Today’s post is inspired by what I often experience at the dinner table with family and friends, credit from being a dietitian.
“What should we eat to stay healthy?”
“Should you be eating that as a dietitian?”
“Wow, you eat so healthily.”
Guys, I already spend 7-hour every weekday researching and writing about nutrition. The last thing I want to do is to spend another 2-hour of my day speaking about it. Please, spare me.
People with diabetes must have it way worse than me, especially on Thanksgiving. An old classmate of mine is diabetic, and I remember how she rolled her eyes whenever she shared her family gatherings.
If you are getting together with people who have diabetes this Thursday, here are a three things you need to avoid doing.
The Needle: Don’t Freak Out.
Okay, I’ll confess: I’m guilty. There is just something mesmerizing about seeing someone testing their blood sugar levels and injecting themselves with insulin. Perhaps I’m just impressed at how casual and skillful they are at managing their diabetes. However, this is probably one of the most annoying moves you can pull on a person with diabetes. Don’t look. And if you’re really curious, casually slip a quick question, but I wouldn’t recommend spending the entire evening on this matter.
Stay Clear of Diabetes Topics.
Unless the instigator is the person with diabetes, diabetes should not be the main topic of discussion. It’s Thanksgiving: I’m sure there are more interesting topics you can catch up on.
The Food Police.
The art of choosing what and when to say things requires extensive learning and practice. Just keep in mind: Thanksgiving is definitely not the time to be patrolling.
To learn more about diabetes etiquette, I invite you to check out this pamphlet created by the Behavioral Diabetes Institute (BDI) by clicking here.
