Diabetic Lunches

So, in the month that I have not been blogging, a lot of.... stuff has happened. I got a very painful urinary tract infection that would not go away, so I found myself at the urgent care clinic. When I was there, they gave me medication for my infection, and told me that I was diabetic. Now, diabetes runs in my family, and my grandmother died of it. So, I knew it was just a matter of time before I was going to come up with it. I never thought I would get it so soon though. But now I have it, and there is no going back, I suppose. We literally spent the majority of that Monday at the clinic, being pushed from doctor, to nutritionist, to the financial department. It was a horrible experience. I was unemployed, with no money, so being diabetic, I know is going to cost a fortune. My next doctor's appointment, 2 weeks later, coast us over $200. When we went to the grocery store the next time, I cringed at the cost of healthier foods. Just getting whole wheat bread cost almost 75 cents more. It doesn't seem like much but you add it up on everything, it really amounts.

Luckily, the fiance seems to be understanding with my diabetic issues. He raises no issues with the cost, and even sacrifices some of the things he wants from the store, just so I could get my sugar-free necessities. It was hard, looking at all the labels of the food I enjoy, seeing how many carbs they have. I looked at a Sprite bottle, and it was 64 grams of carbs! A limit for an entire meal I can eat is only 60 carbs. It was an eye opener. I got as many sugar free things I could, but still tried to maintain the foods I love to eat. I still have a lot of work to do, but I have my successes. I have trouble saying no to fast food, Red Robin, and some things, but on the other hand, I have successfully cut out my sugary drinks, which was a HUGE thing for me. I would drink a 52 ounce soda in just four hours, which I could never do again. Instead, I found that diet soda does not taste all that bad, and unsweetened tea with Splenda isn't bad either. I've switched my coffee creamer to sugar free, and the sugar in my coffee to Splenda. So, I'm trying to work on it.

However, lunches. I recently started working full time, and the lure of vending machines and the food place on site look really good. I sit with co-workers who order burgers, hash browns, tuna melts, and I'm usually caught, staring longing at their food. I've been offered chocolate, cookies, candy, and I force myself to say no. So, I've been eating a small breakfast, and fixing my lunch before I leave home every morning. The night before, I will take my fruit (which for now, are usually raspberries, or strawberries), and put them in a cup. I save all the those little condiment cups I get from restaurant to-go orders and planned on using them for my African violets - but they are even more awesome for lunch packing, too! I'll then take out a can of diet soda, for now, I'm drinking diet 7-up, because it was cheapest at the store. Also, I'll mix up some tuna salad, and put it in bowl in the refrigerator. I'll gather up my vegetable, in this case, carrots, and put them in a container, and put some hummus in a condiment cup to dip my carrots in. Right before I go to bed, I get my coffee ready and put the water in the machine, so all I have to do is turn it on in the morning.

When I wake up the next morning, I'll bathe, dress and if I have time, eat a yogurt while my hair dries. If I don't, then I pack a granola bar into my bag and eat it at work. So, before I go out the door, I fix my coffee, put the tuna salad on some bread, pack everything in the lunch bag, and that's it. So much nicer than eating all those carbs at work.What is nice, is that where I'm working, I can have soda and my coffee at my desk, and I can have little snacks. So if I don't eat all my carrots at lunch, I can eat them at my desk later if I get hungry... instead of going to the vending machines and buying Doritos. My lunch is filling though, and I am usually good until dinnertime.

Moving to another subject, Yes! I finally got a job! I looked for a job for a while, and couldn't find one. When retail around here started hiring for the holidays, I jumped on it as soon as I could. I had a phone interview at one place, and a group interview at another. I was not good enough for either. I was depressed and stopped looking. After being told I was diabetic though, I knew I was going to need money for medical care, prescriptions, and healthier food, so I applied at one more place. The place I wasn't really excited about. I applied at the company Tyler worked at. I was hired on the spot, and was told I was "too good to be true". For the past couple weeks, I have been in crazy intensive training, and finally start the actual job on Monday. I am terrified, but kind of excited. They offer really good medical, dental, and vision plans, and they even provide a 401K.