While I have posted a lot about diet and diet change, thought I would tell about my experience the other night.

We attended a meeting for a KARL class (Kansas Agriculture Rural Leadership) this week where both wife and I are alumni as former class members to support the current class that was visiting Pittsburg. At this event at the Kansas Crossings Casino a buffet meal was provided. Knowing the choices would be limited we both decided that we would allow some "splurge" in our eating habits. I do not call them "cheat" meals although that is how some people refer to it. I look it more as a personal diabetic experiment, as I always check my blood sugar after to see how my pancreas and beta cells are responding.

They did have some very good salmon and some tiny sticks of beef (limited amount so did not want to be a hog). They did have a nice fruit selection of which I avoided all but a few berries, which I normally will eat a few as a desert at home anyway. But the high carb foods I did eat were a very small sweet potato and a medium size slice of pecan pie. It was just a commercial pie so not great but definitely sweet. So the pie was definitely a test for my beta cells in the pancreas to see if they were up to the task.

The good news is my 3 hr after blood glucose was 161. For a non-diabetic that would be kind of high but for me that was really good, indicating my pancreas was putting out insulin to take care of the sugar overload. A couple more hours later checked it again and was 108 which was fantastic. So my diabetic test didn't work out too bad. Five years ago while taking 25-30 units of insulin before a meal like that I would have been happy if it stayed under 180 and ecstatic with the 161 reading. And that night I had ZERO diabetic drugs or insulin. So that was a positive.

Now the negative. I caught myself several times noticing the desert table still had uneaten slices of pie and cake on it for the taking. I resisted but reminded myself if I ate like I did that night, I would be right back on the addiction treadmill wanting sweets again that would lead to the diabetic problem I have had for 35 or so years. I was definitely tempted that night. Fortunately the temptation has not persisted. Back to my regular routine no problem. But I can see it would again rear its ugly head should I get too careless with my eating habits.

So on the rare occasion I may still have the sweet treat (that was the second piece of pecan pie this year I had - the other on my birthday made by a friend). But it will remain rare. Because with me the exception is way too easy to become "once a week" then "daily". As long as it remains "rare" I think I can handle it.

The pie tasted ok. Pretty good actually. But it made me want more rather than really satisfied my sweet tooth. An indicator of addiction rather than satisfaction.

Hope this helps someone in their journey to better health.