugars more stable in the days following a session. I’m also getting better at figuring out what number I should be at before working out at the studio.

Hack of the Week

Try using dual/square-wave boluses, also called extended boluses, during holidays this year. Square and extended boluses divide a bolus into “now” and “over time”. Square wave boluses deliver a bolus over a longer period of time.

Diabetes in the News

Type 1 Diabetics can now pilot commercial flights!

In a significant regulatory change, the Federal Aviation Administration has relaxed its rules around who can fly commercial airliners. This is so huge. When I was growing up, the only two things they told me I couldn’t do was 1) go into the military and 2) fly commercial airplanes.

With all the amazing new tech out there helping us control our blood sugars a lot better than we did before 1996, it was only a matter of time before regulations like this one start to change.